Daily life

[mari4212]

I think I'll write about today, and then do a separate entry for the Elizabeth Weir essay.

Latin class was fun, our teacher put up a lot of sentences on the board and had us translate them quickly to see how we were adjusting to Latin word order and getting information about sentence structure from endings. I was pretty good at getting the translations done, so yay me.

Physics was interesting, as I found out that I hadn't done the homework because it was up on the webpage. The one I never check unless I hear we have homework, because I don't like it and can't learn well from it. However, considering that I have recieved zeros for my other work on there for differences in rounding, I'm thinking that all that would have been different if I'd known about the homework would have been my frustration level last night. Really, the class isn't all bad, but it will never be my favorite subject, and I can't wait for it to be over.

The Anatomy test was interesting, as I think it was more in depth than the class. I know I did reasonably well on it, but I've had college bio, and that gives me a better background knowledge than most of the people in the class have. Here's hoping they did well.

My Religion class had me bouncy. Lots of good reading and discussion, plus the moments when somebody said something that was unintentionally very funny and everyone started laughing hysterically. I've said it before, this class is saving my sanity.

As for the non-academic part of the day, I think I'm making better friends with this year's freshmen than I did my own grade. I've met a good group to interact with, as one of the leaders of that group is in every single one of my extra-curiculars. It's a good thing we've decided we like each other. Yay for geekiness.

And I had a nice long phone call with my mother. It's so easy to talk to her, and I think a large portion of that is that I get a large portion of my personality from her. We understand each other very well, and it's good to be able to have that sort of unwaivering security net that she provides. And if she actually reads this entry, she's probably started to blush by this point.

Comments

[hermionesviolin.livejournal.com]

I think I'm making better friends with this year's freshmen than I did my own grade.

:) That seemed to be the story of my every year at college (replace "first-years" with "non-first-years" for my first year at college).

[mari4212.livejournal.com]

Yeah. I can never quite understand my peer group. Ask me to relate to adults, I'm fine. Ask me to work with people younger than I am, and we'll have a blast. My immediate peers? We're friendly, and we don't interact that much. Very different interests. The group of freshmen I'm making friends with are all geeks, so we've got that in common.

[hermionesviolin.livejournal.com]

I'm usually all about people who are older than me, but since I wasn't close friends with my yearmates in my house, each year I would check out the new first-years. And now I'm graduated and I've managed to retain ties to representatives of probably every class I interacted with during my 4 years at Smith.

[ljmckay.livejournal.com]

Ask me to relate to adults, I'm fine. Ask me to work with people younger than I am, and we'll have a blast. My immediate peers? We're friendly, and we don't interact that much.

I'm the same way. There are several juniors, a few sophomores, and the occasional freshman that I get along with far better than fellow seniors and, well, adults are almost a given. Go figure.

It's so easy to talk to her, and I think a large portion of that is that I get a large portion of my personality from her.

That's wonderful! Not everyone can say that, that's for sure. I know I'll grow out of it, but interacting with my mother is very difficult right now. Ironically, I get most of my personality from my dad, who is very easy-going, but the competitive part I get from my mom. Of course.

And I'm glad your Anatomy test was better than the class itself!

[mari4212.livejournal.com]

I'm not at all competitive, so that probably helps. And luckily, the personality traits we share tend to be those that lend themselves to getting along with people. We're both middle children, and there are certain pressures in being that that do shape the personality. We have to be the peacemakers, the ones who ease the family dynamics, so we tend to understand where the other person is coming from.

I don't get that much from my Dad, aside from an interest in religion and science. Mom says my intelligence comes from him, but our family skews upwards on the intelligence factor, so it probably comes from both of them. I actually think that's a great deal of why Dad and I are not incredibly close for our family. I love him, and he unquestionably loves me, but we have very different perspectives on things, so we don't always get each other.

[ljmckay.livejournal.com]

That's so opposite of our family. But very cool. I love different family dynamics! It always amazes me how many different ways there are to get along and produce wonderful but varied children.

(Wait, that sounds weird. Um, the intent is there but the brain is not really connected to the fingers...)

[mari4212.livejournal.com]

I think I understood it. Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations.

I watched too much Star Trek growing up if that is where my brain automatically goes.

[mari4212.livejournal.com]

That sounds like it has a lot of good points. I never understood how anyone could want to restrict their pool of friends based on trivialities like age. People who are different give you so many new perspectives.

Does that even make sense? It's getting pretty late for me.

[ljmckay.livejournal.com]

Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations

That's exactly it!

I watched too much Star Trek growing up if that is where my brain automatically goes.

Well, I wouldn't have known if you hadn't told me. And it's not too much TV, it's an allusion to popular culture! ;)

[mari4212.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, I tend to not understand popular culture, I go back to the original source.

I'm blaming my parents, we all watched Trek as a family, I've watched it since I was five.

[hermionesviolin.livejournal.com]

Nope, that totally made sense.

[hermionesviolin.livejournal.com]

"Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations" is a Trek thing? I've never heard that phrase in any context and I grew up on TNG and rewatched it all a couple summers ago.

[mari4212.livejournal.com]

Technically it's a Vulcan thing. It was referred to more often in the books, suposedly it's part of Surak's teachings.

[hermionesviolin.livejournal.com]

Ah. My only extra-canonical Trek exposure is fanfic, so that would explain it.

[mari4212.livejournal.com]

Star Trek fanfic was what got me into fandoms.

Actually, learning that there were Star Trek stories online was what got me to actually use a computer when I was younger. Up until seventh grade I refused to use a computer unless I was forced to. They hated me and the feeling was mutual.

[hermionesviolin.livejournal.com]

*laughs*

I never had any real aversion to computers. My introduction to fandom was YahooGroups discussions after BtVS Season 4 and along with entering college I soon fell full into fandom -- though I didn't leave the Joss Whedon universe for years, and his texts are still my hardcore primary fandoms.

[mari4212.livejournal.com]

Oh, it was the computers that had an aversion to me. I only needed to sit down at one and it would crash.

We've reached a truce these days.

I loved Buffy and Angel, but Whedon Babylon Fived me by killing off my favorite character and forcing my second favorite character to live miserably till his own death.

And over the summer I was watching DS9 reruns and coming to the conclusion that Dr. Bashir is the optimist's version of Wesley's character. They start out in a similar spot, and some of their character development is scarily similar, but Bashir gets the happy ending.

[hermionesviolin.livejournal.com]

I've heard good things about B5 and really must acquire it from the library at some point. (I should also check out DS9 at some point. And one day I will write the Bashir/Data fic which the TNG crossover episode gave me a bunny for. Your comparison to Wesley makes me particularly intrigued to check out canon!Bashir since I think Wesley's character arc was the greatest triumph of Mutant Enemy.)

Am guessing your second favorite character was Wesley. Which leaves the favorite as . . . Fred?

[mari4212.livejournal.com]

Yep. I loved who she was and what she represented.

Actually, given your interest in stories that get retold, you'd probably enjoy B5. It's really a mythology, and the whole series has a strong arc.

Artistically speaking, narratively speaking, Wesley's arc was great. Speaking out of empathy for the character, it could not have been that much fun to live through.

Bashir is definitely worth checking out. I also think you'd enjoy Sisko's growth and development.

[hermionesviolin.livejournal.com]

*nods* I was far more unwillingly to forgive Joss for killing off Tara because I hated the Willow-spiral that followed whereas Fred's death was followed by the amazingness that was Illyria.

Mmmm, you're definitely doing a good job of selling me on B5 :)

Speaking out of empathy for the character, it could not have been that much fun to live through.

Well of course. But for whom in the Whedonverse is that untrue?

[mari4212.livejournal.com]

But for whom in the Whedonverse is that untrue?

No one that I can think of. And I'm sentimental, I want my characters to have a happy ending if at all possible.

I didn't really like Willow in the later seasons, starting around season five. Which is a shame, as she and Giles were my favorite characters in the earlier episodes. I liked it when she admitted her faults and had insecurities.

[hermionesviolin.livejournal.com]

Oh if you want happy endings, Joss Whedon is so not the man for you.

I have never and probably will never forgive Willow for Season 6 -- for what she did to Tara far more than for Warren. (Though I also hate the writers for the magic-crack arc that began with such potential and turned into such a sledgehammer.)

Early!Willow was an insecure dork, so if I had to pick a character to identify with it would have been her, but Tara just clicked with me and I was like, "Oh, so this is what people mean." I had also come to really love Giles. (I always tend to prefer people older than me, plus Giles had the whole librarydork thing going for him.)

[heylittleriver.livejournal.com]

It's so easy to talk to her, and I think a large portion of that is that I get a large portion of my personality from her. We understand each other very well, and it's good to be able to have that sort of unwaivering security net that she provides.

You know, that just gave me a nice happy feeling. I'm glad you guys get along so well - it's very sweet.

[mari4212.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I noticed that. But I got involved with the characters before they all ended up with severely unhappy lives, and I couldn't just abandon them. Hey, I stayed with JAG until the end, and that show should have ended three seasons before it did.

Yeah, that arc just angered me after a while. I got teed off with her for what she was doing to herself, and angry with everyone else for not intervening on a positive level with her. It seemed like they either ignored the evidence, or came on so strongly that they put her on the defence.

I had issues with the sixth season in general, I didn't like what the characters turned into. At that point the only ones I really liked were Giles and Tara.

Tara was wonderful. I don't actually really identify that much with any of the Whedon characters, I'm a bit too happy I think, so I don't get that click in this universe.

[mari4212.livejournal.com]

Glad it makes you happy. I like that too, it means I always have someone who understands me and is willing to go to bat for me.

[hermionesviolin.livejournal.com]

:) There's a lot about Tara that isn't me, but I saw myself in her in a lot of ways and just really loved her. (I tend not to "identify" with characters in books/movies/tv period.)

I loved the potential for Buffy/Spike in early Season 6 and continued to love it a lot throughout the season, but I got frustrated that it, too, became a heavyhanded metaphor rather than a nuanced narrative organic to the characters.

I thought Giles' leaving was done in a way that made a lot of sense in the world of the story and was impressed (since I knew it was happening because ASH wanted to spend more time in England with his family) but it was so the wrong decision, which he should have known from when he left the first time.

[mari4212.livejournal.com]

I rarely do identify completely with a character. I think part of this is that I'm mainly a sci-fi fantasy fan, and the characters, especially the women, tend to be rather stock characters, and none of them work as me.

I was willing to give Buffy/Spike a chance, but I found it to be too abusive and unhealthy on both parts. Neither one was getting what they needed from the relationship in the sixth season, and it was hurting both of them.

Giles' leaving made sense for the character, but it was absolutely the wrong decision in regards to the other characters. He was their anchor and their lodestone, and without him everything spiraled out of control.