Academic roundup

Whew, my first week of classes are over. I'm up late (as usual), so I've decided to do a little run through of my academic projects for this semester:

1. Human Person & Grace: Should be a fantastic class with Dr. Fastiggi. Our primary text is Gaudium et Spes, so getting another V2 document solidly under the belt is a good thing (last semester Lumen Gentium was up to bat). We're also getting to do some relevant passages from Aquinas. woo-hoo!
2. Hebrew 2: I love this directed readings. Finally I'm getting to find out what all those hebrew phrases actually mean that I've heard spoken for so long. And being able to do etymologies for OT words? Always a winner.
3. Sacramental Life of the Church: Fr. Jones is teaching this class - and I can't think of a better professor to do it with. For one thing - he's a patristics scholar, so our emphasis in terms of documents will be primarily from the Church Fathers, so we are in excellent hands. Oh yeah, and Aquinas. woo-hoo-hoo!
4. Trinity & Christology: Yes, it's kind of insane to try to collapse two such huge topics into one 3-credit class, but this is also a Fr. Jones class, so we might actually take a good swipe at it. Anyone who was hired to do spiritual direction for St. Theresa's motherhouse in Calcutta must have it together, right?
5. Pauline Literature: I'm thrilled to be finally doing this course. Fr. Cassidy is having us read a 600 page treatment of Pauline theology along with his own book. Good times ahead. Funny story: One of his teaching techniques is to act out major dramatic events in Paul's life. So the first class we got the conversion experience - it was awesome.
6. Bioethics and the New Evangelization. Dr. Janet Smith in her area of speciality. Enough said. NB: We have one of the revamped class rooms for this one - it's fantastic, I'll bring my camera next time and take pictures. I feel so accredited when I'm in that classroom.
7. French Reading Exam: Being a classics minor at AVE, I don't need to do the Latin reading exam, but I do need to do at least one modern language for the MA. I chose French over German, mostly because my German skills are nich gutt.
8. Take two comp exams: I have to test out of two undergrad reqs (Liturgy and Sacraments + Intro to Church). If I succeed in passing these I could pass out of nine requirements for my MA in one semester. Rediculous(ly cool).
9. Re-memorize poems that I've forgotten: I'm getting rusty on my favorites. This can't stand. Unacceptable.
10. Re-memorize my favorite show pieces: My Joplin, classical and Irish are getting dangerously out of short-term (or finger) memory. The Sem has 4 Pianos - I ... have no excuse really.
11. Update this blog with edifying/amusing comments: stop by once in awhile. I'll be here.
12. Really cool ongoing project: *shh*.
13. Read around my classes: this will probably cease sometime close before midterms, as it always does.
14. Plan summer: Europe or bust. Hopefully a language institute.
15. Submit my MA thesis sentence. This will be the toughest. I have to force myself to remember it's just another academic exercise and I shouldn't invest my soul into it.

Fifteen seems like a nice enough number to stop at. I guess these also count as my 2006 resolutions? Sure. We'll take that.

P.S. Oh yeah... 16. Sleep. I was wrong - this will be the toughest.