Just Doing My Civic Duty

I went to jury duty today. For the first time ever.

I got called in within the first hour or so and was in the same courtroom for pretty much the rest of the day (excepting a few breaks and lunch). It was an...interesting experience. I heard some great stories from my fellow jurors, got to know downtown Phoenix a tiny bit better, and had a delicious bean burro from Carolina's for lunch (and part of dinner...what can I say, I'm slightly obsessed). Oh, and I walked to the light rail station all by myself and didn't even get mugged! Although there was a guy who definitely gave me a longer look than necessary and then tried to engage me in conversation. Sadly for him, all he got in response was a wary look and a very brief answer as I tightened my hold on my gigantic purse (hey, I needed snacks for the day...). Sorry buddy, I have too much experience with the crazy people to trust you.

And for those who are wondering, no I did not get picked to be on the official jury. Phew. That one is going to be pretty nasty...

Book Prediction FAIL!

So, my mom and I went down to Thatcher last week to see my cousins graduate. (Good job Bryan and Nykell!) We decided to check out a book on CD from the library to listen to on the way. It was actually surprisingly good. (We kind of just grabbed one off the shelf at random--had never heard of it or the author before. That always makes me nervous.)

Want to know the best part?

As the book progressed, it got to the point where the predictable ending would come...and we still had 2 or 3 disks left. It was very exciting. "How is this going to end?" we asked. "Where is this going?" This doesn't happen very often in the realm of fantasy fiction (or maybe I'm reading the wrong books...), so we were getting pretty pumped up. Finally, we were on the last disk. (Luckily we had a lot of errands to run and were in the car for a while.) We're listening...listening...and then...

"Oh. Really?"

Apparently, we read way more into the book than was actually there. I guess we watch a bit too much NCIS or something, because we were suspecting everyone of having ulterior motives. We thought, "Well, this can't possibly happen because these people always do this and these people always do that." [I'm holding off on details in case any of you actually want to read this book] And then, lo and behold, we were totally wrong. Haha! We laughed so hard.

I guess making things more complicated than they need to be is just a special talent we girls possess. :)

Med Chem Math

I know you are all probably sick of hearing about med chem, but this will be the last post on the subject. Hopefully. Probably. We'll see.

Ahem:
310 flash cards
174 pages of notes
42 hours in class
4 problem sets
4 old/practice tests
Several book problems (I forgot to count them)
50 billion hours of studying (I didn't count these either--this is just an estimate)
+4 tests (including a TWENTY-FIVE page final)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 A!!!!

Yes, I got an A in med chem! Hooray! Is it sick that I wanted to count all of this up? (Or at least the flash cards and pages of notes.) Probably. But I did it anyways. I think this is the only class I've taken that I thought from the beginning "I'm going to put in some effort here." I know I've worked in my other classes, but it seemed like I was doing it on a test-by-test, oh-crap-I-probably-need-to-do-this-now basis. Not exactly setting myself up for success there. For this class, I actually tried. Huh--what a concept.

You know, I just looked at my "unofficial" transcript. ***Warning--I'm about to brag a bit more, sorry.*** I only got 1 B and 2 B+'s in my 4 years in college. (And only 2 A-'s.) The rest were A's or A+'s.

How on earth did that happen?

Well, for one, I did do some work, even though most of the time I feel so lazy. (Maybe I should have done that tally for all of my classes...) But really, I know a large part of it is because I have been extremely blessed. I know I've posted about this before, but it's still true. Prayer is an amazing thing. I don't even know how many times I pray before a test, but it always gives me peace. I have received so much help and I am so grateful to my Heavenly Father for that.

So, I'm officially graduated! Summa cum laude, too. Oh, and with all of my easy classes this semester, I got my cumulative GPA back up to 4.0! (Haha--I haven't even really looked at my GPA until recently. I kind of forgot about it for a while.) So, yay for me and everyone else who has ever gone to school! Keep learning my friends!

I'm a Smarty-Pants!

When I got home from graduation today, this is what greeted me as I walked through the door:

Thanks for the baby doll, Nephew B! From my room...hmm...

(Yes, I know this is upside-down. That's how it was laying on the rug. I thought you would want a close-up.)

(That's my door, by the way.)

Here is my door.

And this is the pile of Smarties after I gathered them up in my skirt, Belle-style. (You know, with the birdseed. What, you don't remember that? What's wrong with you people?)

That's a lot of Smarties! And my skirt looks slightly psychadelic. Far out, dude...

Thank you Crofts! I love you guys! (And I'm just waiting for Nephew A to ask me when I'm going to make his snake now that I'm graduated, because I know he will. Haha.)

Pomp and Circumstance

Let's play "Spot the Jenny"! Come on, it'll be fun. Here you go:

(Yes, I am in there.)

Hooray for graduation!

Some minor details about this morning:

• I woke up this morning, started sniffing, and realized my nose was bleeding. Great. (I hid some tissues on my person in case it happened again at graduation. Luckily, they weren't needed).
• On my way to find a drinking fountain, I spotted Katy and Jill. (Hi Katy! And Jill, too, except I don't think she reads this. Oh well, her loss.) In the process of flinging mysel--I mean hugging them, I guess my tassel fell off. Which I noticed a few minutes later when I actually found a drinking fountain (right by my line--dur) and didn't have to hold the tassel out of the water. Hmm...suspicious. After braving the gigantic crowd of capped-and-robed fellow graduates, I found it. On the floor, about 5 inches away from Katy's feet. Haha. At least I graduated with a tassel!
• Sarah works for GradTrak, the company that was taking the professional pictures of my graduation. She was standing on stage during the ceremony, so I got to make faces at her the whole time to relieve my boredom (there are a LOT of graduates in the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences). It was fun having here there!
  
• We got Pete's on the way home. (As in Pete's Fish and Chips. If you haven't eaten there, you have been deprived.) As my nephew would say, "Mmm mmm dewicious!"
  

That is all for now. I have another post to do today, but it'll have to wait. Stay tuned!

Uh...

Apparently that test this morning completely wiped out my brain function for the rest of the day. A guy called at work and I had to have him repeat everything he said. Multiple times. I felt like an idiot--and basically said so on the phone. (My standard cover for zoning out is "I'm sorry, my brain just checked out. Can you repeat that please?" Yeah, it get's a little humiliating--especially when that person repeats things v e r y s l o w l y to make sure you're getting it.) And then--OK, I'm in story mode now.

Scene: Circle K on my way home from work. I need to get gas.
Me: [thinking] Hmm...what am I supposed to do first? (Can you tell it's been a while since I've done this?) Reading, reading...ah. [Swipe the card, authorize, blah blah blah. The pump is now telling me "select the grade and remove the nozzle" so I can pump the gas. I take out the nozzle thing and try to push the grade I want. Nothing happens. I push it again, feeling like an idiot since I can tell it's not what I'm supposed to be doing. I look around me. A girl pulls up next to me and I listen intently to try to figure out what to do. Still can't figure it out. I push the little "Help" button in a futile attempt to...well, get some help. (I'm really hoping it just puts up a new message on the screen instead of calling out an attendant, although at this point I'm almost up for anything.) I flip up the little stand thing the nozzle was resting on and flip it back down. Some gas comes out, but the pump is now telling me that the transaction has been canceled.] Canceled? How the heck did that happen?

[I start all over again. Still don't know what I'm doing. Feeling dumber with every passing second. The girl pumping gas next to me has now returned from the convenience store with a drink--I've obviously been standing here for a while. Giving up all pretense of dignity, I cross over the little cement divider between the pumps.]

Me: Um, I have a really stupid question for you.
Girl: Ok...
Me: I can't figure out how to get the gas out. Can you help me?
Girl: Sure.
[We walk to the other side, she looks at my situation]
Me: It says to select the grade but I can't figure out how to...
Girl: Oh, you just flip this thing up. [which she does]
Me: Oh. Duh. Thanks!
[She walks away, probably shaking her head at me and texting her friend with a story about this retarded girl at the gas station...]
Yeah, how sad is that? But funny. I probably should be more embarrassed than amused by this, but oh well.

Day of Joy and Happiness

Hey guys, guess what?!

I'm DONE!!! No more tests! No more stupid classes! *knock on wood* (In case you were wondering--and I know you all were--med chem was horrendous. But at least it's over!)

That is all.

Final Final Countdown!!

Finals Yet to Complete:
1. Med Chem

Here's my stack of flashcards for the new material that will be on the test (I just finished them):

Yeah, it's kind of at a funky angle. But there's definitely more than 50 in there. And that's just the stack for the new material. I'll show you the complete stack of all my flashcards after finals. When I can laugh about it. Right now it's too depressing. Haha.

Good luck for anyone else still battling finals with me!

Ouch

I think I might be bald by the end of finals.


(I tend to pull my hair out when I'm anxious. Literally.)


Oi.

Oh, on a happier note, we got to talk to Zachy yesterday! Happy Mother's Day to us! (And mothers everywhere, of course.) :)

Final Countdown (Part 3)

Sorry, I'm a slacker.

Finals Now Completed:
1. Dance
2. Art History
3. Human Development

Finals Left to Complete:
2. Jazz in America
1. Med Chem

Want a sample of what I'm studying for med chem? Here you go--one of my many flashcards.

Isn't it pretty? Yes, I drew that. And yes, it took forever to get right. I'd like to think that drawing all of these retarded compounds is helping with my artistic skills.

Bwahahaha! Oh boy, I crack myself up. You wouldn't believe how ugly a hexagon could be, trust me...

I'm so close! Now I just need to keep forcing myself to study. Stack of flashcards, here I come...

Suggestions, Please

Ok, I am currently trying to plan some sort of graduation party for, well, next week after I graduate. I was thinking of watching a graduation/summer themed movie, but can't think of any good ones. What do you guys think? Any ideas?

Final Countdown (Part 2)

Here's where we stand:

Finals Completed:
1. Dance--A+ woohoo!

Finals Yet to Complete:
4. Art History
3. Human Development
2. Jazz in America (online)
1. Med Chem *super shiver*

Today has been rough. Studying, my retarded emotions...you get the picture. (Or at least you can use your imagination. Haha.) So now I'm going to go drown my sorrows in free Joe's BBQ. Hopefully. :)

Dr. Carpenstein out.