Lakshine goes to university

Week 11 of 13

2008-11-16T23:00:00.003-05:00

Now I'm just depressed. I don't even remember what happened two weeks ago and this was a "project" I was so excited for. But you, university, have stripped me of this luxury, like you stripped me of every other joy in my life.

I'm taking a hiatus.

- ls

Week 10 of 13

2008-11-09T23:18:00.001-05:00

See you next week.

Sigh.

-ls

Week 9 of 13

2008-11-02T21:01:00.003-05:00

I almost forgot again. I gasped upon my sudden realization. Does this mean "real" university kicked in a week ago? It must because suddenly I am irritable, lashing-out Lakshine. The one we have all come to know and adore.

I should be working on the English essay outline due this Wednesday. I am stumped and you, blog, just flow like water.

It pains me to leave the blog abruptly but alas, I must get back to the wretched English outline.

Next week will be a special two-week edition.

- ls

Week 8 of 13

2008-10-26T20:02:00.004-04:00

Wow, so I almost forgot to blog. A tragedy it would have been. In all seriousness though, I like to look back on the weeks and observe even the smallest of growths and transitions. I cannot believe we're nearing the end of October already and tomorrow marks the beginning of Week 9. That of course leaves but 4 weeks! Yikes.

Funny how I'm still working on the Psychology but I've made some definite progress since last Sunday.

So I missed two days of school this week -- a tutorial, lab and lecture. My aim was to never be absent but hey, things happen.

I was back in action on Wednesday. We covered sleep and dreaming in Psych, which I was very interested in because I analyze every one of my dreams to the core. And we started on classical conditioning which I already knew and I watched other students scrambling to write the definitions down -- HA!

Thursday was by far the most boring lecture ever. It was all about surveying. I didn't take one note down (I caught up online though) but of course the day's quiz had five questions on the lecture. I must have caught parts of the lecture because I was able to answer them correctly or maybe because the answers were - COMMON SENSE. The math test wasn't too bad. I was frantically searching for my calculator the night before and when I did it still had the formulas from Grade 11 written in them. Yes, I have so much integrity. Well, there was only one formula I needed to know for this test and I of course managed to switch the values around but I noticed when all my answers were negative.

So the next weeks are crunch time. I'm trying to juggle several things at once. I've even created a schedule - that I'm not following. But really, no time for play.

- ls

Week 7 of 13

2008-10-19T15:28:00.003-04:00

It's Sunday afternoon and I'm forcing myself through the Psychology assignment that's due November 5 (which gives me no good reason to start now and finish.) But after Wednesday's all-nighter and even the frantic scramble during Thursday's lecture, I learned my lesson and I need to ration my time more carefully.

It was a three day school week but I spent most of the holiday Monday catching up on notes, when again I should have been working on the visual journals that were assigned the second week of school and that I of course did the night before. I promised myself I wouldn't procrastinate in university but it clearly was a promise made of glass.

We disscused iYo! in Tuesday's lecture. I actually like the book and surprisingly, have almost finished by just reading on the bus, on the subway, waiting at the station. Although, the structure of the book is a little difficult to follow at times and sometimes I find myself wondering who is who and their purpose in the story.

Luckily we have passed the section on sight in Pysch so I am no longer winking uncontrollably. We've moved on to hearing and how perception can affect what we hear. It's true now that I think about it especially when I sing songs with the wrong lyrics, not realizing they're wrong. And then when I log onto AZLyrics.com, and read the right lyrics, I find I can hear them correctly. Weird.

TGIT - Thank God It's Thursday, the end of the week. I slaved over those stupid journals because my perfectionism showed its ugly face. I couldn't settle for adequate and in the end, I did a job that I'm still not satisfied with. I was just angry at myself that I had left it to the last minute. Somehow, I managed to throw something together. I snapped a few pictures of subway commuters and looked away when they turned around to investigate where the flashes came from. That was visual #3. In bigger news, we started math Thursday. It is fairly simple, basic math yet somehow I still struggled with it. Just calculating percentages, per cent change, etc. There's a test next Thursday. It's been a good two years since I had a math test. I'm so excited*

-ls

*indicates sarcasm

Week 6 of 13

2008-10-09T21:20:00.003-04:00

It's a Thursday night posting because the four day weekend that awaits me has no time for blogging - which makes it sound like I have four days of wild, getting wasted fun planned but no, more so, assignments, work and of course some cuddle time.

Started the week off with a streeter, which I think I'm actually taking a liking to. I love going out there and flashing my trusty press pass, asking questions and putting it together to make a story. It's neat to see how my notes, which often look like they have been written by a psychotic doctor, evolve into a story complete with a lead and colourful quotes. On a side note, the TA totally acknowledged me this week. He said he liked my lead, describing it as a "good, tight lead," of course he called me Lakeisha afterwards but close enough.
On another side note, I got a 77% on that in-class essay - close enough.

More poetry Tuesday. I was almost saddened that I didn't actually read the poems because some of them proved to be really intriguing. We had an open-book quiz - everyone got perfect except one person, because the prof actually rejected an answer.

We started sensation and perception in Psych on Wednesday. Needless to say it had a lot to do with eyes, which resulted in my involuntary winking. No, I'm not a perv. I just have an irrational fear of contact with the eyes - not to be confused with contact lenses. I do not like talking about eyes or staring, or stray eyelashes, or optometrists.

We started the Excel unit today - exciting but before I dimiss it as boring, it is helpful, especially when organizing a ton of information. I was going to go to a seminar about how to sell your articles but my mother said I don't even write articles for free so to come home and eat and I complied because I was hungry and poor.

ps. Write more.
pps. Blogging doesn't count.

- ls

Week 5 of 13

2008-10-05T21:52:00.003-04:00

This week I went on a mind-numbing work binge. Starting with the in-class essay, the psych exam, errands for every minute between and then I worked for minimum wage all weekend.
Hence, the Sunday night posting, about 20 minutes before the start of Week 6.

The in-class essay proved to be as daunting as it intially seemed. An in-depth, properly formatted and argued compare and contrast essay in 50 minutes isn't exactly a walk in the park. Maybe a walk over burning hot coals, combined with shreds of glass and rusty nail boards. Okay, it wasn't that bad but it was definitely a task to be tackled. If we hadn't received the questions beforehand, I would have sat there for the entire 50 minutes simply trying to decipher the questions. You can't answer a question unware of what it's asking. I managed to complete the essay though. The conclusion wasn't exactly relevant and I had to skip a detail or two but I was satisfied and the new life plan consists of simply satisfaction. Not if you're satisfied, but if I'm satisfied and am I satisfied? Yes, I'm satisfied.

Tuesday's lecture was about poetry. I usually loved the poetry unit in English, well, at least when it came to writing poems but no, this was excruiatingly boring. Love poems make me barf adjectives to describe sucky love poems. "Sucky" is a fine adjective.

So I totally busted my ass studying for the psych exam. I learned my lesson. I will from now on (or so I say) review the chapter right after the lecture so I'm not sleepless, starved and socially isolated for 3 days, cramming information about the brain into my brain. I have to say it wasn't as hard as I thought (as has been everything thus far - let's not jinx it). And, and, wait for it ...
46/50 on the multiple choice! Holla at a scholar.

Thursday we had another scavenger hunt but this one was worth 10% of our grade. Ooo, challenge. It's not even that they're hard, they're just boring and seemingly pointless especially when we lose marks for answering correctly because a certain answer key is not up to date.

Phew, I made the time crunch.

ps. Nuit Blanche is love.

- ls

Week 4 of 13

2008-09-26T21:44:00.000-04:00

It's officially been a month (as of Tuesday), yet university-mode is yet to register. My notes are scattered carelessly from room to room, date-less, teared from notebooks because I intended on writing them ''neater" -- task #3437 on an ever-growing to-do list. I can hardly recognize the face that stares back through the mirror for I am a neat freak no longer.
University has slowly but surely broken my work ethic. I am now starting to settle for mere satisfaction and not striving for excellence. I know, I have wonderful timing and you people said I lack punctuality.

So I had my first streeter Monday. Basically, we are given topics or the option to choose our own, do some preliminary research to create some well-ground questions, then we set out into the real world, and disturb Torontonians as they run the rat race that is city life. Of course it was much more fulfilling than I made it sound. I actually enjoyed it. Again, I am learning that I truly love the act of gathering information. I chose to do food safety, specifically pertaining to the listeria outbreak -- yum. My initial angle was to portray how the outbreak had affected people's eating habits but to my surprise, many Torontonians were unphased by the matter. I interviewed a prof at the School of Occupational and Public Health, who was well-spoken thus providing me with some great quotes and statistics, who also believed there was a need to worry. This was a better angle: the public is not worried but an expert believes you should be.
So I scavenged the food court for people with cold-cuts and intruded on their lunch break. I flashed my press pass, introduced myself, explained my cause and asked for a few moments of their time. Many were inviting but others bestowed upon me the wrath of rejection. Some of my better quotes often ended with the individual refusing to give me their name. Thanks for nothing.

Had a little quiz in English Tuesday, which I aced, only because the prof accepted any answer remotely close to the correct one. Literary works are open to many interpretations -- kudos to your open-mindedness.

We started/finished the biology of the brain in Psych Wednesday. Now I know the science behind why coffee keeps me alert when my body decides it's bedtime midday.
Oh, speaking of coffee, I had a vanilla latte from Starbucks for the first time Thursday and it was essentially the nastiest, over-priced shit ever. Yes, my tastes aren't so sophisticated. I'll stick with their hot chocolates.

The week ended with another scavenger hunt and its more exciting counterpart - a crossword. This class can put an insomniac to sleep.

I am dreading the arrival of the coming week with Monday's in-class essay and Wednesday's psych exam. More so the essay though, because I do not have the slightest idea what the questions are asking as they are so ''eloquently'' worded. For God's sake, essay questions are not the place to show off your way with words.

I should be working on the outline right now but no, I'm blogging. My sense of priority is intact.

- ls

Week 3 of 13

2008-09-21T22:37:00.000-04:00

Wow, only the third post and I am already behind. I thought of making Friday blog night a tradition but apparently I have a life. Who would've thought -- not I. Yes, nothing like some self-deprecating humour.
So here I am, scrambling to write this before week four arrives (uninvited I might add.) 9 AM Mondays make me a tad bitter.

So biggest highlight of the week -- I passed the grammar test (with an 86!) Now if this were in high school, you would not catch me dead cheering for an 86. In my rubric, 86 is a failure.
But as mentioned in week one, I am ridding myself of perfectionism or rather this OCD-like fixation I have on attaining the unattainable state of perfection. Well, pardon me, that I was brought up in a household that never appreciated a 94 but instead questioned the ''missing'' 6% or the system that conditioned me to believe that my level of intelligence is determined by the self-proclaimed deity-like teacher and the numbers on my report card. In elementary, I was an A-student. In high school, I was a 90-student. And in university, I ... will not be reduced to label!
But on that note, some feedback would be nice! What am I doing wrong? Or what am I doing right? Or am I just a natural born journalist?
This week also marked my first English tutorial. Of course I woke up late but somehow managed to make it not only on time but 20 minutes early. So I sense a clear over-estimation on travel time. But hey, calculations, even the simplest were never my forte.
After a week hiatus, English lectures were back in session. We discussed a few short stories. I was relieved by the fact that many of the insights drawn from the stories, I thought too! Yay for not being completely incompetent.

Psychology, as always, I adore! Except for the little ''extra credit'' assignment handed out. Ew at the chocolate covered crickets. And ew at the girl sitting next to me. "Tastes like Kit Kats." Just ew. And wow at driving a journalist to use a one-syllable-hardly-a-word description of her repulsion at your actions.

Thursday is the new Friday. The first two weeks have been exceedingly boring to say the least. But the lecture that morning was no snooze with its heated debate between morals and journalism sparked by a staged ''disruption.'' Short of the long, a random person interrupted the lecture mid-way by approaching the prof and asking to discuss his mark for this course. Here's the catch -- he took the course last year! So the prof and class is baffled by his ridiculous request. The prof is seemingly caught off guard, she says she cannot continue and tells us to write a lead. A couple students leave to even interview the person. Anyways, it turns out it was pre-planned. Kudos to the prof, I must say.

To end, I quote June Callwood:

"You can be a good person without being a journalist. Lots of people do that. But you cannot be a good journalist without being a good person. "

This quote became very apparent in Thursday's incident. And was a kind reminder that journalism does not always have to be dog-eat-dog.

ps. I loved this week's before and after class "sessions."

- ls

Week 2 of 13

2008-09-12T22:51:00.000-04:00

Hard to believe the second (and first ''official'' week) is over. In fact, it zoomed passed me. Monday was infinite -- was it ever going to end? It is hard to sit in the same classroom for 6 hours consecutively. Sure, there's a break or two or four but regardless. Anyways, Monday is a big blur essentially. It was a lot of talking, and then more talking spawned from the talking from before. In other words, the TA, seemed to spontaneously burst into new topics irrelevant to first intial thought. It was mildly amusing I suppose. On a side note, I conducted my first interview! It was for a class assignment. It went better than I had imagined and I got more than what I needed. I realized I love the act of gathering information.

Tuesday was the notorious grammar test. Basically, you have three chances to pass and must pass with a 75% or more to move on to your 2nd year courses. Singular subject = singular verb. Plural subject = plural verb. Seems logical. Yeah, until things you thought you knew your entire life are shattered before you. Words like ''everyone,'' ''everybody'' are referred to as indefinite pronouns, which are to my surprise usually singular. What about how you're not supposed to start a sentence with hopefully? And some other random things I've been guilty of. On a brighter note, I think I have finally cracked the mystery of semicolons. Anyways, I'm feeling pretty confident about my results. But don't want to be too confident. It would be quite the punch in the face to fail. I mean, it would of course mean my career (or pending) career as a journalist is over. (Sarcasm because online sarcasm is seldom acknowledged.)

Wednesday was my beloved psych. The human mind is such a complex, exciting topic. Undoubtedly, I am a fan of the social sciences. My feet are getting a tad cold, if you know what I mean.

Thursday -- the end of the week. (I love three day weekends!) Yet another never-ending story. Two hour lecture paired with a four hour lab. Yay -- not. But it was definitely better coped with than last week. The in-class article did not result in self-loathe and anxiety. Oh and I got the one from last week back, surprised by the ''good'' comment. The headlines quiz was a little difficult but somehow I managed to pass. Hurray for educated guesses. We also had a ''library scavenger hunt.'' Yes, it was just as exciting as it sounds!

So in closure, the second week went much smoother, despite being a jam-packed week.

ps. I noticed that I am being cautious of all the grammar rules I have newly learned. How exciting, I am applying knowledge.

- ls

Week 1 of 13

2008-09-05T21:03:00.001-04:00

And so the journey begins. (Can you begin a sentence with a conjunction?) So as I was saying before I edited myself (it's a journalistic quirk), this past Tuesday was my first day of university. The day I awaited, bombarded with an array of contrasting emotions: excitement, anxiety, sadness, sheer bliss. So this day came, and went just as soon (it was an hour introductory English lecture.) The prof handed out the syllabus for the semester, outlining the topics to be covered. I scan the handout, my eyes dart at the evil that is Hamlet -- I apologize to the Shakespeare buffs but [...] I can't even find words adequate enough to describe the loathe I feel. The prof spewed out a question or two. Answers fluttered in my mind but refused to exit through my mouth. My arm lay in a similar sedated state. I slouched in the soft, sleep-inducing chairs, listening to the insightful thoughts of the articulate, confident, fellow j-schoolers surrounding me. I feel myself losing consciousness -- 9 A.M is an hour of day I have lost acquaintance with. Before I knew it, I had survived my first university lecture. The outfit I spent all of eternity meticulously planning went back into the closet (or sprawled over the bed rather.) And I managed to remain tear-free.

Day two was a little less nerve-wracking. The prof, course and class set-up was far more comforting and I am very excited for this psychology course. The introductory almost had me questioning my major. Okay, maybe not, but it is definitely a subject of interest.

Day three was a blow. It was my first ''full'' day, complete with the tutorial. We wrote our first in-class piece. We were to interview a classmate and then write a profile on them. The one hour time crunch did me in. I was nervous and frantically strung some sentences together. The sounds of rapid typing added to my anxiety. The root of the problem was my perfectionism. I realized expecting perfection is more so setting myself up for failure and discouragement. I must rid myself of this plague.

It is undoubtedly different and will require some adjustment as does any new experience. Do I miss high school? Not the actual concept but the friends, the teachers, the school, yes. I am startled by this feeling as I reminsce of counting down the days until I left the dump. I am yet to meet anyone new. Currently have been attached at the hip with a friend from high school and a friend I met through another friend. The three of us form our social triangle (and sometimes line segment.)

Next week is university full-throttle. They don't play.

ps. I know it's long but it's my first blog and I ramble when I'm nervous.

- ls