tortoisegirl

30 Day Meme
Day 19 → A talent of yours

Eh, I guess writing counts as a talent. I'm in the middle of trying to churn out several papers for school and my writing really doesn't feel like anything to be proud of right now.

It's been a busy week at school, since all my teachers conspired to have the big assignments due around the same time, and at work now that my boss is back from Brazil and we're working on a big international student exchange project. I'm putting together most of the promotional material which means I get to do a lot with graphics, which is the more fun side of my job at least. I mentioned a while ago that my childhood cat, Stripes, had been doing badly lately and last weekend my Dad emailed to say that Stripes had died :( He was a old cat and he died quietly in his sleep, but it's still sad. We've had that cat since I was 7.

But, despite the workload and unavoidable sad things, it's October and beautiful and cool out, and I'm in a lovely fall Halloween mood. I've painted my nails orange and I'm planning all sorts of apple- or pumpkin-flavored things to cook once I'm done with school stuff.

( Except there's more whining here. )

Got an email and a phone call this morning from an adviser telling me that my capstone course was canceled. The big thesis-paper course that I need to graduate. A week before classes start. I've gone through panic mode and now I'm waiting to hear back from a professor I emailed about getting into another, filled course. Worst case scenario, I end up with a topic I'm not interested in and an inconvenient schedule.

It could ultimately be a good thing. I signed up for the course I did (Post-Colonial Studies, wtf I know nothing about that) because my first choice was full and this gives me a legit reason to beg to be let into the full course. I just wish it wasn't happening this late.

*refreshes email*

Spring break yay~

Finished up midterms yesterday, thus ending the Week of Writing Papers About Communists (fuck you, Stalin). The week also made me question the wisdom of taking a high level anthro class when I know jack shit about anthropology. I really like the parts of learning Chinese history but the anthro bits are kinda going over my head, so at this point I'm aiming for a good grade out of the class rather than a complete understanding of wtf is going on. And learning about the Chinese communists nicely compliments the class on the Cold War.

Also in school news, I'm pretty sure I only need four more classes to graduate. I say pretty sure because I'm far too cynical to believe I read the credit progress report 100% right, but either way graduation is within sight. I'll meet with an adviser (and hopefully one from the English department this time because the other ones were no help) to talk things out and make sure. I have to decide if I want to take the 3d level Japanese course, though, since I can take an international studies class to fulfill those credits. :/ I've been out of practice for two semesters now and I know it'll be hard to get back into the language.

I swear I'll think of something to post about other than school one of these days. Maybe I'll post a review of The Wolfman, since I saw that a few weekends ago.

The semester is half over! Which is weird, because didn't school just start like, two weeks ago? It still feels like it. But I had two papers and a midterm this past week, all successfully finished (or so I hope- haven't gotten the grades back yet). It was a good week, mostly because I recovered from the cold I had the week before. It was really bad the Friday before last, and I thought it might be the flu. Ended up leaving school early because everything was aching so badly even sitting in a desk hurt, and I was getting exhausted just walking across campus. It wasn't the flu though, and this past week I felt much better than I expected. Hopefully that filled my sickness quota for the season.

I went to a flea market this morning, and it was the most lucrative shopping trip I've had in ages. I bought three pairs of shoes (which is more than I've bought in the past year). Two pairs of flats/slip ons that I love and will probably wear everyday, and a pair of heels with pink and black ribbons all over them. They're kiiinda like stripper shoes, and I really don't know where I'd wear them, but they're fun. I guess if you're going to spend money on shoes of questionable taste the flea market is the place to do it, when you're only spending two dollars on them. I also got some books for Maureen and the baby. I was so excited to find a bunch of books I had as a kid, so I got her The Tale of Peter Rabbit, Are You My Mother, and Oh The Things You Can Think. I'm pretty sure the Peter Rabbit book is one of the foundations of my love of bunny rabbits. I still haven't seen Maureen since she had the baby and need to call to see when I can stop by.

The finance office at school is raining on my parade. Seems I will have to get a loan to manage tuition this semester. Their records kept saying I was getting some government assistance, even though I got notice weeks ago that that assistance was canceled, so I really had no idea what was going on until this week. So, boo on that. I hate dealing with financial aid stuff.

Aaand, that's all that's been interesting lately. Off to finish some stuff for school tomorrow.

Hallelujah, I have a class schedule.

I went back to Temple yesterday for orientation and registration. I got lost again trying to find the right building but happily made it in time and was relieved to see that my name was on the list. The orientation part was a presentation about using Owlnet and some stuff about credits . Then we had to register ourselves online through Owlnet, which I wasn't expecting. I was expecting a one-on-one thing but there were about 30 student and 6 or so advisers walking around to help.

Registering was really frustrating because most of the classes were full so I had to click every single class listing until I found something open. I still have a bunch of core credits to fulfill and none of those classes were open. But I managed to find courses that fit my major and I didn't have to resort to taking lame electives.

Here's what I have:
Japanese Elements I (I've given up on French and I was so glad get to get a spot in this class.)
American Literature
The Modern Novel
American Art
Gender in Antiquity (Didn't really want to take this, but there wasn't much else.)

It's a huge weight off my mind that I'm finally set for school. Housing's not so good- the two people I've email haven't responded and it's disheartening. There's still plenty of other people to email though. I'm prepared to commute from my mom's house until I can find a place.


And now for something completely different-pictures from Lisa's birthday. I made her a cake and she chose a cute Hello Kitty candle. I didn't tell her what kind of cake it would be so it would a surprise.

( Hello, cakey. )