Fourth Year Term 1 Schedule

My schedule for this upcoming term:

Statistics show that Kevin is crazy

There is something very wrong with me. Something very, horribly, wrong. I cannot understand it. I don't even think I know who I am anymore.

I actually like statistics.

What is wrong with me?!?

I have tried to figure out why I'm actually enjoying learning about statistical tests - goodness of fit, normal, ANOVA. Oh me oh my!

Perhaps it's because statistics is in large part trying to understand the unknown. How to go from what we do know, and applying it to what we don't know - going from sample to population. I might just be so pissed off at not 'knowing' anything that probabilistic-knowledge seems pretty appealing to me. All my learning has driven out certainty and truth. What is certain? What is true? What is true in the realm of religion, or ethics? Who can answer such questions? But with statistics, we can come to some probabilistic answer: it seems like this is the case - 5% chance we're wrong. I must admit, that's not too shabby.

Or maybe it's because for once I really look forward to using what I learn in one class (statistics) in another class (animal physiology lab). I haven't had such direct applicability for a long time. It is refreshing, to say the least.

I may never know why I like statistics. I have a feeling it's just a phase, like so many other intellectual phases that have come and gone.

It will all be over in a week, no doubt.

Random Stream of Consciousness

My one week of relaxation is over. Summer session begins on Monday. I have 23 hrs of school a week (17hrs of lecture, 6 hrs of lab). It lasts for 8 weeks. I'm going to be very, very glad when it's over.

* * * *

All my marks are out, finally. I will only say this - wow! It's a sad day when the highest mark you ever get in university is from Physical Chemistry. It's even more sad when it's from the course I never attended and thought would definitely fail. Oh well. University is weird like that.

* * * *

I am officially addicted to 24. This tension is killing me. Aie ya! So many hours left, I wonder oh I wonder!

Oh, and I'm interested in CSI now.

Either way. I will only go DVD seasons. I can't stand television: I want uninterrupted, commercial-free, entertainment when I want it.

* * * *

I've managed to finish another game of Civ IV. Nothing spectacular, I'm just an amateur. Noble domination win, large balanced map, a good 7 or 8 civs. I think I just beat out Hatty's spaceship. Very close call.

* * * *

I'm very relieved. My marks now are pretty much set for med-school applications. Some schools are gonna include my summer courses from this semester, some aren't. But 10 credits aren't gonna change very much. And I hope to do well...semi-well...maybe?

* * * *

I really like this rollerhockey league. Though we've gotten our arse handed to us lately, it's fun to get out and play some hockey with a few friends. Good sport, good exercise. Although, I have a feeling we'd have a much better time if we went down a tier or two. That will be decided after our game this Sunday.

My week

I feel like posting. I don't know why - I don't really have anything specific to talk about. That's never stopped me before though.

I just finished the first draft of my RELG 304 paper (Creation and Covenant in Ancient Israel). It's a look at laws concerning sexual behaviour in ancient Israel using sociological criticism. My thesis is something along the lines of:

As reflected in Deuteronomy 22.13-29, non-marital sex was primarily restricted for women in ancient Israel—and only secondarily for men—because it challenged the structure and stability of the society.

It wasn't a particularly difficult paper to write. Once I had a question (regulation of sexuality and society), the method came naturally (sociological criticism), and then the text was obvious (Deuteronomy 22.13-29). But, my lack of formal sociological training didn't help. Fortunately, my RELG 370 paper drew on sociology, and I've been reading up on the field throughout this semester. Sucks I'll never take a sociology course in my life. Oh well.

Now this weekend I have to start researching for my RELG 414 paper (Gospels and Jesus). I think I might change my topic. My original topic/thesis was too broad for only 15 pages. I'm now thinking of writing about the significance of Jesus' open shared meals. I have a gameplan in mind (i.e., an outline of the argument) so I think it just might work.

Oh, and I've registered for summer session.

Animal Physiology - M W F @ 9AM-12PM; M @ 12PM-2PM; M @ 2PM - 5PM. (May to end of June)
Biostatistics - T Th @ 7PM - 10PM; W @ 2PM-5PM. (May to mid June)

Then, okay wait for it...I HAVE TWO MONTHS OFF!!

Oh. My.

I haven't had two months of summer since...man...before University. Wooow!!

I'm gonna be so bored, haha!

Fin
-Kev

Feeling Lighter

I'm feeling lighter.

- I'm no longer sick.
- Our house is back to normal: peace and quiet.
- Religious space paper draft is done. I just have to sit infront of class for 45 mins and listen to criticism. I can handle that.
- Old Testament midterm is done. It was relatively straight forward.
- I'm slowly, very very slowly, catching up on all the courses I fell behind on last week. Did I mention how slowly?
- Cell group night is done with. It was a load of fun and went well. Pictures up soon.

I'm not in the clear yet.
- Greek midterm next week. This gonna be killer. I'm so far behind on my translations, and I just plain suck. Languages take me a long, long time.
- Gospels and Jesus midterm next week. I need to catch up on my readings. A whole bunch of textbook readings, and I need to read the Gospel of Luke and the Gospel of John. I just read the Gospel of Matthew tonight, took about 2.5 hrs. Ugh, so long!
- I gotta get crackin on my other two papers: Old Testament and Gospels n Jesus. Think think think, write write write.

Adios,
Kev

Ugh

Being sick sucks.

Being sick--and having to write a midterm--sucks.
Being sick--and having to entertain relatives with little kids--sucks.
Being sick--and having to write a term paper--sucks.
Being sick--and having to prepare for cell group--sucks.
Being sick--and having to study for another midterm--sucks.



Being sick, and having to write a midterm, entertain relatives with little kids, write a term paper, prepare for cell group, study for another midterm...

Screwed

I'm screwed.

I have to submit a draft of my research paper by this weekend, probably Friday or Saturday.

Our assignment is to interpret a sacred space in the city of Vancouver.

My space is St. Helen's Catholic Church in North Burnaby.

I went to Sunday Mass last week for some hands on research.

I had a proposed theory before going in last week.

I have spent the last week realizing that my theory is vacuous bullshit.

Suffice to say, I haven't written a single word yet.

I'm screwed.

So, utterly, screwed.


God shave me.
-Kev

Keep Your Mouth Shut

I'm sitting in Scarfe, trying to translate a letter written by the Roman Emperor Claudius - tough shit, believe me.

Beside me two asian ladies are having a conversation.

It's about creation and evolution.

The one girl is telling the other that Darwin became a Christian later on in life, and he repented and regretted having ever made the theory of evolution.

I'm sorry lady, but that is pure bullshit.
Darwin never converted later in life.
Darwin never regretted his theory of evolution.

I bet one of the girls has had evangelism training. She's got her Bible with her. She's pumping out the Gospel of John. She's got all the lines: "can you see air? can you see radio waves? can you see an invisible God?" She even has evangelistic tracts. Yep - she's definitely had the evangelism training.

You want to tell people about Jesus? Be my guest; he's an important dude. The story of his life changes people's lives to this very day. And walking in his Way is a choice I myself have made for my own life. But, please, don't spread hearsay and false stories to try and convert people. If Jesus is worth anything, he can attract people on his own merits. He doesn't need people to lie for him.

But, alas, I keep my mouth shut.

-Kev

P.S. Why do people bother? Evolution is a damn good theory. It makes sense of a LOT of data that we have (geological, biological, etc...). It does exactly what a theory is meant to do: explain the data. And it does this much more gracefully than Creationist attempts, with much less conjecture. I smell another post?

A New Semester

A new year, a new term: new profs, new classes. Here's the run down:

BIOL 201 - Biochemistry:
I heard this class isn't too harsh so long as you stay on top of the material. A BIG plus is that the tutorial is drop-in, i.e., not required. Sweet. I wasn't a big fan of the BIOL 200 tutorial. This class has a midterm and a final exam.

CHEM 205 - Physical Chemistry:
Thermodynamics, kinetics, and spectroscopy. Disgusting material. I don't want to do it - I don't care about it. But it's a requirement, so I have no choice. Weekly quizzes (WebCT I think), midterm, and final exam.

GREK 325 - New Testament/Hellenistic Greek:
Continuation of a full year course. I did very well first semester. Now we are going to be reading more Hellenistic texts and less NT texts. I guess that's cool because it gives me a nice spectrum of ancient Greek. Midterm and final exam.

RELG 304 - Creation and Covenant in Ancient Israel:
This class looks like a great one. It covers the Pentateuch in depth (i.e., Genesis to Deuteronomy). We will be learning different critical approaches to the texts. The focus is on the twin themes of creation and covenant, and how they are used in the Pentateuch, and the Hebrew Bible in general. Short essay (10 pages), midterm and final exam.

RELG 414 - Gospels and the Historical Jesus:
This is one of the two main classes I want to take for my religious studies major (the other being 'Paul of Tarsus'). This class looks like it's going to be amazing. The professor (Dr. Cousland) is so jovial and funny - just a great lecturer. The textbook looks great, and the material we're going to be covering is exactly what I was looking for. One paper (15 pages), a midterm and a small midterm on the last day of class; no final exam.

RELG 370 - Theory and Method in the Study of Religion:
Continuation of last semester. Last semester, we learned different theoretical approaches to interpreting religion. This semester, we need to go to an actual sacred space in Vancouver, and analyze that space using the theoretical knowledge we learned. I already have a place in mind (the Catholic Church across the street from my Church), and I think I know which theoretical approach I want to use (Otto and phenomenology). I've taken out a couple books from the library already - I want to get an early start on this paper. One paper (12 pages) only; no exams.

So that's the outlook for this term.

Looks good, but very, very busy.

I need to get started on stuff early; there's no way I can cram all this stuff the last month. No way!

Cheers,
Kev