It's: day 2 of being legal AND Earth Day -- and I'm inside.

"Whenever you find that you are on the side of the majority, it is time to reform."
-- Mark Twain

So. The final BIO150 exam occurs tomorrow, at 14:00 hours and lasts for an approximation of 2.25 hours. Realize that that's a decimal and not a colon, thus a quarter of an hour is equivalent to? Yes. Fifteen minutes. I'm also in math-is-the-death-of-me mode, and in saying such, I am implying that I'm avoiding the review of what is more necessary (at this very moment): BIOLOGY.

What is a taxon? I thought I knew. Now I don't. Considering that I'm planning to major in the Evolutionary Biology area, it's pretty sad that I know none of their terms in any depth. What does that say about my attention span? It's quite limited. Now. I've been introduced to the idea of procrastination, but I think I'll lay off the idiocies for a bit and read a bit more. Then I'll do a bit of crazy American Idol Youtube-ing. I don't watch it live simply because it's a waste of effort and I hate commercial breaks, so I just watch segments. Go David Cook go! Haha.

Back to non-procrastinating procrastination.

Oh. And Happy Earth Day!
Plant a tree... If you can spare study time.
Oh, so sad.


PS: I bought Burt's Bees. Took a really long time to find in Fortinos. I didn't realize it'd be under Organic Foods and Products. Hmm. For anyone who knows the true taste of honey (like the non-Billy Bee brands you find at farms), that's what it tastes like. It feels fantastic as well. It's my non-Soft Lips supplement, which I've run out of... again. For the third time in the last 6 months. I wonder what that says about my lip surface area. Hmm.

BIO150: Term Test 3 and 3 cups of coffee.

"Uh, let’s get back to the test please.
What mathy stuff do I need to know?"
-- Prof James Thomson (Study Guide)

I think after the term test, I'll be posting something like "How To" or "How Not To" -- it'll be fun for me and a great way to alleviate stresses caused by the BIO150 test (tomorrow) forget about the miserable CHM139 test (I don't know how many of you checked your marks, but wow; that was probably the worst or best move -- depending on your mark). I haven't checked mine yet and I plan to keep it that way. Why do that to yourself before two major and upcoming tests? Be logical, folks.

I think the first of my "Hows" will be "How Not To Study," which I'm so good at doing. The bad-method of studying, I mean (which can sometimes be nonexistent, which is also very terrible). But for tonight, I think a good 3-cups of coffee (in spaced intervals -- not like what I did the last time, which was 2 huge mugs in 1 hour, which was a tremendously terrible decision) will suffice.

Till 2:00AM then!
Huzzah.

Reading Week: It's zooming by me.

"I've been cautious with the words I extend.
Allow this year before the world starts to end."
-- Coheed and Cambria
(The Light & The Glass, In Keeping Secrets of the Silent Earth: 3)

The week is going by unbelievably, incredibly quickly. I've a shitload to still do and mind my profanities, but that's really the only way (the best way) to describe everything. I still have a bajillion little itty bitty things to do, and I'm avoiding calculus like the plague. I hardly understand what I'm doing right now, but I suppose this is what you call procrastination.

Go listen to Coheed & Cambria on MySpace. I don't know if anyone's into that type of music, what with the lead singer nearing a half-baked falsetto, but they're fantastic musicians. If you get the chance to, go listen to "The Light & The Glass" and "The Crowing" and "A Favour House Atlantic". I've been listening to these guys since ninth grade. Or earlier, I think. My memory fails me.

Ah, back to the demon, better known as re-listening to BIO150 lectures I paid no heed to.

In honour of optimism: "The Morning Of"

"Be civil to all; sociable to many;
familiar with few; friend to one; enemy to none."
-- Benjamin Franklin

This isn't some shameless advertisement for a band I-so-adore, but it is something of an inspiration. I stumbled across their MySpace page before Christmas, and I decided to bookmark it. Good that I did, eh? A week ago, I was feeling particularly morbid about returning to school (there are so many factors to add to the noxious mix) -- I still am kind of ogre-esque about the whole homeworking business -- and then some very pop-rocky song hit me smack dab in the face. Oh yes, this band made me giggle.

I suggest you click the ad, head over to their page and have a listen. Let Your Spirit Soar is one of my newest inspirations for a happier, optimistic day. Have a read:

"3 AM, A boy sits outside his house,
lonely with his guitar.
But then he plays a melody that's so familiar,
it reminds him of who we are
To the people that can hear us,
here's a message that's unwinding.
Don't break hearts and try to shake hands,
because we're living in a time of living's last chance.
Let your spirit soar!"

The BIO150 lab today was seriously going to kill me (mentally). I felt my brain slowly slush out of my ears; I really am trying to keep up with my new outlook, but it's running me over. I will not mock the lab and I will be more/act more enthused. But it was an ok lab overall -- most of my judgment is clouded by the fact that we left a good 1.5 hours earlier than usual. Fun stuff.

I think I'm going to go watch some hockey. Maybe watch another movie.
They always seem to propel me to work... in that sick, sad way.
You know, the, "Oh my GOD! I wasted my day! I should work! Oh shit!"

Yeah. Peace out.

Distill my thoughts, would you?

"Little by little, one travels far."
-- J. R. R. Tolkien

All I have to say, is that I have nothing to say. There's a hockey game on tonight (Chicago Hawks VS Montreal Canadiens). I think I'll watch it. There's a BIO150 lab tomorrow. I think I'll read later. As for other things, I've really nothing to say. Life is seemingly dull, as dull as the gray winter skies. That's art for you. Pure, inconsequential art.

BIO150: "Faaair ball!"

"Never trust anything that can think for itself
if you can't see where it keeps its brain."
-- J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter)

Dear Prof Stinchcombe,

Exams are always hard; that's a given fact of life. Yours was no exception. But it was fair. There was nothing completely out of the blue (except for material you probably wouldn't remember unless you attended the lecture an hour before). We were fairly warned about the article content. Some of the questions were hilariously nitty-gritty (detail-oriented), but it wasn't a tear-jerker like the first term test (I suppose Spencer Barrett's horrendous test questions made up for his cool-Brit accent). It wasn't impossible, yet it wasn't completely satisfying (you know, for holiday-and-grade hopes, i.e. Christmas presents and moot points?). All in all, it could have been better (please don't hesitate to ask how; I have 101 tips on how to write easier, more approachable tests). And though some may think that the term test was a foul ball, past the line and a little ambiguous, or a "Strike two!", or even "Home run!" ---- if I were the ump, I'd call, "Fair ball."

So... Good job. On being honest. At UofT. (A rare thing, I know.)

Kudos.

- Suzette Llacer


PS: I have the "Chicka-dee-dee-dee..." lecture in my head. So sad. So sad.

X-mas tv specials vs. UofT mind control?

"And they will try to make us forget ourselves, one by one, one by one.
Call me crazy but they are after us, one by one, one by one."
-- Eisley (Invasion, Combinations)

Has my mind done that yet? I'm not completely sure. I should check. ASAP.

I'm going to spontaneously combust. I need sleep. I slept at 4:00 in the a.m.
So much for moderation of sleep and all things healthful. And I've still got to "read."
Well. This is fun. Super-fun-fun-fun.

Insert dialogue: "What's so bad about being a UofT android: mindless and smart!"
Retort in mind? "Can I do that after the new year? I swear, I'll conform!"
Seriously. If you want an android, a hard-working robot, I'll be that by January. I swear!
(Note to self: watching Disney movies = bad study tactic.)

I'm so utterly disoriented. I told myself I wouldn't watch Christmas specials (on TV) until after exams, and I flipped through the channels (oh the perks and downsides of having my own TV) and came across The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. Man, oh man! I watched it. Was disoriented. Went on to watch Hockey Night In Canada -- and poof. There went four hours of potential brain-cramming. But it felt so, so good! For a moment, I escaped the mind control of repetitive reading and application -- the stuff UofT androids are made of! (I swear I'll be this way soon. I swear!)

But... TV? Studying? Never again.



Note: All images are (c) Suzette Llacer. Yes, the movie shot shows "Road to Eldorado" and a picture of fireworks she took a few years back, on Canada Day. Oh the good, old, simple days. Oh woe is she.

Loss of Focus and the Need to Watch Shrek 2

"I think we have an emergency; I think we have an emergency.
If you thought I'd leave then you were wrong, because I won't stop holding on."
-- Paramore (Emergency, All We Know Is Falling)

I zonked in and out of focus today. I really do have a problem studying before the Winter Break. I'm mentally dying (Note to self: condition your mind for pre-holiday exams, if not now then for next year). I've had exams in November. I've had exams in January. Just never December. "Peace of mind is dead. Holiday cheer and frivolousness is nonexistent. Welcome to U of T?" Yipes.

I think I'm in need of a Shrek fix. I can't seriously do bio for another ... two hours.
I'm going to spontaneously combust one day. You wait.

In Stinchcombe We Trust...?

"What's a wedding? Webster's dictionary describes it as the act of removing weeds from one's garden."

-- Homer Simpson (The Simpsons)

So the pre-BIO150 exam tutorial was pretty impressive, considering it was two hours of hardcore Q&A, in the Earth Science building (no less) and with more than a hundred kids firing queries. The senior TA that came in today was very informative (and superior to some I've met and spoken to, not that I'm pointing any fingers -- save for my aunt, who once was a TA at U of T). And I thought I was the only one who used analogies (with effect); hmph! to anyone who ever judged me for such.

Despite its impressiveness, which honestly counts for moot points, I'm getting the subliminal message: Know every-effin'-thing possible. After my run-in with heartfelt failure (MAT135Y term test 2 = heinous), I'm hoping I can trust in BIO150. I'm hoping I can trust in Stinchcombe's test. (I'm so optimistic and idealistic that it kills me to frown. I suppose this could also be the aftermath of post-anxiety denial.)

"The direction in which education starts a man will determine his future life."
-- Plato

Funny Plato. Isn't he just the darndest philosopher you ever did read up on? It's funny how he states the Western Dream (my personal derivative of the American and Canadian dream -- a good mix of winning the Stanley Cup and getting into an Ivy League school): to make it big, through the right people, through the right institutions, which will send you in the right direction.

Now, according to 1 of my 6 sticky notes posted on my desk, I've got to study.
(Personally, I love BIO. I just hate studying. This conflict kills me inside. Ah.)

Note: All photos seen are (c) Suzette Llacer. Yes. That is her lab manual.