LSAT Lunacy

I had my LSATs today. After getting up early and preparing a bit, the cab driver called to tell me he was on his way. I got in the cab at around 7:45, and we went to Cheyney University, where the test was being administered. Despite the fact that the cab was pricey (I ended up spending about $100 dollars for the round trip), I'm glad that I didn't attempt using public transportation, since the university was really out of the way. As it was, I ended up getting to the center with little time to spare.

I ran over to the center and got in line, after which I signed in, had my admission ticket fingerprinted, and headed over to the room which I had been assigned to. The test went pretty well; I felt confident about the 'Arguments' section in particular. I wish I had a little more time for the 'Games' part, but I think I did well on the parts I was able to get a good look at.

After the test, I didn't do much work, as I wanted to unwind a bit after the four hours of testing. I did a teeny bit of studying and also worked on formulating questions for my Senior Sem presentation. I also did preliminary research on the historian Norbert Elias, one of the people we're studying this week.

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TGIF

Today was a pretty nice, laid back day. After class, I ate lunch with the other cast members in the production I'm participating in, after which we did some work on the various scenes. The skit I'm in is David Ives' Sure Thing, and I'm one of two people playing Betty. We basically worked on how the script will be divided. It should be fun, so I'll have to write about it in the future.

I pretty much relaxed most of the day, though I went into town to pick up slides and took a few photos for the yearbook. I was even able to take a nap this afternoon.

Later this evening, I did some studying for tomorrow's LSAT. I feel relatively confident about it, since I have been doing the same sort of analytical thinking in my classes. We'll have to see how it goes though.

Unfortunately, I was lazy and registered late, so I can't simply take the test at Bryn Mawr; I have to go to a center that's 40 minutes away. I tried to find someone with a car but was unsuccessful, so, since I don't want to bother myself with trains when I should be concentrating on the test, I am taking a taxi. It's expensive, but I don't have much choice in the matter. I guess this just shows that it's important to prepare for things.

The Attack of the Killer Thesis

Well, I had my Senior Sem class. After the week's discussion, I was able to talk to my professor about my thesis again. One of the archivists had mentioned a topic that sounded interesting (Tories in the wake of the Revolutionary War), and I wanted to see what she thought about it. The talk went a lot better this time; she encouraged me to look a bit more into it. Hopefully I'll be able to go back to the archives soon; since Fall Break is in a week and I'll be stuck on campus anyway, it's probably a good time to get organized.

A Very Quick Entry

I tend to think of Thursdays as my 'marathon days'; I have four of my five classes, and I don't have much of a chance to catch my breath. Since I will have to be off to my Senior Seminar (Thesis) class soon, I'll try to keep this short and sweet.

I got up early to do my weekly Senior Sem paper on the week's reading. Fortunately, I was able to get the work done relatively quickly and didn't stall as much as I often do. I then had three classes: 20th Century Russia (at Haverford), Chaotic Dynamical Systems, and Intro to Film. Luckily, I don't think I missed much when I skipped CDS on Tuesday besides a True Basic lesson. I also got a CDS homework paper back with a big red 'excellent' written on it, so that made me happy.

After class, I was able to pick up some film I dropped off; the roll included shots of the acapella benefit concert and my room. I posted the pics of my room up on my site, so you can now see where I'm living this year. I also met with a partner about the Senior Sem presentation we'll have to give next week.

Anyway, I must be off; I don't want to be late to class!

Blah-de-blah

Today was a pretty average day... I went to classes, did a little reading, and (of course) procrastinated. I met with my partner for the Double Indemnity segmentation project after class and also watched the weekly screening for my film class (Secrets and Lies - it was originally going to be Rear Window but the teacher changed it at the last minute). Later, I met with the other people in the one acts that I talked about earlier; we did a preliminary read through.

I'm not in the mood for writing a long, drawn-out description right now, but that's my day in a nutshell.

What Happened Today (Aren't I Original?)

Today, I woke up early to do a bit of my Chaotic Dynamical Systems homework before going over to Haverford for my 20th Century Russia class. Fortunately, I got plenty of sleep last night, so I didn't feel tired or anything. After class, I walked back and had lunch, then finished up the work.

Unfortunately, I had underestimated the amount of time that it would take to complete the assignment, so I skipped the CDS class in favor of finishing it up. The teacher is pretty understanding, so I think it'll be alright as long as I try and be more on top of things. And I think this week I've been relatively good in terms of that, the missed class notwithstanding. I think I needed the extra time anyway, since Tuesdays and Thursdays can be a bit of a drain sometimes. Well, enough with the rationalizations.

After finishing and posting a drawing, I met with a partner to work on our Double Indemnity breakdown. We watched the film a second time to get the order correct, though we fast forwarded a bit. After that, I was able to get some reading done on Zamyatin's We (for those who haven't heard of it, it's sort of a Russian 1984), which we'll be discussing Thursday. I made good progress, getting about 1/4 of the way through, but it was a pretty involving read and has gone pretty quickly.

Raiders of the Lost Archive

Please forgive the godawful pun in the title.

Anyway, after class, I met Rachel to visit the archive of the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia. After meeting up, we got on the train to central Philly. The archive was located in the 'historical' part of town, near Independence Hall and other landmarks from the revolutionary period. All the landmarks were closed, presumably as a precaution after the World Trade Center attacks. It's understandable, but still a bit sad.

We quickly found the archive. After filling out reader forms, we met with an archivist, who was nice enough to give us a tour of the vault, which had the most valuable documents in the collection. Luckily, the original Lewis and Clark journals were out since they had recently been displayed, so she was able to show them to us. We also saw a Darwin manuscript and a scientific manuscript from the 1600's, among other things. After touring the vault, we talked with another archivist, who basically told us what the archive had to offer.

In terms of less extraordinary documents, Rachel spotted this near the vault entrance; one of the archivists had posted it as a joke. The archivist offered to make copies for us, so we got an amusing little souvenir.

After doing some reading, I decided to audition for a series of one acts. The director didn't ask for schedules, so that won't work against me this time. I knew the director a little, so I think that kept me from being too nervous. The audition went well despite the fact that I had too much caffeine beforehand; I was able to make the director laugh a few times.

In other news, I joined ICQ today and got an, um, explicit message about two seconds after I got on. Lovely...