Homelessness...A Good Choice

So, I was really, really stressed out by the fact that people didn't want to rent to me without me seeing the places. It was impossible for me to visit with school, but I think it worked out okay.

If I had a place to live, I'd be sleeping on the floor with a sleeping bag looking forward to a whole day of unpacking.

Because I have no place, I instead get to stop by my parents' and spend the night. I get to chill in the morning, and I can leave for Grand Junction around lunch. I will get to sleep in a bed tomorrow night and go to work properly rested.

It's a much better way to go about everything I think. The only downside is a week without my cat. :(

...and I had to leave all my friends behind. Goodbye grad school.

Blergh, starting over....again. Oh well.

Word Cloud Project

I thought an apple was appropriate...

Here is the project I spent months on, concisely summarized by a word cloud that took a minute to make.

Pee My Pants Excited

Later today, I get to have tea with the keynote speaker for graduate commencement, Gail McClure. Tea is always nice--English Departments are classy, especially at Kansas State U.

I've been working on finals so I hadn't read through her resume until this morning. When I read the following line, I fell in love:

"Intermittent Expert, National Science Foundation, Education and Human Resources Arlington, VA. Provide strategic design and guidance to staff and administration related to STEM education" (emphasis mine)

The.

National.
Science.
Foundation.

Also, if you don't know what STEM is, it's an education program for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math.

I really enjoyed making those letters excessively large.

Okay, it's time to get to work. I need to take Naomi's final this morning, and do some grading before I have tea with someone so cool I will be too scared to talk. Awesome.

My Precious...work is in the hands of my professors

So I just turned in all my stuff for tech writing. It feels like I just shoved Gollum and the Ring of Power into Mount Doom. It's a major accomplishment, but I am half dead and tired.

How do a celebrate? I purchased Guild Wars and did a paint (yes, a paint) to celebrate.

 Let's refer to my old to-do list to see where I stand.
1. Grade Correspondence Portfolios
2. Write Postion Paper
3. Finish Research Log and Feasibility Studies
4. Grade Formal Reports
5. Grade Revisions (not that many of them, slacker students)
6. Pack (Partially done)

I forgot to include Naomi's final in my to-do list the other day, so there's that too. In the last 24 hours, I wrote an 8 page paper, put together a 5 page single spaced reserach log, and wrote 8 pages of feasibility study (also single spaced). I rock.

Death by Cat

I knew Tonks wanted to eat me. The Oatmeal confirms it.

And Then They Ate Me...

That's how I feel about today. Students are cannibals.

Focusing on School? Who Does That?

Material objects fail to have a strong emotional connection for me. Except maybe Big Bear. I love that flattened gray bear to death. She's still with me.

Music though, music has such intense connections to my memories.

Regina Spektor's album Far, especially "Human of the Year," makes me think of Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake because I was listening to it non-stop while I read said text and wrote a paper on it.

I have a lot of Chris music, right now. But I'll re-appropriate it. I've re-appropriated most of the John music. Except I heard a John song this morning.

Lovies, John. Thanks for making me feel loved even when you left. I'm glad you finally figured out a good way to live your life and escape your personal demons. Face. Deal. Helmet. You win.

So Much Procrastination to Get Done

I need to do the following things probably in the following order:
1. Grade Correspondence Portfolios
2. Write Postion Paper
3. Finish Research Log and Feasibility Studies
4. Grade Formal Reports
5. Grade Revisions
6. Pack

What am I doing right now? I'm procrasti-packing because most of the school related things don't sound like much fun. I also ate a juicy mango. It was so sweet and energizing.

For those interested in procrastinating, I also strongly recommend Game of Thrones from HBO. It's soooooooo good. Lindsey and I are hooked, and I think we're both ready to jump into reading the books too.

I best finish packing the kitchen and then head into the office to grade. :(