Day 116: Do Professors (or Students) Bite When You Ask Them Certain Questions?

So.  This morning for me was a time of asking questions to people from whom I wanted something, whether information or an answer or a paper they recently wrote. 

Case One:  A classmate of mine wrote a paper about Sylvia Plath and her family and personal life situation and how such situations may have contributed to her death.  (I have read Sylvia Plath several times for the past 10+ years, and my classmate's perspective was a perspective I had never heard or read before.)  Would she send me a copy of her paper if I asked her?
Case Two:  I am interested in a position on my campus currently held by someone who will be moving toward the end of the summer; in order to find out more information, I must ask the Psychology Department Chair (a professor that I had a class with over the summer).

Case Three:  My philosophy professor (from whom I have taken 3 classes with the last 3 consecutive semesters) is teaching Social and Political Philosophy in the fall.  I have already taken this class and earned an A, but I really didn't understand what I was reading or studying; now that I've learned a lot more about the subject, I think I would be able to appreciate and understand the material better.  Will she let me sit in on the class next semester?

What if these people say no to my questions and think I'm stupid for asking them such things??

Result: 

Case One:  She said yes and was glad that someone actually wanted to read her paper :-)

Case Two:  I actually saw her go by in the hallway, so I stopped her and asked her about the position.  She said that you must already have a Bachelor's or Masters degree in order to qualify for the position; however, a student assistant position will be opening up in the fall, and I would be able to apply for that.  So that exchange turned out well overall :-)

Case Three:  I went to my professor's office and asked her if I could sit in on her class.  Without hesitation, she said absolutely.  Yay!

So today, I overcame my fear of failing and possibly being conceived as stupid, and it totally worked out in my favor! :-)

Day 115: I Heart Battlestar Galactica (Unfortunately)

So.  I have a week and a day left in this semester.  I have two papers due--one tomorrow morning and one a week from now.  Today's goal:  to start and finish the paper that is due tomorrow morning

Result:  I did start and finish the paper.  However, I was constantly deterred from said paper due to my new love for Battlestar Galactica.  I stupidly watched the first episode maybe a week ago, and I have been on a mission to watch every episode as fast as possible ever since. 

Yes, I did get the paper finished and turned in.  And it will more than likely get me an A.  But I can honestly say that I know I could have done a better job with the paper.  I edited the paper several times, but in actuality I am a better writer than one would suppose from the paper that I turned in.  I didn't work as hard on it as I could have because I just HAD to know what would happen on the next episode of said series. 

Also, although the paper didn't take up more than 2 hours or so of my time, I definitely could have used the rest of the day to work on research for the paper that is due a week from now. 

Note to self:  Never start watching a new series when you are close to the end of the semester.  Unless you do not care about your grades or GPA.  Which definitely isn't me.

Day 114: Face Off

Today is a really nice day out, so Carey and I decided to play cards outside on the deck.  We played a game called Face Off, which I had never played before.  It's basically based on poker, but you have 5 hands, and each hand is played against the other person's hand.  Keep in mind that I hate to lose.

Result:  We played 3 games.  I lost every single game.  He apparently pretty much always wins against other people.  Did that make me feel any better?  No!  But he and I kept reminding myself that the purpose of this whole thing was for me to lose in the first place.

It's Day 114, and I still hate losing!  But hey, at least I tried something I had never done before.  And I'm glad that I did it, even if I did lose every time :-)

Day 113: A Stroll in the Neighborhood

Today, Carey and I decided to go for a stroll in his super awesome neighborhood.  We stupidly decided to walk towards the bridge (seen in the picture) via the golf cart path.

Result:  About 5 minutes later, a guy who works for the neighborhood golf course came strolling down the course on his golf cart.  He says, You guys have to get off the golf cart path.  So we start walking the other way.  And then he says, Well, technically I'm supposed to get you off the path as soon as possible.  So we had to hop a ride on his golf cart.  It was kind of embarrassing, but at least we got a good breeze in the golf cart!

Day 112: Archery Lessons

Today was a birthday party at the office where Carey works, the owner's son was turning 7.  The archery trainer (who is a trainer for Olympians) was there.  I thought, "Why not try shooting a bow and arrow?  I have never done it before."

Result:  First, I had Carey try and teach me how to do it.  He didn't do a very good job of it lol.  So then the archery trainer came over and helped me, he was a much better teacher :-)  I have to say, I was scared that I was going to hurt myself somehow.  I did an okay job I would say, not bad for someone that was scared out of her mind of injurying herself!

Day 111: Tests, Tests Everywhere...

Today, I had a test in my cognitive psychology class.  And I really, really, REALLY wanted to get an A on this test.  Because if I get an A on the test, I will automatically get a 100 on the next quiz, and I won't have to take the final.  So I REALLY wanted an A because I didn't want to have to go to class on Tuesday and take a stupid quiz.

Result:  I studied a lot on Wednesday and about 3 1/2 hours before the test, and I got an A!!!!  After I took the test, I was really nervous and wasn't sure how I did.  So I totally failed at worrying over nothing :-)

Day 110: Trivia a No-Go

Today, friends of mine were playing trivia at a Mellow Mushroom in Decatur.  I really enjoy playing trivia with them, but I had a test to take the next day.

Result:  I didn't go to play trivia with them.  I was bummed, but I knew that I would have lots more time to study.  I have hardly played trivia with my friends this semester because of schoolwork getting in the way, but at least it has been paying off in my classes :-)

Day 109: To Dine or Not To Dine

So, my uncle from Massachusetts was in town this week to visit.  I hadn't seen him in over 10 years.  He and my parents were planning on going to Vincent's Italian Restaurant (near where I live) for dinner.  I had a bunch of school stuff to work on, and I hadn't seen him in so long that I wasn't sure how to act around him.  I can't explain it.  Plus I was worried that I wouldn't have any fun.

Result:  I ended up going out to eat with them.  And I had fun :-)  And the food was super good, and I had leftovers for the next day.  So even though I failed to get as much schoolwork done as I had wanted to, it was worth it to spend some time with the fam and eat some good food.

Day 108: Cognitive Psychology Experiment

Today I was planning on partaking in a cognitive psychology experiment for my professor, because he gives 10 points of extra credit (up to 25 points) for each experiment you volunteer for.

Result:  I showed up, and one of my classmates showed up for the experiment.  But no one showed up to give us the experiment!  We waited for about 20 minutes and then gave up.  I tried to find my professor, but he was not in his office.

So, I failed to take this experiment because I failed to find my professor who did not show up.  But he told us in class the next day that it was his fault that no one was there to give us the experiment, so I still got the 10 points of extra credit :-)

Day 107: Bulgarian Moonshine and Tequila

Today, my boyfriend and I went to a Bulgarian feast.  My friend is from Bulgaria, and she invited us over to celebrate her Saint's Day.  Her saint has to do with Palm Sunday, so she and her family celebrated yesterday.  It was her, her husband, their two kids, her mother, her godparents, friends, and neighbors. 

One of the things I learned yesterday about Bulgaria is that they are definitely not opposed to drinking.  When she goes to Bulgaria, she takes back some moonshine that her dad makes.  And apparently Bulgaria has some good tequila.  I tried some of the moonshine and some of the tequila.

Result:  I failed miserably.  I took a TEENY TINY sip of the moonshine, and I didn't get sick or anything, but let's just say that I didn't have a second sip after that!  Then I tried the tequila.  It certainly wasn't as strong as the moonshine, but I couldn't drink the tequila either.

Of course my boyfriend handled it like a pro and had two little glasses of moonshine!  Such a champ.

Day 106: Bicycle Hunting

Many thrift stores and some pawn shops were stopped at today in an attempt to find adult men's bicycles.  My boyfriend customizes bicycles by adding a gas-powered engine to them.  When complete, they go 40 mph, and 1 gallon of gas takes you about 100 miles.  Plus you can ride in the bike lane, since it is technically a bicycle.  He has a crapload of engines but no bicycles to equip them with.

Result:  We found no adult men's bicycles.  We even went to KMart and I forget where else.  He found nothing.  He also found nothing online, on craigslist, websites, etc. 

I think it's some sort of conspiracy involving children.  But I haven't found any proof yet, so my hypothesis will remain a hypothesis for a while longer I'm sure.

Day 105: Pomegranate Mixed Drink

Tonight, I went to a friend's for a birthday celebration.  What birthday party wouldn't be complete without some alcohol?  She (or a friend) made a pomegranate mixed drink.  I have no idea what type of alcohol it was.  What can I say, I trust my friends.  Actually, I think it was a type of rum.

Result:  I could not drink this drink.  I had some sips, but I couldn't finish it.

I'm an EXTREME wuss when it comes to alcoholic beverages.  Unless Kahlua or vodka are involved.

Day 104: Dropbox

Today while chatting with a friend on facebook, he mentioned sharing a song with me on Dropbox.  Dropbox who?  I had never heard of it.  And the last thing I wanted to do was something complicated and something that would make my life have drama.  I know I'm overreacting, but you get the point.

Result:  I grinned and beared it and downloaded it.  Once it downloaded, it was super super easy to listen to music through it.  So it worked out.  But don't hold your breath waiting for me to go there again!

Day 103: Sensitive much??

So.  To make a long story short, I posted a link to a story on facebook. 

Result:  I guess the way I stated my opinion was written in such a way that people thought I meant the opposite of what I actually meant.  I didn't take it very well.  At all.  I just thought to myself, "These people are my FRIENDS.  Don't they know me better than this than to think that I would believe something like this???"  I even cried over it, I was so upset.  I was just hurt because I've spent a lot of time on researching and studying social issues and such, and I felt like all of that hard work didn't even count.  Of course I know I was overreacting, but for some reason it just really got to me at the time.  Then I talked to my boyfriend about the whole thing, and he said it was just a misunderstanding, and the way that I stated my opinion was confusing.  So he said I was just taking it way too personally.

So I ended up just deleting the whole entire thing, post and comments and all, and re-posting the original article.  I just wanted to start that whole thing over!

Day 102: Trivia!!!!!

Today, I was debating whether or not to go to my university's skeptic/secular student group trivia thing at Mellow Mushroom.
Reasons to go:  I love Mellow Mushroom; I love trivia; I love my SCI peeps; I'm an officer, so it would be good for me to go.
Reasons not to go:  I'm housesitting in Roswell; I might not have fun; what am I going to do until trivia if I don't go to where I'm housesitting?

Result:  I went to trivia.  And within 2 minutes of being there, I was already having fun.  And I even tried a new food, it was flatbread with tomatoes and feta and I think hummus and balsamic vinaigrette.  It was AMAZING.  We lost first place by 2 points.  Spinach!!!!! No!!!!! That was the correct answer that we didn't put for pizza toppings from Dominoe's.  And I knew it, but I thought we had already put it down as an answer.  But turns out that the team was anti-spinach.

People, never doubt a vegetarian.  Ever. 

Day 101: Papers Galore

I had a paper due tonight at midnight.  It had to be 2 pages maximum.  I had another paper due the next morning at 9:30am.  By 1030pm, I hadn't even started it.

Result:  My paper due at midnight, I was able to get it down to 2 pages.  It took me quite a while because I was about 3 lines over, and when your paper can only be 2 pages, you feel as though everything in it is essential.  But I reworded some stuff and took out parts of sentences, so that helped.  My professor might not be super strict about the 2 page limit, but why take a chance when you are a perfectionist like me?

As for my second paper, I had all of the information I needed for it, I just had to put it all together into a 4 to 5 page paper.  As I was going along with the requirements for the paper, at first I thought, "Crap, there is no way that I have enough info for this paper."  But as I kept writing it, the paper ended up being 5 1/2 pages.  Unlike my other paper, I did not spend a lot of time trying to get it to be shorter.  Hopefully procrastination did not go against me this time, hopefully I got a good grade on both papers!

Day 100: Trivia a No-Go

Today, I wanted to go to trivia with friends at a place in Atlanta called Tijuana Garage.

Result:  I didn't go.  Boo schoolwork!  I just kept telling myself that they would have trivia again, and that my life won't end or be awful if I don't go.  The sad thing is that I don't even remember what school work I worked on Monday evening.

Day 99: Books Will Be the Death of Me

So.  I had planned on spending Friday, Saturday, and Sunday working on schoolwork.  No problem there.  However, where I'm housesitting, they literally have DOZENS of books that I want to read.

Result:  I now know that I am weak when it comes to being surrounded by books, especially ones that are not mine.  I'm surrounded by books at my home, but I know that they will always be there, so I don't feel like I have to read as many as possible as quickly as possible.  But where I'm housesitting, I might never housesit here again, so I want to read as many as I can.

I didn't start working on schoolwork until around 5pm on Sunday.  As a result, I won't have a certain assignment done on Wednesday.  But it's not a specific deadline or for a specific class (it's research I'm doing with a professor), so I'm going to see if we can meet on Thursday instead of Wednesday.

At least it's books that I'm obsessed with, right...?

Day 98: Lost Once Again

Today I went to a karaoke place with friends, and it was a BLAST!  After hanging at a tavern in Atlanta and having some yummy food, I headed to where I'm housesitting.

Result:  I got off of the right exit on GA 400.  I was literally about 15 minutes from home.  Somehow I got completely lost.  I literally just drove on random streets because I knew that I EVENTUALLY would end up somewhere familiar.  I was far from my home, so I was fairly unfamiliar with the area I was in. 

30 minutes later, I end literally ONE MILE from the tavern I had started at.  I went in a huge freakin' circle.  Part of me was like, "Really??" but a bigger part of me was just glad that I was somewhere I recognized.

I got home.  Eventually.  I have THE worst sense of direction of anyone that I know.  I bring directions with me, and I still get lost.  Sigh.

Day 97: Computer Woes

Technology hates me.  Especially computers.  I don't know why.  Anyways, early today my laptop's charger wasn't working.  This was not a good thing, since I had a lot of schoolwork to do, and I am housesitting 45 minutes from my home.

Result:  I went home, and my dad tested out my laptop.  Turns out the outlet at the house I'm housesitting at is strong enough to handle a lamp, but it wasn't strong enough to handle my laptop's electric power.  Luckily other outlets work, so I can just plug it into a different outlet.  I'm really glad that it wasn't the charger itself.

Then later on, my laptop would turn on, but it was just a black screen.  No matter what I did, it was still black, even though the power was on.  I ended up taking the power battery thing out (technical, I know), and the computer was able to operate normally after that.

I really hate computers sometimes.  And I know that they hate me, too.

Day 96: Speech Delivery

So.  Today I delivered my speech to my Toastmasters group.  I wasn't terribly nervous.  I was more worried about the feedback they would give me.  (I gave each person there a piece of paper so that they could give me feedback on my speech content, which I could then use for my philosophy paper.)

Result:  I was pretty pleased with how I did.  But apparently I talked fast.  I had to squeeze a semester's worth of material into a 10 minute speech!  That's easier said than done.  I got positive feedback except for the fast talking thing.  And I did a good job explaining what existentialism is.  So yay :-)  I am definitely glad that is done!

Day 95: Speech Writing

I spent the majority of the day today writing my speech for my philosophy project.  Most of that was spent on making my PowerPoint presentation.

Result:  It took quite a while to finish, but I was happy with how the powerpoint and speech came out.  After I did it all, I thought to myself, "How in the world am I going to remember all of this and be able to present it tomorrow without notes?"  So I took a nap, hoping that I would be in a better mood when I woke up.  Luckily after the nap, I wasn't so worried about the whole thing, and I was able to learn the speech and practice it with the PowerPoint presentation.  Yay.

Day 94: Speech #10

I have a project I have to do for my existentialism class.  We have to take what we've learned and apply it too the real world somehow.  And it has to be somehow related to writing, because it's basically a writing project.  So I chose to do a speech for my Toastmasters group, and my professor said that would be fine.

Result:  I emailed the woman who does the speech scheduling for our group.  She said the next opening wasn't until April 27th (way too late because the project is due around then), but she did have an opening for Thursday.  It was Tuesday, and I hadn't even started to write the speech.

But what the heck, might as well get it done sooner rather than later.

And not only does the speech count for my philosophy class, it also counts as my 10th speech for Toastmasters.  Which means I will FINALLY earn my Competent Communicator award :-)

Day 93: An Unproductive Afternoon

Today I went out to lunch for Japanese food and then frozen yogurt with my good friend and her 8 month old daughter.  (That was lots of fun btw.)  Afterwards, I planned on going home and doing a crapload of reading, consisting of backed up NY Times issues, a book I'm reading from the library, a science quiz...I don't even remember what else.

Result:  I ended up taking a nap and not doing anything productive until 7pm.  I spent the next several hours reading NY Times issues (see previous blog post).  It is now almost midnight, and the only other thing I have done, aside from having dinner, is my science quiz (which took a lot less time to do than I thought it would).

I love naps, but they sure do cut into my day when I take them.

Day 92: My Issue With the New York Times' Daily Issues

So.  My school gives students free issues of the New York Times, dispersed throughout the campus.  I really like reading the New York Times. 

The problem is that I usually do not read the issue on the day that I get it.  This bad habit of my saying "I'll read it later" results in several days/weeks' worth of issues.

Result:  I spent several hours of this evening reading my backed up issues of The NY Times.  I can honestly say that I do not prefer to spend hours of my evening reading these issues.

I really, really need to just read the paper the day that it comes out.  It doesn't take THAT long, and I won't have to keep failing at my ability to keep up with the Times.

Day 91: Farce of the Penguins

Today, I decided to watch Farce of the Penguins.  It's a spin on March of the Penguins (obviously).

Result:  It has a TON of good actors doing voiceovers of the penguins.  But it's written by Bob Saget.  I'm not saying that I don't appreciate Saget's comedy; however, he missed the very obvious point that PENGUINS ARE MONOGAMOUS.  The whole entire movie is about penguins talking about their sexual icecapades with numerous penguins.

PENGUINS ARE MONOGAMOUS.

This one fact was either unknown to or dismissed by Bob Saget.  I know it's a movie, but the whole movie is real footage of penguins.  It's not like it's an animated cartoon or something.

The movie would have been much better and funnier if the writer/director/lead voice had written the dialogue based on the fact that PENGUINS ARE MONOGAMOUS.   -sigh-

Day 90: Housesitting

(It's fun watching kitties play with window shade strings!)

Today I housesat for a friend who has 6 cats.  I hadn't housesit for her and her husband for a while, and I was looking forward to spending Friday evening/night relaxing at their house.  They have a large selection of books and DVD's, so I was excited to spend the evening reading a book and watching a movie of my choosing.

Result:  I can't say that the evening went as I had originally planned.  I took a nap and woke up around 930pm.  I watched some South Park episodes.  Around 1030pm, my boyfriend Carey called me from Africa, which was a VERY nice surprise :-)

I did read most of the book I chose (a book by director/actor/writer Kevin Smith).  But I didn't watch a DVD.  My evening was pretty good regardless.

Day 89: A Bad Mood

Today, I was in a really bad mood.  For no reason at all.  (Those are the worst.)

Result:  I can't say I was very pleasant to be around today.  But then again, I didn't really interact with much of anyone, other than my parents. (And luckily I wasn't mean to them or anything.)  Cognitive psych class was awful; the whole class was talking and wouldn't shut up.  So after the class, I told my professor that I had a complaint; that I can't concentrate when everyone is talking, and it seems to be getting worse each class (which is true).  So we'll see if he addresses that in class more, he usually just lets students keep talking.  And it's NOT like they're talking about stuff that's class-related.

So yeah, I went to class, took a nap, and didn't do anything productive until about 10pm.  But at least I got through the day, and it wasn't TOO bad.