Weekly Check-In: May 21, 2012 

Obsessing Over: This is the last week of classes! I could not be more excited to finish coursework and TAing and finally to do my own research this summer.

Working On: About to dig into a political scientist’s take on violence in sacred space.

Thinking About: The presentation on my ethnography (non)project I have to give tonight. Also, I’m frustrated with biases against those with depression. Really? In our day and age? C’mon now.

Anticipating: See “obsessing over.” Also, the end of this day. Final 3-hour evening seminar!

Listening To: Background buzz at the student center.

Drinking: Water. Soon: coffee or latte.

Wishing: I weren’t backlogged with work. I hate being so behind. I need to close out my incompletes and dig into my second-year paper work. Like. Whoa.

Happy Monday, friends.

Wooo!

I’m going to be a Woo! girl for a second:

This morning, I presented the lecture I’m giving to my undergrads on Friday, to the professor for whom I TA - and she deemed it “phenomenal,” even saying she “couldn’t have done better” herself.

She added that several of my students have raved about me to her.

And she said that she thinks I really am a natural at this (teaching, working with students, crafting cohesive informative lectures, etc.).

Day made.

(Now to be productive with my own work this afternoon - and then dinner at Butcher & Burger and beers with friends after!)

Life’s been crazy and out of sorts and wild and too much lately, but today I took a sort of break since a friend of mine is in from out of town and staying with me and serves as a legitimate reason to put my crazy on pause (at least for a few hours) and eat things that are so bad but so good. Over the past few days: lemon meringue pie from Sweet Mandy B’s, turkey club at Fraiche, pig-face poutine and escargot fries at the Barrelhouse Flat, and this afternoon… a rattlesnake hot dog at Hot Doug’s. I also purchased a sweet ’70s-era vintage dress for a friend’s summer wedding and a neon green t-shirt sweatshirt that pretty much rocks. Oh, and I really really like the poet. A lot. Butterflies. So, I kind of feel like this post doesn’t say all that much about my life right now, other than, “when stressed, enjoy the little things as much as you can.” Not a half-bad thought now that I look at it.

Life’s been crazy and out of sorts and wild and too much lately, but today I took a sort of break since a friend of mine is in from out of town and staying with me and serves as a legitimate reason to put my crazy on pause (at least for a few hours) and eat things that are so bad but so good.

Over the past few days: lemon meringue pie from Sweet Mandy B’s, turkey club at Fraiche, pig-face poutine and escargot fries at the Barrelhouse Flat, and this afternoon… a rattlesnake hot dog at Hot Doug’s.

I also purchased a sweet ’70s-era vintage dress for a friend’s summer wedding and a neon green t-shirt sweatshirt that pretty much rocks.

Oh, and I really really like the poet. A lot. Butterflies.

So, I kind of feel like this post doesn’t say all that much about my life right now, other than, “when stressed, enjoy the little things as much as you can.” Not a half-bad thought now that I look at it.

Hump day

I really am feeling The Weight right now.

Overextended is the best word for it, and I’m running out of steam, and I feel it in every fiber of my being. It’s the knot in my throat, the sloshing in my stomach, the tightness in my shoulders, the clenched jaw, the furrowed brow, the blurred vision, my quickened breath.

And I don’t see an end in sight. There’s no light at the end of this tunnel, and it’s terrifying.

Done with taxes

Should actually be getting money back this year??

In any case, rewarded myself by buying multiple Groupons for Indian food.

It’s how I do.

4.9.2012: Check In

Obsessing Over: Not obsessing at all in this particular moment, although I have been thinking lately about how i need to get back in gear with an exercise routine. My jeans are juuuuust a little more snug than I’d like. Plus, my head space could use the body movement.

Working On: All the things. But right this second, a “project description and mapping exercise” and then an article review for my ethnography class. All due at 6 p.m. Yikes.

Thinking About: My schedule, work, exercise, work, boy, work, friends, work. Finding life balance with work, basically.

Anticipating: The end of this day. Mondays are long and tough. I got to campus at 8:15 a.m., and I know I will not be on the train home until at least 9:15 p.m.

Listening To: Coffee shop noises.

Drinking: Lukewarm coffee.

Wishing: That I had about 1/10 of the work that I have to do. Also, that I had some sort of magic power to solve everyone’s problems. That’d be an amazing superpower.

Collapse

After 8 days of working non-stop, except for sleep and food and transit pretty much, I am taking a break to eat Girl Scout Thin Mint light ice cream and watch the latest Mad Men episode.

And then I’m going to go to sleep and be productive again tomorrow.

Whoa. Fieldwork.

Intense business, this ethnography thing. I forgot how incredibly time-consuming it can be.

I was at my research site from 8:30 a.m. to almost 3 p.m. today, then spent an hour and a half typing up my fieldnotes just now. And then I need to go back tomorrow night for a big community event that is sure to take hours to write about.

Next up… dinner and then reading and writing for classes! Because this is my idea of a Saturday night.

These days

I’ll leave it at that.

Spring Break and Such

I swear I’m alive: just dealing with some Personal Issues, attempting to research and write final papers for the winter quarter, managing my editing gig, and visiting my grandparents in Delray Beach for spring “break.”

Ughh just want to sleep by the pool.

But life pages.

I’ll be back in regular functioning TLM mode in a week-ish. Miss you guys.