too much time has passed since my last update

[chibichan]

Hello guys! I can't believe it's March already! Real life, you need to stop doing this. Seriously.

I finally have a moment to update my DW. I also feel bad for not commenting on my f-list's entries and I miss a lot of posts due to real life. But I'm trying to be more active and comment regularly on your journals! I just hope I can do it.

Anyway. I am really happy to announce that I'm almost through with the second semester of uni! Which is awesome. The semester ends officially on the 31st of March, but given that I don't have lectures on Thursdays and Fridays and all my workshops/tutorials will be over by then, I will most likely be free a couple of days before the 31st. I can't wait!! :D Of course I have exams in May, but first I really want to relax and take it easy with my revision.

I also feel the need to tell you guys about this work I had to do for uni and that got me incredibly stressed like never before. It was a team presentation and I had to do it with two other girls. The topic was, "Should a UK Bill of Rights extend the right to life to the 'unborn child'?", which, I will admit, is very interesting stuff and no doubt it was a group assignment because the lecturer wanted us to have a nice discussion about it.

Except in my group it didn't really happen.

Basically what happened is this: we decided to meet on Wednesday, but one of the girls (S) threw a birthday party on Tuesday and had a massive hungover the next day, so we had to reschedule to Thursday. But then the other girl (M) decided to get drunk on Wednesday night and did not show up at all on Thursday (she was still in bed with a hungover at 2pm). S decided she would take care of the introduction, leaving me to deal with relating our topic to the legal theories that we've done this year - which means I had to do the main and most important part of the whole presentation. Now, this got me incredibly stressed at first because the whole thing basically depended on me. I got so frustrated with the two other girls that in the end I even had a little cry in my room... but I quickly snapped out of it and went back to work - I read the book, studied the theories and then formulated some pretty interesting (imo) legal arguments as to why a Bill of Rights should give the unborn child a right to life. I did all of this in a couple of days and, believe me, I'm making it sound as if it was an easy job, but it really required a lot of research that I had to do on my own - the other two girls did absolutely nothing to help me, to the point that I consider the presentation something that I personally did, rather than something done by a whole team.

In the end, the other girl, M, did nothing - no research, no studying of the legal theories, no ideas of her own - to the point that S had to write her part, which included a couple of legal theories that I did not include in my part because I thought they weren't really relevant (and in the end we should have even cut one of them, because we exceeded the time limit and were stopped by the teacher).

We presented our thing yesterday afternoon and I've been feeling amazing ever since. Overall I think I did a good job and I think the other two girls had to recognise that it was me who really did the biggest part of the work... but of course we'll all most likely get the same grade, because that's how things go at uni. It still kinda annoys me that the teacher doesn't know it was me who wrote our presentation (it's true that S did something, but come on, she wrote the freaking introduction!), but it doesn't matter now. I'm just incredibly happy that this stupid presentation is over and done with.

So yeah, because I was so happy that my group assignment was over, I accidentally bought a lot of chocolate. And I mean a lot. As in, "this-will-probably-last-me-three-weeks" a lot. But I was feeling really happy and I wanted to celebrate and something just came over me... and before I knew it, BAM, I had bought enough chocolate for an entire army. I'M CRAZY, I KNOW.

Now, onto fandoms!

I don't think I mentioned it, but I recently read and finished Honey & Clover. It is an AMAZING manga. What really impressed me was how real everyone and everything felt. The situations the characters were going through could have happened to anyone in real life and the way they dealt with things and their emotions, it all felt so real. If you ever get the chance, you should seriously consider giving this manga a try. I cried multiple times while reading it, and the ending... DAMN I BAWLED MY EYES OUT. But it was so totally worth it.

I'm having a massive Leverage re-watch, because I got Andrew (and his family) hooked on the TV show. XD Right now we're almost at the end of season 3 and I plan to watch season 5 for the first time with Andrew as soon as we finish season 4, which I have already watched. I'm really sad that Leverage got cancelled, but on the other hand, I can't wait to see the series finale. It will be epic and it will make me cry, I know it.

I watched The Dark Knight Rises a couple of weeks ago. Expect another rant on that film in the near future.

I am still reading Northern Lights/The Golden Compass. I sort of put it aside because of university, but then I picked it up again on Saturday and read a whole bunch of chapters and I am now almost finished with it, haha. Yay for weird reading patterns!

Aaaaaand, last but not least, a mini-rant on what's happening on the Big Bang Theory recently. If you keep up with the American releases, you should know that Penny has finally said "I love you" to Leonard. You should also know that they've discussed marriage in the Valentine's Day episode and have decided to have Penny do the proposing when she's ready. And, if you know me, you know I ship Leonard/Penny.

Well, before the Valentine's Day episode, I was sort of losing my faith in them. Why? Well, I've thought about the idea of Leonard and Penny getting married... and, given the way the characters are now, I really can't see them lasting. I know it's weird to hear, especially coming from a shipper, but I really think they won't be able to last very long, at least if they both keep acting towards each other like they do now.

For instance, I hate that Penny still hasn't properly come to terms with the fact that Leonard is a nerd and still kind of mocks him for it. You've been in a relationship with him once already and you've known him for years - why can't you just embrace the fact that he's a nerd and maybe be a little nerdy yourself? Another thing that drives me mad is the fact that she's not ready to live together. If you love someone and have been in a relationship for a long time, you will want to move in together. (I've been in a relationship with Andrew for a year and a half now and we sometimes talk about living together, it's just something that couples do.) Penny lives across the hall from Leonard, they're already sort of 'living together', or at least they live quite close to each other, something that most couples don't do. Isn't that sort of living together already? If she really loves Leonard, how come she doesn't want to move in with him? What's the problem? Okay, there are some people who like having 'their privacy' (like my mom, for example), but hasn't Penny let Leonard in her apartment and have him sleep in her bed countless times? I really don't get what's the matter with her. It's like the writers are doing the 'one step forward, two steps back' thing with her character.

But the biggest thing that drives me crazy is this: THEY SEEM TO HAVE COMPLETELY FORGOTTEN ABOUT PENNY'S "I LOVE YOU". Seriously, she said it one time and then it was never mentioned again. It happened in 6x08 and the show is now at 6x18. TEN EPISODES HAVE PASSED AND NO ONE HAS ADDRESSED IT YET. How is that possible?! And why?! Are we just supposed to forget about it? True, she said she loved Leonard again when talking to Sheldon one time in another episode of season 6, but that hardly counts as doing anything or as addressing her confession. The season is also almost at its 20th episode, which means it's ending soon. If it's going to end without Penny's "I love you" being mentioned ever again, I'm going to flip some tables. L/P is the only reason I watch TBBT and the writers got me so excited with Penny's confession. But how can the show go on for so long without addressing it? They made such a big deal out of it and now they're just ignoring it. Damn you, writers!

... on the other hand, I enjoyed the L/P moments in the Valentine's Day episode and saw a little bit of character development thrown in there, which gave me a little bit of hope that Leonard and Penny might actually work out together in the end... but only if there's more character development involved. And I don't know if the writers of TBBT are going to give it to us, because it seems that it's really not their forte.

And that's all for this post! I will try to be more active this month, since university is ending soon. :D

Comments

[tropicsbear]

Would it be possible to tell the professor that you did majority of the work for the presentation? I remember majority of my uni groupwork having a "grade/comment on your fellow groupmates" portion. I really don't think it's fair that you get the same grade especially if you didn't do the same amount of work.

[chibichan]

There is a possibility, but it's ultimately the group that splits the grade equally. We could technically decide to give M (the girl who didn't do anything) a lower grade, but then she'd know it was us who wanted her to get a low grade and so I fear she might start up some drama, which I really don't need at this point and especially now that the presentation is done and over with.

If we could grade each other anonymously and then give our feedback to the professor, I would seriously do it... but it doesn't work that way, unfortunately. :(

[mythicgeek]

This is the major reason I hate group projects. There's always someone who doesn't pull their weight and skates buy on someone else's hard work. I'm glad you managed to pull together a great presentation, but perhaps it's something you should let the instructor know? Ask if there's any sort of follow-up where you discuss how you managed as a group so it doesn't seem like tattling? I don't think it's fair for her to reap the benefits of your work when she did nothing, but at the same time, I don't think you necessarily want to 'start something; by just bringing it up with the instructor either.

Ugh! Group projects!

EDIT: so yeah basically I could have just read the first comment and then said ditto that XD

[chibichan]

Yeah, there's always gotta be somebody who doesn't do their part of the work, right? But anyway, from what I understood from the teacher, he will give us a grade which then the group will split between its members. So, if we decide to give M (the girl who didn't do anything) a lower grade, she'd know it was us who gave her a low mark and I really don't want to start up some unnecessary drama at this point. And if I did talk to the lecturer, again, both the girls would know I did so because they would receive lower grades than mine and again, I don't want them to start any drama, especially now that the presentation is over and done with. :/

We decided we'll split the grade equally because that's what groups usually do and because we don't want to start wars or anything.

At this point I'm just really glad it's over, tbh. XD

[mythicgeek]

You are a more generous person than I! I hold grudges too long. It's definitely better to let it go if you can, for your own sanity and to just move on to whatever comes next!

Seriously the best part of any group project is when it's over. I literally had one group project (by group I consider more than 2 people) back in high school that worked out well because we were all a bunch of hard-working nerds who wanted to show off so our project was badass. XD That was the only one that was so satisfactory.

[chibichan]

I used to hold grudges too, and I kind of still do, but only if it's a serious/personal matter. I think the girl could have helped us if she wanted to or if she hadn't decided to get drunk the day before we decided to meet (which really wasn't a smart thing to do, considering we had all agreed to meet days in advance) and this project did stress me out rather badly at first, but now it's all over and done with, so I simply don't care anymore. XD So it's better to move on for my own sanity, as you said!

That sounds awesome! I was actually telling my boyfriend (because I was so frustrated with the other two girls) that the only group I'd work with is one made of two identical copies of myself, haha. XD But yes, hard-working nerds are really the one people I'd work with on a group project!

[mythicgeek]

I've learned it's healthier to let it go if you can. I'm still trying to do so in practice! XD

It was! It was a history project on Henry VIII and we made this huge decree written on a 'scroll' that we made from giant paper tea-stained and burned to look old. We even tried to write with those funky f's they sometimes used in place of s's. It was really cool. Well. Cool is kind of relative. It helped that I was good friends with both my other partners.

Then there was the time my firmed and I made a Roman temple out of clay and our patented Vestal Virgin Barbie, complete with food and wine libations.

Yeah. Nerds.

[chibichan]

Haha, those sound like awesome projects to work on! XD

[mythicgeek]

They so were. It's why I remember them so many years later!

[fujicori]

I hope you get to do a "rate your groupmates" kind of thing or something. I mean, if you're each writing different sections of a paper/presentation, someone will always end up getting the "easy section," but they can still help in other ways. Or at all. :|;;

But congratulations on being done with it!

[chibichan]

Thank you!

Unfortunately we don't get a "rate your groupmates" thing, although I really wish we did! Instead we'll get a grade from the lecturer, which we will then decide to split equally between us. Technically we could decide to give the girl who didn't do anything a lower grade, but we don't want to start any unnecessary drama. :/

[literacy]

Yup, and this is why group work sucks. I hope you manage to tell the professor about it, if it is something you really are annoyed about and feel she should know in case of future group activities/assignments. But well done for getting through it! ♥

And yes, Dark Knight Rises is awesome. Though kind of hit personal experience for me in that my younger brother broke his back a few years ago (he is fine now, but hell that was terrifying initially). Which prob makes it all the more amazing to me, seeing Bruce overcome it all in the end. And I loved the nod to Robin at the end.

[chibichan]

(OT, but... yay for Scott Pilgrim icon!)

Thank you! I probably won't tell the professor about it though, at this point I'm only slightly annoyed, but it doesn't matter. I'm just so happy it's over and done with! :D

Wow, that must have been quite scary! I'm glad he's better now! And regarding TDKR... I actually have mixed feelings about it, but overall I liked it. Like, I can see the film's flaws and they bother me a little bit because it's the last installment of the trilogy and I kind of wanted it to be perfect and everything, but overall I feel satisfied with the ending. It'll be a long post when I write about it, that's for sure, haha. XD

[literacy]

(I love the movie and graphic novels. They are great.)

Ah, fair enough. It's all finished and done now, so as long as you're feeling better about it all now.

It was pretty scary and upsetting, esp since the idea of him being paralysed...he's a pretty damned active kid and he loves sports so. But he managed to pull through and was one of the two people to walk out of the spinal unit each year. Oh, there were flaws in the film, of course. Pretty much every film does when you really think about it. It may not have been absolutely perfect or as amazing as the second one but overall I think it help up pretty well considering. I can't wait to read it when you do get time to write up a review.

[bucaneve]

I remember hating team work in highschool because I'm utterly incapable of saying no and I always ended up doing all the work, ugh >:/

[chibichan]

Thankfully I didn't get to do much team work in high school, but yeah, I have the same problem... but in this case I knew that if I said, "no, I'm not going to do this part" to the other two girls, then we'd have no presentation at all, because they really had no idea how to connect the legal theories to the topic of the 'unborn child'... so yeah, I was really the only one who could do it. :/

Btw, welcome to my journal! I see we have a lot in common! :D (Also I'm perfectly okay if you want to speak to me in Italian! :3)

[bucaneve]

Yeah, that would have been bad :/ It's kinda sad because it would have been a good way for the two of them to learn a bit more about what you're studying... Well, at least it's all done, so you won't have to worry about it anymore *hugs*

Hi, thank you, yay! \o/ (Do you mind if we chat in English? I'm just so used to speaking in English on the net and in Italian in RL *shrugs*)

[chibichan]

it would have been a good way for the two of them to learn a bit more about what you're studying
Yeah, i agree. One of them actually did some work so I can't complain too much about her... but yeah, the other girl who did nothing? She probably had no idea what we were talking about. :/

Sure! I know what you mean, I'm used to doing the exact same thing! XD

[muladhara]

Because of you (well, kind of), when I was digging out another book to read, I came across my copies of the His Dark Materials trilogy, and I've been meaning to reread it for some time now, so I got them out too. I hope they're still as good as I thought they were the first time (though I have no idea when I'll get to them).

Also totally rolling my eyes at those girls. They need a good shaking up, especially that one who did absolutely nothing. UGH.

[chibichan]

Awesome! :D I hope you enjoy re-reading them (and then we can have some amazing discussions about the books)!

Yeah, agreed!

[muladhara]

I am always up for amazing discussions about books! ALWAYS.

P.S. I love your icon c:

[elydesia]

Do things like what happened to you, happen often in university? :s
It sounds really stressful, and it kind of makes me scared of it.

[chibichan]

Well, it really depends on the people you work with. I only know of one other group in my year who had the same problem (one person didn't do anything at all for the presentation), but as far as I know, only two groups had this kind of problem (and we're 200 students). As I said, it really depends on who's in your group. I like to think that people should be able to organise themselves and not be idiots at university (because come on, it's not high school anymore, it's time to grow up), but there will always be someone who does the least work/doesn't do work/is irresponsible and causes problems... you just have to hope you're not in the same group with them.

Anyway, don't be scared by it! This is the first time that something like this has happened to me in university and to be fair, we really don't get that many group assignments anyway. This is my second one since I started uni (I'm in year two now) and for my first group assignment last year I was with people who actually did their share of the work, so it was not too bad. Thankfully group assignments do not play a huge part in determining your mark, it's mostly essays and stuff you can do on your own. :)

[elydesia]

I'll be applying for college to attend this coming fall.
It's a little intimidating, considering I'm two years behind. Two years isn't a big age gap, but dealing with kids fresh out of high school is a little troublesome if they don't smarten up.

It's still a little scary to think about, since this is a huge step for me.
I hope you don't get anymore project partners like that D

[chibichan]

dealing with kids fresh out of high school is a little troublesome if they don't smarten up.
Agreed. Although sometimes age doesn't have anything to do with it, sometimes they're just... immature. And I know what you mean about the age gap, I'm in my second year and I'm 21, but people here in Scotland go to uni as soon as they're 17-18 and sometimes they still need to grow up and start taking responsibility for their actions.

Thank you! I hope my next group assignment will be better! Also I wish you good luck with your applications! :D