My detailed fantasy life has the weather becoming very warm over the next few days and the 12+ inches of snow melting quickly. I’ve got my spring/summer theme ready to launch and as soon as I see grass again I’ll be hauling it out. You never know how long the nice weather will last around here.

In the meantime I need to hunker down and spend lots of time prepping for my exams.

I’ve reviewed my course notes enough times to know that I’ll likely forget it all the minute I step inside the exam room. Test anxiety is something I still haven’t managed to get a handle on. I’m one of those people who work extra hard on all assignments in order to have the best possible grade going into the exam. The day before the exam I can recite facts, figures, and theories off the top of my head but the minute I put a pencil into my hands and start writing I black out. Usually I can remember most of the theory. I just seem to have difficulty remembering the specific terminology. Of course, the minute I leave the exam room all the terms I’ve forgotten will return in a rush.

My final course pack for the summer semester arrived today. I also received a response from my adviser regarding future courses I need to complete the degree. After summer semester next year (yes, I’m looking at course details for 2009 already) I’ll have finished all of my core (required) courses and can concentrate all my energies on filling out my transcripts with interesting psych courses. I have 2 more history courses to complete – oh yay! – and am considering signing up for one that begins mid-way through the summer semester. It’ll start in July and end sometime in the fall. I think it’ll make for an interesting few months when it comes to course load but many courses are only offered once a year and delaying some of the core courses may result in my commencement being delayed.

I’m attending the Technology, Colleges and Community conference this week. It begins tomorrow and I’ve been looking forward to it for weeks. It’s not the first online conference I’ve had the option to attend, but it’s definitely the most comprehensive. The only downside I can find is the timezone the conference is running in. I believe it’s a result of being hosted out of Hawaii. Sessions begin at 1pm MT and run until after 9pm. Of course, I didn’t know that until I finished the registration process this afternoon; being away at my mum’s meant I missed the pre-conference sessions. I’ll be at work at my usual time tomorrow which means I’ll miss a chunk of the evening sessions while I’m driving home and working on my paper. Perhaps I’ll luck out and be able to work from home on Wednesday and Thursday. Otherwise, I’ll miss many chunks of the sessions running in the evenings.

Next up: ISSOTL. It’s being held in Edmonton this year and I’m hoping to take a few days off and register as a student if I’m not able to go as part of the contingent from the college. I was trying to get a proposal together but am still learning all the ins and outs of completing the ethics paperwork and creating an effective research instrument. I’m sure I’ll have lots of time to learn how to do all these fun things in future. Of course, I’ll need a new “idea” by then. My fearless leader (co-worker, confessor, adviser) suggests that the concept I want to explore would make an excellent research question for an Honours thesis and I should explore it in that fashion first.

In the meantime I’ll just have to keep my fingers and toes crossed. Hopefully the team’s paper will be accepted. I’d love to see it presented.

I’ve a few short days left before I have to hand in my paper and have spent most of the past week doing nothing more than searching out resources, reading, tracking down proper citations, and banging my head against the wall. I’ve got at least another 300 pages left to dig through over the next day or two. I’m hoping I can somehow manage to string together many pages worth of coherent sentences in order to actually *write* the paper sometime this week. For the moment all I have is a mountain of notes, an outline, and a looming panic attack!

Oh, and if my history paper worries aren’t enough, sometime this week I need to start reviewing my psych notes so I can prep for my exam in 2 weeks. I suck at exams. I can know materials inside and out but the minute you put me in a little room and expect me to answer questions all the contents of my brain starts to leak out of my ears.

Returning to work is starting to look like the light at the end of the tunnel. I’m not sure that’s what is supposed to happen…

I’m back in the basement attempting to piece together my final paper for my history class. It’s worth 40% of my grade so I really should be buckling down and getting it done as opposed to blogging. However, I’ve learned a horrid truth about myself. If procrastination can be done, it will be done. I’m pulling a solid B in the class so I really do need to work my ass off on this paper to at least maintain the GPA. I’d prefer an A (who wouldn’t) but just can’t see that happening for this course. I guess I’ll just have to learn to live with the disappointment.

I haven’t had time to upload the final colour scheme for the blog (thanks Luna) but I’m sure it’ll knock everyone’s socks off when I do have a chance to use it. In the meantime, I’m back in my basement – but sticking with the brown theme cause it’s just so darn shiny! – attempting to finish my paper before tomorrow. It’s 90% complete. I’m just struggling with establishing my own definition for personality and the subsequent justification for my interpretation. Bah!

Last night I took the evening off in order to head to the bar and watch the Oiler’s pay-per-view. Having never seen a hockey game on PPV before I’m ashamed to admit that it took me an entire period to notice that there are no commercials shown during a PPV game. Not that the lack of commercials made the game any better. The Oil got their panties smacked and I have a feeling we won’t be repeating our dreamlike 2006 run for Sir Stanley’s Cup.

I’ve also clued into the fact that I’m heading home to my mom’s in only a few short days. The trip has been planned for weeks but it’s easy to lose track of time when you’re madly typing away on papers and assignments. Mom got rid of her dsl connection years ago so I’ll be limited to dial-up access while I’m away. I’ll also be working on my final paper for my History class so I may not have a lot of opportunities to blog while I’m gone. We’ll have to play it by ear. If the news reports are correct you can expect to see me break out my blue theme while I’m away. Rumour has it there is still a tonne of snow out on the east coast!

Upperdate: 9pm and the paper is finished. Can I have a cookie now?