O for Over(whelmed)

Well, yesterday was my last Geology class, dear reader. Yes; Geology is finally over!! It was a short class, which was nice, because I was home by a little after 7:30 versus a little after 9:30. We watched a video and took our final quiz. A few of us decided to wait around for the professor to correct the quizzes, but then he announced that he wouldn’t be able to do that, because his key was incorrect. He had put two questions on the quiz numbered 17, and he ended up having us cross one out, making his key incorrect.

I was surprised that we were not asked to complete a course evaluation. I have not taken a class yet where completing a course evaluation at the end of the course wasn’t required. I guess maybe they know how this professor and class will be scored, so they just let him forgo it, which is a bunch of crap if you ask me. Of all the classes I’ve taken, this one was the one I was most looking forward to evaluating. The professor’s teaching abilities were severely lacking, and the class location was ridiculous! Oh well. I guess I’ll just remember in the future not to take a class at this location ever again, if it can be helped.

While I would’ve liked to have known how I did on the quiz, I suspected that I had done about the same as on the last two quizzes. I didn’t find anything on the quiz to be too surprising and felt as though I had a pretty good grasp on the material. Really, what was most important to me was the final grade. I am super excited and pleased to report, lovely reader, that my final grade in Geology was an A!!!! I have managed yet again to maintain my 4.0! So, not only did I survive Geology, but I survived unscathed! Now I have three weeks off until the summer from hell starts.

Well, I shouldn’t say three weeks off, because that’s not entirely true. I do have to work on the Public Speaking Competency. It is my hope to have it finished up before classes start, so that all I’ll have to worry about is practicing the speech and arriving on the assigned date to give my speech and hand in my written materials. I’m confident that I’ll get it done within these next three weeks. I have to, because with the summer schedule being as hectic as it will be, I will not have time to work on it!

The good news is, once I complete this summer’s classes, I’ll be halfway through my associate’s degree! That’s awesome!!

It’s going to be a hard few weeks off and a hard summer though. People expect me to get together with them and to spend time with them now that I have free time again. It’s not that I don’t want to see or gather with friends or family, it’s just that I really need to spend my time wisely. I haven’t been feeling well lately—I’ve had massive headaches on and off and continue to suffer from extreme lack of energy. I think going off of my meds is playing a role, but I also think Minnesota’s early spring has created a helluva bad allergy season, and unfortunately all I can do is ride it out.

I hate making plans with people and then having to break them, and if I make plans too far in advance, I don’t know how I’ll be feeling when the time comes. Lately, too far in advance is only a week. For example, I had told my mom that Music Man and I would stop by this past weekend, but then I ended up not feeling well and sleeping the weekend away! We’ll see her this weekend for Mother’s Day, so I’m not too worried about it though.

We’ve been telling my stepdad that we’d like to have him and his girlfriend over for a barbecue for months now, and now that the weather’s nice enough to do it, they are starting to get a little impatient. So, Music Man and I have to sit down and figure out a gig-free weekend to have them over for a barbecue. Instead of looking at this as a burden, I need to look at is as a nice opportunity to spend time with family and to relax. I can’t help but to feel overwhelmed though.

When I know that people have these expectations of me, I get burnt out. I feel that I work so hard during the semester balancing school, work, and life, that the little free time I do get between semesters should be all mine. I should be able to nap my life away on the weekends and blog, watch TV, or knit on the weeknights if that’s how I choose to spend my time.

I get upset that people can’t just leave me alone and let me shut the world out for a moment; until I’m ready to rejoin life again. Sometimes I feel as though I’m too much of an introvert. I mean I love my family and friends to pieces and would do most anything for them, and yet I don’t want anything to do with them right now. I feel horrible just typing that!

Go ahead, lovely reader, just say it, “There are worse things in the world, Elle, than having people around who love you and want to spend time with you. STFU!” I know, I know, and you’re totally right. Still, I can’t help but to feel bitter and a little sorry for myself right now. I’m gonna wallow in my self-pity for a little bit longer and then I’ll move on.

I guess what it all boils down to is that I’m stressed out, wiped out, and overwhelmed, so I just want some time to catch my breath. But, I’ll make plans and will participate in family gatherings. I’ll try to schedule things so that at least one day of each weekend will be for downtime and/or time to work on the competency. I’ll even try to like it.

However, I will also be mindful of my time and the things I need to do. If that means only staying at a family gathering for an hour, then that will have to do. School needs to come first. I’m paying a lot of money and spending a lot of time trying to finish this degree so that I can move on to my bachelor’s, and ultimately, to a career I will find fulfilling and meaningful. Hopefully my family and friends can be supportive of my needs. If not, I guess I’ll just have to learn to be okay with being selfish.

I for I'm Back!

I have been an awful blogger lately, lovely reader, and I apologize for that. I’m thinking of putting myself on a blogging schedule for consistency sake and to allocate specific time for me to write, so hopefully my blogging consistency will improve. We’ll see how that works out.

Duluth was great! The weather was crap—windy, rainy, and cold—but we still managed to have a good time. We felt as though we got to reconnect and relax a little bit, which is always good. We spent the majority of Saturday afternoon/early evening cuddling and napping, which was absolutely awesome and just what we needed! I also got a little homework done, and Music Man had a good time at the gig.

I have a couple awards to claim, which is always exciting! (For me at least; maybe not so much for you.)

Aladdinsane at She Don't Make False Claims bestowed the Beautiful Blogger award on me almost two weeks ago. I apologize, girly, for not getting to this sooner! Thank you so much for the honor!!

I’m supposed to tell you seven things about myself, and then I’m supposed to nominate 15 bloggers that I recently started following and enjoying. First, the seven things:

1.     I am obsessed with chewing gum, specifically sugarless gum. I fall for all of the gum company’s gimmicky tricks. If a new gum is out, and it’s not some sort of berry flavor (because, ewwwwww, fake berry tastes weird and gross), I just have to buy it and try it. I am a gum marketer’s dream. (Also, when I get sick of chewing a piece of gum, eight times out of ten I’ll swallow it. I don’t buy the “it takes seven years to pass” nonsense.)

2.     My dogs eat healthier than I do. We spend an obscene amount of money feeding our dogs a healthy raw diet, but we eat lots of take out and cheap, processed crap. I know I need to do something about my horrible diet (or lack thereof), and I keep saying that I want to try to eat healthier, but I never follow through. I have a seemingly endless supply of excuses. I buy all natural and organic soaps, shampoos, and other personal care products to take care of the outside of my body; I need to start doing the same for the inside as well.

3.     Downtime is very important to me, and when I don’t get it for a while (i.e. a couple weeks ago), I get anxious and crabby. I start to resent and get pissed off at the people around me for demanding my time, which I then feel bad about. Sometimes I feel like I get a little too overwhelmed with life a little too easily. When this happens, I just find people to be exhausting, and I try to hide away from the world as much as possible until my soul feels restored.

4.     I get really irritated when I go out to dinner with someone (or multiple people), and as we’re waiting for the server to come take our order, the person (people) I’m with asks me what I’m going to order. It annoys me to no end! Why do you need to know what I’m ordering?! You’ll find out in a few minutes when I order, so how ‘bout we let it be a surprise?! If I’m out with people I’m not close to or don’t know well (i.e. a work lunch), I get really anxious waiting and wondering if I’m going to be asked what I’ll be ordering. It’s totally irrational how crazy this makes me, but it is seriously one of my biggest pet peeves.

5.     I’m not a warm weather vacation kind of gal, and not for the reason you might think. I truly don’t give a damn about putting on a swimming suit; if people don’t like what I look like, they don’t have to look. I just hate being hot, because being hot usually means being sweaty and sticky, which makes me feel nasty and dirty (and not in a good way). I’m not going to pay money to go on a fancy trip just to be uncomfortable the whole time. This is why I also hate summertime in Minnesota. Sure, the sun is nice, but the heat and humidity can be downright brutal.

6.     I can’t stand when grown adults use words like “nummy” and “icky.” I don’t know why. “Yummy” is fine, but there’s something about “nummy” that really grinds my gears. It’s not rational; I know.

7.     I love bubble (or boba) tea. There’s a place about a one block walk through the skyway from my work called the Tea Garden that gets lots and lots of my money. A thirst quenching fruit iced tea (or tea slush) with tapioca pearls can just make my day. Their sea salt latte (which does not have bubbles and is hot) is also incredible.

Now, for the nominees…

My Life As Jane – She’s witty, funny, and sometimes uses drawings she’s made in Paintbrush to illustrate her posts, which greatly increases the hilarity factor.

Proud 2 B Purple – Squashy’s girl is a childfree (well, mommy to furry “kids”) adult student just like me! Her posts are refreshingly real—very open and honest.

Fumbling Towards Normalcy – I love the name of Shana’s blog. Don’t we all feel, at one time or another, as though we’re fumbling towards normalcy? I know I do!

Anything Fits A Naked Man – Another fantastic blog name. Her blog is always beautifully written and I like that topics vary from funny, to heartwarming, to thought provoking, and everything in between.

Green Monkey Tales – Shannon loves writing and it shows. Like me, she has suffered unimaginable heartbreak, and her tales of her healing process and learning how to live a “new normal” (as I call it) are incredibly moving and inspiring.

I know I only did a third of the required 15, but I’m really feeling a little lazy and a lot brain dead today, and no one ever follows the rules completely anyway.

The second award I received comes from Kathie at Just a Happy Housewife

Isn’t it fantastic?!? Thanks so much, Kathie!! I agree with Kathie; every blog needs a little bling, and I’m super thrilled that she blinged my blog by passing this award to me. I like Kathie’s style:

           

“The only rule for this award is that if you accept it, please don't keep it to yourself.  Please pass this along to others and share the bling!”

This award is just for fun and to say thank you!  Thank you for entertaining, teaching, inspiring and supporting me.  Thank you for all that you contribute to the blogosphere!

I love when the rules are easy! I’m passing this one along to all of the blogs I’ve listed above and:

She Don't Make False Claims

Raised Queer

The End of the Rainbow: Life After Bankruptcy

The World As I See It

Making Stuff is fun

South of Sheridan

The Fabulous Bitch

After 'I Do'

Bloggin 2 Noggin

Dawning

just sayin'

The thoughts & travels of Rachel Cotterill

Take Me The Way I Am

Kathie said it better than I probably would have. Thank you all for inspiring, teaching, sharing, with, entertaining, and supporting me!! I’m turning comments off on this post so that you can go visit the wonderful bloggers I’ve listed above. As always, if awards aren't your thing, that's totally cool; just know that I enjoy your blog!!

P.S. I’m getting an A in Geology! I have the second highest score in the whole class. I’m gonna spend the weekend studying hard for the final quiz, which is on Monday, so that I’ll cement that A as my final grade. I am beyond excited that Monday is the last Geology class!

P.P.S.  I’ve created a buttons page. You can see it up above (*points to the top of the page*); it’s the one titled “My People!” If you have my button posted on your blog and I’ve somehow missed posting yours, please let me know!

A for Anticipation

Do you ever have those moments where life just feels completely out of control, lovely reader? That is what last week was like for me. Just a quick summary: Monday I worked and had class; Tuesday I worked, had a haircut appointment, then a doctor’s appointment; Wednesday I worked, had a dentist appointment, then the visitation for Music Man’s grandma, followed by a family dinner at a local restaurant; and Thursday was the funeral, followed by dinner at my in-laws’ house that evening.

By Thursday afternoon, I was exhausted! I felt as though I’d barely been home all week, which I really hadn’t considering that 9:30 was the earliest I'd gotten home all week, and all I wanted to do was sleep. I passed out on the couch ‘til around 5:30 when Music Man and I had to get ready to go to his parent’s house for dinner. It was nice to get to spend a little bit of time with my sister-in-law who was in town for the funeral. She and her husband are stationed in Hawaii (he’s Navy), so we don’t get to see them very often.

Most of the weekend was spent catching up on homework, since I’d gotten no time to do it during the week. Music Man and I did have a lovely little date on Saturday. We went out to dinner at a great local pizza place called Pizza Luce. They have the best pizza in the entire world, and the atmosphere is fun and laid-back. When we got home, we watched some "Six Feet Under" (we love NetFlix for watching season after season of TV shows we didn't watch the first time around) and ate the wonderful carrot cake we’d brought home from “Luce” for a late dessert.

I started feeling rundown on Sunday, but I pushed past it and went to work and class on Monday. This second Geology quiz was ridiculous! I really really really can’t stand how arbitrary this professor is with his directions on prepping for quizzes. Though I studied my ass off, there were many things on this quiz that I wasn’t expecting to see; things that weren’t mentioned at all in class and were barely mentioned in the assigned reading. It was frustrating to say the least!

I ended up getting 43 out of 50, which isn’t so bad. The professor was baffled that scores didn’t improve very much on this quiz. He’d thought this was an “easy” one and that everyone would do better since we should’ve known what to expect. The trouble was that we didn’t know what to expect! I studied all of the diagrams he wanted us to memorize and my class notes from his “lectures.” (I use the term very loosely.) I also studied my notes from the textbook chapters we'd been assigned to read. Still, a lot of the exam was foreign material. It has become quite clear that the professor has checked out. Once or twice every single class he’s mentioned something about retirement, making it clear where his focus lies and it’s not with educating us on the wonders of Geology.

We tried to get the professor to explain what our scores meant in terms of letter grades, but he told us he’d have to go home and figure it out based on grade distributions from quiz one and two combined. He said, “You’re all doing probably about 10% better than you think you are.” Based on that, and knowing I got the second highest grade in class on both quizzes, I can assume I’m managing to pull an A for the class. At least I hope so. I’m gonna be really pissed if my 4.0 GPA is ruined by a class I didn’t even want to take!

The only reason I took this class was that my degree plan advisor insisted it was the best option to get the required science lab out of the way. I still have to take some biology classes, and was set on taking one of those with a lab, but she’d insisted that Geology was the quickest and easiest way. It might be the quickest, but it certainly hasn’t been the easiest. I'm thankful that there are only two more classes and one more quiz left!!!

I spent yesterday and Tuesday sleeping the days away; finally too overcome by allergies and exhaustion to do much of anything else. It’s times like those that I’m thankful for paid time off of work and FMLA paperwork that protects me from losing my job because of “unplanned absences.” I was able to catch up on my blog reading a little bit yesterday. I didn’t leave very many comments, because I didn’t have much to say, but I am happy to be mostly caught up with reading the blogs that I follow. I hope to be back to commenting soon!

Music Man has a gig in our favorite North Shore city this weekend, so we’ll be spending Saturday in Duluth. We are both sooooooo excited! Not only does this mini-getaway provide a much needed break, but it’s also one of our most favorite places in the whole entire state. (It was the first stop on our North Shore honeymoon back in 2008.) We splurged a little bit and reserved a large suite in a hotel in Duluth’s Canal Park, which is one of our favorite locations in all of Duluth.

Depending on the weather, we’ll probably walk the boardwalk along Lake Superior Saturday afternoon, maybe grabbing a few sandwiches from one of our favorite cafes to eat as a picnic lunch along the way. We’ll do a little shopping at some of our favorite places in Canal Park, and then we’ll probably retire to the hotel for a nap before the gig. Right now, rain is in the forecast, so we might just end up doing a little shopping and retiring to our suite. We have a lakeside view, so we’ll watch the rain on the lake and will chat about life and everything under the sun; just enjoying each other’s company.

I love that, though we’ve been married for almost two years (and together for four years), we never seem to run out of things to talk about. I suppose it helps that our families seem to provide an endless supply of crazy drama (unfortunately). But, we also truly enjoy spending time together, just us. No matter what—rain or shine—it’s going to be an incredible weekend!!!

We’ll have dinner at Fitger’s Brewhouse, which is the location of the gig. Fitger’s is Duluth’s local (only) brewpub, and their beer and food are fantastic; the historic building lends a unique atmosphere as well. I might end up heading back to the hotel to do homework instead of watching the gig, but we’ll see. Music Man is, of course, fine with that; I’ve seen the band perform countless times, and homework needs to come first.

(I have two chapters of the textbook to read and about a dozen labs to work on. The labs aren’t due for another week, but I’d like to at least attempt them; that way, should any questions arise as I work on them, I can get the questions answered in class on Monday.)

Sunday morning we’ll find somewhere fun to have brunch before making the three hour drive home. I can’t wait! I am so excited to spend part of the weekend in my favorite city with my most favorite person! The excitement and anticipation will get me through these next couple days of work, and hopefully over the lingering exhaustion that seems to cling to me as a result of the nasty allergy season we are having.

S for Smattering of Thoughts

To say that I am overwhelmed by your absolutely wonderful responses to me being chosen as BON would be a complete understatement. You all sure do know how to make a girl feel good! I loved each and every one of your incredible, kind, funny, witty, amazing comments! I appreciate all of you who took the time to stop by and offer your congratulations and to spread the comment love!

I have tried to reply to each of you personally. If your email address is attached to your profile, you should’ve received an email response from me and I’m working on visiting your blog if I haven’t already. (Unless you commented last night or this morning; I haven’t gotten to those yet!) If not, I have visited (or will be visiting) your blog. Thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart—you all really made my week!!

I have all sorts of things bouncing around in my head lately, lovely reader, so you’re going to get a smattering of the contents of my brain today.

·      Geology Update: We had our first quiz on Monday. I had taken the day off of work in order to study and to hopefully catch up on my public speaking competency, but I ended up getting a horrible migraine instead. After spending the day nursing my head, I didn’t study as much as I would’ve liked. I went to class miserable with the lingering effects of the migraine, and was surprised that I even managed to make it through the quiz let alone the entire evening.

The quiz was a lot easier than I thought it would be, and I’m proud to report that I got 31 correct out of 35 total possible points! The instructor had informed us that most people either do pretty good or really bad on the first quiz. He was right; there were plenty of “dismal” scores and unhappy students. I know this because he wrote out the distribution on the board, so we all got to see that 1 person got 33 points, 3 of us got 31 points, a few people fell into the 30-26 point range, 4 people got 25 points, a staggering 6 people got 19 points, and 2 people got 18 points.

The instructor had organized the quizzes from highest to lowest score in order to write the distribution on the board, so that’s how he handed them back. People caught on quickly that this was the case, so as the stack of quizzes in his hand diminished, people got more and more worried as they waited for their quiz to be returned. Sadistic and cruel, but I understand that he didn’t exactly need to waste time randomizing the order of the quizzes just to pass them back to us.

Apparently, it’s too early to tell what letter grade equivalents are, because he grades on a curve; however, that curve is based on the combined score of all quizzes. So, according to him, we all still have a chance to “catch up.” He also announced that he doesn’t give D’s or F’s unless he “really hates” you, so we shouldn’t worry too much about that. Great. Lovely. Well, I’ll just keep on keepin’ on and will work as hard as I can to earn that ‘A!’

I’m officially half way through Geology! Only four weeks left!!!!!!!!

·      As much as I hate to do it, I’m going to drop the public speaking competency. With April 17 only a little over a week away, I am just not prepared, nor will I be. I’m trying to get in touch with my student advisor to talk about my options. Ideally, instead of dropping it completely and losing out on the money I’ve already paid, I will transfer to the summer or fall schedule. Then, I’ll take the four weeks off between the end of this semester and the beginning of summer semester to get all the work done so that I’ll be ready to go when the next competency date hits.

I’m not entirely sure that transferring to another date is an option, but I’m really hoping it is. I knew when I registered for the stupid thing that I probably wouldn’t be ready, so I just shouldn’t have registered for it at all. I was feeling pressured about having to drop Psychology and anxious about being behind schedule. I shouldn’t have made a decision when I was feeling so much pressure. Oh well, live and learn.

This is all completely my fault, and I accept that. At this point, I’m fine with cutting my losses if dropping the competency is the only option. I can’t continue to stress about or lose sleep over this. I have to face the facts: despite my best intentions, I’m just not ready. I kinda feel like a failure at this point, but I’ll get over it.

·      The weather in Minnesota was beautiful last week—spring has arrived!! It was so nice outside that I got to drive my car with the sunroof open last week. (It’s been a little chilly this week.) I’ve never owned a car with a sunroof before, so I’m learning a few things. Such as, when the sunroof is open, the people around you can most likely hear you (even if the car windows are up), because if it’s nice enough for the sunroof to be open, it’s also nice enough for car windows to be open.

So, if you shout something like “Green means go! Stop texting and drive, douchebag!” to the big SUV in front of you, that driver might hear you. Apparently, people do not like being called douchebag; unless, of course, that guy had a hand injury that prevented him from waving at me with his full hand. Somehow I doubt that though.

Also, the people around me can hear my music, which the guy at the bus stop the other day seemed to appreciate. It’s always nice to find another person who shamelessly enjoys Lady Gaga; dude did exactly what she said and "just dance(ed)," and he had some moves! However, when I’m belting out a tune at the top of my lungs, people can still hear me. I shouldn’t wonder when people turn and stare. The look I got the other day said, “You are not the next American Idol!” Which, ya know, I already knew, but it still stung a bit!

In my defense, Beyonce’s “Halo” isn’t exactly in my key. Then again, I don’t think many songs are in my key. I probably don’t even have a key. Okay, never mind. Also, I’m sure it looks odd to see a middle aged white woman belting out Kanye West’s “Gold Digger,” but that song wakes me up and gets the blood pumping on the morning drive to work! So, yeah, I guess I need be cognizant of the fact that people can hear me if I don't want them staring and/or pointing and laughing.

·      I really wish I could figure out why I’m so damn exhausted lately! I seriously feel like I could sleep for days and days. I suspect allergies might be the culprit, which makes me glad I’m going to see the doctor for my annual checkup next week.

That’s it for now, lovely reader. I’m thinking about starting a Flashback Friday in which I’ll post old blog posts from my myspace blog; particularly posts regarding Music Man and I meeting, falling in love, and getting engaged. I figure it will be a good way to preserve some of those memories here (Also, I’m trying to figure out a way to save those posts in order to delete my myspace profile.), and it might be entertaining for you. Let me know what you think!

W for What the French, toast?!?

Music Man and I are looking into upgrading our cell phones. We typically do this every two years when our contract is up, because our service provider offers great deals on upgrades. We decided that we’re finally going to join the grown up world by getting Smartphones. You know; the kinds where you can surf the ‘net, check email, manage your calendar, etc. We realize that we are behind the curve on this, and nothing made that more apparent than an online review I read:

“I am 13 years old, and I absolutely love this phone, this is actually the first time I have touched my computer since I got it. It is fast and ideal for facebook, and other internet applications. I love the photo quality and I love the texting features, it is easy to work, and the touchscreen feels great.”

Apparently, there are 13 year olds out there with Smartphones!  Ummmmm…what?!?

Now, Music Man and I don’t exactly need these phones, but we will be able to make good use of all of that extra functionality. I’m particularly excited about the calendar, because I need a good, easy way to keep track of my schedule (especially my class schedule) and to do lists. I used to love the Palm that I carried around, but it got to be too much having to regularly check, and lug around, a cell phone, ipod, and Palm. Having all of it combined into one phone really will save me a lot of time; though I do still plan on using the ipod for music and games.

I’m also excited about the ability to check email on my phone, and to have the ability to access the internet; this will come in handy when I want to check personal email while I’m at work or waiting for class to start or when Music Man and I are on one of our mini-getaways and want to find restaurants near us. The GPS feature will be great for getting directions to locations we’ve never visited before.

What I don’t understand is why a 13 year-old would need, or have, a Smartphone. I can maybe understand the necessity of a pre-paid cell phone, because it seems pay phones are in short supply nowadays; in case of emergency, I’d probably want my kid to have a cell phone too. However, I cannot fathom why you’d want to give a 13 year-old the ability to access the internet anywhere and everywhere, to play games whenever they want, and the unlimited ability to text. Seriously! What good can come of this?!

Some of my classmates enjoy spending class time texting, surfing the net, and doing who knows what else on their phones during class. These same classmates are the ones who complain about not understanding the subject matter, not knowing (even though it’s been said at least once per class) what material will be on the upcoming quiz, and not understanding how to complete the labs. Now, if those 18 and up can’t exercise self control, and don’t have the ability to understand that class time is for learning (not texting), I can’t imagine that putting that temptation in the hands of a 13 year-old is a good thing.

I’d imagine that it has become necessary for elementary, middle, and high schools to have cell phone policies now. So in addition to shaping young minds and dealing with difficult parents, it is now the teacher’s job to act as cell phone police. They don’t get paid enough to do their jobs to begin with, and now they must waste time fighting with a 13 year-old over his or her cell phone. Unreal!! Is it any wonder that the entitlement whore epidemic is sweeping the nation?!

Perhaps it is a good thing that Music Man and I probably will never have children. We’re way too out of the loop and old fashioned. That online review sparked a conversation between us that shows that, not only are we on the same page as far as parenting is concerned (which we already knew), but also that our kids would absolutely hate us. When they got old enough to need a cell phone and to understand its uses, they’d get a pre-paid cell phone for emergency, or call mom and dad, use only. There would be no internet capability and no texting.

Yes; our kids would absolutely loathe us, which wouldn’t be at all surprising when you consider the teasing and shunning we’d be condemning them to by not allowing them to have a Facebook account until they were at least 16; and even then, we’d need the id and password in order to be able to check up on them. Also, computer time for non-educational purposes (i.e. to hang out on Facebook) would be seriously limited and would only be done on a computer centrally located in a public section of our home (i.e. not our child’s bedroom).

I just really don’t understand a lot of parents nowadays. What’s happened to parenting?! It seems that far too many parents are more concerned with being the “cool parent” or the friend than with disciplining and educating their kids! This creates parents that give in to their child’s every whim, because god forbid Junior doesn’t have the cool cell phone that all the other kids have. What statement would that make? Obviously that we don’t care enough about Junior’s social development, or that we cannot afford such luxuries, and we must not allow people to think that!

These same parents are shocked when their kid falls victim to an internet predator, ends up pregnant as a teenager, gets caught drinking underage, falls behind in school, etc. Maybe it’s one of those things you have to be a parent to understand, but I doubt it. I swear, lovely reader, sometimes I feel as though my head will explode when I try to figure out where common sense has gone!!

In other news, Geology still sucks, but there are only five weeks left! (Then, I get a couple weeks all before jumping into that crazy summer schedule!) The class location is still absolutely ridiculous, and I will be writing that into my class evaluation at the end of the semester. I walked into the building at 6 o’clock last night, and I saw my classmates on the elevator as the elevator doors closed. I finished checking in with security, and began walking to the elevator.

I was stopped by the guard. “Ma’am you have to wait. You can take a seat over there in the lobby.”

Me: “Ummmm…that was my class on the elevator; I just missed them.”

Guard: “Yep. And you’ll have to wait. I can’t have you going up there and getting lost somewhere.”

Me: * Disarming laugh* “This is my third week here. I know where I’m going. Besides, by the time I get off the elevator I’ll only be about five feet behind my classmates. I’ll be okay.”

Guard: “Take a seat in the waiting area. I’ll give them a couple minutes to get to the classroom, and then I’ll call up.” (Obviously disarming laugh didn't work)

Me: *Thinking WTF?!? Are you serious right now?!?* “No thanks. I’ll stand here and wait, because I’m now late to class.”

I know, I know; poor me. (Who’s the entitlement whore now, Elle?!) I get that it was entirely my fault that I’d just missed the class. I know this guard was just doing his job. However, he’s seen me for the past two weeks now, and he knows I’m part of that class—he’d even commented as I was checking in on how I’d just missed them! I don’t understand why I couldn’t be allowed to join them.

Five minutes passes; two other classmates have arrived. I’m getting incredibly impatient. I glare at the guard. He finally picks up the phone and dials up to the room. The classmate whose job it is to lead the latecomers up to the room arrives, just as one of our late classmates had decided to go use the bathroom. (Really?!? She couldn’t have waited one godforsaken minute for us to at least get up to the floor the classroom is on?!)

I’m very, very agitated at this point. I hate being late, and due to circumstances beyond my control, I’m now over 10 minutes late to class!

We arrive in the classroom as the instructor nears the end of attendance. Good thing my name is near the end of the alphabet; he calls it out right as I sit down. I didn’t miss out on anything, but I’m still pissed. It is inevitable that, on any given class day, someone (or a few people) will be up to five minutes late. It happens—you hit a long red light, you get stuck behind the slow car, you’re halfway into the building and realize you forgot something in your car…

That being the case, I don’t know who thought it would be a good idea to hold classes in an offsite location that has such strict rules for coming and going. It’s asinine, and that’s exactly what I plan to write in my review at the end of the semester!

Final thought: I’m ridiculously busy lately! I’m trying to stay caught up with Geology homework, which seems to increase by the week, and I still haven’t started working on my Public Speaking Competency, which is now just over two weeks away! I’m feeling very stressed out and overtaxed.

I had a minor meltdown yesterday, and poor Music Man suffered the brunt of it. It's moments like those that I'm glad to have such a kind, patient, understanding husband. I realized, thanks to him, that I just need to ask for help. Novel idea; I know. If I need him to pick up some of my household chores, I just need to tell him. I know that deep down, but I just hate feeling as though I'm not doing my part. It's not fair that Music Man has to be the sole person responsible for keeping our household in order!

That said I have to apologize for not making it around to visit and comment on all of your blogst. I haven’t forgotten about you, lovely reader, and I will catch up on my blog reading and commenting as soon as I can!

The title for this post comes from one of my all-time favorite commercials. I need to start working "lint licker" and "cootie queen" into my vocabulary.

M for Mash-Up

Before I get into today’s topics, I want to send a heartfelt thank you to all of you who commented on my last post. I was a little scared when I hit the post button. Your amazingly well thought out, supportive comments warmed my heart. You are my people!!! I’ve found my bloggy tribe! I had visions of a max exodus of readers from my blog. You can imagine how astonished I was not only to not seem to lose readers or followers, but to actually gain some as well! Awesomesauce!!

Okay; now onto week two of Geology. This week was a little bit better than last week. My expectations were obliterated, but in a good way: only one person was late to class and only by ten minutes! That means the classroom phone only rang once. It also means that class wasn’t disrupted, because the professor was just doing roll call. He insists on doing it old school style; calling out names and waiting for a “here” or a “present” or a “yep.” My faith in my classmates is temporarily restored!

Because I didn’t do a very good job managing my time last week, I had to get all of my homework done over the weekend. It was not cool, but I deserved it for not doing a better job of spacing out homework over the week. After going to my niece’s fourth birthday party on Saturday, I took up position on the couch and began reading the three assigned chapters of the textbook. (An amazing feat in and of itself, because I would usually crash and nap on the couch after a children’s birthday party)

I nearly fell asleep several times, and I really started to wonder if it was truly possible for someone to die from boredom. I allowed myself to take a ten-minute break here and there to check email, read a blog, or check up on Facebook. I surprised myself with how good I was about reigning myself back in after ten minutes and pushing my nose right back down to the grindstone. I was proud of me!

Four hours after I started, I had the three chapters read and outlined. That seems like a ridiculous amount of time—I know—but I was being really anal retentive about note taking, because I just wasn’t sure about how to approach this class, and the chapters were surprisingly long (like ridiculously long). I figure it’s better to do too much than to do too little though.

I watched two of the three assigned videos on Sunday and the third one at work during lunch on Monday. I was pleased to discover that the videos did a really good job of summing up the topics from the chapters I’d read in the textbook. The videos weren’t as bad as I thought they’d be in terms of content. The one on volcanoes was actually quite interesting!

The ‘80’s haircuts and clothing of the narrating professors left something to be desired though. Wow! Have we come a looooooong way since the ‘80’s!! Did every guy seriously walk around looking like “Chester the Molester” with the Tom Selleck moustache, out of control sideburns, and short shorts that would rival those worn by many a teen girl today?! I honestly can’t recall; maybe it was just the geology professors that favored that particular style.

I felt pretty prepared walking into class (well, into the building to wait to be led up to class) on Monday. The professor lectured for two hours. I was able to keep up with what he talked about, even referring to appropriate areas in my notes. I took that as a sign that I did a good job on my notes. We took a fifteen-minute break, and then it was time for our first lab.

Since we’d just finished learning about igneous rocks (summarized for you, lovely reader, as rocks formed by lava), the lab was designed to test our knowledge by having us identify twelve rock samples. We needed to come up with the mineral content (based on color) and the texture: glassy, aphanitic (or fine grain), phaneritic (coarse grain), or porphyritic (two textures).

That information decided, we referred to our handy dandy rock charts with mineral content on the x axis and texture on the y axis. Where our mineral content and texture crossed, was the name of the rock. To double check our work, we could refer to pictures in our lab manual that showed dozens of rocks and their texture. I am proud to report that I got 10 out of 12 correct! WOOOOHOOO! This Geology thing might not be so bad after all!

Well, except for the fact that I snagged my fingernail on the pumice sample, which then left me with a ragged fingernail, which just about drove me nuts by the time class was over. I cannot stand having snaggy fingernails!! Oh, and it’s still really, really boring material.

I have two chapters and videos as homework this week. I’m halfway through chapter reading, and I plan to watch the videos on Sunday and Monday. I’m doing much better on homework this week.

I had a moment of panic today when I realized that April 17 is coming fast, which means I need to get my ass in gear on the Public Speaking Competency! I still have no idea what I want to do my persuasive speech on. I’m thinking maybe something about domestic violence or animal rescue—both things that I am quite passionate about. I have to prepare a ten-minute speech, do a “sentence outline” of the speech, and prepare the competency narrative (basically a resume of my public speaking knowledge, abilities, and experience). Hopefully I’ll be able to focus on that in the weeks and weekends ahead! (No, not hopefully; I must make time to focus on it!)

I registered for summer classes yesterday. It was slim pickin’s, and my summer schedule will be a doozy!! I’ll be taking Lifetime Fitness online. Here’s the class description:

Studies physical fitness, nutrition and stress as they relate to health. Through testing and self-assessments, the student's current status is analyzed. After the information on improving skills in each area is presented, the student will develop a plan for implementation. The course will include information on cardiovascular and cancer risk reduction, aging and health, sexually transmitted diseases, and substance abuse control.

The cool thing about this course is that it’s a two-for-one; it covers both the health and physical education requirements. I think it will be an interesting class, and I can most definitely use information/motivation to become more healthy and fit. It’s my first online class, so I’m a little nervous; I don’t know exactly what to expect in terms of time commitment and workload. Class starts June 1 and runs to July 22.

I’ll also be taking Social Inequalities: Race, Class, & Gender. This class is bound to be fascinating, and I’m really looking forward to it. The class name is pretty self-explanatory; I’ll be learning about economic inequality (poverty), ethnic inequality (racism), and gender inequality (sexism). Class runs from 6-10 PM Mondays and Wednesdays, starting June 2 and ending July 12. This will be the first time that I have a class that meets twice a week.

I’ll end the semester with my final required English class: Research Writing in the Disciplines. The reason I decided to take this class this summer is that I eventually have to take creative writing to fill a fine arts requirement, and I didn’t want to be stuck having to take two writing intensive classes during the same semester. I like writing, but there is such a thing as overkill! This class runs from 6-9 PM Tuesdays and Thursdays, starting July 6 and ending August 5.

When I plotted this all out on an actual calendar, I wondered what in the heck I’d gotten myself into! There is some overlap that’s going to cause the week after the 4^th of July, and the week following that, to be pretty hectic. I’ll have my two English classes both weeks, and one Sociology class each week, so I’ll be in classes for three nights both weeks. I’ll also still be involved in Lifetime Fitness online. I think I’ll be able to manage it all, but it’s going to be a crazy few months!!

Photo: Zazzle.com

(I might end up needing to invest in one of these! It's only fair to warn those around me.) 

Good thing I’ll have a few weeks off after the summer semester ends. I think I’m gonna need a vacation!

After summer semester is over, I’ll be halfway done with my associate’s degree, which is super exciting. That means I’ll only be a year away from joining the social work bachelor’s program. I’m so psyched!!

I for Ick! (Alternatively, Geology is dumb.)

I bet you’re just on pins and needles, lovely reader, wondering how Geology class went on Monday. Okay, probably not, but I’m going to tell ya anyway!

The location is stupid. Because it’s a large business, we are required to check in with security. This involves giving them a photo id, singing in, and being presented with a guest badge. Then, we congregate in the lobby waiting for the professor to arrive, because he must guide us to our classroom. It’s a ridiculous system when you consider how many students consistently show up late, but I’ll get into that more in a minute.

The class itself doesn’t seem like it’s going to be horribly bad. I still don’t care about rocks, and I’m now even less excited about the subject matter. But, keeping in mind that I won’t love every class I take, I’ll persevere. There’s no doubt I’ll learn something, because I know very little about rocks and the Earth’s layers and all that garbage (that's a technical term) right now. And, even if we might not care or enjoy it, it is always cool to learn new things, isn’t it?

I mean, who knows what could happen with this newfound knowledge. Someday I could kick ass in Trivial Pursuit just because I know how sedimentary rocks are formed or what igneous rocks are. (You know; if I ever actually played Trivial Pursuit.)

Homework is pretty heavy. I’ll have approximately three chapters of the textbook to read every week and about an hour and a half of boring ass videos about rocks to watch. Based on the fist video, which we saw in class Monday, this will be excruciating. Imagine if you will, the wonderfully educational science videos you watched in elementary school. You know; the monotone voice, images that barely have anything to do with the words the narrator is saying, or graphics with a simple triangle labeled volcano and a circle labeled rock where certain objects light up as they are being talked about, etc. Just awful, dreadful stuff.

I will get through it though. It’s not exciting, and I still don’t care about Geology at all, but I do want to earn an A. With that in mind, I’ll work hard.

The professor is a whole ‘nother story. He made a bad class a whole lot worse. To summarize him, I’ll tell you that he’s a sexist pig douchebag, wannabe comedian, and unorganized dope; that’s putting it nicely (believe it or not). Let me go ahead and break down each of these wonderful characteristics for you…

On the sexist pig douchebag front, it was obvious from the get go that women are inferior to this man. He mentioned that we will all want to arrive to class on time every Monday, because otherwise security calls up to have someone come down to escort late students up to the classroom. And when that happens, one of the “ladies” in the room will have to go down to escort the late students. Let me assure you, lovely reader, that there are in fact male students in this class, so it’s not as though “ladies” must escort late classmates up by default.

Why is this a “lady’s” job? I got the distinct impression that it’s likely because we are not good at science, and thus can miss a portion of class to escort students up; it’s not like we were gonna retain that knowledge anyway. Now, he didn’t outright say that, but it was implied in comments he made about his stupid, boring wife who doesn’t understand a thing about rocks, even though he’s tried to expand her knowledge on numerous occasions. (It has apparently never crossed his mind that she just might not care.) He reinforced the sexist mentality by telling us about some kind of exchange between him and his wife in which she said, “You forgot to iron your shirt; it’s all wrinkly,” and he replied with, “No; you forgot to iron my shirt.” Nice. Real nice.

On to wannabe comedian…this professor thinks he’s absolutely hilarious. He said something about how, during labs, students tend to look towards the class leader for answers. He then said, “There are no leaders in this class, and there’s no class in this leader.” (Ain’t that the truth?!) At one point, we were working through a lab in which we had to complete a topography map. There was a point on the map marked BM 982. He said, “Now, that doesn’t stand for bowel movement; that point is not 982 in a series of bowel movements,” and proceeded to inform us that BM stood for benchmark. Ooooooooooooookay, dude, you sound so intelligent, and I’m eager to take you seriously, when you bring up bowel movements in a class about rocks. WOW! He, of course, laughed the loudest at his own jokes.

Well, him and the creepy guy who sat at my table leering at all of us girls as though he was trying to decide who he was going to rape in the parking lot after class. I’m serious, reader; this guy was very, very weird and creepy. He showed up to class with nothing more than a pencil and a sheet of printer paper; no books, but he did have an empty backpack with him (Why? One can only guess.). He spontaneously giggled this weird, quiet giggle at the most inappropriate times (when no one else was laughing, nothing funny was being said, and the professor wasn’t even trying to be funny) and then looked around the table at each of us expectantly; as though we were supposed to either laugh or ask him what was so funny.

I really wanted to ask him what the voices in his head had just said that was so damn entertaining, but I didn’t want to be the one selected for an after class raping in the parking lot, so I left it alone.

I can handle the professor’s douchey sexist behavior, because I just pass it off as him projecting his own feelings of inferiority onto us. I can even handle his horrible brand of comedy, because I only have to put up with it for seven more weeks. I cannot handle the fact that he is completely unorganized, and his grading system has no structure. This, lovely reader, is what will drive me mad. I like knowing what is expected of me, which is why I love when an instructor has a detailed syllabus.

This professor’s syllabus is one page that lists out the chapters we’ll be expected to read and the videos we’ll be expected to watch each week. It also shows the dates for quizzes. There are three quizzes over the eight week period, and the amount of max points per quiz varies. Quiz 1 is worth 30 points, Quiz 2 is worth 45 points, and Quiz 3 is worth 55 points for a grand total of 130 points. The reason for the point variation is that we are expected to be more knowledgeable with each quiz. The main portion of your final grade for the class is dependent on the total points scored in quizzes.

However, we will also complete about 11 labs in class. These labs aren’t graded on a points system per se. Instead, they’re graded on a symbol scale ranging from + to “nc” with check plus, check, check minus, and minus also included in the scale. The symbol you earn is based on your participation in the lab and how correct your answers are. Apparently labs can only factor into your final grade in a positive way. That is, if the total of quiz points earned has you on the borderline between an A and a B, but the majority of your labs were check plus or check, your final grade could be pushed up to an A.

At least I think I understood all of that right. It’s a very convoluted grading system. The professor told us we’d have the system figured out towards the end of class, but that’s a little too late for me. I’d like to know up front what I need to do in order to earn an A. From what I've gathered, it will be important to do the reading and to pay attention to what the instructor says in class, because that's the information we will be quizzed on. Each quiz has a preview quiz, so we'll know what to expect on the actual graded quiz.

So, that’s that, dear reader. I foresee a long seven weeks with lots of frustration. Hopefully it goes by quickly!!

G for Geology (which starts tomorrow!)

Where did the time go?! Geology class starts tomorrow, dear reader! I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this before or not, but this class will be held at a satellite location. Not satellite as in outer space, unfortunately (because that would be something to look forward to), but as in an off campus location (which I’m sure you already knew). Since I haven’t taken a class at this particular location before, I decided to scope it out earlier this week.

Though I was pretty sure I knew where I needed to go and how to get there, I like to be prepared. So after work on Wednesday, I began my mission. In addition to knowing exactly where I’ll need to go on Monday, I would also be able to figure out approximately how long it takes me to get to the location in rush hour traffic after work.

I arrived at the location in a decent amount of time—about twenty minutes—and it was exactly where I had expected it to be. However, I soon realized that I had picked the wrong day for my mission. Minnesota was experiencing a dense fog on this particular day. As I navigated the streets, it was like driving through a cloud. One that was so heavy and tired that it needed to rest on the ground for a minute, and apparently, said cloud found the twin cities metro area to be quite comfortable. In other words, visibility sucked.

As a result of the cloud’s laziness, I could not see the buildings on this business’ large campus, nor could I determine which of the half dozen driveways and parking lots on the campus would lead to the correct building. A map the school had emailed highlighted a couple designated visitor parking areas, which I determined meant that students were to utilize said parking areas. Tired from a long day of work, and mirroring the cloud’s somnolence, I made no attempt to find them.

Also I didn’t have the map with me, because I’m super smart like that, and I wasn’t in the mood to try to navigate through the traffic created by the max exodus of the business’ employees leaving work for the day. Not that I’m trying to make excuses. (Well, maybe I am. Just a little tiny bit.) So, mission partially accomplished (but mostly not), I headed home. Hopefully I’ll be able to figure out where I need to be relatively quickly tomorrow.

Despite my lack of enthusiasm for the subject matter, I am excited to get back into classes again. My friend, Mel, who’s been in a couple classes with me now, will be suffering through this class with me. Mel had planned on taking two other classes this semester; but, when she found out during a discussion we had in English class that I planned to take Geology this semester, she switched her schedule around at the last minute in order to take it with me. At least now I know that I’ll have a cool, intelligent, and hard working lab partner.

Mondays typically see me exhausted and just wanting to get home, so I’m not a fan of having class on a Monday night. Because of stupid Daylight Savings Time, tomorrow is just about the worst day for class to start. I hate losing an hour of the weekend, and it always takes me a few days to a week to catch up with the time change. I am going to be completely exhausted tomorrow, but it should be okay. I’m banking on the fact that the first class will be mostly administrative stuff—going over the syllabus and all that—so it shouldn’t matter if I’m not as attentive as I could be.

I paged through my textbooks a little bit today as I got my school bag ready to go for tomorrow, and my brief review just confirmed that this class is not going to be a fun one for me. That’s okay, because I know that I’m not going to enjoy every single class I have to take. Though classes are a lot easier when you enjoy them, I’ll get through this. I’m most likely going to have every single second of it, but maybe (hopefully) it will give me some fun stories to tell you, dear reader. I just need to remember that it’s only eight weeks. Hopefully it goes by quickly! Wish me luck!!

B for Back to School

Before I jump into this post, I wanted to extend a warm thank you to all of the SITS Welcomnistas who’ve visited my blog lately. The extra comments and attention have been so fun, and I appreciate the warm welcome!

For those of you who may not know, SITS (or The Secret is in the Sauce) is a group of, and for, blogging women dedicated to showing bloggy love through visiting and commenting on blogs. It’s a great way to find new blogs to read and to meet new bloggers. In addition to providing this great community, the SITS girls, Tiffany and Heather, provide great blogging tips each Saturday.

In the short time that I’ve been a regular SITS visitor, I’ve found lots of really cool blogs and some really awesome bloggers; some of whom are such kindred spirits that I consider them to be friends. If you haven’t already, you should totally go check out SITS (click the fabulous button over to the right).

Soooo, March is here, which means I’ll be starting classes again soon. My Geology class starts March 15, to be exact, and while I’m not thrilled about taking Geology, I am excited to get back into school mode. And, actually, that whole not being thrilled thing is an extreme understatement. I hate that I have to take a stupid class about rocks. I’m actually quite pissy about it.

The course description is as follows: Studies the nature, properties, and processes that shape and alter the Earth. Analysis and study of the nature and character of materials composing the Earth; and processes that have formed, altered, and transformed the Earth's surface. To me, this all sounds about as fun as a trip to the emergency room. I know that it’s a necessary evil, but I’m still pissy. My calming mantra, “it’s only eight weeks,” is helping me to remember that I’ll get through this. I’m just really hoping those eight weeks go by very, very quickly.

Due to my unplanned extended break, I’ve gotten really complacent about school. I had grand plans to finish up my public speaking competency before this class started in order to be ahead of the game work wise, and that just hasn’t happened. Why? Well, quite simply, I got lazy.

I enjoyed having nothing to do most weekends. I enjoyed having no deadlines to meet or homework to worry about. I reveled in my new found free time and settled comfortably into my laziness. I will miss my spur of the moment weekend naps and spontaneous dinners out with Music Man, but I am eager to hop back on the learning train to graduation town. (Cheesy, I know. I honestly don’t know where that came from. I think I was temporarily channeling some kind of skeevy motivational speaker or something.)

I’m half a semester behind now, so I’ll need to figure out how to get caught up, which I think I’ll do by taking an extra class next semester. That won’t make for a terribly fun summer, but I really want to get caught up. I want to be done with the associate’s degree ASAP so that I can move on to the social work curriculum and bachelor’s degree.

I’m not tremendously worried about being a little behind where I planned to be on the public speaking competency. The requirements for completion are pretty simple: I have to write an outline for a ten minute persuasive speech, which I have to give on evaluation day (sometime in April…I should probably look it up). The speech is extemporaneous, meaning only limited use of note cards is allowed, and the evaluator expects to see visual aids supporting the main points of the speech.

I’m still working on figuring out which textbook I need to refer to in order to correctly outline my speech, but other than that, I’m not worried. I don’t mind public speaking, and though I hate persuasive speeches (just as much as I hate writing argumentative essays), I do have ideas for topics. There are many subjects that I feel pretty passionate about, so I should have no trouble with a ten minute speech. In fact, I think the trouble will lie in keeping the speech to ten minutes.

Speaking of competencies, I finally received the final evaluation form for the interpersonal communications competency that I completed way back in December. I knew I’d passed, but I’ve been eagerly awaiting the letter grade equivalent, which, I’m happy to report, is an ‘A’! I’m excited and relieved, but at the same time, I’m disappointed in myself.

I did a piss poor job on the paper. I didn’t cite any of my sources; not a single one. I’m so incredibly embarrassed, and I’m disgusted with myself. Since I was taking English at the same time as working on the competency, I knew all about the requirements for citing sources. I cited sources like a champ in all of my English papers, and took pride in the instructor’s comments on my perfect sources cited page and fantastic internal citations. I don’t know how I completely spaced that out on the interpersonal communications paper!

I suspect it might have something to do with deciding at the last minute that my paper was crap, which resulted in me staying up until 3 a.m. the day it was due to rewrite the whole thing.

According to all of the evaluation materials that I finally got back, I got an ‘A’ for thoroughly demonstrating my superior knowledge of interpersonal communications theory and practice. That’s awesome, and I am very pleased; however, I’m still beating myself up over my dumb mistake on the paper, and I probably will for a while. It’s the price I pay for being a perfectionist and an overachiever, which no matter how hard I’ve tried, I cannot break myself of.

I mean, I almost want to email a revised paper with correctly cited sources to the evaluator along with a note saying, “I’m really not a complete idiot. I know how to cite sources, and I know that I screwed up by not including any internal citations in the paper. Attached is the paper the way it should’ve been handed in. I’m sorry you had to waste so much time writing citation reminders in the margins of every single page of my paper. I suck!!”

I know I probably sound like a raving lunatic right now. I got an ‘A’ for crying out loud! I know I should just STFU, but I’m really really really disappointed in myself. I have a habit of being my own worst critic, and I can be quite harsh. I will eventually get over it and move on, but for now, I wallow…

Random Thought: I absolutely loathe the phrase “brain fart.” So much so that I actually cringed just typing it. I don’t know who came up with it, or why, but it has become so commonplace that it’s even used in professional settings. I think it’s a ridiculous and disgusting phrase, and I’m so tired of hearing and reading it. Maybe it’s because I don’t think farts (or poop for that matter) are funny; in fact, I think they’re vile. At any point, I can’t stand hearing it or reading it, and I most definitely don’t say it.

I would offer the following alternatives in lieu of “brain fart”: memory lapse, brain hiccup, temporary stupidity, or brain spasm. I’m sure there are plenty of alternatives out there that would more appropriately, and less disgustingly, communicate the same thing that this irksome phrase does. And, I just traumatized myself by typing it twice in order to accurately portray to you, dear reader, just how much I abhor the phrase; as though this is a groundbreaking fact you absolutely positively needed to know.