cosmic_celery

Okay, need to make a post now to go over quickly everything that's happened in the past couple weeks:

Finals taken, classes finished! I had a moment of sheer terror when I walked in for my British Literature final - I was two hours late! It's like one of those terrible cliche dreams, except I wasn't naked (that might have improved the situation, who knows). But the professor was very understanding and I wrote my final essay in his office while he started working on the rest of the class's papers. At one point another teacher walked up to the door and asked him if he was done with grading and he responded that he hasn't but all he had left were the Brit lit papers and Brit Lit students aren't just any old students. XD

So, I have an A in British lit, a B in both Mythology and Communications and don't know what my grade is yet for my Self-Defense class, but probably a B. Overall, I've got around a 3.0 now. That's good for me!

This morning I drove up with mom to take my driver's exam, but (alas) I made a FATAL ERROR and failed. Basically, I swung into traffic too early and a car had to avoid me. Oooops. I was trying to rush passing the test (well, as rushed as you can get taking a drive test at 21) for super secret special reasons, which meant that I had to take it downtown rather than around where I live. Oh well. I shall reschedule and try again. Maybe in an area I'm more familiar with next time!

I had a school counselor appointment today, wherein I learned that I have to take more classes than I thought I had to take, that I have to attend Fall and Spring, and that I'm going to come out of it with two Associates degrees (English and English Creative Writing), two certificates, and possibly one other thing. In the fall I have to take more math and science...which I've been studiously avoiding. Also, I might need to take an American Lit class? I have to go back and check.

I also took a look at a music theory class that they have being taught on the guitar. I've been practicing the guitar just about everyday, but it would be great to actually know more about what I'm doing and how the guitar actually works as an instrument.

I felt absolutely terrible after my test today, but I do know that I'm on a track. I'm going somewhere!

(lets hope it's not off a cliff)

So, my Grandma seems to be doing alright. I'm still pretty worried about her, but she's going to get some more information before she does anything serious and that seems like the best was to go about things.

Last week I went into the bank with a bond (that I've mentioned here before) and cashed it in. I'd been told that it could be worth around a thousand bucks, as I've had it for twenty years. It's worth a lot less than I thought it was worth. Only about a hundred and fifty bucks. But ah well.

It's already been spent. I bought a few things I'd been thinking about getting for a while: some sunglasses, a program to help me learn guitar (the thing has just been sitting around and I can't stand it), and a pretty nice little microphone. I'd been talking with my grandma about how she wants to record some of the stories about her mother and grandmother and the stories she knows from them. I figure if I had something a bit better than the built-in mic on my laptop, I could actually make that happen. So that's what I did.

So now I've got no money. A while back I applied to be a first reader for the online science fiction magazine Strange Horizons and, after almost a month, they got back to me saying that "after some discussion of your application and your comments on your favorite and least-favorite SH stories, we think this probably isn't a good match. We thought you made some good comments, but we just don't feel that our tastes and yours mesh well enough for this position." Pfft. I can't even get a non-paying job.

But I still have yet to sell any of the stuff I've set aside, and I'm really looking forward to the stuff I'm getting. I'm trying to think of alternative uses for the mic. What would you people want to hear? poetry? my writing? excruciating guitar practice and gradual improvement? I kind of hate the sound of my own voice, so maybe it'd be like immersion therapy. I don't know.

Aaaanyway. Still liking my British lit class, and still annoyed by the ineffective teacher in my mythology class, but I'm doing well in both. Self defense class was really uncomfortable the other night because he choose me as a volunteer to practice a few moves in front of the class. That is, he "attacked" while I practiced in front of everyone. This is probably partly because my mom can't really do things in the same way a young, fit person could. Also, I think he likes me. I have no idea why. He doesn't seem to like my mom at all. It's funny since she's usually the one who's great with people. I don't like him as much as the guy he has coming in to help out with demonstrations every once in a while. This guy and the teacher seem to be a bit gay together. Again, I don't know, but it's hard not to go there when one of them's straddling the other. (And no, it's not a pleasant image. Neither of them are exactly Greek gods.} Ahem...but anyway...

Had an in-class essay comparing Keats' "Ode to a Nightingale" and Shelley's "To a Skylark" and I got a 94%! Though I think he's a very easy grader with the in-class essays. The guy next to me, a complete idiot, got a B.

Next we're reading through Dickens' Hard Times. I need to read that this weekend...and I'd like to start on a book I bought called Arthur and George by Julian Barnes. It's an alternate history novel surrounding an original character and Aurthur Conan Doyle in late Victorian England. ...and the next EDA, and some art stuff. And research. Oh, and writing. I haven't done any writing. And...a bunch of other stuff.

Agh. Too much to do.

I'm tired. Today I finished reading Dominion for the EDA read-a-long (discussion post up at act_three by the way - I'll have to respond to responses tomorrow).

I finished my physics homework (with some help from a classmate who didn't get some of the questions I found easy. Ah well. different sorts of minds.) I still have the workbook to do and a lab write up to...write up. I read most of the reading for next week's English class on Roj William Blake. Need to do reading and a write-up on my name for Mythology. The teacher's a bit mystical and she wants us to write the "major impression" we get from our own name. Fuck if I know what that means. Don't have to write much for it though, so I should be able to bullshit a paragraph or so.

Trying to fit in doing other things is a bit tough. I need to schedule myself a lot tighter if I want to get anything besides schoolwork done.

THE HONESTY MEME

So, go be honest with me, especially if I'm constantly annoying you or something.
__

I started school today. I've been really intensely anxious this past week. I suppose it's a result of doing all my classes online last semester. I haven't really been around people I don't know in months...and now it's just completely jarring to be around so many. My first class in the morning is physics (physics phyyysics physics) which on one hand is really interesting to me. On the other hand, it seems like it's going to be tons of work and is going to involve math that I'm not entirely comfortable with. (Yes, I'm really very awful at most math.) I sat front and center which should both get me to pay attention and scare the shit out of me on a daily basis.

The other class I attended today was my Self Defense class that I'm taking with Mom. It's the same teacher that taught the T'ai Chi class, which is alright. He talked for a while today about different types of predators. A lot of it just seems common sense to me. Look around, be aware of your surroundings, most attackers are someone the victim already knows, that sort of thing. I'm not sure if Mom's going to do very well in the class because she can't really hit the pads and things without it hurting her (though he said it would be fine). Her and her Doctor have been trying to figure out a new medication to deal with her pain issues (she has rheumatoid arthritis), but the stuff they just put her on was making her feel sick, so their going to try something else.

Not sure how that's going to work out, especially since my Grandma in going in for a surgery next week. She has a big growth on one of her ovaries that they're going to go in and remove because it's causing some problems for her. The whole idea scares the shit out of me. She's tough as nails, but she's also almost 90 years old.

...And because most of my post was a bummer:

I've been on a Smiths kick this week and had the following conversation with mom:

Her: That guy has a really unique voice.
Me: It's Morrissey.
Her: ...Van Morrissey?

Tomorrow I've got my physics lab (with a different teacher than the lectures), mythology and British lit. We'll see how it goes. But...I'm signing off now as I've got to be awake in a few hours. Man, this early rising is going to take some getting used to.

I got my grades back, and I passed all my classes! (If you were wondering, "I passed all my classes!" is what terrible, terrible, students say when they get their grades back.) All in all, that's three Bs and one C. Woo.

Christmas (C'rizzmas) tomorrow! So a very merry Christmas to everyone if I don't make a post tomorrow. Christmas cards have all been sent out, so I hope you enjoy them when you get them.

I think I'll be doing all my fandom_stocking filling after the holiday, as nothing there gets revealed until the first. (my stocking here yadda yadda)

Hatter had a post at dear_mun the other day, which went...alright. Maybe. He got pervy.

I have to knit like a demon today to get a scarf finished for my grandma, so...

First of all, flist, are you interested in Fitz but know nothing about him? I'm gauging interest in an EDA read-along, so if you're interested, head over to act_three and put in a word!

As for me-

I've spent today figuring out what classes I'll be taking next semester, and I think I'll be able to fit them all in to graduate with my AA in English (emphasis in creative writing!) after the semester. ...and I have to figure out how to file for graduation since there's no information on the website.

Those classes will (hopefully) be:
Intro to Physics (with a lab) - fills the sciences requirement and doesn't require higher mathematics or protective eyewear. Physicsphysicsphysicsphysicsphysicsphysics phyyyyyysics physics.

Mythology - I e-mailed the professor when I was thinking of taking this class a couple semesters ago and expressed my worries about her textbook, which I've heard is largely inaccurate. She never responded to me...so I hope that she doesn't remember my name.

British Literature II - with the same teacher I took before, who is actually English and a good teacher...even though he called me Susan once (I am not called Susan).

Interpersonal Communication - a requirement which I have to re-take because I missed a major assignment while I had a fever of 103 and was coughing up a lung a couple weeks ago. (And he wouldn't give me an extension on the dang thing either.)

Self-Defense for Women - (not sure why just women. Can't guys learn to kick guys in the balls too?) with the same teacher I'm taking T'ai Chi from this semester, and is actually practical as well as filling the fitness requirement.

I also need to figure out if 1) I can get into a four year institution and 2) if I can afford it without taking out massive loans. The answer to both of these questions is most likely no, given that California colleges are currently restricting admissions, I'm not a particularly desirable candidate, and I have no money. :|

Okay, so while most of San Diego geekdom is at ComicCon, I have been at home. AT HOME.

What I did do this week:
I visited the allergist doctor (Yes, I had to go back and re-type doctor with a lower-case d). I don't like him much because he's touchy-feely and likes to stare at my boobs...and he made me wait around for an hour. Anyway, he thinks that I'm not having an allergic reaction to anything AT ALL, but in fact have some sort of virus that's gone systemic. That means that my body will fight it off on it's own - which seems like it might be the case since the bumps on my legs are nearly all gone.

I also got books in the mail for three of my classes, the anthropology book looks interesting and informative, the world history book looks like a standard textbook, and the interpersonal communication textbook looks like it was written in some sort of cuddly, ineffectual-quote ridden hell. All around, pretty much what I'd expected.

Also, I updated my lovely Fitz comm act_three with a new banner and a slightly new look. The old banner was bugging me because it didn't look like Fitz to me, but this one does. Also, go join if you haven't!

And tomorrow, I get to meet faience!

Okay, so, I was browsing through the UCSD (University of California San Diego) linguistics department's website earlier today. I wanted to see what the lower level requirements were and yadda yadda prerequisites yadda yadda. By the way, it says I need two years foreign language and they're on the quarter system...so how many semesters is that? Two? Four? I have no idea.

Anyway, I clicked on the "Reading Groups" section of the site and found this:

The Experimental Syntax Reading Group meets every other Friday at 11 am to discuss methods of collecting syntactic data in an objective and precise manner.

Now, I don't know if I'd actually be interested in joining that sort of group. What I do know is that for some reason that is the sexiest sentence ever.



Clearly I have some sort of problem.

I passed all my classes this semester! Yay.

Today I went through my closet, cleaned, and got rid of tons of clothes that don't fit or which I don't wear any more. There's still much in there that sort of fits, so that stays. But really...I had stuff in there that I've been carting around since middle school and probably hasn't fit since then. Going to move on to cleaning the rest of my room either tonight or tomorrow...and going through and organizing all my papers. If I haven't completely burned out by then maybe I'll go through my books. Eep.

Since I'm not sure if I'm getting that job, and I'm not taking any summer classes, I think that I'm going to devote my summer to actually doing things I've been meaning to do.

As always, however, I'm interested in doing too many things. I'm sure if I was able to fully devote myself to one thing, I'd be a master of whatever it was. But if I budget my time, I think that I can do some of what I want to do. I'd like to renew my interest in piano and in juggling, to write a thousand words a day, work on more comics, and research for a couple things I've been interested in. Also, I should be studying German so that the whole of what I've learned doesn't fall out of my head.

And if I do get the job I'll have even less time, but I want to be productive! And, I figure, if I at least try to do all of those things, I'll get a lot done along the way.

Name fifteen favorite fannish pairings (het/slash/canon/fanon), and ask people if they notice any common traits/tendencies in the pairings you choose. Try to pick different fandoms.

EDIT: Now with YouTube vids (where they exist...and don't completely suck) to make it more interesting.

1. Six/the Rani (Doctor Who)
2. George/Mason (Dead Like Me)
3. Valentine/Helena (Mirrormask)
4. Five/Tegan (Doctor Who)
5. Rimmer/Lister (Red Dwarf)
6. Harry/Luna (Harry Potter)
7. Snape/Hermione (Harry Potter)
8. Wash/Zoe (Firefly)
9. Fitz/Eight (Doctor Who)
10. Aaron/Mahandra (Wonderfalls)
11. Merton/Lori (Big Wolf on Campus)
12. Six/Peri (Doctor Who)
13. Rodney/Radek (Stargate Atlantis) Yes, I know it makes no sense.
14. Sam/Annie (Life on Mars)
15. Ford Prefect/towels (Hitchhiker's...yeah, I'm kidding with this one)

Ah, bastards and crazies! How promising. But do tell me what ya think.

In other news, I finished two of my finals today, and got my research paper back. I got an 89 out of a hundred. One point shy of an A! Maybe she's not capable of giving me an A - I've gotten Bs all semester. :P