The end begins.

The first week of my last semester is over.

All my life, I have gotten very depressed when an end approaches. I was depressed thinking about the end of elementary, junior high, and high schools, and especially about the end of my mission.

But I don't really get depressed thinking about the end of college. I don't know if that's because I've been burned out from homework, or if it's because I don't know what I'm doing after I graduate, so it doesn't seem real if there's nothing after it. Regardless, I don't feel depressed. Mildly sad, maybe, but not depressed. Which is a good thing, especially with lemits occurring this semester.

This semester looks like it will be my easiest yet.

I'm doing six credits of internship, which means I'm getting credit for working. It will be good for me to work more hours to replenish my bank account. I'm working 19 hours a week, because I don't trust myself not to go over 20, the max a student can work per week during a semester.

On Mondays and Wednesdays I have beginning weight training. I hate lifting weights, which is precisely why I'm taking the class. It's the third activity class I've had, and I'm not entirely looking forward to it, but I know it's good for me. It'll help me in my efforts to get rid of the Christmas candy that has decided to stick to my waist.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I have French 322, advanced French part 2. I took French 321 during summer 2012, so it's been a while. However, they have changed 321 and 322 since I took 321. It used to be that 321 was grammar and 322 was writing. But now they've spread it across both, which means I get some grammar and less writing. Which is fine by me, because I prefer the grammar. (In fact, I probably wouldn't have taken 322 if it were just writing.) My roommate Jordan is also in my class, so I have a built-in study pal. We vowed to speak French in the apartment, although we've only done that once so far. I had to meet with my professor so she could get to know us. She asked me what I plan to do with French. I said, "Rien." (That means "nothing.") I'm taking French because I like it and because it's my last chance to formally study a foreign language. It's more useful than Old English, anyway.

We have a lab on Fridays, which makes me a little sad because I thought I wouldn't have any Friday classes. But it's still practically not having classes on Friday.

On Friday night, BYU was showing a French film, Les Intouchables, for which I could get class credit. It was edited, so I went. But even though they said it was edited for BYU audiences, I still found it inappropriate. Sure, they deleted all the uses of #$%!, but they kept the dozens of uses of @&*^. And there were still lots of dirty jokes. I realize that my standards are not those of most people, but I found the "edited" movie excessively profane for a BYU activity. One of the primary reasons I watch cheesy, poor-quality shows (60s sitcoms, low-budget kid movies) is because they are clean, which this movie is not. I realize I'm probably sounding like a self-righteous Peter Priesthood. I'm not trying to. I was just surprised at the content I was seeing at a BYU event. (Jurassic Park, which I watched in my Dinosaurs! class, didn't fit my standards either, but I didn't find it too shocking for BYU.)

On Wednesday nights, I have a class about the publishing industry. I sacrificed Old English 2 for this class in the hopes that it will help me get a job. I think it will be a very boring class; it's a 2.5-hour lecture from a guest speakers. But it's only once a week, and we don't have to turn anything in. Also, we should have some interesting guests; this week will be Brandon Mull (not that I've ever read him). At the end of the semester we will have to say whether we did the assignments, which consist of watching videos and looking at websites. Some of the videos we had to watch were hour-long forums and conferences about publishing. Yes, they're as exciting as they sound. There was no way I was going to be able to stand watching those, so I just had them play in the background while I looked at pictures of snowflakes and crazy animals. (Glow-in-the-dark cockroaches?) I admit that I didn't pay the closest attention doing so, but I wouldn't have paid better attention if I had really watched the videos, because I would have been sleeping.

I have a geology seminar, but we haven't had it yet.

I'm also going to work for a student journal. On Thursday I went to a journal fair to find one. Last semester in my corpus linguistics class, I introduced myself with the interesting fact that I only eat seasonal desserts and candies. This trait fascinated the class, so they kept asking me about it, even to the point that it would eat into my presentation time. Therefore, I created a page on my class website to answer questions about it, but people would still ask me about it before class. At one of the tables at the journal fair on Thursday, there were two girls. One of them had been in that class. Before I left, she offered me some of the Christmas and Valentine candy they had on the table, but then she realized that maybe I couldn't have it. Then the other girl said, "Are you the guy who..." She had heard about me. She thought the other girl had told her about me. But then she asked if I had a website, but the first girl didn't know about that, so then I found out that the second girl had actually heard about me from another girl from that class, a girl who seemed more fascinated by my habits than anyone else was. I explained that it was too late for Christmas candy but too early for Valentine candy, but they told me I could take some Valentine candy to eat later. So I did, and I can eat it starting Wednesday. I found the whole transaction amusing--a girl I never met had heard about me because of my strange habit! I also found it amusing because I have this perception that people don't think or talk about me when I'm not around. 

With it being an easy semester, I'm going to spend time preparing for and applying to jobs. Yesterday I printed a book to put in my portfolio. I also have the feeling that I'm going to use my time frivolously; I may get reacquainted with my friend Mr. Hulu. (Mr. Hulu doesn't say #$%! or @&*^ around me.) Hopefully I'll be able to go running to supplement my lifting. (I tried twice this week, but both times I failed--once due to cold lungs and once due to a full stomach.)

I have no idea where I will be four months from now. Weird.