Day 3 and "on the patch"

My moods are bad enough without this added stress -- I gave up. I'm on the patch with supplemental "Tootsie Pops." I AM NOT GOING TO GO THROUGH THIS AGAIN. This is really it. I am going to quit smoking.

Finally got something on the New Bibliography from Lynn -- she is so awesome! She really wants me to go into library science. She says I have a knack for this. No one would know better than she would. Madison has a program -- as does UofI. Perhaps I can really pull this off. I need a break of at least a year, first. Then I'll try.

I also might get a second Masters in teaching or rhetoric. It makes sense to do this stuff while I am teaching full time. Waubonsee is hiring -- I think I said this before, but ... -- a full-time developmental English teacher. I would be great at this. I am certain I am qualified, but I must convince THEM that I am. I will. I can feel it. I will apply as soon as I get a few minutes to myself to put my resume back in order and get my transcripts from Aurora University and NIU. I am sure I really don't need my WCC transcript -- but, I suppose it wouldn't hurt.

Gotta go. Freaking out over my "New Bibliography" presentation. And I haven't even started my paper that is due tomorrow.

Brief Update

Or not brief ... I'm never brief, but I'm going to try.

I'm trying to quit smoking ... again ... I've been very moody as a result. I've smoked the equivalent of about 2 cigarettes today -- butts from the ashtray on the back porch. They taste like shit, but ... what people do when they try to quit! I really just want to make it one week -- I know if I make it a week, I'll feel better.

School is going well, but then again, I'm not really doing any of my work. I blew three days so far doing absolutely nothing but playing stupid games on Yahoo and watching movies on my new television. I got a nice flat screen from Sam's and a DVD/VCR combo. It's the first time I've ever had my own DVD player. Now, maybe, I can watch the movies that have been sitting here for a few weeks.

I previewed Brighton Beach Memoirs for my students. They are watching the movie this week. I think I will probably send them home about 5:30 tomorrow and finish up the movie on Wednesday. We can go to lab after that. The Wednesday night class can finish in the time allotted. I don't think I'm really going to have them do much in lab this week. I will probably schedule an "extra help" time for this Friday, though. The e-portfolio rather demands that I give them that extra attention. Also, it will give me an excuse to get some work done at the library on Friday.

Okay, that's all I have. Must write a 2 page paper for Tuesday night and read Orlando for then, too. I also have a presentation on the New Bibliographers (the early 19th century editors of Shakespeare) due on Monday (though Dr. Baker never gets to stuff on time).

Gotta get a move on.

Actually getting somewhere

Indeed, I was able to sort out the stuff I wanted to keep from the stuff I either threw away or plan to sell. I got the "keep" stuff down to 4 totes of "good" stuff -- and the totes were large so I got everything (even some pretty big items) into the totes. The only stuff out of the totes is my luggage (like I am ever going anywhere again). On the upside, if I sell everything else, I am left with primarily things that I can move myself. My bed, my bookcases, my good reading chair and my Duncan Fife antique table are all that I would need a truck to move.

I have been pretty frantic lately dealing with some student problems as well as with my own work. I got a 90% on that first short Bloomsbury paper -- I wrote it on Virginia Woolf's "Kew Gardens" and the narrative perspective therein. She was impressed with my style and was only concerned that I didn't do so well about to practicing what I preach: "So What?"

I need some fucking time off. I cannot wait until this weekend. The garage sale is Friday and Saturday. I can sit on my ass writing papers and collecting money -- even if it is only a few bucks, it will be worth it.

I'm going to miss the stove. Everything else is garbage, really.

I am going to have 4 weeks off at Christmas, but that will be spent studying for my comps. They are a-comin'!

I still have a few papers to grade for my 6:00. I'm outtie.

Garage Sale

I've got a lot of shit. No, not just the "normal" amounts -- a LOT. My grandmother used my apartment as a dumping ground for all of her garbage over some 10 years. I couldn't throw it out because whenever she came to visit, she asked me where *INSERT PIECE OF GARBAGE HERE* was.

She used to give me all of this stupid, ugly and dirty crap for my kitchen with a "barnyard" theme. I have a pig-shaped cutting board, cow salt n' pepper shakers, a chicken napkin holder, lamb potholders -- AND I NEVER WANTED ANY OF IT -- I HATE "COUNTRY" THEMES!

So I have gone through about half of my boxes that I recently moved from storage into Doug's garage. Mom and I threw out some things, but we are left with an awful lot of junk to sell. Glasses, baskets, tins, candle holders, knick-knacks, pots and pans, dishes -- just a whole lot of crap. It took us 3 hours this morning to go through half. I imagine I will spend at least another 3 hours just going through the stuff. I am packing the few things I am keeping -- personal "memory" type stuff and a few pieces of kitchen ware -- the good stuff that I got either as gifts or that I bought for myself. Anyway, I have 4 large tote boxes that this stuff is going into. The rest of it can burn for all I give a shit.

When I finally set up housekeeping for myself, again, I will hopefully have a real job with a real paycheck. I will, then, buy my own NEW stuff. No NANA garbage!

Sorry

To both of my readers ... for a long hiatus.

I have been very busy with laying around, watching television and playing with the dog.

No, really. I am, as usual, behind on my school work. I am now busily "fixing" my Pope presentation for class tonight. I doubt that we will get to it, though. Dr. Baker is also running behind. That's okay. Another week of work ought to make it actually passable. Dr. Baker laid into me for using a source he considered disreputable. It's okay, really. I was only trying to beef up my sources -- all of my sources had said the same thing, actually. I merely changed the cite. Whatever.

In the meantime, I now know more about Alexander Pope than I ever wanted to know -- and I still haven't read anything by him -- nor do I plan to. In fact, this will hopefully be my last year of school -- ever. I am sick of writing papers. I am sick of researching. I am sick of being stressed from October through early December and then again from March through Early May EVERY YEAR -- for the past 32 years (if we go all the way back to kindergarden, that is).

I was sick for a few days last week to add insult to injury. I was incredibly lethargic and listless. I wasn't sleeping well because my RLS kicked in (restless leg syndrome -- always when I am under stress).

Of course, the dog situation isn't helping. When Lia was spayed, they sent me home with eardrops for her left ear. On the phone the day of her surgery, though, the doctor had told me "right" ear. I asked when they gave me the drops. I asked again when I got home. In fact, I believe I questioned them on the "left" ear prescription on the bottle at least 3 times. I struggled with her twice a day for 10 days to get drops into her left ear.

I had to take her back to the vet again last Thursday because she was having a suture reaction on her tummy and they wanted to check it out. I asked them to swab her ears again to make sure the infection in her left ear was gone. Indeed, the results came back that she had a bad infection in her right ear, not her left ear -- and now it was worse because it had gone untreated for so long. I WAS RAVING PISSED! But, I quietly paid the $80.00 for oral antibiotics and new, more powerful ear drops.

My mother and I had to take two of the cats out the next day. I took the first prescription bottle with me. I asked the nice lady at the desk if she would look at Lia's chart from the day of the surgery and tell me which ear was infected at that time -- the right ear. I QUIETLY said that I wasn't "happy." When Dr. Thornburg came in to see the cats, she immediately announced that they would be refunding me the $80.00 and that they were very sorry for the error. Painless, right? Except for the fact that I now have to put up with "ickies" from the antibiotics, struggling with Lia to get the drops in for 14 days more, and whatever happens to her poor ear from being infected so long. I AM REALLY PISSED!

Moving on. I have to get a move on. I have probably 2-3 hours of work to do on the Pope thing. I have an hour drive to school. I haven't showered, yet. I have to teach from 4:30 -- 5:45 (and be in class, prepared, by 6:00).

Dammit.

I suppose I could tell Dr. Baker that I'm sick (which wouldn't be a lie -- I'm still dragging). And that would automatically give me another week to work on this thing. We'll see.

Gotta go. 11:30, now. Want to be at school by 1:30 (so that I have 3 full hours on this presentation).

This'll be short

Just a quick note to myself: Next time -- prepare better. It's not to smart to show up in front of Freshmen without enough work for them.