Today will go down in history. As of today, I am DONE with pchem lab!! No more annoying mathcad work!! No more!! It's over! It's finished!! WHEEEEEEE Sewiously. Tears of joy came to my eyes as I handed in that last exercise. I didn't actually cry, but it was a moment I will treasure forever. Hurray!
In other news, I studied a buttload of physics. I'm as ready as I'm gonna get. Just need to make my notesheet, and I'll be good to go.
I tried to study some French as well, but the physics burned me out. And, after all the physics, the French just seemed silly. I spend hours going over optics, now I've got to describe how a freaking goldfish symbolizes the struggle of immigrants? Hell no. It's a fish. In a bowl. I'll just study French some time between 12:30 and 4:30.
Okay, back to the physics, one last time.
In other news, I studied a buttload of physics. I'm as ready as I'm gonna get. Just need to make my notesheet, and I'll be good to go.
I tried to study some French as well, but the physics burned me out. And, after all the physics, the French just seemed silly. I spend hours going over optics, now I've got to describe how a freaking goldfish symbolizes the struggle of immigrants? Hell no. It's a fish. In a bowl. I'll just study French some time between 12:30 and 4:30.
Okay, back to the physics, one last time.
- Mood:
content
I am back from a UTC tournament, and it's still today! This may be the first time we've ever gotten back from a Chattanooga tournament before 1am. Yay!
We were supposed to leave at 7 this morning. I woke up to a clock that read 7:05. My first word of the day was definitely "FUCK!!!" I arrived at our meeting place at 7:15, bleary eyed, very rumpled, and breathless from sprinting. Luckily I hadn't been left behind, though apparently they were thinking of replacing me with a post.
The best part of this particular tournament is the flinging of the Moon Pies. See, the Honda Academic Challenge has like, $150,000 in corporate-sponsored scholarships as prizes. The UTC Moon Pie tournament, with three boxes of pies donated by the Chattanooga Bakery, is the 2nd largest corporate sponsorship in all of quiz bowl. Muahaha. At the start of the tournament, these Moon Pies are flung to all participants...it's kinda like Mardi Gras. Ten minutes of chaos. I caught 5, but 2 were banana. I also got a couple of Moon Pies pelted at my face; that's always fun.
On to the actual tournament. As usual, I captained the B team. We played 10 rounds and, for the first time, finished undefeated! So we got first place in our division. In individual scoring, Solomon got 4th and I got 2nd! The A team got 3rd in their division, with Steve and Gerry finishing like, 3rd and 4th individually. So, all in all, we did very well.
Solomon and Chi gave me the nickname "The Rampagin' Cajun," when I went on a tear in which I got 60, 70, and 100 points in three consecutive games. Unless I get super-good over the summer, that's probably the last time I'll score 100 points in a game. My quickest buzz went a little something like this:
Reader: "It begins behind the gymnasium of the Experiment House --"
Me: *buzz* *bounce* "The Silver Chair!!"
Reader: "Um...yes."
*shocked stares*
Me: "...what?? It's my favorite Narnia book!"
*stares*
Me: "Rillian? Puddleglum? ...Let's move on now."
And! At one point there was a question on Zoroastrianism that refered to Zarathustra as "Big Z." Confused the hell out of me; I sat there for a few seconds thinking "Zsarachnor?? What the hell??" Luckily I snapped out of my stupid moment and got the question.
Thus ends my Division II quiz bowl career. (Division II is for players with less than 2 years of college quiz bowl experience.) Not too shabby.
Hmm, looks like I'll be waking up before noon tomorrow. Joy of joys.
We were supposed to leave at 7 this morning. I woke up to a clock that read 7:05. My first word of the day was definitely "FUCK!!!" I arrived at our meeting place at 7:15, bleary eyed, very rumpled, and breathless from sprinting. Luckily I hadn't been left behind, though apparently they were thinking of replacing me with a post.
The best part of this particular tournament is the flinging of the Moon Pies. See, the Honda Academic Challenge has like, $150,000 in corporate-sponsored scholarships as prizes. The UTC Moon Pie tournament, with three boxes of pies donated by the Chattanooga Bakery, is the 2nd largest corporate sponsorship in all of quiz bowl. Muahaha. At the start of the tournament, these Moon Pies are flung to all participants...it's kinda like Mardi Gras. Ten minutes of chaos. I caught 5, but 2 were banana. I also got a couple of Moon Pies pelted at my face; that's always fun.
On to the actual tournament. As usual, I captained the B team. We played 10 rounds and, for the first time, finished undefeated! So we got first place in our division. In individual scoring, Solomon got 4th and I got 2nd! The A team got 3rd in their division, with Steve and Gerry finishing like, 3rd and 4th individually. So, all in all, we did very well.
Solomon and Chi gave me the nickname "The Rampagin' Cajun," when I went on a tear in which I got 60, 70, and 100 points in three consecutive games. Unless I get super-good over the summer, that's probably the last time I'll score 100 points in a game. My quickest buzz went a little something like this:
Reader: "It begins behind the gymnasium of the Experiment House --"
Me: *buzz* *bounce* "The Silver Chair!!"
Reader: "Um...yes."
*shocked stares*
Me: "...what?? It's my favorite Narnia book!"
*stares*
Me: "Rillian? Puddleglum? ...Let's move on now."
And! At one point there was a question on Zoroastrianism that refered to Zarathustra as "Big Z." Confused the hell out of me; I sat there for a few seconds thinking "Zsarachnor?? What the hell??" Luckily I snapped out of my stupid moment and got the question.
Thus ends my Division II quiz bowl career. (Division II is for players with less than 2 years of college quiz bowl experience.) Not too shabby.
Hmm, looks like I'll be waking up before noon tomorrow. Joy of joys.
- Mood:
cheerful - Music:"Great Romances of the 20th Century"
24 was not very good tonight. Maybe I just wasn't ready for a new episode 48 hours after the last new episode. Or maybe I was just expecting an episode that didn't suck. Time's winding down, so loose ends have to be tied, but they're constantly throwing in new things to tie the loose ends, and it all seems really forced. Of course to most people, the entire premise of the show is forced, so...I dunno. I'm sure that, before the season ends, there will be at least one episode that brings me to tears or makes me ill. And that's all I can ask for.
I just finished doing a bunch of "studying" for my pchem lab exam. Not that it'll help any. I cannot remember last semester's exam at all. I only remember the last question, which asked us to design an experiment with a bunch of random objects including a garden hose. I only remember that because I was ready to cry at that point and seriously considered making my answer "Use garden hose to hang self." *contentsigh* Isn't pchem wonderful??
I did a bit of studying while hidden away in a study lounge on the fifth floor curve. Why? Because I was hiding from people with questions about the physics homework. Not very nice of me, but I wasn't in a very nice mood. I had to go to office hours today, and worked really hard after lab, so I'd have the night free for exam studying. Didn't want to have to waste time with people who put off the homework until the last minute.
I have realized that I am going to have to check learnlink a lot more often now. I've managed to not become a learnlink addict despite over 2 years of access. Probably because I've had the MUD sucking my time for..well...two years. Less mud
time + more learnlink time = new addiction. Le sigh.
I think I'm mouse-impaired now, because I just use the touchpad on my computer. So people think I'm some kind of moron when I use their mouse and like, try to move without actually moving the mouse.
After my alone studying, I went to Janet's room to work for a bit. As people studying at 2am are apt to do, we had the most random conversation ever. I think the topic of slam dunks or lights going out came up, and I jokingly asked her if she had any music by 5ive. The response? "Do you want to hear their early stuff, their last album, or some of their solo work??" OR SOME OF THEIR SOLO WORK. She was serious. This surprised me, because she doesn't seem like much of the boy band person. But now I know. Now...I know.
I just finished doing a bunch of "studying" for my pchem lab exam. Not that it'll help any. I cannot remember last semester's exam at all. I only remember the last question, which asked us to design an experiment with a bunch of random objects including a garden hose. I only remember that because I was ready to cry at that point and seriously considered making my answer "Use garden hose to hang self." *contentsigh* Isn't pchem wonderful??
I did a bit of studying while hidden away in a study lounge on the fifth floor curve. Why? Because I was hiding from people with questions about the physics homework. Not very nice of me, but I wasn't in a very nice mood. I had to go to office hours today, and worked really hard after lab, so I'd have the night free for exam studying. Didn't want to have to waste time with people who put off the homework until the last minute.
I have realized that I am going to have to check learnlink a lot more often now. I've managed to not become a learnlink addict despite over 2 years of access. Probably because I've had the MUD sucking my time for..well...two years. Less mud
time + more learnlink time = new addiction. Le sigh.
I think I'm mouse-impaired now, because I just use the touchpad on my computer. So people think I'm some kind of moron when I use their mouse and like, try to move without actually moving the mouse.
After my alone studying, I went to Janet's room to work for a bit. As people studying at 2am are apt to do, we had the most random conversation ever. I think the topic of slam dunks or lights going out came up, and I jokingly asked her if she had any music by 5ive. The response? "Do you want to hear their early stuff, their last album, or some of their solo work??" OR SOME OF THEIR SOLO WORK. She was serious. This surprised me, because she doesn't seem like much of the boy band person. But now I know. Now...I know.
- Mood:
sleepy - Music:Slam Dunk (the Funk) - 5ive
Today I went to see three senior French majors present their honors theses. Pretty neat stuff. Each person read an excerpt from their thesis, and then there was this free-wheeling discussion/Q&A. Only one presentation was actually done in French. But the professors would randomly use either English or French to ask questions, and the students would use either to answer. So weird. I always have a mental jolt when there's much language switching. Like, I'll understand everything, but it takes a few seconds to realize that I'm hearing French rather than English, or vice versa.
After the presentations, there was a reception with a huuuuuuge spread of pastries. There were neither eclairs nor Napoleon squares, as I'd predicted. There were these flat nut-wafer things, and lemony squares, and chocolate cookie things that were rolled in sugar. Soooo goooood (sofat).
Why did I go? For the free pastries. Because it was something to do. And because my professor likes me more because of it. At least, that's what I'd like to think. If I have a borderline grade it might make her a little more inspired to help me out, if you know what I mean. And I think you do.
In news that is not other at all, I actually prepared for French class tomorrow. Did the reading, answered the questions, I am ready to fill the usual awkward silences! I also studied a bit of anthro in preparation for the FINAL. Dum dum duuuummmmmm.
Second half of APhiO elections were tonight, and I'm now Gen Sec. I get to make room reservations, and annoy the alumni and advisors. Yay. Next semester's plate is definitely filling up. Classes, research, APhiO, EAT. AND, I just got an email from Dr. Weeks asking if I'd like to be a physucks mentor next semester. The pay's $400, the commitment's like 2 hours a week. I ponder.
Five more days of class!
After the presentations, there was a reception with a huuuuuuge spread of pastries. There were neither eclairs nor Napoleon squares, as I'd predicted. There were these flat nut-wafer things, and lemony squares, and chocolate cookie things that were rolled in sugar. Soooo goooood (sofat).
Why did I go? For the free pastries. Because it was something to do. And because my professor likes me more because of it. At least, that's what I'd like to think. If I have a borderline grade it might make her a little more inspired to help me out, if you know what I mean. And I think you do.
In news that is not other at all, I actually prepared for French class tomorrow. Did the reading, answered the questions, I am ready to fill the usual awkward silences! I also studied a bit of anthro in preparation for the FINAL. Dum dum duuuummmmmm.
Second half of APhiO elections were tonight, and I'm now Gen Sec. I get to make room reservations, and annoy the alumni and advisors. Yay. Next semester's plate is definitely filling up. Classes, research, APhiO, EAT. AND, I just got an email from Dr. Weeks asking if I'd like to be a physucks mentor next semester. The pay's $400, the commitment's like 2 hours a week. I ponder.
Five more days of class!
- Mood:
content
"Oh shit, it's Friday!" were my first words this morning. Not the typical TGIF celebration, I know, but I overslept. I considered staying in bed for a few seconds, but three minutes later, I'm all bleary eyed and on my way to Atwood. Whee. Got quantum exams back, and I made the exact same score that I made on the first one. Apparently, 66 is my number. BUT there was a 10 point curve in addition to major curvage for good attendance. And on the exam, the professor had written a letter and he said, "If someone forced me to turn in grades now, this is what I'd give you." I looked at the A on my paper and thought "Somebody force the man to turn in grades! Please! Right now!" I'm gonna study my hell off for the final (that's what I say now). Or not take it, if Kaufman is as nice as Goldsmith was.
Physics = happy, as usual.
Guess who skipped lunch to finish her lab! That's right. Lab = not happy. But I turned in the stupid report. Here's hoping R-K doesn't realize that I used two more extension days than I had.
Finally going to eat, only to find out that I've lost my Emory Card = not happy. Getting a new Emory Card = happy.
Finding out somebody found the old Emory Card = BAH!
Realizing that I'll no longer be laughed at for my faded Emory Card ("How can I tell that's even you??") = happy.
Now, I'm going to go play with a bazillion small children.
Physics = happy, as usual.
Guess who skipped lunch to finish her lab! That's right. Lab = not happy. But I turned in the stupid report. Here's hoping R-K doesn't realize that I used two more extension days than I had.
Finally going to eat, only to find out that I've lost my Emory Card = not happy. Getting a new Emory Card = happy.
Finding out somebody found the old Emory Card = BAH!
Realizing that I'll no longer be laughed at for my faded Emory Card ("How can I tell that's even you??") = happy.
Now, I'm going to go play with a bazillion small children.
Classes today were fine. I wanted to go make sandwiches, but I went to lab instead, to work on The Lab Report That Will Not Die. It was due a week ago today. Sigh...I've never felt so clueless in my life. It was so frustrating, because I didn't know what I needed to do, let alone how to do it. I was very mad at myself for not paying attention in lecture that day. Fine time to learn that lesson, since the last lecture was Wednesday. For a while I was in the lab by myself, and for some reason I started to really REALLY miss home. So I found an internet zydeco/southern oldies type station, which made me feel a bit better. Even cooler, the song playing when I found the station was "Personality," by my cousin Lloyd Price. That was pretty nifty.
But then other people started to come in, and I kept finding and making more mistakes on The Stupid Lab of Evil. At one point I found out that I'd done yet another thing wrong and would have to start over. Tears were starting to well up....there's no crying in lab! But then "This Love" came on the radio, and Erika, Christine, and Niles spontaneously started to dance around and sing along. Needless to say, by the end of the first chorus I was doing it, too. Nothing like random silliness to get rid of frustration!
The end of pchem is soooo close, we can all practically taste it. And it makes us more than a little giddy. Some people are talking about having "I survived P-chem" shirts made; we'll see how that turns out.
I went from 12:30pm Wednesday till 5:30 pm Thursday without eating a meal. Because, given a choice between eating or sleeping, I will invariably sleep. I slept through dinner, and breakfast. And missed lunch because I had to catch my prof before he left. And turn in reimbursement forms and pick up my transcript. Anyway, food is for the weak.
I ate dinner before going to a physics lecture thing on the research my professor does. Yay, 9 bonus points. The stuff was actually pretty interesting...complex fluids. Which is what I'll be working with next year, only studying stuff like lipid bilayers rather than the glass transition.
Okay, back to work on The Damn Lab Report That Never Ends.
But then other people started to come in, and I kept finding and making more mistakes on The Stupid Lab of Evil. At one point I found out that I'd done yet another thing wrong and would have to start over. Tears were starting to well up....there's no crying in lab! But then "This Love" came on the radio, and Erika, Christine, and Niles spontaneously started to dance around and sing along. Needless to say, by the end of the first chorus I was doing it, too. Nothing like random silliness to get rid of frustration!
The end of pchem is soooo close, we can all practically taste it. And it makes us more than a little giddy. Some people are talking about having "I survived P-chem" shirts made; we'll see how that turns out.
I went from 12:30pm Wednesday till 5:30 pm Thursday without eating a meal. Because, given a choice between eating or sleeping, I will invariably sleep. I slept through dinner, and breakfast. And missed lunch because I had to catch my prof before he left. And turn in reimbursement forms and pick up my transcript. Anyway, food is for the weak.
I ate dinner before going to a physics lecture thing on the research my professor does. Yay, 9 bonus points. The stuff was actually pretty interesting...complex fluids. Which is what I'll be working with next year, only studying stuff like lipid bilayers rather than the glass transition.
Okay, back to work on The Damn Lab Report That Never Ends.
Whew. Finished what may be the worst paper I've ever written, in any language. The two pages I was so happy about at 4 am actually did turn out to be useless. I basically started over, working during chem, physics, and lab lecture. So now I have no idea what's going on in those classes. Vicious cycle. Serves me right for thinking I could churn out a French paper as quickly as a lab report. Stupid of me to start so late. Though once again, I'm glad I've kept my habit of writing papers by hand first, so I can work on them anywhere. It's done now, and I'm all about the happy thoughts.
Happy moments of the day:
*Lunch with Sally, even though I'm the most awkward human being alive when it comes to small talk.
*Needing to know the capital of Saskatchewan during lab.
*The extremely good looking computational chem grad student who lectured to us today.
*Zooming down the hallway in a rolling chair.
*The Easter package Mommy sent me...containing the only thing I love more than Peeps...PECAN EGGS!!!
*Calling home and being reminded of my good fortune to have a huge, supportive family- we set up the phoning network for tomorrow.
*Great weather
That's all for now. I have to sleep.
I think I could go on and on.
Happy moments of the day:
*Lunch with Sally, even though I'm the most awkward human being alive when it comes to small talk.
*Needing to know the capital of Saskatchewan during lab.
*The extremely good looking computational chem grad student who lectured to us today.
*Zooming down the hallway in a rolling chair.
*The Easter package Mommy sent me...containing the only thing I love more than Peeps...PECAN EGGS!!!
*Calling home and being reminded of my good fortune to have a huge, supportive family- we set up the phoning network for tomorrow.
*Great weather
That's all for now. I have to sleep.
I think I could go on and on.
- Mood:
content
Sometimes, when people say things to me that make no sense, they get a blank stare and an "Are you even speaking English?" I just thought that as I looked at this 'paper' I'm working on. Am I even speaking English? Of course not; it's a French paper. But am I making sense? No. I'm really just freewriting and hoping it makes sense later. That is the reason for sentences like "All her actions are futile and pointless." Since the paper's all about analyzing the actions of this character, I guess that last sentence renders writing the paper futile and pointless. Despite that, I have two pages.
French was a break from pchem, I went back to that and just have an abstract an conclusion left. I'm sure the professor will spend all of 2 seconds grading it. Why do I even try so hard? I use "try hard" loosely. I have no endurance...my semesters start out pretty well, but towards the end everything just plummets. Kerplunk.
I skipped quiz bowl practice...looks like nominations have started.
You know what's annoying? People with long email signatures on learnlink. I suppose a 'Class of 2006' or whatever is tolerable. But do I really need to see what degree you're getting? And where you plan to go to grad school? And SIX of your favorite quotes?? And the rows of ~~XX~~XX~~XX~~XX~~ or ~|~|~|~|~|~|~ or <>0<>0<>0<>0<>0<>0<>0<>0<>0<> as spacers?? Ahhh.
French was a break from pchem, I went back to that and just have an abstract an conclusion left. I'm sure the professor will spend all of 2 seconds grading it. Why do I even try so hard? I use "try hard" loosely. I have no endurance...my semesters start out pretty well, but towards the end everything just plummets. Kerplunk.
I skipped quiz bowl practice...looks like nominations have started.
You know what's annoying? People with long email signatures on learnlink. I suppose a 'Class of 2006' or whatever is tolerable. But do I really need to see what degree you're getting? And where you plan to go to grad school? And SIX of your favorite quotes?? And the rows of ~~XX~~XX~~XX~~XX~~ or ~|~|~|~|~|~|~ or <>0<>0<>0<>0<>0<>0<>0<>0<>0<> as spacers?? Ahhh.
Just got back. Had sooooo much fun. The tournament was great; one of the best-run tournaments I've ever been to.
( Ramblings! )
Now, I've got so much work to catch up on, I might cry.
( Ramblings! )
Now, I've got so much work to catch up on, I might cry.
I'm in a highly distracted state. That's why I'm not panicking nearly as much as I should be. Everything is under control.
Since I have taken my last physics exam until the final, all my notes and assignments are stacked nicely in a corner. They await the hours of studying I'll probably put in, hoping to ace the final like I did last semester.
My qchem notes are also in a corner, in no particular order, because I just can't be bothered to go through them right now. I think I have an exam in two weeks. Yes...exactly two weeks from today.
I have an anthro exam a week from tomorrow. I'm bringing the book to read in the car, because I cannot think of a better time to read anthro.
I have a French paper due, the rough draft at least, a week from tomorrow as well. I keep most due dates in my head instead of a calendar. Funny, I manage the assignments and stuff for five classes in my head, but I need a post-it note to remind me to watch "The O.C." at 9. ANYWAY, I plan on getting most of that paper written in the car as well. I need secondary sources, but I can wait to find the ones that suit my paper.
I have a pchem lab report due Monday! If I have a wonderful burst of productivity right now, I may actually be able to finish the data analysis, print it out, and use it to write most of the report over the weekend.
The goal for this weekend is to win ONE match. I should've studied a lot more for this competition, but oh well! The most amazing quiz bowl players have very poor grades, because they don't study for their actual classes. In fact, one whose name struck fear into my heart last year, had to leave school and works at an Arby's or something now. Not that there's anything wrong with working there; it's just silly that anyone could have flunked out of school because they studied too much.
Okay, time for that wonderful burst of productivity. I'll write alllll about Nationals when I get back.
Edited to add: So much for that burst of productivity. Damn data's screwy, I'm getting negative values for time, it's a mess. So that'll have to wait until Monday too. I can see the report now.."We were very successful; results were achieved before the experiment began."
Since I have taken my last physics exam until the final, all my notes and assignments are stacked nicely in a corner. They await the hours of studying I'll probably put in, hoping to ace the final like I did last semester.
My qchem notes are also in a corner, in no particular order, because I just can't be bothered to go through them right now. I think I have an exam in two weeks. Yes...exactly two weeks from today.
I have an anthro exam a week from tomorrow. I'm bringing the book to read in the car, because I cannot think of a better time to read anthro.
I have a French paper due, the rough draft at least, a week from tomorrow as well. I keep most due dates in my head instead of a calendar. Funny, I manage the assignments and stuff for five classes in my head, but I need a post-it note to remind me to watch "The O.C." at 9. ANYWAY, I plan on getting most of that paper written in the car as well. I need secondary sources, but I can wait to find the ones that suit my paper.
I have a pchem lab report due Monday! If I have a wonderful burst of productivity right now, I may actually be able to finish the data analysis, print it out, and use it to write most of the report over the weekend.
The goal for this weekend is to win ONE match. I should've studied a lot more for this competition, but oh well! The most amazing quiz bowl players have very poor grades, because they don't study for their actual classes. In fact, one whose name struck fear into my heart last year, had to leave school and works at an Arby's or something now. Not that there's anything wrong with working there; it's just silly that anyone could have flunked out of school because they studied too much.
Okay, time for that wonderful burst of productivity. I'll write alllll about Nationals when I get back.
Edited to add: So much for that burst of productivity. Damn data's screwy, I'm getting negative values for time, it's a mess. So that'll have to wait until Monday too. I can see the report now.."We were very successful; results were achieved before the experiment began."
- Mood:
bouncy - Music:"All I Need" - mb20
Physics test was NOT GOOD, as I knew it'd be when I saw that it was on the beige paper. I do not do well on beige physics tests. Blue or green, I own. Beige, not so much. It feels like I studied all the wrong things! Like, he took things we covered very briefly, and made whole pages of the exam about them. I think there may be curvage. I didn't even finish! The last time I didn't finish, I got a 74 with the curve. I hope I did a little better than that. If I make above an 80, I'm still in good shape.
I was planning to come back and sleep the afternoon away, but as I was walking away, someone mentioned trying to get something done before lab lecture...right. Lab lecture.
So after lunch, I went back to the chem building. I decided to plan my class registration, which I'll have to do Monday night. Or, never. Because I highly doubt the classes I plan on taking will fill up. Unfortunately, next semester's schedule combines two things I said I'd never do again: THREE classes in a row, Tuesday and Thursday...Bio, Inorganic chem, Molecular Modeling...starting at 8:30! Shoot me in the face! I'm told having Orloff will be worth the 8:30 class. And the three science class combo sounds a lot less sleep-inducing than French/Anthro.
I can't take any of the P.E. classes I wanted, nor Studies in Modern Lit. So MWF I'll probably take the King Arthur class, and bio lab one of those days. OR, I will have Chem 499R, which is Undergraduate Research. I decided to try for Dr. Kindt's group, studying molecular self-assembly. Sounds SUPER-COOL, eh? I meet with him Monday at 9, so we'll see how that goes.
I need to pack for St. Louis now. It's colder there.
I was planning to come back and sleep the afternoon away, but as I was walking away, someone mentioned trying to get something done before lab lecture...right. Lab lecture.
So after lunch, I went back to the chem building. I decided to plan my class registration, which I'll have to do Monday night. Or, never. Because I highly doubt the classes I plan on taking will fill up. Unfortunately, next semester's schedule combines two things I said I'd never do again: THREE classes in a row, Tuesday and Thursday...Bio, Inorganic chem, Molecular Modeling...starting at 8:30! Shoot me in the face! I'm told having Orloff will be worth the 8:30 class. And the three science class combo sounds a lot less sleep-inducing than French/Anthro.
I can't take any of the P.E. classes I wanted, nor Studies in Modern Lit. So MWF I'll probably take the King Arthur class, and bio lab one of those days. OR, I will have Chem 499R, which is Undergraduate Research. I decided to try for Dr. Kindt's group, studying molecular self-assembly. Sounds SUPER-COOL, eh? I meet with him Monday at 9, so we'll see how that goes.
I need to pack for St. Louis now. It's colder there.
I went to the Gatehouse Grill and struck up a conversation with the lady at the grill. I don't actually know her name, but that's okay because she doesn't know mine either.
Our conversation started off about March Madness but ended up being about St. Louis. Which is where she's from. I mentioned that I'll be in St. Louis this coming weekend. She thought that was pretty neat, and asked me why I was going. Answering honestly, I said "Academic Team competition, at Wash U." She thought that was really neat. And started to go on and on about Forsythe field, where I'd be playing? I realized that she thought I'd said "track team", which kinda makes sense? After all, who hears about academic teams? And Washington University is in our conference...
She asked me what my event is. Now, I could've corrected her. But did I? No. Why? Because I panicked. I hate awkward moments. And that would've been superawkward for me. Because I would've had to be like, "No you fool, I didn't say track team!" Then I would have had to explain Academic Team. I was already way out of my comfort zone by striking up a conversation in the first place. So I said, "Shot put." That's okay, right? She didn't ask "What event will you be competing in this weekend?" I have done shot put before, so if any one event could be called "mine," it'd be shot put.
I was the best girl putter (shot put person?) on my middle school track team. There were only two of us, but still. I consistently finished ahead of my fellow putter. In second-to-last place. The entire team sucked, because like, none of us actually wanted to do track and field. BUT. We got all the electric-blue powerade we could drink. Oh the good times.
Exam studying update: I can't do the problems involving AC circuits, RL circuits, motional EMF, or anything about inductance, really. That's all I need to learn.
Our conversation started off about March Madness but ended up being about St. Louis. Which is where she's from. I mentioned that I'll be in St. Louis this coming weekend. She thought that was pretty neat, and asked me why I was going. Answering honestly, I said "Academic Team competition, at Wash U." She thought that was really neat. And started to go on and on about Forsythe field, where I'd be playing? I realized that she thought I'd said "track team", which kinda makes sense? After all, who hears about academic teams? And Washington University is in our conference...
She asked me what my event is. Now, I could've corrected her. But did I? No. Why? Because I panicked. I hate awkward moments. And that would've been superawkward for me. Because I would've had to be like, "No you fool, I didn't say track team!" Then I would have had to explain Academic Team. I was already way out of my comfort zone by striking up a conversation in the first place. So I said, "Shot put." That's okay, right? She didn't ask "What event will you be competing in this weekend?" I have done shot put before, so if any one event could be called "mine," it'd be shot put.
I was the best girl putter (shot put person?) on my middle school track team. There were only two of us, but still. I consistently finished ahead of my fellow putter. In second-to-last place. The entire team sucked, because like, none of us actually wanted to do track and field. BUT. We got all the electric-blue powerade we could drink. Oh the good times.
Exam studying update: I can't do the problems involving AC circuits, RL circuits, motional EMF, or anything about inductance, really. That's all I need to learn.
I was at the chem building bright and early this morning to help out with state Science Olympiad. Why? Free breakfast, free lunch, and my second free t-shirt in as many days. Plus it's fun. I'm glad I wore my sneakers, though, because I've been running a lot. During the first block, I was supposed to help out with Astronomy. But the event coordinator didn't show up. He still hasn't shown up. So this guy will be forever categorized as 'inconsiderate jackass' in my mind, unless he has one hell of an excuse. Seriously, it'd better involve the hospital. I know how hard I worked on Olympiad stuff when I was in high school, and I know at least some of the kids concentrated on Astronomy as their primary event. To have all that not count because some physics grad student decided to oversleep or something...grr.
Watching the events unfold, it has struck me just how hardcore Baton Rouge High (my school) was. I helped with Write-it Do-it. Basically, for this event there's a writer and (surprise!) a do-er. The writer is shown a thingamabob (constructed from legos, lincoln logs, whatever) and has to describe it and write instructions for the do-er to build it. So, we had a couple of teams disqualified because their writer and do-er didn't show up together and they both ended up seeing the whatsit...and we've had writers show up with only like, five minutes left...that would have NEVER happened when I was doing Olympiad. We found rooms beforehand. Within ten minutes of your event start time, you had to be with your partner, with your equipment, on the way to the room, OR ELSE.
Hardcore geekdom.
I also look at these kids and think "This is the future of quizbowl. Study hard, children."
( More details on the doohickey )
Some teams did freakishly well, and others...were interesting. One writer ran out of time and scrawled "Just be creative!!" Needless to say, that was not a winner.
Watching the events unfold, it has struck me just how hardcore Baton Rouge High (my school) was. I helped with Write-it Do-it. Basically, for this event there's a writer and (surprise!) a do-er. The writer is shown a thingamabob (constructed from legos, lincoln logs, whatever) and has to describe it and write instructions for the do-er to build it. So, we had a couple of teams disqualified because their writer and do-er didn't show up together and they both ended up seeing the whatsit...and we've had writers show up with only like, five minutes left...that would have NEVER happened when I was doing Olympiad. We found rooms beforehand. Within ten minutes of your event start time, you had to be with your partner, with your equipment, on the way to the room, OR ELSE.
Hardcore geekdom.
I also look at these kids and think "This is the future of quizbowl. Study hard, children."
( More details on the doohickey )
Some teams did freakishly well, and others...were interesting. One writer ran out of time and scrawled "Just be creative!!" Needless to say, that was not a winner.
A prospective student sat in on my physics class today. And he had the most glorious mullet that I've ever seen. Very business up front, with a severe part and that immovable, lacquered look. But in the back, it fell in glorious ringlets past his shoulders into a rattail thing. I could not stop staring. Maybe he lost a bet or something.
Only at Emory...would people in line for lunch hear "I Like the Way You Move" and immediately make way for a skeleton and his six black-clad bodyguards. Dooley is SOOOOO sexy. I don't really think that, but I did shout it as loud as I could in front of everybody at Cox Hall. Why? Free t-shirt. Embarassment may come and embarassment may go, but free Dooley's week t-shirts last....longer.
Went out to eat with some people to celebrate Laura's bday. Much fun was had by all. Danielle earned Quote of the Day honors with: "Wait...reindeer are real animals??" and a few seconds later "...they don't really fly, do they?" If only I could've kept a straight face long enough to say yes.
Sleep time.
Only at Emory...would people in line for lunch hear "I Like the Way You Move" and immediately make way for a skeleton and his six black-clad bodyguards. Dooley is SOOOOO sexy. I don't really think that, but I did shout it as loud as I could in front of everybody at Cox Hall. Why? Free t-shirt. Embarassment may come and embarassment may go, but free Dooley's week t-shirts last....longer.
Went out to eat with some people to celebrate Laura's bday. Much fun was had by all. Danielle earned Quote of the Day honors with: "Wait...reindeer are real animals??" and a few seconds later "...they don't really fly, do they?" If only I could've kept a straight face long enough to say yes.
Sleep time.
I'm such a bad Scholar. I completely forgot that it's Scholar's Weekend. I definitely could've gone to the Meet and Greet (Meet and Eat) today, to welcome the "prospies" as they arrived from the airport. They'll be interviewing tomorrow through Saturday, and every spare moment will be occupied by all sorts of activities. I could go to some of the fun stuff, but I don't have time to live this week. I cannot believe that it's been two years since I was in their shoes. I was soooo nervous! I was also upset that I would be missing some basketball games, as it was March Madness then, too. All we had time for were a few updates. In fact, that's how Alex and I became friends...we were the only two people to gasp out loud when it was announced, "By the way, Indiana beat Duke." Oh, the good times.
Speaking of Alex, today she succeeded at making me believe, for a few seconds, that our physics exam was not in a week, but this Friday. I'm sure the look on my face was great...y'know, confusion meets disbelief meets panic meets despair. I'll get her back soon.
For the curious...I finished that silly website project. Nobody cares about zeolites.
I talked to Dr. Kaufmann about entering the Honors program. He was like, "Would you be interested in doing projects involving quantum calculations?" I was like, "Um...yeah...ask me again when I'm done with your class." But I have a little while to decide...we'll see.
I've also finished two lab reports. I like Productive LaKedra.
Speaking of Alex, today she succeeded at making me believe, for a few seconds, that our physics exam was not in a week, but this Friday. I'm sure the look on my face was great...y'know, confusion meets disbelief meets panic meets despair. I'll get her back soon.
For the curious...I finished that silly website project. Nobody cares about zeolites.
I talked to Dr. Kaufmann about entering the Honors program. He was like, "Would you be interested in doing projects involving quantum calculations?" I was like, "Um...yeah...ask me again when I'm done with your class." But I have a little while to decide...we'll see.
I've also finished two lab reports. I like Productive LaKedra.
Another update from the pchem lab! A-woohoo! Apparently, I'm not the only person to update lj from here. We should start a community. Only...not.
"Gumby is this color." I can't explain it, and even if I could, it wouldn't be funny to anyone who wasn't there. But that single phrase definitely made my day. Maybe even my week. And I definitely need a week-maker.
By the end of the day, I plan to have completed three lab reports. Because if I don't...it'll suck. And I have lab again Friday! So if I'm not careful I could have SIX incompleted papers looming over my head, ruining my life. Scream. Collapse. Die.
"Gumby is this color." I can't explain it, and even if I could, it wouldn't be funny to anyone who wasn't there. But that single phrase definitely made my day. Maybe even my week. And I definitely need a week-maker.
By the end of the day, I plan to have completed three lab reports. Because if I don't...it'll suck. And I have lab again Friday! So if I'm not careful I could have SIX incompleted papers looming over my head, ruining my life. Scream. Collapse. Die.
The studying I did over spring break definitely paid off. The score I got on the second qchem exam beat my score on the first one by thirty points. Thirty! I didn't want to seem gloaty, but I definitely felt like jumping for joy when I got the exam back. And I'm sure I was grinning like an idiot. I feel kinda bad, though, because none of the people I studied with did as well. You'd think we'd all get similar grades, because we went over every single lecture together, and studied each other's notes. It's not like I held back information or anything. I'm not evil. Honest!
Today was just a blur of classes and lab and meetings and more meetings and projects and homework. I'm so tired, I walked into the wall on my way to the bathroom. Just...smack into the wall.
Today was just a blur of classes and lab and meetings and more meetings and projects and homework. I'm so tired, I walked into the wall on my way to the bathroom. Just...smack into the wall.
- Mood:
drained
The first part of my day went pretty well. I got my French midterm back; the professor's comments on it included "I hope you're planning to major in French!" Needless to say, I'm happy with the grade I got. Then in anthro, we took a quiz that I definitely passed. I'm pretty sure I missed the question about the three types of interviews, though. Freaking ethnography. After the quiz, I spent the rest of the lecture pondering my brackets. And after getting lunch, I went to the pchem lab and did more bracket pondering. Honestly, you'd think I didn't have a huge exam to be studying for or anything.
Physics lab was okay. I'm getting tired of stupid labs where nobody knows nor cares what is going on. It's pointless, and we shouldn't have to do it.
After lab I worked on the physics homework with some people. I'm getting tired of stupid people who don't even look at the homework before we meet. They annoy me and waste my time. The group work is supposed to be for checking answers, not giving answers to morons who don't even crack open the book. I mean, I feel guilty if I go into group work without having tried on my own first. It defeats the purpose of collaborating if everybody goes in clueless! This person also annoyed me by not paying attention (so we had to repeat everything we said fifty times), and by not knowing math. Cosine is adjacent over freaking hypotenuse. If you are a third-year science major, that should be second freaking nature for you. I should not have to draw you a freaking picture to drill 11th-grade math into your freaking head.
Then I got the mother of all headaches, probably partly caused by that annoyance. At least, it was the mother of all headaches for me. I have the good fortune to get headaches very rarely, so ANY headache is bad. I'm sure chronic migraine sufferers would laugh in the face of the headache I had, but it was definitely what I imagined a migraine to be like. I wanted to throw up, cry, gouge my eyes out (to block the light), and die...not necessarily in that order. It was baaaaad. Then it went away.
So those were the highlights/lowlights of my day. I gotta go get my green pants out of the dryer now, then study more qchem!
Physics lab was okay. I'm getting tired of stupid labs where nobody knows nor cares what is going on. It's pointless, and we shouldn't have to do it.
After lab I worked on the physics homework with some people. I'm getting tired of stupid people who don't even look at the homework before we meet. They annoy me and waste my time. The group work is supposed to be for checking answers, not giving answers to morons who don't even crack open the book. I mean, I feel guilty if I go into group work without having tried on my own first. It defeats the purpose of collaborating if everybody goes in clueless! This person also annoyed me by not paying attention (so we had to repeat everything we said fifty times), and by not knowing math. Cosine is adjacent over freaking hypotenuse. If you are a third-year science major, that should be second freaking nature for you. I should not have to draw you a freaking picture to drill 11th-grade math into your freaking head.
Then I got the mother of all headaches, probably partly caused by that annoyance. At least, it was the mother of all headaches for me. I have the good fortune to get headaches very rarely, so ANY headache is bad. I'm sure chronic migraine sufferers would laugh in the face of the headache I had, but it was definitely what I imagined a migraine to be like. I wanted to throw up, cry, gouge my eyes out (to block the light), and die...not necessarily in that order. It was baaaaad. Then it went away.
So those were the highlights/lowlights of my day. I gotta go get my green pants out of the dryer now, then study more qchem!
Updating from chem lab, for (I think) the first time this semester. Oh, the good times. Today's lab involves the base-catalyzed hydrolysis of an ester. Makes me all nostalgic for orgo. The days when I could write out mechanisms in my sleep. And the days when that was the hardest thing I had to do. Sigh. Bitterness is high...we're all sick of pchem, but way too far along to quit now.
Neither of my classes was cancelled today. Qchem was the usual...wait until the board's full, then scribble down pages of incomprehensible squiggles. Zone out. Repeat. Then, in physics, Dr. Weeks handed out a reading quiz. The groans quickly turned into laughter, though:
1. Today is: a)The day before Spring Break, b)Halloween, c)Tuesday.
2. Should you get full credit for this reading quiz? a) Yes, b) I'd rather not.
3. Today's reading was about a) Something to do with physics, b) Making origami magnets, c) A recipe for magnet soup.
Then he showed us liquid magnets that we got to pass around. Yay. It's great that I can go from feeling in way over my head (in chem) to feeling like I'm in middle school, within twenty minutes. Of course, physics goes over my head too, but Weeks makes it seem fun and easy.
It really doesn't feel like spring break time. I think this is the first time since I started college that I haven't been super-eager to go home. I may I have the feeling that I'm going to come back after next week, more drained than I am now.
Oh well.
Neither of my classes was cancelled today. Qchem was the usual...wait until the board's full, then scribble down pages of incomprehensible squiggles. Zone out. Repeat. Then, in physics, Dr. Weeks handed out a reading quiz. The groans quickly turned into laughter, though:
1. Today is: a)The day before Spring Break, b)Halloween, c)Tuesday.
2. Should you get full credit for this reading quiz? a) Yes, b) I'd rather not.
3. Today's reading was about a) Something to do with physics, b) Making origami magnets, c) A recipe for magnet soup.
Then he showed us liquid magnets that we got to pass around. Yay. It's great that I can go from feeling in way over my head (in chem) to feeling like I'm in middle school, within twenty minutes. Of course, physics goes over my head too, but Weeks makes it seem fun and easy.
It really doesn't feel like spring break time. I think this is the first time since I started college that I haven't been super-eager to go home. I may I have the feeling that I'm going to come back after next week, more drained than I am now.
Oh well.
- Music:"The Sun"- Maroon 5
Fall 2004 course atlas is out, bay-bee!
So. What should I take?
Bio 141 is kinda necessary; apparently med schools like that. And it'd suck to decide I want to go to med school and NOT BE ABLE TO BECAUSE OF NO BIO!
Chemistry: Choices are Inorganic, or Biochem. (both?) The only qualm about biochem is the ludicrous-ness of being in biochem and intro bio...at the same time. And about taking both...spring semester I HAVE to take analytical, and the combination of the three could very well kick my ass (says the person taking two pchems and physics).
French: Classical lit isn't offered in the fall, so the only choice is Modern lit. And some honors seminar, which I'm not really feeling at the moment.
PE: I could stick one of those in anywhere, maybe the relaxation or the self-defense class.
Other fun options: Intro to Computer Science? Arthurian Legend? Cross-Dressing in Literature? Hehe, that last one is soooo Emory.
Comments? Suggestions? The one rule is, no 8:30 classes. I'm not that strong a woman.
So. What should I take?
Bio 141 is kinda necessary; apparently med schools like that. And it'd suck to decide I want to go to med school and NOT BE ABLE TO BECAUSE OF NO BIO!
Chemistry: Choices are Inorganic, or Biochem. (both?) The only qualm about biochem is the ludicrous-ness of being in biochem and intro bio...at the same time. And about taking both...spring semester I HAVE to take analytical, and the combination of the three could very well kick my ass (says the person taking two pchems and physics).
French: Classical lit isn't offered in the fall, so the only choice is Modern lit. And some honors seminar, which I'm not really feeling at the moment.
PE: I could stick one of those in anywhere, maybe the relaxation or the self-defense class.
Other fun options: Intro to Computer Science? Arthurian Legend? Cross-Dressing in Literature? Hehe, that last one is soooo Emory.
Comments? Suggestions? The one rule is, no 8:30 classes. I'm not that strong a woman.