Truckin

Today was so exhausting and seemed to drag on forever. Chemistry wasn’t too bad. **Actually, on a side note, it was pretty cool because the lecture was all about radioactive isotopes so I learned about all of the radioactive things that we are exposed to everyday naturally. There are so many radioactive elements that our body uptakes all of the time mistaking them for essential elements and that’s normal! And the ocean naturally has a very high concentration of uranium. A few lectures ago we went through all of the elements that are essential for us and all of those that are toxic in basically any amount. These have been the only lectures I’ve enjoyed, but I’ve enjoyed them a lot because I’m a huge dork (which has already been established many times). **

Okay back to my day. So my first psychology lecture was pretty good, but I knew that the lecturer for the second hour was terrible so I didn’t stay so that I could instead go to the library and check out all of the ethnographies I need to write my paper for anthropology. Very, very luckily, they were all available. I sat outside for a bit and looked over the notes for the lecture I was missing, and observed the winter coats and boots people were wearing—it was about 75 degrees today and sunny. Ohhhh Aussies from Queensland are hilarious. I mean it was in the 60’s this morning but a winter coat? Really? At lunch I got some lentil spinach thing and it had no taste whatsoever. I was not pleased. In my psyc. tutorial we discussed our lab report which I had kind of forgotten about and it’s due soon. Oops. Anthropology lecture was probably the most boring 2 hours I’ve ever had to sit through and it didn’t help that I was falling asleep even before it began. Then our substitute anthropology tutorial leader person decided that it was fine to run class until 25 minutes after it should be over. I was so tired and grumpy when I came home so I just curled up in bed for the half hour before dinner. SO I had dinner which was fine and took a shower and now I’m here. It’s somehow 8:15 already. I have so much work to do meaning I need to start planning out/writing my anth paper but I’m burned out. I’ll probably just go to bed early.

One good thing that happened today was that I got the package that my parents said they had sent. It contained the Australian cash they had left over once they left, a sim card with some prepay minutes, and a tube of mini m&m’s—compliments of kehilat shalom’s purim package that was sent to me at home! Anyway, always fun to get mail.

All I ask for

Tuesday. Got up really early for no apparent reason and thus I was really sleepy all day. I did some more work on my chem online exam and then went for a run before lunchtime because it was about 21 (that's ~70) or so and fully sunny so I couldn't resist being outside. After lunch I had marine lecture in which we started on plant stuff. Our lecturer for this subject is our practical professor and I like her very much. After that I went to the pharmacy to get some acid reflux medication because my prilosec ran out :(. They don't have prilosec here which i found out simply by asking my friends if they had heard of it and they all said no. SO I got Zantec which does exist in this country. I really hope it works because acid reflux is no fun. Anyway,
I came home and got more work done but had to take a powernap before dinner so that I'd be able to function. I finished my chem online exam after dinner and submitted it about a half-hour ago and...I got 11/12!!! :) Well actually it says I got 9/12 but 2 of them are actually correct but the system marked them as wrong and my professor told me monday to bring in my test so he can fix it if/when that happens. Now that that's done I have to think about my anthropology essay that is 35% of my grade and is due a week from tomorrow. It is by far my toughest assignment and I'm really not looking forward to starting it. Plus I doubt I'll even be able to get a hold on the very ethnography I'm writing my paper on because several others are also using it and I'm sure they're all out of the library...great. I only have the introduction which I photocopied many weeks ago. Oh well, there's not much I can do. Okay I must go read a really long article for one of my tutorials tomorrow. It will be a looooong day.
But :)

DTB?

Alright so I really should be doing work right now, but I want to update on the past 5 days. So I left for the airport early Thursday morning and took the ferry and then train to the airport. I ended up seeing one of Charlene’s roommates (who was with her mom who was visiting) on the train—crazy—AND found out we were on the same flight. You also have to realize that planes go from Brisbane to Sydney at least every hour if not more. Anyway, checking and security for Australian domestic flights takes about 15 minutes, which was good because my ferry was late and then my train took forever or some reason. The flight was short—it’ only about 70 minutes—and when I landed I called Lindsay, hopped in a cab, and was at her house in about 20 minutes. Her apartment looks out onto the ocean and it’s about a 1 minute walk to the beach. Amazing. She had just gotten home from class, so we chilled for about half an hour and then went to the harbour so I could see the Harbour bridge, the opera house, etc. We walked all around and through the botanical gardens and just talked because we had quite a lot to catch up on. We ate a late lunch at a café on the water and then it started to rain so we ran back to the bus stop and headed back to Coogee beach (that’s where Lindsay as well as most of my NZ friends live). We got together some plans for the night, and just as I had promised, I bought 4 litres of goon for Lindsay and my other friends Taylor. So we got all showered and pretty and headed over to Taylor’s apartment. He lives on the other side of the beach in an apartment with only one other guy. When we get there the first thing I notice is that in their tv room there are 2 girls and I know one of them because she lives in union college with me! How ridiculous is that? It ends up that taylor doesn’t know her, but he knows her friend and they needed a place to stay for the weekend. So anyway, it’s a small world to say the least. We went to this karaoke bar and had so much fun and I got to meet a lot of Lindsay’s friends.

On Friday it was Anzac day, the reason why I had a 3-day weekend in the first place, so we went to the parade/other festivities downtown with several of her other friends. We watched the parade for a bit and then walked all around the city. We had lunch at this yummy take-away salad place. By the afternoon we were so tired and we walked past a movie theatre and decided we wanted to see a movie. Not everyone did, so we split up and Lindsay, me, and her friend Paul saw Forgetting Sarah Marshall. I hadn’t thought I’d see a movie while I was here, but it was nice. We got home around 7, and got ready for another night out. We went over to Taylor's place and chilled there and then headed back out to the city where we went to 2 of their favorite bars/clubs in the course of the night. Good night.

On Saturday we got up pretty early because we knew it was going to be really nice and sunny out and we walked from Coogee beach to Bondi beach on this path built for that purpose. It was gorgeous—the most amazing views of all of the beaches and huge cliffs etc. It took about an hour and a half so when we got there we were ready to pass out on the beach and we did. We had lunch later at this place that has really good chicken burgers—it was all Lindsay's friend mark talked about the entire walk over to bondi! We laid out after lunch and Taylor and his roommate went surfing—there were SO many surfers out, but the waves were huge and I thought I would get pummeled if I attempted to surf. It got chilly after a while because even though the sun was fully out, there was a very cool breeze off the ocean—too cool. (I’m so happy I’m in warm Brissie J) I walked around with Lindsay and some of her friends to look at the shops and then we took the bus home. We went home and showered and then went back out to get some food. We went to Lindsay’s favorite Indian take-away—it was SO SO SO good and we ate it while watching the Australian Biggest Loser tv show. Then we got ready and went over to my other friend matt’s house because I had yet to see him! He basically lives in a frat house which is so weird since frats don’t exist in this country. Anyway we hung out there for a while and I met some of his 13 roommates (yes, 13!). Then we went to Taylor’s and then were supposed to go to Darling Harbour to where some of the nice and classy-type clubs are—(Lindsay and I were all dressed up)—but instead we went to king’s cross which is, well, the exact opposite of classy. We had fun anyway and I’m glad I got to see so many different areas of Sydney nightlife.

On Sunday Lindsay and I both woke up so exhausted from so many long days—kind of like NZ all over again!—but we made the journey to Manly beach anyway because Lindsay knew I really wanted to go there. To get to Manly we had to take the bus to the harbour and then get the ferry to Manly. It takes about an hour total, but the ferry is so nice because you get to see the harbour bridge and the opera house from out on the water. Once we got there we just laid on the beach and did a lot of surfer-watching. I definitely could’ve surfed there and Lindsay said I could go rent a board but the water in Sydney is much cooler than farther north and I would’ve needed a full wetsuit. Plus I don’t think I had the energy to surf anyway after 3 nights of minimal sleep. We walked all around the shops there and had yummy salads for lunch—they have so many good salad places there!—and then headed home because Lindsay had a paper to write for Monday that she hadn’t started! We got back and I left her to do her paper and just chilled and watched tv in the other room with her two roommates. I went to bed early because I had to get up at 6:20 this morning to go to the airport. I had called a cab Sunday night to get me at 6:45, and it was on time and got me to the airport in 15 minutes. Then I checked-in at one the electronic check-ins and went through security in about 3 minutes because domestic security here is basically a joke. So I got to my gate around 7:20! My flight left at 8:30 so I had time to get some coffee and was able to call mike and use the rest of my minutes that expired later in the day. The flight was easy and I hopped on the train and then took a bus I’ve never taken before and got home fine. It was so warm here today—29! WONDERFUL. Unfortunately, I got back, had a quick lunch, checked my email, turned in my chemistry lab report, and had my practical from 2-5, so I couldn’t really enjoy the warmth that much. I actually finished my practical early and took a nap because I could not keep my eyes open for obvious reasons. Now it’s near 9:00 and I’ve got so much work to do. But yea overall, great weekend and Sydney is awesome.

But it does end up that I’m going on this Moreton Island trip this weekend on my own L. I just hope there are some people on the trip I can hang out with! I just have to remember that Moreton Island is a place I really want to go and that should be enough. Also, it look like Fraser Island the following weekend will also be just me. Maybe I’ll be able to convince someone if I really recruit, but it’s unlikely and I don’t really have the energy to make that kind of effort. Alright, time to work and then get to bed!

She only sleeps when it's raining

So it’s late and I should go to bed since I have to get up early to leave for the airport, but I felt I should write before I leave for Sydney! This week has been fine, although my foot is ripped up…I think I’ve written on this?...so that’s been frustrating. It’s really not better and I can’t wear shoes sooo thongs (that’s flip-flops) for Sydney it is! I finished all the work that had to be finished before I left yesterday so I had time to go to all my classes today and pack. But not really, because it’s 11:00pm and I just finished. And I have to get up at 6:45.

I decided to just plan my next few weekends. I booked a camping trip to Moreton island for may 3-4, and a camping trip to fraser island may 10-11. As of now I’m going on my own, but UQ sport books the trips for UQ students so I believe it’s a bunch of UQ students so whatever as far as going alone. But I think Charlene may want to come to Moreton but she’s already been to fraser for a class field trip weekend thing. The weekend after fraser I want to go to a queensland reds rugby game. I’m going with Charlene and some others…at least I think I am—I just sent char all of the info so hopefully she has no problem with that date! Ok I’m exhausted and I should get some rest before my inevitably crazy, long weekend!

P.S. The Anzac day parade is supposed to be crazy in Sydney—just as crazy as in Canberra where the “official” parade is. So I’m pretty excited for that. I also know that the police turn a blind-eye to things like gambling in the streets and probably all sorts of other rowdiness that normally gets drunk people into trouble! All to honor the war veterans so I guess it's just cause! Aussies are crazy. I love them. Ok gooooodnight.

Time Flies

Where to start? The week went pretty well—it was busy, hence the lack of updating! Some highlights:

On Tuesday and Thursday I did some of my research participation for psychology—Tuesday was kind of boring and involved perceptions of different people’s faces. Thursday, on the other hand, was so fun! It was a study on spiders and birds and learned/conditioned responses. I had an electrode hooked up to my arm that would deliver electric shocks and headphones on that periodically made a very unpleasant loud noise. I had a breathing monitor on and my sweating and blinking rates were also being monitored. So I had wires coming from everywhere! Anyway, the noise and shocks were a bit unpleasant, but all for the benefit of science, right? I thought it was quite fun.

I no longer was feeling sick like I was on Monday once Tuesday rolled around, so I was able to go for a run in the gorgeous weather. Wednesday was the typical crazy busy day and I had thought that I might go out but my plans ended up falling through—long story. I got my psyc. essay in on Thursday morning—it wasn’t due until Friday so that felt good. I did some work in the afternoon but was not very successful in concentrating. I made it to spin class which made me feel more accomplished. I went out on Thursday night to the valley to a place called birdees with some of my friends in my hall and had a great time—I had really needed that kind of night! Friday was a bit tough considering the long night before, but it worked out fine except for me napping all afternoon instead of working. Thus, I had to work until late last night.

Today I got up early for some reason and started work on my chem. lab report. For about three hours I attempted to find journal articles or any previous research done on my topic and found NOTHING. It is so frustrating because it was like I had gotten nothing done all morning! I went to lunch a it upset but cheered up because I gave myself a break and went to Indooropilly (the mall) and did some random shopping and walked around. I got back at 4:00 and started work again. I’ve been working until now on this lab report and it’s terrible. It’s basically supposed to be in the format of a published journal article but that doesn’t make sense to me because I don’t feel that my experiment has any implications whatsoever. Maybe that’s because I can’t find a single real publication on the subject! SO early tomorrow I will head over to the engineering library when it opens to use the class textbook for basic background information, but I still don’t know what to do about the lack of scholarly work. I’ve used every means of searching that I know! I can’t even find unusable stuff on Wikipedia or anything! To me that means one of two things: 1) Cu2+ and ammonia metal/ligand reactions are useless and uninteresting and thus there are no publications or 2) people have done the research but it yields nothing of interest and thus there are no publications. Either one of these possibilities leads to me failing. Metal ion chemistry is not my favorite... as if that wasn't already evident.

Not only do I need to do this report, which by the way is a huge portion of my chemistry grade—honestly the only one that really matters—but I also have a CMT (computer-managed test) for chemistry that I’ve hardly worked on that’s due soon as well. Plus I have to do all of my prelab calculations for Monday. I hope to go to a seder tomorrow evening but I haven’t heard back about it. Complicated story. I’m afraid it won’t work out. I’ll just have to wait and see.

All I want to do is think about is how I leave for Sydney on Thursday morning!!! I’m very excited but I must get my work done before I leave because it’s due within hours after my return to brissie!

Monday

It was a decent day despite waking up sick with some sort of head-cold-type-of-thing. I got a lot done--I basically wrote my entire paper that's due friday. Actually, not just basically because I fully wrote it. I just need to edit it and turn it in! I had my chemistry practical today that is the one for the full lab report which is worth 30% of my final grade in the class. I had a funny argument with my practical professor on accuracy in buret readings which turned into me calculating all of these probabilities of how accurate one can be when reading a buret in order to make my case. I am such a dork, but I refused to back down on my position and my professor thought it was pretty funny. It's a complicated story so you'll just have to take my word for it that it was pretty funny and entertained the tutors and other students in the lab... a lot. I guess I'm just a pushy American! Ugh I'm so exhausted so this is all for today.

The workers are going home

Well it’s been forever since I updated last!

Last week went pretty well overall. I got my assignment in on Wednesday for anthropology. On Thursday I studied all day when I wasn’t in class and went to the afternoon spin class instead of the later one—it’s a different instructor at that time and he was like a drill sergeant…not a big fan of it—because we had a college event in the evening. The event was called the “twilight concert.” Basically, it was a semi-formal dinner with free drinks for which we got vouchers with our pictures on them. (I would like to point out here that the college required that I give them something like 6 passport pictures when I applied. Alcohol vouchers are their sole purpose as far as I can tell!) SO also the reason why it was a concert is that people from college performed their respective talents throughout the night and the winners got money prizes. It was very entertaining and the food and wine was good BUT I had to come back, after 3.5 glasses of wine and study for my exam that was the next day at 11am. That evening all turned out fine actually—it was the next morning that went wrong. After my chemistry lecture I had an hour before my midterm so I went to the grassy area in the Great Court to sit against a tree and go over my note cards I had made. Long story short, I got bitten by some ants or something that I have a particularly bad allergic reaction to, had to go over to the health center where I had to sit in the waiting room while getting nervous for my exam and secretly thinking that I might die. All the nurse could do was put some cortisone on it and I rushed off to my exam. The exam was good and luckily I was able to concentrate. My leg, on the other hand was not so good, and the pain was not even gone by Friday night when I got into bed! My whole calf muscle throbbed and the stinging was unbearable at times during the hours afterward. I vowed I would never sit on the grass in the Great Court again!

Anyway, Saturday morning I had to get up at 6:45am to go with Charlene and Carrie, my marine field research partners, to do our research at Moreton Bay. Luckily, Carrie has a car and picked us up. We went to eat at this amazing Italian café that carrie frequents often and I had a soy cappuccino and a some ricotta boysenberry thing that was delicious. We continued out to our first site of the day, Nudgee. We’re doing our study on salinity effects on mangrove growth. Nudgee is a more open site which means it gets flushed more often and the water is thus a bit less salty. We compared this to our second site, Lota, which is farther south on the coast and is more closed to open bay/ocean. Overall, it was a gorgeous day and we all got muddy and had a lot of fun despite it being hard work. I tested about 150 samples! I got home around 2:00, cleaned up, and then spent the rest of the day working on learning chemistry, preparing for my practical on Monday, and starting my paper/reading journal articles on the subject. I worked until late and got a lot done.

Today I slept in for the first time in what seems like forever. After brekkie and a bit of working I went for a walk during which I called mike. I ended the walk at the park where the lakes are. I stayed there for a few hours doing more reading and starting to write out some of my essay. It was so sunny and I ended up getting really hot but it was great. Later I called my mom and found out how their flights were etc. Of course we ended up talking for nearly an hour. I walked home after that as I had been out in the sun for 3 hours at that point. I did more work when I came home although I started feeling sick so I wasn’t very productive. I’m still feeling sick now. I’m getting a cold or something. Somehow I always manage to get sick. SO I’ll probably try to go to bed early and maybe take some meds. It’s going to be a hard week but hopefully I’ve prepared for it well and I can stay focused!

Yikes

Someone got eaten by a shark in Ballina yesterday. It was a 16 year-old boy and his friend saw the whole thing but could not save him despite his best attempt. Just a bit scary considering I was surfing there only 3 days before that!
I'm stressing out because I'm realizing that I'm very behind in chem because I have become an expert at procrastinating/ignoring the material in that class. Also, with some busy weekends (that I'm turning into very extended ones) coming up, I have to get certain papers and assignments done much earlier than I would normally. Alright I'm going to go work on all of that.

Tuesday Bluesday

My only lecture today was my marine lecture. We have a new lecturer and she’s talking about marine animals so it’s a nice break from our previous lecturer who was difficult to understand. Before that I had gotten up early and worked all morning and finished my assignment for anthropology that’s due tomorrow. I also went to the library to print some stuff—I really hate how I have to do that almost every day! When I’m back at Lehigh I’m going to appreciate my printer and the free and accessible printing on campus SO SO SO SO much. In the afternoon I went to the bank (which ended up making me really upset...long story) and then for a walk that I went on basically so I could go buy tea, m&m’s, chick peas, and soy linseed crackers. VERY important business. Apparently more important than the readings and research I have to do for tomorrow.

Charlene wanted me to come to the birthday party for Chrissie at their apartment tonight and just stay the night and go to uni with her in the morning, but I don’t have the energy to get dressed up, pack for tonight and for all day tomorrow of classes, and then catch the bus to her place. Plus it wasn’t even going to be starting until after 9:00 and I would have to get up at 7am. It’s just too much planning and honestly, it’s a Tuesday night and at this point going out would just confuse me! I feel bad though because she's going to call me when I should come over and I'm going to have to tell her that I'm not...I hate doing that so much.

So I’m in my room procrastinating and a girl on my hall is having her hair dyed and it’s also Bridgette’s birthday today so there’s a big cake blah blah blah. It was a good day but I was so productive in the morning and then I just wasted the rest of the day away. Now I have a bunch of work that I could do or could not do and I’m guessing I won’t. At least I’m doing my laundry right now so that’s something in the way of not wasting space on the planet!

Funny Little Frog

Catching up. My midterm went well on Friday so I was able to thoroughly enjoy the weekend in Byron Bay. I met my parents at their hotel after my midterm where my dad was ready with the rental car. We drove to Byron, checked into our motel, and went to a nice restaurant for dinner. Good food and wine and some amazing dessert that had something to do with white chocolate and honey. We were pretty tired so we went to bed early.

We all got up early and it was decided that we would go to Ballina (where my second cousin Kaia lives with her husband Dan and their two little girls) for the first part of the day. We spent some time catching up and then we went to the beach, despite the on-and-off rain, where Dan and I went surfing. The break was great and because the weather was less than perfect there was basically no one on the beach and maybe ten surfers out at most. I was so pleased with the good conditions and free board usage/tips from Dan! After the beach, which we left when it began to rain hard, we went back to their house where we had a delicious lunch. We went back to Byron after lunch, and despite the still on-and-off rain, my mom and I made he trek to the lighthouse. The lighthouse is on Cape Byron, on which is the most eastern point of Australia. I, of course, needed a picture with this sign. The trek back was longer than on the way there—we did a loop—and we ended up getting a little side-tracked because the signs for the trail were terrible. I was also not feeling well during all of this, but all in all, my mom and I both agree it was well worth the over 2 hours of walking. The views off the cape where you are standing so high above the water on a very steep cliff from where you can see the sandy beaches on both sides is just amazing—even when the weather isn’t! So when we got back to the motel we were exhausted and soaking wet. I showered and we took a breather before heading out for dinner. We went to a smaller restaurant that seemed like a little café but ended up being a great restaurant with the best food I had had in a long time. The owner (or we think he was) convinced us to get a $50 bottle of Shiraz which was yummy.

On Sunday we went to the market in Byron which happens every Sunday there and is a place where mostly locals, but also many tourists, go to buy and sell and socialize. Once again, the weather was crazy and there was on-and-off rain. My dad mostly listened to the live music while my mom and I shopped. I bought several pairs of earrings (a weakness!) and a necklace, as well as a piece of artwork that my mom will bring home with her. I could have bought so much more there—I loved everything! Kaia and Dan and the girls met us a bit later and we had lunch together. My mom and I got falafel that was delicious. It got really sunny while we were eating, but then of course it was time to leave! We left a little after 1:00 because we had to have the rental car back in Brisbane at a certain time. The drive back to Brisbane was faster than on the way there. I said goodbye to my parents, who were staying in Brisbane for the night and heading off to Heron Island (on the Great Barrier Reef) Monday in the early morning. I got back to campus in time to shower and unpack before dinner. I caught up with everyone on my hall and then went to bed early because, once again, I was so tired/could not/would not do work.

Today I had my 8am chemistry lecture but no practical this afternoon. I have an assignment for anthropology that requires a lot of research so I’ve been working on that all day at the library and in my room. Now I’m going to go print some stuff at the library/check out some books I need for resources for the assignment and then go to my spin class.

Ok so my computer froze so I'm posting this now. Spin class was super hard today; I'm not sure what it was but our instructor definitely changed something up today. Let me put it this way--I don't know if I'll be able to walk in the morning. Ok I must get work done tonight because I saw Charlene on my way to the gym and she wants me to come to Chrissie's (one of her roommates who I went to Fiji with) birthday party tomorrow night. Peacing out.

Madly

It’s been a few days since my last post but I’ve been trying very hard to concentrate on my work—i.e. it’s probably a good thing that I haven’t posted! Tuesday I didn’t have any classes because my marine practical is not at scheduled time for many weeks because we’re working on our field research in our own time (or, rather, supposed to be working on it). My lecture was canceled because the professor had a last minute time conflict that he couldn’t avoid. So I spent the day in the library in a quiet corner trying to read an incredible amount of textbook and commit to memory every type of wind, tide, current, wave, etc. I find it all very cool but there is so much random terminology and technical stuff that I really need to know. I left the lib at 5:00 so I could go for a long walk before dinner because my brain hurt and it was beautiful outside. I spent the evening practicing my anthropology presentation and timing myself and such until I felt very prepared.

It was a typical long Wednesday in a way, but it was actually much longer. Chemistry lecture, as usual, just made me feel like I should spend MUCH more time studying for that class…as of now I spend no time, so anything would be an improvement. Psychology lectures were 2 of my favorite so far this semester. The first one was on learning and conditioning stuff which I already knew about but it was still good. The second hour was on sleep and basically answered every question I’ve ever had about stages of sleep and REM sleep. I got some quick lunch and then had my psyc. tutorial in which we discussed our essays that our due in 2 weeks. I honestly didn’t even remember this assignment was coming up! It should be simple though and we were basically given step-by-step directions on how to write it—I forgot that in first year classes you get led through the writing process! The way we’re supposed to write the essay is comparable to the way I wrote essays when I was 12 years-old and thus goes against every rule of good essay writing, but I guess I just have to do it!

After that tutorial I went to my anthropology lecture which I enjoyed because it was on kinship and that is what my professor specializes in—so she was very into it. In the first part of the lecture she ended up mentioning this anthropologist, Malinowski, who studied the Trobriand Islanders, and for some reason I remembered everything that he studied from reading his work last semester. SO, being the teacher’s pet that I can sometimes be, during our 10 minute break during the lecture I just went up and talked to her about spirit conception and kinship of the Trobriand Islanders. I think she was impressed :) haha. When we all got to the tutorial, she asked who was presenting and when I raised my hand I like to think she was very excited to get to here ME talk AGAIN with all of my ultimate wisdoms. HAHA, okay, just kidding, but she did have a big smile. But, anyway, my presentation went really well and my professor loved my critique of the writing.

After that I had to walk home very quickly to drop off my notebooks and then walk to the ferry so I could go meet my parents in the city. I couldn’t believe that they were actually here! They were at the ferry stop when I got to the city and we went to one of the first restaurants we saw because I was very hungry. Everything was very expensive but I had the barramundi which was good and the wine was even better. I had an amazing dessert—some peanut butter chocolate masterpiece. We sat and talked for a long time and then walked around a bit while waiting for my ferry home. I got home around 10:20 and was exhausted but I ended up talking with people on my hall and showering and, before I knew it, it was 11:30! I was exhausted and went to bed.

SO it’s Thursday morning now and I cannot believe that my marine midterm is tomorrow. Have marine lecture from 12-1 today, then I have to register for lehigh classes* and then hopefully after I will go to the library with Charlene and Carrie to study with them. I think talking out all of this material with them will really help me learn it and indicate the material I know nothing about! At 5:00 I’m meeting my parents at the UQ ferry terminal so that I can take them around campus and show them my room/hall and stuff. Then we’re going to get dinner at the kebab place that is nearby where I live. Then I suppose they’ll go back home and I’ll get back to studying for as long as I can stay awake. Friday I’ll have chemistry lecture, and my midterm from 1-2, after which I will leave with my parents to go to Byron Bay for the weekend. It should be really fun and hopefully the surf will comply with my needs :).

*p.s. I changed the my lehigh class schedule for those of you interested--I'm taking: analytical, engineering, globalization and religion, and then 3 credits of undergrad research for Dr. Iovine (yay fish!). It's only 13 credits but I'll probably live in Iacocca in the lab. Plus I only need 24 credits after this semester to graduate so...

Back to class. Joy.

It’s been a pretty average Monday. My 8am chem. lecture was dull and I was going to go the library afterward until noon but I just couldn’t make myself because I was tired and didn’t feel up to it. Normally I would just force myself in a time such as this-- I have so much work to get done, but whatever. I took a powernap and then got some work done before lunch. Chemistry practical was not too difficult but the prelab had taken me forever and the calculations afterward ended up taking longer than the lab itself. I went to my spin class which on Monday is the extreme class and that was great. There was only 5 people in the class so it was really intense. Nothing beats the feeling/endorphin high after that class! I had dinner right after (always a bit nauseating) and did some work before working more on my class schedule for Lehigh in the fall. I have to register at noon on Thursday my time, but I have marine lecture then so I will just do it after—I should have no problem getting into any of my classes.

I just finalized my schedule which has taken me many hours over many days. I'm feeling the pressure of wanting to take all the classes I've ever wanted to take since I have so little time left to do it! I wonder, if not next year, when I'll ever be able to take random classes in all of the subjects I enjoy that aren't science related. :( Thinking about that makes me sad-- is I could have it my way college would never end!!!

Well, in case anyone is interested, I think this is what I’m taking: Analytical chemistry, engineering (ugh, it’s required of me), globalization and religion (finishes up my religion minor and is my writing intensive course), bacteriology (I don’t need to take this at all—I just want to…), and 2 credits (so 2 days a week) of undergrad research for my adviser. SO it’s all only 15 credits but it’s heavy stuff and way more class hours than it is credits. It’s looking like on Monday and Wednesday I’ll go from 9-4 which is always a blast haha.

Okay well I’m exhausted and want to go to bed—my favorite part of the day! Tomorrow I have to get so much studying done for my marine midterm. SO MUCH. There is just no way to avoid cramming for this exam. But I still haven’t even finished my preparation for my class presentation in anthropology. So that first, then some major cramming of marine terminology and processes. Wish me luck—I’ll need it!