with a hey, ho, the wind & the rain

Took the first logic exam today. It went alright. I easily did well on the first 4/5ths of the test. Vocabulary, translating arguments, discerning valid vs invalid arguments--child's play! But, when I got to the final page and the last several problems, my heart sank in desperation. I had no fucking clue how to figure out, let alone prove, whether the sentences were tautologies, contigencies, or the third thing that I know is the opposite of a tautology but can't remember what it's called for the life of me (haven't checked my notes to recall yet). I can define them, but I have trouble using atomic formulas to figure out what definition a sentence fits :/ You know the little jingle that plays when you fall into lava or get eaten by a goomba or something in Super Mario? That played in my mind, haha. The important thing is passing, though, which I am confident about having pulled off.

Shadow spent last night at the animal hospital, to get neutered. He's not back to his hoppy, adorably irritating self yet but he's eating. He should be %100 within the next couple of days.

I lopped off more of my hair. Looks kind of boyish but, honestly, I like it. I'm itching to color it again too. My appearance is constantly changing, and my mind is ever-moving; I never feel comfortable being stationary for very long. Pictures later, maybe, but right now I'm too lazy.

That's pretty much all that's up in my world today.

It is as hot as Tatooine beneath the binary suns today. Whoever prefers this to the cold winter is insane. My car doesn't have air conditioning, so I ended up turning around halfway towards the school cause I was sweating like a pig and needed to change my clothes. My mother gave me a ride there and back in her AC-equipped car. My mom tried to engage me in conversation about the latest course I'm taking, but I gave it up as pointless when she interrupted me two sentences into my summary to say that she didn't know there's such thing as a logician...sigh...this is why I write so much of the stuff I learn about here; cause I can't talk to anybody about it.

So, yeah, the symbolic logic course I'm taking started today. The system itself is a novel idea, but at this point I hate utilizing it myself. Symbolic systems like algebra, geometry, and logic have long been the bane of my existance. Ever since 8th/9th grade, I've had a hell of a time with math and had to take each course at least twice (algebraII 3 times) to scrape by. Information I'm able to absorb easily, but memorizing methods is troublesome. For example, I could tell you a great deal about Pythagoras and his cult. But ask me to use his theorem to solve a problem and I'm stumped. I attempted to take logic a year ago, cause it's a requirement for UMB philosophy majors and also a way to get around the college's math requirement. I withdrew about halfway through the semester because I couldn't handle the fast pace and the professor's penchant for calling on people at random, regardless of whether or not a hand was raised or the student in question had any understanding of what was going on...

However, I did glean some knowledge from that brief time. I've still got my old notes and the textbook, and I know a good deal about prominent logicians and the history of the topic, as well as recognizing the basic symbols. The professor teaching me this time around is more laid back and better, in my opinion, at explaining things. And, he's cute. Also, I'm more motivated this time around as well as (and largely because of being) more aware of the usefulness of logic. I've already spent some time reading up on the field. Even though this course is centered around symbolic logic and the notion of validity, I'm interested in getting to know other systems of logic as well. I like to completely immerse myself in whatever I set to learning.

This is going to be a love-hate relationship, I can tell. I respect math and logic and acknowledge their functions, but I don't have to like playing by their rules! ::eyes textbook petulantly::

What a damper on the phenomenology party.