The First Semester is the Worst

(At least that's what all the third-years keep telling me.)

Dragged myself out of bed at 7:30 this morning after a highly disturbed night and managed to get to campus at 8:55 (it's a half-hour walk, and I had to shower first for anyone who thinks this constituted laziness), only to find out that the radiation certification didn't start until 10 am.  GAH.  Went into my office and tried to go through some of the Jamaica scans, even though I wanted to curl up under my desk and sleep right there on the unswept floor.

The training was fun and interesting, thank goodness, and the new Bruker we have is seriously awesome.  We can even order custom filters!!  My mind about exploded with the fascinating possibilities there...I do love science.  Training was done at about 12:30 and Dr. Hamilton took us out to lunch and I had a delicious chicken gyro...the hummus was a mistake, I should've gone with fries lol.  Got back around 2 and I did more Jamaica stuff until three when I went to the drafting lab and worked on Project 1 until SIX THIRTY which was when I finally finished.  I'm going to try and go in early tomorrow and get some input on it from Felipe and then start Project 2, since Projects 1-3 are due next Wednesday.  GAH!!  But Sam - one of Felipe's grad assistants - assures me the first semester is the worst and says I should really take Rigging 101 when I get a chance because you learn so much.  I'll consider it, but GAH for sure!

Tonight I've been trying to get some stuff for my Wednesday presentation done but I'm so sleepy I can barely sit upright.  Wondering if I should have a cup of noodles and then curl up in bed and see if I actually wake up at 7 and can get some work done then...no, I should really do the dishes and plod away at this presentation.  I would say I can't wait til Saturday, but I'm quite sure I'll have to spend a good chunk of it in the ship lab drafting, so...hooray whatever night I get a decent night's sleep!

Sunday "Funday"

Har har.  It's so much fun.  This weekend has kicked my ass.  Friday I got to campus early and did some reading/scanning in the NAP library, then worked for six hours scanning microfilm (and I STILL didn't finish the roll I've been working on), then went into the lab and drafted a ship that's due next week and it's so not good.  And there's a second project due next week too and I'm getting massive heebie jeebies because I'm having such a hard time grasping exactly what I need to do and how to do it.

I got home 7ish and had a short nap (believe me, it was necessary) before making dinner and being bad and reading fiction all evening.

Saturday I slept in (once again, highly necessary) then showered and went to campus and did some more frantic scanning and research for about two hours before heading home to watch the Aggies lose a heartbreaker in the last minute or two.  I tried to get more work done, but despite a nap I had a hard time pulling myself together and ended up getting a pint of ice cream for dinner and watching Poirots all night (I love you Amazon Prime.  So much.)

Today I got up early (well...9 am...which is early for a Sunday!), went grocery shopping, came home and watched the Vikings' game (another heartbreaking loss you can read about here: carlatheviking.blogspot.com) before getting back to work.  I did take a break to read a little of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (once again, thank you Amazon Prime and your lending library...I wish I could get more than one book every two weeks though), and that eased my pain a little.  Then I did my laundry and ate dinner and now I'm taking a little break before getting back to that ghastly presentation.  Why am I in grad school?  I sympathize thoroughly with Phil Gordon who said, "For a time I wished I'd stayed home and gotten married!"

I don't know how I'm ever going to talk for thirty minutes about Khufu's Barge and the Lisht timbers (well, I can, there's a boatload [see what I did there??] of information about them) and sound interesting and well-educated at the same time.  At least I get a powerpoint, it'll help me over the worst of it...I hope.

All this is not helped by whatever sickness it is I've contracted.  Faint, underlying headaches, a sore chest full of phlegm, a cough, a stuffy nose (worst in the morning), and sore ears are NOT making my life easier.  I've had four of those cup o noodles so far this weekend in an attempt to soothe my sore throat and I've even put my bread in a tupperware (French toast is all I'll be able to do with it now) so that I'm not tempted to eat it and make things worse.

If it weren't so hot in my apartment and bananas didn't ripen so quickly I would've gotten more than 4, but they do ripen so quickly and I have to eat them so fast to avoid the nasty brown spots it's foolish to get more than four even if they are nice and easy on my throat.  The minifridge situation is getting more acute.  Every week I'm stretched to the limits of my budget to buy enough food for the week (getting stuff to eat on campus is just making it tougher too) and I never get to buy those little things I need - oregano, thyme, basil, extra olive oil, soy sauce, etc etc.  Anyone feel like sharing the winning lotto numbers with me?  I'd love to pay all my debts, repay my parents, and move to a decent apartment without suffering from the $340 fee to break my lease.  I mean, if you have $4,000,000, $340 isn't going to bother you much, is it?

Oh well, enough stalling.  Maybe I'll magically finish this sucker in half an hour so I can go to bed with a book and still get up at 7:30 and get to campus in time for the Bruker lectures...and maybe they'll finish early and I can get some drafting in with Felipe to help me - or even Nathan or Mara because they really seem to be getting the gist of of it.  Lucky them!

Cockroaches

I hate them.  I really, really hate those ghastly scuttling suckers.  Today I'm sitting at my kitchen table, typing away and minding my own business when a half-grown one scuttles down my wall...I managed to hit it with my rolled up yoga mat so it fell to the floor.  After some yelling and thwacking with the yoga mat I killed it, got about seven sheets of kitchen paper and got it into the trash.  Then I sat to think about how the heck it could've gotten into my apartment since my door seems to be pretty tight.  I realized that since I've been opening my window to air out the cooking smell, that's probably how it got in.  So now I'm just going to open my bedroom window because it has a screen in it and keep my fan on to keep my apartment smelling nice.

But I've seen quite a few in the streets, and it's kinda creepy.  I remember seeing the Floridian ones in the garden a lot, but in the street?  These ones are much darker too, almost evil looking.  I really, really hate cockroaches.

I made bread!!

 

I made bread all by myself today!  I've never done it alone before so I was pretty nervous about it.

 

But it not only CUTS just fine - 

- it also tastes good too!  I think next time I need to add a little more salt...but that's ok.  I'm pretty proud I produced good bread on my first solo attempt!!

Made it to Texas!

Well, I'm here in Texas and mostly settled in.  There are a few (huge, glaring) problems, notably a broken air conditioner (I dare you to look up the average temperature in College Station right now.  I dare you!!) and the shocking revelation that when I called and specifically asked if this unit came with a fridge the answer was merely, "Yes", with no mention of the fact that it is indeed a MINIfridge.  Also, the pool is bright green.  So much for the crystalline pools advertised by the complex's website.  And, on top of all that, the toilet is highly temperamental and I've had to reach into the tank a half-dozen times at least to adjust the seal.  Grrr...I suppose I should be grateful that I know what to do...but I'm not feeling super generous right now, while I sit here in shorts and a tank and still sweating like a pig!

Here are some pictures from the trip and my new place:

The name made me giggle!

Fueling up!  We did a lot of this...

 Outside some coffee shop in New Orleans.  I kept thinking of that Scooby Doo on Zombie Island movie, and wishing I had it on DVD!

I was trying to capture how spooky the moon and the abandoned house were.

Sadly, even moving away from the pillars didn't really illustrate it the way I wanted.

 The guy hugging the dog kept trying to buy it from it's owner (the sitting guy).  Sitting Guy was unimpressed.

 No idea who this guy is.  Just liked the random shot!

 My new place!  I did not take a single before picture because it was just TOO DEPRESSING.  Anyway, that couch pulls out into a bed and will be my bed for a month or two until I can afford to get one from Macy's or somewhere.

How I'm going to cook a Thanksgiving meal in this pathetic excuse for a kitchenette, I just don't know.

 I mean, if it weren't for the table and shelving that I added, I'd have NO space at all!  To store or do anything!

I'm going to eat there too.  In case you can't tell, on the middle of the table is a vase my little sister got me, filled with the origami cranes she can make half-asleep and with her eyes closed.

  

This is my awesome green desk and my awesome green chair.  WOO!

 The bathroom is much worse than it looks.  I'm going to have to scrub like hell and figure out some genius way to tart the place up.

Where I'm sleeping right now, and where my bed will eventually go.


That's all for now!

Oh, Monday

Well, I had all sorts of lovely plans for today and they all flopped, mostly because I flopped.

Went to Leu Gardens this morning, and slipped and fell on a wet path.  Felt my knee twist and was on the ground and in pain for at least 5 minutes. Took me a good 10 minutes before I made it to a bench, and a dozen people walked by without offering help even though I was bleeding down my leg and had dirt and leaves all over my khaki capris. Managed to get to another bench where I finally got some help from some gardeners who saw me. They got a golf cart for me and got me back to the main place and cleaned me up a little with a first aid kit. Getting to my car was awful, and the drive nerve-wracking. Finally got home and managed to change into shorts, collect my crutches, and get to the bathroom to wash my knee.

Called my sister, who brought my mother and some Chinese food home for me.  Then she took me to the doc (hooray for the CentraCare app where you can make no-wait appointments!!!) who checked me out.
Holy moly having the doc manually test my ligaments HURT! I thought I was pretty good with pain but that was awful. Testing my ACL was worst.  I had to lie down, put my foot down on the table, and hold my thigh firmly while he pulled and pushed my calf.  I was so sore, I'm amazed I only groaned and didn't scream.  Then I had x-rays and the doc said everything looked great (thank GOODNESS) but he'd give me a cd with copies of my x-rays on it in case I decided to go to my old knee surgeon for a further checkup.  I only will if my knee doesn't get better in a week or so. 

Came home and spent the rest of the evening on the couch - you try eating your dinner while balancing a plate on cushions - and now I'm in bed where I will probably remain all day tomorrow.  At least I can make phone calls and and handle some of the moving business in bed, and even work on my thesis.  I have a lot to be grateful for...but I am feeling pretty sore and grumpy right now.  I would love it if someone magically appeared with a cheeseburger.  That's all for now, folks.

It's the end of July?

Where has the summer gone?  How are we now in the dog days?!  I'm sick yet AGAIN (seriously, if I were in a Victorian novel I'd be lying on a couch, feebly listening to a chatterbox nurse and attempting to ply a needle in some delicate embroidery), but the doctor says if I take the antibiotics she gave me and some mucinex and cough drops, then my ear infection will clear up, and the upper respiratory infection should go away instead of developing into bronchitis.  Let's face it, I bronchitis three times in 2 1/2 years in California, and I've been in and out of doctors' offices and hospitals my whole life...infections aren't something I can monkey around with.  Blah.  Healthy people are so lucky!

I think I'm also going to start taking Allegra again daily, just to see if allergies why I've been so exhausted all the time.  Last night I fell asleep at 9 pm (while reading), woke up at 10, got into my pjs and went to bed properly, and then I couldn't sleep until 4 am.  Woke up at a quarter to 8, slept again until 10 am, and then felt so rotten I just stayed in bed with a book until noon when I dragged myself into the dining room for some food.

I've been planning out the move to Texas, and happily the drive will only take two days (it's 15 1/2 hours, so I could even do it in one day if something happened that I needed to rush about it), so my sister will drive out with me and fly back after I'm settled in.  I guess we should book her flight, three weeks isn't any too long to make plans, hopefully we can get a good deal. 

Tomorrow (illness and weather permitting) I'm going to Wal Mart to get a day planner (sorry mistreated workers, but I'm broke and their stuff is cheapest), and then I'll call the College Station cable/internet and electricity people to arrange for my apartment to get set up.  Thank goodness I have a smartphone now so being without internet won't be so awful and LIMITING the way it was when I moved to Cali!  Once that's done, it's back to the thesis.  I keep praying one day I'll wake up and suddenly understand EXACTLY what I need to do, so that I can do it.  That'd be so great.

I should also sort out the stuff I want to take with me - never want to endure another road trip where my car is cram-jammed so high you can barely see out the windows!!  I'm leaving my easel, my paints, and my jewelry-making supplies behind which should make a huge difference.  My place is pretty much going to be monastic - Mom and Dad are getting me a bed, and I've decided to get a bunch of those IKEA end tables to use as a desk and table (yay sitting on the floor), but that's going to be it, other than a bookshelf or two, until I can afford to get stuff on my own.  I'm also going to leave behind all my nice wineglasses and martini glasses I got as presents, and I'll just buy a 6 pack of those IKEA glasses when I get there.  That should do me just fine.  Problem is, I'll have to bring quite a few textbooks with me...but Lidia is great at packing and without the paints, easels, canvasses, my guitar, boxes of jewelry supplies, etc, etc there should be a lot more room.

I'm going to miss painting :(

Enough for now, I need to get some reading done.  Oh the joys of graduate school!