All I want for Christmas...

...is for this week to be over now. Please.

Am sick. Have finals for which am rather not prepared. Woke up this morning, went downstairs to make tea (to give me, you know, the will to live) and found water all over my kitchen floor, and pooled under my kitchen sink. Nothing is ruined. People have been called and are supposedly coming sometime today, though I'm going to be out until after nine tonight between my calc study session and my (possibly) rescheduled physics study session. (Physics prof was too sick to make it to the one last night, which was fine except that we didn't know that until we showed up at 7pm. And, you know, that we kinda need the help.)

Also, it's raining and (admittedly not literally) freezing out. Though tomorrow's low is a delightful 23 F. We've already hit today's high of 43 F. If I have anyone reading from Wisconsin, I realize this may elicit little sympathy. But it's still cold.

Still, it could always be a little bit worse. I just got a call from one of my friends in the proofs class (which is my only final today). She wanted to confirm the room where the final was being held. When I reassured her she was in the right place, her next (extremely bewildered and working on frustrated) question was why wasn't I there, then? She and one other girl in the class had apparently gotten the times mixed up, and had arrived two hours early. (at ten for a noon final)

So, it could be worse, I could have been rushing out the door to get there by ten while trying to deal with the property management.

Still.

I'd like to fast forward about 4 days now, plz. kthnxbai.

It's getting late, and I think it's time to head on home...

Just got home (about 30 mins ago) from 12 hours on campus. Classes from 10 to 2 (though I did skip my last logic lecture), and then approx. seven hours of calc homework. See, I get an average of three problems done an hour, and I (at the beginning of the day) still had around 75 problems left to do.

Not that I actually have to do them, but we're allowed to swap out our lowest exam score for our homework score. So, if you have 100% on the homework, you're guaranteed 100% on one of your tests. Which is nice. I like 100%. So...homework. More tomorrow, probably. I can do it at home, but I never get anywhere near as much done at home (distraction zone!) as I do curled up at the library.

Or the student union, or the Upper Crust cafe, both of which I also spent a couple of my seven hours working. It was a pleasant day, really. Very nice and quiet.

Tomorrow is also the official (professor-led) study session for my proofs class. I have a middling B in there right now, so I'm hoping the final (which is worth about 40% of the grade) will be kind to me. Or, at least not brutal.

Then Sunday is the offical physics study session, from 7 to 9 at night. *Teddy is glad she doesn't have any exams early the next day* I'm meeting up with one of my lab partners for a few hours before that study session, so it'll be a 6 hours physics study marathon. That'll be... special.

Bible's final is on Tuesday, and it's my only Tuesday final. It doesn't really require (or allow for) much real studying, since it's an essay test requiring you to analyze concepts. I'll reread my notes since the last exam (it also isn't cumulative), and then just head on in. Though I'm really not worried about it.

Not worried at all about my logic final; it's online, mulitple choice, open book, no time limit. Yeah, not really that concerned there.

Physics is scary. Calculus and (particularly) proofs are worrying. Bible and logic are no-brainers.

There will be, however, none of this on the day of the test:



And I'm pretty dead. Depressed that I have to wake up for the 10 am proofs thing tomorrow. Kinda cold. Not at all hungry; I had black bean, spicy green pepper chilli from the Upper Crust at around 4, and just now am finishing the last of my chicken vindaloo with ton-o-rice. It's incredibly hot, and smells amazing. But now it's gone. Le sigh.

So, off to bed with me. Hope everyone has a nice weekend. What are you doing for it?

Also, the post title comes from the lyrics of this song. It's very good, and worth a listen.

She's a maniac, maniac (about school): the Dead Week Remix

Things upon which Teddy's sanity, grades, and pocketbook (in as much as she actually possesses these items), are currently dependent:

• Lists: I have at least five lists scattering my desk at the moment, making sure I can't forget anything. Like, you know, washing towels. Or buying food. Or finishing up five classes worth of work. Stuff like that.
  
• Calendars: Have also four calendars going at the moment. My school planner, which lets me see a week's worth of assignments at a time. My Lonely Planet daily planner, which keeps me on top of non-school-related items like birthdays, Sundays in Advent, and what day of the week it is. My normal wall calendar, which lets me see a month a a time, and is marked up with exams and important due dates (the next two weeks are pretty heavily written over.) Lastly, my own personally constructed calendar of last Thursday until next Wednesday, when my last final is. It has a carefully outlined timeline of each day. Just in case.
  
• Tea: It's hot, sweet, and (for all intents and purposes), free. Yes, I'll take some.
• My electric blanket (thank you Teresa!): Like tea, keeps me warm. Unlike tea, stays warm for ten hours and doesn't get things wet if I try to snuggle with it.
• Extended library hours: From tomorrow on, the library and Student Union are going to be open, while not 24 hours, close enough for my purposes. I shall be mainly living on campus (free heating and fewer distractions, though the food is more expensive) for the next 10 days, so having places to go is...handy.
• Macaroni and Cheese: Self explanatory. And nice. Though I have this niggling fear that once I get out of college it (along with honey nut cheerios, and graham crackers) will be something I just won't be able to stomach for a decade. Ah well. it works for now.
  

Also, there's currently a brightly lit-up, horse drawn carriage trotting down the Esplanade. That's...kinda weird. Hope they don't get splatted by a Hummer, of which there are a surprising number in Chico.

It's been about 42 F here all day. That's a bit nippy; I'm glad it's supposed to warm up a bit the next couple of days.

In other news, here's something for Mom. I know what you're watching tonight...



And for Dad:

Chilled This Room for 24 Days...

It's currently 35 degrees F outside in Chico, California, and 52 degrees F inside the Crazy-siblings-of-the-year-award-goes-to household, Chico, CA.

PG&E bills can go hang, I'm turning on the heater.

I can haz burthdai kaek!

In honor of my 20th birthday, Spencer invented a cake for me!



It's two layers of brownie...



With Cool Whip filling...



And a pumpkin/cream cheese/cool whip frosting.



I told Spencer if he didn't give me at least a little smile, I would start calling him emo boy and rigging his comp to play Fall Out Boy and Nine Inch Nails. Maybe some Dashboard Confessional. It seems to have worked, at least a little.

The cake is really quite good, though after the Chinese food we had for dinner, I'm afraid I can't eat as much of it as I'd like. The chicken chow mein was nice too. An evening for commendable cuisine!

Actually, today would have been a lot better if I didn't have a physics test tomorrow to worry about. Gah. Calc tomorrow is cancelled (the prof, a 30 year old single guy, skipped out yesterday to start his break), so I'll be able to spend all of tomorrow morning doing some last minute review for the test. I've also got an exam in logic, but we get a notecard for it, and it wouldn't be hard anyway.

But tomorrow, after the physics test is done... I get to go home! Mom's coming up tomorrow, doig lunch and grocery shopping with Spence while I'm suffering the torments of academia. But as soon as the test's over, I'm biking home, tossing my stuff in the car, and we're taking off. And I will not even think about physics for a week.

(Except to read the next chapter of the text. And fret over the test. And wake up, startled, from dreams about calculating the torque that the world's elephants exert on the earth, while helping Superchicken and the Third Doctor save the world. I'm not kidding. My subconscious is a weird place.)

And, because I was taking pictures, (and it is my birthday, after all), here's me:







And, in Spencer-style dramatic pose:



It was a fun day. food was good, and I got some cards and a certificate for a used book store from Spence (just what I'd asked for). Hee.

But now, back to productive stuff. Like...packing. Or homework. Man, can it be holiday yet?

Breakin' the law, breakin' the law...

Also, because I'm weird, and sitting here at my computer at half past midnight, reading the California Penal Code.

What?

It's kinda cool.

Here, just to prove it to you, is the best one I've found so far:

596.5.  It shall be a misdemeanor for any owner or manager of an
elephant to engage in abusive behavior towards the elephant, which
behavior shall include the discipline of the elephant by any of the
following methods:
 (a) Deprivation of food, water, or rest.
 (b) Use of electricity.
 (c) Physical punishment resulting in damage, scarring, or breakage
of skin.
 (d) Insertion of any instrument into any bodily orifice.
 (e) Use of martingales.
 (f) Use of block and tackle.

Also:

597h.  It shall be unlawful for any person to tie or attach or
fasten any live animal to any machine or device propelled by any
power for the purpose of causing such animal to be pursued by a dog
or dogs.
 Any person violating any of the provisions of this section shall
be guilty of a misdemeanor.

Plus:

652.  (a) It shall be an infraction for any person to perform or
offer to perform body piercing upon a person under the age of 18
years, unless the body piercing is performed in the presence of, or
as directed by a notarized writing by, the person's parent or
guardian.
 (b) This section does not apply to the body piercing of an
emancipated minor.
 (c) As used in this section, "body piercing" means the creation of
an opening in the body of a human being for the purpose of inserting
jewelry or other decoration, including, but not limited to, the
piercing of a lip, tongue, nose, or eyebrow. "Body piercing" does not
include the piercing of an ear.
 (d) Neither the minor upon whom the body piercing was performed,
nor the parent or guardian of that minor, nor any other minor is
liable for punishment under this section.

I think it's kinda funny that they don't count ear piercing a s a body piercing. Huh. Cultural norms, I tell ya...

And hey, did you know that:

(b) Any person guilty of a second conviction of any offense
specified in subdivision (c), where the victim has not attained 13
years of age, shall, upon parole, undergo medroxyprogesterone acetate
treatment or its chemical equivalent, in addition to any other
punishment prescribed for that offense or any other provision of law.

 (c) This section shall apply to the following offenses:
 (1) Subdivision (c) or (d) of Section 286.
 (2) Paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 288.
 (3) Subdivision (c) or (d) of Section 288a.
 (4) Subdivision (a) or (j) of Section 289.

That is, we can chemically castrate sex offenders in the state of California. I totally did not know that.

Still, I like the one about elephants best.

And on that note, everyone have a nice Veteran's Day!

You can't always get what you want,

...But if you try sometimes, you might find you get what you need

I have decided that what college really is is one heavily protracted lesson in the fine art/science of kitchen utensil substitution.

No ladle? Use a one-cup measurer.

Bowls all in the dishwasher (again!)? Tupperware holds your morning's bowl of cereal just as well. (Though, with the different dimensions of the containers, you have to be more careful about your milk-cereal ratio.

And that cereal gets eaten just as well whether you're using a teaspoon or a dinner spoon.

Forks pretty much fail, as far as cereal eating goes, but only for me, since Spencer doesn't have the whole milk problem to complicate the issue.

And bah, who really needs spatulas or tongs? There, forks totally work.

A dearth of mixing bowls can be tricky to work around (especially when all of your normal bowls are, as above, in the dishwasher) but again tupperware will do in a pinch. Or just a pot/saucepan.

Saucers serve perfectly well as spoon rests.

At the same time, I have some rather specialized items lurking in the recesses of my cabinets. My beloved Pampered Chef chopper, a heavy duty black Dutch Oven, two whisks (don't ask), an AGA baker's paddle, and several plastic pitchers.

But. Anyway.

Back to school tomorrow. *Teddy envies those lucky ducks who get both tomorrow and Tuesday off* We had a proofs test on Friday that was, while not as bad as the first one, still not very nice. And then our next calc exam is Wednesday, so I need to study for that. We're doing center of mass of multivariable functions. And...stuff. Triple integrals. And so forth.

Soooo, I should probably get started on some of that. Or look at the NEW EXTRA hw assignment the proofs teacher put up EVEN THOUGH WE JUST HAD AN EXAM THAT HE WASN'T EVEN THERE FOR.

Ahem. Right. Hope everyone had a nice weekend. Ta ta.

Under this national rain cloud, I'm getting soaked to the skin

Except that I have my trusty brolly. (No, that's not what mine really looks like. More's the pity.)

It's just poured here the last couple of days. It's been kinda fun; I've gotten to try our my new water-proof, early birthday shoes, which have been massively awesome. (Hey, I can like, walk around outside without soaking my feet in the process! Neat!) It also gave me a good excuse (not that I really needed one) to make spicy peanut veggie soup on Halloween.



Otherwise, it's pretty much just back to your regularly scheduled school week here. I have a Proofs test on Friday, a calc test next Wednesday, and Physics and Logic tests the Friday after that (which is, incidentally, the last day before Thanksgiving break. I think they're trying to make us really grateful.)

Oh and hey, the election's tomorrow! That's kinda nice. If only so it'll be over with and I'll (maybe!) not have to hear any more about it from Spencer. Oi. Right-wing conspiracies this, paranoid website posters that. Almost makes me want to vote for McCain just to see how apoplectic I could make him. Hmm... *ponders*

*It should, at this point, be noted that google has a disappointing selection of images to go with the word "apoplectic". Though it did come up with one of a naked Katy Manning cuddled up to a Dalek. So...there you go then. I think.*

And to finish up this post, some more of what everyone needs: rapping Luther. No, really. I think that the ELCA should get permission to run this on commercials or something.

Creepy and Kooky

Happy Halloween, everyone!

Good Morning to You, Hello, Hello

Hi everyone! Must dash in a few for school, but thought I'd drop you all a note since I'm not going to be back until quite late tonight.

Had a marvelous weekend; Teresa came up and we did girly things like shopping and settling in on the sofa to watch movies. Well, TV. Also, there was jam. And potatoes. And lists:





On a more depressing note, I didn't get picked to be employed this summer by the Student Orientation people. Sigh. So, back back to the summer employment drawing board.

But hey, at least my bike's working these days. When they'd replaced the inner tube, they hadn't properly tightened the...something. But now it's all better!

Aaaaand...let's see. I can make roasted potatoes! They're yummy.



But I don't have any paper towels, so they just sit on a plate covered with napkins. So that works too.

Reformation Sunday was fun. Sermon was a bit rubbish, but we got to sing A Mighty Fortress Is Our God REALLY loudly. Belting it out like the good Lutherans that we are. So that was a good time.

But! Now, must dash. Hope everyone's having a good week!

Stop, Bannertime!

I quite like this new banner. It really is looking like autumn here; the leaves have changed colour, and are falling prodigiously. It's very pretty.

Also, picked out my classes today. I got into all the ones I talked about in the previous post, and then picked cardio dance for my aerobics. The big kicker is...they're all Monday/Wednesday/Friday. Which means that, except for one hour on Thursdays (Differential Equations is four units, and so meets four days a week), I only have to go to school three days a week next semester. Granted, they'll be fairly busy days, But three of the five classes I'm taking (econ 102, econ 103, and geog 102) are 100 level. So, that (hopefully) won't be too bad.

The tire in which the nice bike people replaced the inner tube is kinda whacked out. *sighs* Have to drag that back down to them on Friday, see if they can't fix whatever they did to it.

But, I'm off to type up some Proofs homework. My hands are really cold, though. Maybe I'll make up some decaf tea...

Oh, and in honor of the essay test I suffered through today, here's a pretty comic for you all...

We are the young - our lives are a mystery,

we are the old - who yearn for your face.
We have been sung throughout all of history,
called to be light to the whole human race.
Gather us in - the rich and the haughty,
gather us in - the proud and the strong.
Give us a heart so meek and so lowly,
give us the courage to enter the song.

Church was nice but, umm, I kinda can't count. Because Reformation Sunday is the Sunday before Halloween. Today is the 19th. 19 plus 7 is 26. Hence, there is still one more Sunday in October. Le sigh.

But never mind. It was really nice to go anyway. And I'll just have to go back next week. It's incredibly easy for me to bike there; just straight down one road, without even any lane changes. Getting back is marginally trickier, but still not bad, since there isn't a lot of traffic out at 9:15 on a Sunday morning.

I got up at 6:30, and Spencer was already up and fed. Weird kid, that one.

In other news, I get to register for next semester's classes on Tuesday! That'll be fun. I'm taking econ 102, econ 103, math 335, and math 260 for sure. Also probably going to take geog 102 for a GE requirement, and also probably another aerobics class.

If I do take all of those, that'll only leave me one GE class left, my C1 requirement. Stupid arts. Why can't they offer a class on, like, knitting. Or somethng actually useful. It could still be artistic! Just...not totally dumb. Oi.

But. Right. Physics lab report time. Onwards, upwards...

So close you eyes, you can close your eyes, it's all right...

Tired Theodora is tired. Which is a bit silly, since she slept for 15 hours last night (and you know, most of yesterday afternoon) but still. Sleepy.

But, I had to get up eventually this morning, because I had my first interview for the Summer Orientation Peer Advisor job this morning. (The job, from what I can gather, involves a lot of walking backwards while talking, stuffing folders, reassuring panicked, intrusive parents, and answering the same questions every day all summer. In 100 degree weather. Outdoors.) But hey, money/employment are good. I'm relatively confident about getting a position because they mentioned specifically that they're looking for a variety of majors, and I was the only science major in the bunch that interviewed today (it was a group thing, where we had to demonstrate teamwork/communication/the ability to introduce ourselves rapidly.)

So. There's that. Then, I'm getting up early tomorrow morning to go to the 8:00 Reformation Sunday service over at Faith Lutheran. I was having minor philosophical qualms about only dragging myself up for church on the day[s] significant to me as a Lutheran, rather than as a Christian overall (which should, really, mean every Sunday) but I've decided that denomination-specific attendance is considerably preferable to no attendance at all. Plus, Teresa and I attempted to attend Reformation Sunday last year, but were a week late and ended up at All Saints Sunday instead. So, I figure I'm due for a sermon about why Lutherans are a nifty sort of bunch. Or...something.

But. Right. Sleep now.

Oh yeah, and physics exam went badly. It was kinda like this, only not a dream (and physics, not math, because some of those math problems I could totally do.):




--9:26 edit--

Oh, and I just remembered something fun that happened in Logic on Friday. There was this extra credit assignment, to watch the last debate, and then so a write-up on a fallacious argument used. So, people were handing them down the aisles of the auditorium to turn them in, and since I was sitting at the end of the aisle, I collected them up and happened to glance down at the one on top. Which was discussing in depth the arguments presented about the first golf war.

So, I do a little bit of a double take, but figure that it's just a minor typo. But no, she's spelled it that way through her whole (admittedly brief) essay. I giggled inside, but sadly had no one to share it with (but now, there's the whole internet!) . I wish I could see the comments the prof puts down about it...

To riding your bike, midday,

past the three-piece suits...

It's so nice to have my bike back. Liek, srsly. It was okay walking, but this is just so much quicker. If somewhat more stressful in a "oh dear is that car about to swerve out and kill me?" kinda way.

An hey, look! A Thursday night post! I must be doing...physics! Actually, right now I'm not; proofs really needs to get done first. I did a fair amount of physics work earlier, though I still need to review the linear momentum stuff.



Heh. And these are just the sort of directions we're given, too. But! Lab grade is very nearly up to an A. Maybe that'll make up for the train-wreck that my exam[s] have been...

We'll probably get back our calc tests tomorrow; I'm almost hoping for an A. Almost. Just...not quite.

Oh dang, I need to do my logic quiz, too. At least I don't have to get up from my comp to do that!

And, just because Foxtrot is awesome:

And hey, but tonight, I'm walking on the water

And this here sky over Texas couldn't be calmer
You can have my soul back tomorrow
But you can't touch me tonight.

Because life is good and I am awesome.

Calc test went very well, I understand the stuff we're doing in proofs, and I didn't kill anyone in logic. Then, in my post-school environment, I got my bike fixed (though when I say fixed, what I mean is that I took it to my favourite bike shop and got the blown inner tube replaced because though I am awesome, I am not mechanically inclined), hunted down and photographed some radiators for Dad, and picked up from the post office the pretty lovely care package from Auntie Karla:



Oh, and here is one of the radiator pics:



Now, I'm watching the debate. Teresa pointed out, and now I'm really noticing, that McCain blinks an awful lot. It's kinda weird. I don't like how hostile they are, though. But, I'm not a big fan of hostility.

Aha, Obama isn't popular with teacher's unions. Good. No me gusta teacher's unions. Jerks.

But, never mind. I'm off to hunt down some food. Spencer brought me some popcorn earlier, but I probably ought to have some real food.

But hey. It's been a good day...

Because Dad just checked,

I will post. Seems reasonable.

But not a long post, because I really ought to be doing my physics lab report (yeah, again. Funny, it was this time last week that I posted, avoiding my lab report work...)

Today, (instead of regaling you with tales of centripetal acceleration), I will talk about words. First up, words that people in my bible class can neither pronounce, nor define (taken from just one day of lecture and readings):

oracle
cherubim
tabernacle
prostrated

The girl who was reading when we hit the word 'tabernacle' actually stopped, looked up in annoyance, and whinged "But why do I have to read? I don't even know what this word means!"

Can I slap you now? And okay, I'm probably being unkind and/or unreasonable. But GE classes annoy me. Particularly, you know, the people in them.

Next, new words I've learned since I started college. Well, the ones I thought neat enough to write down:

proband
prosopagnosia
scapegrace
amphictyony
eschatology

Eschatology and amphictyony came from Bible class, prosopagnosia and proband came from a research paper I did for Marriage and Family Relationships last semester, and scapegrace... I don't remember where that came from. But I think scapegrace is a particularly awesome word, and intend to use it in my next paper, if I possibly can.

Anybody learned any neat words lately?

Also, next week's Bible essay midterm got pushed back a week, which is an absolute grace, since I have physics and calc midterms next Friday and Wednesday, repectively, to worry about.

Aaaaand, let's see. Spencer banged his (injured) knee into his computer table about twenty minutes ago, which made it start bleeding again. It's really, fine, but he's more than happy to take the excuse to watch some more TV on his comp, rather than taking a shower/going to bed. Ah well. He's a grownup now. (Also, he only has one class to worry about staying awake for tomorrow. Oi.)

And yay for Mom and J coming up tomorrow! It's tres exciting! *Does happy dance* I can't wait. Hee hee!

And, in order to fully enjoy my time with them, I should get back to work and finish all my homework before they come. *le sigh* But hey! Tune in to this spot next week, same physics time, same physics channel...

Gentlefolk of Newport,

Or should I say "hats and cats,"
Please lend an ear
'Cause I want you to hear
Some really shimmering sharps and flats.

"I'm not one to attribute every activity of man to the changes in the climate. There is something to be said also for man's activities, but also for the cyclical temperature changes on our planet."

She did it again! Thank you Governor Palin, but I believe we covered this in your last interview. Really, the best commentary on this would have to be Oliver Burkeman, over at the Guardian, who says, ""I'm not one to attribute every activity of man to changes in the climate," Palin says. And who could argue with that? I made spaghetti bolognese for dinner last night, and I can confirm that it wasn't because of changes in the climate."

Well said, Mr. Burkeman. My lunchtime meal of tinned ravioli really had more to do with the economy than climate change, but that's a whole different discussion.

Also, Sarah dear, you really ought to work on your pronunciation of words like, oh say, nuclear. Not that, apparently, your people haven't been working on it, but it needs a little more fine polishing.

Yes, Teddy watched the Biden/Palin debate this evening. The Gender and Multi-Cultural Department was showing it, and it was pretty fun. The food totally beat out the entertainment (full Costco spread!), but it was a good time. I think I'll drag Spencer to the next one (Presidential, on Tuesday).

But for now, physics lab report. Fortunately, tomorrow's proofs test is canceled, but I've still got a fair amount of work to do. Also, my back tire is completely flat. Sigh. Have to get that fixed this weekend. Ah well, not that big a deal.

Now, you all stay away from changes in climate, y'hear? Goodness only knows what it might do to your activities...

Wrapped Up In Books!

Meme time!

1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 56.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the next seven sentences in your journal along with these instructions.
5. Don't dig for your favorite book, the cool book, or the intellectual one: pick the CLOSEST.

"Even for prophets like Hosea, Amos, and Ezekiel who may never have uttered a word in Jerusalem itself, the city and its Davidic dynasty play an important role. The only prophetic books in which there is no explicit reference to Zion or David or Judah, namely Daniel, Jonah, and Habakkuk, belong to a context where the centrality of Jerusalem, and in particular the temple, was never in doubt. In the case of Hosea and Amos it is likely that words originally adressed to the cities of the northern kingdoms (Samaria, Bethel, Gilgal) were later adapted for a Judean audience, either by the 'men of Hezekiah, king of Judah' sonn after the fall of Samaria in 722 BC, or more likely under the same conditions that led to the composition of a Judean 'History of Israel' from Moses to Jehoiachin."

And no, that's not seven sentences, but darned if I'm going to type up four more sentences from Prophesy and the Biblical Prophets. Though it's been sitting here on my desk for the past week, so I suppose it's about time I got some use out of it.

Right, back to studying proofs. First test is on Friday, but the prof has been sick for the past week, so there've been no office hours and minimal assistance during class. I mean, I feel bad for the guy, but couldn't he have pushed the test back or something? Well, never mind.

Songs to Aging Children [Don't] Come...

So, here's a quote pulled from Sarah Palin's recent interview with Katie Couric.:

"I'm not going to solely blame all of man's activities on changes in climate. Because the world's weather patterns are cyclical. And over history we have seen change there. But kind of doesn't matter at this point, as we debate what caused it. The point is, it's real, we need to do something about it."

Right, good to know that not all of my activities are going to be blamed on changes in the climate. I appreciate that, though even I'll admit to getting a bit cranky when it's very hot out. And yeah, that's not what she meant, and you can tell, from context, what she did mean. But still. Pretty funny.

Spencer just got back from walking the rent cheque down to the manager's office. We had fried rice for dinner, so that was nice. It's a good meal for us to make, because we both contribute; I cook the rice, and he fries it up. We're both good at our own parts of the process, and not terribly good at the other person's.

Also, a note: young adults are not, in general, terribly good at reading aloud. Particularly from the Bible, but I'd go out on a generalizing-limb and venture that they're just not very good at it in general. I mean, come on. How do you get into college (no, skip that, get to the age of 18) without figuring out how to pronounce Gilead? And, once corrected, don't you think you'd at least make an attempt at pronouncing it properly the second time? The third? Please, just shoot me now.

*Teddy is frustrated by stupid people*

But, never mind. I'm sure Logic tomorrow will make me feel much better...

In other news, I fell off my step today in aerobics. (And yeah, those are actually exactly what our steps look like.) We were in the middle of a new routine, and I suppose I was concentrating on the wrong thing, because I went to step up and found the edge of the step, followed rapidly by the floor. I've got a nice bruise on my left hip, but it wasn't too bad; the girl next to me stopped to help me up. We usually have someone fall off the step once every couple of class periods; today was just my day to be special. It's usually a problem that the girls with longer legs have: you step out to do a part of the routine, and hey! No step. Oops.

I sewed up a hole in one of the pockets of my brown leather jacket today. Now change will hopefully stop falling in to the lining of the jacket. not that, you know, it's at all cold enough here to warrant full length trousers, let alone a jacket. But soon! We're forecast (drumroll...) Rain! This Friday and Saturday. That would be different. Might have to hunt down my umbrella...

Hmm, down to the end of the entry, and I still don't have a good song lyric for the post title. I'm listening to Joni Mitchell's Clouds album right now, but I think "I Don't Know Where I Stand" is a bit harsh for even Mrs. Palin.

And it's simply irrational weather, I can't even hear myself think

Constantly bailing out water But still feel like I'm gonna sink.

But no joining the Army just yet. Maybe next week. We'll see how the Proofs test goes. For now, head's still above water.

Weather could use to simmer down a bit, though. It was 90 today. Sigh.

The class went well today, though. Prof really liked the proof I put up, so that was satisfying. And I got through another section of Logic without killing anyone. That's gotta be worth major points in my favour.

Made blueberry muffins today. Ate them. Watched Spence fill our dwindling freezer back up with frozen mini-pizzas and pepperoni hot pockets. Worked on physics and proofs homework.

But now, bed for Theodoras. My back hurts, and the tylenol pm is starting to kick in. Yawn...

In the meantime, here are some camera pics from a couple of days ago. We're very cool.

To days of inspiration,

...Playing hooky, making something
Out of nothing, the need
To express-
To communicate,
To going against the grain,
Going insane,
Going mad

Well, not playing hooky. And we're just trying for the days of inspiration. The going insane part is pretty spot-on, though.

I'm at school right now, down in the basement of the student union. I don't have class (Bible) for another 45 minutes, so I'm responding to emails and resisting the urge to go buy and consume grossly overpriced (but delightfully tasty) foodstuffs. No. Will not. Will wait until I get home and scarf a Totinos before leaving again for aerobics.

I have a busy night tonight; lab report from today's physics lab is due tomorrow, and I really should do another one of the proofs we were assigned for Proofs homework, though I doubt we'll get through any but the first one of the set, which I've already done.

Want....food...

I had a really nice rant thought out about the stupidity of how money and time are spent on campus by the bureaucracy, but I can't quite work up the fervor for it right now. Maybe later.

Spencer's only class tomorrow (math) got cancelled, so he has tomorrow off, the lucky bloke. Though, he did trip and rip a hole in the knee of his jeans this morning, so things balance out. Except that they don't, because he was on his way to getting In N Out for lunch at the time. Mmm, In N Out...

Oh, I almost forgot! I've been downloading lots of music lately, for free and (allegedly) legal, from spiralfrog.com. It's pretty easy to use, all of the songs play nicely with Rhapsody, and they have a decent selection. I adore free music. It's grand.

Well, I'm going to wander on over to my classroom now, I think. I'd like to just go home and nap until aerobics time, but never mind. Sleep is for weekends, anyway.

People Take Pictures of Each Other

Or, at least of their food. I was noticing today the... sparseness of Spence's pantry shelf compared to mine, though as he fairly pointed out, all of his food is in the freezer. Here's a pic of it I took with mi telefono; Spencer's shelf is nice and empty enough that we can keep all the ziploc bags there, too.



Spencer's contents: 2 boxes of popcorn, 2 boxes of jello mix, 1 brownie mix, 1 almost-empty thing of peanut butter

Teddy's contents: Bag of tortilla chips, bag of chocolate chips (don't get the two confused!), 1 box mashed potato mix, 1 box Rice a Roni, 2 boxes of pasta meals, 6 boxes mac n cheese, approx. 3 pounds of spaghetti, 4 boxes of cereal, 1 full box of strawberries and cream instant oatmeal (you might almost think I like carbs!), 3 jars of spaghetti sauce, 2 boxes blueberry muffin mix, 1 jar of applesauce, 1 tin of chilli, 1.5 things of peanut butter, aaaaaand 1 jar of Nutella.

But of course, I couldn't just stop with the pantry. Here, therefore are pics of our perishable food stores. Because I can. Mwahahahaha!



Spencer's contents: 2 mini frozen pizzas (not shown), 2 cartons of ice cream, 1 thing of frozen jello, I frozen Totinos, I box breakfast toaster things, 3 boxes off-brand hot pockets

Teddy's contents: 3 frozen Totinos, 1 popsicle




Spencer's fridge contents: 12-pack of cherry cola, 2 things of lunch meat, mozzerella cheese, sharp cheddar cheese

Teddy's fridge contents: 3 (cherry!) yoghurts, eggs, gallon of fat-free milk, torillas, jam from Teresa's mum, 2 things of colby jack cheese.

Plus miscellaneous bits in the fridge door: communal carrots, condiments, and butter, my applesauce, Spencer's cranberry juice

So, there you go. Mostly, an excuse to play with my cameraphone :)

In other news, I really love Word 2007. It is my friend. It lets me write out reeeeealy pretty equations for my lab reports, and formats them properly. La. Plus, a full complement of math and Greek symbols that don't require any special keystrokes. Me gusta mucho.

While we're on the topic of things I like, I quite like my gas stovetop. It's fun. And I like the Rent soundtrack a lot. And sleep, too. And not-crazy-hot weather is nice.

yawn. Speaking of sleep...

Things, are what I like to do...

...Doing things is what I like to do

Things are what I like to do
No twiddling of thumbs
I get everything done

I'm slightly more productive now than previous because...
I'm slightly more efficient than I previously was...

Doing things is what I like to do, YES!
Doing things is what I like to do, YES!

Courtesy of They Might Be Giants, via a lj I follow, from a Dunkin' Doughnuts commercial. And yes, I'm quite good at doing things.

Particularly, it seems, if those things resemble failing physics tests. I went in, sat down, collected my test, read all of the problems first, then proceeded to freak out. Badly. I suspect the test was something of a train wreck, though I did get pretty fully through 2 of the 4 problems, and at least wrote some stuff down for the other two. Still, I think I'll be lucky if I get over 50 points, out of 100. It would even probably be all right if it was being curved, but it isn't. Sigh. Seriously have to try harder next time (when, thankfully, there isn't a calculus exam two days beforehand).

But! The calc exam, I actually did quite well on that, at least. Since Pavone has a TA this semester, we actually got them back the class after we took it (today). And... the damage: out of a total of 40 points, I got 28. Which, on its own, isn't even horrible, but then we also have the pretty grade curve! So, more important than my personal score was the class average, which was a grand staggering 20.6, with a standard deviation of (equally impressive) 9.4. So, I'm very nearly a standard deviation above the mean, though unfortunately this semester you have to be 1.5 above to get an A. Ah well; I'm still entirely pleased with this result. Three of my four good friends in the class actually showed up for it today; they got 29 (yay for Joanna!), 22, and 20, respectively. The fourth friend is hacking sick, but showed up f0r proofs (homework due) before bolting off to her physics test. Still, I'm looking forward to Monday, to find out how she did. I am a nosy parker...

Spencer's out tonight, seeing a Autobahn by Neil LaBute in town to fulfill a requirement for his drama class. I wish there were more plays here I was interested in seeing, although the Blue Room is going to be showing The Laramie Project in Novemeber. Maybe I'll get around to seeing that...

But for now, there's a pleasant weekend ahead of me. The only thing I have to do is run to the bank tomorrow, and then I get to stay curled up at home, working on homework and getting the tidying-up done that I didn't manage during the week. Hey, maybe I'll cook something more complex than pasta-with-sauce-from-a-jar-poured-on-top. That'd be neat.

And, while I'm thinking about the nice things I get to do this weekend, I think I'll wander off and contemplate getting more than 6 straight hours of sleep. Mmm, sleep...

What's the frequency, Kenneth?

Well, Dan Rather didn't know, and I sure don't either. Sorta the theme for the week; people beating me over the head, while demanding to know incomprehensible things.

Right. And that's the end of my attempt towards a meaningful metaphor towards life for the evening. Everyone should really just go read some of Piet Hien's Grooks instead. Some samples:

OUR GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT

We must expect posterity
to view with some asperity
 the marvels and the wonders
   we're passing on to it;
but it should change its attitude
to one of heartfelt gratitude
 when thinking of the blunders
   we didn't quite commit.


OUT OF TIME
A holiday thought.

My old clock used to tell the time
  and subdivide diurnity;
but now it's lost both hands and chime
  and only tells eternity.

Nice, quick, pithy little things, with a lot of fun rhyming. Me gusta.

I made a grilled cheese sandwich for late dinner this evening. Burned both sides, but it was scrummy anyway.Lots of hot, melty cheese. I'm a fan. With a cold glass of milk. *Sighs happily*

Washed towels today, which was good; we've been out of clean kitchen rags for about a week. But now, clean ones. So that's nice.

Physics lab tomorrow, along with bible class and then aerobics. Our lab is going to be on projectile motion, so that'll be interesting. *Pictures 20 college kids flinging stuff around, in the name of projectile science* Which is not quite like trying this type of science, but will be intriguing anyway.

And that's all from me. Going to go lapse into unconsciousness now. Mmm, sleep...

Six o'clock already, I was just in the middle of a dream...

Monday again! I'm fed, dishwasher's running, and I've still got ten minutes left before I have to take off for calc. Man, I don't know if I can even describe how glad I am that I only have one 8:00 class this semester; last year, it was every morning. Now, only Thursdays!

Physics session last night went well. I need to do some more projectile motion problems, so I really know what's going on there, but I think I'm generally in good shape. We'll see come this Friday, I suppose...

Spencer had a bit of a math-induced meltdown last night. Sigh. Got hissy and stalked off. Him, not me. Obviously.

Now, calc followed by proofs followed by logic followed by physics. Everyone have a good day!

Religiously, I'm speaking on the science, 'cause...

...We've gotta live on science alone.
I'll tell you what, Mathematically I'm having it.
I wanna live on science alone.

Well, even if I don't want to, it seems like it's my lot at the moment. Which is okay, though it's keeping me extraordinarily busy. Thus, the lack of blogging.

In fact, I have to leave in half an hour, to go to the physics evening study session for our first exam, which is coming up on Friday (otherwise known as, far too quickly!). Was out all day yesterday, studying calc for that exam on Wednesday. Today has been devoted (nominally) to physics. Barely seen my computer, which is unusual for a weekend :)

Spence made pizza dough this evening, so we had pizza for dinner. A batch of dough makes about 5-6 of our toaster oven size pizzas, so we have plenty left for food tomorrow.

Honestly, that's about it; school's been pretty all-consuming. Hopefully it'll get better after this week is over, but I wouldn't bet on it. Whinge, whinge, whinge :)

So here, from the mouth of an expert, is what academia is all about, folks:

The Endless Plain of Fortune...

...is mine this afternoon! Just got home, and hey! The internet's decided to fix itself and is now back up and running. Sooooo, okay. Good enough for me.

Bookstore was either sold out of or never got in, the bible I need. So, the RELS prof will just have to deal with some of us not having our bibles tomorrow.

Picked up the app for summer orientation leader for next summer here. Pay's eight bucks an hour, it's guaranteed work for two months, and I would just be able to stay here and not move any of my stuff. (Not that staying in Chico for the summer is the world's most brilliant plan, but money is nice.) So, we'll see how that goes. I thought about doing it last summer, but at the time I was still getting charged $339 a unit, and the training for it is a 3 unit spring class. So, no. Wasn't going to happen. This year though... *ponders*

Speaking of Chico's weather, it's currently an overly-sunny 90 degrees F out. Better than 90 C, but still rather warm, thank you.

I'm all alone...

There's no internet beside me...

Actually, at the moment, there is. I'm at school making use of the nice student union computers that HAVE INTERNET. It was still down at home this morning, so I suspect that will be what I spend my afternoon working on.

Until around 17:40, when I get to go the math club monthly pizza night. It's a good deal: I pay them 5 bucks for the semester, and get buffet dinner at Round Table once a month. Mmm, food...

The logic prof is such an unbelievable idiot.He can't deal with students who disagree with him, so he either makes fun of their arguments or just ignores their point. It's... just ridiculous. Plus, there's the whole I'm-going-to-shove-my-political-agenda-down-your-throat-now that just doesn't let up. Gaaaaaaaaaah. Total jerk.

Other than that, school is good. But for now, I have to go buy a new (non-$100!) bible, and then go home and try to reestablish my contact with the outside world :)