Update for anyone who reads my blog:

Classes
1. Akkadian - it may be a Semitic language, and the connections there help given my knowledge of Hebrew, but learning 4 new chapters in 3 hours each week is tough. I feel like my brain is going to explode. This is the first ancient language other than Hebrew I have attempted, and I really miss Dr. Snyder’s way of making the language come alive.
2. Intermediate Hebrew - translating Micah has been challenging but fun, having to memorize Williams is silly, but going over the passage in class has been interesting. Overall my least demanding course, relatively speaking.
3. Historiography - this is a great class, and I look forward to each meeting - putting together the routine presentations has been time consuming, however, though informative. And now that I’ve picked a scholar to study, I have a paper to start.
4. History and Archaeology of the ANE - again, a good class with need-to-learn material, but unfortunately this combined with Akkadian has caused my brain to go into information overload. I keep getting “Insufficient Memory” errors pop up…
5. Exegesis of I & II Samuel - translating Samuel has been a blast, I enjoy going over it in class, but I really gotta start on that paper…

Misc.
1. Since I last posted about it a few weeks ago, the injury to my foot developed some pretty ugly bruising. That has all but faded now, but I still have a rather sizable, painful to touch, lump under my skin where the Good Book hit. Fortunately, it hasn’t hindered me at all, as it only hurts if I press on it, which for obvious reasons, I avoid doing. Who knows.

2. The registration office has informed me that they don’t have my Hepatitis B or Meningitis immunization records on file. Apparently they weren’t on the sheet I copied from Davis and turned in. Without them, I won’t be able to register for any more classes, or get credit for this semester. I am at a loss, as my dad says he can’t find my “shot book” and my old doctor’s office from 7 years ago hasn’t returned his calls. I have no other way of authenticating the immunizations without either of those two sources. I know for a fact I’ve had the Meningitis shot, as I had it before college, and I’m fairly certain on the Hepatitis B at some point in my adolescence, since it’s required for VA public schools, though I suppose it’s theoretically possible I slipped by if it wasn’t a retroactive requirement. I need proof one way or the other. Frustration I don’t need right now.

3. While my classes have been decent to excellent (no duds this semester) I have been studying almost non-stop. I feel extremely crunched. It takes most of my study time to keep up with my weekly work, I don’t know how I’m going to fit in 2 large papers and a major project into the daily flow. I’m considering cutting back on work hours a tad, but I have to be careful as our budget is fairly tight. It’s either that or cut the small amount of time we’ve allotted each week for relaxation, which I am loathe to do, as I know without it I will become more stressed, and more tired - which in and of itself hinders learning.

4. The car has started giving us trouble - occasionally it decides to turn over but not start. If you leave the key in turned to lights, it makes weird clicking noises like it’s confused about what to do, and the “sports mode” light flashes. So far, turning the key halfway and putting it in gear, then back into park has seemed to resolve the issue for each instance, but obviously it has a more complex problem somewhere since it has done it more than once. Anybody heard of such a thing on an old Honda Accord?

Needless to say, I feel pretty stretched right now, with some added stressors on top of classes. I don’t really have the time I need to get all A’s, which frustrates me. Sometimes I feel completely inadequate to do this whole scholarship thing. Well, sorry this has been a bit of a long drab post, but I thought I’d at least update for anyone who was interested, or really mainly for myself. Beddy-bye time.

I’m now into my second week of school, the dust is slowly settling, I hope. School in review thus far:

1. My second Historiography class was yesterday; I gave my first presentation out of the five I have to do this semester - prepared that last week as well as read the book that was required for yesterdays discussion. It’s going to be a great class, only 7 people, seminar-like in format.

2. History & Archaeology of the Ancient Near East: my head is spinning with an overload of facts from both class and the reading - but it’s all good and useful, and if I can manage to remember dates, names, and places along with big ideas, which I’m better with, I’ll do fine.

3. Exegesis in I & II Samuel seems like it will be good - I’m brainstorming my “pericope” for the exegesis paper and I think I’m going to do I Sam. 5.1-5, for no other reason than it’s just plain cool - and any time the other gods show up fun stuff happens.

4. We’re translating Micah in Intermediate Hebrew Grammar - Calvin and I have translated the first chapter so far, wow is poetry a challenge - but beautiful.

5. Yes, we really are doing the entire grammar in one semester for Akkadian, less the signs, which we won’t be learning because of the time limit we’re under. I was disappointed at first, but given the way my planner is looking, adding hundreds of signs to that probably wouldn’t be a good thing. I’m sure the day will come, and then I’ll wish I was back here.

What a whirlwind last week was - the work load is definitely going to be a challenge with 5 classes, and it’d be easier if I weren’t working on top of it, but I think it’s doable with good time management and the discipline to pace myself. The question is, will I ever have any free time? Certainly a change from Davis, but that’s a good thing, I would expect grad level to be more work, and it is, 5 fold.

I’m afraid, however, that Cyrodil is going to have to wait another few months for me to rescue it from the impending threat of Oblivion; and though I’m on the threshold of defeating Sin, Tidus and Yuna are just going to have to hang out a little longer on the airship. As for me, I have to go study Akkadian. Chps 5-7 tomorrow….

Yesterday night, while gathering up multiple Bibles off of a bookshelf to look up something in I Samuel to compare a textual issue in various English translations, the hard-cover TNIV decided to leap out of my hands and plunge corner downwards into the top of my sock-covered left foot, near my toes, on the left side of the big metatarsel leading to my big toe - yes, in the soft spot.

Talk about a double-edged sword! My foot hurt all evening afterwards, and while, unbelievably, as far as a visible injury goes there is just a small red dot, compared to my right foot there’s definitely a larger radius of a swollen lump under the skin than that small red dot would indicate.

It’s also painful to press on not only that spot, but all along the full length of the joints to my toes. How that happened I’m not sure, because the corner of the Bible hit a good inch from the joint of any toe. Fortunately, it doesn’t really hurt to move my toes normally, so I can walk fine, but forcing my toes to bend back further than walking would require hurts.

Whatever is going on underneath my skin obviously extends beyond a simple bruise. Two lessons to be learned from this:

1) A reminder of how even the foot is highly complex and works together in ways you don’t think about until you injure some small, behind the scenes part of it. Suddenly what seemed insignificant and ignored becomes very important when it is out of harmony with the rest of the foot.

2) Use Libronix when doing translation comparisons to avoid falling Bibles out to pierce your feet.

Calvin and I passed our Hebrew proficiency and OT and NT competency exams, much to my great relief. I’m all set and confirmed in the classes that I pre-registered for, and my first class, History and Archaeology of the Ancient Near East, starts on Monday morning. Calvin starts tomorrow with Greek I, while I begin my new work schedule (8-3 on Fridays).

Today, we worked out our schedules visually in Excel, including classes, work, church commitments, and estimated study time, and had a small crisis when we couldn’t find a good time to go grocery shopping. I considered for an instant not eating to save time and money, but that moment of insanity passed quickly.

I think we finally have everything under control…for now!