Ah, I remember reading for fun!

I just read another couple chapters of The Hunger Games and I'm really starting to enjoy it.  I'm already 1/4 of the way through and I bet I'll have this finished way before the end of the month.  Hell, I may get halfway through today!  It is nice to sit and get absorbed in something that has absolutely nothing to do with school.  I feel calmer than I did earlier, if that isn't completely obvious.

I did get onto UNR's website- I guess I was confusing the computer or something.  It really didn't like the way I was trying to do it, though that's usually the way I go.  But whatever.  I haven't heard anything back from the guru yet but I looked at my saved list of potential classes and I think I know what my schedule will be.  Provided- of course- that I can do more Book Arts.  My teacher is confident that the guru will work something out.  I will sign up for three other classes today and hopefully I will hear back from him soon.

Now back to the book.  :D

Whiny whiny whiny...

Somebody's perfume is giving me a headache.

This morning I went to Book Arts, talked to the teacher and found out I might be able to take the class again in the fall.  He asked me about registration and I realized that my appointment to register is... today?  I checked my email (on this fine handy laptop) and was relieved to see my appointment is not until 4.  Then I tried to check the schedule online to see if Book Arts would jive with my schedule but UNR's website was not behaving.  I wrote an email to the head guru at Art Department asking pretty please can I just take Book Arts instead of Painting or Sculpture.  I set type for the title of my book, proofed it and skittered off to the student union for the first meeting of Nrgy, this fitness program I joined.  Everyone got a free pedometer and an explanation of the program.  I am wearing the pedometer now and I have to keep reminding myself to stop jiggling my leg.  I just finished the homework that's due in... half an hour even though I couldn't get onto the library website to access real journals so this grade will not be pretty.  During my next break I'll be wrangling my creative essay into something less of a derailment so that I can go to the workshop tomorrow and earn extra credit.  I will also try to figure out how to dump the lienholder off the Dodge with DMV and Progressive, eat lunch, do a ten minute meditation, then undo all the stress relieving when I attempt- again- to get onto UNR's website.  I may give up and read The Hunger Games.  Speaking of which, did they cast Jennifer Lawrence because she played essentially the same character in Winter's Bone?  Not that I've seen that.  Or read The Hunger Games.  That's just the impression I have so far.

I will probably tap my leg ceaselessly through Art History and not pay attention.  At home I will eat dinner and try to remember to practice my yoga for Mindfulness.  I will plan to go to bed early and won't, plan to put together everything I need for tomorrow and wont.  I will sleep like shit, snooze through my alarm and be five to ten minutes late for work.  At work I will promise myself that I will work on my creative paper and won't.  I find I am way less annoyed to go to school on Thursdays because I am escaping work early.  Tuesdays it just feels dumb to drive over for one class.

And right now I should be packing up my shit and heading to class.  Oh man, do I want lunch.

Damn you, diet fairy!

I am at the student union.  I just waited in the long-ass line at Port of Subs because I decided that I wanted to savor avocado today.  There was this poster on the wall showing the different sizes of subs *not actual size.  They are all smaller on the poster so that you'll say, "Hey, I am WAY hungrier than that."  By the time I got to order their poster had convinced me and I ordered a medium.

Maybe twenty seconds later I can move up and look at my sandwich through the glass.  Hmm.  That looks like an awfully small medium.  Maybe I'm just measurement challenged.

"And what would you like on your small number four?"

Ah, damn.  Okay, well now I can get a Pack Meal: chips, soda, and a cookie.  I tell the kind sir at the register and start digging through the cookies.

"Do you have..." I start to ask.

"No chocolate chip today," he says.  "All we have are raisin and white chocolate macadamia."

Foiled!

What did you expect, there's a month left!

Will this work?

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No.  Dammit.  Well, go look at it.  It's funny.

I was asking my teacher questions in Book Arts this morning.  He was showing me examples and trying to help me.  Suddenly I've got the resident bitch laughing at me.  He looked at her and she apologized.  Yeah, you jerk.

I'm on a break and I'm trying to find enough motivation to start writing my paper.  I have almost two weeks but the draft workshop is Thursday and I would like the extra credit for attending.  Plus it's a crafty and much appreciated way teachers keep you from procrastinating.  Last time I had other things to do that I had procrastinated on so I didn't have anything written for the workshop.  I really did like the measured pace of writing my paper over several days so I'm trying to start this one today.  Being able to walk away from it is invaluable.

The fake Patch Adams- otherwise known as the counselor who wouldn't go away- is sitting nearby in the cafeteria.  Much like the bitch in Book Arts, I cannot wait until I never see her again.

I'm still coming up with ideas for the book and I'm really excited about some of them.  I need to hash them out with someone but this will be a busy week.  Lots of reading to catch up on, response due tomorrow, journal due Wednesday, draft due Thursday, proposal draft and book mock up due Monday.  Sheesh!  I'd better get going.

Procrastination

It's too nice outside to be doing homework.  I should be sitting in the grass and sunshine reading Patrick Rothfuss's new book and drinking Kool-Aid.  Garrett made me read The Name of the Wind when he was here.  When I finished it he told me that the new one wasn't out yet, making me yell "Arrrgghhh!"  Now it's out and I would rather not buy hardcover.  I read online that the paperback will be another 9 months or so.  Arrrggghh!  I checked Borders and they said I could get it for $17 and change.  They said it's in stock and I've got a coupon for 33% off so we stopped by to get it on our errand trip.  It was in, it was hardcover, and it was thirty goddamn dollars!  Boo hiss.  The coupon is also valid online so I'm going to try to get it there.  Frickin $30.  And yes, I checked the library.  They don't have it.

I'm going to go get my family phone calls in, clear the fridge of dying food and attempt to clean my office.  Then- sigh- I will do my homework.

Oh but for those not on Facebook:

Porch pet meeting:

Chris wearing my raisin box after lunch

Ah, that's fun.

How I Know the Mindfulness Is Working

I made a deal with Chris about the chores- we split the list and I am supposed to accomplish my part before he gets home at 7:30.  I have some more to do before my list is done but I already cleaned the bejeezus out of the kitchen and let's be serious, he's not going to be home by 7:30.

This Thursday in the Mindfulness class we were assigned our new homework: to sit down at the end of each day and document an unpleasant event and our reactions to it.  (We did pleasant events last week.)  I did not have to wait long.

On Friday I went to work and maybe an hour or so in, my boss brought out a flier he'd made.  I saw something on it that confused me and I asked a question to clarify.  His answer only confused me more and I made a remark that made it obvious to him that I had misinterpreted the flier.  Suddenly I found myself faced with a barrage of ridicule- not just from him, but from a coworker as well- implying that I must be absolutely retarded to read it that way.  I was stunned- horrified to be treated like this- as well as completely outraged.  Normally, my reaction would be to shut up and stew in the corner all day, then, hours later when I had reimagined the situation enough times, come up with the perfect retort.  Actually, that perfect response would probably come from Mom or Tracy when I called them to share my outrage. I would be left feeling ostracized and stupid with no way to resolve the issue in my head so it would just be added to the revolving file of poor reactions.  But not this time.

This time I felt outraged and dismissed, pissed off, hurt, the whole nine yards, but I was able to respond.

"Wait a minute," I said.  "If I read it that way, odds are that other people will too."

I didn't lose my shit, I didn't panic.  I still felt everything that I always do but for whatever reason, this time I was able to respond.  On the first day of the Mindfulness class, we were asked what we wanted out of it.  I know I said something, I'm sure it was as true as possible, but I am amending my answer.  THIS is what I want.  So did it work?

Not at all.  Not even a little bit.  He refused to hear what I had to say.  I was trying to be helpful, I got ridiculed, and I was STILL trying to be helpful.  I was not petty or spiteful to him- there was no retaliation on my part, no defensive smartass remark.  And he wouldn't hear it.  Ok fine.

Now, I did spend a while being pissed off.  It didn't help that he threw a jab at me less than five minutes after that, but whatever.  I talked to my other coworker (the one who also read the flier the way I did) and he assured me that the boss is an asshole to him all the time.  We talked about it for a little bit and then I went about my day.  Soon it occurred to me that I had an unpleasant event to document and did so.  That got me thinking about my response and I became really proud of myself.  It didn't work, but that was okay.  I am comfortable leaving this behind because I reacted in a way that I can feel proud of.

I did tell Tracy about it and she wondered why this guy is trying to argue with an English major ("Yeah. YEAH!") but this phone conversation was not about sharing frustration, it was about sharing an accomplishment.  Yeah!

Maybe it's just time for a bath.

Chris and I were having our regular morning pseudo argument about taking the dogs for a walk.  I got in the shower and Chris was watching the Weather Channel.  Suddenly he calls out that he's not taking them for a walk today.  He comes into the bathroom and slides open the shower door to tell me that the high is 33 and it's supposed to snow.  I express disbelief and he starts to close the door.  The door bounces on the track and we both look down to see what's in the way.

It's Riley.  She just snuck into the shower and is standing there blinking up at me while getting dripped on. Chris has closed the door as if she's going to stay in there and we're having a confused conversation through the glass.

What is she doing?
Why did she jump in?
She never goes in voluntarily...
I know!

I asked Riley, but I didn't get an answer.  I thought maybe she needed to go out so Chris opened the door and invited her to potty.  She accepted.  I still don't know what the deal was.  She seems to just be in one of those moods.