General Discussion Thread

[Purple Wyrm]

So apparently I messed up my lesson schedule. Since I don't have a real planner I had to write the dates down in a notebook and I put an extra day in April, so now I'm behind. Wheee

I still have nightmares about that kind of thing. You have my sympathies

[viola]

I still have nightmares about that kind of thing. You have my sympathies

Same. I still have nightmares about going to the wrong class in high school and not having any textbooks or homework. I also have nightmares about my landlady being a serial killer..........

[Purple Wyrm]

Same. I still have nightmares about going to the wrong class in high school and not having any textbooks or homework.

Nods

I also have nightmares about my landlady being a serial killer..........

OK, I can't say I have that particular problem 

[urbicande]

Nods

OK, I can't say I have that particular problem 

Ah, so who IS the serial killer in your nightmares?

[Auxivele]

So the fire alarm went off three times while we were taking our exam. Thank you universe, as if the questions weren't tough enough already. It was probably related to a gas leak we had last week, which also caused them to evacuate the school. This probably wouldn't have happened if we used the old testing center, but we can't for reasons I'm not sure of.

AP US History. My least favorite variety of history just because of how many times I've taken some variation of it. I have about 20-ish lessons left, most of them are just required reading but I have 2 essays and 2 DBQ's left, along with a few short answer questions and 3 tests. I have a schedule of what I need to do what day, but the last day has a whole lot of stuff crammed in it and I'm not sure if I'll be able to get it all done. This is coincidentally why I have been writing essays at the speed of light and telling everyone about it in the LMoH thread as motivation.

Thought you might be taking US, I am too. I have no idea how I'm going to finish all of the essays before we run out of time... Good luck on finishing your assignments! But it's probably more important to get enough sleep before the test than trying to cram everything in that you might not even remember, so I guess just try not to work yourself too hard.

[viola]

So the fire alarm went off three times while we were taking our exam. Thank you universe, as if the questions weren't tough enough already. It was probably related to a gas leak we had last week, which also caused them to evacuate the school. This probably wouldn't have happened if we used the old testing center, but we can't for reasons I'm not sure of.
Thought you might be taking US, I am too. I have no idea how I'm going to finish all of the essays before we run out of time... Good luck on finishing your assignments! But it's probably more important to get enough sleep before the test than trying to cram everything in that you might not even remember, so I guess just try not to work yourself too hard.

I never took US history, but I took European history. If you are running out of time on your essays just put a topic sentence, and bullet information to support it like an outline. They will give you some partial credit for that, and it's better than leaving a whole essay empty.

This year during my midterms we had the fire alarm go off... everyone started looking up the answers on their phones during the evacuation and we came back the next week to finish the test. *facepalm*

[Purple Wyrm]

Ah, so who IS the serial killer in your nightmares?

No one!

Wait! Does that mean it's me?! 

[Fauna]

No one!

Wait! Does that mean it's me?! 

Of course. You are your own serial killer. You have murdered and physically dismembered you to better hide your corpse several times already, and you're actually in like the fifth level of afterlife. Your dreams are memories of the previous ones. And a warning to never turn your back on yourself... or sleep while you're around 

[Fimbulvarg]

I also have nightmares about my landlady being a serial killer..........

I've seen a few indications that my landlord might be one - lots of activity at night and so forth. Seeing as how he is a Kosovo Albanian* I try not to think about it.

*Disclaimer: most Kosovo Albanians are upstanding people and not into organ theft and trafficking, but I'm pretty sure most Kosovo Albanian serial killers are.

[Noodles]

OK SO
I might get to volunteer with the uni botanic gardens as a person who goes and gets samples of specific plants, which would be a REALLY COOL JOB
(some of the other potential options are “person who looks at the map of where all the plants are supposed to be and where the plants are irl and makes sure they match,” “person who files specimens for the herbarium,” and “person who sorts and labels rare plant seeds for the herbarium” all of which sound like fantasy rpg jobs and all of which i want)

HOWEVER
it wants to know why i want to volunteer with them, and i am having trouble translating the above into Professional Volunteer Speak
here’s what i’ve got: “I love plants and conservation, and would like to use the plant identification skills that I have and gain new ones. I also enjoy working on detailed, methodical tasks, which seems well suited to these jobs” and then idk where to go from there
someone please help me I'm a mess and don't know how to make myself look cool

[Sc0ut]

OK SO
I might get to volunteer with the uni botanic gardens as a person who goes and gets samples of specific plants, which would be a REALLY COOL JOB
(some of the other potential options are “person who looks at the map of where all the plants are supposed to be and where the plants are irl and makes sure they match,” “person who files specimens for the herbarium,” and “person who sorts and labels rare plant seeds for the herbarium” all of which sound like fantasy rpg jobs and all of which i want)

HOWEVER
it wants to know why i want to volunteer with them, and i am having trouble translating the above into Professional Volunteer Speak
here’s what i’ve got: “I love plants and conservation, and would like to use the plant identification skills that I have and gain new ones. I also enjoy working on detailed, methodical tasks, which seems well suited to these jobs” and then idk where to go from there
someone please help me I'm a mess and don't know how to make myself look cool

Your reasons and phasing seem perfect to me. I've done a bunch of voluteering too and as far as I can tell, people are happy for the help and don't need to be wooed like you would for a job interview. That "why do you want to do this" is probably there to weed out wildly inappropriate people. And maybe so you can say "I need this for Uni" or such.

I have an etiquette question myself: is it reasonable to ask that my roommate gives me a heads-up when people with pets drop by?

Asking because my roommate has this friend who has a HUGE dog. I didn't know about the friend or the dog until one day when I knocked on roommate's door to ask something and, when I went in, this dog came out and pretty much almost hugged me (set its paws on my shoulders). It's as tall as I am when it stands on its hind legs. Now, I love dogs and I'm not allergic or anything, but even so, it wasn't a very good moment just because it was so unexpected, and the dog's size. I let it slip that time, but something similar happened again yesterday, when I came out of my room and had Huge Unexpected Dog bark at me from the kitchen. Due to some unpleasant experiences with roommates, I'm never sure what is a reasonable request or what's me being a jerk, so I thought I'd ask for some outside opinions on this. It's just a minor inconvenience after all (the dog is friendly and well-behaved) and I wouldn't want to strain my relationship with my roommate over this.

[Róisín]

Noodles: that sounds like a wonderful opportunity! And what you have put down sounds perfectly adequate. I train and supervise volunteers at our community garden, and have done so in assorted national parks, conservation and restoration projects, bushfire recovery projects and wildflower gardens, and I would be quite happy with what you have said as reasons for volunteering. I agree with Sc0ut; I reckon they will be happy to get you as a volunteer. Good luck!

Sc0ut: I think it is quite reasonable to ask your roommate to give you warning of the presence of the dog, even if only on the level of a quick tap on the door and a mention that X and his dog have just arrived. This would be good both for you and for the dog, since it's quite possible that you might otherwise leave something lying about which may be dangerous to the dog (chocolate, tobacco, onions and tubes of oil paint spring to mind). And it is always unwise to startle a large animal, even a well-trained and friendly one (says the person who was once knocked out by a large friendly dog leaping up and embracing her).

[Sc0ut]

Thank you, Róisín! That's what I was thinking too - the dog was obviously startled when it barked, like it wasn't aware of my presence, and I don't think surprising big animals is a good idea.
Also, I had no idea onions were bad for dogs (or rather that they show any interest in it), thanks for the tip. There's always onion lying around in our kitchen, I'll put it away.

[Athena]

Noodles, that sounds absolutely awesome!! I hope you get the job!!

[Shine]

May the Fourth be with you, people!