And the first week is over...

Well, the first week of classes is over. You can usually tell how good, bad or busy a semester is going to be by the end of the first week, and I think mine is going to be pretty busy. Hebrew, as always, takes quite a bit of study. Vocation of Ministry has some weekly reading and weekly assignments, plus we have a group project to do. Steady work, but not bad. New Testament, on the other hand, is going to be tough. Lots of reading (we're reading dictionary articles, no less), papers, tests, weekly quizzes... it's going to be fun. At least I'm only taking 3 classes this semester, rather than four.

Still, we've taken time for a break. Friday night, Shannon and I went to Outback and then to see George Jones. The pre-show was the Conway Twitty musical, which we were both rather terrified of, but it ended up being more a retrospective on his songs and career rather than a song and dance jazzed up routine. Thank goodness. It was pretty good, actually, and I enjoyed the music. George Jones, legendary old-school country singer, came on next. While I enjoyed his part of the show, he did have some technical difficulties that made him almost impossible to hear on some songs. Plus, well... he's not young anymore. I could tell at the end of the show that he was really tired. But I'm still glad that we got to see him live in concert.

Saturday we rented a couple movies: Wall-E and The Bucket List. Wall-E was cute, despite the extreme environmental message, and The Bucket List was very good. The latter is a movie with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman; both men have terminal cancer with less than a year to live. They make what they call a "bucket list" - things they want to do before they kick the bucket. It's funny and sweet and moving... definitely recommended.

Sunday, we did homework. Well, you've got to do homework sometime...

Am I a fastidious spelling snob?

I like spelling things correctly. I get irritated at bad grammar. But I certainly don't go as far as these people.

The article talks about people who get irked at misspelled words and misplaced apostrophes. It tells stories of grammar vigilantes who run around their cities with whiteout and a black marker, valiantly waging war against careless writers. Not only are there stories of vandalism (such as marking up a menu or putting whiteout on a store sign), there's also a woman who called a business to inform them of their grammar mistakes and someone who refuses to patronize Krispy Kreme because of the spelling.

Yeah, I roll my eyes a bit at the spelling and grammar that businesses and people use, but I wouldn't start vandalising store signs and I certainly wouldn't let it keep from enjoying an occasional donut.

Oh, sorry. Doughnut.

A little, tiny break...

Well, we survived the snow and ice, and class is over. Phew. Of course, this week doesn't seem to slow down too much - there's work, plus wedding stuff to do, and I'm taking my Greek exam. So this week off between J-term and the spring semester isn't feeling much like a week off! I have been able to do a few things for fun, though... I finished a scarf I'd been working on for a friend (just the fringe left), and have read a bit for pleasure rather than school.

Though I really wouldn't recommend what I did the other day - read about decaying human cadavers (the book Stiff by Mary Roach) while eating breakfast. Not really the best idea I've ever had.

I've also started studying for my Greek Competency Exam, which is on Thursday. I'm a little surprised to see how much I've retained from college - a clear example of how things in long-term memory just need a little encouragement to come out again.

I hope.