Second semester doesn't begin for over 40 days (about the same time Jesus spent in the wilderness, I think), but it's never too late to begin planning improvements to next semester's experience.
1. Read ahead. Second semester promises to have many more pages to slog through, with Africa in Crisis and The Orphan's Progress both having ominous reading lists.
2. Study German every day, regardless of homework. It's easy enough to keep up with the assigned work, but not so easy to excel at comprehension. I'm hoping to feel caught up by the end of J-term.
3. Exercise. It completely fell off the schedule as I tried to adjust to my new life. Pathetic excuse, but true. I'm no freshman, but what do you know, here come the 15!
4. No surgeries for partner. I would prefer to keep the same partner, but the no surgeries part is non-negotiable.
5. Remember that there are smart people in every walk of life. And there are dumb people in every walk of life. Nothing specific I need to share right now; just something to remember.
Finally, tough love time: I really feel like I did the lion's share of the work this semester. I know, everyone is busy, but we're only as strong as our weakest link. Some of you might argue that you have already finished your degrees and so can now enjoy relative peace and tranquility. That argument simply does not resonate with me. And you, over there in France: how many dubbed episodes of Law and Order can you watch before yearning for something more substantive, something that betters all humankind (humankind = Going40, in this instance). I'm also fairly certain that several of you are retired, or at least underemployed. What do you have to do after you've finished your Meals on Wheels deliveries? I'll tell you what: read a textbook, write a paper, participate in a small group project. Let's make second semester something we can ALL be proud of.
5 comments:
You know, I really thought that Going 40 was a different kind of place, a place where global peace and intercultural understanding could really happen. But even here, I'm seeing signs of ugly American xenophobic French-bashing.
1) First of all, how do you know about our addiction to dubbed episodes of "Law & Order" (aka "New York : Police Judiciaire") and its popular spinoff "New York : Unité Spéciale des Victimes"? Is this how far Bush's wire-tapping program has gone?!
2) We HAVE found something more substantive: tonight we'll be watching three back-to-back dubbed episodes of "Les Experts : Manhattan", followed by two back-to-back dubbed episodes of "Les Experts" (aka "CSI: Manhattan" and "CSI").
3) As for bettering all humankind, right now most of our mental energy is focused on how to commandeer our own personal subway train, so that we're no longer at the mercy of the metro strikes. Again, today.
4) In the big picture, we've given you wine and cheese. In return, you gave us television. In the interest of aforementioned global peace and intercultural understanding, why can't we all just agree to spend this Advent season enjoying the gifts received, rather than returning to the tired political accusations of whether we're doing enough to help you conquer your latest target? ;-)
In Norway they watch "Lov og Orden : New York."
Please, please, please, keep blogging during the semester break (AKA your wilderness time).
Here are some possible topics:
* “Temptations I have resisted during my 40 days”
* French wines/whines
* More favorite random blog titles – perhaps a top ten?
* Best and worst holiday movies (if you need help on the worst list, try abc family’s 25 days of Christmas movie blitz)
* Superfinds during after-Christmas shopping (with pictures)
* More cute things knit by the Rock, as photographed by Scooter
* Fascinating numerological connections to the number 40 (e.g. Lent, Noah’s flood, certain cool people’s next birthday, and I don’t just mean you)
* Limerick summaries of each book you read ahead of time
* Movie reviews (Is Juno in Minneapolis yet?)
* Full original libretto for a musical version of Law and Order
* An exercise log (although I don’t intend to exercise until spring, so I will skip reading those entries to avoid the guilt)
* German word of the day, with definition
* Fasting and praying tips (as per standard wilderness procedure)
* Apologies to Ann, who did help out (at least a little) during semester one
Ann
PS Also, add to your 2nd semester improvement list:
6. Take photo of each class (classmates), complete with professor. (I did this with quite a few of my grad classes, then made copies to pass out.) Whether or not you post the pictures on the Going40, you’ll have faces to point at while recounting tales for years to come.
Ann, we expected better from a fellow French major! You should know that there's no such thing as French whine, only legitimate protest against social injustice.
We regretfully inform you that we see no choice but to declare a 40-day BlogStrike. We hereby demand the following:
1) The right to retire, with full pension, at the age of 41, with options for continuing to make Meals on Wheels deliveries but no obligations to participate in any senior projects (excepting, of course, senior projects involving writing French limericks:
"Il y a un homme de Nantucket").
2) The promise that there will be a clear improvement in the quality of American fat-free yogurt before our next visit to the U.S. We understand that this may not be directly in Going 40's purview, but really, someone need to do something.
Every effort will be made to protect the Blogger himself from any ill effects of the BlogStrike until such time as his finals are finished. We understand that he's under a great deal of mental pressure right now and wish him all the best in his end-of-semester endeavors. Joyeuses Fêtes !
Un petit d'un petit
S'étonne aux Halles
Un petit d'un petit
Ah! degrés te fallent
Indolent qui ne sort cesse
Indolent qui ne se mène
Qu'importe un petit d'un petit
Tout Gai de Reguennes.
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