...I almost feel as though my semester was wasted. I don't feel as though I've been truly challenged intellectually. I've had a lot of new concepts and ideas presented to me and I learned a lot about things that I had no clue about before...but I was never really challenged...there never came a point in time when I just said "you know what...I can't do this..." There was Arabic..but even that wasn't "I can't do this" that was "I don't feel like putting the effort necessary to become good at this...it's not worth it."
I can't say I've learned nothing. That would be an absolute lie. In Lohr's class alone I learned more in a semester then I did in two years of high school history courses. I became twice the writer I was thanks to Tamashasky and I now have a much larger range in my writing and thinking due to Collins. I guess my biggest issue is Western Legal Tradition w/ Butterton. That class could have been so much more than what it was. A friend of mine took it under another prof and it was amazing for her. Hard and frustrating, but that's what made it great. For anyone who knows me, you know I do everything "hard core." I want the challenges. I want the sleepless nights and the tears. But did I get that? No. I feel like I got absolutely nothing out of that class. Gah. Gah is the only word that can describe how I feel right now primarily because I know that I can completely blow off studying for the final and still come away with an A in the class.
On the plus side...if nothing else has come from this semester...there was the day in college writing when I realized that I know very little and understand absolutely nothing, especially about religion. Maybe now the real journey begins...
19 December 2004
14 December 2004
South Siders, be silent!
There's a horrible little something out there...it's true atrocity isn't known by very many...and for those of us who have experienced it? Well...let's just say that we do our best to block out the painful memories...
...no, I'm not talking about the Holocaust, the Crimean War or even the hellish experience known as high school...I'm talking about FIRE ALARMS.
I remember that day in February at YC...when some arse called in a bomb threat and we were all forcibly marched outside into the depths of winter...I remember thinking "it can't get much worse then this". Oh how I was wrong.
Picture it people...American University, McDowell Hall, 2004. A young student gets back to her room after a fun night around 3:30 and crawls into bed around 4...then...disaster strikes. Unbeknownst to her and her roommate, the morons on the 6th floor decided to put s'mores in the oven, not knowing that somehow they would catch fire and set off the alarm. The innocent young student is lying peacefully in bed, just about to doze off when she hears an annoying, shallow sound...oddly similiar to that of a knife plunging through your heart. She was just about to ignore the pestering noise, that doesn't quite seem real, when Christine the RA knocks loudly on the door screaming, "GIRLS! GET OUT! There's a FIRE!!" The two roommates fall out of bed and stumble blindly into shoes and sweatshirts then outside into the frigid early morning, December air where they are forced to wait for all eternity.
Except for the all eternity thing...that actually happened...Friday night. Kill me now. Or better yet, kill the idiots on the 6th floor.
...no, I'm not talking about the Holocaust, the Crimean War or even the hellish experience known as high school...I'm talking about FIRE ALARMS.
I remember that day in February at YC...when some arse called in a bomb threat and we were all forcibly marched outside into the depths of winter...I remember thinking "it can't get much worse then this". Oh how I was wrong.
Picture it people...American University, McDowell Hall, 2004. A young student gets back to her room after a fun night around 3:30 and crawls into bed around 4...then...disaster strikes. Unbeknownst to her and her roommate, the morons on the 6th floor decided to put s'mores in the oven, not knowing that somehow they would catch fire and set off the alarm. The innocent young student is lying peacefully in bed, just about to doze off when she hears an annoying, shallow sound...oddly similiar to that of a knife plunging through your heart. She was just about to ignore the pestering noise, that doesn't quite seem real, when Christine the RA knocks loudly on the door screaming, "GIRLS! GET OUT! There's a FIRE!!" The two roommates fall out of bed and stumble blindly into shoes and sweatshirts then outside into the frigid early morning, December air where they are forced to wait for all eternity.
Except for the all eternity thing...that actually happened...Friday night. Kill me now. Or better yet, kill the idiots on the 6th floor.
10 December 2004
And in the end...it doesn't really matter...
...my first semester is pretty much over and I cannot believe it. It went by so fast that I can't believe it's nearly Christmas. Overall, I have to say I'm really happy with how everything turned out. Now given, I consider my math class to be a complete waste of my time and money, but it was necessary. C'est la vie. So overall...
Beyond Sovereignty was a good class. It was far too early in the morning but I learned to look at the world from a new perspective, particuarly involving illicit activity. I also got a quick and dirty rundown on how IR and social science papers need to be written. Given, it does not mesh with my style of writing at all, but that's OK because I don't plan to take many IR/SIS classes and I have no intention of changing my writing style for anyone. Once again, math was a complete waste of time but it was also a GPA booster. Imperial Russian History..well, words really cannot describe that class. Let's just say that not only do I now know far too much about Russia, I also learned how to cope w/ profs who are TOO SMART FOR THEIR OWN GOOD. College Writing was by far my favourite class. Tamashasky was an amazing prof who not only improved my writing style but helped me realize my own legitimacy and credibility. We read some amazing books that changed my view of the world and I'm really hoping that I can get into his class next semester. If not though, Cox is supposedly amazing in his own rite and I'm sure I'll learn a lot from him. Western Legal Tradition was...interesting...true, Dr. Butterton did get off on tangents a lot and I have no idea how I did so well in his class, but I the important thing was the skills I learned in reading legal documents.
Next semester I am taking Macroeconomics, Critical Issues in Justice, Statistics, College Writing Seminar and Third World Literature. Hopefully it will go as well as this first semester went.
Still dreading Pennsylvania.
Beyond Sovereignty was a good class. It was far too early in the morning but I learned to look at the world from a new perspective, particuarly involving illicit activity. I also got a quick and dirty rundown on how IR and social science papers need to be written. Given, it does not mesh with my style of writing at all, but that's OK because I don't plan to take many IR/SIS classes and I have no intention of changing my writing style for anyone. Once again, math was a complete waste of time but it was also a GPA booster. Imperial Russian History..well, words really cannot describe that class. Let's just say that not only do I now know far too much about Russia, I also learned how to cope w/ profs who are TOO SMART FOR THEIR OWN GOOD. College Writing was by far my favourite class. Tamashasky was an amazing prof who not only improved my writing style but helped me realize my own legitimacy and credibility. We read some amazing books that changed my view of the world and I'm really hoping that I can get into his class next semester. If not though, Cox is supposedly amazing in his own rite and I'm sure I'll learn a lot from him. Western Legal Tradition was...interesting...true, Dr. Butterton did get off on tangents a lot and I have no idea how I did so well in his class, but I the important thing was the skills I learned in reading legal documents.
Next semester I am taking Macroeconomics, Critical Issues in Justice, Statistics, College Writing Seminar and Third World Literature. Hopefully it will go as well as this first semester went.
Still dreading Pennsylvania.
04 December 2004
The Long Road (quite literally...this will be a massive entry)
OK...so incase you didn't gather from my oh-so-subtle away messages of "bronchitis: 1284 Ashley: -35" I had a wicked case of bronchitis over the Thanksgiving break that pretty much ruined it for me. But here's the rundown of what happened:
Monday: Mom and Aunt came to pick me up around 9:30. Got back home around midnight after getting slightly lost around the Potomac.
Tuesday: Slept late, walked the dog (yay!), went to the mall w/ mom to get the coat I wanted but would be cheaper in PA, got adjusted at the chiro (those guys are gods), saw dad for the first time (we got in so late and he gets up for work insanely early), then had dinner w/ Carol and Dave and a long conversation with Dave. Very pleasant and enjoyable.
Wednesday: Slept in a bit too late and was a tad late getting to York Catholic to meet Ben to visit old teachers. Deb turned up @ school too so I got to see both her and Ben for the first time since August, which was awesome. Saw the English deptartment, Mr. Andrews, Ms. Lily and Mr. Euclide. Avoided Sahd like the plague. After that we went to lunch @ Taco Bell and met up w/ Kato, Dillon, Steve, Sam and Lisa. Was talked into having a small get together at my house that night by Kato and Ben. So around 9:45 Ben showed up and we got to talk about life at college and how we adjusted for a while before Deb, Kato and Jo got there. Ben ate about 5 pieces of pizza and disturbed us all greatly with his ability to eat. After that I decided we had to leave b/c we were getting loud so we went to Denny's and then just drove around for a while. After a bit I realized we were pretty close to Krzysztof's house and then Ben realized the same thing about 2 minutes later so after a lot of backing up and turning around we visited Krzysztof at like 1am. I'll tell you something it was a RELIEF to see him looking less then immaculate for once. It's nice to see that he's actually human underneath the almost-always perfectly groomed attire. After we talked to him for a while we headed to my house when everyone left around 2:30 or so. Good times, good times.
Thursday: Thanksgiving @ my uncle's house. Pretty cool, got to talk to my cousin Shane for a while and that was good becuase I haven't seen him in years.
Friday: The Day of HELL. This is when my bronchitis set in full swing. In the morning I took a riding lesson w/ Erin which was awesome because I got to ride Cruise for the first time and he is extremely challenging. He kicked me in the knee when I first tightened his girth so I was riding w/ a sore, bruised and swollen knee but I still managed to do really well with him. Very cool. After my lesson I Erin asked me to hack Easter around b/c she turned up lame the other week, so I did. That was fun and I realized exactly how far past her I had progressed. My form and equitation was amazing but I wasn't being challenged at all. But it was still cool just to get out and do whatever I wanted for the first time in a long time. There was supposed to be a movie that night followed by breakfast at Starlite Diner but I was so sick and delerious that I was seeing cartoon animals jumping around.
Saturday: Still feeling horrible. Couldn't go to Jess's because I was so exhausted I would have crashed if I had tried to drive.
Sunday: Couldn't take the pain anymore. Went to the hospital. Turns out I was sicked then anyone thought. My blood pressure was insanely low (88/50) and I was breathing 20% less then what I should have. After testing my breathing some more, checking for strep and doing some blood work they grudgingly let me go home w/ instructions that I had to be hospitalized if the antibiodics didn't help me. Yay.
Monday and Tuesday: Got an extension on my history paper so I stayed home these two days. It was hell. Couldn't wait to get back to AU.
Wednesday: Finally got back to school in the morning! Had lunch w/ some friends and went to my JLS class where I decided to take my final on the 22nd as opposed to the 8th (I need the extra time to study).
Thursday: Went to Starbucks to study w/ Kat and Sara, registered for classes (I'll give my schedule later), went to library to do research/work on Lohr paper. Slept.
Friday: Russian History (*shudders*), quick shower, quick lunch and then CW where I got my Wiesel/Frankl paper back. Yeah...interesting comments on that...I'm pretty sure Tamashasky's attempting to kill me. Then Sara and I went to the bank, Kat joined us and we decided to go to Dupont Circle for dinner before we went to Union Station to get my coat fixed (guess what?! Wilson's @ Union Station was CLOSED! bastards.) Since god hates me so much the Metro had serious delays at Cleveland Park so we decided to get out and walk to Dupont. That was the walk of doom, hell and misfortune but somehow it ended up being fun and Kat introduced me to a great sandwich place that I love.
Saturday: Pentagon City. Christmas shopping. Schlepped a 20 lb book back home for my sister from Virginia (ok, SW DC...but when I tell her the story it shall be Virginia. I like to exaggerate).
Next: dinner, starbucks, movie, SLEEP
Tomorrow: PAPER, Jessie's AU in Motion thinger, Carmina Buranna (sp? Don't any of you dare correct me).
Monday: One Muslim, One Jew, One Stage thingermabober. Rough draft for Tamashasky *runs screaming through the darkness*
OK...on to bigger and better topics...CHRISTMAS! Before I tell you about what I have to buy or have yet to buy let me tell you about my story of woe (term stolen from roommate) that details exactly how much god and my parents hate me.
Dec. 25, 4BCE*: Jesus is born
Dec. 23, 19** : My mother was born (I don't know what year to put here..honestly, I don't)
Dec. 19, 1991(?): My parents were married.
So not only do I have to buy 2 presents for my mother...I have to buy my parents an anniversary present. They are evil and twisted in this way. It takes me forever to find ONE present that my mom will like and enjoy...let alone 3!!!! Kill me now and put me out of my misery.
*Note on the birthday of Jesus: I was not able to find 3 sources to confirm this date. I also know that it's controversial and debatable but this is the best I can do for right now. I also know that Dec. 25 is not in fact Jesus' birthday, rather it was sometime in Sept/Oct. I'm going on the traditionally celebrated date, people.*
So...people I have bought for already:
*Mom (one down...2 to go, the anniversary present is usually for the house and therefore for her)
*Kelli (giant book of doom)
*Meghan (roommate for those of you who don't know)
*John/Jeffrey (video game)
People I have to buy for:
*Mom
*Dad (ugh...damn straw cowboy hat! You will be my downfall!)
*Sam
*Best Friend
OK, that's all for now. If you actually managed to read all of this and are squinting and wondering exactly how much of your life you wasted on my meaningless rants, hey, I warned you ahead of time. The next 2 or 3 entries should be pretty interesting...I plan to do at least one entry on the state of homelessness in the DC area before Christmas. Stay tuned. It'll be a tearjerker (ha. I can't write that well).
Monday: Mom and Aunt came to pick me up around 9:30. Got back home around midnight after getting slightly lost around the Potomac.
Tuesday: Slept late, walked the dog (yay!), went to the mall w/ mom to get the coat I wanted but would be cheaper in PA, got adjusted at the chiro (those guys are gods), saw dad for the first time (we got in so late and he gets up for work insanely early), then had dinner w/ Carol and Dave and a long conversation with Dave. Very pleasant and enjoyable.
Wednesday: Slept in a bit too late and was a tad late getting to York Catholic to meet Ben to visit old teachers. Deb turned up @ school too so I got to see both her and Ben for the first time since August, which was awesome. Saw the English deptartment, Mr. Andrews, Ms. Lily and Mr. Euclide. Avoided Sahd like the plague. After that we went to lunch @ Taco Bell and met up w/ Kato, Dillon, Steve, Sam and Lisa. Was talked into having a small get together at my house that night by Kato and Ben. So around 9:45 Ben showed up and we got to talk about life at college and how we adjusted for a while before Deb, Kato and Jo got there. Ben ate about 5 pieces of pizza and disturbed us all greatly with his ability to eat. After that I decided we had to leave b/c we were getting loud so we went to Denny's and then just drove around for a while. After a bit I realized we were pretty close to Krzysztof's house and then Ben realized the same thing about 2 minutes later so after a lot of backing up and turning around we visited Krzysztof at like 1am. I'll tell you something it was a RELIEF to see him looking less then immaculate for once. It's nice to see that he's actually human underneath the almost-always perfectly groomed attire. After we talked to him for a while we headed to my house when everyone left around 2:30 or so. Good times, good times.
Thursday: Thanksgiving @ my uncle's house. Pretty cool, got to talk to my cousin Shane for a while and that was good becuase I haven't seen him in years.
Friday: The Day of HELL. This is when my bronchitis set in full swing. In the morning I took a riding lesson w/ Erin which was awesome because I got to ride Cruise for the first time and he is extremely challenging. He kicked me in the knee when I first tightened his girth so I was riding w/ a sore, bruised and swollen knee but I still managed to do really well with him. Very cool. After my lesson I Erin asked me to hack Easter around b/c she turned up lame the other week, so I did. That was fun and I realized exactly how far past her I had progressed. My form and equitation was amazing but I wasn't being challenged at all. But it was still cool just to get out and do whatever I wanted for the first time in a long time. There was supposed to be a movie that night followed by breakfast at Starlite Diner but I was so sick and delerious that I was seeing cartoon animals jumping around.
Saturday: Still feeling horrible. Couldn't go to Jess's because I was so exhausted I would have crashed if I had tried to drive.
Sunday: Couldn't take the pain anymore. Went to the hospital. Turns out I was sicked then anyone thought. My blood pressure was insanely low (88/50) and I was breathing 20% less then what I should have. After testing my breathing some more, checking for strep and doing some blood work they grudgingly let me go home w/ instructions that I had to be hospitalized if the antibiodics didn't help me. Yay.
Monday and Tuesday: Got an extension on my history paper so I stayed home these two days. It was hell. Couldn't wait to get back to AU.
Wednesday: Finally got back to school in the morning! Had lunch w/ some friends and went to my JLS class where I decided to take my final on the 22nd as opposed to the 8th (I need the extra time to study).
Thursday: Went to Starbucks to study w/ Kat and Sara, registered for classes (I'll give my schedule later), went to library to do research/work on Lohr paper. Slept.
Friday: Russian History (*shudders*), quick shower, quick lunch and then CW where I got my Wiesel/Frankl paper back. Yeah...interesting comments on that...I'm pretty sure Tamashasky's attempting to kill me. Then Sara and I went to the bank, Kat joined us and we decided to go to Dupont Circle for dinner before we went to Union Station to get my coat fixed (guess what?! Wilson's @ Union Station was CLOSED! bastards.) Since god hates me so much the Metro had serious delays at Cleveland Park so we decided to get out and walk to Dupont. That was the walk of doom, hell and misfortune but somehow it ended up being fun and Kat introduced me to a great sandwich place that I love.
Saturday: Pentagon City. Christmas shopping. Schlepped a 20 lb book back home for my sister from Virginia (ok, SW DC...but when I tell her the story it shall be Virginia. I like to exaggerate).
Next: dinner, starbucks, movie, SLEEP
Tomorrow: PAPER, Jessie's AU in Motion thinger, Carmina Buranna (sp? Don't any of you dare correct me).
Monday: One Muslim, One Jew, One Stage thingermabober. Rough draft for Tamashasky *runs screaming through the darkness*
OK...on to bigger and better topics...CHRISTMAS! Before I tell you about what I have to buy or have yet to buy let me tell you about my story of woe (term stolen from roommate) that details exactly how much god and my parents hate me.
Dec. 25, 4BCE*: Jesus is born
Dec. 23, 19** : My mother was born (I don't know what year to put here..honestly, I don't)
Dec. 19, 1991(?): My parents were married.
So not only do I have to buy 2 presents for my mother...I have to buy my parents an anniversary present. They are evil and twisted in this way. It takes me forever to find ONE present that my mom will like and enjoy...let alone 3!!!! Kill me now and put me out of my misery.
*Note on the birthday of Jesus: I was not able to find 3 sources to confirm this date. I also know that it's controversial and debatable but this is the best I can do for right now. I also know that Dec. 25 is not in fact Jesus' birthday, rather it was sometime in Sept/Oct. I'm going on the traditionally celebrated date, people.*
So...people I have bought for already:
*Mom (one down...2 to go, the anniversary present is usually for the house and therefore for her)
*Kelli (giant book of doom)
*Meghan (roommate for those of you who don't know)
*John/Jeffrey (video game)
People I have to buy for:
*Mom
*Dad (ugh...damn straw cowboy hat! You will be my downfall!)
*Sam
*Best Friend
OK, that's all for now. If you actually managed to read all of this and are squinting and wondering exactly how much of your life you wasted on my meaningless rants, hey, I warned you ahead of time. The next 2 or 3 entries should be pretty interesting...I plan to do at least one entry on the state of homelessness in the DC area before Christmas. Stay tuned. It'll be a tearjerker (ha. I can't write that well).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
