Final(s) Week(s) are Over!

And everything went as smoothly as I could hope for, that is until I missed my very last final by two days. How could this happen you ask? There is this document, several in fact, which publish the dates and times of final exams that when read and properly interpreted, alert one to each and every final exam that is held on campus during finals week. Did I read this document? No. But my professor did, and thus I showed up to an empty classroom, no professor and a final exam that had taken place two days earlier than I had expected. You might be thinking, "Josh, are you sure you're ready for college?" That's good, keep your smart-ass comments to yourself. Thinking is a perfectly normal activity, acceptable for most people in most forms at most times. Just don't let me in on it.

I was able to make up the final, at home, using a laptop, after eating entirely too much of a burrito Angela had graciously brought over for me. Even with the advantage of typing the final instead of writing it out by hand, it was by far the most difficult task of the semester, involving questions such as,

Explain what the consequences of the Protestant ethic were and how it
helped to create capitalist action orientations.  In your answer explain
the notions of the calling, predestination and the role of Luther and
Calvin.  Explain the two pieces of pastoral advice given when individuals
would ask, “am I one of the elect?” and why this advice was important.
Finally, explain two alternatives to the capitalist spirit, such as
fatalism or pietism, and finally what lead to the “iron cage?”

Which begs the question, "Why would you continue with sociological theory next semester after having your ass handed to you this fall?" And the reason is simple: I don't know. But I will be quite adept at answering multi-part essays on subjects that would normally make me curl up in a ball and cry. And nobody wants that.