Routine rebirth

Weeks fly by and I barely notice. Every week has its own set of challenges, but the challenges get harder to deal with. Five days of theory; five days of 18 hour days spent learning what I can. Then the week-ends. Forty-eight hours of free-for-all homework. I did a quick calculation: almost 110 hours a week. I guess natural sciences are is pretty tough. But so far I haven't collapsed.

A sign that I should slow down: I offered a girl to come take a walk during Halllowe'en after movie and dinner, but I forgot to give her my phone number. Great. Well, I guess it is good after all: 1. I barely know her and 2. If she asks me why I haven't given her my phone number it means she's at the very least a bit interested.

I've got a pile of theory to memorize and work on.

Harvest moon and bad memories

Sharp red moon on the eastern sky. The crabs' claws are manifest on its' surface; it's wonderful to be able to walk home without being stopped by militia for papers. We Canadians take our comfort for granted: instead of viewing our freedom as a gift that previous generations have worked for with toil and blood, we look at other countries, countries we arrogantly call "Develloping Countries". Really, I wonder sometimes if living in Canada is not too easy. I remember Africa: presidential guards, thousands, with tanks and armored vehicules. Guns. Amputated children. And Gabon is better off than most African nations. Little do North-Americans understand, and I am a Canadian citizen. I was born in Gabon, Africa, but I am a Canadian citizen...because of what? Because I am one of the lucky souls who have parents native to Canada.

Harvest moon, and soon an eclipse. I might go, but I'm afraid it's only going to recall bad memories. Probably better off studying for that 96% average.

Teen angst and a shower

I woke up today and I felt refreshed, for once. This week has been very hard: three exams, a lab and a lot of theory to learn. Theory that I may use, but when I will have to use it, I'll have books, people and experience to refer to. And time. Which makes tests not apt to effectively "test" an individual. I mean come on, when am I going to have to calculate the half-life of 13,8 kg or plutonium, the limiting reactant in a chemical reaction or the amount of alun (an aluminum/sulfic acid/positive mono-atomic ion combination), all under a specific and small amount of time? "Pat! The core reactor is melting! You have to calculate the amount of energy released so that at least we know how little of us is going to remain after the reactor explodes! You have 5 minutes and you can't ask our 17 chemist to help or our team of specialized engineers!". But hey, you never know.

I came to the conclusion that it's to see who works, and who doesn't. Those that get good averages must be the ones that are going to be the best in a work environment! Hey! I know: let's teach our students that are trying to get into medicine just the theory, and when they get to actually work as doctors, they'll end up as machines who process patients like data. A word to the current teachers or methodology coordinators: you're the ones that are going to regret it when your doctors are going to prescribe you the wrong medication because they were too busy making a list of symptoms they thought you had when you were telling them what you knew was wrong. You're the ones who would've wished a diffent teaching method when your doctor writes the time of your death earlier because he "does not deem the time,effort and ressources of the hospital worth it". I don't care because if that happens, if I'm not a doctor( just like hundreds of people who may not have an average of 96% but have the ability to communicate with other human beings) I'll be the one selling your empty house or the one to write your death in the governmental annals. Kinda crappy eh? Tough.

Ah. Feels much better. I think the shower helped. Teenage angst is sooo liberating. Feels good!


I feel bad I haven't posted anything for a while, but lack of time, energy, and creative thought melded together to create what I like to call Post-Exam-Week-Stress-Disorder, or PEWSD. "PeeYOOzeDee" for pronouciation purposes. I was, however, able to read blogs like Random Thots by Nel. Great Writer! I love to hear her share from Malaysia. There's tons of interesting blogs out there, most of them largely more interesting and well-written than mine. *Sigh*. If only I had talent...

I'm going out for a walk. The sun has receded, and the wind dropped. Time to leave the comfortable cuccoon of my home and scurry "oot and aboot".

NHL and badgers!

Funny!

Hope badgers will be involved! I'd also like to link this blog.

Have fun! I'm going to sleep!

The flower's gone

I went to go look for the elusive orchid look-alike on the hill I previously mentionned. Wasn't there. Did someone dare mow the lawn? Ack!! My life as a botanical genius is destroyed! DAMN YOU JOHN DEER!!! DAMN YOU!!!!

Ahem, well, I'll probably find it again this week. Hopefully I can behead whoever's responsible for this, or at least let them burn in a greasefire. With rabid beavers. And bees. Lots and lots of bees with extra big stingers.

I was taking a walk in my grandparents' neighborhood, trying to make the gargantuan amount of food that I ate (Canadian Thanksgiving :) ) go down when the most beautiful scenery revealed itself. I have a thing for the VW Westfalia, i.e. the "Hippy Van". There she stretched, like a cat, and here I came, like a skulking badger (I imagine badgers skulk a lot, what with the black and white stripes). I approached the feline piece of machinery, and came close enough to touch it. Did I? No! I barely knew it! So I looked...and I looked...and I kept looking until I felt like I was a teenager with a Las Vegas stripper. Wholely absorbed, I did not notice that the owner approached me with a smile. I quickly looked in his direction, not interested in the least in this grotesque human being, with non paint finish and no windshield wipers. Then he proclaimed: "Do you like my car?". After considering I decided not to kick him in the teeth, but to simply answer: "Yes, yes I do. Is it for sale?". He looked at me, sizing me up with his human eyes like I'd be some sort of canvas bag with a dollar sign on it, and produced: "No, but I'll let you wash it!". Of course you will, you big oaf. I mean sir. Lord. King. Westfalia...

Let it be known that I am happy. Until I can either buy it off him, or take it using ways that are not a legal.

Week off!

My week off will officially start tomorrow, so I take today as a day where I am completely oblivious to the fact that "Week off" is roughly translated in TeacherSpeak to "Give a Crap-load of Homework Week". I was extremely busy last week, what with three exams and the ever-increasing pile of work. I don't know how I'll survive university...well at least my friends at the CEGEP are working hard too. But, then again, I'm just happy they're doing well. I'm doing pretty good. So far, I'm slightly over the average in all my classes, except for my French Litterature class, which I've done already two years ago, word for word. I hope the teacher mistakes my high grades for intelligence.

My chemistry test has been an excrutiating experience. All knowledge I may have posessed flew out of my reeling head as I looked at the "monster-questions" that were asked of me. At least I did really well on my lab test. I felt very comfortable in the lab, so I kinda stuck around after to study the names of this and the precautions when handling that.

Gloomy day...perfect for pictures! I found a rare flower (or so I like to tell myself), all alone on a small hill positioned at the back entrance of my CEGEP. Really small, about two fingers width and a half a hand in length, it's flowers have a flashy orange color and the form of the flowers suggests that it may be an orchid. I hope I found a rare offshoot of a rarer Quebecan Orchid...or some such.