My Crazy Random World

All I have to say is

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoy the turkey and pumpkin pie.  Try not to eat too much.  Hard to do I know.

Did anyone get a craving for nachos because of that picture MSN has on its home page with the article about the appetizers that are really bad for you? 

 

Or is that just me?

 

Talk about the opposite effect from what you wanted to accomplish.

It is snowing.  Like actual snowflakes.  Isn't that crazy?

 

I know I haven't written in awhile and I am sure everyone is really broken up about that.  Actually not much as been going on and I didn't want to blog about nothing, although that seemed to be a successful premise for a tv show (which I hated btw).

 

I did do something intereting on Friday.  I took a poll dancing class.  It was with my bookclub.  We sometimes do other activities besides read books.  It was so much fun and I may do their 6 week class sometime.  The only problem is that today is the first day I have been fully able to use my arms again and I am still a little sore.  Wow was I in some pain this weekend.  I could barely lift my arms.  I also have some interesting bruises too.  I used to swing around the pole in my garage when I was a kid and it was fun to pretend to be that carefree again.  I just may have to go down to the garage and practice once my body heals completely. 

 

Last night I also saw The Secret Life of Bees (also a bookclub event).  It was fantastic.  I recommend the movie as well as the book.

Sorry I haven't written in a while as there has been interesting stuff going on in my life.  Unfortuanately I ccan't blog about it in the event someone from work stumbles across my blog.  on't worry it really isn't a big deal and prehaps I will be able to tell you about it some time.  Just for now wish me luck.  Anyways on the school front it is kind of weird that I don't have classes anymore.  I guess what you could say I'm doing is a prep for my final paper.  So I still have readings to do and papers to write but it's kind of on my own terms.  I need to have a 10 page paper proposal turned in sometime in November so I can register for the next semester.  This proposal will basically be the first 10 pages of my final paper.  I am not doing a thesis I am doing what is called an extended research paper.  Don't ask me what that means.  I don't know and neither does anyone else.  I don't get a grade on it and I don't get credits for it but I have to do it in order to graduate.  I hope to finish it by the srping so I can graduate then becasue I am quickly losing my will to do this.

 

Anyways the other big thing that happened to me happended this week.  I turned 30.  I was really excited.  Everyone keeps asking me if it feels different.  It doesn't.  I guess that because my body went to pieces when I turned 20.  Anyways I got a  lot of cards and phone calls and well wishes.  I went to lunch with my friend and dinner with my parents.  The card my mother gave me made me cry in the restaurant and that embarrassed my father.  All in all it was a good day.  I don't believe in dreading a birthday.  I have limited energy and I need to conserve it.  I can't be wasting it on something that is inevitable.  So everyone have a piece of cake on me!

 

 

 

The last message I posted was on July 14th.  In that post I talked about trying to register for the fall semester.  That was over a month ago.  Everything finally came together today.  Yes I said today.  The procedural elements of grad school SHOULD NOT be more stressful than the class taking elements.  I have lost more sleep over this than I think I did over my hated research methods class.  I mean the semester starts on Monday people.  What the hold up was is that I am not taking anymore classes but I still have 6 credits to complete so I'm doing some independent studies, which I needed to get permission to take, which I didn't know I needed.  Why didn't I know this?  Because it is not stated clearly by my dumb program.  I am doing what is called selected readings.  I read a bunch of stuff and right some papers on it that will eventually be my literature review for my final paper.  I had to get permission from a professor to work with which I thought I got in February.  No where is it stated that that permission must be in the form of a written contract that I had to fill out with her.  Well when I found this out in July I hadn't brought my stuff with me so we couldn't do it then.  Then someone at work was on vacation the next week and I couldn't get away.  Then my professor was on vacation last week so we couldn't do it then.  So we met this past Tuesday and filled the sheet out.  But then my advisor has to fill it out but he wasn't there yesterday.  I called this morning and was told this.  So I said I would check back in the afternoon.  I called and was assured that my paperwork has all been signed and passed on the the necessary people.  I may doublecheck tomorrow as well.

 

Anyways, I updated my photo album to show pictures of when I went to visit the botanical gardens with my friend Beth (check out her blog).  If you want to check out the botanical garden for yourself here is the website.  Right now the theme of the gardens is chocolate.  It was very pretty.  You may notice the glass sculptures in some of the pictures.  These are permanent displays from an exhibit last year that was very popular.  They are made by Dale Chihly.  I unfortunately due to my own lameness never made it to see the full exhibit but what was left is truly amazing.  Enjoy.

You know the paperwork/administrative side of grad scool should not be the most stressful part of the whole experience.  Yes thats right folks once again I'm trying to register for my upcoming semester and it is giving me fits.  But I have realized something about myself because of this.  When I become stressed or agitated I clean or take care of tasks that I have been leaving to do at a later date.  I used to think this was just because I was all hyped up and needed to burn off energy but I don't think that is the case.  I think I do those things because at that particular moment I feel out of control and those are things I have control of.  It gives me a sense of order and control.  Or else I am just overanalyzing myself, which is also very good possibility.