Sunday, November 19, 2006
Busy, busy, busy
I know that I haven’t written an update for this page in a really long time, but I’m going to use the ‘I was busy’ excuse, because it’s true. After slacking off for several weeks, I was all of a sudden confronted with a huge mountain of work that needed to be done. So, all I have been doing for the last three weeks or so has been researching and writing essays. My first essay that was due was for my American Century class. I chose the topic: ‘What were the causes of the 1929 Wall Street Crash?’. Click on the name if you want to take a gander at it. I wouldn’t recommend it though, as I was continuously putting my own self to sleep while I was writing the bloody thing! Maybe that was good luck for me, however, as I just got my grade back for that particularly bad piece of work, and it turns out that I got an 18 (out of a possible 20)! I’m very, very angry with myself about that though. Why, you might be asking? Well, as I was reading the comments on the paper I saw that it mentioned my lack of a bibliography. I quickly flipped to the back and realized that yes, I had not attached it for some reason. This means that I would most likely have received either a 19 or 20 for my paper if I had bothered to check everything just before I turned it in! Stupid, stupid, stupid. Ah well, c’est la vie….live and learn I guess.
Well, that was the first essay that I had written. The second essay was even worse; it was for my Christendom in Crisis class. I chose the topic: ‘Compare and contrast the reasons for the depositions of James III of Scotland and Richard III of England’. Again, if you are curious, take a look at it. This one might actually make your eyes bleed, however…you’ve been warned. There’s a lot of controversy surrounding this essay (not mine, but the class’s essays in general), as many people got very bad grades. I won’t mention any particulars, in order to protect their privacy, but some scores were ridiculously low. I myself obtained the lowest score that I’ve ever gotten on an essay…a 15. And, I’d just like to point out that horribly enough, this grade was at the high end of the spectrum of grades that I’ve heard about! So, yep, I’m not too happy. I guess this means that I’ll actually have to try on the second one. I suppose it is ultimately my own fault, as I wrote this paper in only about 4-6 hours (after reading the books and taking notes, that is). My proclivity for procrastination may very well lead to my own undoing. I usually wait to begin my essay research until the Friday before it’s due, and then write the paper on Saturday, leaving my Sunday free. This system is firmly engraved within me, so I doubt that I will be able to change it. I’ll just have to do it better, that’s all.
This weekend I finished my third essay, for my Vikings class. This topic was: ‘Why did the Vikings accept Christianity?’ I still have some polishing to do on it, so I’m not going to put it online just yet, and I can’t tell you what grade I got on it, as I haven’t even turned it in yet. Surprisingly, it isn’t due until this Thursday, but I had to finish it a bit early, as I have some studying to do for Geology class. Oy. Too much work. Next weekend I get to start my second American Century essay…I can’t remember exactly what it is, but I think it had something to do with America entering World War II. I’ll definitely have to check on that before I start writing!
So there, I have sufficiently justified my lack of update, have I not? Tonight, I’m going to go to the annual Christmas Light Switch-on parade. Apparently, they put up all of these lights across Union Street (and other major roads around the city) and then march a parade along the street, flipping on the lights just above it as it progresses. Perhaps I shall bring my camera with me and take a few pictures if I can and post them on here.