Argh!!!!

[tylik]

So the Chem department called me back today. Now, the only thing I wanted to know from them is whether or not I'd be barred from taking the classes I wanted as a non major. But of course, that would be too simple.

So, after bitching me out for having too many credits (what the fuck is this! Four years, fucking four years, and I had ever intent and reason to believe I'd graduate that last quarter, my *department* screwed up... if one more person starts acting like I'm evil incarnate for taking too many classes... well, I'll probably post another overwrought rant. Excuse me.)

Anyhow, according to the Chem department, in order to get the background I want, I'll have to take three years of chemistry. Because I never took introductory chem. (Hell, it's a miracle I took high school chem, considering that I was only in highschool that one year.) I have some theories about how I might get around this, but they mostly fall into "taking classes as a non matriculated student" or "lying about pre-reqs, and/or begging instructors permission". (The latter of which has long been a favorite tactic of mine...)

Meanwhile, it's looking like it probably is in my best interest to take a couple of quarters before I officially graduate, which means I'm going to look at taking Chinese lit classes to fill those requirements, rather than transferring over Central Asian Lit classes (which I'd have to appeal to do, but is probably possible). (And should count, considering that the Uighur PhD candidates I took Central Asian lit classes with decided that the only way I'd even learn Chinese is if I practice regularly... and never spoke another word of English to me again. I miss them.)

So now we get to the next hitch. One of the reasons I've avoided dealing with the graduation issue this long is that I'd really like to take the revolutionary lit series -- Lu Xun in Chinese, that sort of thing. (I have quite the crush on Lu Xun, considering he's been dead for some seventy years...) As far as the department cares, I could take Chinese Lit in translation. However... as a matter of personal pride, I don't really want to get that degree in such a lame fashion. Until recently, I figured I'd have to go back and retake third year, or something, to get back up to a reasonable level of proficiency.

(dianthus and craigp both remember the last time I was taking Chinese lit in Chinese. Mind you, at that point I'd just skipped fourth year to petition the professor to let me take those classes. It was easily thirty hours a week of work. Easily the hardest single class I've ever taken. One of the most satisfying, though.)

But... my reading is getting better. I could concievably, say, take an independant study this summer to try to get myself into a useful state again, and then hit the lit classes (which probably won't even be the right ones) next fall. But it's still probably be a really, really heavy courseload -- I'm not sure three months of independant study will really get me to a useful place, and the only reason I survived as well as I did last time is that there were four of us who skipped fourth year together (the fourth year teacher is insane) and we studied together and shared translation notes several times a week. And this would be on top of the martial arts classes (I have my priorities, after all), whatever lab work I'd be taking, and either bio or chem classes.

Part of me thinks it sounds like fun, but honestly, I'm not sure if I'm up for that. Yet, anyway. (And all that, and I still wouldn't be taking any more classical. That really bites.)

Okay, Monday I go in to the U, and talk to the genetics people (who hopefully will tell me the chem people are full of crap) and then I guess I should talk to the Chinese department. (Gah. Independant study. Gah. Actually, I've enjoyed them in the past... but it's not going to mean a weekly meeting with Linda Bierds, either... I wonder if Boltz would take me on? He even teaches classical now, but classical isn't what I need... Heh. Ablahat always said if I really wanted to learn classical, the best thing to do was sit down and make myself read through Hong Lou Meng until I got used to the idiom -- it's technically colloquial, but in a much more classic style -- and go from there. Maybe I have my indepedant study. Maybe I should just slit my wrists and save them all the trouble.)