I just did a group presentation for this political science that's essentially studying game theory (without all the math). The problem, as it turns out, is none of the five of us (including myself) really read the book that discusses all this stuff because we're all rather busy. What we had done was look through the index to see what sort of articles and topics were discussed there to try and avoid repeating anything in the book, since the professor didn't want us rehashing any studies that were in the material we were supposed to have read.

Well, the index, being an index, isn't completely useful... So when we did our presentation (the subject was Nature vs. Nurture in Ultimatum Games), one of the key articles we presented was... a rehashing of something in the book. And worse, it was a rehashing of something on the 20th page of said book. Somehow none of us caught it... but, then, none of us really read it. So while the nature part of the presentation was good, the nurture part, which consisted entirely of that article, was not.

This is particularly worrisome because this really isn't something we need right now... We do have a chance to redeem ourselves through the group paper. I think we're just going to discuss the nature aspect of it and probably dig up a few more articles. The paper needs to be about 10-15 pages, but since it's a group paper, we only need to write 2-3 pages each. Granted, at least in my case, since I felt pretty useless throughout the whole thing (my articles weren't used for the presentation at all since they were basically rehashes of concepts in the book as well), I have no idea what to do. I'm sure we'll meet with each other during the weekend or something to try and work something out, but... still. I have a feeling that even if we do do really well on the paper, we'll still get marked off considerably for that screw up during the presentation. Suffice to say, I doubt we'll get an A for the project.

There is one plus side to this, however. Because it's so early in the year, it's probably good that we messed up when we did because it'd look really bad if we had messsed up later in the semester when we really were supposed to have had this read. Also, the project is only 20% of our grade, 10 for the paper and 10 for the presentation, so even with a lower grade, there's still a chance to get an A in the class.

However, the problem with this, at least for me, is that I have a million other papers and midterms to write and study for. And since working on this paper about Rwanda for my American foreign policy class, I've gotten woefully behind in the reading for all my classes. But even if I were caught up, I'd still have issues...

Next Friday I have a history paper due... for that India class I had considered dropping (and still consider dropping... depending on how things go.., though if things go really sour in this political science class I may just drop that one instead). Furthermore, I have about 2 papers due during the first week of march, and virtually all my midterms (about 4-5) during that week as well. I can't possibly catch up with reading and studying for all of them, especially not when I have papers to worry about. So yeah, I think I can safely say that at least so far this semester, I am certifiably fucked, and not in a good way.

....now watch me BS five As oout of my ass. Even if I really don't feel like that's going to happen right now.

P.S. No idea what this'll do for the Challange. I warned about this ahead of time, though, so I can't feel all that bad if I don't show (of course, I will anyway). I'll probably at least try, especially since I might need a break or something by that point. I dunno. If I do anything at all, I'll probably try my damnedest to write a quick review for practice's sake. Sometimes those turn out really well. =/

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	zippdementia - February 17, 2010 (06:03 PM) Ah yes, undergraduate school. The memories. I wouldn't worry too much about all this, WQ. Remember what I said before about undergraduate school. It's just there to teach you that stress is an awesome thing for Americans to have. As you probably know, this is one of those situations that no one can really help you out with, you're gonna have to beat it on your own. But know that you're not the first person to be there. I can relate so many stories of pre-graduate stress. But someone like you is bound to succeed. The key is to just organize to the max, lay out everything you have to do, come up with some things that can be cut out of that schedule, and then prioritize. Remember that it doesn't have to be great work, it just has to get done. That sucks for perfectionists like us, but that is the reality of undergraduate studies. I feel for ya, kid.
	Halon - February 18, 2010 (02:04 PM) I'm noticing a pattern in your blog posts: Throughout the semester: "I have so much work to do and I'm falling behind! Don't know what I'm going to do! Hopefully I'll make it through this and won't fail anything." At the end of the semester: "I got all A's." So you'll be fine ;)
	wolfqueen001 - February 18, 2010 (04:22 PM) Thanks, Zipp. I'll try to keep that in mind... It's just... difficult. heh. I really think colleges expect too much of us. I probably said this before, but it almost seems like a ploy to get us to stay longer and spend more money. =/ Sportsman: haha. I know, right? Well, every time I write up my doubts like this, I genuinely feel that this time's the worst it's ever been. In this case, it definitely feels that way, especially with just how... worn out I am. It's almost like the break didn't matter... In any case, I'll still try my best... and at least try to get Bs while hoping for As. I dunno.
	disco1960 - February 18, 2010 (10:15 PM) What? I thought C was passing.
	sashanan - February 22, 2010 (07:47 AM) I only developed my A student mentality years after I ceased being a student. I admire anybody who manages to get this sort of self discipline into them when it still matters - nowadays in the corporate world it's all I can do to clear my desk of the issues that keep stacking on it.
	zippdementia - March 01, 2010 (02:29 PM) As a side note, how come I've never seen any pictures of WQ? I just have this mental image of this woman sitting at her desk in school, looking slightly frazzled and surrounded by wolves.