I want to break free...

Oh Queen. Nothing says "finals are ALMOST DONE" like belting out the titular chorus of this post. This afternoon, I'm guessing at about 3pm, the semester is FINALLY going to be over. These last two weeks have been exhausting and stressful (lots of stuff going on outside of school), and I actually curled up under my desk and cried yesterday morning. Then I realized that I was curled up under my desk crying, shook myself, took a firm grip on the shreds of my sanity, and got back to studying. ;)

Right before my anatomy exam yesterday I had to pop into the SLP office to sign my application form for graduate assistantship (teaching or research assistant positions). The admin assistant handed me my form, and said "Dr. R has expressed interest in you potentially TAing for her... would that be alright?" Would that be alright? WOULD THAT BE ALRIGHT? That would be AMAZING. I love Dr. R: she's an incredible teacher, a brilliant researcher, and a committee member for my thesis. I would TA, RA or slave for her - gladly! Now. Before my hopes (and potentially yours, depending on how much you care about me) get all up in the air - nothing is certain. I have no idea how the process works (for all I know this is like being short-listed for an interview, and I still have to actually get the position), and the only information I have right now is that the department will email us when the list of assistantships is put together. But I'll keep you posted.

I wrote my A&P exam right after that, and it didn't go very well. Dysphagia (disorders of swallowing) was alright, but embryology (the development of the foetus) was BRUTAL. Can I just say: If the term wasn't used IN CLASS, IN THE NOTES, or IN THE TEXT it shouldn't be on the final? (Ok - maybe it was in the text, I didn't read all of that....) Anyhoo, it was tough, I think I passed, but I don't really want to know just how badly I did.

Today I'm teaching at 10, having a thesis meeting at 12 (I'm semi prepared - yay!), and then writing my FINAL FINAL at 2. Then it's home to putter around briefly, and then off to get Allan - we're going down Candy Cane Lane tonight. And that's all you get to hear about that. ;)

And then it's CHRISTMAS BREAK! wOOt!! There shall be much lazing, and cleaning, and reading, and organizing, and sleeping, and napping... oh, it's going to be glorious.

Eek! I haven't packed my lunch yet. Off I go!

Ela

There's a dead bird on the awning

And for once it's not a quote from my audi prof. As I came up the stairs this morning (I had been out teaching), I looked out the front window from the landing - and saw a dead bird curled up on the awning. He looked so serene, so peaceful - and for a moment, I envied the bird his deadness. Ok, Ok, I jest. It's just that it's been a very stressful few days, and curling up somewhere quiet for a looooong time seems appealing right now!

Speech Science went... well, it went. I'm pretty sure I passed, but I can't say much beyond that. Thank goodness Child Language and Audi went better. And I've got more time to prep for Phonology and Anatomy, so I think they'll be fine, too. So I just need to study for those, get my ducks in a row for my thesis meeting, plan Friday's lesson for my ESL student... and it'll be the weekend, and school will be over! Yaaaaaaay Christmas!

However, I'm already thinking about January - my first batch of texts arrived from Chapters today. Aphasiology!! Motor Speech Disorders!! Research stuff... less exciting, so no exclamation points. I'm so pumped to finally be getting into material based around the adult population. I'm not terribly interested in working with kids (not that there's anything wrong with kids, it's just that I'm drawn to the fascinating world of adults), and so this semester has felt like a bit of a slog at times. Bring on the grown-ups!

Ok. Hear that whimper? That's the dysphagia (swallowing disorders) material calling my name. And it's actually pretty interesting (it's adult-focused!), so I'm going to go and read it.

Loves you.

Ela.