"too much" | friday | february 17, 2006 | 2:07 pm

AM VERY SLEEPY TODAY. Hell, I'm usually sleepy most days. Today especially since I had to get up earlyish to head to campus to register for classes for next quarter. (And since I had a long day yesterday and a long night out with the grad pub crowd.) I probably should give into my body's desire to take a nap. But it's brilliantly sunny outside right now and that doesn't seem right (especially since it's Seattle and we want to savor every minute of sunshine). I probably should nap a little, though. I've got a long night ahead of me tonight. Guerilla Queer Bar Seattle is tonight at Club Noc Noc (1516 2nd Ave. @ Pike).

The last weeks have been a total whirlwind. Plus I've been either inside my head a whole lot or doing stuff to stay outside of my head a whole lot. School has got me pretty busy (as always). The quarter is nearly over. Crazy. I just never feel like I have a chance to sit still for too long or else I might fall behind. Classes are going reasonably well. I always have a ton of reading to do. But luckily there hasn't been much writing (and I have the added benefit that I do not have major seminar papers due at the end of the term this quarter). I have to revise a paper for one class and I have two more short critiques for the other class (one of which is due next Wednesday). Then my requirements for this winter are done. Of course, there's also my teaching to do and the end of the quarter grading as well.

I probably should recap the past month or so. I'm afraid much of it is water under the bridge. The details will be hit or miss. Much of my life has been pretty much the same. School. Teaching. Reading. Writing. Grading. Hanging out at grad pub. Playing WoW. Sleeping poorly. Busting my noisy neighbors' chops. Dollar in. Dollar out. That's about it, really. There hasn't been much deviation. Once the routine for the quarter sets in, I don't generally have the energy or the time to do much else.

Alenda did come and visit for a week at the end of January, beginning of February. She was here for a week. She got to see some of the city, hang out with me at school, sat in on my classes, met some of my friends, and hung out with me in my apartment. It was a good visit. It was really nice to see her. I miss living close to her (and my father). She flew in on a Saturday. My friend Melanie drove me down to pick her up from the airport. That night was Chinese New Year's Eve and I had a bunch of people over for dumplings and dinner. My friend Pacheree and I made a ton of dumplings. It was a really nice night. There were a ton of people. Much food. Much drink. Everyone had a really nice, warm, friendly, happy, and hopefully luck-filled evening.

The rest of the week was pretty relaxed. Alenda either hung out at the apartment or went to school with me. We did get a chance to do a few touristy things like going to Volunteer Park, Seattle Center, the Seattle Aquarium, Pike's Place Market, the main branch of the Seattle Public Library. I think Alenda had a good time. Alenda stayed for a week. My friend Andrew took us to the airport on the following Saturday. It was definitely sad for her to leave. I am going to have to try to go back to the East Coast this summer to visit. Hopefully, she'll be living a little closer later this year when she moves for school (my sister is totally brilliant -- she's already been accepted early to three programs). It would be neat for her to be back in California, which is much closer than Northern Virginia.

Sigh. I'm really at a loss for words. Strange, I know. But I spend so much of my time articulating myself in class and in teaching that I think I sometimes just run out of words. I know that I have a lot to think through. And I know that I don't just want to coast. But until I can get a little rest, a little peace, a little security it's going to be a while before I'll be back to my usual self (or at least different self). More later.

top | read footnotes | add footnotes

"president's day" | monday | february 20, 2006 | 3:20 pm

HAVE BEEN MORE PRODUCTIVE TODAY than I have all weekend. I don't know what happened. I think on Friday I decided to put off a bunch of things for the weekend, which just ended up getting put off even further. Maybe it was because I knew I had a long weekend. Maybe it was because I spent Thursday night, Friday night, and Saturday night drinking, staying up late, hanging out with friends, eating way too much, and not getting enough rest (whilst worrying about said things I should have been doing) that I didn't get around to doing them till today. That must be it. I managed to get a reasonable amount of sleep last night -- going to bed at midnight, getting up at 8 AM, though I still keep waking up inexplicably every two hours. (Oh for a night of uninterrupted sleep!) I woke up, got cleaned up, got dressed, and sat down immediately to work on my third critique paper for my postcolonial studies class. Then, giddy with my accomplishment, I walked across the street and picked up a few groceries. Came home. Cooked up a batch of chili, cleaned the kitchen, and had a very nice lunch. Now the rest of the day is cake, so to speak. Though I don't have any cake. I think I'll spend it doing a little reading and playing on the computer. A very nice way to spend a Monday off.

top | read footnotes | add footnotes