Useful stuff.
A table/organizational system that makes it easier to remember different stylistical devices.

lexical syntactical compositional repetition/veriation  alliteration accumulation parallelism anaphora leitmotif climax contrast  euphemism  oxymoron paradox antithesis anti-climax rhetorical question antithesis anti-climax imagery/analogy  onomatopoeia  metaphor  symbol  connotation  metonymy  personification  pun simile example

Source and more on it here

And while I`m at it, here is a link to OneLook Reverse Dictionary that I found to be quite useful and worth bookmarking. And not only for changing my skype moods, lol.

Backstabbers

On a bit more personal and deeper note, I was thinking a little about good/bad people and betrayal.
If we talk about good people, for me there is no question that it comes down to that good people are the ones, who make the hard decisions between two evils and choose the lesser one. People who think that they are good just because they donate to the starving and are pro-life to me have always looked like naive children. Thus after some short thinking weather good people are capable of betrayal I concluded that they must be capable of betrayal. One can never foresee what the future brings and very often it is necessary for someone to suffer for the greater good. And sometimes it is necessary that someone carries that suffering through and that is when betrayal may occur, performed by someone with only the purest intentions.
On this there arose another question - what then are people like me that are almost incapable of betrayal ? Just plain egoists. Deep inside I, just like everyone else, only want to shine with bright light adored by everyone around me, and that makes me afraid of corrupting this light with acts of betrayal, shunned by others.

Well, altogether it's nothing really complicated or life-changing, just an interesting concept. At least it seemed so while I was riding on a tram.

Can't figure out how to cut down that damn summary. I managed to cut a little less than 1k words from it and I`m now down to 8 pages. The summary already looks kinda nonsensical, if I start cutting down even more I risk to loose all the little coherence that's left there.
I actually feel more retarded than usually for not being able to become even dumber. Consequently my self-esteem seems to be going down the drain.
I will probably just hand in what I have so far and if I will actually get it handed back to me with request to shorten it - I will just give up on it. I have already invested too much just to improve a grade in something that's an utter waste of time by itself. Sure my pride and sense of security are important, but not that important.

Before I`m forced to cut it down just to be able to submit it, I would like to share my 10-page (4300+ symbols) report of Anne Rice's book The Vampire Lestat .

A reminder for myself regarding my plans for these holidays:

• Finish reading the book. Write a summary about it.
• Do the semester task in grammar - summary of the 40 minute long presentation video
• Complete transcription and tonograms for phonetics exam.
• Do home tasks for the next week, of course.
• Review to+infinitive, gerunds, passive voice, sentence object, subject and prepositions and other stuff in grammar.
• Shouldn't forget to check out job advertisements now and then.
• Optional: spring cleaning for apartment.

I feel like I`m still forgetting something, but oh well...

Doesn't look as bad when put on paper neatly organized in a bulletin. 5 days should be enough time for 7 tasks.

Day 1 in looking like an idiot

Here is the before and after stuff.
+ one because I just bought new sunglasses.
Had to put on the damn red filter because I had just shaven in the 'after' pics and my skin is just too damn sensitive. Because of my laziness I just left them black and white instead of doing extensive photoshopping.
Enjoy my narcissism.

FYI: I don't know the exact length in the before shots, but I have been growing them for 7 years. You can't see them fully, they were reaching up to lower half of my back.

415/496 pages done so far. Think I will finish reading and write my summary next week. Next week we are getting additional 2 free days due to the Easter bullshit and since I don't particularly care about it and actually have less of the so-called life then ever before, I will be able to take my time for studying.

While reading and looking up some words I remembered about all the specialization stuff for translators. At some point I should probably start expanding my vocabulary in some certain fields, but I`m not sure as to what to choose. It would be the easiest to choose something I`m interested in, but there probably isn't that big of a market in psychology. I know that there is a huge market in the law stuff, but there is also a ton of specialists that are already concentrating on it. A good alternative, especially if I do learn Swedish, would be building and architecture maybe, though I`m not particularly interested in that, in fact I would probably find it extremely boring. Then again I don't expect the translator job to become an exciting adventure for me. Well, at least I still have time to think about that, not that anyone would expect from a first or second course student to be specialized in any field at all.

Probably getting a haircut on Monday. Reason why I`m currently in an agonizing pain - I will have to spend money to get to Jekabpils, I will have to pay for a new haircut, I will probably have to spend money to get back and I will have to repeat this crap every month just to keep my short, detestable, obnoxious, uncomfortable hair maintained to look somewhat decent.
I should probably make an before-after shot. And maybe decide on how short I want to cut them actually...

The picture included is from me back when I was still a young, radiant boy with semi-short hair...not the current old, gaunt, hairy me that I am now.

Was arguing today with a college colleague about the methods used to teach us some of the stuff. She was referencing to another college where people had to sit for more than an hour and just constantly write down stuff dictated to them in English, which was later on evaluated e.t.c. Seems like her main argument was that that's a way how to get people motivated to learn proper spelling. But come on. If you can't find the motivation to do it by yourself, neither will you find it if pushed to write such stuff down. Besides, it doesn't teach a crap. In fact I believe (from my own experience as well) that it can even damage ones spelling, because in a task like that you don't have the time to look up on how to properly spell a word and as a result your first experience written in your memory with that word is how you wrote it wrong. Human brain doesn't really work like a hard drive and we can't erase memories so it will stay there, in our memory, forever and will continue confusing us in the future.
Also there is no real meaning behind knowing how to spell words if you don't know how to use them or what they actually mean. It's especially useless for a translator, because in his work he can always use dictionaries when working with written text, but dictionaries or knowing how words are spelled by heart won't help him to actually work with the text, how to find the most appropriate translation and not misunderstand idioms etc.
Well, this way of thinking is an artefact of USSR education system, there is no surprise that there are people thinking that way in Latvia. It's odd to find such people among those of my own generation however.

Just getting stuff out of my head here, because I can't really confront her directly with my arguments. She seemed quite upset and displeased with my attitude towards it when she mentioned it, lol.

Great fucking day

Great fucking day. Started off by oversleeping because I completely forgot to reset my alarm clock as we had some changes in our schedule. After waking up and remembering it I also remembered that I completely forgot to wrote the damn essay. While getting ready noticed that my hair is damn greasy as I forgot that I wanted to get up actually even earlier today to have my time to wash it.
Anyhow, with such great start of the day I was off to tram and since then I have had an odd feeling in my stomach all day. Nothing serious, just plain uncomfortable. Well, at least the most part of my day was quite peaceful and nothing happened, except that I once again had something remind me, that I`m forgetting to keep my distance from people. Don't think that adding even more people that hate me for just being who I am, would benefit me in any way. Fucking distances, how do they work?

Still no call for a job interview I was waiting for. Will consider it a lost cause. Oh well.

And least I slept well last night (whole amazing 9 hours) so I can keep going for another week without serious sleep. Will give me the time to finish my essay and do the analysis homework this evening.

Getting my bills tomorrow. I really hope the number will be under 40.

Update: Btw, I was probably not the only one who had a bad day. While I was on the way to college on the tram I saw a dead dove being eaten by 2 gulls, a guy with his cheek covered in blood walking out of his house, an old man waiting for a tram sitting by a funeral crown, several police cars patrolling the city e.t.c.

Still can't find a job. I`m not even sure what I could be fit for, which I could combine with studies. Well, there are things I know I should be able to do, but most of employers there require that you have experience.
Still have nothing new to add to my CV. I really want to get a drivers license, but that requires money and a lot of free time. None of which I actually have. Not even mentioning the lack of motivation...or that I most probably won't end up using it. Anyway, slowly I`m considering taking up even a miserable telemarketing job with non-existent salary just so that I would have a proof that I was doing something and know how to work with customers. Unfortunately at my current position even that seems like a far-fetched dream.

All I can do is to hold on...

Got my two essays handed back. I`m supposed to improve them. I'm not happy. disappointed. FUCKING FURIOUS !
I so would like to hand them back in, improved and with another ~5 pages of text on top, but such intellectual levels at which it would be possible are unattainable to me. Will just have have to deal with it. Fuck.

That's some messed up luck, seriously. That is if I would believe in luck in that sense.
Every time I start looking for a job I manage to find 2-3 perfect for me vacancies I`m late for, then I find maybe 1 that I could take up on but eventually I don't end up getting and then...well...nothing.
Same story this time over as well. At least I find some stuff I could apply for if I didn't have to take my college into account. However I can bet that once this semester will be over I won't be able to find anything like that too.  I`m not entirely sure if I should switch to absentee in case I won't be able to find a job.
But oh well, whatever, I should see if I will be able to even live for that long. Stuff happens.

Let's see...I missed out one lecture, but it doesn't look like it will be that big of a loss after all.
A quick summary for myself:

Deductive argument 
A Deductive Argument is a form of argument where the conclusion logically follows from the given premises. If the premises in a deductive argument are true and strongly support the conclusion, then the conclusion of the argument must also be logically true. It basically has three parts: 1) the major premise, 2) the minor premise, and 3) the conclusion.

Example
Jim likes either Coke or Pepsi.
Jim does not like Pepsi.
So, Jim likes Coke.

(more here)

Inductive argument
An Inductive Argument is a form of argument where the premises support the probability or likelihood of the conclusion. Regardless of the number of premises, the strength of the conclusion in aninductive argument depends on the strength of the individual premises that support it.

Generalizations from a sample to a universal claim.

Example

Every emerald examined has been green

Therefore all emeralds are green

(more here)

Abductive argument

In my own words - it's the combination of Inductive and Deductive argument where best possible assumptions are made from from the existing premises. Couldn't find a better explanation anywhere.

Example

If there were another planet outside Uranus, that would explain its course.

Therefore these is another planet outside Uranus.

I can't get online from my computer.

There's nothing wrong with my hardware or software.
So, the University network must be down.

(more on it all here, here and here)

____________________________________________________________________

Now, just to figure out how write an essay using these (which is really not hard) and I`m set.

Tomorrow is going to be an relatively easy day and I have all the damn homework done already, so guess I will take it easy and rest a bit. Though I might decide to read the damn book (for the damn summary I`m supposed to write) a bit later just so that I don't regret wasting my time for nothing.

I really really really suck at passives. Getting only 30% on this test.
Damn, spent the whole goddamn weekend on doing most of the homework for the week and still I don't have the time to rest.
This evening I will be busy with training/studying my passives, reading theory theory for Reading Comprehension and transcribing the homework part for exam in phonetics. Actually sounds like I will end up with a lazy all-nighter.
Oh well.

Just suddenly felt like writing a quick report

Here it goes.
Returning to my last Friday's post - I did miraculously manage to do all my homeworks, which means that I finally caught up to my studies and can continue planning for additional stuff. Unfortunately we still are getting a little flooded with homework, so there is not that much additional stuff I will have the time to do.
What I`m doing today is finally reading. To be more exact I`m reading Anna Rice's second book in her vampire franchise (see explanation of the word here) called The Vampire Lestat. Of course I`m doing it only for the summary I ought to write, but it's actually a little bit more. I have actually wanted to read the damn book for several years already. Now that I`m finally at it, it's vivid imagery of turning grotesque, suffering, pain and filth into something outwordly beautiful is bringing me back to the summers that I spent adoring goths and the philosophy behind it all. I even built a playlist to play in the background while reading it. Not to mention that craving to watch Queen of the Damned again.
What more deserves my mentioning is the new series Camelot that's most definitely going to gather some popularity, even though Jamie Campbell Bower might have been a bad choice for the role of King Arthur, in my opinion. What personally I find particularly good about it is, firstly, that it's actually so much deeper than series these days usually are, it certainly has some characteristics of a good literary work rather than a tv-show. And secondly the way Merlin is portrayed there is particularly appealing to me as I feel like I could actually learn something new from him about manipulating people.

Today I felt especially posh so instead of having one meal of fried potatoes with spice and tomato sauce at 19:00 I decided to have 2 meals of rice fried together with some onion, paprika and canned meat at 15:30 and 22:00 .  Oh the luxurious life of a student living off his parents.

[whine]

Feels so goddamn wrong. Took yesterday free and instead was working at home on my essays that took like forever for me to finish. And now it's almost 6am, I haven't slept the whole damn night and I still haven't finished all my homework for tomorrow today and I`m not sure I will actually manage to 100% do it all. Additionally I`m also completely neglecting some of the semester works that one of our lecturer gave us. Where the hell does the frigging time go? How do I get it back? And how the goddamn hell am I expected to do all this if I did had a job? Well, actually better question would be how the hell they expect to keep me in college by piling up all these works on us, if I did have a job?

[/whine]

Would hate for my attendency to suffer even more.