Running is fun!

Today I upped my game a little bit and did 2.5 miles. I alternated like so:

1 mile running 6 mph (so a 10 minute mile)

5 mins brisk walking

1 mile running 6 mph

5 mins walking

1/2 mile running 6 mph

I was fading just a little by the last 1/2 mile, but it went pretty well. I wasn't dying, I even had to remind myself to drink more water. Doing this tells me that I must've been REALLY out of shape in high school, because I remember not even being able to jog the mile they made us do every year. Seriously, I had to do a lap or so, then take a breather, start back up again.... Sad part is, there were tons of girls like me - we all walked and complained together when it came time to do the mile.

Courses

My registration time is 8:00 tomorrow, and I'm still in the middle of advising. But the good news is, I DON'T HAVE TO DO A THESIS/SENIOR ESSAY FOR MY ENGLISH MAJOR!

And here are the classes I'm probably going to take:

English 350: Advanced Shakespeare Seminar on King Lear

English 202: Short-Story Writing

History 333: Eastern Europe

History 260: Civil War and Reconstruction

History 220: Russia from Peter the Great to the Revolution

Mom has been pestering me about how little I update this blog, so I decided to give in to her demands.

Let's see, news...well, I'm going through a lot of stress trying to work out my schedule for next semester. I really wish my History advisor wasn't away right now. I'm happy for him, getting the opportunity to work in different places, but come on, Robert! Come back to me, I need you here! My make-shift History advisor is someone I've never even met. Haven't had a class with him, and it's doubtful I ever will (he teaches American lit history).

To burn off some of the anxiety, I ran 1.5 miles almost the second I got back to school. It felt really, really good. The last time I went to the gym was very frustrating, because my allergies were making it impossible to breathe. I've been bulking up on my Zyrtec since then, and it seems to be helping.

I'm contemplating the idea of training for a fairly-easy-but-still-goal-worthy running activity, like a 5K. Having something concrete to work toward might be a good motivator. I tend to be pretty erratic in my exercise schedule (go several miles a day for a week, then no gym for a week, then back again). There's a 5K race sponsored by the Med Center in June. We'll see.

I haven't updated in a while, and it feels like the time to do so.

I've been back at Goucher for exactly one day. I'm trying to tweak my schedule, and it's being a pain in the butt this year. I have several history courses lined up (Latin American, Vietnam War, Comparative Colonialism) and one English class (Advanced Nonfiction Writing), but they only amount to 13 credits.

The other classes I'd really love to take are either full or not being offered this semester. So, I went to my English advisor. She consulted the teacher of English 215 (a required course for my English major that I've been trying to get into for multiple semesters) about how I could get in. He said that I should just show up on the first day of class and if someone drops it, I can be quietly added.

My advisor pointed out that I should register for a back-up class. This means that tomorrow I'm going to be the rude person who doesn't show up on the first day to a class, because I'll be at English 215 testing the waters.

My original backup was Theater 232, Playwriting. I still enjoy the idea of it. I've never written a play, but anything to do with creative writing sparks my interest - and it is a specifically valuable course for my major, which is helpful. Still, it's a Theater course, not an English one...which means I might have to act out my own work. Eeep.

So now I have to have a back-up to my back-up. I'm thinking of making Intro to Art History fulfill this role. I know it's weird, but I really liked Art History in high school. Plus, I was damn good at remembering all the little details involved...names, dates, stuff like that. Since I've done well in multiple Art History courses before, I would probably be familiar with some of the material. I hate to say it, but it would be a good "GPA-fluffer."

One downside to sticking with Playwriting if English 215 doesn't pan out? I would be in class on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., with only a small dinner break. I have no idea why nearly all my classes fell on Tuesday/Thursday this term, but I'm a little terrified. I'm going to have to develop some serious academic stamina. Oxford, while hard, only entailed spending 2 hours a week in class, so tomorrow might be painful.

We'll see how it goes. I'm registered for Playwriting since there was only 1 spot left, but I may chicken out and replace it with Art History by the end of the night.

Tra-la-la-la-la

I'm engaged! :D

DONE with classes

I got my last two seminar papers back last night. A on both of them. Got my last paper for the other seminar on Tuesday: A-. My last two tutorial papers were handed to me mere moments ago. A on the one...and A on the other.

Dare I say it, I think I may have done better here than I've done in the past at Goucher! I think I may have gotten all A's from Oxford.

Although, it was much more bittersweet than I thought, ending my last tutorial today. I thought I'd be jumping for joy right now, and in a way I am, but I'm also finally starting to become aware that this is the end. Who knows if I'll ever get to work under this unique educational system again?

And I do love my dons, even if the classes themselves stressed me out repeatedly. I got a picture with my Shakespeare don and my fellow classmates, but it's my Modern Irish Lit don that I've gotten closest to. She gave me a great big hug and told me to keep in touch, in a genuine way instead of the perfunctory "I should probably say this now so it sounds polite" tradition. Invited me to visit her if I'm in England again, and reiterated that we should email. I have a really good contact in her for any grad school applications, but it's hard thinking that I won't be taught by her anymore! There's just something that being taught one-on-one gives you that can't be replicated even in a tiny 1o or 5-person seminar.

Also: I saw the queen yesterday, while I was talking to my Shakespeare tutorial with Tara. Well, sort of...I saw her car, and what I think was the puffy grey of her hair underneath her hat as she peeked out the window. There was a huge swarm and I'm not tall enough to see over people. She came to give the grand opening to the Ashmoleon Museum. And the topic for the Shakespeare tutorial was monarchy!

Pics for Grandpa

I hope these are what you wanted. It was basically deserted so I felt a little too awkward to go in, but I can try to go in at a livelier time of day and get inside shots before I leave. Very pretty little building!