Feeley 4, Finals 0

After an up-and-down Fall semester, I once again managed to put forth only the minimum amount of effort required and still come away with respectable grades. Let's take a closer look at the semester that was:

ECON: After starting out strong with the 2nd-highest grade in the class on the first test, I decided to reward myself by taking a little "vacation" from this class. It was all downhill from there, but the "hill" wasn't all that steep; my grades did decline on each subsequent test, but not precipitously. I don't know what I made on the final, but evidently it was good enough to maintain my grade. Good show.

PHIL: Here's where my penchant for doing really well while doing appallingly little shone brightest. I have taken other classes that were heavy on the philosophy, so I already had a pretty decent basic knowledge of a lot of the stuff that this class covered. Also, I, like all other self-respecting college students, can take a mere vague knowledge of a concept and present it in written form in a way that suggests a firm and thorough understanding of that concept. I dominated this class. So much so, in fact, that I had all but solidified my gloriously high A going into the final, and therefore took the opportunity to not so much as glance fleetingly at my Philosophy book or notes before the exam. This kind of blind optimism forced me to answer the question, "Describe the life, name the works, and discuss the philosophies of Spinoza" with this charming and insightful answer: "Spinoza was a Jew until he was excommunicated. Thus, he felt like an outcast for most of his life. All this isolation gave him loads of time in which to compose his thoughts about philosophical issues. One of his major works was Ethics. He also did something relating to geometry." Okay, so that's not a good example of making a vague knowledge appear more clear, but see, when you've already guaranteed yourself the A, you can pull shit like that just because it's fun.

SPAN: Dudes, it's been a long time since I had a Spanish class, and so I was really, really ill-prepared to be thrown to the wolves in the manner in which I was in this class. After failing my first two tests miserably and answering questions asked of me in class by looking like a deer in headlights, I really should have dropped. But I dropped two classes Spring semester when my brother was hurt, and I didn't want to be "that girl" who just gives up and withdraws from classes when it gets slightly difficult. If I fail, I reasoned, then I fail, but at least I won't have just quit. So, I stuck it out and guess what, it worked. I'll take that C and run, thankyouverymuch.

ENGL: Well, what can I say? I like English; it's what I do. I had already read several of the works from the Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces, so I was in pretty good shape. Not much to say here, just another English class that went the way most of them do.

Hope everyone's finals went well. Have a nice Christmas break, bitches.

20 Questions

Rather than thinking up an interesting topic to blog about and composing a creative and thoughtful entry, which I would love to do except for the fact that I've got nothing, I will instead bore you with answering 20 questions lifted from someone else's blog and allow you to learn something about the least interesting subject in the world: Me.

Try to contain your excitement. Here we go.

1. Tell me something obvious about you.
I'm awesome.

2. Tell me something about you that many don't know.
When I was conceived, my parents lived in California next to a nuclear power plant that was the alleged culprit of the high miscarriage rate there. I know not many people know this about me because my mom just told me this Wednesday at, oddly enough, California Pizza Kitchen in Chattanooga. Like, thanks mom. Lead me to believe for 22 years that I got this screwed up totally on my own and then drop the bomb that it may have been congenital.

3. What is your biggest fear?
Never finding out what I'm supposed to be doing.

4. Do you normally go the safe route or take the short cut?
I'm not sure if this question is supposed to evaluate my propensity to take risks or my extraordinary laziness, but I'm going with laziness and saying gimme the shortcut, please.

5. Name one thing you want that you can't buy with money.
A lot more talent and a ton more drive.

6. What is your most treasured possession?
My car, because I can't leave North Georgia without a vehicle.

7. What is the one thing you hate most about yourself that you do often?
Nothing. I often do nothing when I should be doing something. Does that make sense? Like, I'm a huge slacker, except when something important needs to be done, and then I'm an enormous slacker.

8. What is your favorite lie to tell?
I'd love to.

9. Name something you've done once that you can't wait to do again.
When I was about 17 I went snowboarding two weekends in a row. It was really fun and I was pretty good at it, but I haven't been back, mostly due to my widely publicized lack of money.

10. Are you the jealous type?
Not really, but I have plenty of other relationship vices that more than make up for my lack of jealous tendencies. Trust me.

11. What is the one person, place or thing you can't say no to?
An opportunity to laugh at someone (in a nice way, of course).

12. What is the nicest thing someone has ever done for you?
I like this question, because I have some truly awesome friends who have done some truly awesome things. People have driven very long distances to pick me up for various and sundry reasons only sometimes involving me having done something really stupid, I have gotten really, really nice cards and emails from people that were just what I needed... hmm, my list is lame. I can't really think of a grand gesture from anyone, but I think just being a great friend is probably the nicest thing anyway.

13. If you could do something crazy right now, what would it be?
Leave the damn country. Finals are next week and I seem to be having trouble giving a shit.

14. When was the last time you cried?
When my uncle died last month, I guess.

15. When was the last time you felt so good that nothing else mattered?
When I was in NYC for fall break, before I met my friends and it was just me listening to music and reading Dorothy Parker on the subway. The freedom of being totally alone and away from home in a big city is just amazing.

16. Do you feel comfortable in public with no shirt on?
Um... what? No, I do not feel comfortable in public with no shirt on. Also, I think the public would feel even less comfortable about it than I would.

17. Name something embarrassing you did while drunk.
No.

18. Name one person, past or present, with whom you’d like to spend the day.
Hmm, I don't know. I have a lot that I'd like to take up with the Lord, but I don't know if one day would be enough time.

19. Name one place you’ve never been and would like to go, and tell me why. Ireland! I'm Irish, and I've heard that Ireland's really beautiful. Actually, I've never even been out of the country so I want to spent a few months traveling all over Europe.

20. What’s the story behind your online persona/name?
Well, I use my real last name because I like it; it's cool and Irish and not something you hear every day. But as far as persona, I like to think everyone knows that the way I constantly bitch and moan about the endless uphill exertion that is my life is not how I am in person. I don't flitter about in my neurotic spaceship spreading negativity throughout the land. Usually.

Dear God: A List of Demands

This year, I am brazenly cutting out the middleman and sending my Christmas list directly to the Lord. Screw Santa.

[sidebar: You see, I can do this, regardless of my flagrant heathenistic tendencies, because I was raised a Southern Baptist, which (for those of you lucky bastards who don't reside in the Deep South) means that, as long as you believe in your heart that you are saved, the Lord God Almighty, maker of Heaven and Earth, has no choice but to forgive your sorry ass no matter how thoroughly and frequently you fuck things up. Not a bad gig if you can get it.]

Oh, where to begin. You got something to write with up there, Chief? Good. Here we go:

1. TiVo
2. My mom to comprehend and acknowldege that my decision to move up North, whether I do it this January or next summer or whenever, was not made for the specific purpose of torturing her. Failing that, I at least insist that all future allegations regarding the above be in written form, as it is by nature quieter and easier to ignore.
3. a mini ipod
4. I know I ask this every year, but was it really necessary for me to have TWO brothers? I mean, absolutely necessary? Because, you know, one's alright, but two's kind of overkill, don't you think? Alright, fine. No Auction of Brother into White Slavery this year. Got it.
5. Garner's Modern American Usage.
6. A clue, even a tiny one, as to where I'm going to be in, oh, five years or so, even if that clue points to poor, destitute, and lost amid all the other dime-a-dozen 20something would-be writers with my useless English degree hanging from the rearview mirror of my "apartment", mocking me, while the astronomical student loan payments keep piling up. 'Cause, you know, supposedly the unknown is scarier and more intimidating than the known, right? RIGHT?
7. Pulp Fiction Special Edition DVD
8. To know who got my name in the Secret Santa drawing at work. Seriously, I'm irrationally obsessed with finding this out.

Sincerely,
Me