For whatever reason, as I sit here and get ready to write, Queen’s “Another One Bites the Dust” starts playing in my mind. Another week is done. Another weekend is almost over. Call it what you will, but that song is on my internal playlist right now. Weird.
I don’t know about you but this week was one of the longest I have ever experienced. The days absolutely crawled. You would think getting four books in the mail would have made me incredibly happy. It did but it didn’t. I did not break out of my ennui until this morning, when I finally finished the monstrosity that is Charles Dickens’ Little Dorrit. Almost 900 pages and two months later, I can finally put that thing aside and move on to something else. I have mixed feelings about it, so I am going to take some time before writing my review. At this point in time, I am just happy I can move onto books that will not take as long to finish!
Our Blog Improvement Project this week was to clean up our labels. Honestly, I did not think mine were bad, but I gamely went ahead, followed the rules and got rid of those which seemed extraneous or could fit into a different category. I managed to whittle down my label list by about half. If I really wanted, I probably could even get rid of a few more, but I have not decided if I want to go down that road yet. So, take a look at let me know if I should get rid of a few or if the list is clean enough as it stands now!
Lina at fingers-in-the pie was lovely enough to pass along a blog award to me this week!
Time is counting down quickly to my final exam. The sad part is that the minute I scheduled it, I immediately started with my daily headaches. Can you say tension headaches? I finally realized it is tension because the test is ALWAYS foremost in my mind. If I am doing anything but studying, the thought of it is always there. If I am studying, I am focusing on what I need to cover before I can feel comfortable sitting for it. I alternate between feeling overconfident that I can bluff my way through any essay (because it is all essays) and panicking that I am not going to remember any specifics and therefore will be considered a fraud by those grading the exams. It is cumulative after all, and I really did not do that well the first pass through the three exams. I think the key is to accept the tension and just keep plugging away at studying. “I think I can, I think I can” just became my new mantra.
One thing that should help break the tension is the fact that next weekend, I will see my beloved Muse in concert again! Woot woot! Instead of opening for another band this time, they are actually headlining. No thirty minutes and done this time. We get to see the full set, and I am ecstatic! Silversun Pickups is opening for them, about which Jim is pretty stoked. We’ll be heading up to Detroit for just the night but are both looking forward to a night of no kids and fantastic music. Now I just have to get through the week!
Anything fun on your agenda? Any ideas on working through tension headaches? How about study types for over 800 pages of material that will be tested via essay?
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Thanks, Ceri! I love Dickens. I have read more of his works than most people, I think. That is why I am torn with my review this time around.
Thanks for having faith in me. It is going to be a long, stress-filled month. This final exam has me in a state of panic that usually does not ensue until the week prior. I think the word cumulative is what is doing it…
First, congrats on your blog award. 😀
I can't wait to see what you think of Little Dorrit. Bleak House was my introduction to Charles Dickens (for my 19th century lit module in uni) – yeah, one of the longest books written in the English language! – and I gave up about a fifth of the way through. So heavy!
Aww, hunni. Your fInal exam will be fine. Everything seems stressful now but you'll be fine. 🙂
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Ah, thanks! I do not mind books of any length and typically relish longer ones because it means the author gets a chance to truly detail the characters, the setting and so forth. I did get a big blogged down with this one only because I stopped reading it about halfway through the scheduled reading. This was due in large part because I refused to travel with it and was gone for a week on business. I think I would have been okay had I been able to keep reading a little bit at a time.
Thanks! And good luck on your test. I think work tests or certification tests suck. They are so much worse than school exams!
Congrats on finishing Little Dorrit! Two months of hard work done!
I, too, am studying for a test for certification for work and man oh man I can't wait for it to be over (assuming of course I've passed!). Good luck with yours!
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wow – 900 pages is truly impressive! Books of that length intimidate me as I imagine I would get bogged down in it. Good for you for making it through the classic!
Is that a sign of a good book or a bad one that we are undecided about our feelings upon finishing it? I guess I am inclined to say a good book because it means that we will be thinking about it days after we finished! Yay for being done!
Congrats on finishing Little Dorrit! I did too and felt totally relieved to be done. I'm not sure how I feel about it either.
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