Finals Week

So ironically enough, finals week has always been a time of relative relief for me.  Projects are turned in and all that is left is studying and hoping I can wake up early and still function enough to take an exam.  This will hopefully mean that I will be writing a bit more often than usual up to the 9th when my Colorado Plateau class departs for our field trip.  It really is a relief to have the poster for the class done.  I ended up covering the Late Cretaceous rocks on the Kaiparowits Plateau, and I found enough figures and sources to be both proud of the poster and know enough of what I'm talking about to not sound like a complete fool (knock on wood).

I made it through my entomology final easily enough, taking an indulgent half-hour to double check my work before heading out.  My peers seemed to care less than me, some heading out significantly earlier than I could believe possible.  Maybe they just finished enough of the test and had better things to do.

My chemistry final was another story.  I can't determine if it was the 8 AM time slot or if I just didn't study enough, but the final was significantly harder than it should have been (and would have been any other time).  I was terribly embarrassed when my professor joked after I turned my exam that some of the class wouldn't know how acid affects carbonate and I had to admit that I wrote on the test the carbonate became carbonic acid rather than obviously effervescing to CO2 and water.  Still, I am confident I did well enough on the exam and time will tell where I stand in that class.

Speaking of chemistry, I finally got to apply for the summer job as Dr. R's laboratory assistant and hopefully I'll be officially employed before the end of the semester.  I have to admit I am a little nervous about my mineralogical knowledge being strong enough to pick out grains from the samples I will be testing, but more than that I just don't want to break any of the expensive equipment I will be working with all summer.  Still, the job really is ideal and although I am a little sad to have to stay behind in Las Cruces over the summer when everyone else is returning to their homes, I will learn a lot and be earning some money while I am at it.


Money will be less of an issue than I expected this semester, since I was awarded a significant scholarship tonight at our department's awards ceremony.  I'm elated and slightly uncomfortable by the award, since it is so large and it is given to students who work while in school.  While my potential job for Dr. R certainly counts, I know a lot of other more than deserving peers I was selected from.  It is hard to avoid sounding snobbish complaining about an embarrassment of riches like this, but accepting any form of praise has always been difficult for me (monetary or otherwise).

I hate to publish a post without any pictures, but I am much too tired to really continue writing any more and I can't seem to think of anything appropriate to accompany everything I've written today.  Maybe I'll edit in some photos later if something comes to mind.  Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to fall asleep after reading a bit from The Map that Changed the World.