On Finals Week (Page 6 of 8)

It's the last Sunday of the semester, and I'm holed up in the library writing a blog post.  You know what that means -- it's Finals week, and I'm once again using this blog as an excuse to procrastinate on whatever it is I am actually supposed to be doing.  Finals Week posts tend to be, in some ways, reflective, as I get a chance to look back on a semester of life lessons and stories and stupid generalizations (like my post about judging you based on where you study).

This one's a little different, because most of the time, Finals Week comes with a sense of finality.  Instead, I find myself already thinking ahead to three weeks from now when I'll be moving all of my stuff back into the dorms at U of R for my summer job.  It feels like nothing's really ending, which I think is compounded by my fundamental inability to grasp the fact that I'm going to be a senior in about two weeks.  None of it seems real -- nothing's ending, nothing's starting, it's just kind of fading into itself.  Is this what the real world is like?  Who knows?

For those of you who have finished your finals already -- well, I hate you.  For those of you still struggling through, best of luck!

'Twas the night before finals
And all through UR...

I'll come up with a way to finish that rhyme someday.

Good luck,
Rachel Leigh

On Exam Week: Danish Edition and Eight Days

Well, it's that time of the semester again -- time for my Exam Week post!  Exam Week: Denmark Edition.

It's hard to believe it's already that time of the semester - four months has gone by so fast that it almost makes my head spin.  I've been in five countries, eight cities, and four airports in the last four months.  I've watched the days in Denmark go from never-ending summer nights (no seriously the sun didn't set until like 10 pm) to three hours of daylight (if you're lucky and it isn't overcast).  I've gone to the ballet at the Royal Theatre, a beer tasting at one of only seven Trappist breweries in the world, a party at the EU (although that was kind of a trainwreck because there were issues with wiring and food, whoops), and more.  And I've met some truly amazing people.

Yesterday, someone asked me what my favorite memory of this semester was.  It's a pretty close call.  The single greatest moment, potentially one of the greatest moments of my life, was right before Halloween.  We went to the Halloween village at Tivoli, and there is a ride at Tivoli called the Himmelskibet or Star-Flyer.  It's a really tall swing ride.

It looks kind of like that.

Anyway, it was dark, and we went up on the ride.  When we got to the top, I could see the entire city of Copenhagen, all lit up, and it felt like we were flying over it.  It was absolutely magical.

The other competitor for my favorite memory was sitting in Grand Place is Brussels on our long study tour.  It was our first day there, sunny and warm, and a bunch of groups were picnicking in the square.  We had some time to kill, so we found a Belgian specialty beer shop and a chocolate shop, and grabbed some drinks and chocolate and just sat in the square, enjoying the weather and the wonderful opportunity we had to take a trip with our core class.

It's been amazing to think how this semester has flown by, and while I am really excited to get home to my friends, family, and a phone plan that doesn't charge me 50 cents a text message or decide to sporadically not work, there will be some things I will really miss about Denmark and my time here.  I'm just going to have to work hard to bring the best parts of my time abroad home with me.

Now, I really need to stop procrastinating on working on my international law paper.  Except not really.  Who assigns a paper due Christmas Eve (Heidi, if you somehow find this, you are a wonderful professor and I love your class, but REALLY?)?  Eight days left to pack, study, write, Hobbit, and get in all the sightseeing I still haven't done.

For those my darling readers suffering through Exam Week out there: Good luck, stay sane, and remember that it will be fine (and if it's not, at least it's over).

Procras-Dane-ating,
Rachel Leigh

On The Things I Assume About You Based on Where You Study

You know that scene in Mean Girls when Janice and Damien are explaining the layout of the cafeteria to Cady, going around and pointing out all of the stereotypes and social groups?  Of course you do, because it's one of the greatest scenes in a movie that will define our generation.  My school is kind of like that.  And while I could go on for days about the stereotypes about the layout of our dining hall, I have something else to vent about.

With finals right around the corner and the entire population of the school (except the seniors who are so close to graduating that you can physically feel the number of f*cks they do not give) is going to start marking territory around Boatwright like some possessive, tiny-bladdered puppy, it seemed like the right time to do this.  I give you: "Partially-Unfounded Assumptions I Make About You Based on Where You Study"

• Boatwright (the Library): As a general rule, you're checking Facebook more than your textbook and probably using 8:15 and potty breaks as just another excuse to procrastinate.  Then again, so are the rest of us.  But there's more to it than that.
• B2: Aww...the group study area.  Couples that want to be obnoxiously coupley in the not-so-private privacy of the bottom level, a couple awkward study rooms, and the bathroom that people use when they really need to poop and don't want to be around other people.
• B1: Fratstars and the sorority biddies who love them (also known as the B-school in exile).  Also, the socially awkward people who actually WANT to sit and study on the silent floor.  I assume you have no social skills, no friends, and a generally sad future ahead of you.
• First Floor
• Open Area: I get it.  You're here with your sorority fam and you'll get on each other's cases to get work done after you finish catching up on the gossip you couldn't catch up on at chapter, fam dinner, and that time you got lunch like two hours ago.
• Quiet Section: Also known as the "We came here to get shit done" section of the library.
• Second Floor 
• Open Area: Frat guys and loud Internationals.  It's funny that you expected to get work done.
• Quiet Section: No really, who ARE you people?  I'm pretty sure I've never seen you in my life, probably because you never leave this room, and PLEASE stop glaring at me for slamming the bathroom door.  I can't help it that it's so dead silent in here that you could hear a fly land on a table.
• MRC: Don't even pretend you're doing anything other than checking Facebook and watching movies.  I can see your computer screen.
• Gottwald (Science Building): I assume your life is sad, you probably haven't slept in anything other than that chair in the lobby in about a week, and I'm sincerely concerned about the last time you showered.
• The B-School: You couldn't even detach yourself from outside Dean's office door and dress like a college student rather than my 40 year old math professor long enough to leave the B-School to study somewhere else.  You worry me.
• Your Dorm Room: You say "studying," I say "watching Netflix and ordering Jimmy Johns"

So, there you have it.  My in-depth explanations of the extent to which I judge you, based solely on where you could find a place to sit.  See you all in Boatwright, complaining about the temperature as always and sobbing uncontrollably over my Statistics study guide, in a few days.

Finally,
Rachel Leigh  

On The Art

Darling readers,

As my last post may have indicated, it's Exam Week.  Or, rather, it is currently the study period between last week's exams and the remaining two days of exams.  And I may have exams during both of those days.  As it were, I am currently dealing with my concern over those exams by...ignoring them completely.  I did some practice problems for my exam, but realistically, my mechanism for coping with stress often involves pretending it doesn't exist.

Thus, I have come to master, slightly, the art of procrastination.  I call it an art because in order to keep your mind off of the things you should be doing, it often helps to have a long list of things that you are doing which can easily keep you distracted.  Currently, I've found the following methods helpful:

1. Find an Addiction:  I've developed a tradition over the last three semesters -- go on Netflix, pick a show.  Begin watching.  As of about episode 4 of whatever series, you may find it hard to turn the computer off.  First semester -- Firefly.  Second semester -- That 70s Show.  This semester -- Burn Notice.
2. Study Breaks:  Nothing quite puts forth the image that you've been working hard quite like a run to Starbucks or a game of Mario Kart with a few friends to blow off steam.  No one needs to know that the steam you need to blow off was built up by getting angry at stupid videos on the internet (especially videos about people being Strong).
3. The Internet:  Obvious answer.  Cracked. CTL. FML. TFLN. Reddit. Twitter. YouTube.  Come on, this is amateur stuff.
4. Be Productive:  Seems kind of counter-intuitive, but the thing that most easily distracts me from working is being productive...on something else.  Clean your room, do some laundry or dishes, write for your blog, read a textbook...for another class.  As long as you're being productive somehow, it's a lot easier to ignore your lack of productivity in one specific area.

Master the art, young grasshopper, and you too can stay sane during exams.

Procrastinating With the Best of Them,
Rachel Leigh

I wish you a merry finals
I wish you a merry finals
I wish you a merry finals
And a full Netflix queue.

So, it's that time of semester again, and as you can tell, I have been incredibly productive.  I'd like to say that I haven't blogging because I've been studying, but let's be serious.  Burn Notice, the Wonder Years, Cupcake Wars, handmade Christmas cards, Horrible Bosses, laughing at Rick Perry, the first debate of the VA Senate race, The College Town Life, Facebook stalking the entirety of creation, library parties, and about a million other things have also been distracting me.

Did I mention that I made Homemade Christmas Cards?  Seriously, look at how freakishly adorable they are.

Don't worry, there was some paper-writing and study-guide making thrown in there too...and this weekend shall include lots of studying for my remaining two exams.

But I just wanted to update my darling readers, wish you a happy exam week (bahaha, I can't say that with a straight face), and spread a bit of holiday cheer.

Expect to find me on Sunday curled up in a ball, double-fisting my Triple-Shot Black & White Mocha in one hand and an energy drink in the other, convulsing, and crying about how I don't understand Economics.

It's the Most/Least Wonderful Time of the Year,
Rachel Leigh