Well

It's come to my attention that my family have located this blog.

Not necessarily a bad thing, it's not as though I've much to hide from them.

Nevertheless, this blog was set up as something where I could talk about whatever without worrying about people that knew me in real life reading it.

This blog will be migrating, everyone who needs to know will know.

Do svedanya

EDIT: you know what? fuck that.

As mentioned above, I've got nothing to hide.

and if they've already read what I wrote, then it's not as though class-skipping will come as a surprise to them if/when I write about it in the future.

It's very strange...

A couple of days ago, I wandered over to yahoo! answers because I thought it might be interesting (or at least amusing). And to some degree, it was. The questions that some people ask there, in any and all of the categories, are quite frequently bizarre. Anyway, I felt out of my depth commenting or answering for most of the sections, so I gravitated towards the one on education. After all, I'm a student and so that's something that I should know a thing or two about.

A lot of people there seem to be high school kids posting their homework problems/essays there with the expectation that someone is going to do them for them. That's a whole different story, and one that I'm not in the mood to talk about today. But some people genuinely seem to want help understanding things. I was in correspondence with one of those people today. It was over a math concept that I find quite simple, and was happy to explain it to this girl over the course of several emails. I think, in the end, that she finally got it.

I felt good for having helped her. I felt like I'd done a good deed for the day. It's not something that I would usually say about myself, but I've come to realize, that I like to help people. Not in a community service, go and pick up trash way. But educationally. I like to be able to explain things and see that they get it. To see that I've helped. I've never really thought about that before. But if that's true about me, then Teach for America looks like a great post-grad opportunity for me. Who knows, maybe I'll even be a teacher (my family would sure get a laugh out of that).

And the Long Night Begins

So I've got two midterms tomorrow afternoon. One in International Security, and the other in Russian Literature. Neither of which I'm ready for. I didn't happen to make it to most of the Lit classes, and so I'm at present re-reading the books (which is what I'll spend most of the night doing) in the hope that I'll be able to put together sensible answers for tomorrow's exam. The International Security one I'm less worried about; I've paid attention and can sum up the most important concepts. The only thing that's going to be an issue is the time constraints (3 essays in an hour). But I write pretty fast, so here's to hoping that I'll manage a pass in both of them. I deserve it after that 43/100 in my cognitive neuroscience exam (thank god it's best 2 out of 3 exams!).

But aside from that, I'm quite proud of myself in the getting-things-done realm. I managed to talk to the undergrad advisor in the political science department, and as soon as I find an advisor, I'm set for the major. And amazing...I have weeks to go before it actually had to be done! And, just a few minutes ago, I finished my housing application for next year. Fingers crossed I get a room and don't have to fuck around with off-campus housing.

I'm just hoping I don't fall prey to the I'll-just-nap-for-10-minutes syndrome that tends to get me so very well at about dawn whenever I try to pull an all-nighter.

At least I don't have classes tomorrow, so I can just come home from the midterms and crash for the next day or so (though I do have to be up for work at 10...blech)

Content

I'm feeling strangely content today, the fact that I skipped both my classes today notwithstanding.

Over the weekend, I've got myself caught up in my International Security class, Comparative Politics, and spent all of last night catching up on a week and a half of Russian homework. Yeah, I'm ignoring my Russian Lit midterm this Thursday, but I want to just bask in my content-ness right now.

I get this feeling when I'm on top of everything (or at least just about so). It's not quite happiness, but it's more than just a good feeling. It feels like I know what I'm doing, that I've got control of my life, and that I'm not going hellbent towards self-destruction. It's like I'm super-calm and content, and it's a wonderful feeling. It's a shame I don't feel it as often as I should, because I'm lazy and I procrastinate far more than is good for me.

But for now, I'm just going to sit in this warm glow, do my Russian homework and read the chapter for Cognitive Neuroscience. Yeah, that sounds really good.

Lethargy

So I was out until about 1am last night (or this morning, whatever). I set my alarm clock for 8 so that I can do my homework for today before class starts at 10:30. Alarm goes off at 8, I distinctly remember this. I fumble with my phone (my alarm's on my phone) and I vaguely recall having distinct difficulty resetting the alarm for half-past 8.

Clearly, I was incapable of it.

I woke up at 12:15.

That meant I missed Cognitive Neuroscience and the beginning of Russian. I decided that I'd call Russian quits and just go to my afternoon classes.

Couldn't quite work up the enthusiasm for that, either. So, I didn't go. I'll regret it when my Lit midterm rolls around next week, but for now I'm good.

Anyhow, that's only part of the lethargy problem, though quite arguably the part that needs to be dealt with most urgently. This not bothering to go to class thing is going to bite me in the ass, and I know it.

So I've not done any writing for days. Weeks, really. I didn't last week because last week was the week from hell, but I've no such excuse this weekend.

I'm thinking about calling this nanowriye thing quits. I want to focus on the novel-from-hell, recently retitled the mortal gods, and run it through the not-insignificant edit that it definitely needs. The whole second half needs to be re-written because it all stems from a stupid premise that I rethought to something a bit more sensible. And when I've done that, I want to focus on sending out queries.

It's one of my goals to have an agent by the end of the year.
I've still got 10 months.

However, in mildly humorous news (to me, at least) the paper from hell that I had to write last week, I got back yesterday with an A-. Considering the half-assed job I did of it, I'm frankly stunned, amazed, and amused. Of course, it will help when I flunk the midterm next week.

Snowday?

Firstly, let me assure you that I live in a large city (Philadelphia). I live in a large city that typically does get snow every year. So, one would assume that in said large city, with lots of people, that if this city gets snow every year, that there would be, y'know, plans for what to do when said snow came.

We got about 3 inches over the course of yesterday/last night. Towards the early morning, it started sleeting, so there's a nice layer of ice on top of the snow. But, as I said, we get that about every year, at least once. Yeah, it's kinda late this year, but it's still winter.

So I was out at about 11 last night, it was yucky, the roads were unplowed, etc. I looked around and thought, thank god it won't be like that tomorrow. They've got all night to plow the roads and salt them, and clear off the sidewalks, and all those nice things that makes the lives of both drivers and pedestrians a hell of a lot easier.

I wake up this morning and look outside. I don't have a street view, instead I have the view of the little courtyard towards the inside of the building. But when I see snow there, I'm not bothered. I couldn't imagine that clearing off the courtyard where no one goes could ever be much of a priority. Fair enough.

Then I check my sibs' school page; they have a snowday. I call home to moan about the fact that they're getting the day off and I'm not. Mom says that Dad (who works in the city) has decided not to come in, and that she's going to work from home as well. She asks me what the roads are like, obviously I can't tell her as I've not yet ventured outside. But I assume that they've been plowed and call my dad a sissy for not wanting to come in.

My first class this morning was at 9, and so, all wrapped up, I head outside. And what do I see?

Snow.

No sidewalk. No roads.

Snow.

NOTHING WAS PLOWED.

As of right now (10:00), the roads are still not plowed.

I'm sincerely considering skipping the rest of my classes today as it would clearly be hazardous to my health to venture outside to go through icy snow that no one could think to clear off for the sake of the fucking students.

Grrr...I'm just annoyed by the stupidity of it all. We get snow EVERY year. Why aren't we prepared for it?

Bad Logic?

Well, I just got back my second snail-mail query letter.

Clearly, the logic that I was using was faulty. Another form rejection.

Ah well.

I'm looking at this on a more positive note: now that I'm not worrying about my query floating around on the streets of NYC, I can focus on giving the piece the edit that it sorely needs that would change it from what the queries I sent out said that it looked like.

Of course, it may just be that my query letter/synopsis sucks. Which is entirely possible. Also more than possible is that, y'know, the writing sucks.

Ah well.

Goal for now is to get this piece through its new edits, and have it ready to be sent out again by the end of March, hopefully this time in a round of submissions rather than one at a time (that way, I can get a bunch of rejections in a row!)