Colored Ink
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about me name: n/aaliases: kit, kits, kit kat, the smart girl, foxay, an chin age: 17 location: socal, usa hobbies: anime, manga, reading, writing, doodling, video games, french horn likes: all of the above, being lazy, mushrooms, cheese, animals, laughing loudly in public dislikes: nuts, stinging/biting insects, religious fanatics, violence, olives contact: coloredink@mailcity add .com wishlist playstation 2car summer job a good night's sleep money stress-free life trigun dvd box set realistic wishlist dayworld by philip josé farmerkabuki by david mack moxy fruvous live noise hellsing dvd box set long-term obsessions anime/mangayaoi/shounenai clamp music animals life and living video games current obsession(s) schoolcollege currently reading nothing newcurrently playing ffxdevil may cry currently watching hana yori dango (20)utena (23) gto tv (27) ccs tv (19?) mirage of blaze (6) witch hunter robin (17) kogepan (10) weiß kreuz gluhen (6) naruto (19) wolf's rain (5) i my me strawberry eggs (6) |
Monday, February 24, 2003 [link] 05:52 p.m. listening to: big honkin' playlist And now, for some academic angst. OH MY GOD I FUCKING HATE AP BIOLOGY WHY THE FUCK DID I TAKE THIS CLASS MY PROBABLE FUTURE CAREER DOESN'T EVEN GO ANYWHERE NEAR THE SCIENCES ARRRRRRGH **weep** This message brought to you by: chapter 16 of Campbell's Biology, From Gene to Protein. Thank you, and have a nice day. Edit: Okay, I didn't want to go into any more academic bitching because, um, school angst is just really depressing and stupid and nobody wants to hear about it. But dammit, I want to talk about it, and since no one IRL wants to put up with my goddamn bitching about AP Bio I'm just going to do it here, since nobody has to read if they don't want to. AP Bio is probably my one biggest stress factor in my life right now. Not even college is nearly as stressful as AP Bio, probably because I already know I've been accepted somewhere that's willing to give me money. AP Bio makes me want to cry from sheer frustration. Dr. Jang employs something called Mastery Learning. Before I can explain Mastery Learning, I must explain that he grades the tests all AP-style, 5 being the highest and equivalent to an A. A 3 is equivalent to a C. You get the idea. Unlike the AP test, however, he does give 0s. Like the AP test--and any other test administered by ETS, really--incorrect answers result in a deduction of 1/4 of a point. Now, the fact that he grades AP-style makes it somewhat easier on us because then you only have to get 75% of the questions right in order to get a 5. But the tests, you see, are really fucking hard. I can't even explain why, they just are. And the fact that you get deductions for every incorrect answer kind of puts a damper on things. Those quarter-points add up very quickly, and missing one question has often made the difference between passing and failing. I've been there. So, if you don't pass the first time--a 3 is passing--then you have to take a make-up the very next day at lunch. You don't know your score yet, of course, because he doesn't grade the tests right then and there, so if you don't think you passed, then you study that night so you're ready for your make-up the next day. He averages the grade on your next make-up with your previous score. That means that you have to get a 4 on your makeup to pass. If you don't pass the first makeup, you have to get a 5 the next time to pass. If you don't get a 5, you have to keep retaking the test until you get a 5. Some of the kids have had to take a test 8 times in order to pass it. Why is it so hard? I don't know. It just is. Once you fall into the pit of Mastery Learning, you never get out again. You read the chapter over and over and you have yourself convinced that you know this crap, but apparently you don't. And no, you cannot miss these make-ups. For any reason. Well, unless you're simply not at school, because then presumably you're at home sick or something or attending a funeral or whatever. But if you miss for any other reason, you get a 0. If you have some sort of super-important reason for missing, like a meeting or something, the teacher sponsoring the club or whatever that you're in has to call or write a note explaining why you had to miss his makeup. Now, first semester, this was kind of okay. Moderately stressful. You just kept retaking the test, and eventually you would pass, or Dr. Jang would get sick of you. The hardest part was trying to keep up with the rest of the class at the same time, because you have to take the other tests, too. Second semester, it got harder. Now Dr. Jang won't let you take the next test until you've passed the previous one. I think some of the kids in the class are two or three chapters behind. Rebecca's lost track of which chapter she's on. ^^;; Furthermore, you get behind very quickly, because now we're going so fast that we're taking a test every other day. Dr. Jang has never told us when the tests are, either. He knows that kids just cram the night before. To prevent that, he goes quickly and keeps us guessing, so that we're forced to study every night. I'm barely staying ahead. I started reading chapter sixteen over the weekend even though Dr. Jang had just started lecturing chapter fifteen. I'm glad I did, because Dr. Jang finished lecturing chapter fifteen today and started lecturing chapter sixteen. He didn't give us a test today, which means that the next test is going to be a double chapter test on fifteen and sixteen. This pace is going to kill me. Monday, February 24, 2003 [link] 05:02 p.m. listening to: Requiem for a Dream Overture - Kronos Quartet There have been some small earthquakes lately. There was one last night I didn't feel, but the one a few nights ago woke me up. I actually woke up immediately before the earthquake, disoriented and wondering "Why am I awake?" Then the earthquake woke me up completely, and I lay there as the bed shook, and I lay there still as I waited for my heart to stop racing. Even after living my entire life in Southern California, the earthquakes still scare me, to a degree. It's not that I'm afraid of dying in an earthquake, though I guess I must be, but it's something that feels far removed. It's just the sensation of knowing that I'm not in control that scares me, I think. That and the fact that I know we're due for a big one. One bigger than the San Francisco quake. "They" have been predicting it for years now, and I'm just waiting for it to come. There's a storm coming. A big one, with lightning and thunder and and more rain than last time. The roof will leak, I know, and we'll have to live with the constant maddening drip-drip-drip again. The sky hangs low and gray over our heads, and the air is heavy with moisture and wet. The wind has already started howling, bringing the chill into our homes, seeping in through the cracks and around the windows, sending the leaves skirling and scraping across driveways and patios. It seems like my life now is consists of waiting for things to happen. Sunday, February 23, 2003 [link] 07:02 p.m. listening to: more Libera stuff So! I went to rehearsal despite not having an instrument. I sat there for an hour and a half basically listening to Mr. Fulbright prattle on about various things. Made some notes about my music. Harassed the oboe players sitting in front of me. The clarinets are so dependent on me at one point in one of the songs that it's not even funny. They were late every single time without me there. Mr. Fulbright totally chewed out one girl who was talking on her cellphone during rehearsal. I have no idea whether or not it was important; she was very vague about it, when Mr. Fulbright demanded why she had to be on the phone during rehearsal. Whatever it was, he totally reamed her for it. I thought she was going to cry. It was interesting, in a way, because not playing during rehearsal offers you a distinctly different viewpoint. As a participant, you will always be focused on yourself to a degree. Am I playing loud enough? Am I playing the right notes? Am I getting this rhythm correct? Am I in tune? But as a listener, as a watcher, as someone who is simultaneously a participant and an observer at the same time, you can really listen. Sunday, February 23, 2003 [link] 04:35 p.m. listening to: Libera - "Agnus Dei" I have PYMA rehearsal today. I left my instrument at school. I am a fucking retard. Sunday, February 23, 2003 [link] 02:48 p.m. listening to: Libera stuff Libera is the best boy's choir ever. Augh. Mad props to Whitney for letting me leech stuff from her. I'm almost glad I don't have working headphones because Agnus Dei probably would have reduced me to tears by now if I did. Woke up this morning feeling perfectly fine. Was immediately dragged out by my father. Took bike to bike shop. Got bike fixed. Bike works now! We went to lunch at Carl's Jr. where I had a rather unsatisfactory Ranch Bacon burger, and then went home. I rode my bike to the bakery and bought some baked goods, which I immediately devoured upon getting home. Mmmmm, fresh-baked bread. Rehearsal later today. During the last rehearsal I let Mr. Fulbright know that I had a recording of Bach's Fugue in G minor, and he told me to bring it. So yesterday I made up a CD of various classical stuffs, among with the song he wanted. I even made a CD cover of sorts for it, with the titles of the songs and everything. I'm not sure what this says about me. Saturday, February 22, 2003 [link] 01:06 p.m. listening to: big honkin' playlist So, I'm sick. I went to the school anyway, planning to march, but I felt so awful that eventually I forced myself to go home. I felt really bad about missing the parade, but I imagine marching wouldn't have made me feel any better. ^^;;; Upon getting home I crawled into bed and slept for something like five hours. I'm starting to feel a tiny bit better. Friday, February 21, 2003 [link] 08:06 p.m. listening to: big honkin' playlist I'm afraid I may be sick. I was coughing today, which is nothing unusual, but my phlegm tasted. . . strange. Er, stranger than phlehm usually tastes. I had a horrible allergy attack when I got home, only I think it may not be an allergy attack. I took two Benadryl about an hour ago and they haven't really done anything, and I'm starting to feel vaguely achy. I can't get sick now! The Temple City parade is tomorrow! **cry** Thursday, February 20, 2003 [link] 05:57 p.m. listening to: big honkin' playlist I probably shouldn't have taken a nap, but I did anyway. Feh. One of my worries has been how dependent the freshmen are on me. For instance, if I were late to a sectional, they would most likely wait for me instead of starting on their own. But after all, they probably know what they need to work on than I do. I want them to be able to fend for themselves, so today I tried an experiment and told Losmeiya to lead the sectional for the next ten to fifteen minutes. All I did was listen to make sure they were doing something instead of goofing around. Mellophones are very loud, even when they're being quiet. I expect you can hear them from a good two or three hundred yards away. I was worried that Losmeiya wasn't up to it. She's been balking at the idea of taking over the section next year ever since I, uh, told her that she would be doing so. ^^;; But to my pleasant surprise, it worked out very well. Losmeiya has a spine of steel under there. Wednesday, February 19, 2003 [link] 07:04 p.m. listening to: "French Perfume" - Great Big Sea My new burner came today! He works beautifully. |
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