8 (more) random things about me meme, and maybe about YOU!
Thanks to Terry for the tag (and the fun contest!) I'm happy to do my part, not only for NaBoPoMo but also to help Sandy keep the blogworld glued together. ; )
1. Okay? Right off the bat. I've been working on or contemplating this post for the better part of a day. It's been one of THOSE days at work. Actually, it's been one of the WORST ones of THOSE days that I can remember. I just need to get this done. I'm aimin' for random, I'm aimin' for eight, hopefully they'll all make sense. The mood is a rare one -- doom and gloom, anxious, nervous, tense, and jittery. It started yesterday, got worse last night, wasn't any better by morning, and went to hell in a hand-basket just before lunch. I'm a little deflated and depressed and, well, yeah. Turkey shmurkey. Good thing we're having lasagna.
Heh, now y'all probably think the other seven things are going to be a laundry list of all my worries! Nah. One of the things blogging is good for (most of the time, anyway, I try) is taking Baloo's advice to accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative! Maybe I can pull a good mood out of my hat. Let's see...
2. I have 30 posts saved as "Draft." This was is was one -- I've already diddled with the title and deleted a couple-few of the random things I'd saved, fooled with some others, so it's practically like starting over... but not. This means that I could have participated in NaBloPoMo without writing a single new post! The oldest of these drafts is dated April 29, 2005. Some of the titles make me smile. Here's a sampling:
"Payday"
"Michael"
"Onion"
"Get out the TV trays"
"Why?"
"Purge"
"Parental ramble with pink flowers and cursory mention of knitting"
"Something's happening here"
"What have I done?"
"Well, you know, now that..." and
"I'm not as think as you drunk I am."
Some are easy to figure out, others are more mysterious. I haven't revisited any of them. I think that last one was an ode to Major Houlihan on the heels of a TVLand M*A*S*H marathon or something. Maybe I'd had a beer. ; )
3. I'd like a beer now.
4. I'm trying to convince myself that dropping a class does not make me a failure. NOT dropping a class and failing that class... now that would be a failure. I haven't been able to make it official yet, but I'm making myself sick with the constant weighing of the pros and cons, back and forth, yes or no, sink or swim. I'm drowning over here, and this third class joining the fray at mid-semester is pulling me down. I can only do so much -- and this is TOO much. I wonder if I like school.
5. I received an email over the weekend celebrating a certain number of days that I can't remember of not smoking. It's always been the big numbers I like... closing in on 20,000 cigarettes that I did not smoke. TWENTY THOUSAND of the damned things. ONE FREAKIN' THOUSAND PACKS OF CIGARETTES which totals well over $3,000! I do believe I heard that taxes alone will be increased by $1.00/pack in my state... soon maybe? I don't care! It doesn't really concern me anymore. Anyway, I can never remember if it's been a year or two, now, closing in on three (?) since we've quit! Ann? I know it was March 17th.
6. I've had some bad, bad cravings for a cigarette in the last 24 hours. Can't remember when I had it so bad. (Don't worry. I won't.)
7. There was hardly a thing in the house when I left this morning, or so I was told. No bread, no mayo, barely any milk. I hadn't done any of my shopping for the holiday, either. The cupboards will be full upon my return, however, because Ali & Maddy came by this afternoon and picked up my list! Personal grocery shoppers!
8. I was a little distraught after class (the above-mentioned) last night, and decided to skip knitting out. If there hadn't been an asshole or two on the road that made me miss my turn and want to cry, maybe I'd have gone. I didn't have any knitting with me, anyway. I did think about going just for something to drink, a little treat, some socializing. Talked myself out of that -- didn't need the calories, couldn't imagine doing anything but whining. Well. I missed a very happy announcement! Some of the happiest news I've heard in a while. Congratulations, Ann.
Sheesh. I must be up to about 189 random things on the blog now. And I do feel a little better.
Fewer than 8 random comments in response:
$3000 is a lot of yarn!
*************************
It's been -- I think -- three years, close to 4 that my husband quit smoking after over 25 years. I am so proud of and glad for you both.
************************
Hey, dropping a class when you are working and a mother/grandma and taking classes and -- umm, possibly a little overcommitted? -- is a restructuring of priorities so you can give your best to the other classes (and work, and motherhood, and grandmotherhood, and knitting, and knitblogging). Signing up for classes is an act of blind faith because you don't really know what the class is going to be like; much less how to fit it all in. If the class is not gelling for you for whatever reason-- if it were me, I'd drop it like a hot potato. Instead, you're trying to hold on to the hot potato and getting burned!! So if that's what's a-happenin' -- droppage is not failurage. Droppage is being a responsible student.
[Boy, get a load of Dear Abby here! Sorry.
But I know what's it's like to have unreasonable expectations of myself when it comes to academics and everything else.]
********************
Assholes are everywhere. Screw 'em.
********************
Have a beer.
And also a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family. I can smell the lasagna already....
Posted by: Cathy-Cate | 21 November 2007 at 05:05 PM
THREE #3 TRES DREI III count em' up sister! yay for us!!!!
Posted by: ann | 21 November 2007 at 05:05 PM
PS:
Da dum dum --
Look for those BARE Necessities, those simple Bare Necessities,
Forget about your worries and your strife!
I mean those BARE Necessities, Old Mother Nature's Recipes that bring the Bare Necessities of Life!
I believe Beer would qualify as a Mother Nature's Recipe.
Gee, thanks for the earworm.... I think I'll go home and make my children watch the Jungle Book.
Posted by: Cathy-Cate | 21 November 2007 at 05:17 PM
Hope you've had that beer by now!
Thanksgiving will be great. Have a wonderful day with your beautiful girls. I'll be thinking of all of my NaBloPoMo grrls. They have all become even more special to me.
Posted by: Teresa C | 21 November 2007 at 05:32 PM
Drop the class.
I'm working on my masters right now, and it is kicking my butt. Because of having knee surgery and spending months on 'happy pills' (those were some GOOD painkillers!) I ended up having to extend all of my classes. The problem? Once you extend you can't drop. I ended up with a 0 for one, because I was working full time and found out I had a week to write a 12 page research paper and take a 30 PAGE final exam. If I'd sucked it up and dropped it at the beginning, I'd have a lot better GPA right now! As is, I'm looking at having to drop that whole certificate program because of that class. And even if I do stick with it, I can't earn it until after I finish my masters because of that class.
I hated to do it, but I dropped all the classes I had scheduled for the next semester - and it's a good thing I did. That semester would be over by now, and I'm still finishing up the first semester. (I started the first week of April).
You can't look at dropping a class as a failure, though. Look at it as doing something smart. You know and realize that you're doing too much and you're in over your head, and you're doing something to remedy the situation. Not only that, but in the future you'll know how much you can handle when you schedule for classes. There's no failure in that.
(I for one learned that 2 classes at a time is plenty, and if I take 3? One of them had darn well better be undergrad level!)
Good luck, and feel free to email if you want to commiserate.
Posted by: Anne | 21 November 2007 at 05:54 PM
Let it go and drop the class if that's what you want. There's no shame in it, I promise.
Posted by: Carole | 21 November 2007 at 07:12 PM
4. Neither of those things would make you a failure.
Posted by: Anne | 21 November 2007 at 07:59 PM
Drop that class like a hot potato. Finishing with a poor grade would bring down your GPA.
I dropped Calc 3, get this, three times in the last week of class each time.
Counting it as a failure would be like counting a knitting mistake as a failure. It's just something you learn while you're doing what you are doing. Consider dropping the class "frogging it" :)
Posted by: cheesehead with sticks | 21 November 2007 at 08:17 PM
Dropping the class is a strategic decision. It is not a failure. What, this is your first semester of working, being a mom, and being a student? Gee whiz! You can drop it.
Posted by: Angie | 21 November 2007 at 08:25 PM
Drop the class like a bad habit and don't look back. You'll be happier for it and you can revisit it in the future... or not.
It's OK to crave the cigarettes.. most of us who have quit certainly do. It's hard. Buy a skein of yarn instead and sniff that! LOL!
Feel free to stop by the yellow house for a beer or a glass of wine ANYTIME you feel the need! It's just sitting there getting lonely anyway. ;)
Thank you so very much for the well wishes...
Posted by: Ann K. | 21 November 2007 at 09:11 PM
Drop, drop, drop, drop. Anything that causes you unhappiness and stress is not worth it. Give yourself a break, girl, otherwise you won't enjoy the REST of school. You started out loving it so much, it would be a shame if it became something you hate instead.
Posted by: Norma | 21 November 2007 at 09:24 PM
Wow $3,000 saved. That is wonderful that you have been able to beat it.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Posted by: Tonia | 21 November 2007 at 09:49 PM
*hugs*
Posted by: Andrea (noricum) | 22 November 2007 at 12:17 AM
Ah. I had this "Drop a class" talk with Bethany last year. But I have never thought of it as an adult. But drop you must. MUST.
I'm craving lasagna right now. And maybe even a beer. (which is weird because it's 8 am) and you've even got me a bit misty eyed. I'm that much of a mess today.
Happy Thanksgiving, my Vicki!
xoxo
Posted by: sandy | 22 November 2007 at 07:12 AM
May today we relaxing and joyful, school but a memory. Monday you'll have more clarity and can let go of what causes you stress. Hugs to you and a very Happy Day with your family. You have such great grrls!
Posted by: margene | 22 November 2007 at 07:29 AM
Yup. Frog that class.
I loved the one about "not as think as you drunk." LOL!
Posted by: kmkat | 23 November 2007 at 12:56 AM
Dropping a class is not a failure. Actually, it's kind of an art form. I got so I could tell in the first class meeting if a particular class and teacher was right for me, and if it wasn't, bye-bye. The only things I really regret about my school years were the times I didn't listen to my intuition and gutted out a class that sucked the life out of me. There will be many moments when you don't like school, and that's fine. It's a forest for the trees kind of thing - in the moment school may be deeply dissatisfying and a PITA, but when you look back on it, your entire world view changes and broadens, and it IS worth it :-)
Posted by: Julia | 24 November 2007 at 01:38 PM
Oops, that would be aunthood! AUNTHOOD!!
Never mind.
--Emily Litella
Posted by: Cathy-Cate | 24 November 2007 at 07:27 PM