A High Mark & Award Results | Blogging My Day
Today has been a wild ride to be perfectly candid. My head feels a little dizzy as I sit down to write this because my heart is full of so many emotions at present. I feel like today is a day I want to document and remember, even if you must excuse me for the lack of photos as I went along with my day. I decided that this day needed to be documented a little late but I will not let that deter me.
I had my final exam for the first semester of my Masters today. I've had a rather strained relationship with my exams and honestly, I was just longing for the whole thing to be over so I had a chance to start anew with a fresh semester and new lectures and topics. It wasn't that I hadn't enjoyed my current courses, in fact I liked the majority of them but I just felt too stuck and left behind in terms of the curriculum. I could blame everything on my three week pneumonia (even though it was definitely a real factor) but I took way too long to get my footing back after that.
I am not one of those students who push back exams just because they are inconvenient. That's not my style. It's probably because of how I know my mother would react if I were to ever do that. But from a logical stand-point, I would also feel bad because I know how expensive it is that students just push around their exams without permission. The only time I've ever had to push back exams, I applied for dispensation and I was granted it. In most instances, it doesn't solve problems just to postpone them and if you have to, then you have to have a damn good reason.
The two exams I did in December felt weird. I left my sit-in exam with a bad feeling in my gut and I worried if the 72 hour home exam was up to par. I got a D and a C respectively. I found my pace a little more in January, even if the handing in of the synopsis for this oral exam consisted of me procrastinating and being recalcitrant. The portfolio exam I handed in Saturday and I think that one went well, but I'll have to wait up to four weeks for the results. But in this oral exam today, I did much better than I had anticipated.
I always do better with oral exams, even if it might seem a little odd if someone knows how withheld I can be. However, I know oral exams are a performance and I step into the role of the level-headed student who has her shirt down - which to be fair - I do most of the time. Today, I might have pulled a little more bullshit and calculated guesses than I would prefer but I could feel it went well in there. My professor and censor were a bit unsure whether to give me the highest mark or second-highest but to my delight, they settled on the A. I was so taken aback that I think I just sat and blinked for about ten seconds while a smile crept up my face. And then I got to the feedback which was really useful and I'm so happy they took proper time to give me something constructive criticism to work with. We don't get any feedback other than a mark for written exams and often the feedback at the oral ones is rushed.
When my fellow students had asked me how it had gone as I exited to allow them to decide on my mark, I shrugged and said I wasn't sure. I tried to recount what they had asked me about to help the next person going in after me but as usual almost everything had fallen out of my brain the moment I stepped back out those doors. It might be a bit controversial but I really like the feeling right before and after an oral exam where you're chatting to your fellow students. It might not be someone you usually talk to but you do now because you're in the same boat and that creates a very special sense of camaraderie. Everyone is hopeful and crosses their fingers for each other. If someone exists and they are unhappy with their mark, then people are quick to comfort. It's lovely.
But it can be a pain in the arse if people linger too long after they've finished, unless they're waiting on a certain person. So I gathered up my stuff and headed to my student job to put in some hours before I had a shift for my receptionist job in the afternoon. It was nice to see my colleagues and obviously I got another round of congratulations, which is always nice. Also, apparently my boss just agreed with someone today that when someone's child gets an A they have to bring cake to the workplace. So obviously she was delighted to hear that I had gotten the same mark. I had actually planned to bake a cake in November because I'd been there for a year, so I better find my baking supplies and get cracking.
It's a nice atmosphere in that office and I think I'm so lucky that I work with some pretty great people. I often find myself frustrated with the work but the people are top notch. Today was a bit of a struggle to focus as the adrenalin from the post-exam rush started to wear off and a headache started to replace it. But I managed to do some productive work and have a nice and chatty lunch before heading onward to my receptionist job.
On the contrary, the work I do there is very easy. I can just sit and scroll through tumblr and chill when I'm not pointing people to different meeting rooms or occasionally helping with the tech. And now it's finally time for me to get onto the second topic in the headline! The Phanfic Awards is something that has been happening for five or six years now and it's community driven online awards "ceremony" where readers get to nominate and then vote for their favourite stories within the fandom. It's freaking cool and one of my stories - a monster long angsty beast of 100k+ words - had somehow gotten nominated in six different categories.
I was baffled to be on the ballots so many times. It didn't quite feel real and I kept just thanking everyone. It's such a cool thing and it was an honour just to be nominated but I did keep wondering if it would place in Top 3 for any of the categories as it was placed next to some pretty great stories. Today the results were revealed and it went much better than I could have hoped for. It got placed 1st in Fantasy, which I wasn't even sure if it belonged in that category but apparently fantasy is broader than just magic. Like it actually won a award? It's surreal. It also got 3rd place in Angst, which just makes me smile because I rarely write like hardcore angst and the one time I do, it gets bloody nominated and so appreciated. But - by far - the one I am most proud of is the 2nd place in Storyline, which is its last Top 3 placement. Even just to be nominated in that category made my heart soar because I took it like a huge compliment. This wasn't just about the genre, platform or universe - this was the actual storyline and twists and meticulous planning that people appreciated and it got freaking 2nd place!!
And I was just sat at my receptionist job when the result lists got post and as a result several people I've interacted with on tumblr reached out with congratulations. It's odd because they're objectively strangers on the Internet still but it's not quite true because you can get to talking or see how they answer asks or what they put in the tags of things they reblog. And in total roughly 500 people voted at the awards and my still unfinished story did so damn well. I'm so proud of it. It feels like a nice little acknowledgement to all the work and time that goes into creating stories and to hearing some of the people, who write wonderful online stories too, say that I'm talented and deserves the recognition touched my heart.
One might think that this would be a good point for someone with a social battery to go home and recharge after a long day with an exam, many work hours and emotional ranting on tumblr but I had agreed to go hang out with some of my best friends to watch Pitch Perfect films and eat pizza. I had wondered if it was a good idea to pack in an exam 2 times 4 hour work sessions and then a social hang-out but I was riding on the high of my unexpected high mark, so I frankly didn't care.
I arrived just in time for the pizzas and we buckled down and snuggled up to watch Pitch Perfect 2 and eat our pizzas. The two other girls had met up earlier to watch the first one as well but sadly I was stuck at work, so I would have to settle with only seeing the 2nd one. We've all seen both films numerous times but it's such a feel good and wonderful film and I had forgotten a lot of what was going on. It's such a nice thing to be able to just text (or in our case Snapchat) your close friends, arrange a casual hang-out on the day and then stick to it. I really like that we've gotten better at that. I say we, but I don't actually mean myself, as I'm horrible at doing that to this day. I'm lucky my friends are better at it. Pitch Perfect 3 is in theatres now and we need to figure out a day to see it, hence why we needed a "refresher" of the two first ones. I'm also meeting my older best friends next week and it has been absolutely ages, so I'm so looking forward to seeing them as well.
My friend who we were hanging out at has this adorable cat who is quite a bit odd. She's so different from all the cats I know from Money's stable but I think I might slowly be winning her affections. Or I'm just kitten myself - did I just make a pun? Oh my goodness, the brain fatigue is showing and it's increasingly likely that this post is going up just before midnight unedited because that's apparently how I roll here.
We hung out for over three hours watching the film, eating and just chatting and catching up. But I could definitely feel the heaviness of my eyelids and one of my friends had work in the morning, so we finished up a little after 10 PM and I went down to my scooter and took the drive home. My friend actually lives quite close to where I'll be moving soon and the realisation that my drive "home" would have been so different in like a month's time is still perplexing to me. I'm not sure if I've properly figured out that I'm moving yet.
It's a little like how I feel about exams. As I mentioned in the beginning of this post, I couldn't really wait to just say goodbye to the past semester and get a new shot at new courses. However, I feel like I still haven't properly realised that the dark cloud reminding me of the exams I should be working on has technically disappeared. But it'll hit me soon enough and I fully intend to enjoy my one and a half week holiday between semesters.
And I think this is where I need to end this post. It has been a very eventful day, filled with kind people and different types of congratulations and my heart feels warm even as my social battery blinks red. I think I'll cuddle up next to my dog and browse a few YouTube videos before I attempt to sleep to just wind down after such a busy day.
I had my final exam for the first semester of my Masters today. I've had a rather strained relationship with my exams and honestly, I was just longing for the whole thing to be over so I had a chance to start anew with a fresh semester and new lectures and topics. It wasn't that I hadn't enjoyed my current courses, in fact I liked the majority of them but I just felt too stuck and left behind in terms of the curriculum. I could blame everything on my three week pneumonia (even though it was definitely a real factor) but I took way too long to get my footing back after that.
I am not one of those students who push back exams just because they are inconvenient. That's not my style. It's probably because of how I know my mother would react if I were to ever do that. But from a logical stand-point, I would also feel bad because I know how expensive it is that students just push around their exams without permission. The only time I've ever had to push back exams, I applied for dispensation and I was granted it. In most instances, it doesn't solve problems just to postpone them and if you have to, then you have to have a damn good reason.
The two exams I did in December felt weird. I left my sit-in exam with a bad feeling in my gut and I worried if the 72 hour home exam was up to par. I got a D and a C respectively. I found my pace a little more in January, even if the handing in of the synopsis for this oral exam consisted of me procrastinating and being recalcitrant. The portfolio exam I handed in Saturday and I think that one went well, but I'll have to wait up to four weeks for the results. But in this oral exam today, I did much better than I had anticipated.
I always do better with oral exams, even if it might seem a little odd if someone knows how withheld I can be. However, I know oral exams are a performance and I step into the role of the level-headed student who has her shirt down - which to be fair - I do most of the time. Today, I might have pulled a little more bullshit and calculated guesses than I would prefer but I could feel it went well in there. My professor and censor were a bit unsure whether to give me the highest mark or second-highest but to my delight, they settled on the A. I was so taken aback that I think I just sat and blinked for about ten seconds while a smile crept up my face. And then I got to the feedback which was really useful and I'm so happy they took proper time to give me something constructive criticism to work with. We don't get any feedback other than a mark for written exams and often the feedback at the oral ones is rushed.
When my fellow students had asked me how it had gone as I exited to allow them to decide on my mark, I shrugged and said I wasn't sure. I tried to recount what they had asked me about to help the next person going in after me but as usual almost everything had fallen out of my brain the moment I stepped back out those doors. It might be a bit controversial but I really like the feeling right before and after an oral exam where you're chatting to your fellow students. It might not be someone you usually talk to but you do now because you're in the same boat and that creates a very special sense of camaraderie. Everyone is hopeful and crosses their fingers for each other. If someone exists and they are unhappy with their mark, then people are quick to comfort. It's lovely.
But it can be a pain in the arse if people linger too long after they've finished, unless they're waiting on a certain person. So I gathered up my stuff and headed to my student job to put in some hours before I had a shift for my receptionist job in the afternoon. It was nice to see my colleagues and obviously I got another round of congratulations, which is always nice. Also, apparently my boss just agreed with someone today that when someone's child gets an A they have to bring cake to the workplace. So obviously she was delighted to hear that I had gotten the same mark. I had actually planned to bake a cake in November because I'd been there for a year, so I better find my baking supplies and get cracking.
It's a nice atmosphere in that office and I think I'm so lucky that I work with some pretty great people. I often find myself frustrated with the work but the people are top notch. Today was a bit of a struggle to focus as the adrenalin from the post-exam rush started to wear off and a headache started to replace it. But I managed to do some productive work and have a nice and chatty lunch before heading onward to my receptionist job.
On the contrary, the work I do there is very easy. I can just sit and scroll through tumblr and chill when I'm not pointing people to different meeting rooms or occasionally helping with the tech. And now it's finally time for me to get onto the second topic in the headline! The Phanfic Awards is something that has been happening for five or six years now and it's community driven online awards "ceremony" where readers get to nominate and then vote for their favourite stories within the fandom. It's freaking cool and one of my stories - a monster long angsty beast of 100k+ words - had somehow gotten nominated in six different categories.
I was baffled to be on the ballots so many times. It didn't quite feel real and I kept just thanking everyone. It's such a cool thing and it was an honour just to be nominated but I did keep wondering if it would place in Top 3 for any of the categories as it was placed next to some pretty great stories. Today the results were revealed and it went much better than I could have hoped for. It got placed 1st in Fantasy, which I wasn't even sure if it belonged in that category but apparently fantasy is broader than just magic. Like it actually won a award? It's surreal. It also got 3rd place in Angst, which just makes me smile because I rarely write like hardcore angst and the one time I do, it gets bloody nominated and so appreciated. But - by far - the one I am most proud of is the 2nd place in Storyline, which is its last Top 3 placement. Even just to be nominated in that category made my heart soar because I took it like a huge compliment. This wasn't just about the genre, platform or universe - this was the actual storyline and twists and meticulous planning that people appreciated and it got freaking 2nd place!!
And I was just sat at my receptionist job when the result lists got post and as a result several people I've interacted with on tumblr reached out with congratulations. It's odd because they're objectively strangers on the Internet still but it's not quite true because you can get to talking or see how they answer asks or what they put in the tags of things they reblog. And in total roughly 500 people voted at the awards and my still unfinished story did so damn well. I'm so proud of it. It feels like a nice little acknowledgement to all the work and time that goes into creating stories and to hearing some of the people, who write wonderful online stories too, say that I'm talented and deserves the recognition touched my heart.
One might think that this would be a good point for someone with a social battery to go home and recharge after a long day with an exam, many work hours and emotional ranting on tumblr but I had agreed to go hang out with some of my best friends to watch Pitch Perfect films and eat pizza. I had wondered if it was a good idea to pack in an exam 2 times 4 hour work sessions and then a social hang-out but I was riding on the high of my unexpected high mark, so I frankly didn't care.
I arrived just in time for the pizzas and we buckled down and snuggled up to watch Pitch Perfect 2 and eat our pizzas. The two other girls had met up earlier to watch the first one as well but sadly I was stuck at work, so I would have to settle with only seeing the 2nd one. We've all seen both films numerous times but it's such a feel good and wonderful film and I had forgotten a lot of what was going on. It's such a nice thing to be able to just text (or in our case Snapchat) your close friends, arrange a casual hang-out on the day and then stick to it. I really like that we've gotten better at that. I say we, but I don't actually mean myself, as I'm horrible at doing that to this day. I'm lucky my friends are better at it. Pitch Perfect 3 is in theatres now and we need to figure out a day to see it, hence why we needed a "refresher" of the two first ones. I'm also meeting my older best friends next week and it has been absolutely ages, so I'm so looking forward to seeing them as well.
My friend who we were hanging out at has this adorable cat who is quite a bit odd. She's so different from all the cats I know from Money's stable but I think I might slowly be winning her affections. Or I'm just kitten myself - did I just make a pun? Oh my goodness, the brain fatigue is showing and it's increasingly likely that this post is going up just before midnight unedited because that's apparently how I roll here.
We hung out for over three hours watching the film, eating and just chatting and catching up. But I could definitely feel the heaviness of my eyelids and one of my friends had work in the morning, so we finished up a little after 10 PM and I went down to my scooter and took the drive home. My friend actually lives quite close to where I'll be moving soon and the realisation that my drive "home" would have been so different in like a month's time is still perplexing to me. I'm not sure if I've properly figured out that I'm moving yet.
It's a little like how I feel about exams. As I mentioned in the beginning of this post, I couldn't really wait to just say goodbye to the past semester and get a new shot at new courses. However, I feel like I still haven't properly realised that the dark cloud reminding me of the exams I should be working on has technically disappeared. But it'll hit me soon enough and I fully intend to enjoy my one and a half week holiday between semesters.
And I think this is where I need to end this post. It has been a very eventful day, filled with kind people and different types of congratulations and my heart feels warm even as my social battery blinks red. I think I'll cuddle up next to my dog and browse a few YouTube videos before I attempt to sleep to just wind down after such a busy day.
Comments
Post a Comment