Crash and Burn

     Well I just finished my first exam, which is the hardest of them all. I wasn't sure if I was going to classify it as my hardest but now I definitely know it to be so! There is no way that anything could be harder than that.

     I don't know if I want to laugh or cry, or some creepy-hysterical combination of the two. Hmm probably the hysterical one. Allow me to fill you in: 75 multiple choice questions worth 70%; I knew a bit more than half and think I did okay with guessing the rest. Not bad right? WRONG! The next part was short answers, five questions worth a total of 30%. And I didn't know the answer to a single one.

     I'm really not kidding.

     One question asked something about how treatment of mental illness was improved and name the important figures in such transformation. Oh yah! I remember studying this! There was a list of people and they each contributed one thing. Um ... well one person ordered the patients to be released from their chains ... um, another person founded the York Retreat which was supposed to be a centre where the mentally insane were to be treated kindly. And then ... um ... someone said that mental illness does not equal criminality. Um ... 
     So I wrote that. Pretty much exactly that, literally leaving an underlined space where the names would go, so I could go back and fill it in if I remembered it later. (You have permission to laugh. I sure did when I was reviewing it: "you thought you'd remember?! Oh dear, Caitlyn...")

     I vaguely remember one of the questions to be about the discrepancies within the field of neocontemporary something-or-other. Um hmm yah forget it. It got so bad during the exam that I started to confuse who Skinner and Watson and Piaget were and what they did. And forget about the other randoms. Hull, Bartlett, possibly a Hall, definitely dozens of others ... I just had no clue.

     One of the other short answer questions asked what were the antecedents of Gestalt psychology? Hmm, well I remember that Gestalt psychology has to do with perception and all those optical illusions. And I remember reading about Functionalism before Gestalt. And I remember that someone named James had something to do with functionalism (I think? or was it Hull? or someone-else-whose-name-completely-escapes-me-right-now? Knowing my luck, effing-probably.) So I wrote "James developed functionalism, which was an antecedent to Gestalt Psychology". ...and that's it.

     Like, that's when I filled in my Scantron form, and got up, and left. FML.

Chugging Along

     I have to say, as much as I was dreading today's work load, I do admit that I am mildly impressed at my writing so far. I do, however, wonder where this creative streak has returned from ... probably been in hiding since 2008, too scared to make the transition from CEGEP to University by my side. I suppose I should be frustrated, but in all honesty, I don't want to scare it away, so I'll appreciate it for now. It's actually quite refreshing; this is the first time in years that I have sit down to write, and the words, ideas and creativity just come pouring out.

     Of course I'm wasting them on my blog. Typical though; can you honestly say you're surprised? I didn't think so.

     On the docket for today: finish my historical psychology paper on Masters and Johnson. Their work is very interesting, but looking at it from a historical point of view really ruins the whole thing. Need I reiterate how much I hate history?

     Hmm all of a sudden I really want to watch Twilight. Mmm or play Wii...

Breakfast

     Ahh breakfast, my love. And boy do I ever love breakfast. Pancakes, cereal, granola, porridge, waffles, fruit, crepes, breakfast buns, smoothies and shakes .... All are music to my ears (and the eqivalent saying for mouth).

     I woke up this morning, feeling particularly annoyed about having to spend my whole weekend doing school work. I know it's necessary blah blah. What I would really love to do is spend the day getting my room tidy, making cookies, and quilting. But instead, I have a 10 page paper due Tuesday in my personality class, a midterm for Clinical Psych Monday night, and a midterm Tuesday night in my Prison&Liberty class.

     It's not that the classes aren't interesting, I just don't want to write the paper.

     We're supposed to write a whole self-discovery paper about ourselves and our childhood, and how that has affected our personalities and relationships today. It's very Freudian ... but without Freud (if that makes any sense). I was going to do my paper on Erikson's eight stages, and how I passed through them during my life thus far, how I am shaped today because of it, and then branch off a bit into my relationship, and how that follows the same stages. It's all very interesting.

     I just love procrastinating.

     Since I am sickly poor, and have no suitable breakfast item, I have decided to make breakfast buns. They are fantabulous.

I don't care about "ISM'S"

     I hate studying for this class. I don't get history. Some people may think that's stupid, but everyone has a weakness and mine is history (and politics and philosophy, but please don't get me started). I am interested enough in learning about Freud and Skinner and Locke and Erikson (people who's theories are actually interesting, and worth their weight in gold). But Descartes, Liebniz, Hobbes, Bacon ... eurgh. They are just so stupid. I know what you'll say: "they had theories that were moderatly true as far as we know today, and some time in the future people will look back on our modern theories and think they're ridiculous". I am well aware of that, but we are in 2011 right now, not some future 23-something, so I don't care.

     Argh, these people! They spend their entire lives arguing about such trivial and simple things. Do we have a mind? Where is it? How does it interact with the body? I believe that most people these days would have an appropriately simple answer. Is knowledge innate or learned? Can cause ever be determined? Do we discover the world physically, or through sensory perceptions? I say come up with an answer and get on with your lives.

     And seriously?! What idiot decided that our brains were filled with animal spirits, and as these passed through the brain tissue, the spirits tightened or released our brain fibers, and this is what causes memory.

     I hate the ism's. Empiricism, rationalism, humanism, sensationalism, parallelism, determinism, idealism, historicism, reductionism, realism, dualism, interactionism, positivism, scientism *BREATHE* (betcha can't say that three times fast). I don't know what they are, and I don't care what they are. I wish people would stop shoving philosophy down my throat. When I become Queen of the World, that will be a rule. I'd also put a damper on religion, but don't get me started; I'm supposed to be studying, and that rant could take all night.

     Wish me luck!

Day of Death

     So I slept like a dead person last night.

     My alarm woke me up at 10:00 and I was in the same position I was when I fell asleep. And that means I'm tired. But something odd happened; I set my alarm for 10:00 and it woke me up. At the time I decided like hell was I going to get up, so I re-set my alarm for 11:00. I woke up on my own at 10:57, and watched the clock change ... 10:57 ... 10:58 ... 10:59 ... 11:00 .... And the alarm didn't go off. Of course, I figured that in my probably-still-very-asleep state, I mucked up changing the time (as I do from time to time). So I decided to be smart and responsible, and get out of bed. My History midterm is at 5:30, and I do have quite a lot to read. Now, my fellow Lifers, what time is it now as I blog ever so faithfully? 10:18. I'm pissed. Don't ask.

     Of course, as is my luck, I think I'm coming down with something. Headache, body aches, extreme exhaustion... Well don't be surprised, it's exam time.

     Today is seriously going to suck.

What The Crap...

What the crap.
What the crap.

So I went to the library just now to get the slides to copy. There are three copies on reserve, and they are all checked out. Now I was expecting that, but I was prepared to wait for them. Normally, things such as notes and textbooks are on reserve for a few hours and/or are not supposed to leave the library at all.

This is of course not the case.

Two of the three copies are due tomorrow at 5:30pm (lo and behold, the starting time of the exam), and the third copy is due Saturday afternoon at 2:15. Seriously.

I sent an e-mail to the teacher asking her to please change the time limit for the reserve items to something more reasonable, and not two friggin days.

Now what?!? ...

Urgh History! Urgh, Midterms!

     I've got a bit of time now to write while I eat my porridge (maple and brown sugar = yumm). Not that I don't enjoy the porridge (note the 'yumm') but I miss CEREAL. Cereal is my life. But since I didn't go back to work after the Christmas break, and really really need to continue paying off my bills, I have not been able to buy groceries in almost a month, ergo no milk, ergo no cereal.

     I have my first exam tomorrow in my History and Systems of Psychology class. Me + history = nightmare. So needless to say, I am anxious about the midterm. At the beginning of the semester, I was so excited to go to classes, I felt so proud and full of purpose. Well that only lasted a week or so. Damn you Sims, quilting, sleep and lack of willpower... So after my Personality class today at 2:30, I'm going to march myself down into the depths of the Morriset library to get the notes of the classes that I missed. Then I am going to sit my ass down at a table, and copy all the ones I missed. Then I am going to open my textbook and read all six chapters. Why venture down in the depths of the sub-basement of the library you ask? The answer is simple. My teacher still believes it is the late 90's and continues to use an overhead projector and transparencies. Look out classmates, I will fight you tooth and nail for those slides!

     Of course, some of that will need to be postponed until tomorrow, as Matt and I are going to see The Long Weekend at the Ottawa Little Theatre tonight, courtesy of my mother's Christmas present to us (mainly for Matt, but I get to tag along).

     Oh dear look at the time. I have to finish my porridge (because of course I haven't touched it yet due to you, you distraction). Plus, Holly is talking about a cash-cow?! And I need to shower before class, for which I have to leave at 1:40.