You are currently browsing the monthly archive for May 2007.
Next verse .. oh, you know the rest of the rhyme. Not that it is, actually, all that much like the first one come to think of it. Anyhoo.
So last night I completed my rhetorical critique project. Weighing in at an impressive seventeen pages, including bibliography now that I think of it, I believe it will more than suffice to meet the needs of the project requirements. The presentation could have gone over better, though.
My handout was nothing more than the codification process I did on two of the songs. The professor, though, did say she liked seeing the deconstruction that I had done for the piece. I also had to have two other parts to the presentation: an object to pass around and an audio visual aid.
For the audio visual aid I went the simplest route: I played the two songs that I discussed. I did, however, notice that the running time bordered on nine minutes so I decided that, instead of just playing them while everyone sat quietly and listened, I’d use the songs as background music for my talking. I’m not certain this idea served me as well as I would’ve hoped, though. At first it was a bit of a compromise trying to get the volume just right so we weren’t directly competing for the lime light. After some fuddling around with my unplugged and quickly draining laptop I set the volume to something I hoped made it so that people could hear behind my voice; not that I’m a loud talker to begin with. Also the problem came to be that it was a bit distracting. I did, though, use this a bit to my advantage by timing my presentation not only on length but on topic. I spoke about one song while it played and followed the same pattern on the next.
For the pass around object I was rather at a loss last night. What could I show that actually had much if anything to do with the fantasy/theme critique I was doing of these two songs? Finally I settled on the CD case that the songs were from. Beyond being the erstwhile home of the two songs in the presentation the case had nothing at all to do with the themes of fatalism and escapism I was presenting on. I guess it really didn’t matter in the end. I can’t even recall all that many projects I sat through having much in the way to pass around themselves. So maybe it was good enough.
The main point behind all this is the fact that I am finally done with this semester. All the catching up I’ve been trying to rush towards, and failing at none the less, since February is now over with. In a few months I’ll start the academic race up again but hopefully will never fall behind again like I did this semester. Each semester I have a rush on one class or another but this is the first that I was behind in all of them. I figure that as long as I don’t have anything major happen during a semester again I should be fine. Of course, RoundCon is taking place during what very well may be finals week next spring, so … we’ll see. Don’t get me wrong, I’m definitely attending the convention, I just hope that I’m ready for finals before that. If I can stay atop all five of my classes I don’t see there being a problem. And that’s if I even attend five classes that semester. I know I’m taking five in the fall but I’m not certain how much I have left. Maybe I’ll graduate for real styles before too much longer. That’d be a riot. I mean, I’m going to graduate eventually, I just thought I had a few more semesters. Now I’m not so certain. I guess I’ll find out later. I don’t feel like doing the required credit counting right now.
Now with classes out of the way for the summer I can turn my scattered attentions in a way somewhat directed at my apartment. I “swept” and “mopped” the kitchen and entryway the other day when Tuten was over with my spiffy Swiffer but now have so much more left to do. The big thing is shelf organization. The smaller thing is bathroom cleanliness. I can probably knock out the bathroom in a few minutes though so I’m not so concerned about it. Hell, it’ll probably be done in the next half hour or so.
I’m hoping to work some overtime this summer, too. While I am attempting to switch my Saturday schedule to a morning shift (and maybe Sunday as well.. we’ll see), I might start going in either an hour or two earlier each day or come in for a couple hours during peak times on my days off. Any extra money helps with bills and such. Hopefully my Saturday switch will go off without a hitch; I’d really love to be available for the random odd gaming day that I might get invited to. It’s happened before! I have no delusions of getting into any heavier gaming anytime soon; I keep strange hours and tend to estrange myself from groups. That’s neither here nor there, though. Actually, come to think of it, it’s both. Oh well.
Let’s see about getting some of that cleaning done before Tuten arrives. I have to sell my books and pay rent today, too. Fun fun!
Wow, that title almost comes across as as emo as Martin’s XBox is. We’re about halfway through the poem now folks; think of it as a cultural experience. Or maybe think of it as what it really is: a strange idea that I’ve decided to stubbornly stick through for some reason. Either or really.
So as of today I have no more exams. The history one I took this morning on a whooping five hours of sleep after a good chunk of time yesterday spent reading and cramming. All in all I think I did ok on that one. At least it felt alright when I was done. That doesn’t sound quite right … no matter. As long as I pass the class I’ll be ecstatic.
My Japanese exam I’m less sure of, sadly. I only had time to cram for it between my history exam and my Japanese exam. A fun filled two and a half hours. I read through the dialogues and the grammar stuff and all in all felt pretty good that I had absorbed the material throughout the semester. Then I got to the final. First off it was seven pages long. I think that officially makes it the longest test that I’ve taken that wasn’t standardized. Secondly there was a repeated use of the ‘passive form’ that I completely drew a blank on for the entirety of the exam. Finally was the kanji section at the end; I spent time specifically trying to devour the kanji for chapter five before the test and thought I had it. Turns out I did not have it. Oh well; for the most part I did ok in the class so here’s to hoping that I’ll manage to pass somehow.
The last thing to worry about is my Rhetoric project. At ten am tomorrow I have to give my ten minute presentation and turn in my ten page essay. A lot of tens in that last sentence. Anyway. I have thus far worked on it since last weekend and have managed to complete the song selection for the project and gotten almost four of the six songs fully codified for pulling through the fantasy/theme critique process. What this equals out to, however, is the bulk part of the project, the ten pages of writing, has to be completed tonight. There is no make up. This project constitutes forty percent of the final grade as well. Looks like I’m not sleeping tonight!! Well, I might. Tuten was right last night when he observed that as long as I get a foothold into the project I can knock out the pages like nobody’s business. I’m a little concerned that the song lyrics I’m going to have to include in the paper take up six pages by themselves. I highly doubt appending four pages of writing will appease the professor. Then again, as long as it’s well written, it might. Regardless, though, I’m sure I can get a good number of pages out of my own writing. Being that it’s fairly free-form as it relates to the actual content of the paper, there really is no wrong or right answer only wrong or right technique, I can pretty much say whatever the heck rolls out of my frizzy head. And even if I only devoted one good paragraph per song along with an introduction and conclusion to both parts of the main project as I’m doing it that’s a fair ten paragraphs right there. Twelve if you count an overall introduction and conclusion. Fit that over a double spaced, times new roman font page and that’s a decent chunk towards ten pages. And if I need more lines, well, let’s say I can do creative writing.
Last night I procured some implements of cleanliness for the apartment. I am now the proud owner of a Swiffer. I wanted something to be able to sweep and mop my linoleum with and it serves both purposes fairly well. Also a good surface cleaner, Formula 409, was obtained as well. Now that the school year is winding down I want to really get my apartment in tiptop shape for the odd guest that may happen to wander by from time to time. Right now my shelves are a general disaster area, my laundry is neatly divided into a piles system, and my living room is a homogeneous collective of scattered papers and books. I envision nice, neat shelves, a clean desk, a clean floor, and plenty of walking room in necessary areas. Right now floorspace is rather at a premium. I’m going to spend the bulk of my summer ‘vacation’ right here at my little slice of the internet so I might as well have the surrounding environs be pleasant to gaze upon. And with the use of my handy dandy scrubbing bubbles on a stick tool I can even revert the bathroom from whatever the hell it’s becoming. I only have the one.
Guess I’ll get back to that paper now. I just needed some time to decompress in a fully non-biological sense.
