Carnegie Mellon offers free online classes, and John and I have taken advantage of the Elementary French 1 course. It’s slow going, but it’s going. My weeknights are pretty well scheduled out for the summer. Monday is for jazz class, Tuesday French, Wednesday zumba, Thursday tap class. I was hoping for yoga on Friday nights, but that class didn’t materialize. It’s just as well – I’ll need a night off now and then.
Statistics is over and John’s thesis has been turned in (his defense is Friday evening). I should be able to relax a little now, right? Why don’t I feel relaxed? Relax, dammit!
Okay, yelling may not be the right approach.
Let’s blame it on work and leave it at that. Actually, let’s blame it on getting up at 5 in the morning three days a week to get to work. I can’t handle 5am. 6am is fine. Maybe it’s a mental block, but it’s one I can’t (and don’t want to, to be perfectly frank) get past.
(I have one thing to say to all of you who are just itching to tell me what to do about it: I KNOW. I will do something about it. I have a plan. You don’t have to tell me again. So shush now and let me vent. Thank you for your time.)
In other news, I got to hang out with a most adorable puppy (and Jess and Chuck, but let’s get our priorities straight here). See?
His name is Rashi and he is the snuggliest puppy ever.
You want one, don’t you? (I do.)
Remember that statistics midterm I wasn’t able to finish because I was caught by surprise by the format and didn’t have enough time to finish it? Yeah, the professor said no to my request to take another exam, so I got a 50%. To avoid a repeat on the final, I made sure I had over 4 hours available to take it. I walked in to the testing center and they gave me a scantron sheet. Yes, my final exam had 20 multiple choice questions on it (which is what I’d expected on the midterm, based on the tests in Statistics I – same professor). It took me an hour and a half. Do I think I did well? NO. Why? Because even though the course guide said the final will cover the material on the last two quizzes, about a quarter of the exam was on a subject we weren’t quizzed on. I could get lucky, I guess. Since it was multiple choice, I was able to guess at the answers. (I’ll leave the statistics jokes for you to make. I’m DONE.) So…yeah…I’m not happy. On the other hand, it’s over, and I will never be taking a statistics class from this horrible example of professor-hood (professor-ness, professor-ability) again.
This made me feel better (from The Daily What). One guy, lots of accents.
“But I am le tired!”
I’m supposed to be studying. One more chapter of statistics, one more quiz, one more test. But it’s 8:30, I had a long day and a longer commute, and I just read the same paragraph (about goodness of fit) three times without anything other than that one phrase (and something about a distribution that conforms to some claim) to show for it.
So here – watch a commercial about kids and moms and the Olympics. I won’t tell anyone if you cry a little. I did most certainly did not.
You’ll feel better when you watch the Carlton Dance flash mob, led by Carlton himself.
Both videos from The Daily What.
Stupid weather. Sure, we need the rain, but did it have to come with a 20-degree temperature drop?
I am homeworked out. I got a ton of work done this weekend and was still able to hang out with John and his parents for a few hours last night and this morning (because I’m amazing like that). For anyone keeping track, my SQL homework is 100% done, with only the final exam left, and I finished one of the last two chapters in statistics and the corresponding quiz, with only one more chapter (these are super-long chapters), quiz, and the final left to go for that class, too. If I can take the SQL final after work on Tuesday, I can finish the last statistics chapter and quiz by the weekend and then take the final early next week and be DONE.
Of course, if I’m going to hold to that schedule, I’ll have to do all my internetting during the day…
My weekend was packed full of homework and a couple of fun things. Mostly homework. Which will be the theme of the next three weeks.
Tonight, however, we watched last year’s Doctor Who Christmas episode (“A Christmas Carol”), and it was AWESOME. Really good episode. It was written, of course, by Steven Moffat (who writes all the really good episodes, as someone (I think Brian – hi, Brian! Sorry I missed you today!) pointed out a few months ago).
We’re still going at super-slow-snail speed on Doctor Who because we decided it’s nicer always knowing there’s more. We don’t like getting completely caught up on a show and then having to wait MONTHS for the next season. Sometimes it’s unavoidable (Sherlock, True Blood (still a full season behind on that one, though), Eureka, Downton Abbey), especially with British shows (WHY are the seasons so short? It can’t be just to torture us, can it?), but if we can help it, we do.
I’m off to bed so I can be well rested for my SQL exam tomorrow. I certainly feel prepared.
I can’t concentrate today. I was productive for a while. Kind of. I picked up upstairs, bought new running shoes, deposited checks, bought groceries. Cooked dinner. Of course, my brain would rather dwell on the list of things I didn’t do today. I didn’t get my nails done (hardly a necessity, but at some point it went on my To Do list), I didn’t do any SQL or statistics homework, I didn’t go to the gym, I didn’t walk the dogs, I didn’t read my book (although I did finish listening to the audiobook John and I were listening to on the drive home yesterday), and I didn’t (I am SO done with italics for now) – oh, I lost my train of thought. There was another thing I didn’t do (I’m sure there are lots of other things I didn’t do), but I don’t remember what it was. I should really go back and re-order that sentence, but I’m not going to.
The biggest thing I didn’t do that I feel like I should have done is homework. It’s the middle of April already, and I’ve got lots to do. It’s just not getting done tonight, and I’m going to do my best not to worry about it. Because I’m tired. And I’m getting up early tomorrow to get downtown early tomorrow so I can stop working early tomorrow so I can meet friends I’ve never met. Everybody with me?
I had a hard time getting moving today. I needed to do laundry. I thought about it several times throughout the day. All I had to do was get up and do it, but my butt stayed in the chair. It’s not hard. It takes very little effort on my part. I just didn’t make the effort. (I did eventually get the laundry started.)
I’ve had a headache for the last, oh…3 hours. Have I taken anything? No. Because that would be the smart thing to do. And it would mean I’d have to move. Get up, get water, get pills. Put the laptop down…eh, my headache’s not so bad.
Riley is going to get stung one of these days. Every time a bee or a wasp gets near him, he leaps for it and snaps at it. I keep telling him he’s got it all backwards (“Buddy, it’s not a good idea to antagonize flying insects with stingers. Trust me.”), but he’s not listening to me.
Maybe Riley can fight our battles for us. He can wrestle with the developers who leave me hanging. He can argue with the administrators who are running John’s paperwork in circles, and he can twist the arms of John’s committee members so they’ll show up for meetings. Maybe all that fighting for us will take his (tiny crazy little) mind off trying to catch bumblebees in his mouth, and he can be spared the sting he’s heading toward.
Hey, I think my headache is going away.
I’m not doing what I’m supposed to be doing. Big surprise. And I’m going to regret it real soon now. But I’m also not in the mood to be doing what I have been doing, which is checking out new blogs. New to me. Not new to the internet. Blogs that bloggers I like like. (I have never written a more perfect sentence fragment.) If they like them, it stands to reason that I will too, right? But I haven’t liked a single one so far, so I think I need to stop and try again some other time. I mean, yes, I’m allowed to not like other blogs. Of course I am. And my reasons for not liking them are legitimate because it’s a matter of personal taste. One blog was boring, the writing style of another drove me up the wall, and I left a third because the layout made it difficult to read the full post. (That’s why I never used to read Mighty Girl. Her layout bothered me. I just checked it out, and I like it better now. Maybe I’ll give her another try.) I’m not sure I’d like anything new right now, though, so I think I’m going to put the new blog search away and get some homework done. The homework I should be doing so I don’t have to worry about it next weekend.
Someday we’re going to live in a place where good sushi isn’t readily accessible. I’m not looking forward to that, but I can’t really see making sushi a deal-breaker when looking for a place to live. Not that we’re looking right now. Still, sad day ahead.
You know what’s not sad (or who, I should say)? Erik and Margaret’s teeny baby when I’m holding her. We went to their place yesterday to meet adorable little Corinne, and I surprised us all by turning into Supersitter!. Supersitter! took the baby (who was fighting her nap) when we got arrived, and Supersitter! swung and bounced her while we chatted in the kitchen, and then Supersitter! soothed wee baby Corinne right to sleep, head buried in Supersitter!’s armpit (which seemed odd to Supersitter!, but what can you do?). It certainly wasn’t Supersitter!’s arms that got tired or Supersitter!’s stomach that was growling – those things don’t happen to Supersitter!. It was a nice afternoon. Good to see them all.
Then I spent last night and most of today getting ahead on my homework. Exciting. And apropos of absolutely nothing (but courtesy of The Bloggess), here are some otters that look like Benedict Cumberbatch.
Yesterday was a weird day. It started fine. I got a ton of stuff done at work in the morning and I left to take my statistics midterm with plenty of time to finish it. Except it wasn’t enough time. I got about halfway done in TWO HOURS and then the testing center closed (it’s Spring Break) and I had to leave it unfinished. (I emailed my professor. We’ll see.) Then I had a ridiculously strange conversation with the checkout lady at Wegmans when I ran in to pick up dinner (I was talking about knee highs. She was talking about tampons. She must have thought I was insane.), and when I got home I wasn’t in the mood to do ANYthing. It was such a huge contrast to the day before. When I got home from the gym Wednesday night, I felt like I could climb mountains. You know why? I’ll tell you why. But wait – I need some space. This is big and needs its own paragraph.
For the first time in my life – this is no exaggeration – I touched my toes. Even when I was little, even when I was in high school and so skinny I could hurt people with my hip bones (those days are long gone), I couldn’t do that. I faked it in the Navy – we were sitting down and I could lunge for my toes twice a year. But this, this was real. (I’m a purist.) This was standing up, folding forward, and reaching. And I. Touched. My. Toes.
Go me. Go yoga.
You know something? I’m pretty good at babbling. Sometimes it’s entertaining (I hope. It is to me, anyway.). More often, it’s not. And sometimes it’s surprising just how long I can go on about something (like school, for instance) before I realize it’s boring. To you, to me, to the dogs. Flat out not interesting to anyone at all. I TRY to delete (deletedeletedeletedeletedeletedeletedelete) that stuff. Like I just did. Blah blah boringcakes.
Unfortunately, there are some times (like, oh, I don’t know…now?) when I don’t have anything rattling around in my head to replace the long-ass rant I just deleted about the waste of time and money my statistics class has turned into (because a full half of this course is a repeat of the last two chapters of the previous statistics course, a course that was a pre-req to this one – I get review chapters, but these two review chapters are the only subjects on the @*&$%&*^ midterm – that was a much more concise way of putting it). Do you think that’s going to stop me from posting? Hmm?
Maybe. It depends on a number of things. Like, what time is it? How tired am I? Is my book particularly engrossing? If the answers are a) late, b) very, and/or c) ohmygodyes, then no post is forthcoming. Sorry. If it’s today, however, and the answers are a) midday, b) not particularly, and c) have you looked at the time? What do you think I do all day that I could be reading my book right now?, then the fact that you’ve read this far should tell you something. (Psst. Come here. Closer. Just you. You’re my favorite.)
I know, it’s one thing to keep saying I want to post more and a totally other thing to actually do it. I’m working on it. But not tonight. Tonight I’m studying. Actually, tonight I just finished studying and I’m going to bed. Going to work early tomorrow, leaving work early to take my final for data modeling.
To keep you busy (ish) until I’m back (which should be tomorrow, since I have most of a post written), you can visit Jess’s new blog tumblr! Go, see, laugh. She’s got a new link over there on the on the right, too. ——> Right there. Ish.
I’ve read in lots of places (I can’t name a single one, but at this point, it’s probably in the public consciousness so I don’t have to) that to be successful at losing weight (or at anything), it helps to set up little rewards at certain milestones. I found my first little reward. But I can’t have it yet. I had the afternoon off work today (left early to take my data modeling exam (got an A), and had a couple of hours left over), so what did I do? I went to the mall. Horror of horrors. I wasn’t in a shopping mood, but John needs new brown work shoes and he has enormous feet so no one ever has his size in stock. I went to Nordstrom because I know they’ll order or transfer shoes from other stores so he can try them on before buying. Nice people there. And while I was at the mall, I decided to shop for skinny jeans. Not because I’m particularly skinny, but because it’s time. Sadly, I’m between sizes. So my reward for losing the next few pounds will be a pair of skinny jeans. Mostly so I can wear my boots over them. My shopping mood didn’t last long (it never does), and I escaped from the mall before it could ruin my day. Malls have a way of doing that.
Stress. Busy day. Lots of work done, lots of work to do, not enough time to do it. And then the realization that I have to take an exam for my data modeling class before Monday. Almost didn’t go to classes tonight, but was sane enough to remember that one of the things that is stressing me out is my incapability (incapableness? Lack of capability? I don’t think any of those are words.) to eat right (I say as I take teeny bits from a piece of Dove chocolate), and I usually feel better after the gym. So I went. And I do feel better. A little. But tomorrow is another crazy day (with a long commute with my boss) and it seems to have started already and – no. Tomorrow is tomorrow. Not here yet. Even if I am mentally calculating how many hours of sleep I need before getting up early tomorrow. (I’m coming up short.)
Yoga’s great for calming me down while I’m in class, but that feeling doesn’t last long enough.
Of course, I’m very rarely anywhere NEAR Kristen Bell’s meltdown level. This is funny, kinda cute sometimes, and so very weird.
I can’t even count the ways that I am sore. Last night was my first night back at my Muscle Blast and yoga classes since Thanksgiving. I’m very happy to be back, I really like those classes, but oh my god I hurt so much now. Every muscle we worked on is screaming at me. The aches sorta crept in one by one throughout the day, but they’re all here now. Hi everybody! Now go away.
I spent the entire day in a tiny little room with my boss (plus an hour and a half each way in a car with her to get to that tiny little room). I need some space. I need some alone time. And I need some sleep.
You know what’s awesome? Tomorrow’s Friday and it’s the beginning of a three-day weekend! You know what’s awesome-er than awesome? The first season (well, the 2005 season) of Doctor Who arrived in the mail yesterday! With extras and commentary and lots of hours of Doctor and Rose goodness.
Does anyone know where we can find the last season of Torchwood (the season set in the US) online? It was on Netflix for a little while, but it’s gone now.
My plan for the weekend:
These last two days have gotten completely away from me. Too much work, not enough play. Or homework. And a cold. Poor, poor me. Let’s all be sad.
Actually, I felt much better today than yesterday. I’m crossing my fingers that this trend continues. Especially since I have to go downtown tomorrow and I REALLY don’t want to be miserable that far from home.
Of course, if I end up feeling miserable tomorrow, I can make myself feel much better by watching this video (via The Daily What) again.
That was hilariously adorable. This one is just scary.
I registered for three classes today (two at a time – I certainly can’t handle three at a time). I hope I won’t regret this. Starting next Monday, I’m taking Statistics II (lasts the full semester) and Data Modeling and Design (just an 8-week course). Once that 8-week course is over, I’ll start an 8-week SQL course. I’m assuming (based on how Stat I went) that these classes won’t be as difficult as the calculus classes, so maybe juggling them and work won’t be so bad.
Who am I kidding? Even if the classes are easy, the juggling will be hard. I am an idiot.
It’s amazing how much better I feel, how much looser, more relaxed, now that my exam is over. I didn’t know how much it was weighing on me until I was done. (It went well, for the most part. I think. (Does a comma go in that sentence? I can’t decide.)) I was telling Mom earlier that I think most of the stress comes from trying to balance school and work. I don’t feel like I have enough time to devote to school because of work, and I don’t want it to take up all my free time because, you know, free time is necessary, but I can’t really relax in my free time because I know I have schoolwork to do. I know – life is hard, and I’m only taking one class. Boo hoo. Now shut up. I’m saying I personally don’t handle it very well. But now, now that the test is over, now that all that’s left is work (which slows down during the holidays because everyone takes time off) and present shopping, I can maybe enjoy these here holidays. Take some deep breaths. Look at the pretty lights. My neighbor at the bottom of the street has these icicle lights that actually look they’re dripping. But she might think it’s weird if I go stand on her sidewalk and stare…