4 down...

...and 1 to go -- Macroeconomics on Friday. ARRGH. Now, this one I actually am legitimately worried about; did pretty badly on the last test, and it's hard to get marks on these. Bah.

It's kinda funny: so far, the 2 exams I've come out from feeling [relatively] okay about have been my worst subject (Blahblah Theory & Policy) and my best subject (Stats)...the other 2 so far...*coughs*. Well. Let's not talk about those, all right? Grr.

Anyway, so I guess it's high time I crack open my Macro notes... :P Aack, there are so many different theories and models and equations and whatevers that I'm going to mix them all up for sure.... :S And on that note, ttyl.

[edit] On second thought...Theory & Policy wasn't actually my worst subject going into these exams, because I got some grade boosts from the participation mark (inexplicably...I answered two questions all term) and the group project we did. So, actually, the lowest mark I have right now is Macro. Great. And, unless there's an unforeseeable, surprising overturn, it's going to stay the lowest. Mrrph. Right. Back to studying. [/edit]

Oh, damn it.

I was calmly studying for my Stats exam today until someone taking the same course called me up with some questions about problems from past years' exams, which I haven't done yet. Anyway, I'm not so good on the spot like that (I was planning on working through those [sort of] tomorrow), plus the person was kind of the...uptightly tense, nervousness-causing type, and now I'm a little anxious.

I went through first term's notes yesterday, and I'm going through this term's notes today, but I think he's gonna like, call me back at some point today about the past papers. And I felt bad about not doing them yet, so I said that was okay... Pretty stupid, eh? So I think now I have to finish going through the notes, and then get cracking on the past exams....now that I'm a little jittery about it all. And unnecessarily so, probably, since Stats is my best subject so far (*chortles* Yeah, like the competition is so fierce... :P) and I did really quite well on 3 of the 4 tests (and I don't think that 4th one was really my fault...)

Aaanyway. Besides that, I'm inexplicably tired today, also, since I went to bed early (for me). Also inexplicably, my Quick Launch toolbar menu at the bottom of my screen has ceased to work for some reason, and I don't know enough about computers to know why (*coughs* despite what the popular conception may be...), except I'm pretty sure it'll be fine if I reboot at some point. *shrug*

All right, going to go motor through these notes, hopefully. Sigh. Yawn. Wish me luck.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SUSAN! :)
(called your house earlier, around 1-ish, but no one picked up. will try to try again later)

Question: C'mon you, where's the procrastinatory update??

Sigh. Well, you asked, Suz, and here I am with the update.

On one of my [overly long] breaks earlier this week, I thought it would be fun to go through my mp3s and find out whose music I had the most of on my computer. So I went through my entire 1,011-track long Winamp Playlist (and I know some people have more than that, but trust me, it takes a little while to go through even this many) and did a headcount. Here are the results of the top...5? No, too few. 10? Nah, here's the top...8.

1. Tori Amos (95 tracks)
2. LOTR: FOTR/TTT/ROTK, etc. (61 tracks)
3. Christophe Beck (41 tracks) [that's the guy who did most of the Buffy score music]
4. Savage Garden (30 tracks)
5. Our Lady Peace (27 tracks)
6. Buffy: Once More, With Feeling (20 tracks)
7. Once Upon a Time in Mexico (18 tracks)
8. Sheryl Crow (15 tracks)

Which sounds about right, doesn't it? Man, I knew I had a lot of Tori tracks, but I didn't know there were that many. Hmm. Not that I'm complaining, really.

---

The MTV Movie Awards nominations are out, and you can go vote for the movies you like. I am not going to try to influence your votes in any way (*cough*LOTR*cough*). No no, of course I won't (*cough*POTC*cough*), because that wouldn't be fair, now would it? ;)

---

One more thing: it's Earth Day today, so...like, try to save some electricity or something like that. Hehe. Ooh, and if you go to Google, there's a cute little graphic there today...

---

[edit] Oh, one more thing I was gonna say: there are only 4 episodes of Angel left now, and of course, the evil television forces have decided to make the show actually quite good again. So of course, now I'm actually really going to regret that it's going off the air. You see, before it was more just a lament of the end of the Buffyverse; but now, I'm actually going to miss this show quite a bit. Damn it. [/edit]

All right, back to work now. Groan.

How's that for a procrastinatory update? :)

I must have been inside too much recently, 'cause I think the lack of oxygen is getting to my head. I was listening to some radio station from Niagara or somewhere, and they said it was Friday today. My first thought was, "What are they talking about? It isn't Friday today." The thought immediately following that was, "Well, that's weird. Maybe it's Friday in Niagara."

Also, I was wondering just now: why is it that Asia is considered the East/the Far East while North America is the West? I mean, the Earth is round, for God's sake. If you look at it the other way around, couldn't you say that America was the East and Asia was the West?

Resisted turning on the computer for about 2 hours today. I guess that's an improvement...?

I actually resisted turning on my computer today for a length of time that couldn't have exceeded about 20 minutes.

ARRRRGH! What do you do when you're the most irritating person you know?

Bllllllarb. Got to get back to the fascinating study of financial accounting theories and policies. Oh, the excitement.

No, but really. I really have to go study now.

Really.

So WHY aren't I gone yet???! What's wrong with me??!

Okay. Going now.

Oh my God. I don't think I've ever studied at a slower pace than I am today.

I am so bored.

Also, as I'm sitting here, I'm alternating between feeling cold and feeling hot, which I'm hoping isn't a sign that I'm gonna get sick sometime soon. It would be perfect, though, you know. Right during exams and all...

Well, at least I have something to look forward to. Gonna go see Eternal Sunshine tomorrow with Andrea. Finally, yay. Which reminds me, I should really pick up the slack on my studying today. What's with me? I'm studying at like, a snail's pace. Actually, there's a snail right here next to my mousepad and he's way ahead of me in the studying department.

Um...I think I'll stop visualizing imaginary, personified animals now and actually try to make some progress...

Say, is that hologram-y butterfly over there real, or just a figment of my sleepy mind, an illusory mirage?

Oh God. Wish me luck.

The Word of the Day for Apr 05 is:
festinate \FESS-tuh-nut\ adjective
: hasty

Hehe.
Merry: "And what about Saruman? Have you come to a decision about him?"
Treebeard: "Now don’t be festinate, Master Meriadoc."
Merry: "Festinate? What the heck does that mean? Our friends are out there. They need our help! They cannot fight this war on their own."

From IMDb.com:

Harry Potter Family Left Out of Fourth Film
Boy wizard Harry Potter's evil uncle and aunt have been cut from the fourth movie in the fantasy series. British actors Richard Griffiths and Fiona Shaw were shocked to discover scenes involving their characters Vernon and Petunia Dursley have been scrapped from the film adaptation of JK Rowling's fourth book Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire. Sleepy Hollow star Griffith explains, "Filming had already started on the fourth and Fiona and I asked the producers, 'Are we in it?' and they said, 'Oh, did no one tell you?' The problem is that the fourth book is just too long for a film, so they've done away with our bit - where Harry is at home with the Dursleys - and will just begin with him at school." The 56-year-old even begged Rowling to write a special scene for the scheming pair. He adds, "I said to JK Rowling, 'Couldn't the Dursleys turn up to an open day at Harry's school or something?' But she said, 'I don't think so.'" Griffiths, Shaw and Harry Melling - who plays the Dursleys' indulged son Dudley - have yet to find out whether they will be reappearing in the fifth movie.

Also, today's Daily IMDb Poll question was: Sarah Michelle Gellar won't be on the season finale of Angel, at the decision of the creators – even though she's available to film it. What's your take on this?

So far, this is how the votes have gone:
- I have absolutely no opinion. 2206 (40.4%)
- It's understandable – it's not her show. 1857 (34.0%)
- Bogus! They could find a way to fit in a Buffy appearance somehow. 1395 (25.6%)

Things I learnt from watching the Tori Amos episode of On Air with Ryan Seacrest (whom I find just a little annoying, but I couldn't say why):

• Tori's got a new DVD/CD release coming out on May 18, called "Welcome to Sunny Florida".
• The Backstreet Boys (and I'm probably happier about this than anyone reading this, but hey) are gonna have a new album out this Summer and they're touring in the Fall (feel free to express any sort of sarcastic comment you may have about them. I can't/won't stop you.)

Grammar and Spelling Issues Encountered this Week:

• Headline from the Toronto Sun: "GM knows its judgement time". Now, this was in the Sports section (some guy was reading it on the subway), so I have no idea what GM stands for (General Manager?), but unless the headline is referring to the fact that GM knows how long it takes him/her/it to judge things, then there's something wrong here.
• University student sitting outside a classroom was saying how he's pretty sure the acronyms for some of the university groups are formed on purpose... i.e., the full names of the groups are chosen in order to give acronyms that are actual words. "Like, I heard about one the other day...it was like, 8 letters long. What was it? Oh, right: 'E.N.O.U.G.H.'. That HAD to be on purpose, because how often would you get U-G-H-T otherwise?"
  
  Now...okay. First off: since when does 'enough' have like, 8 letters in it? Secondly: U-G-H-T?? What is this "T" at the end?! And why is it that the two other people he was talking to didn't notice and/or didn't correct him?

Questions:
1. "How long till my soul gets it right?" -- Indigo Girls
Oh, who knows. Probably our souls will all keep trying and trying (and trying) to get it right, but never quite get there. Or maybe we've already gotten it right and just don't know it yet. Though then again, perhaps if we "got it right" we'd feel something special, eh? Some sort of moment where things feel like they click? And if that's the case, I haven't gotten it right yet. But here's hoping I will...and you too, anonymous questioner.

2. Why, oh why, am I not capable of doing actual WORK??
Hmm. Maybe you hang around me too much, Suz. I'm a bad influence or something. Though, actually, I haven't seen you in a while, which, if I were right, would imply you would work better in my absence. Which is apparently not the case. So...to answer your question....I don't know. :)

3. Have I ever made you listen to much Sarah Slean stuff?
Nope, not yet. I only know that one song, "Sweet Ones".

4. D'you understand a single word he just said?
Heh. Snatch is a good movie. And actually, the one word I understood/remember/know from the big long spew that preceeds that quote is "periwinkle". Lol. "It's not Irish, not English. It's just Pikey."

Gaah! What am I even doing here, posting this when I should be studying? *grumbles and smacks head on table a few times* Ah well. Here's a survey I got from someone's journal somewhere. You guys should fill this in, too. :)

1: Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 18, and find line 4. Write down what it says:
"[...]the brink of a sheer cliff: the East Wall of Rohan. So ended[...]"

2: Stretch your left arm out as far as you can. What do you touch first?
An Accounting textbook.

3: What is the last thing you watched on TV?
The beginning of "Everwood".

4: WITHOUT LOOKING, guess what time it is:
12:15 am

5: Now look at the clock, what is the actual time?:
12:19 am

6: With the exception of the computer, what can you hear?:
Nothing. If I had answered this an hour ago, I would have said the TV from the adjacent room.

7: When did you last step outside? What were you doing?
The last time I stepped outside to anywhere was when I was leaving work.

8: Before you came to this website, what did you look at?
Chloe's and then Tiffany's journals.

9: What are you wearing?
My PJs.

10: Did you dream last night?
I did, but I forget what about now.

11: When did you last laugh?
Um...sometime today?

12: What is on the walls of the room you are in?:
*glances around* Well, let's see...there's tons of stuff, so maybe I'll just include the things that are mine. Um...a Monet water lily art print, a painting (sort of) of Sebastian from The Little Mermaid that I did in...*checks* 1994, an Angel calendar, my class schedule, another yearly calendar, a caricature of me that someone drew, a month calendar (the kind that you write on with dry erase markers) that is completely blank right now (frankly, I don't even know why I even have it up there *shrugs*), a map of Middle-earth poster, a Pirates of the Caribbean poster...and...I think that's it. :)

13: Seen anything weird lately?:
Other than just realizing the vast amounts of stuff there is on the walls here? Not really. The strangest thing would be a picture of a dog who only has one eye, and that's not really all that weird in the "Ooooooh, really??" kind of way. :)

14: What do you think of this quiz?:
Eh, it's pretty cool. Beats some of the questions on other surveys I've seen.

15: What is the last film you saw?:
Theater: Hidalgo; video: The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys.

16: If you became a multi-millionaire overnight, what would you buy first?:
Well, the first thing would be to decide how/how much to allocate to charities, and which ones. Next would have to be some things for my friends...like, say, some sort of 500-free-flights-between-Canada-and-the-UK deal for Andrea, or a DVD player for Susan, ...hmm, some sort of non-annoying computer for Chloe (well, actually, I think we could all do with a one of those), some sort of entertainment reporting gig for Tiffany ;), and a bunch of other stuff, I'm sure. I can't really think of anything major that I would really, really want, so...I guess I'll get back to you on that later.

17: Tell me something about you that I don't know:
Well, that all depends on who's asking, doesn't it?

18: If you could change one thing about the world, regardless of guilt or politics, what would you do?:
I would make people much less stupid (in general), more considerate, and more environmentally friendly, and everyone would read books more (and have the time to, too! Urrrgh.).

19: Do you like to dance?:
Er, no.

20: George Bush: is he a power-crazy nutcase or some one who is finally doing something that has needed to be done for years?:
Honestly? I don't know enough specifics to answer this one.

21a: Imagine your first child is a girl, what do you call her?:
Assuming that I thought I would be having a first child and knew what I would name her, I still don't think I'd want to say.

21b: Imagine your first child is a boy, what do you call him?:
See above.

22: Would you ever consider living abroad?:
Consider, yes. Actually go? Mmm, maybe, maybe not. I like Toronto. I've never lived anywhere else so I can't imagine living anywhere but here.

Perspective

Today is a good day because:

• the date is 04/04/04.
• I'm having a relatively good hair day. My hair often doesn't want to fully cooperate.
• our garage door is broken, but we managed to get it open manually.
• my problems and worries are so much smaller and pettier than they could be.
• it's Spring and the temperature is still -2 degrees. Seems Nature has as much trouble with change as I do.
• it's Palm Sunday. The kids at church like those palm leaves.
• the daffodils I bought from the Canadian Cancer Society are in full bloom and very pretty.
• I have to stay home and do work and study...but I'm glad I have somewhere that I can call home.
• I just changed my layout and now it looks a little cheerier.
• My friends are great.
• I could probably think of a thousand more reasons if I thought about it long enough.

Just trying to think about things a little more optimistically than I normally do. I think it'd do me some good, don't you?

Posted on IMDb:

Oscars Will Return Early Next Year
Apparently satisfied with the results of its decision to present the Oscar ceremonies in February this year rather than in March as in the past, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Wednesday that the 77th awards ceremony will be held on Feb. 27, 2005. The announcement was undoubtedly welcomed by ABC which will benefit from the fact that the popular broadcast -- it ranks second only to the Super Bowl in attracting an audience each year -- will once again air during the February sweeps. The Academy said that nominating ballots will go out on Dec. 27, 2004 and the nominations will be announced on Jan. 25, 2005.

[edit, 8:41 PM]

More News!

Oh God. Finally, there's an actual press release on the film version of The Hobbit. Very exciting! BUT (and that's a big but)...it's not being directed by Peter Jackson. SAY WHAT?! It's still the same team of New Line Cinema production people who worked on LOTR, but still.....HUH?!

Anyway, the new website for The Hobbit is TheHobbitFilm.com, and it says there's going to be a special announcement on April 2nd... I'll be sure to check that out.
[/edit]

I hate April Fools. Sooo not funny.... :P