<1057>

Okay, I think guinea worm still wins for the grossest affliction NYT has covered in its current series, but trachoma is definitely up there. Spread by disgusting flies that feed on eye discharge, and causes eyelid inversion so your eyelashes scratch at your eyeballs every time you blink. Ew ew ew.

<0952>

First week of term has been crazy. It doesn't help that I put off my grading until Tuesday, but at least that crap is over. I have to ask, though, what part of "don't just repeat what was said in the articles" is so difficult to understand? People are idiots. Anyway, I should be working, but, yet again, I'm totally not. Maybe tonight. I have a lot of schoolwork to try to catch up with, already.

And this weekend is going to be totally sucked up by TASS/TASP interviews. We have one tomorrow in Silver Spring, and then 4 on Saturday. And then we have to write the reports, which always kind of sucks. Saturday night I have no fewer than two events I've been invited to (and one I think is happening but haven't hear about yet), and really all I want to do is watch basketball.

I haven't been posting here about my diet/exercise stuff because I've been using the sparkpeople blog. You really don't want to hear about it, but it's going well.

<2155>

Did you ever figure out what kind of man you want to be?

I think I'm actually going to like multilevel modeling. At least the prof bothers to explain all the funky math. . Dude, I totally saw a post about E on craiglist missed connections. The post is down now because he got her email, and E surmised her friend must have responded to his posting with it, because he didn't know her last name. I love it when I see people I know on MC! Okay, this is the only time it's happened, but it's so *why* I read it.

<0853>

I'm so glad I didn't fill out a bracket (for hoops... I did one for hockey and sucked it up big time). I would have been much less elated about the awesomeness of this tournament if I had a bracket of red Xs at this point.

<0105>

I totally intended to go to bed an hour and a half ago (not that I'd be able to sleep, the kids down the street are making one hell of a racket). But I finished reorganizing my books today, which cause me to come across *all* my old journals along with a few notebooks of interest. The shifts in my journaling approach are interesting... 10th grade, apparently, was *all* about redirection into writing odd dreams or dreamlike vignettes, talking frankly enough about relatively benign things, but sublimating incredibly when it came to more complex emotions. I was also reminded that saxaphonists have been trouble for longer than I knew.

<0033>

They really need to start basketball earlier...

Yesterday (Thursday), I finally got bookshelves (yay Staples delivery!) and so I built those. Today my right arm is twingy since I had to screw in 12 wobbly screws per bookshelf, which required both pushing on them, but not so hard they wobbled. But now I have bookshelves and tonight I started moving some stuff around; fiction is now living in the living room. I now officially have Too Much Stuff To Move Ever.

Today I could not get out of bed at all. I intended to work, of course, but didn't. I did make it to school to get some shit donw, and E happened to be at happy hour. I decided to swing by on a whim just in case anyone was there. But then I got home and didn't feel like working at all. So, book movage and TV. Now I also have a meelion papers to grade. So much for spring break. I've managed to slack off a fair amount without feeling too bad about it. I've also been more productive errands-wise than I typically am during breaks or weekends, so that makes me happy.

The sparkpeople thing is working out pretty well. We'll see if my enthusiasm continues as school starts back up. It's easy to keep track of things when I'm not running around dealing with tons of other crap.

My hockey bracket is destroyed.

When I couldn't get out of bed this morning, I thought I was coming down with something. I had woke up before with painful sinuses, but I think it's just dry air. I haven't felt as energetic today as I have other days this week, though.

<<1354>

The NYT is running a serious on disease eradications. Today's article in on guinea worm, which I didn't know anything about. Now I do, and my reaction is EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW! I thought worms crawling out of the skin was an invention of sci-fi!

<2245>

Not a lot of progess on the work front, surprise surprise. Monday after a few hours work I had lunch with a prospective, met with the academic advisor to talk about student org budgeting, walked to Max's to get my credit card (finally), and then went home and went grocery shopping. Then I think I did nothing until 24. Yesterday I had curriculum meeting at lunch, then I went to Target and Trader's all afternoon. I hadn't been at either place in forever, so I had a lot to buy. I managed to restrain myself at Trader's. Today I had another lunch meeting at school, then I went *back* to Target to return some stuff that did not please me once I got it home. I had bought a food scale, but it didn't measure small enough increments... nice if I was planning to bake for a million, though. I also bought a watch that would be cuter if my wrists weren't so tiny. So I stopped by BB&B for a food scale, because I knew they'd have them out for playing with, then returned crap at Target and bought a better watch.

I bought the food scale because I joined this website: www.sparkpeople.com and I thought it might be nice to try to use the food tracking tools, but needed a scale to make that easier for many foods. It's a free website, and I'm pretty psyched about it so far. I had decided over the weekend to start buckling down on exercise and diet, and then I happened to read about this site in the NYT. I think it's esp helpful in the diet area in keeping it real about how many calories are in things, and because I want to be accurate, I actually bother to measure portions.

<0955>

Okay, it's really just time to finish this job. My boss was asking me about the lack of hours I've been putting in... sorry for, like, having other things to do. But, she's right in the sense that I need to just put in hours and get this paper done and out. Then I can put in more time when either paper returns for edits or whatever, but I'll be free to work on other things.

It's still annoying, though. I wanted to do *something* of interest this break, but I"ll probably work 8 hours Weds and Thurs, then there will be grading again. I guess I did spend the whole weekend watching basketball, but, still.

<2254>

Office hours this morning were pretty busy, which was actually kinda nice. The curriculum subcomm meeting was all right, but I couldnn't get any video to stream, so no hoops until after. But since they have the archives, I could watch NWern St's buzzer beater later. Woo, video. Since then, I've been watching hoops, and I even had all four games on just now (3 on computer), although my computer really can't handle that.

Old Spice, you officially have the most sexist commercials. No commercial you have isn't totally gender disordered. They have old commercials involving women being annoyed at their men watching hoops, but their annoyance is all resolved by the lovely smell of Old Spice. Women watch hoops and make ape noises at it too, thank you very much. Also, if you don't like hoops, sitting in the next room with your friend and rolling your eyes is loserly. New commercials this year include some crazy bitch asking her man which of her friends he would want to be with if not her (whichever one wouldn't ask me these crazy ass questions, bitch), and some scantily clad lady dancing around and sweating while the commercial claims that men can't be hot and sweaty. Which, wrong. So, stop showing women as these crazy ass high maintenance bitches during my sports, or insinuating that men can't be sexy sweaty dancers.

I won't even get into my thoughts on race this most recent dancing commercial brought up for me.

<2327>

So, the video player has a "boss button" that turns the window into a spreadsheet. A spreadsheet that sounds like a basketball game. I guess they assume if you're at work you'll have the sound off.

<1010>

I'm really not interested in being at work today (okay, ever). I have my ethics exam at 1:30, so I'll miss the end of the early games (only two, though), and then I will go home and watch basketball all day and do my eval paperlet, which I dreamed about working on when I was able to sleep at all. I went to bed way too late, and the last two hours this morning I could not just sleep, and there were random noises outside whenever I was actually successful. Beh. Tomorrow I have office hours until noon, but then a damn curriculum meeting at one (someone couldn't make noon, shifting the whole damn thing into basketball), but I'll bring my laptop and I should be able to stream the games while I pretend to take notes.

One of these years I'll have the whole opening days off for the tournament... I was so close this year.

<1022>

It's so nice when someone gets it about the Band.

<1657>

Basketball on my TV! Basketball on my computer!

Someday I'll get that assignment done...

Ethics exam was pretty decent. I got done early enough to have caught the end of the BC game, but no one at school had the game on anywhere. Booo. I shoulda put it on the computer and just watched from there, but instead I came home. I guess if I really want to watch it, they have the video archived already. I can also just watch highlights.

<2152>

Yeah, eat it, paper. Had some down-ish time near the dinner break to go buy more liquor and write the paper. Then, insanity on my TV and computer. The little popup appeared asking me if I was still watching (Are you enjoying your viewing experience? or something like that) and I clicked yes, but I would have preferred to click a button labeled, "Please don't take away my crack."

Oh man, West Coast games on East Coast time = sooo late. I'm going to be dead tomorrow, I just know.

<1113>

More grading... so far I've only graded four, but I'm ready to tear my hair out. Have people never read a scientific paper before? Did anyone bother to just go through the steps in the book? These papers are crammed full of suck, and they're taking a thousand hours each to grade. I don't get paid enough for this class.

<0140>

I'm so glad to be done grading papers... two sets in two days. It's so sad, because I should have just started them this weekend, but something about doing them all in one shot under the gun makes it go a lot faster. But I did miss class, which sucked. And work. No more, though, well, until tomorrow. But I can wait on those until the weekend.

<2357>

*sob* Edgar!

Saturday I just watched Sopranos all day. Sunday I got the thingy done for R (which he didn't have time to read for our meeting today), but I just hacked our old paper so it didn't take long. Graded three whole papers. And then went to the Oscar party. I actually enjoyed the Oscars, although Jon Stewart was awkward at first. He got better, and the other Daily Show elements like the fake attack ads made it worth having that crew on board. You gotta figure this guy does a show in a tiny room in front of 150 adoring screaming fans everyday, and he has to switch to a cavern full of stiffs and try to be hilarious. It's not exactly his gig, but he adapted.

Today I graded the other 17 papers, met with R, and tried to start grading other things. Oh, I had to run those analyses for work I was supposed to do last week, that's actually what took up the early evening. Then 24. Depressing fucking 24. Damn you, show.

<1530>

Went to Happy Hour, which was good times. Then E, Roxanne and I went to E's house, had pizza and champagne, and then headed to Brewer's. A couple of other people were supposed to meet us, but one we might have missed (P, who doesn't have a cell phone), and the other I have no idea. E left early because she felt bad, and Roxanne and I stayed until ~12:30. I had no money, so R gave me a loan for a cab. I had to go get my bag from E's house, and then I couldn't find a cab, even up at Penn Station (where I finally found an ATM), so I stopped into Tapas Teatro to have a snack and watch people do some kind of dancing to what seemed like the same song over and over. I figured by the time I was done there, there woud have to be cabs at Penn Station, but there weren't, and so I wandered around cold and tired for what seemed like forever, and I was pretty upset about it. I did manage to get home, busted my glasses and dropped a lens into the trash with the vacuum cleaner dust in it, but eventually found it and popped it back into the glasses. It was a decent evening, but there were frustrating elements about it. Birthdays don't sit as well with me as other nights of the year seem to.

I also discovered that my main credit card was missing last night, but it's at Max's where I last used it. So no biggie, I just have to go get it sometime this week.

I am unmotivated to do work, and somehow I feel crappier now than when I got up.

<1313>

So much Research Design today.... grah.

J. made me a green tea cheesecake made with Splenda and no butter, which was delicious. She has some kind of magic powers to make things lower in calories without losing the taste. My sister sent me a birthday card about an STD, which is hilarious.

<2206>

I did a lot of productive housecleaning the last few days, but not a lot of work. But I usually do neither, so maybe this is an improvement.

My mommy sent me flowers for my birthday. Lots of roses! They're slurping up water and getting ready to open up.

Sam is so smart... he figured out that my problem (annual, it seems) of trying to figure out when March Madness first round games start, and thinking it's either 10 or noon, is because both are right: it's 12:30 here and 10:30 in ABQ. I always do that with sports. ABQ time for big events got so ingrained in my head that EST has never quite taken hold.

I was such a slacker, I made no plans for tomorrow. I haven't had real birthday plans since Jenn threw me a surprise party 4 years ago. I figured I'd go to Happy Hour and see what's cookin'. If nothing, lots of Sopranos.

<1745>

I just found out that Sledgehammer video my sister and I loved when we were kids was created by Nick Park! Of Wallace and Gromit fame!