finals week
Dec. 19th, 2003 06:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jinianMonday: Chemistry
Got up early and went in to school to study, since I can't really trust myself to do it at home. Chemistry has been discouraging all quarter, and it's been really hard not to fall back into the good old high-school fuckit response. So I could feel like I'd done all I could, I took my giant textbook to school with me (and it did come in handy for finding redox equations to poke at). I took a couple of hours to read over my notes, write summaries of the stuff I needed to remember really well, and practice a few things I was rusty on. Then lunch break with supermarket sushi, then hanging around with classmates waiting for the previous final to finish, then test.
The really good thing about this test was that the professor came early and stayed late so we could have more time. He tends to give long tests, which is a large part of why I've done less well on them: no time to fix foolish mistakes, and no relaxation so I don't make them in the first place. But he gave us three hours for the final, when we should have had two by the schedule. Since it was twice as long as his one-hour tests, that was just about enough time. (I finished, with lots of error-checking, in 2:45.) I think I did pretty well with the extra time, but I'll have to wait and see how my grades turn out.
(Oh, and: Came home. Went flop.)
Tuesday: Calculus
Frittered the morning away, then spent the afternoon doing the review problems the professor had given us. I wasn't completely sure I'd been in class for all the work he wanted us to turn in, so I was going to turn the review problems in for extra credit if I was short points. Besides, review is always a good idea, even if I know the material really well. Didn't get them all done in time to catch the bus that allowed me to stop at the library, though, so I went down to school with only most of them.
Books! (The Bowl of Night, Kushiel's Avatar, Household Gods, Ashling.)
Got to school a little early, but not enough so to finish the problem set. I was early enough to have a snack but managed not to think of it. Oops. The test turned out to be pretty easy, with a large portion of the points coming from a selection of the exact problems off the review sheet. Could've written those from memory. The most interesting problem was the one asking for the tangent line from the graph of e^x that goes through the origin, which was kinda fun. Finished in --> one hour. I think it's safe to say I kicked some ass.
Oh, and the teacher said not to worry about any missed classwork. Yay!
Came home, had dinner, rejoiced a bit, pretty much went flop.
Wednesday: Chosen-family holiday party!
Wim and I got a Flexcar pickup in the morning and went up to Swanson's to find a live Christmas tree. We poked around a lot and didn't find all that much, but we did get to see the reindeer they have in a pen. We talked about it while looking and decided we wanted a native tree (I think I was more focused on that than Wim was), and eventually, after looking at every tree in the place, we found one that would work and that we really liked. I kind of fixated on it, actually. :) Somehow the outdoor cashier was closed, so we had to beg the girl in the poinsettia greenhouse to check us out, but she was nice once we all figured out what needed to happen. Also they had hot spiced cider.
Quick uninteresting stop at PCC for food bits. Tree in back of car made us very happy. Also, it was a beautiful day. Not very cold, and clear and sunny. We could see the mountains.
We unloaded groceries and tree at the house, then Wim zoomed off to return the slightly late Flexcar and go to work. Dad came by to bring me the tree ornaments that my parents got for me every year until my 19th, plus some colored lights, and we walked around the yard. Then I cleaned and tidied and cooked all afternoon.
Eli and Annemarie and Wim and Deb all showed up between about 8 and 9, and we had lentil soup for dinner. There was hot cider, because Swanson's had put ideas in our heads, and cookie-making and cookie-frosting and cookie-eating and lots of conversation. We all decorated the tree together, though I think I put on most of the ornaments and I know I hogged the lights. Everyone made fun of (was extremely cuted by) my childhood ornaments, especially the ones I'd made. Somehow we were all very comfortable, at least I think so, and it made me incredibly happy. Some presents changed hands, and I think everyone was pleased with those too. And after a while we were all sitting around happy, and I said we needed our pajamas, and people agreed. We shut out the lights, except for the tree ones, and sat around with blankets instead. I guess I can't really convey what was so wonderful about all this, but I sit here even now and look over at my little green-lit grand fir (needles smell like tangerine! really!) and Homer the plush pig still over there on the floor, and I'm so happy I could cry. All you guys are the best.
Despite my inability to say just what went on, things went on until about 2 am, and then we all went home and (I certainly hope all we sleep-mundanes) went to sleep.
Thursday: Still really accomplished
Sewed together the top of the baby blanket, finally. Also put it in the laundry, since it had gotten a little dirty and had some trimming marks, and discovered that one of the square-makers was insufficiently clueful about water solubility. There is a very faint ghost now on the square of everything that was there before. Maybe I was dreaming before when I thought I could get the blanket to the kidlet before Christmas, but there's no way now. My plan is to recreate the design myself. I just hope I get all the people's names right.
I slew three boxes, which is pretty good, even if some of their guts are still on the living room floor, and get this: I found the Ws! They're shelf supports for my largest bookshelf, and I'd been hunting for them since we moved in. Finally found them! So my bookshelf is all put together now, providing extra space for further valiant box-slaying.
And I tidied up after the party (at least mostly, I did say the pig was still on the floor near the tree) and bravely threw myself on unexploded cookies.
Friday I have told you about. Apart from the yard stuff, all I've done is read, smooch Wim, eat, be grumpy about the baby square, drink tea, and call Deb. Later we plan to go get waterproof fabric markers and remake that square.
Got up early and went in to school to study, since I can't really trust myself to do it at home. Chemistry has been discouraging all quarter, and it's been really hard not to fall back into the good old high-school fuckit response. So I could feel like I'd done all I could, I took my giant textbook to school with me (and it did come in handy for finding redox equations to poke at). I took a couple of hours to read over my notes, write summaries of the stuff I needed to remember really well, and practice a few things I was rusty on. Then lunch break with supermarket sushi, then hanging around with classmates waiting for the previous final to finish, then test.
The really good thing about this test was that the professor came early and stayed late so we could have more time. He tends to give long tests, which is a large part of why I've done less well on them: no time to fix foolish mistakes, and no relaxation so I don't make them in the first place. But he gave us three hours for the final, when we should have had two by the schedule. Since it was twice as long as his one-hour tests, that was just about enough time. (I finished, with lots of error-checking, in 2:45.) I think I did pretty well with the extra time, but I'll have to wait and see how my grades turn out.
(Oh, and: Came home. Went flop.)
Tuesday: Calculus
Frittered the morning away, then spent the afternoon doing the review problems the professor had given us. I wasn't completely sure I'd been in class for all the work he wanted us to turn in, so I was going to turn the review problems in for extra credit if I was short points. Besides, review is always a good idea, even if I know the material really well. Didn't get them all done in time to catch the bus that allowed me to stop at the library, though, so I went down to school with only most of them.
Books! (The Bowl of Night, Kushiel's Avatar, Household Gods, Ashling.)
Got to school a little early, but not enough so to finish the problem set. I was early enough to have a snack but managed not to think of it. Oops. The test turned out to be pretty easy, with a large portion of the points coming from a selection of the exact problems off the review sheet. Could've written those from memory. The most interesting problem was the one asking for the tangent line from the graph of e^x that goes through the origin, which was kinda fun. Finished in --> one hour. I think it's safe to say I kicked some ass.
Oh, and the teacher said not to worry about any missed classwork. Yay!
Came home, had dinner, rejoiced a bit, pretty much went flop.
Wednesday: Chosen-family holiday party!
Wim and I got a Flexcar pickup in the morning and went up to Swanson's to find a live Christmas tree. We poked around a lot and didn't find all that much, but we did get to see the reindeer they have in a pen. We talked about it while looking and decided we wanted a native tree (I think I was more focused on that than Wim was), and eventually, after looking at every tree in the place, we found one that would work and that we really liked. I kind of fixated on it, actually. :) Somehow the outdoor cashier was closed, so we had to beg the girl in the poinsettia greenhouse to check us out, but she was nice once we all figured out what needed to happen. Also they had hot spiced cider.
Quick uninteresting stop at PCC for food bits. Tree in back of car made us very happy. Also, it was a beautiful day. Not very cold, and clear and sunny. We could see the mountains.
We unloaded groceries and tree at the house, then Wim zoomed off to return the slightly late Flexcar and go to work. Dad came by to bring me the tree ornaments that my parents got for me every year until my 19th, plus some colored lights, and we walked around the yard. Then I cleaned and tidied and cooked all afternoon.
Eli and Annemarie and Wim and Deb all showed up between about 8 and 9, and we had lentil soup for dinner. There was hot cider, because Swanson's had put ideas in our heads, and cookie-making and cookie-frosting and cookie-eating and lots of conversation. We all decorated the tree together, though I think I put on most of the ornaments and I know I hogged the lights. Everyone made fun of (was extremely cuted by) my childhood ornaments, especially the ones I'd made. Somehow we were all very comfortable, at least I think so, and it made me incredibly happy. Some presents changed hands, and I think everyone was pleased with those too. And after a while we were all sitting around happy, and I said we needed our pajamas, and people agreed. We shut out the lights, except for the tree ones, and sat around with blankets instead. I guess I can't really convey what was so wonderful about all this, but I sit here even now and look over at my little green-lit grand fir (needles smell like tangerine! really!) and Homer the plush pig still over there on the floor, and I'm so happy I could cry. All you guys are the best.
Despite my inability to say just what went on, things went on until about 2 am, and then we all went home and (I certainly hope all we sleep-mundanes) went to sleep.
Thursday: Still really accomplished
Sewed together the top of the baby blanket, finally. Also put it in the laundry, since it had gotten a little dirty and had some trimming marks, and discovered that one of the square-makers was insufficiently clueful about water solubility. There is a very faint ghost now on the square of everything that was there before. Maybe I was dreaming before when I thought I could get the blanket to the kidlet before Christmas, but there's no way now. My plan is to recreate the design myself. I just hope I get all the people's names right.
I slew three boxes, which is pretty good, even if some of their guts are still on the living room floor, and get this: I found the Ws! They're shelf supports for my largest bookshelf, and I'd been hunting for them since we moved in. Finally found them! So my bookshelf is all put together now, providing extra space for further valiant box-slaying.
And I tidied up after the party (at least mostly, I did say the pig was still on the floor near the tree) and bravely threw myself on unexploded cookies.
Friday I have told you about. Apart from the yard stuff, all I've done is read, smooch Wim, eat, be grumpy about the baby square, drink tea, and call Deb. Later we plan to go get waterproof fabric markers and remake that square.
