Whew. Finished with exams and what a relief that is. Latin was really
not too bad, although I probably should have prepared my vocab a little
better. That has always been my downfall, of course, but I really need
to kick it up a notch. I mean this is college…..next semester will
either kill me or make me stronger. But enough of that…..for the next
4 1/2 weeks, I ‘m out!! It will be fun, I’m sure. Work, of course, but
still nice to be home in the GA and chilling with me fam. Not to
mention doing all the fun Christmas stuff that I love : gift
shopping, tree decorating, eating, gift recieving, singing with All
Saints, and all the rest. The good times shall abound……only
slightly saddened by the fact that I am missing all my nearest and
dearest from Hillsdale. But nothing to worry about, for we shall
all be reunited soon enough! Love to all!

It’s the weekend! Yay. That means only 4 more days till I’m home. As
excited as I am about that, I am going to miss everyone here at
Hillsdale so veryvery much! I’m not sure how I’m going to deal with 5
weeks absent from you…..you all know who you are ……but what
with being home with the fam and celebrating the holidays and work and
all, I’m sure I’ll keep busy enough to keep my mind off of  my
intense loneliness. Hope everyone is doing well, studying hard for
exams and getting ready for a wonderful Christmas season!

And so it begins. Studying for finals.

Last day of classes yesterday was quite a relief, I must say. And, by the way, huge kudos to the men of Mu Alpha for a fantasmigorical display of talent at their concert last night! ‘Twas truly enlightening….or entertaining. Both really. And the jazz concert was smashing as well. There are some incredibly talented people here at the ‘dale and I feel so privileged to be able to witness their abilities! This is one of the reasons that I may consider living in some sort of college town for the rest of my life…..there are so many opportunities to witness talent. Incredible. Anywho….that was a tangent.

So, yes. I have begun what I will now refer to as the “Exciting and Dramatic Study for Exams Challenge-Bowl-Quiz”  (!!). This 3-part series will continue over the next few days involving the following fun and exciting activities:

1) Writing the history essay that covers practically all of Western History (or at least all of it that counts )and will be graded as my final for the class

2) Studying for an indecently ridiculous amount of time for the English exam that will be either a) insanely difficult b) challenging but within my range of ability c) easier than I ever could expect.  I’m rooting for option c.

3) Re-reading all of Plautus’s Menaechmia in efforts to study for the Latin exam on Monday. I will re-read all of it, believe you me. The question is whether I will actually be translating from the Latin or just reading it in English. We shall see….

Tune in next time for an update on who will survive the Exciting and Dramatic Study for Exams Challenge-Bowl-Quiz (!!!!!)

*disclaimer* please do take note: there is really not much excitement accompanying this new programme. drama, possibly. excitement. no. except for the very second when it will all be over. that thought is exciting.

Alright, so the Messiah is over. It wonderful and hectic while it lasted. The agony and the ecstacy you might say. I think Friday night’s performance was best, but for some reason on Saturday it affected me the most. In fact, I actually started crying during one of the songs. It is such powerful music especially in combination with the Gospel of Christ. But it is still a relief to be finished. All I’ve got to worry about now is everything else. haha.

Life + Finals = procrastination x 2 x ultimate confusion

Of course it makes no sense. I don’t have to take any more math for the rest of my life. So let’s look at it in a more literary sense and just take it as a metaphor for the ups and downs that this next week and a half will bring.

  Today has been a very good day though. From beginning to almost end. Because it is not over yet, my friends, oh no. There will most definitely be a showing of (yep, you guessed it) Muppet Christmas Carol in my room in about 10 minutes!! Excitement. So. Happy Sunday to all and good luck studying for exams!

Just now, as I was walking back from swim fitness class, I saw five
deer! They were all standing on the snow-covered baseball field (which
I cross in order to get back to Olds in the fastest way possible) and
the second they saw me they all stood completely still and just watched
me walk by. All 5 of them…just standing there….amazing. So, that
was today’s encounter with nature/wildlife. Yesterday nature moment was
the whole snow thing (in case you were wondering). I never cease to be
amazed by the wonders of God’s creation.

   A rather soggy day in the ‘dale. It’s been sprinkling all
day. No snow like yesterday. But the weather forecast says maybe
snow tomorrow….? It sure would be nice. I think. Everybody keeps
telling me how yucky and annoying snow gets, but I really don’t mind.
It’s just a change of scenery from GA, that’s probably why I’m so
intrigued by it.
   But anywho, in other news, Messiah practice today was long
and somewhat wretched. We sound alright, could be better though. The
soloists sound terrific. The performances are all sold out, though, so
we’d better make it good. The wretched part of rehearsal (and for the
performance, too) is that we have to stand the whole time…that’s two
hours concentrating on not locking my knees and trying not to fall off
of the risers. I’m on the edge of one row and it is so tightly packed
that I can’t even hold up my music to read. But I really truly am
enjoying it in some small way. The music is truly beautiful–Handel was
a genius and every time I listen to us singing I get goosebumps just
from hearing the words. So, that’s a plus to the whole experience.
     Other than the Messiah stuff, this week is not
too bad academically. Smith moved the revisions due date to Monday, so
that gives me a little more time to catch up on reading Purgatorio and
finishing that paper assignment. Plus that extra reading for Latin
which I have been putting off like the procrastinator that I truly am.
It’s really coming to crunch time, though, and I wondering if next
semester will be even worse than this with the schedule I’ll
have…..but I’m not allowed to complain (according to Andrew…) so
I’ll just keep my mouth shut. I’ve really enjoyed this semester and as
it’s coming to a close I’m just trying to focus on all the good things
that have and still are happening. There’s so much to be grateful for,
and every day I see more evidence of why God put me here at Hillsdale!