This is the semester that would not end...it goes on and on my friend...
Whew. Most of my work is done. I have only the Peer Teaching reponse paper to write and a re-draft of my project proposal. Before I can write that latter, I need to have a fully planned novel outline (or at least, something that'll pass as such). I met with my director and I'm feeling a bit more confident in how this project will turn out. But still. I'm almost done.
While listening to the endless, pointless, and boring-as-hell computer presentations (seriously, you could pick any topic in the world and people chose topics such as El Nino, online shopping, the new iPad, and immigration...) I composed a list of the novels I've read since the semester began. Since January 11, I've read 14 novels. About half of those were Discworld novels, thankfully.
Perhaps ironically, the most difficult thing I have left to do is request letters of recommendation from some of my professors. I hate asking this of them. I also hate the potential that I might get rejected and the awkwardness that would come of them saying, "I'm sorry, I don't think I can write one for you" or "I don't know you well enough." I'm praying that this doesn't happen. I just have to grit my teeth and do it.
This morning I woke up at 5am to study for the last biochemistry quiz. I, as usual, over-estimated the time I would need to commit most of that stuff to short-term memory, but I really don't want to take the final, so I wanted to ensure that I did well on this one. Then, when I got back to my room, I looked up the syllabus and, after doing the math, found out that I could have, in all seriousness, made a 0 and still get an A in the class without the final. That was a relief. Of course, I ended up getting a 20 out of 20 points. So, yeah. I have a 98% in there. I feel old saying this, but if I were younger and more enthusiastic as I was last year, I would be tempted to take the final without studying (it wouldn't hurt my grade in this case) just to see how I did. I'm not even considering it now.
I also feel like a heel. The rugby End of the Year party was today. I took a nap instead. Then I went to go see The Losers with a friend. I actually have no regrets.
While I'm on the topic, The Losers was a fantastic movie. It was just as good as I thought it would be (though, dammit, it was under two hours). The cast was supremely hot badass. My friend and I are going to plan to see it again on Sunday. Seriously. It was amazing. And they set it up for a sequel. Also, Iron Man 2 comes out by May 7. I'm really surprised it's that early. And this may be due to intellectual exhaustion, but I have no intention of checking out the comic that The Losers was based off of. Maybe once school's been out for a while...
I'm still having a hard time picturing the guy who played Jensen as Captain America. He was definitely one of the best parts and most drool-worthy of the movie, but I can't see him as the serious and stern leader that Captain America is. He also seems to be a bit on the scrawny side (that is, compared to Steve Rogers who would make most body builders seem scrawny). If he can drop the motor-mouth image and goofiness (which, I admit, does make him appealing) then he may have a change. Also, I'll admit that part of me is biased: I'm still rather disappointed that Mark Valley didn't get the part. I mean, he would be absolutely perfect. He has both the looks (I mean, his chin and eyes are spot-on Steve Rogers), the build, and the personality. That he has been drafted for the part shows how screwed up this world is.
I'm getting kind of worried. My memory is not what it was. I've also realized that I think of science like people think of sudoku or crossword puzzles: it's a game, a challenge. I don't care about the applications of science and I certainly don't care about research. Biology appealed to me because of the complexity of living systems (which explains my preference for molecular biology) and how everything fits together. It's an exercise in memory and logic and dovetailing concepts. That's all. It's challenging. I certainly don't have any motivation to contribute to the body of knowledge. There's nothing in biology that I want to do. I want(ed?) to go to med school because it seems challenging and I want(ed?) to learn every detail I could about human physiology. But now I'm questioning that. Why do I want this knowledge? What can I do with it? Sure, I can "help" people, but does that "help" require such in depth (and thus possibly pointless) knowledge such as the name of all the folds of cartilage of the outer ear and other minutia?
Then again, I have almost no idea what I want to do. I'm kinda thinking a change of sorts might be in order. Being in this situation would be rather frustrating if I had the energy for such emotion...
I wonder if there's another (pointless) name for acute apathy...
While listening to the endless, pointless, and boring-as-hell computer presentations (seriously, you could pick any topic in the world and people chose topics such as El Nino, online shopping, the new iPad, and immigration...) I composed a list of the novels I've read since the semester began. Since January 11, I've read 14 novels. About half of those were Discworld novels, thankfully.
Perhaps ironically, the most difficult thing I have left to do is request letters of recommendation from some of my professors. I hate asking this of them. I also hate the potential that I might get rejected and the awkwardness that would come of them saying, "I'm sorry, I don't think I can write one for you" or "I don't know you well enough." I'm praying that this doesn't happen. I just have to grit my teeth and do it.
This morning I woke up at 5am to study for the last biochemistry quiz. I, as usual, over-estimated the time I would need to commit most of that stuff to short-term memory, but I really don't want to take the final, so I wanted to ensure that I did well on this one. Then, when I got back to my room, I looked up the syllabus and, after doing the math, found out that I could have, in all seriousness, made a 0 and still get an A in the class without the final. That was a relief. Of course, I ended up getting a 20 out of 20 points. So, yeah. I have a 98% in there. I feel old saying this, but if I were younger and more enthusiastic as I was last year, I would be tempted to take the final without studying (it wouldn't hurt my grade in this case) just to see how I did. I'm not even considering it now.
I also feel like a heel. The rugby End of the Year party was today. I took a nap instead. Then I went to go see The Losers with a friend. I actually have no regrets.
While I'm on the topic, The Losers was a fantastic movie. It was just as good as I thought it would be (though, dammit, it was under two hours). The cast was supremely hot badass. My friend and I are going to plan to see it again on Sunday. Seriously. It was amazing. And they set it up for a sequel. Also, Iron Man 2 comes out by May 7. I'm really surprised it's that early. And this may be due to intellectual exhaustion, but I have no intention of checking out the comic that The Losers was based off of. Maybe once school's been out for a while...
I'm still having a hard time picturing the guy who played Jensen as Captain America. He was definitely one of the best parts and most drool-worthy of the movie, but I can't see him as the serious and stern leader that Captain America is. He also seems to be a bit on the scrawny side (that is, compared to Steve Rogers who would make most body builders seem scrawny). If he can drop the motor-mouth image and goofiness (which, I admit, does make him appealing) then he may have a change. Also, I'll admit that part of me is biased: I'm still rather disappointed that Mark Valley didn't get the part. I mean, he would be absolutely perfect. He has both the looks (I mean, his chin and eyes are spot-on Steve Rogers), the build, and the personality. That he has been drafted for the part shows how screwed up this world is.
I'm getting kind of worried. My memory is not what it was. I've also realized that I think of science like people think of sudoku or crossword puzzles: it's a game, a challenge. I don't care about the applications of science and I certainly don't care about research. Biology appealed to me because of the complexity of living systems (which explains my preference for molecular biology) and how everything fits together. It's an exercise in memory and logic and dovetailing concepts. That's all. It's challenging. I certainly don't have any motivation to contribute to the body of knowledge. There's nothing in biology that I want to do. I want(ed?) to go to med school because it seems challenging and I want(ed?) to learn every detail I could about human physiology. But now I'm questioning that. Why do I want this knowledge? What can I do with it? Sure, I can "help" people, but does that "help" require such in depth (and thus possibly pointless) knowledge such as the name of all the folds of cartilage of the outer ear and other minutia?
Then again, I have almost no idea what I want to do. I'm kinda thinking a change of sorts might be in order. Being in this situation would be rather frustrating if I had the energy for such emotion...
I wonder if there's another (pointless) name for acute apathy...