School is out, finals are over, and I'm never going back. Hooray!

Just to clarify, by "never" I mean "not for 2 1/2 weeks." I am so tired. I wrote papers in lieu of finals for all of my classes this quarter, and they were all due on Monday. So, I've been fairly stressed out for the last few weeks because I just haven't had time to write them. I was up all night Sunday night finishing up the papers, then I left at around 9:30 am to go turn them in. After that, I came home for a couple of hours, then went to work and worked until 10:30 pm. And due to my work schedule, I sustained that sleep deprivation for the remainder of the week. I finally slept in a little on Thursday, only to have a Family Guy marathon with some friends until around 4 am on Friday morning - then I had to work at 11. Genius, I know. Oh well, I'll get some sleep eventually. But for now, I've got to get ready for work.

Atrocious

I know it's been approximately eleventy-billion years since my last post - and for that I apologize. However, this post is still going to be brief. The reason for this is that I have to write 2 papers and a take-home exam in the next 8 days. All in all, it amounts to about 30 pages. Not only that, but I'm scheduled to work 30 hours next week. So I hope you can understand my brevity- perhaps even have a little pity for me. Hey, I'll throw the party and look pitiful, all you have to do is come with violin in hand.

So, why am I choosing to post now? Two reasons: 1) Procrastination/avoidance technique; 2) I came across a sentence (in the loose sense of the word - it had a period) in a scholarly journal that was shockingly atrocious. Here it is: "For example, part-time workers were awarded the same rights as full-time workers in the United Kingdom in the 1990s by the House of Lords applying EU-based law saying that to do otherwise would be to discriminate against women (because the majority of part-time workers were women), several years before this entitlement was clarified in the Part-Time Workers Directive." The question I pose is this: How did such a monstrosity find its way into an academic journal? Incidentally, the article is from Social Politics, published by the Oxford University Press. If you want the rest of the citation, let me know. I'll even give it to you in MLA format. But for now, I'd better get back to my studies - I do my best work in the middle of the night.

My couch is a hungry little fella

I got an MP3 player for Christmas last year. It was really nice to have for the commute to and from school every day. Actually, to be honest, I almost never let a week go by without skipping school at least one day - so "every day" is probably not the appropriate phrase here. But that's another story.

Anyway, I am once again commuting to and from school and having that MP3 player made such a difference - the first day of class, that is. You see, upon arriving home after that first day, I discovered that someone had stolen it from me. I'd had it in my pocket, and my suspicion was that someone on the crowded bus lifted it without me even noticing (obviously, I wasn't using it at the time). I searched all through my purse and backpack to make sure, but it wasn't there. The poor little guy was a goner.

A few weeks later (aka last night) I was performing that age-old ritual that men and women around the world continue to perform to this day - I was hunting for the remote. I looked under the couch, around the couch, retraced my steps to figure out where I might have laid it, but to no avail. So I decided to do it all again. As I was peering underneath the couch cushions, I spotted something small and round. Upon further examination, I discovered that it bore a striking resemblance to one of the earpieces of my beloved old MP3 player. The thought of the little guy brought a single tear to my eye. "No," I thought, "I'm not going to cry. He wouldn't want me to." Quickly I blinked the tear away in an effort to do justice to the memory of my little friend. As I did so, I leaned in closer, attempting to identify the object. There was a cord attached to it. No! It couldn't be... but it was! Frantically I grasped at the earpiece and cord, hoping against hope that it was still plugged in to the MP3 player. I was a little afraid to put my hand inside the jaws of the couch, but if there was a chance that my funny little friend was there, no way could I leave him hanging. So I closed my eyes, gritted my teeth, and plunged my hand into the depths of the couch, following the cord. Before I knew it, I was up to my shoulder. I broke into a cold sweat. "Think of happy things," I told myself, "remember the good times you used to have with your MP3 player, that'll pull you through." I took a deep breath, reached down a little further - and there he was! We were reunited! The good times weren't over after all!

Now, I know you're probably wondering if I ever found my remote. The answer is "yes." It was way underneath the couch. Yeah, that couch is a tricky little character. He's got shifty eyes and I don't trust him. But I think the real question is: Why am I spending my time writing this blog when I have a 5-page outline for a 15-page paper due on Monday and I'm not even sure when I'm going to find the time to write that? I'm not going to answer that. I'm just going to end this post.

Yikes

When I got home from work today, I ran into one of my neighbors on my way in. It was one of the guys who helped me move my sectional. Anyway, we chatted for a few minutes and we were discussing the apartment complex we live in. He was saying that he didn't like it and he mentioned that someone was murdered a couple of weeks ago in one of the buildings. So that was kinda freaky. I did a little research on the internet and found out he was right. Not cool.

I want my weekends back :(

I'm tired. School has started and I've added a full-time class schedule to a full-time job (I've been averaging about 35 hours per week lately). I usually work on the weekends and have two days off during the week, but now that I have classes during the week - they won't really be days off. However, since I don't have classes Tuesday or Thursday, I'm hoping to have one day off most weeks. This week I have 3 presentations to make (two by myself and one with a group) and a quiz. So much for starting out slow. Anyway, I was trying really hard to save tomorrow so that I can relax at home and get my homework caught up for the week. But I just found out that the only time everyone else in my group can meet is tomorrow. So now I have to spend 2 1/2 hours commuting to and from campus just to work on this group presentation. Wah. Yeah, that's right, I said, "Wah." Go ahead, call the Wambulance. I don't care. And yes, I would like some cheese with my whine. I may not get to relax tomorrow, but I'm gonna have a pity party tonight!