Thursday, March 16, 2006

Mid-Term and Spring Break

So, here I sit waiting for the last of the mid-terms to begin. I will be very happy when this one is ever. As fun as I find Accounting and Budgeting, spring break starts when it is done. Well, more or less. I still have to do a problem set for econometrics on Friday morning, since it is due on Friday afternoon. But such is life. At least all the mid-terms will be done.

I have gotten one of them back and did surprisingly well. Considering that in the two classes before the test I came stumbling out of the classroom clutching my head in an attempt to keep my brain from oozing out of my ears repeating “I’m doomed” to myself over and over. In the class before the test, Molly has a class in the same room after and we had a laugh with a classmate who took the class last year and simply said “econometrics, huh?” with a knowing smile.  Well, the end of the story is that the test came back the other day, via my mailbox. I knew it was there, so opened the door with a little trepidation, and caught a glimpse of the score and thought “that cannot be right.” So I started going through it question by question: 10/10, 5/5. 15/15, 10/10 etcetera until I got to the end, and sure enough, I had aced the test. God only knows how that happened. But I will take it. It is a nice confidence boost, though, after my less than stellar performance in my last international law class last semester.

So what now? Molly and I are going to New Jersey on Saturday for a wedding, which should be nice. I am feeling a great need to get out of the greater Boston area. Then it is time to come back and rip out the thesis. It has reached the required length, so that is good. I need to fill the gaping analytical/ logical holes within it, and then start begging my advisor to accept it and let me start enjoying school again. And deal with that whole needing a job thing.

So that is about it. It is hard to believe that I am half done with my last semester here. It is a little sad, though I am excited that graduation is on the horizon.

At least I have next week off.

Sunday, March 05, 2006

Peace Corps Turns 45

I spent yesterday evening at the JFK Presidential Library for a 45th anniversary celebration of Peace Corps. The video that Peace Corps has created for the occasion can be found here. It was a nice time. The highlight was that the first ever Peace Corps groups were in attendance (from 1961) and they gave a nice send-off to the very newest Peace Corps group, who are on an airplane to Uganda as I write this.

Speaking with the new group was very nice and there was a good part of me that was jealous of the fact that they are going to be in Uganda for the next two years. There were four of us from my group that attended (Dawn, Paul and January were the others), and it was nice to be able to speak about the country and what to expect to all of the eager and expectant future volunteers.