MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL

It's the Holiday Season!  Wish all ye faithful visitors a wonderful Christmas and a happy New Year.

Exams are over now.  Hope all is great with you.

And in this happy season, please spare a thought for the less fortunate.  

Let's ALL be merry and at peace.

Chunski

 

View from my apartment

Does anyone from a 416 class remember this?

Does this brand sound familiar?

Well, it wasn't called Belmond at the time of the case.  But you may remember what it was.  Just thought you might get a kick out of it.  You can click on the link to read the full article...

 

Who Said Exams Aren't Fun?

I know, I know, I have been lazy and have not posted in quite a while.  If you actually noticed that (and that's all three of you, that is), my apologies.

So what gives?

Well, I've just been busy with studying.  Five finals, you know.  But it's been enjoyable.  Had three so far, and two to go.  They are pretty serious about finals here.  Let me give you some examples.

Last night I had a sociology final.  In the gym.  7-10 pm.  Tables are set 3 feet apart.  We had to put all our coats and backpacks and whatnot in the back of the room.  The only things allowed on the desk were pens and a bottle of water (or whisky).  You couldn't leave until at least one hour has passed.  And people could not enter the exam if they were more than 15 minutes late.  If you had to go to the bathroom, you have to wait for a proctor of the same gender to go with you.  And one person at a time.   Foreign students are not allowed to use dictionaries or electronic translators for the exam (after all, they are supposed to be tested for language proficiency before admitted, no?).  And the exam itself?  Worth 40% of the grades.

Well, I'm sure I didn't get an A+ on the final.  I just hope that I got a strong enough A to get my average to an A+.  Wish me luck.

And I thoroughly loved it!

On a somewhat unrelated note, I come to realize that I really really really love sociology.  Even thought about adding a major, or a minor, or even changing majors.  Well, so I did some investigation.  An Honours in Sociology requires 20 courses.  A major requires 14 courses plus a second major.  A minor requires 10 courses.  Well, I still want to do my history stuff, and all these requirements will make the degree much less fun for me.  So I guess I won't be taking a sociology option after all.  Or if I do, I'll have to switch from Honours History to Honours Sociology.  And that's a whole new Faculty (School).  So red tape.  Hmmmm.

I'l be done with exams by next week.   Then I'm off until January 7.  I wonder when grades are released.

This is great fun, folks.  I don't understand why people hate exams so much.  Honestly.  It's such a great way for me to integrate things I've learned throughout the semester.  Being "forced" to actually study a subject is a great way to learn, IMHO.   But then maybe that's just Chunski being Chunski.

What better on a Sunday when it's freezing rain outside?

Study, of course!

Today is 300 pages of Sociology, plus half a day of French.
I managed the 600-page quota yesterday, so I feel quite confident about today.

And here's another one of my faves...

Gotta love her.

More coffee, and carry on!

The last stretch

This is it.  One more week of classes, and then onto Finals.

Interesting, this, with so much reading to do.  Set up a study plan (I am nothing if not anal).  Have it all planned out till my last final this semester.  Five in all, stretching past mid-December.  So much fun!!!

Today's target:  600 pages for history.

Tomorrow:  300 pages for sociology, plus half the day for French.

Let's see how this goes for the weekend!  Or if my plan needs to be modified.


Grinding away at the readings.  Finishing my fifth cup of coffee, and listening to Summer singing in the background.  BTW, if you don't know who Summer is, have a listen.  And a great song, too!  What a voice!