Category Archives: Academic

TURTLE

Posted on 25 March 2008 | 2 comments

Reason #321 Why You Should Work Ahead of Time

Sometimes the unforeseen really does happen and you get sick. I’m positive that I should be really stressed about my behind-ness on all my papers right now, but turtle syndrome has hit me.

Turtle syndrome: Feeling really slow. Doesn’t seem to be much going on between your ears, if anything at all. Working at half the usual pace or less.

Mildly upset that this happens now when I really need all my energy to do my best possible work, but more tired and cotton-woolly. Sigh. Nothing I can do except do what I can, although I’m afraid it won’t be great.

Would really like to know what is wrong with me. Do not have the usual fever and illness so do not know how to get better quickly. Very, very tired. But do not think is flu. Have also never had real flu before.

P.S. To all turtles out there, I apologise. You are not really slow and cotton-woolly, I know.

2 Comments

Posted in Academic, Wellness

Bureaucratic Boo-boos

Posted on 20 March 2008 | 6 comments

Possibly. Uncertain.

(1) I was looking at my President’s Entrance Scholarship. They gave me $4000 last year which made me happy. Someone told me I should have got $1000 more. This distressed me. I looked and maybe they’ve changed it because now people with 36+ points on the IB get $5000. But I could have sworn it was $4000 last year. I hope they changed it. If they did, I don’t have to chase after it. If they didn’t, the college-student-ethic in me demands that I go after all possible money regardless of the inevitable hassle. Can someone in a similar situation verify for me?

(2) Go Global has tentatively nominated me for a Summer Term at Herstmonceux. Very good until I consider how I only applied for the Spring Term. Have emailed back to confirm and see just what they are talking about. Fingers crossed it is only a word boo-boo.

Is very odd to be neither cheering nor distressed over news. I like more certain feelings.

—

Edit @ 10:44 PM:

Wonderful! I have been accepted for the Spring term for Herstmonceux, which is exactly what I applied for. Exciting!

6 Comments

Posted in Academic, International

Give us time or give us death

Posted on 11 March 2008 | Comments Off on Give us time or give us death

Wow, I had quite the midterm today. I already know that I’m going to lose 20% of my mark because there was simply no time to complete all the sections in my Chinese midterm. When our prof said to hand them in, there was a collective cry of, “Not enough time!”

“Alright, alright, you can have five more minutes,” he relented. Tiny relief. The fire alarm chooses to go off.

“Okay, now you can’t. Hurry up and give them in.”

Continued scribbling. “Hey, your lives are more important than this!” Continued scribbling.

Second midterm tomorrow. Hopefully this will go better!

Comments Off on Give us time or give us death

Posted in Academic

My most wonderful question ever

Posted on 9 March 2008 | 8 comments

You know how they say that there are no stupid questions? Well, I honestly don’t think this one was so bad, given my background, but plenty of people will disagree…

So in Anth, I said, “I didn’t look this up, but who is Wayne Gretsky?”

Collective gasp. Someone exclaims: “You’ll get kicked out of the country for that!” A hockey fan couldn’t bear to look at me anymore and put his hat over his face.

My TA tried heroically to collect himself. “So… do you know who Michael Jordan is?” “Yes.” (From Space Jam, firstly, but I didn’t mention that.) “He’s like the Canadian [ice] hockey equivalent, the most famous player.”

I find it funny how “hockey” here is ice hockey and “hockey” at home is field hockey. Anyway.

Every Canadian I’ve spoken to is equally horrified and amused by my ignorance. In my defence, it goes to show that ice hockey is not the all-consuming topic it is here in Hong Kong. For one thing, we have no real ice or snow.

Wayne Gretsky, I shall never forget you now. You leave too many scars on my poor bleeding heart. [fistshake]

8 Comments

Posted in Academic, International, Recreation

What If…?

Posted on 9 March 2008 | 3 comments

I’ve just been hit by a wave of fear — what if I don’t get into anything next year?

The background is that, thanks to the IB, I got almost a year’s worth of credits. Coupled with a few courses over the summer, I will be well and ready to enter third year in September. I’ve started working on majors applications, and that’s what has set me off in this panic.

What if I don’t get into English Honours? I think I’d be pretty miserable for quite a bit because I want this so much. I want the smaller classes, I want the specialisation. I’ve been so much happier ever since I upped my number of English classes from one to three each term. It’s exactly what I need.

Worse, what if I get rejected from English Honours and the English Major? Then I will be English-less! For some reason I never seriously doubted that I’d be English-less, but now that I am trying to think of a really smart, creative way of saying “I love literature more than anything else and I will die without it” within 50 words, and failing, I am feeling sick to the stomach.

Because I don’t want to do anything else. I mean, I want to do lots of things, but English has always been the centre of my world. I think I’d be so upset I’d start looking for some other school that would accept me for my English-philia.

Undying love aside, there is nothing else that I’m even eligible for. All my other courses will be at 200-level next term, not 300/400. I’m doing all these extra summer classes just so I can be eligible for English Hons. In other words, I’m risking being completely major-less all for English!

I’m also applying for Creative Writing, but there’s no guarantee I’ll get in. Besides, even if I do, I might not like the workshop environment and want to drop out altogether. I don’t enjoy Anth as much as I expected, I have a hankering after Sociology but no credits in it to speak of, and —

I think I’d better buy a tub of ice-cream tonight.

3 Comments

Posted in Academic