Mwah Ha Ha! I have now officially finished all my semester 1 assessment! Yay! But I do agree with the others, it does have a down side-most of my friends still have exams and essays to finish, so I'll have to hang out all by myself.
But I think I can live with it! Life is awesome.
Good luck to all!
Still one week to go before exams start and finish, and I've stopped studying already; stopped being a somewhat inappropriate verb due to the fact that it implies that there was a start somewhere, a fact which at this stage is still disputed. Practical exam tomorrow, which should hopefully go decently, and then I will have run out of legitimate excuses to avoid actual studying, i.e. law subjects, which, unlike music subjects, involve actually looking at notes, one of my least favourite activities on the face of this earth.
All I would like to say is this: I sincerely hope that the legislative drafter who came up with the brilliant language of s 48(3) of the Wrongs Act, which includes the sentence "Risks that are not insignificant include all risks other than insignificant risks, including, but not limited to, significant risks" did not get a pay rise the year that sentence was inserted.
There are too many sultanas in Sultana Bran.
There's a great song from the musical "You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown" that's seemed more and more relevant over the last few days. It's called "The Book Report", as the characters are trying to write a book report on Peter Rabbit. Yet which character's experience is closest to my own, writing my History and Philosophy of Science essay?
There's Lucy, who constantly counts her words, getting to 100 by listing 17 different types of vegetables that were in the garden, and finishing with "The very very very end."
Then there's Schroeder, who struggles to find a way into his report, until he decides it reminds him of Robin Hood. He then spends the song 'writing' about Robin Hood, with some tenuous links to Peter Rabbit - "And then it looked like the sheriff would win - but not for long. Away they ran...just lke rabbits, who run a lot, as you can tell from the story of Peter Rabbit, which this report is about."
There's Linus, who perhaps is best explained by a quote. "In examining a book such as Peter Rabbit, it is important that the superficial chracteristics of its deceptively simple plot should not be allowed to blind the reader to the more substantial fabric of its deeper motivations. In this report I plan to discuss the sociological implications of family pressures so great as to drive an otherwise moral rabbit to perform acts of thievery which he consciously knew were against the law."
Finally, there's Charlie Brown. He decides that "if I start writing now when I'm not really rested it could upset my thinking, which is no good at all. I'll get a fresh start tomorrow and it's not due till Wednesday, so I'll have all of Tuesday..." And so on.
As the song goes on, the characters finish their reports in the same fashion. Except Charlie Brown, who of course gets the final line in the song - "I haven't even started yet!"
So who am I? Well, not really any of them. I'm not Linus, as I can never even remember the words to his part of the song, let alone pull them out of my own head. Neither am I Schroeder. I can sympathise with Lucy's experience, but more in cutting down words, rather than adding them up.
And Charlie Brown? Well, I'm generally pretty focussed. It causes me more stress to leave it to the last minute than just to get started on it. And I have definitely started my HPS essay - in fact, it's almost finished. But whenever I'm tempted to procastinate, I just hear those lines of his in my head. I think there's a bit of Charlie Brown in everyone. Which is the thing I love so much about that comic strip in general. :)
I just finished my 2 outta 3 exams and when is the next one? After 2 WEEKS!!! The last one on the last day of the examination period. Most of my friends are gonna finish early...and that juz annoys the hell outta me.
Can't believe this is happening to me...
My gums are better and not swollen now. Had a celebratory 4 hour practice session to commemorate.
Other than that, I have been bored. I know I have exams soon, but I really cannot get into the mood to study.
Halfway there - two subjects completely finished, and two more to go. I don't feel as satisfied as I thought I would - maybe tomorrow when it's 3:1.
Yesterday I handed in my Cinema Studies final essay - two days early, which was quite an achievement. I wanted to get it out of the way before my exams, but I wasn't sure if that was a practical aim. But I did it, and I felt pretty happy about the essay in the end.
Today I had my first university exam - Biology of Cells and Organisms. I was pretty nervous beforehand, as I always am. It's a pretty humbling experience, being one of thousands of people sitting exams. I have no idea how many different classes were on when I was there, but it was definitely more than just Biol. Probably more than 3. I thought the paper was pretty good. There was only one part where I felt stumped, which was one of the extended answer questions. I know what protogyny is, but writing a whole 10 marks on it? I just made some stuff up, and hopefully I'll get some marks here and there.
A tip for everyone with exams in the Royal Exhibition Building - wear something WARM. It's cold, particularly when you're sitting still for three hours. I dressed in layers, but I was still shivering a bit by the end.
Chemistry is tomorrow morning. I really wanted an extra day or so between the two, but now that I'm here, I just want to get it over and done with. I'm feeling okay about Chem, although I am pretty tired after Biol, and I don't feel like doing a whole lot of study tonight. I'll just have to hope I've done some good study in the last week or so to get me through the paper.
And after that, just the one more essay to write, for Science, Philosophy and History. Which I haven't started. But I have a whole week, and I've done some of the research, so I think I should be okay. And after a week of Cinema Essay-Biol-Chem alternation, it will be nice just to focus all my time onto the one thing. Then holidays! There is light at the end of this tunnel, after all.
Hope everyone else's exams and essays are going well. A thing to remember is that we all made it into one of the best universities in the country. We've also made it through our first semester of university - let's be proud of our achievements so far, and in terms of marks, essays and exams, just try not to let the stress get too overwhelming.
Three subjects down, one to go. I'll be free by this Friday.
Q - You know what? I was slightly jealous of myself, I couldn't believe my luck, exams over by the end of swotvac! But now, my extreme aptitude for procrastination has forced my three essays to all be last minute ones, and I'm not liking my position at the moment.
Exams vs. Essays - anyone care to weigh in?
Things I have been doing instead of writing essays:
- deciding what subject will replace spanish next semester (quite a task as there are about 3 billion arts subjects)
- downloading tv shows onto my Zen (mp3 player - I just worked out how to do it, even though I've had it for a year)
- watching said tv shows in bed before I get up in the morning. Scrubs, That 70s Show, One Tree Hill and Gilmore Girls at the moment
- sleeping
- making plans to study
- writing this blog
- cleaning, which incidentally means that for once in my life my study and room are clean
Arggghhhhh! I need to write!!!!!
Good luck to all and to all a good night.
This afternoon I went for a walk. It's something I try to do everday during exam time, because the exercise helps me to think, and I can take my flash cards with me (although whether or not I look at them is another matter). When you've been sitting at your desk all day, it's really useful just to get out into the fresh air.
I walk a lot at home, and walking in Melbourne hasn't felt the same. Too many cars, and too many people. I've wandered around Royal Park, Princess Park, the residential streets around Royal Parade, and up around the Carlton Gardens, yet nothing has really felt the same as home. Today I was struck by how beautiful the cemetery looked in the late afternoon sunlight, however. There are lots of tall trees in the Melbourne Cemetery, and with the sun streaming through them, bathing the headstones in a soft glow, I couldn't help but be struck by how peaceful it seemed.
On the way back I walked past Queen's College. Just as I was nearing St Hilda's, I walked past another person. You know what it's like when you think you recognise someone, but you don't really want to stare, so you just try to look at them out the corner of your eye? And most of the time it's not who you thought it was anyway? Well, that happened to me with this person - except I SWEAR it was Alan Brough, of Spicks and Specks fame. It looked just like him, just with more stubble. My whole face must have lit up - he probably thought I was an idiot. But you don't get to see people like Alan Brough everyday in Shepparton. And I love Alan! I'm still giddy inside thinking about it.
Hope Swot Vac is treating everyone kindly.
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