Food: banana, juice, muffin, chocolate milk, Kashi frozen dinner, decaf soy latte, turtle cookie, popcorn
Exercise: walked the dogs, ran 30 minutes, walked from RB to Burris and back
Food: banana, juice, muffin, chocolate milk, Kashi frozen dinner, decaf soy latte, turtle cookie, popcorn
Exercise: walked the dogs, ran 30 minutes, walked from RB to Burris and back
We go together like rama lama lama ke ding a de dinga a dong, remembered for ever like shoo bop shoo wadda wadda yipitty boom de boom. If you know me, you know this isn’t true. Productivity and I don’t dance in the amusement park “Trailer of Terror,” ride the Ferris wheel together, or float off into the clouds in the front seat of “Greased Lightening” with our arms around each other. In fact, we are much more like the scene in the diner where Rizzo throws a milkshake in Kenicke’s face. “Finish this! To you from me, PinkyLee!” is the expression I find myself saying over and over to productivity.
Today, however, I tried my best to be productive, and you know what? I actually got stuff done. Of my goal list, which is always ridiculously long, I only have left to read three chapters in my lovely children’s literature textbook before teaching tomorrow night. And, I have to reread “A Wagner Matinee” by Willa Cather. It’s a quick read, though. A beautiful, quick read.
I got a lot accomplished today and now on to tomorrow to work on my dissertation proposal. I should have a revision finished for Debbie by next Monday, so we can meet on Thursday. I sort of had a nervous breakdown yesterday over the whole revision thing. I felt like I was completely rewriting the thing, and I wasn’t sure how that was supposed to go or if it was even what I was supposed to be doing. I tried just moving things around in the document I have already completed, but it wasn’t working. I ended up sitting there staring at the screen for about five hours, occasionally breaking to play Snood or check Facebook. Most unproductive.
I typically don’t revise academic papers, so I am not used to moving logical arguments around. Moving pieces of my life around to tell a story? Yes, I can do that. Moving around academic arguments to make them more sound? Nope, not so comfortable. I think I can do it now, or at least I know how to attempt it. I was thinking I was making it too much work, but alas, I was not. I must be one of those lucky people who simply has to retype things in order for them to make sense in a different order. Oh, to be gifted at revision and editing!
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I just made some vegan strawberry, oatmeal, brown sugar crusted muffins. I haven’t tried one yet, but I plan to eat one tomorrow after I run. They look and smell delicious. Aren’t you jealous?
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I am thankful for people of all types.
Food: banana, juice, pure bar, chocolate milk, pizza, pasta
Exercise: walked dogs about 3 miles
Posted in Dissertation, Food, Literature, Reading, Running, School, Teaching, Vegetarian or Vegan, Writing
I would learn how to free-climb, only super free climb, like super-humanly. I have always wanted to know what it would feel like to climb up the side of a building with the cars honking beneath me in the middle of rush hour. I imagine people as small as the cliched ant looking up at me and pointing while the news cameras roll and wondering sometimes out loud, who is that woman who is scaling the side of the Hancock Building, and why is she doing it? “I am doing this because I couldn’t fail!” I would scream.
Or what it would feel like to cling to the face of a sheer cliff as the wind blew past and the birds circled. I wouldn’t think twice about scaling up the front of Half Dome and hanging by one hand, swinging like a chimp from a tire in the zoo. Only I would scream, “I did it because I couldn’t fail!” I would grin to myself like a small child, because my hands would stick like Spiderma’s to the rocky surface of the gigantic cliff.
Perhaps the most exhilarating feeling of all would be climbing the thick trunks of trees to the top of the rain forest canopy. I am not sure this can be done, but since I can’t fail at what I have chosen to do, I will climb those trees and then sleep in the branches high above the screeching animals below. I would gaze out over the lush green carpet, and count my blessings by tens. There wouldn’t be anyone else around so I wouldn’t have to explain that I only did it because I couldn’t fail.
Posted in Just for Fun
The Vikings lost. Sad day.
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I am thankful for Merideth and her ability to talk me out of trees.
Food: banana, juice, pure bar, chocolate milk, Kashi frozen lunch, Lorna Doones, decaf Americano, Puerto vegetarian nachos, Klondike bar
Exercise: walked the dogs, ran 30 minutes
Today was supposed to be a day of getting lots of work finished. In fact, I was supposed to finish my dissertation proposal revision today. Instead, I worked on my stuff for teaching because I was incredibly groggy all day and didn’t think I needed to concentrate as intently on reading a bad textbook about children’s literature as I would need to concentrate on my dissertation proposal.
I think I should write a review of this book and submit to some education journal. Because it is so poorly organized and schizophrenic, it is difficult for me to follow what the authors are saying sometimes. I wish they would have simply put all the information about each genre together in separate sections, maybe include a section about fantasy, one about contemporary realistic fiction, and so on, and then break it down into grade levels. But, no, the authors decide it is way better to break it down by age level and then by genre, so the reader of the textbook never gets a complete definition of, or feel for, what the author means by science fiction, or informational text. Their focus is on developmental stages and literature, which I dig, but it’s like wading through the poo-canal at McCullough Park in flip-flops searching for your disc golf disc in the middle of winter.
Sometimes my sleep schedules get all messed up, and for the past week I haven’t slept well. I even had a few nightmares, which always sucks. When I wasn’t wasn’t having horrible dreams, I would wake up at 2 or so and be awake until 4ish when I would finally fall back to sleep. I haven’t gone to bed before 11 any night this week and have been up by 730 in the morning at the latest. If you know me, you know I need at least 8 hours of decent sleep to function.
Since I have only been getting about 6 hours, which haven’t been of the best quality, I have fallen asleep twice in the middle of the day. I already wrote about playing Rip Van Winkle in the library, but I had the amazing opportunity (note the sarcasm) to play him again today. I really didn’t have time for a nap, but as I already said was a bit groggy, so foolishly I thought I would take a Jack-nap—a short rejuvenating nap—to get myself going for the afternoon study session. Well, when 6:09 rolled around and I woke up in time to make dinner, I realized that I need to figure out how to get this sleeping thing under control. Any suggestions?
Both of my grandmothers now have Alzheimer’s. My Grams will soon have to be placed in a nursing home that has a special Alzheimer’s unit, and my mom and Aunt Zoe are looking for a decent one that still takes Medicaid/Medicare. My grandma has been in Warren Home in a locked-down Alzheimer’s unit for so long, I don’t really even remember what she looks like. I don’t want to discuss this matter for two reasons: (1) It makes me incredibly sad that two such amazing god-fearing women have to suffer in this manner, and (2) I am already starting to forget things. I am 35, too young to forget as much as I do, and Alzheimer’s is hereditary. It scares me.. This is the extent to which I wish to discuss this matter.
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I am thankful for being able to make conscientious decisions.
Exercise: walked the dogs, ran 3 miles
Food: banana, juice, pure bar, chocolate milk, salad, left over pizza, Lorna Doones, Ginger Ale, Spicy Basil pasta with tofu, mushrooms, and pinenuts, bread
Posted in Dissertation, Food, Insomnia, Reading, School, Teaching, Vegetarian or Vegan