Tuesday, March 24, 2009

In the news

Things that make me happy:
  • Health Insurers Ease Stance on Preexisting Conditions. The title doesn't really do this article justice, but executives from Blue Cross and Blue Shield are saying that they're okay with more regulation of the insurance industry. Finally. Maybe people will actually be able to get healthcare now. (Of course, this is in exchange for the insurance companies still existing. I think the government should basically insure everybody. Because I don't really trust the free market.)
  • Cash-Strapped States Relax Prison Policies. The death penalty is no more in New Mexico, and community service programs are taking the place of jail time in a couple of states, including New Jersey. I mean, it's sad that this is happening because the economy is failing miserably, and I know that less money for jails will hurt a lot of people--my aunt is a dietician for New York State, and does meal planning for inmates. But really. Does locking people up really do anything?
  • Contraception Pill Strictures Are Eased by a Judge. Yay reproductive freedom. Enough said.
Things that make me sad:

Monday, March 23, 2009

Why do I bother?

I had a math test on Friday. I studied integrals of polar functions for HOURS...only to find that they weren't on the test. The stuff I didn't study, assuming that he wouldn't test us on it since he had just taught it the day before? Yeah, that stuff made up more than two-thirds of the test. Fun.

I walked out of that room really upset. My teacher is famous for using incredibly difficult questions, only about a third of which can really be answered. But this test was photocopied from an actual AP test prep book. So I figured that everyone else, who I thought had studied more than I did, had done much better.

There were two sets of questions I couldn't understand, each based around a premise.

The first was whether the sum of 1/n converges. Don't make fun of me, I now know that this is basic (it diverges, for the normal people out there). But the test was the day after we had learned all the material, and I adn't had time to let it sink in.

The second was about bounds. My memory of my confusion is unclear, because I honestly don't see how I didn't get this. Basically, bounded series are not necessarily convergent. (see the sine function. any sine function.) But I did not know this, because I had no idea what bounded meant. I know, I know, but at the time it felt like there were options.

Together, there were between five and ten questions based around these two facts that I did not know. On a twenty-nine-question test.

I guessed correctly. For both of them.

And got the top score in the class.

I also got a 92 on that Lit presentation--the one during which I had a freaking panic attack.

Seriously. WHY DO I BOTHER.

Monday, March 16, 2009

Procrastination pays off

I had to do a Lit presentation today. I had the thing mostly written, but this morning before school realized that it had no organization whatsoever and was just generally terrible.

The project was to pick a poem relating to the book we just finished reading, The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro (oh how I love that book), and talk about how it relates thematically. It was a five-minute presentation, including the time we took to read the poem aloud.

I worked on it throughout the day and finished it during the class prior to Lit. I whispered the whole thing once through, and then went to class.

I was SO NERVOUS. Lit is probably the class that I stress about the most, because I always feel like I have no idea what I'm talking about. I sat through two of my classmates' presentation and tried to discreetly review my notes, but couldn't bring myself to totally ignore what they were saying.

Then it was my turn.

I started to freak out a little bit as I handed out copies of my poem, "It Was All Very Tidy" by Robert Graves. I made it through my introduction, but my heart started POUNDING as I began to panic about my unpreparedness. So when I started to read my poem, I read it ridiculously slowly. I figured that the points I would lose for reading my poem too slowly would be fewer than the points I would lose for being completely incoherent over the course of the entire presentation.

Reading slowly calmed me down, so I was fine for the rest of the presentation, even though I still had basically no clue what I was talking about. I threw in random references to the book that came to my head as I was speaking, but afterwards I thought I had done terribly.

I sat down. I can't even imagine how red my face had been.

My teacher looked over at me and said "I thought the way you read your poem was very effective...almost creepy, the way you went really slowly. It worked really well."

My classmates chimed in, agreeing with her, and telling me how well I had read the poem.

In the hallway after class, someone came up to me and told me they were impressed by how well-organized my presentation was.

Moral of the story: Have a panic attack in the middle of the presentation after not rehearsing, then throw in random facts whenever you feel like it. And people will think you are smart.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

!

I played tennis yesterday, for the first time in over a month. It was wonderful, of course.

And I've started an essay that's not due until Friday! Incredible!

(I have barely started studying for the SATs on Saturday, but, well, I can't do everything, right?)

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Math is hard.

I have used two full erasers on math today.

I am still nowhere near ready for my trimester final on Tuesday.

I still have no topic for my Lit presentation.

BUT! Tomorrow I am going to see The Cherry Orchard in the city! And it will be fun! And I am excited!

And the Lit presentation is on a book I am in love with, by an author I am in love with! Which you should read, if you haven't yet: The Remains of the Day, by Kazuo Ishiguro.

And I can sort of do integrals!

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

In love

With my IB Lit paper topic.

I love it.

I'm actually enjoying writing a paper at midnight the night before it's due.*

The unfortunate consequence of this is that it is taking forever to write, for some reason. I stop and think waaaay more often than when I'm writing about topics I hate.


*If you want to go all technical, it's a day and a half after it was due. Because it was due on Monday. Which was a snow day. And we have no class on Tuesdays.

Sunday, March 1, 2009

You know you go to nerd school when...

You have a snow day, and all everyone is talking about on facebook is how they now have time to write their IB Lit papers.

And then you talk about meeting to study for chemistry on the snow day with a friend.

I love my school.

Some people are nice.

In the mail on Thursday, I got a large priority mail envelope.

I opened it up.

My wallet was inside. The money was gone, but my license and various cards were all still there.

A note read "Found near the [town] post office". Said town is nowhere near where I live.

Thank you, whoever you are.