Yes, it is finals week here at the University of Northern Colorado.  I've already taken one today, for my obligatory literature class.  We had 21 topics to choose from.  I, naturally, chose one that was based in psychology: applying Freudian theory to an analysis of Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness.  Most specifically, I drew from Civilization and Its Discontents.  Much of that piece, particularly the savagery of nature and the conflict between the id and the ego works well in an examination of Kurtz in Conrad's book, in that he recedes back into the most basic examples of savage human nature in his conquest of the natives.  Fun, I suppose.  

Most of my finals this semester are essay based.  Tomorrow I have a film final.  Not sure what the questions will be, however.  She gave us a list of possible topics, a couple of which will be on the test, so I need to be acquainted with most of them so I can be prepared.  As long as none of the required questions revolve around the course literature, I will be ok, since I can pull film analysis out of my ass and still make it look halfway decent.  Friday's final will be the worst; it's my Psychology of Religion course.  It's an extremely interesting course in and of itself, but the exams can be brutal in the comprehensive inclusion of all of the literature thus far in the semester.  I'll have to truck through Freud's Future of an Illusion one more time just to be safe, as well as the endless articles we were assigned throughout the semester.  

I had an interview for a summer internship just a little bit ago.  In fact, I'm still wearing my formal clothes.  Must fix.

I'm pretty excited for the internship.  It'll involved counseling adolescents and teenagers.  It may certainly be rough at times, but it's an important thing that they do there, and some of those kids really need help.  I'm doing this internship partly so that I can get some experience in counseling, and partly because it will help me make my final decision on whether I want to get my PhD in counseling and psychotherapy or in research.  I cannot believe the amount of paperwork I need to get taken care of though.  A massive pile includes endless questionnaires and checklists, and that does not include the required drug and physical screens, letters of recommendation, fingerprints, and other documentation.  It's going to be one hell of a week next week as I run around town doing that.

As with last week, my recent music adventures have involved a lot of instrumental and electronic.  I haven't had the chance to see Joe Wright's new film Hanna yet, but I did listen to the soundtrack by the Chemical Brothers, and I loved it.  Immediately after, I went out and purchased the Chemical Brothers' latest album, Further.  It hearkens back to some of their best (and hip-hop-free) albums, and is simply a delight to listen to. The opening song "Snow" is not nearly as eclectic as the rest of the pieces of the album but functions as a terrific way to kick off the album.

    

Yep, I went there.  My own thoughts on PSN are not quite as extreme as those of others; this is likely due to the fact that I purchased a PS3 the day PSN went down.  Thus, I have nothing to worry about in terms of security.  Unfortunately, since I am not a member of PSN, this also means that I don't get to be a part of Sony's "Welcome Back" program. No free PS+ for me, although maybe I'll get some of those free downloads.  We'll see I guess.  Maybe if I write a nice letter to Sony they'll get me in. Worth a try?  Can't hurt.  

In the meantime, I rented Motorstorm: Apocalypse today.  That game is nuts.  It's not a perfect racing game, but it is certainly a lot of fun.  The mayhem that takes place on screen makes the somewhat long load times worth it, and the overall experience is very exciting.  The huge number of tracks also keep the story mode very fresh and unpredictable.  It's one of the best racers I've played since Split/Second and I'm excited to finish up my finals this week so I can really dive into it.