Here We Go Again...

Well, it looks like my moment of asylum from the evils of academia is coming to an end.

Yes, that is right- classes commence on Monday.

Plus side? I thought today was Sunday…so, I get an extra day of reprieve to prepare my weapons for battle.

Part of this preparation involves reading the first two chapters/lecture slides for two of my classes (so, two chapters per class… 2 + 2 = copious amounts of torture)

While attempting to wrap my head around my new economics class (will explain about the course later) and realizing that I have not had a math course in two years, I had a mild brain aneurysm- the vessel’s walls were bombarded with hideous logarithmic artillery. The volley was endless, horrifying, painful and… I digress.

But here, look:

Beveridge Curve. Noun. The result of a child's, or PD patient's, work regarding the relation of unemployment to job vacancies.

It actually makes sense, so that is at least a good sign…or a sign that I have fallen down the rabbit hole.

Where was I? Ah…yes. Termination of Joy, Revival of schedules, course work, sleepless nights, etc.

Gotta love college.

Has anything interesting happened since my Wal-Mart post?

That would be a heck no.

So…I guess I will just inform you about the classes I have this quarter:

Labor Economics
Description: A course involving economics in relation to the labor market (in particular, the European labor market). Mass amounts of equations, bleeding eyes, and graphs.

Managerial Accounting and Information Management
Description: A course about accounting from a manager’s perspective. It involves figuring out assets, expenses, cost of goods sold, etc. for the subunits of a corporation. My ears will probably go deaf after the lectures, and my eyes will go blind (although due to bleeding from economics or blind from boredom…I have yet to discover).

OH! There is this adorable puppy a few houses down. I have no idea what kind it is, a mix of a pitbull and something else. But it looks like it got into a fight with a paint can and lost…anyways, I am going to steal it and call him Phillip (Phiona if it a girl). We will frolic through the park and go on epic quests to battle the rogue geese near the pond. It will be lovely.

That is all from the N’lands. I will update when I have my first classes and my interpretation of imminent life or death is in more perspective.

LOVE

Home Sick?

I was feeling a little home sick today, so I decided to reunite myself with America's greatest pastime- our trips to Wal-Mart.

Turns out…not so homesick anymore.

Enjoy.

(Save a horse, ride a...?)

YYYESSSSSSS!!!!

awesome. I want to be this guy's friend.

Remebering my nationality after seeing these images put quite the smile on my face.

Sometimes, I am super proud to be an American.

Dashed Dreams

(title sounds kinda 'emo'- rack it up to my bottled teen-angst issues)

Hola Mi familia!

Last day of exams was today...and the horror that was my grades being smashed up against the wall like a little rag doll, helpless for assistance (too much?) seemed like it was put on hold...until I got home.

Let me explain:

...I literally sat down at the exam, and wrote non-stop for two hours and fifty-nine minutes. Holy goodness. 8 pages, top to bottom, front to back, covered in ink. Started with one pen, changed to another, then another...my test was a beautiful multi-colored (if black (technically not a color) and blue count as multi-colored...which it doesn't...just sayin') creation, handed down from the gods.

Or so I thought.

Once I returned home, and was resting in my lofty tower (a.k.a. bed) I realized something horrible...I forgot NPV. I freakin' forgot about NPV!

Thus, my beautiful creation is now a dripping mess of nonsense.

*melodramatic tear*

What I thought was going to be a glorious triumph may perhaps end in a perilous failure. NPV, for today, you were my Achilles heel.

Yet, I am sure I passed. So...yay for that. (Although the exam gods were out to make it difficult- last night my internet decided to commit suicide. Thankfully I have a wonderful person here who goes by the name of KNIGHT SÉBASTIEN who printed out my class’s lecture slides, and brought them to me upon his white steed (a.k.a. car)…thank goodness…would have been completely doomed had he not saved the day)

I will now cease the drama, and await my actual test scores…
At least I know I did not do this bad:




Always a bright side!

Thus ends the tale of Taylor's Exam Freak-Out.

And as always, I love you all. Without your support, I most likely would have made friends with a roof-top and a sidewalk…

(are you thinking of me jumping? Silly people. No…I would have just lost my mind to the point where I would literally have befriended an inanimate object)

Okay! LOVE YOU!

EXAMS = CRUSHED SOULS

So...I am currently sitting in the glorious Economics and Business building computer lab. I have just survived (barely) my Managing International Business Organizations exam...

How did it go, you might ask?

Well...Let us all be grateful for a little thing called "resits".

resit. noun. When a student screws herself over by not understanding the material/being prepared, the university waves their magic "grade" wand, and allows the poor student to try again.

This will be happening at the end of June, I plan on partaking fully in it.

So...one exam down, two to go. My next one is Statistics for International Business and Management, which is in two hours. So...I have two hours to panic/try to see if this building has roof access as a last-ditch evasion maneuver.

Problem: Taylor's brain = mush that once consisted of helpful information yet now is a pile of pretty purple goo.

Hopefully it will solidify and reform in time.

Yet, after my Statistics exam (which will go from 2pm - 5pm) I must rush home, and begin studying (for the first time) for my Business and Supply Chain Marketing exam, which is tomorrow.

So...new question: How does one fit an entire semester's worth of information into 5-7 hours of studying?

answer: ...the three C's. Caffeine, Careful planning, and CRAMMING...



yet if those do not work, you can fall back on the 2 C's: Cry and self-Combust.

yikes.

Yet, after exams, I will celebrate! How, I do not know yet...but...somehow...perhaps with PANDA BREAD?!




Or perhaps I will steal a puppy for the day...

Or better yet- sleep.

Glorious idea. I know. Thank you.

Anyways- Uncle Bob and Aunt Carol- I saw your house!!! It looks SPECTACULAR! Can't wait for Christmas to see it!!!

Alright- I have procrastinated enough. Although my saturation point has been reached, I will perhaps nap upon my Statistics book and pray for osmosis.

As always, I love you all very much, and am counting the days until I can see you all again!!! (if you wanted to know, it's 101 days)

UPDATE: Just finished my Stat exam...it was painful. 3 of the 8 questions were of things I did not know...oh dear, oh dear, oh dear...

But I cannot focus on my already completed exams (as sad as they may be) right now, for I have another exam to study for...yes, evil Supply Chains, meet your maker!

Groningen Museum Visit...

So...while most museums have realist/impressionist art, the Netherlands marches to its own lil' messed up drum...

Which one of these is not like the others?

Susi and I are going to go to a Chinese restaurant for dinner, and then wake up at 4:30 to get her to the train station on time...(no worries Grandy...we will be safe!)...then it is study, study, study for me until the 19th and 20th!

yikes.

LOVE!

Fashion Strikes Groningen!

Hoi family!

Susi and I were going to go on an adventure to the museum and to the Martini Tower (giant tower you can go up and take pretty pictures in)...but they were closed...

Apparently everyone here continues to celebrate Easter on Monday…So, Susi and I have been rummaging my cabinets for food, and wandering the streets like homeless urchins…awesome!

While homeless, we came upon some glorious fashion choices.

Bald spot, pink shirt, red puffy vest and some killer flower rainboots (was not raining.)

...Awesome...

After discovering the beauty of costumes and…interesting outfit choices, we wandered some more, looked up movie times, and came back home. We will go out tonight for dinner, then see a movie (Alice in Wonderland 3D!) and then we will try and find some sort of a jazz café, and be all classy for the rest of the night.

Tomorrow, we will go to the museum, so get ready for some strange pictures from there!

I love you all!

EGGIES!

Here is Susi and my Easter tree and eggs!

Tree

The Easter bunny's gifts...he is so considerate.

My "owl" egg

My "winnie the pooh tree" egg

My "birdy" egg

Susi's "special" egg

Susi's "flag" egg

Susi's "decapitated head" egg

HAPPY EASTER!

HAPPY EASTER!!!

Well golly…It looks like another week has passed.

First of all…

HAPPY EASTER!

(creepy bunny Susi got for me)

I hope you all will have fun hiding/finding your eggs today…I will compensate by consuming an unreasonable amount of chocolate…YAY.

…hmm…updates?

Academics:
-classes are over…
-have two weeks to prepare for the exams…
- I hope for some sort of natural disaster/technical error to make test-taking impossible for the remainder of my visit…

Social:
Susi is here…

Other:
Lame week. Nothing happened…


Okay…so…What really has happened…Well, Friday was the flower market in the center, which is the day I took all the pictures you will see. Susi has family in Groningen (her German uncle married a Dutch woman, so they now live here, and have been here for many many many many years). On Friday we went to Susi’s uncle’s book signing at a local bookstore. Afterwards, we went to their house for dinner (cheese fondue…mmmmm).

Saturday we decided to make an Easter tree, because that is something they do around here (where you paint eggs, then hang them on a branch that has been cut from a tree)…yet we got distracted half-way through, so it is not finished yet. But we are going to have some delicious omelets today due to such an adventure (making an eater tree = adventure).

Now today is Sunday, we just woke up…and I have no idea what we will do.

Sorry for such a late post…I seem to not realize that a week has passed until it has...passed. yeah. Maybe if something super awesome/interesting would HAPPEN then I would write more…but nope…

Okay…I love you all, and Happy Easter!

The city center

The Academy building- This is where I went to get my classes figured out my first day

Susi.

Just some cheese in a local grocery store...no biggie.

SPICES!!!

The croweded Fish Market, with some super jolly policemen

The Martini Tower

Flowers at the flower market

A car near my house...