(no subject)

the combination if impending exams and pms is not my friend. not at all. all i could do yesterday was eat and be annoyed at my books. i studied most of the day but didn't get nearly as much out of it as i should have. i did, however, eat a whole bag of barbecue potato chips and some soy dream. awesome.

i hate hate hate the book i got on schenker analysis - which is the one the school recommended. ugh. bad sign. it's awfully arranged and awfully written. and makes me think schenkerian analysis is generally a bunch of pointless crap. which doesn't seem to be the most popular opinion in the world of music theory so perhaps this book just isn't doing its job well.

i'm going to try to go to the school today, i think. i want to look at a book and cd they have about ethnomusicology. it's complete crap that there's an ethnomusicology section on the exams anyway. who are they trying to fool? these are degrees in western music, straight up. i suppose i can generally appreciate the goal of being more inclusive. but this seems like tokenism to me. one third of one of the five exams deals with all music not from the western classical tradition. that's insulting, really. ethnomusicology is its own entire field. so, really, i think this is lame.

***

thanks for your responses and comments on yesterday's poll. i'm going to start the trimming of the flist soon. ::heartbreak:: here's a thing, though,

anyone who wants to read this journal is welcome to do so. thus, if i unfriend you (and then friends lock) but you want to keep reading, just tell me and i'll add you back.

my decision will be based on things like how well we know each other, how much interaction we've had and how likely i think it is that you're actually reading this journal. so if i'm wrong or i make a mistake, just tell me. i'll add you right back, no problem.

(no subject)

ok. in her recent e-mail to me, friend rachel said,  Don't worry about exams; many people don't study at all, and in my opinion, you're ahead of the game and smart, so I think you'll do well.  I stressed more than I needed to and ended up being a little sick for the beginning of my first year.  Don't let that happen - if you fail any of them, you can retake the test.  No biggie.  If you're limited with time, I would screw the post-tonal one; or if you have time maybe just read the first two or three chapters of that Straus book.  But I really think relaxing and settling in to your new place is more important!

a. i love her. she's always saying these helpful kinds of things.

b. ok. that's what i'll do. i'll keep studying but from now on, no more freaking out. if i don't pass any of these tests, fine, i'll take them in january when i've been in school for six months, instead of out for 3 years. yes.

oh, that feels better.