Maystar said:
A slightly delayed reply, but a good one nonetheless
Good (or in this case, fantastically lengthy!) things come to those who wait
Procrastination is leading me to reply freakishly quickly, but I completely understand the slightly more important need to study lol. I really need to get some done myself!
Maystar said:
Open book exams? Whoa, nobody told me about that...I'd hate that, it would just be a race to the index
Yeah, my sister did law for a while and there were quite a few. Granted, considering the fact that she had to bring in about 15kg of notes, it probably took longer to actually find the relevant info!
Maystar said:
I love multiple choice...except when they do some stupid one on a technicality and there are basically 2 correct answers. I have a friend who surprised everyone in his Economics trial...he only lost a few marks in the short answers and essays...but pulled an 11/20 for multi. He refuses to talk about it....
Ah, I've had many of those exams. It really screwed me in my legal studies trial actually. Did fine in every other section, but I think I got around 23/30 for the multiple choice. Not catastrophic lol, but if you lose one mark in my class, your rank drops majorly. It's great if you're comfortable with them though! Count yourself bloody lucky
Maystar said:
trade? I'd like a house...I'm on a noisy junction though so there's a bit of tooting and actually lots of accidents. Sometimes I get the GANGS OF EPPING (terrifying) in this little pedestrian thing downstairs. Like, breakdancing and stuff, so I laser-pointer them from the safety of my window. I mean no...I don't...
Yeah, so now you know where I live. We should just switch, nobody would know the difference.
I wouldn't mind trading actually! I've always wanted to live in an apartment. As paradoxical and ridiculous as it sounds, they somehow feel more homely. Oh, the accidents and gangs don't sound too good though! Haha, the laser-pointing sounds like a good idea. I'm around the Artarmon area, and its usually pretty quiet. Far too many snobby doctors and lawyers around for things to get dangerous. Really not a fan of our neighbours... there's one nice old couple though, whose garden is practically a forest for all manner of species. They bring over lollies from time to time
Yeah, you kinda know where I live now too! We basically have to either switch or start stalking each other.
Maystar said:
Haha, well I'll be watching the telly or something and my mum will say what! I thought you cared about your future! It's destressing I say...but I did have to end up cramming for english 2. Had I spent 2 fewer minutes sitting there thinking instead of writing, and laughing when I heard "15 minutes remaining" which actually meant "15 minutes remaining of HSC English forever and ever", I would probably have written an extra page and a bit and then been very happy with it. I'm content but there's that regret of not finishing it quite the way I wanted to (although I did conclude it, just a bit abruptly). How did you go?
Emotional blackmail... always fun. I hate it when people just look at the surface of things. If you don't study 24/7, you suddenly don't care about your future. Absolutely demented logic.
Ah don't worry, I crammed for english too
I'm getting used to studying 2-3 days before an exam though. It used to freak me out, but I realised for a modern history assessment that I could learn an essay almost word-for-word in only a day haha. I was terrified, so it probably wasn't the best plan, but it was certainly a pleasant surprise! Still... it's not really something I should be doing for my HSC.
Mine finished pretty abruptly too actually. Module C took me 45 minutes, so my closing is about 2 lines long. Had to really hurry through the other two sections, but I knew in advance that one would take me longer, so no shocks there. It was ok I think. Pretty fair questions. Wasn't really big on the 'Hamlet' and 'R+G' one for Module A, but it was really my fault for neglecting to study one of the major themes. Incredibly stupid of me, but I just hope I managed to link everything. It's pretty hard to
not have any regrets in regards to exams. As fun as life sounds without them, it's far to ingrained within me to regret everything lol. Spend too much time having lunch and not studying, feel guilty for the rest of the day. Miss a random word in an essay, get no sleep. Life's dandy like that
Aww, I've still got Ext 1 to go. One more english exam, then I'm free!
Maystar said:
I like USyd, but I've only been there once or twice, ages ago. But they dont have my course anyway. I'm trying to get into Actuarial at Macquarie, which is my only Uni, because of the Unis I would go to in Sydney only MQ and UNSW have it and UNSW's cutoffs are higher. Besides, living in Epping, MQ is pretty darn close. Oh, and it has the first course of its type in the world. It was a highly parental decision, especially as my mum thought it was my destiny given my mathsness (ok, call me a square) and close proximity to basically the number 1 uni.
That course sounds pretty awesome
And hey, I might have to consult some kind of financial advisor in the future, so I might need you one day! The sheer amount of maths and science would drive me crazy lol, but it'd be awesome if you're good at it. Yeah, MQ would be really close to where you live! I'd probably need to rely on the new train system if I ended up going there. Of course, travel is going to be even worse for UNSW. It'll be quite a weird experience considering it takes me about 2.5 minutes to get to school currently. Ah, how I've been spoilt
Maystar said:
It was a bit hard to decide what to do though...I was looking at psych for a bit and yeah, it was my mum who decided not to before me...but I'm not the type to sit in a doctor's office, I think. (even though psychologists get cool flashcards. Unfortunately I get reminded of Dr Phil a lot when psych comes up, even though I do find it interesting. My friend's going to do psych at MQ so I'll just do it through him). I have a friend who wants to be a surgeon and that's not for me, I'm too weak and I know my limits. And not law either...I've heard and read too many true stories about the failure of the legal system and stupid court cases. Besides the fact that you watch TV shows like THE FORCE and the sentences are far too light (like $1400 for robbing a jewellery store, doesn't even cover the cost of tracking the guy down and he's just going to do it again). Ramble much?
Haha, Dr Phil? Oh yes, he's definitely the perfect representation of the field
I'd be completely incapable of being a surgeon or a lawyer either. With the former, I'd have no where near enough confidence to literally allow someone's life to depend on me, and for the latter, there's just way too many injustices. And not even fixable injustices! There's something inherenty ridiculous about so many cases. Honestly, I feel nauseus every time I hear about someone getting off on the "homosexual advance" defence. That kind of stuff isn't going to be fixed by more lawyers entering the profession... it's social change. (Sorry, tangent lol. I think rambling is clearly both of our specialties!)
Maystar said:
So with actuarial...I think I'm capable of it and I think it will be interesting. I saw some guy talk about it once and he said one disadvantage is you aren't saving lives. Which is true - essentially you are trying to make as much money out of people as you can. But the career prospects are good and I think I can get to a place where I can turn that around, you know, I'd feel very empty with an 8 million dollar house or something if I wasn't doing anything for other people. That's where the money is. Money isn't everything but it sure is useful and you can do a lot more and be a bit more useful to society when you don't have to worry about it.
I've always thought about that too actually. I'd absolutely love to go overseas and spend time doing volunteer work, but unless you have at least a little money to live off, it's not all that feasible. I don't think you have to be saving lives
in your occupation to make a difference to society though. You could definitely be an actuary who saves lives in your free time
Maystar said:
But there are so many people telling me what would be a good course and what wouldn't and frankly, nobody really knows what they are talking about. Forensic science looked fun but I soon attributed my decision to all those TV shows like CSI Miami, which are mindbogglingly unrealistic. (Don't watch that show too much, it makes you stupid, use in moderation.) Forensic scientists don't investigate anything. Did you know that CSI actually sways juries in real court cases in the US?
I'm with you there. I had people suggesting anthropology to me because "the world is always in need of new anthropologists". Random much? Haha, I've never seen a single episode of CSI Miami. I draw the line in terms of American crime shows at Criminal Minds
(And even then, season one still had its terrible moments!) The Brits are far superior in that department. They actually sway juries? As much as I'd like to say I'm surprised, I think I'd almost be lying!
Maystar said:
So having forced you to endure my bullshit ramble...my passion would actually be a lot closer to music/drama or even, possibly, teaching. You probably wouldn't guess that from my subjects. Music's more of a hobby than something to study and I am careful to maintain good relations with drama friends who tell me I'm not too shabby. Teaching...well...they just had a rolling strike, and frankly all I can think about at the moment is that joy I will finally have when I break all my ties with the Board of Studies.
Wow, music and drama?
I must admit, I probably wouldn't have guessed. Both are definitely different from your chosen course! Would you not want to go into either profession, or is it more of a parental influence stopping you? I'd hate it to be the second one. I have a friend whose parents thought taking drama would be a waste of time. She took it anyway, and was really really incredible at it. Still... it's not the direction her life is taking in the future. I wish it was, because I know how much she loves it.
Yeah, I considered teaching for a while too! My yr 10 work experience was spent at my old primary school teaching a yr 5 class... seriously beyond awesome (despite the fact that I literally couldn't do their maths haha). My grandma's been pushing for that too, her sole reason of course being the excellent holidays you get.
Maystar said:
People tend to know when I'm rambling though, and others tend to do it better than me. besides, it's easier I think to
prepare for maths than English, even if the questions are actually harder, and so until the exam itself I feel better about it. I like "english" too, just not the way the BoS takes it and scrunches it and puts it into a box. I just don't think you can do that. I'd choose films too. My favourites are those genre-crossing ones that do that action/romance/drama thing. Or just ones with clever plots. Not really a fan of the shoot-em-up ones unless there's some real character in the characters, if you know what I'm saying. Except Chuck Norris
You just have to be totally committed to whatever you're rambling about
If people know you're rambling, just try to confuse them lol. Confused people are much more susceptible to manipulation, because they don't want to feel unintelligent for not understanding what you're saying. There's a method behind the madness
Yeah, I can definitely see that approach. English in high school is so very structured. You have your little criteria bullets to cover, and if you don't do that, your work is seen as inferior. I've always enjoyed pushing the boundaries of what a topic technically allows lol. It's amazing fun watching teachers struggle for a reason to say no to something, but ultimately discover I'm just within the criteria
By the way... "real character in the characters" makes me completely love you! I couldn't agree more. I always lean towards the eccentric dramas (and Chuck Norris ones, of course!). I've always been a film person, but there's so much crap being made today... it makes me sad. Actually, television seems to be improving significantly! Lots of American cable shows like 'In Treatment' and (although it's a little older) 'Six Feet Under' are really bringing the focus back to character. By the way, just because I tend to ask everyone I possibly can, do you have a favourite film?
Maystar said:
Paper 1 was alright...and for the questions I did for modules, I think they were alright too. I think I handled reading well and I just had to change my story to be somehow "elsewhere" (in the imaginative sense) for the memoir. I've actually completely forgotten how I thought the essay went but I don't remember being UNhappy about it so it must be ok
Ahhh....off to study next exam Monday! yeah!!
Yeah, I think both papers were generally ok
My creative writing was crappy, but that was anticipated. I chose 'The Curious Traveller', and I'm just hoping my story was actually relevant! Subconscious repression... I like it lol. There have been so many exams where about 3 minutes after I've finished, someone will ask me how I went, and I literally won't be able to remember a thing. You tend to get into this exam zone which exists outside of reality itself lol, so it's not surprising that once it's over, it's really over.
Aww, you've got ages! My next is legal on friday
I really need to start studying.
(Haha, I had to delete 9 of my emoticons before I could actually post this. I swear, those little guys are addictively adorable!)