Wooty

Grades are in, and somehow I've pulled off an A in existentialism. That's good for back to back 4.0 semesters, and the only two 4.0's I've gotten in college. It's a shame I have so many hours accumulated, because my overall GPA is barely inching higher. When I dropped out, I had a 3.13. After last semester, I went up to a 3.24. This semester will bring it up to a 3.34, which is still a pretty good climb - but keep in mind I took 20 hours. If I take only what I need to graduate (25 hours - well, technically 22, but that's another post), and I get straight A's, I'll leave with a 3.48. I would have to take an additional 7 hours to have a shot at a 3.5 overall GPA. So that's not going to happen, because it'd mean an extra semester (unless I took something ridiculous like 26 hours in the spring). It is tempting.

Snow

It's been 20 years since we've had this much snow here. I was impressed, to say the least. I have a goal of seeing snow every year, and though it didn't last more than a few hours, I think I can definitely count this as this year's snow. It started snowing around 5:30, but didn't stick until probably 6-6:30. We had gotten probably an inch of rain or more before it started snowing, so the accumulations on the ground weren't as much as they could've been. I went to campus around 10, and not long after it switched to rain and the snow started to melt.

Waiting for the bus:


The quad:


Squirrels freaking out:


Clock tower:


Greek theatre:


No snow would be complete without sledding... except that the only hills around here are the indian mounds.


Parade grounds:


The parade grounds held the most water, and by the time I had gotten there it had been raining for probably half an hour.

Despite the rain, I'm surprised how long everything lasted. There was still a decent amount of snow on the ground when I went into my 3pm final, but when I came out, there was practically none. By the time I got home, there were only little patches of icy snow left in the shade. I'm definitely going to live somewhere that has significant snowfall every year. It's just too great of a thing to have once every 20 years.

Slacking

I know, I'm really behind with things on the blog. I'm still in decompression from the semester, or at least that's what I'll say. I've shifted from studying - yes, I actually did a good bit - to an overabundance of laziness. I guess that shouldn't be a big surprise to anyone.

Grades have been trickling in over the past few days, and so far, so good. Still waiting on the two potentially 4.0-ruining classes, but the Hinduism prof posted the final exam grades on moodle and I got an A, so I'm good with that one.

And yeah, the pictures of snow are coming... eventually.

It's Getting Better All The Time

Yesterday went well. Spent a lot of time studying for existentialism, but the test turned out to be relatively easy. I still don't think I got an A, but it should be no worse than a B. So there's a chance that I can still have a 4.0. 4 finals down, 3 to go.

This morning I woke up to snow! It's been rainy and cold since yesterday morning, and when the forecast said a chance of snow, I didn't really believe it. But I got up just to check anyway, and sure enough it was there. Since it was so wet and above freezing, I figured it wouldn't stick - but again I was wrong. Pretty good accumulation too. We haven't seen snow like this in almost 20 years. So if I'm overly excited about it (and I am) it's because it is such a rare occurrence. I was 5 or 6 the last time this happened here. I'll post some pictures when I go back home.

Now how am I supposed to focus on exams when there's snow outside?

2 Down, 5 To Go

Yesterday was a good day. I finished my paper for Hinduism, met with a group to study existentialism, looked over some parapsychology with C., crushed the parapsychology final, and then capped off the day at a new sushi place off campus. I felt so productive. Granted it did take a lot longer to do everything than it should have.... But who cares? I got a lot accomplished.

While 5 exams left seems like a lot, I'll be stress-free by tomorrow. I have to write a quick essay for tonight and really crack down on the existentialism today. My B in the class is a sure thing, but there's still a very slim chance I can pull off an A. No real rest tonight, as I've got my other hard final tomorrow. After 5pm tomorrow though, it's smooth sailing.

School's Out For Winter

At least the classes are done. Just the finals left, and I've only got two that are somewhat intimidating. Existentialism will no doubt be the hardest, because I haven't a clue what's going on in there, and I still have to do a lot of really dense, difficult reading (that I probably won't do). I have an A in there now, but not by much. I'd need an 88 or so on the final to get an A, which I'm not optimistic about, since I had an 86 on the midterm on material I knew much better. On the plus side, I only need a 65 or so to get a B, and that should be easy. Hinduism is my other final that I have some concern about, but it shouldn't be nearly as bad. I'm probably around a 93 or so average in the class, and if I get a 90 on my last paper (that I've yet to do) I only need an 80 to keep an A. All the other classes have easy finals and I've got a strong A. Even so, I'm planning on going to study groups for all but one. It's not like I've got anything better to do.

Titles

It really bugs me to have to address professors as "Doctor." It's too damn long. If they've got a long last name, I might have to say 5 or 6 syllables just to address them. But they can just say two in return. First names are easy, usually short, and when they're not short, they at least flow well. There's no such requirement for last names. In some ways that's the biggest concrete effect of getting a doctorate. Suddenly you're more than just another dumb human; you're now a Doctor. I'd hate to take that away from them, but I wish it was shorter.

Over The Top

For existentialism, we had to write a 5 page paper on a topic of our choosing. The assignment was to pick a topic and think about it existentially for a month, writing down ideas every day, and then composing the paper at the end of the month. They stressed the everydayness as an absolute necessity. But of course it turned out to be all hype. I wound up writing it in a couple of hours before class with the only previous thought being the quizzes in class where we reported the progress of our thinking. And I got a solid A - a 95. I'm fairly used to that by now, and though it really bothers me that a terrible paper (compared to what I'm capable of) gets such good grades, I just shrug it off these days. It's frustrating because of the lack of standards I think the grading system implies and because it doesn't reward better work. If I really put a full effort into doing this right - if I keep a journal every day and put 30 hours into it over the course of a month - how is that going to affect my grade? It'll go up maybe 2, 3 points?

But I'm digressing. What really pushed me to post about this paper was the comments that the TA returned with the grade. He typed a third of a page, single-spaced, 10 point font. It's a great example of what constructive grading should be. He commented on the style, specific points, and the potential to improve certain aspects. There are legitimately good, thought-provoking questions brought up by his reading of the paper. And I really appreciate it.

But... I think the compliments for the quality of the paper are a bit overstated. I think this is the single best comment I've ever gotten on a graded work. The first line reads, "This is an unpretentious, organized, coherent, interesting, and truly existential paper."

I'll take it.

1 Down, 6 To Go

My first final was last night - astronomy lab. Since it's a lab, the final is during regular class time in the last week of school. It's nice to get it out of the way, but it really wasn't a concern. There were questions as difficult as "You have a scale of 1.29arcmin/mm. You measured value for the image is 5mm. How many arcminutes is that?" I think the only problem requiring thought was the bonus. I wonder how many people got that right.

I'm glad the semester is almost over. I'm looking forward to the break so I can get some reading done. I've got piles of books that I haven't had time to read - or just the will to read. One more week... 6 exams, 1 paper. And now that I think about it, one of those exams is a paper, so 5 and 2. Good times.

No Turkey, No Problem

Thanksgiving is generally one of my least favorite holidays, but the last few have been great. Two years ago, I went to San Francisco for the week. Last year was a family camping trip. This year the travelling theme continued as I visited a friend in Tennessee. Having two classes on Wednesday cancelled, I skipped a third to get out of town in the early morning. It made for a still short trip, but I really needed to get out of here. It was a weekend of no noisy neighbors and no one talking about football. It was very good indeed.

The downside is that the restlessness I felt has gotten worse by travelling. Driving home, I really didn't want to take the right exits, wishing instead to follow the road west instead of south. It's probably a good thing I didn't have a tent with me. I don't know that I'm burnt out on school; I'm just disinterested in the same things by now. Today is about how I predicted it would be in the car: drudgery, going to classes that don't really teach me anything, and killing time in unproductive ways. In French, it was just people presenting bonus power point presentations. How can I be "excited" about that? Where's the motivation to go to school?

And now, it's time for a lecture on Heidegger.