The Bane of My Existence

Blog No. 131: OR, Life or Death.

81/110

That's a pretty good, medium score for a Chemistry test, right?

Well, according to the Weissbart, it's not good enough. I needed a "B" grade on my test in order to have a chance of passing with a "C" in the class. Unfortunately, I got as close as a "C."

This is where I look back at my faults during the semester to see where I've gone wrong.

The Faults-I-did-NOT-Overcome-to-Pass-Chemistry List of Shame:

1. I had a somewhat cocky attitude going into the class, remarking that I didn't really need to do all the homework. In retrospect, this kind of attitude only promoted laziness and symptoms of senioritis. NOT a good organization of priorities.
2. I realized that I should not have taken a "higher" level chemistry class when the only chemistry experience I had was Fender Bender. Granted, I wanted to challenge myself and I crammed as much high school chemistry as I could to prepare for the class.
3. Including myself amongst lab partners who did not have an idea what they're doing. My "official" lab partner was not all bad, but most of the time he had cheated his lab results and pulled out his iPhone most of the time to get the necessary answers. It quickly grew to where the people I hung out with in lab were using me as a crutch, which is in no way a symbiotic or healthy relationship to have with lab partners, especially when the crutch is making it up as he goes along...
4. A baby being born during the month of a test isn't always the best thing...
5. This blog being prioritized instead of Chemistry homework most of the time, and for what? Having to write a weeks worth of blogs in a day from procrastinating on them for that long? A prioritizing no-no...
6. Going on a field trip to San Francisco, arriving back 5 hours before I had to wake up to take a Chemistry test. This is yet another example of not getting my priorities straightened out. Granted, the best score I got on a Chemistry test was the test I took after San Francisco...

There's probably more that I'm not seeing, but for now these reasons are plenty enough motivation to reconquer that "not passing" grade! XP

I always wondered where the phrase "The Bane of My Existence" came from. I put it into Google Chrome and this is what I found:

To say that something or someone is “the bane of my existence” means that the person or thing is a constant irritant or source of misery.

As a cliché, “bane of my existence” has lost its edge to a large degree over the years and today is most often applied to something that may profoundly annoy us but is certainly bearable… “Bane of my existence” is now almost always used in a semi-jocular, “what are you gonna do?” sense.

But “bane” was once a very serious word. The Old English “bana” meant literally “slayer” in the sense we now use “killer” or “murderer.” Early on, the English “bane” was also used in the more general sense of “cause of death,” and by the 14^th century, “bane” was used in the specialized sense of “poison,” a sense which lives on in the names of various poisonous plants such as “henbane” and “wolfbane.” From this very litheral “something that kills you usage, “bane” by the 16^th century had broadened into its modern meaning of “something that makes life unpleasant,” or “a curse.”

I always liked the word "wolfbane"... Ever since I heard it said in Harry Potter...