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Monday, February 27, 2006
Normally, I don't attend exam viewing sessions. Most probably due to laziness on my part, plus a desire to put each test behind me immediately after I write it. The "what's done is done" and "the past stays in the past" mentality. As long as the grade is remotely satisfactory, I'll let it be. Besides, I cannot stand mark-scroungers.
But I needed to look over my BIOL 201 midterm. I honestly wasn't expecting a great score, but I didn't think it would be that bad.
So. As it turned out, the TA marking my exam was smoking crack. Either that or he knew me and hated me. Maybe it was that invigilator with an attitude problem who kept yelling at us for no apparent reason. Because what I kept finding were PERFECT ANSWERS but no marks.
That beta-strand question? I nailed it. Apparently the TA didn't recognize the 12(2)(14-1) I put down as being equivalent to the 12(26) in the answer key. If only that were the worst mistake. Anyway, the good news is I get to have 4 questions re-marked.
And now I wonder, how many marks have I already lost to faulty grading?
written at 09:56 p.m.
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
I want to go through life as if I've lived every moment.
written at 12:52 p.m.
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
We've come a long way since last year.
Happy Valentine's, love.
written at 10:10 p.m.
Friday, January 27, 2006
This is why CHEM 205 lectures are so hilarious, but in such a sad way.
"Those nerdy scientists are all overblown." (Visualize this coming from a skinny Chinese guy with glasses. Have I mentioned that he kinda-sorta reminds me of Chen, only not as smart?)
"If any of you are offended [pause] shoot me."
[Re: entropy] "This is like learning a new language. It's not English. Well it is English, but it's not English English."
"I, also, are [sic] allergic to equations. So what do I do? I take antihistamines."
Aw, it's not half as amusing out of context. Oh well. At least he keeps us entertained. I'm just worried none of us will know anything come exam period.
Now to contrast his, err, unwitting inanity with the awesomeness of my ENGL 358 prof. It's all about equilibrium, I tell you. No bad jokes from this quarter ... instead, a snippet from the 1988 film Dangerous Liaisons, set in pre-revolutionary France and rife with the sexual transgressions of the evil heroine:
When the Marquise de Merteuil hears of the death of her former lover, she is dealing a deck of cards. Her only response to the messenger is, "How very sad. But we must continue to play the game."
The dual meaning in her words is clear -- she refers not only to the card game immediately at hand, but also to the game of love and lust and intrigue that aristocrats and libertines found so fascinating. But I digress. What I wondered was whether Ms. Patton knew of this screenplay when she coined the popular "playing cards" euphemism. Who were we to suspect its deeper literary significance?
written at 09:08 p.m.
Monday, January 16, 2006
Haven't you ever had a really close friend ... with whom you've somehow lost contact for a long time, like several years ... only to find when you cross paths again, that they'd turned into someone you didn't like?
written at 05:31 p.m.
Monday, January 9, 2006
You scored as English. You should be an English major! Your passion lies in writing and expressing yourself creatively, and you hate it when you are inhibited from doing so. Pursue that interest of yours!
Linguistics | 100% | ||
English | 100% | ||
Dance | 100% | ||
Mathematics | 92% | ||
Sociology | 75% | ||
Biology | 67% | ||
Theater | 67% | ||
Journalism | 67% | ||
Psychology | 58% | ||
Art | 58% | ||
Engineering | 50% | ||
Philosophy | 50% | ||
Chemistry | 42% | ||
Anthropology | 25% |
Monday, January 2, 2006
I don't understand the whole Boxing Week sales hype. Sure, prices are marked down, but in the end you still spend more than you should have.
It's like those McDonald's coupons that come in the mail. Yeah, it's cheaper, but you still wind up eating what you probably shouldn't.
Unless it was all pre-planned, that is.
written at 01:03 p.m.
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Just trying to ease back into the blogging sphere (blogosphere?) ...
I don't know what he did exactly, but a week or two ago David removed the speakers from the downstairs computer, and when he tried to plug them back in, they didn't work. So now they, uh, don't work. And the computer emits no sound other than hums and blips. This makes me sad.
Wasn't feeling too well Sunday evening. I hadn't eaten since breakfast but by dinnertime still had no appetite to speak of and just wanted to sleep. Stressful weekend, ha. Then I woke up dizzy with a sore neck and shoulders, which persisted throughout the day. I was half-afraid I'd caught some odd sort of bug, but it seems to have dissipated. I suppose I'm lucky in that my "ailments" are scarce and short-lived (two days, on average). And I can't remember the last time I was actually in a doctor's office.
I crave Haagen-Dazs.
It's been a long while since I've enjoyed the luxury of reading an entire day away. I used to do it all the time, and somehow it always felt like time well spent. Now, though, I'm thinking it might be a good idea to limit how often I do this ... it's relaxing, yes, but too time-consuming to be a wise investment. I rarely read in short bursts; it's either all or nothing (and by all, I mean all in one go).
Come to think of it, my studying habits are very similar.
Cathy came over for her first piano lesson yesterday. I was still a little disoriented, but did the best I could. And I'm teaching freestyle, or play-by-ear, whatever people call it. None of that Royal Conservatory stuff; you want to learn that, be prepared for a multiple-year commitment. My own classical playing is rusty, at best. Thing is, so many people ask me to teach, casually, but few realize that it's more or less impossible to teach piano "casually." It's the theory. Cathy's enthusiastic, though, so we'll see how much progress we make over the holidays.
Have I mentioned to anyone that I want to take up bass guitar? I want to diversify and balance the keyboard with something ... different. Then again, I want to take up too many things.
It occurs to me that this entry has no transitional phrases between paragraphs. Maybe I should've made it a bulleted list.
written at 08:48 p.m.
Sunday, December 18, 2005
Oh no. No no no no no.
This hasn't happened to me since grade 11!
written at 10:04 p.m.
Friday, December 2, 2005
"Rime of the Ancient Mariner" undergoes extreme revision between 1798 and 1817. With attention to either these changes or the influence of the marginal gloss on subsequent readings, examine how meaning works in this poem.
I'm stuck. I've browsed through all my sources, and there are waaay too many critical interpretations of this poem! Or too many PhD candidates willing to write anything just to finish their thesis and get their degree. Possibly these are the ones who say that Coleridge kept revising the poem because it had a nasty, unsettling tendency of echoing his own life. Or that the killing of the albatross reflected Coleridge's latent desire to kill his wife.
That one was priceless.
Darn it, I'm not in the mood to hammer out an 8-page essay right now. I can't even hammer out an articulate sentence. I want to be out in the snow (not that there's much left). I want to dance and songwrite and travel.
You ... I miss you.
I'm so so so SICK of school. Strange, when my whole mentality has basically revolved around it for the past 14 and a half years. Good times, sure. But now I'm restless. No way am I staying as an undergrad for more than 4 years. I know where I'm going; I want my degree; then, I'm out.
written at 09:33 p.m.
Sunday, October 16, 2005
There's nothing like a bit of controversy to enliven a somewhat dormant blog.
Unfortunately, this coming week is my "3 midterms in 4 days with random things in between" week, so any further updates will be dependent on how much I feel like procrastinating. Which, who knows, might be a fair amount.
Oh, and thank you, Catherine, for the offer (^_^). I kind of like my tagboard though ... it's nice and simple, and it's not like ALL my entries will spark an equal amount of response. So, hrmm ... I'll get back to you on that. (After the BIOL 200 midterm of doom!! And the BIOL 303 midterm of doom! And the BIOL 204 lab exam of doom!)
written at 09:40 p.m.
Saturday, October 15, 2005
Heh.
Maybe I should clarify a little. Yes, the public education system is underfunded. Too much of our tax money is going to superfluous things that aren't nearly as important.
Of course teachers are important. Of course they deserve adequate facilities and supplies. I mean, that's stating the obvious. This is the future generation here.
But that isn't my point.
My point (if you can call it that, since I wasn't exactly trying to craft a watertight thesis; this is, after all, a blog) is that the present state of the education system is virtually irrelevant to the strike. This isn't about students. It's about money.
If I had the impression that the BCTF actually, genuinely cared about the kids, well then, that'd be a different story.
(Thing is, teachers are divided over this issue as well. Some just want to get back to work. Could it be because some care enough to want their students to succeed? Because they realize if they don't teach the course material, students won't be prepared for exams? And I know there are teachers like that, who take their job seriously. Because I've had some excellent ones in the past.
Incidentally, I was leafing through an absolutely fascinating Biopsychology textbook today and realized, hey, this matches the electives I want to take later on. Anatomy and developmental neurobiology and endocrinology. Then I thought, would I have decided to major in cell bio & genetics if it weren't for Dr. Gabbott? And would I have progressed so far in English lit without Ailsa's encouragement and enthusiasm?
But I guess that was slightly off-topic.)
written at 08:34 p.m.
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
I agree with Inderbir.
True, I'm not always clear on what's going on. And I don't deny my usual gravitation towards neutrality. But we've had a whole string of strikes in the past few years, and now another one? This is ridiculous.
Didn't teachers get a 7.5% wage increase the last time around? What's up with demanding 15% more now? One teacher, working perfectly reasonable hours with an annual 2-month vacation, very likely earns more in a year than both my parents together. I don't see my mom's union striking.
Naturally they claim to be fighting "first and foremost" on behalf of "quality education" for students. Just a thought, though -- how is cancelling school supposed to benefit 600 000 students? Sure, when I was in high school I'd jump at an unexpected holiday too; but I was also in IB, and extended periods without classes could've seriously messed up a lot of things. Theoretically speaking, if anything happened now to interfere with my educational plans for the next 2 or 3 years, I know I'd be very, very angry.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe most workers somehow manage to resolve their disputes without seeking to involve the entire province?
Yeah right this strike action is for the students. If teachers want a wage hike they could at least admit as much.
written at 03:18 p.m.
Friday, September 30, 2005
Aww, this is too cute.
Everyone adores these cute woodland animals, known for the stripe that runs down their back. Famously timid, chipmunks will quickly scurry to the safety of their burrows if danger approaches. As a chipmunk, you eat mostly seeds and nuts, but you may sample bird eggs and insects from time to time.
Monday, September 12, 2005
No, this is not a customer service-related post. But after our BIOL 204 lecture (which, by the way, starts at an ungodly hour), Michelle and I decided to check out the new wing of the Main Library.
Our verdict? It's nice to see that at least some of our inflated tuition costs haven't been paid in vain. The Irving K. Barber Centre is pretty impressive. There's just so much space, which I love. Another architectural feature I love in large buildings is spiral staircases. And everything is brand new! I know where my on-campus study niche is from now on.
As of now, it's fairly quiet and empty. Empty because a lot of students probably aren't aware of it yet, or aren't aware that it is, in fact, open and no longer under construction. Hrmm ... but I like it empty; I like the whole new-building feel.
We also peeked into the archives. It's the first time I've seen them, and they reminded me all over again how much I love old libraries. It's like that scene in Disney's version of Beauty and the Beast where she uses a ladder to slide from shelf to shelf. There's just something about that blend of heights, literature, organization, and antiquity ... that strikes a chord.
written at 08:16 p.m.
Saturday, September 3, 2005
I'm so far behind in terms of blogging. I've had random stories and snippets, but zero time because I keep being called in to work. And ever since Sean quit they've been giving me extra hours ... which is NOT a good thing when only a week of summer freedom remains! Less than that now ...
Ooh, Cat's thrown out some lovely "odd-customer" themes. Remind me to comment on I and V. Although from my experience so far, North Vancouverites don't provide much fodder for ranting. Generally they're too well-mannered for that. They say "please" and "thank you." They even tip well!
Possibly it's because the bulk of our lunch-rush regulars work nearby, in other Park & Tilford stores. Usually they're on their lunch break from Save-On-Foods, Booster Juice, the office, wherever. The best customers are those who serve customers.
written at 10:52 p.m.
Saturday, August 13, 2005
You know those "MySpace" things that MSN came up with not too long ago? Is it just me, or do others out there find it bizarre how MySpace bloggers upload so many photos of themselves? Just ... file after file of self-portraits taken at different angles. The occasional melodramatic pose. And I'm wondering, Is it ego? My friend Lain expressed it well: Aren't they afraid of scary stalkers?
Another relatively un-Sarah-like quip:
On principle, I dislike fashion styles that reveal the midriff. What I don't quite understand is, you'd think that girls who dress that way would at least have something to show. But no. Most of the time, instead of looking nice, it's actually rather disgusting. I mean, if you have a nicely toned stomach, I can at least trace your logic. But if everything kind of, well, bulges out ...
Then again, what do I know; I'm a girl.
written at 07:38 p.m.
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
So it's taken me an inordinate amount of time to complete Cat's song survey ... primarily because I'm still not too confident regarding my musical tastes. They're kind of branching out in various places. Also, some of these "scenes" are easier to pinpoint than others.
Opening credits:
Julie Andrews - The Sound of Music
Average day scene:
F.I.R - Wanderer's Song
Best friend scene:
Hillsong United - One Way
First date scene:
Maaya Sakamoto - Tune the Rainbow
Falling-in-love scene:
Michael W. Smith - Do You Dream of Me
Love scene:
Mika Nakashima - Yuki no Hana
Fight-with-friend scene:
Dashboard Confessional - Vindicated
Break-up scene:
Leann Rimes - Life Goes On
Get-back-together scene:
Jaci Velasquez - Imagine Me Without You
Wedding scene:
Jim Brickman - Love of My Life
Long-night-alone scene:
Maki Yano - Yakyoku
Heartbreak scene:
Stefanie Sun - Wo Bu Ai
Mental breakdown scene:
Stacie Orrico - Bounce Back
Driving scene:
Yuki Kajiura - Key of the Twilight
Deep-thought scene:
Lara Fabian - The Dream Within
Regret scene:
Koda Kumi - Sen no Kotoba
Lesson-learning scene:
Joey Yung - My Pride
"Life's okay" scene:
Clay Aiken - Perfect Day
Party scene:
David Ruis - Wide Wide World
Happy dance scene:
Yuki Hsu - Angel
Flashback scene:
Rufus Wainwright - Hallelujah
Death scene:
Enya - May It Be
Closing credits:
Utada Hikaru - Final Distance
written at 05:27 p.m.
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