Sunday November 2, 2008
Yum...Writing
Well, it's officially November and I've completed another month of University, two more to go before this semester is up! And I only have nine more days to figure out my schedule for next semester, where does all the time go?!
I hope everyone had a safe and candy-filled Halloween, I know mine was awesome. How can you not love a holiday devoted to dressing up? If it ever gets to the point when I don't want to dress up, I'll know I've grown up, don't think I'm quite ready for that yet. :)
Anyway, November, for me, means something very special. Every year for the past three years I've been taking part in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) in which I write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. Pretty much, this means I need to write 1667 words a day for a month. When you think about it that way, it's not all that difficult. I haven't written my required word count for the day, so I'm only a little over 1700, but I'll be doing that next before I hit the books for a couple more hours and then go to bed. But back on my original topic, I really recommend NaNoWriMo for those who enjoy writing. It's relaxing, though can be kind of stressful at the same time. There's still time to register on nanowrimo.org.
I'll likely talk about my word count for the rest of the month, you will get to hear about all my stressing out. It will be fun. :D (I will try and remember this excitement come November 30th when I have 25,000 words to write in one night...)
Also, I'll talk about STEPS another time...I know I've said that once but...I will. There's not enough hours in a day! Speaking of which, I love Daylight Savings...seriously. I needed that extra hour.
Wednesday November 12, 2008
Update, Update, who has the update?
Okay, I fail at updating. I can't even give the excuse of being too busy with schoolwork because I'll admit I wasted my entire Saturday on youtube when I could have been writing this at the very least. Better late than never?
Well, I've given up on Nanowrimo. I made it to a little over 5000 words before I realized it was eating into my study time. This is one of the first times that I really had to make a sacrifice for University, and I'm sure it won't be the last. Maybe next year I'll be a little better prepared, I doubt it though.
I have to register for classes tomorrow. I've got most of my courses picked out, I'm just finalizing a few of them. I'm not looking forward to my next semester, as much as I hate my two day a week of classes, I loved my five days off. It's going to be difficult switching the two.
I'm going to delay talking about STEPS...again. I'll definitely talk about it next update though...promise.
Well, that will have to do for now, I'm off to do some more school work. I can't wait for Christmas...
Saturday November 15th
Ups and Downs
Have you ever had a day where everything seemed to go right? A wonderfully, perfect day that you look back at and say, "Wow, did that just really happen?" That was my yesterday. I was productive in my school work, my brother won his championships, and I got to hang out with one of my favourite people in the world. Even the rain can not dampen my mood, or the long list of school work left to do...
Okay, maybe the to-do list is a bit of a mood dampener, but that's not any different than any other day. So, I'm still happier than I would usually be on a Saturday that I expect to spend stuck at home doing school stuff.
Anyway, I've been saying I would tell you all about STEPS for awhile now, so here I go. STEPS is a group of workshops that help you prepare for different aspects of university. I've found a lot of it is common sense, but hey, not everyone has that, so if you're one of those people, go check it out at uwindsor.ca/steps. Even if you do have common sense, there are a few things that I found surprisingly helpful, especially with the way I manage my study time.
Finally, I'm going to briefly mention registration. As a lowly first year I got to register at one of the last possible times. I was excited and absolutely prepared. A half hour before me and my friends met up in Vanier and got a table. We all pulled out our laptops and schedules we had laboured over the past week. I was nervous. I decided to check up on the courses I wanted, see if any of them had filled up. My friends thought I was being foolish. I wish they had been right.
One of my main courses, a French literature course, was already full, and another was by waiting list only. I had to quickly find another two courses to fit my requirements. There was only one course that fit the French literature requirements, unfortunately it was a the exact same time as another one of my originally decided courses. Then, it hit noon and I began to register for classes and sign up on waiting lists. Of the original courses I had chosen I only got into two of them. One of them was Foundations of Academic Writing II which I couldn't get out of if I tried, and believe me, I have tried...
I also found out I couldn't register for one course because I wasn't majoring in the subject (history) and it was only open to majors at the time, even though the course details did not say that. AND I discovered I could only register for five courses, even though I had originally been told by my academic advisor to register for six because the online course puts me behind a credit.
So, my current schedule pretty much sucks. Since registration I made it through one of my waiting lists of one of my second options courses (that's right, my schedule consists of third options). I've spoken with the history professor and he says he'll sign me into the course on Monday. I've also spoken with my academic advisor, she now says six courses is an overload for concurrent students and we can only do that with special permission, which I'm hoping to get. I had seven courses last semester (okay...one of them is a teaching practicum that doesn't start until May...but it's still a course!) and I've managed to survive thus far. I really think I can handle it.
Now I'm just crossing my fingers and hoping my two remaining lists pull through (I'm only 3rd on one of them!) so that I'll no longer have a five hour break in between my courses... Sadly, this is not an exaggeration. Wish me luck!
And for those of you who know who Edward Cullen is... Twilight countdown: five days
Wednesday November 19, 2008
The (Not So) Secret Rooms of Leddy
The first time I walked into the Leddy Library, a few days after the semester started, I was completely overwhelmed. There were rows upon rows of books with obscure titles like "Contemporary Policy Issues" and little cubicle-like seats. Worst of all, it was absolutely silent.
I fled the Library and did not return...until now.
Did you know there are sections of the library where you're actually allowed to talk? I know I didn't, but believe me, they exist. I think they're for working in groups because the tables are pretty big. So, if you don't want the extreme noise of the CAW, or the extreme silence of the library, do a search of Leddy and with luck you'll find a happy ! medium.
That's really all the time I have for right now, I'm in the middle of my second set of midterms.
Twilight countdown: 1 day.
Saturday November 22nd, 2008
“Better hang on spider-monkey”
Quick update because midterms are pretty much kicking my butt at the moment.
My waiting list status has not yet changed as of yet, but I did get signed into one of the classes I had originally wanted. I have to go to school five days a week, and the times are not the greatest, but at least everything matches up with my Degree Audit now.
I saw Twilight and it was so much less disappointing than I was expecting. I saw the 10 p.m. advance viewing along with all the other Twilght-aholics and it was so great hearing the reactions of the rest of the crowd. The first time Edward came on screen I'm sure they could hear the squealing from outside the theatre. I'm going to see it again today along with my friends, including one who is down visiting from University for the weekend (yes, the one from my introductory post). I haven’t had a chance to hang out with my core group of high school friends at the same time in awhile, so I’m really looking forward to it.
Speaking of Twilight, after the show I got to have a bit of an adventure. I was getting a ride home with a friend, so we went outside into the freezing night, still squealing over the different aspects of the movie. We got into the car, put on our seatbelts (safety first!) and she went to start the car. The car went chuga-chug-chug-chug...but that was about it. Ah, the joys of student cars... we ended up calling one of the girl's parents to pick us up. Let's just say it was a late night.
Also, I got all my Christmas/birthday shopping done last night (three of my best-friends have December birthdays because they enjoy draining my bank account ^_^). I'm not a big fan of shopping, and I hate crowds, but it really helps when you're shopping with someone you love being around. So tip of the day, when you have to do something you probably won't enjoy, combine it with something you do enjoy. This can be applied to studying as well. Don't really want to read that chapter of Biology 101? Why not head to the gym and take a seat on the bikes while you go over the chapter? Not only are you exercising your body, you'll be exercising your mind (sorry for the bad comparison there...I really couldn't resist).
Anyway, I'm off to work on some more school stuff before I have to get ready for the movies. Anyone else missing the lazy days of the strike? I know my brain is...
Monday November 24th, 2008
Sleeping Patterns
I've discovered that I do my best work after I've been awake for at least three hours, but I've only got about ten hours of work in me before my brain turns to complete mush. Staying up late never helps anything. It's really important to know when your peak studying hours are. Some people are able to pull all-nighters, write a midterm the next day and perform perfectly. I can not. I need sleep, at least eight hours of it.
And as much as I hate waking up early, it's probably the best thing for me to do. You know what they say "early to bed and early to rise makes a (wo)man healthy, wealthy, and wise". Not sure how true it is, but early to bed and early to rise makes Meghan's to-do list shrink considerably more than when she stays up to the wee hours of the morning. ^_^ As long as I don't do anything that involves too much brain power when I first wake up...that always turns out badly.Saturday November 29, 2008
"When you think Tim McGraw I hope you think of me E=mc2"
I've managed to (somehow) survive my second set of midterms and already my professors are talking about exams. My first (and second) exam is on the eighteenth of December, so about three and a half weeks, practically a full month, away. I have another month of constant studying to make it through. That's too long! And at the same time, not even close to enough time to properly prepare, especially since I have a couple of hand-in exams to complete. I can feel the head ache coming on already.
Outside of my work load things have been pretty great. I got into another one of my classes, which freed up a course choice for me. I still haven't decided between two courses, but the way my schedule is currently set up I will have only one class on Tuesdays and Thursdays and Fridays, and three on Mondays and Wednesdays which seems more than a little uneven to me. I'm still holding out hope that I'll manage to get into the course that I'm currently 116th on the waiting list...
Last night was the Concurrent Education Fall Formal that I helped to organize as I am first year French representative in the Concurrent Club (not sure if I've mentioned that before...oh well...). It turned out really well despite a few bumps along the way. The theme was candy land, and the decorations were not only adorable but edible. The candy buffet was really yummy, but my favourite treat had to be the chocolate fountain. Strawberries dipped in chocolate are so good they should be illegal. Overall I had a really good time, and I'm looking forward to next year's.
Thanks to a late night at the formal, my mind is pretty mushy at the moment. As a result I've spent a day relaxing, reading through some of books I need to finish for my literature classes, and listening to Taylor Swift. I'm not a big country fan, in fact after rap it is probably my least favourite genre of music, but Taylor Swift's songs always relax me and make me so happy, even though half of them have such sad undertones to them. I think it's because I've always been able to relate to the lyrics; it makes me feel good to know that someone else has gone through the same sort of things. Plus, the boy in the "Love Song" music video is just too cute. :D Anyway, before I get off on a fangirl tangent, I thought I'd point out that music is a great way to relax; I personally can't study without some sort of music in the background. Finding quick ways to relax is important, especially around exam season. Stressing out does not help anyone absorb information better, so it's best to be calm when studying.
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