Some Jump oh-so-good-ness! September 29, 2005

Yesterday really tested the limits of my alertness/awakeness.  I
got a bunch of work done for various things and then went to teach from
3-4:30.  After that I ran home, finished some laundry, prepared
for my class, grabbed dinner, ran to class, got there on time (6:15),
stayed in class ’til 7:45, left, picked up Scott, drove to B’ham, went
to the Jump show at Workplay,
left around 11:15, and was home and in bed at 12:30.  I got up at
7:30 this morning, drove to work, did my preschool music stuff form
9-11:15 and now I’m here.  Physically, at least.  I’m so
freaking tired.  I have to go interview one of my profs at 1:00,
then I’m hanging out w/ a friend at 3:30, then going to a concert at
7:30.  Blehhhhhhhhhhh.

Regardless, it was all freaking worth it.  The show was
fantabulous!  They played “Darkest Love,” which is a
favorite.  They also played 3 or 4 encore songs.  And they
rocked.  Hard.  Awesome!!! The only thing that could have
made it better is if they did “Singer.” That is definitely my favorite,
but I can’t complain much about the setlist.I really can’t wait for
their acoustic show in December.  Those are sooo pretty, and my
ears won’t suffer quite as much.

I need to find some lunch and then prep for my interview.  Omigawd
I need a nap.  I will sleep like a baby tonight, mark my words!

It also looks like someone else has a case of the stupids… September 26, 2005

So f’in ridiculous

Does it not occur to anyone that in America you can’t just hold people
w/o formal charges and proof? They’re damn lucky they were able to keep
those kids in jail as long as they were. Is it sad? Sure. Do lots of
people go missing every day that don’t get a fraction of this kind of
attention? You betcha. It helps if you’re pretty and have money. Tip of
the day: If you’re going to disappear mysteriously, be white.
Otherwise, better luck next time…or not. I think it’s unfortunate
that this story has become a darling of the extreme right wing.
Priorities, people.

By the way, I’m not saying I don’t feel bad for her family and loved
ones.  I think it’s obvious now that something really awful has
happened and if she comes home, she likely won’t be alive when she does
so.  I do think, however, that it’s not fair that they’re being
criticized when they (by they, I mean the Aruban Gov.) are doing
everything legally possible.  Governments are not miracle-workers.
The less money that goes there, the less the authorities can do in
their search and (hopeful) discovery of Ms. Holloway. It’s like
shooting yourself in the foot if you ask me.

/rant

Looks like someone has a case of the Mondays September 26, 2005

Today was just sort of bleh. Wasn’t bad. Wasn’t good. Just…bleh. I got some stuff done, went to yoga (my first workout in nearly a month…oy!), taught two lessons, did stats hw, went to class, got home early, ate dinner, the end. During class, I had (in fact, still have) a horrendous headache and everyone in that class annoyed me. They weren’t annoying people (well, ok two or three of them are) but everything people said and did just made me cranky. I was certainly not myself. I guess it was my two hours to be misanthropic or something. I think my sinuses are inflamed because it feels like a sinus headache and my nose is still rather runny, although I’m not sick/having allergy troubles. Tomorrow I have relatively little to do, and I’m soooo glad. I’ve been trying to get in touch w/ this lady to do an interview for my advisor, and she will not f-ing return my call or email. Ugh. I don’t know at what point I should get him to start bothering her, but I’m hoping he doesn’t want this done soon because she doesn’t seem really, um, accessible. I emailed her nearly a week ago and heard nothing. I called her this morning around 11 and left her a nice message. Nothing. I’ll give it two more days and then ask him what in the hell he wants me to do. In the meanwhile, I’ll just start transcribing this other interview. Le sigh. I am on my way to a nasty case of carpal tunnel (as I type gratuitously in my LJ). I do think the wrist pillows I bought this weekend really helped. I’m tired, cranky and my nose is running. All I need is a sippee cup and some cartoons and it’s like the last twenty years never happened!

September 25, 2005

This weekend has been anything but lazy or relaxing for me. I had a ton
of work to do yesterday, and luckily got most of it done. I finally
finished transcribing the interview I’ve been working on for nearly a
week now. Twenty freaking pages, single spaced. I went to Office Depot
yesterday for one of those keyboard wrist pillows because my wrists and
hands were unhappy with my increase in typing time. I also got this
cute little mouse wrist pillow for $4. Hopefully I’ll have fewer wrist
problems now. I finished up the reading for my Qual 1 class this
morning and I am really pissed because the Supe Store failed to include
four whole pages in our reader (that we paid over $50 for!). There’s a
thread on the class message board about it, and we are all pretty
angry. I sort of cheated because I bought the reader, made a photocopy
of the whole thing, punched holes in it to put in my binder, then
returned the original to the Supe Store for a full refund. Muahaha. I
guess I have less right to be angry than do my classmates who actually
bought and kept the reader. Still, that’s pretty inexcusable.
I got an email from a friend of mine the other day that
was sort of weird. We haven’t talked in at least 4 or 5 months and
haven’t hung out in nearly 8 months, mostly because of his girlfriend
(jealousy issues). He was saying mostly things like, “I really miss
you, I have a lot to talk to you about, lots of stuff has happened in
my life, etc.” I may give him a call today to go hang out because I’m
actually really curious. I’m hoping everything that happened was good
stuff, but I have a feeling that’s not the case. I’m also pretty sure
he broke up w/ his g.f. because otherwise he wouldn’t be talking to me.

Last night Scott and I went to go see The 40-Year Old Virgin.
It was really pretty funny, contrary to my expectations.  It was
nearly two hours, which is long for a comedy, but it didn’t feel that
long. There was some kid (maybe 17/18 at the oldest) who was sitting a
few chairs down from us that didn’t turn off his fucking cell
phone.  It rang during the move and he fucking answered it!!! I was amazed. Then he proceeded to carry on a conversation in his seat while the movie was playing (it was about halfway through at that point). I couldn’t believe his utter rudeness. After about 20 seconds I finally said, “Do you MIND?!!!“
And then Scott said something along the lines of, “Dude.
Really…”  The kid not only kept talking, but flipped us
off.  Really. What the fuck? Even though my cell is my only phone,
I find cell phones to be annoying and at times rude.  More
specifically, I find people using them to be annoying and rude.  I
don’t answer my phone a whole hell of a lot (it’s on silent at least
half the time anyhoo) because I don’t feel like talking to people in
public, especially if it’s something personal.  I’m not so
insecure that I have to pretend I’m popular, nor do I have to disclose
all my deep dark secrets for others’ validation. Is it too much to ask
for people to try to be discreet?

September 21, 2005

I’m always totally drained after my Wednesday night class. Is it
because it’s such dense material? Or is it just because I know I have
to get up early Thursday (the only morning I have to be up before, say,
10). Since I teach at Mercedes on Thursday mornings from 9-11, and that
tends to be energizing, but it’s just the whole process of getting up
and going that is sooo hard.  I’m
actually really lucky because generally my day doesn’t officially start
until, at the earliest, 3 PM.  I always do work in the mornings
and early afternoons, but it’s not scheduled and it can be put off
until whenever.  The downside of this is that I always have stuff
that has to (at some point) be done.  I have a shitload of
transcriptions to do, one interview for my assistantship duties, one
interview for a class, an outline for a project, lots of reading, stats
homework, etc.  I think my biggest challenge won’t be finding the
time to do it, but of prioritizing it and getting it all done.  I
have the time, but all of it lumped together just seems so
overwhelming. There aren’t a whole lot of set-in-stone deadlines, and
that sort of freaks me out.  I’m by no means a stickler for
structure (in fact, I don’t like being told what to do when) but it all
seems so abstract right now.  Not to mention a lot of my reading
has been fucking around with my head.  I feel like I have to
question everything and at times it’s not so comfy.  I know this
will develop me as a person, but it’s not a fun process at all.
With everything I do I think, “Am I doing this because I want to or is
it because I’ve been ‘programmed’ by society/patriarchy to do
this?”  Damn. When all this is over, I will have become a slightly
better version of myself.

I seriously need to get my ass back in the gym.  I’ve been sick
for a couple weeks, but now that I’m getting over it, I need to get
back in the habit.  Hauling up three flights of stairs to class a
few times a week is becoming hard again, and that’s not cool.  I
need to get on the elliptical for half an hour 3 or 4 times a week and
I need to get back to yoga at least twice a week, if not more.
I’ve lost a few pounds, but it’s all been sickness-induced
starvation.  My appetite went to hell and I’ve yet to get it back.
All I ate today was a bowl of veggie soup, two veggie tacos and a
cookie.  And I’m fine.  That can’t be even close to providing
enough nutrients and stuff.

I think I’m going to go to bed before I discover something else fascinating to do and stay up until 1 AM.

I haven’t been this excited since…uh… September 20, 2005

I had a meeting w/ my advisor today and we went over the interviews I’ve transcribed thus far and he really liked them. We then had a discussion about some stuff that I’m going to need to know when I go and do….drumroll please…my first interview! Wheee! The thought of finding out something new and digging up something juicy and turning it into something that will benefit a major research project is hot! Whoa…I need to e-mail this lady ASAP to schedule a time, although my advisor warned me that it may take two interviews to cover all the ground that I need to cover. I also found out that the AERA (American Educational Research Association) 2006 meeting is in San Francisco. Sweeeeeeet. It’s in early April, so the weather will be so nice. I just hope I can afford it. Maybe that’s what I ask for for Christmas. Conference money. I think the student registration will be affordable, but the hotel (unless I can stay at Scott’s friend Mike’s house) and the airfare will be pricey. Not to mention food. The thought of going to San Francisco (even if it is for a conference) is really nice.

I have class tonight, and I am thinking we’ll get out early because we didn’t have that much as far as assignments from last week. I thoroughly read the first chapter and I skimmed the second one, so I should be ok. Then after class Scott and I are meeting at Rincon for a yummy (late) dinner. I think it’s so sweet that he waits for me to get out of class so that we can eat together. It’s definitely a bonding experience for us, even when we’re both really busy. We eat almost every meal together, except when one of us decide to go out with friends, which is sort of rare. Maybe two or three times a week. Flowers and all the romance-y stuff is nice, but I also like the fact that I have a guy that wants to be with me and cares about me. That’s worth more than anything tangible could be.

September 20, 2005

I would say that I’m recovering, but that might jinx me.  I’m
still really tired and my nose still runs a lot.  Oh, and I can’t
talk.  Lovely.  I hope my voice comes back before Thursday
morning or I am F-U-C-K-E-D.  I am going to be downing hot tea and
throat drops until I gag.

For the second week in a row we got out early in Stats.  I’m
really beginning to like that class because 1) It’s so easy and 2) We
get out early.  It’s supposed to run 6-8:50, but even after taking
a 10 minute break, we always get out around 8:10.  It’s nice,
because that means I eat dinner at 8:30 and not 9:20.  When you’re
hungry it makes a big diff.  I had a frozen veggie lasagna and
then did some mandatory IRB training (something grad students have to
do every year) online.  It was kind of stupid, but I did it to
just get it out of the way.  Lots of questions like, “Can a child
consent to be in a research study?”

Today is going to be relatively un-busy.  I’m hoping this last
interview I need to transcribe isn’t ridiculously long.

September 19, 2005

Today has been an insanely productive day.  I was up by about 8:30
(for some of you that seems sooo nice and late) and finished up
transcribing an interview tape (all 14 pages) and then worked on
finishing my book for my feminist research class and finished it around
10:30.  I’ve already come up with my class discussion question for
Wednesday and I’ve done all my postings for my Qual. I class.
Wheee!  I go teach in 2 and a half hours, and I have a couple of
small errands beforehand.  I am in class 6-9 and then I’m done for
the day.  Rawk.  Tomorrow I have a couple of things to do but
they aren’t nearly so involved as today’s activities were.  It
feels so much later in the day than it really is, probably because I’ve
done so much.  I also made waffles for brunch since I’m tired of
bagels every day.  They were good.

I think my mom is not going to try to wreck my universe this
time.  I told her straight up that I was going to Arizona, but
that I would be there for Thanksgiving.  She says that she calls
Christmas 2006.  We’ll see…I have a feeling this isn’t the last
I’ll hear of this.

Ok, Ok, you win! September 17, 2005

I broke down today and went to the doctor.  I figured if I can’t
get better after two weeks, then something’s wrong.  I got loaded
up with some drugs and then I headed to Target to get them
filled.  I ran into an old friend of mine who’s moved back here to
take a teaching job, and it was cool catching up with her.  I also
bought stuff to make moussaka tonight and a frozen veggie lasagna for
whenever I don’t feel like making anything.  I had soup and
macaroni w/ butter for lunch (I know it sounds kind of gross, but it’s
actually good).  The Alabama-S.C. game is on now, but honestly I
don’t feel like watching it.  I know I have a good deal of work to
do and it seems stupid to waste time watching the game if I’m not
there.  I just can’t get into watching football on TV, I have to
be there to enjoy it.

Last night Scott and I had dinner at Maharaja and it was, well, pretty
bad.  Apparently they’re in transition with their kitchen staff
and this group is only temporary until next week when they have a bunch
of really good people coming in. It really showed.  The cream of
tomato soup, for example, was this awful Day-Glo orange color (think
hunting vest) and looked kind of oily, definitely not creamy.  And
the taste wasn’t too good, either. We ordered Navrathan Curry and it
had absolutely no spice to it and it was again oily.  Very
depressing.  The owner gave us a gift certificate, and I
definitely look forward to using it once they have a better kitchen
staff.  After that we came home and watched Varsity Blues, then we went out to a couple bars for drinks and just general hanging out.  When we got back home we started to watch Annie Hall
but I started getting sleepy (it was after midnight) so we went to
sleep.  I had some weird ass dreams last night, and I woke up all
congested, scratchy and dizzy (because my ears were all blocked
up).  I hope that with all the drugs I have now that I may get a
good night’s sleep and wake up in a much better way.

Awww, crapness… September 16, 2005

Still sick, but I really don’t want to go to the doctor. Maybe I’m just
stubborn, but the thought of having to spend money to go see a doctor
and get drugs that most likely won’t make me well (or that will cause
other problems) just doesn’t appeal to me. I know if I list my
symptoms,they’ll just give me antibiotics w/o doing lab work, which
won’t achieve a damn thing, except maybe causing other types of
infections. No thank you.

This interview I’ve been transcribing is seriously long. I’m halfway
through page eight and I know there’s at least another four pages or so
that’ll be left.  I just couldn’t take anymore.  I’ve
transcribed another (much shorter) interview, so I may go ahead and
give that to him so that he has tangible evidence that I am indeed
working.  I also have four chapters to read for some classes next
week and I need to type up some notes I took in a phone conversation
with my feminist research methods professor.  I really haven’t
been feeling good about that class because there’s a lot of stuff in
there I don’t understand, and let’s face it, no one likes feeling
stupid.  After a 25 minute conversation, I feel much better about
the class, the assignments, and myself.  She did the same thing
I’m doing (going straight from a B.A. to a Ph.D. program) and she
understands a lot of the issues I’m facing (feeling inadequate and
unprepared because I haven’t taught for 10+ years like a lot of my
peers).  I think I’m going to focus a lot more on what I learn and
do and less on how I compare to my classmates, because a lot of them
have been through completely different things.  We all have our
strengths and weaknesses and I should learn to focus on the former and
work to eliminate the latter.

I need to run to the post office to mail a book I sold on half.com.  I also have to teach today and I should
probably run to Target because I am totally out of handsoap.
Eww.