PamelaVV

I'm glad I have an easygoing teacher, and I'm hoping that means I'll get a good grade on the test. We had 31 objective questions and 1 essay question...and he didn't tell us how he would weight the sections of the test, so that's what we'll find out some time next week, I hope. I had lots of fun talking with my classmates after we were done with the test.=) Some of them were joking (but in a serious way) about their heads exploding. LOL!

One guy who's a security person at the school and is taking classes towards getting a Criminal Justice degree told a joke about Descartes. According to the joke, Descartes was at a bar and had had quite enough to drink, so when he was asked whether he wanted another drink, he said, "I think not," and disappeared. We all laughed and talked about how dead that joke would be with people who are not familiar with Descartes. Chris B. mentioned how much he thinks it kills jokes to have to explain them. But the really sad thing is...I started analyzing the joke (not out loud, mind you!), and decided that the joke's basis is illogical. Since Descartes could have conceived of disembodied existence, his disappearance wasn't really that funny. And saying I think not is a sign that he does think. Okay, that's totally over-analyzed and ignoring some aspects of the joke...but it was kind of funny.

Some of my classmates really aren't enthusiastic about philosophy, but I actually think it's kind of fun. For once in my life, I actually feel like logic is a guiding principle of what's being presented (at least by the teacher...the text is another story). Summer classes are interesting...five days a week, two hours a day, for five weeks. Chris said he's taking a weekend class, too, so he's also there on Saturdays. Good grief! I'm glad my second summer session will keep classes on weekdays. I have to have a break someday! I need time to reflect.

I love to study other things, so I like to have the time to do that. Monday, I borrowed a bunch of philosophy books from the library, but I haven't had time to read them yet. I started one by Francis Schaeffer this evening, but didn't get very far before I ended up deciding to sleep. Now I really should go to bed because there are things to do tomorrow, and a wedding we should be at by four in the afternoon. Speaking of weddings...oh, well, maybe later I'll talk about my theological debate with myself over something.=\

Okay, here's my trend...I seem to end many of my entries by saying that I should get to bed, but that "ending" hardly ever ends up being the end. Useless observation, I guess. But I should end even though I want to say other things.

Oh, at least I can say that I thought the philosophy test was pretty easy. But that's without knowing what grade the teacher will give me. I want 100%!=) We shall see, though.

And I have wanted to respond to so many entries, but time gets away from me each day as I strive to fulfill homework assignments. I have thought of wonderful things to say on here, but never have the time. Finals are the first week in May and summer school won't begin till May 24, so maybe I'll have a little extra time in there for posting...if I'm not busy with other things (like cleaning my room in preparation for getting new carpet).

We still have sickness at our house, which is kind of disgusting. I feel so sorry for the little ones because there is nothing I can do to help them.=\

Classes are going relatively well, but my fatigue is increasing. I have a take-home Western Civ. exam due on Monday, so I'm working on that now. I have most of the stuff typed up, but the teacher wants it handwritten, so that will take some time. My handwriting is not super slow, but it's definitely slower than my typing! I'm also trying to fit the information on to as few pages as possible because the essay is really only supposed to be three to five pages, which isn't a whole lot considering that the teacher DOES want me to be thorough. Although I hadn't planned it initially, my essay is going to be about Christianity. I would post it here, but I think there would be too much explaining involved. Then again, a lot of you are college students, so you have an idea how some teachers think...haha. We'll see.

Anyway, I'm still following posts some and trying to keep up. I think about the expectant mothers regularly and look forward to the arrival of all the babies. They are all first-borns, aren't they? Haha...they'd have to be if their moms have time to journal, right?

Well, that's all for now...maybe later I'll have time for more private journaling. I've been looking at my off-line journals from that past few years and it just amazes me to see how much my parents have really influenced my to make God's Word the foundation of my life. At first, I thought that was going to make school really hard, but now I think that I'm more prepared through studying God's Word than I could have been through any other "text." As I read through my journals, I saw outlines and notes and everything that teachers have wanted me to do for my classes. I cracked up when I realized how much I had learned without even realizing what was happening...I thought I was "studying the Bible," but it was so much more...spiritually AND academically. Of course, the plus side to college is being able to apply what I learn there to my study of God's Word.

Hmm. I really should go and finish that test. I think the rest of my homework for Monday is done, though, so I'm pretty happy about that.

We must have a very slow connection right now...I don't even need to be writing in this journal, especially as it will be taking time that I need to devote to other things. It doesn't sound so very overwhelming, but it SEEMS overwhelming...and that's all that really seems to matter right now. I went to bed after three this morning and got up at six. I'm very grateful for Blue Bunny's limited edition chocolate ice cream with brownies and chocolate candy in it. If you haven't tried it, it's wonderful...and it helped me stay awake for several hours of homework last night. I am thinking that I had better sleep tonight, though, because extreme sleep deprivation can be dangerous. I don't think I've reached that point, though.

Two encouraging things happened today...and you can guess that they related to tests. Unfortunately, I'm too tired to talk about it now. But it's not so important to tell what it was as that it was. My hard work is not in vain; I'm not as much of a dunce as I thought. I have one more beginning-of-the-semester test, which is in one week. If I can get an A on that test, well...then I won't feel like a failure. Somehow, I think that school is becoming too important to me.

Hey, I have a question for you music people out there.

I'm supposed to do a presentation on Franz Liszt in my Music Appreciation class on Monday morning and the teacher wants us to be "original" in our presentations. Her examples were of a guy dressing up in an Elvis costume, a military man dressing in his uniform and delivering his speech as a briefing, and of a guy using objects to illustrate various aspects of a composer's life. I'm lost in trying to figure out how to present Liszt. I'm not about to dress up like a guy or to pretend to play like him. I LIKE playing the piano, but I'm...well...if good piano players were like children compared to Liszt, I'm out of the running altogether in a comparison...because I don't even approach mediocre--which is okay for what I do. But anyway...I need some ideas on what to do for originality. I'm reading four books about him (actually, I've read one, started two, and haven't even opened the cover of the fourth); I must have six references total, no more than two of which can be internet sources. Since I already have four out of six, I guess that I'll get the rest on-line even though I think that the sources I have really are comprehensive enough. Anyway...ideas???