Famous Last Words: Just Making It By - Week 12

(Permanent Tiredness; online source, www.funnycaptions.com) 

     Well, this week has been a little bit better, depending on which aspect of life I'm looking at. I'm still "sick" with really bad allergies. I can't stop coughing and I'm having a difficult time breathing most of the time. However, I am feeling slightly better and I've got an appointment set up for next week with an allergist to get the ball rolling on a new allergy test. Hopefully they can pinpoint what my problem is and give me something to help make me feel better soon.

     School has been okay this week. I didn't do any reading or write a weekly story for mythology, because I've got plenty of points so I decided to take a break from the class. Mostly, it's because my computer decided to fail on me. The month before finals isn't really the best time for this to happen, so I'm really frustrated. I lost several homework assignments for my Spanish class and I borrowed my mom's laptop to help me scrape by for the time being. They said it could be April 29th before I get my computer back. *sigh* I'm just trying to make the best of a not so great situation, using the time I have this weekend to try and catch back up on my Spanish homework. I'm not very confident in my Spanish skills right now, but I'm slowly working towards improving. I am a lot happier with my mythology storybook project this week than I initially was. I was having some major writers block, but I think I worked through it and the end product turned out pretty good.

     This weekend has been frustrating too. I agreed to trade shifts with a co-worker to help her out, but I did not realize I had a late night overtime shift the night before. So, I ended up working until 2:00AM today and had to be back at work again for a 10 hour shift at 6:15AM. Since I couldn't get anyone to take my overtime shift for me, I had to work both shifts. I took my pillow and blanket to work and slept in my car for about 2.5 hours. I'm pretty exhausted at this point, so I'm finishing up this assignment and heading to bed!!

Famous Last Words: No Motivation - Week 11

(No motivation; online source, www.presby.edu) 

     I can breathe again!!! I’m still not feeling terrific, but after my hospital visit last Sunday, I’m at least “better”. They gave me two steroid shots at the hospital and I’ve started a new prescription allergy medication along with a new nasal spray daily. I’m not really sure which things have really made the biggest difference, but I’m happy that I’m at least getting there. I’m still coughing a lot though, which is frustrating. I’ve been sick for somewhere around 2 and a half weeks from all of this. So I’ve requested a new allergy referral so I can get testing done and figure out what I’m having such a bad allergic reaction to this year. It is miserable though!

     I got a little behind again while I was so sick the last couple of weeks. For the first time this semester, I missed one of my reading assignments in this class. I promised myself that I would make it up later in the week, but I didn’t. I also ended up doing story planning for a couple of my story posts, which I told myself I wouldn’t do, because I wanted to write actual stories as much as possible throughout this course. I’m doing well on points though, so I shouldn’t be too upset about it. I’m just a little disappointed in myself is all… Going into week 12, I’m honestly not sure that I’m going to locate my motivation again before the end of the semester… For example, it’s technically Sunday of week 11 now and I haven’t finished my project assignment for this week yet. Which means I’ll be doing that tomorrow on the last day of the week. I’m hoping to prove myself wrong and try to get motivated again in the next few days. Other than that, I’m doing well in school. I think I’m behind by one homework / practice assignment in Spanish but I’ll get that caught up this week too, hopefully.

     On a slightly more somber note, it has not been a great week at work. As many of you probably remember, I’m a 9-1-1 dispatcher. So, when I say I’ve had a bad work week, you usually don’t want to ask questions. I’ll just say that sometimes my job is mentally taxing. Some of the things I’m exposed to regularly, people don’t want to see in their worst nightmares. I’m not complaining, because I really love what I do. I tend to keep a cool exterior and I think I deal well with the things I’m exposed to but occasionally, the emotions I’ve been blocking out force their way in and I’m forced to face them. This has been one of those week where I just have to face the reality of the horrific world we live in. I just have to remember to take care of my mental health first and foremost. I've found myself in a pretty dark place due to my job at some point in the past. So, I have to make sure and work through any negative emotions I'm feeling so I don't go back there again. =)

Famous Last Words: Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired - Week 10

(Fry [Futurama] meme; online source, www.imgflip.com) 

     Week 10 of the semester in the books! I’m still struggling with my health this week. I can barely breathe and I can’t stop coughing. My head is congested and it sounds like I’m in a weird bubble and everything I hear is outside the bubble. Lol. My doctor said it is just severe allergies, which I’ve struggled with for most of my life, but I’m still not convinced. At one point this last week, I completely lost my voice just from drainage and dry coughing. Obviously, since I talk on the phone for a living, that wasn’t an ideal situation. My doctor changed my allergy meds and gave me a prescription for antibiotics in case things got worse over the weekend while they’re closed. I decided to go ahead and start the antibiotics, because things seemed to just keep getting worse. I’m still feeling pretty awful right now, but hopefully that will change soon. ***edit*** I ended up in the ER last night, April 2nd, due to all of this. They still think it's all just very severe allergies. They gave me two steroid shots at the hospital and they definitely helped calm my cough down. I'm still not feeling real great yet but it's a start! I should at least make it to school this week, so that'd definitely a small step up at the least!

     On a similar note, most of you probably remember that my husband and I moved at the beginning of March. Getting my medications filled has been a nightmare. I use Walmart pharmacy usually. I asked for them to be sent to my new pharmacy at the Walmart close to my house in Yukon. Then I got THREE separate texts about my meds being ready. One was ready at the old Walmart that I used to go to all the way in Newcastle (about 30 miles from my current house), one was ready at the Walmart I requested, and the third was ready at still ANOTHER Walmart (which I’ve never been to in my life)!!! So I tried to get them all pulled over to the right one… and I still don’t have them, because they’re now saying my insurance won’t cover “another” refill on the meds until next month (because they’re counting the first fill at the wrong stores as actual fills). *Sigh* Long story short… never move. HAHA. Just kidding. This is frustrating but it isn’t the end of the world.

     This week in school wasn’t too exciting. I missed two classes because of this sinus / sickness / whatever this is that’s going on. Hopefully I don’t regret that too much next week… My reading for Mythology and Folklore was exciting and terrifying a little this week. I read Native American stories this week and for some reason I was very nervous that I would write something offensive. Most of this unit seemed to be very grounded in religion, so I guess it just struck me as culturally important material that I didn’t want to ruin. I guess I kind of took the “easy” road by writing “A Forbidden Love”. I hoped this story would bring to light the very serious issue of how stigmatic mental illness still is but the original didn’t feel as seriously grounded in something spiritually important to the Native American culture. So, it felt “safe” to use “The Bear-Woman” as a source story.

Famous Last Words: Getting sick and falling behind - Week 9

     This hasn’t been a good week for me. Actually, it would seem that none of the last few weeks have been good for me. Lol.

     My reading for Mythology and Folklore didn’t go too good this week. I only got half of the reading done, which put me 4 points being where I wanted to be. I had hoped to get an “extra reading” extra credit done by the end of the week but I wasn’t able to because of work, house guests, and getting sick again. There is nothing of note to add as far as school goes. This semester is going pretty well actually. I’ve kept up and stayed ahead in my classes until Spring break. Then this week, the week after Spring break, I’ve struggled and got behind my “ahead” schedule again and just barely got my assignments done on time. I’m not too worried about it though. I’ll get back ahead this week!

(Family; online source, www.mlrtahoe.com)

     Outside of school, things aren’t too bad. Work has been busy this week, as usual and most of my days have been pretty hectic. Our plumbing issues appear to finally be fixed, so that’s a positive thing. I said before that I was sick again but I really think it’s just allergies messing with me. I haven’t 100% convinced myself of that though. I’ve felt pretty horrible for most of the week. Just overnight I all of a sudden had a sore throat and super stuffy head and my whole body hurt. I’m not a fan of feeling that way… NOT at all! Also, the house guests I mentioned before? I should have noted that they were my brother in law (husband’s biological brother), his wife, and their 3 children. My husband and his siblings were adopted at a very young age, so this was actually the first time he has physically met his brother and the first time my step son (my husband’s son) has met his cousins on that side of his family. It was pretty incredible witnessing that moment, honestly!! 

Famous Last Words: Mental Burnout - Week 8

(Mental Burnout; online source, wwwbebrainfit.com)

     This week hasn't been very productive as far as well, anything goes, really.

     

     This is technically Spring break, so there isn’t much to report as far as school goes. Basically, I’ve fallen behind my “ahead of the official schedule” schedule again, because I honestly had no desire to work on anything school related or anything I “needed” to do this week. I planned to work on homework as if I wasn’t on break because last week was supposed to technically be my break from schoolwork because I was a full week ahead but I think I was to the point of burn out, so I needed a short break. I’m feeling better now and I’ll get back on it and be ahead again within the week though!!

     I haven't felt motivated to do much outside of school either. We moved into our new house on March 1^st and we’ve still unpacked very little. Granted, we did have to put in an inground electric fence, as well as fix a huge chunk of actual fence so that our dogs wouldn’t get out. We also have done quite a bit of running from place to place, trying to get everything set up in our new house. There are so many little things that you don’t even consider needing until you buy your own house. A rake, for example. Plus, we needed a lawn mower, a ladder, a water hose… Well, you get the picture. Lol. We have also been having plumbing issues already (not exactly what one hopes for during the first week of living in a new home but such is life, really.) Even with all of that, I still really thought we would have things a little more “put together” by this point than we do but it just feels like the last 2 weeks have been rather unproductive. I was hoping to be mostly unpacked and set up by now but we don’t even have one full room set up, just bits and pieces of each room and empty boxes and trash all over the place. Lol.

     Well, hopefully next week will be a better week all around! 

Famous Last Words: What a Week! - Week 7

(Moving day!!; personal photo, taken by me)

We moved this week. I was a little frustrated, because I had to miss class Wednesday and I really hate to miss class. I didn't really have a choice though, because my boss would not let me off of work for Tuesday, the day we closed on the house. So, we had to wait until Wednesday. It has been a really weird and hectic week. First of all, I'm about 13 miles further from OU now but I now live 15 miles closer to school and about 15 miles closer to my minor step son now. You have to take the good and bad together, I suppose. Being further from school isn't very fun, because I have to get up earlier and I also now have to take one of the busiest city highways to get to school. Whereas before, I was able to take mostly back roads and I didn't have to deal with traffic too much. However, both being closer to my step son and being closer to work are major bonuses in my book, because I will use less gas to go to work, I can leave a little bit later and will be home a little earlier at night, and it won't take as long or use as much gas to pick up my step son and also, I'll get to see him a lot more now that we're closer so it will be much easier to spend time with him. I haven't lived in the city for about 12 or 13 years and it is definitely an adjustment for me. Nothing bad, so far: just "different". We live right by the highway now(like literally, there is a brick barrier that sits just behind our back yard and if it weren't there I would be able to walk out my back gate and straight up onto the highway!) but the city sounds, such as traffic, are actually calming to me. I guess that's because I grew up in the city, so the country sounds have freaked me out on many occasions over the last 12 or 13 years. You would think I would have adjusted by now but I haven't apparently. Lol. It is also incredible that there are so many stores REALLY close to my house now. I have a grocery store within walking distance, although I would more than likely never walk up there (but you never know). There are all kinds of fast food places and different merchandise stores. I absolutely love it. I really did not realize how much I missed the city until the last few days, being back in the city.

Since I'm ahead in Myth and Folklore, I didn't have any reading to do for this week. Instead, I did some reflection assignments, in preparation for Spring Break. So there isn't too much to report on that front. In my Spanish class, however, I think I've maybe finally made a really big stride this week. In the class I'm currently in, I have to make 4 phone calls to someone in another country throughout the semester. It's on a system called "TalkAbroad" and you have to pay for these conversations. It's set up similar to skype, where you can video chat with your "conversation partner". The first one was absolutely horrible for me. I felt like an idiot and I'm pretty sure my conversation partner hated "talking" to me. It was just not a good experience. This week, I had to make phone call number two and I'm really happy with how it went. I actually didn't even realize that my 30 minute conversation was coming to a close until the man I was talking to thanked me for talking to him and started to say goodbye! I was extremely proud of myself and how smoothly that conversation went, because I've really struggled in that area. So, for me, being able to carry on a 30 minute conversation was a big stride! I was also able to keep up with my "ahead of the class" schedule this week, in spite of moving 20 miles away and trying to get everything set up, so I'm pretty proud of that as well!

I think that's about all for this week. Check back for more adventures with my new home next week around this time!!

Famous Last Words: Work, Packing, School, Insanity, Spring - Week 6

(Truth About Home Selling; online source, www.twitter.com)

     This week has been a bit hectic. We close on our home in FOUR days. Yes... Four. Short. Days. That means in 5 days, we will be spending the night for the first time in our new home. I can barely believe that but it's real, I'm pretty sure. I work 10 hour days and I worked yesterday and will work everyday between now and our closing, so I'm getting slightly frustrated. It doesn't feel like there are enough hours in a day. Lol.

     I was able to get all of our utilities set up this week but just realized this morning I didn't talk to anybody about getting trash service set up. So, I should probably do that sometime soon, huh? We don't have too terribly much more to pack between now and the big day but there is enough left that I'm panicking that we don't have enough packed yet. We'll get there though and I can't wait to move into our first house!! 

     I had a Spanish quiz today and I didn't do as great as I'd like to on it but I also didn't do too terrible as far as I know. I have to schedule a Talk Abroad section and talk to someone from another country for 30 minutes IN SPANISH sometimes very soon. Plus I have to write a composition Monday and peer review someone else's. I'm not really sure when I'm going to have the time to fit in all of my homework on top of everything else we have to do in this coming week but I've always managed to work these things out in spite of my busy schedule. So I'm pretty confident in my abilities to succeed this time too. 

     I was able to stay ahead in Mythology and Folklore this week, so I'm still 1 full week ahead on my assignments. I'm also now caught up on my Spanish homework to where I'm 1 full week ahead. I think that's an accomplishment considering everything I've had to get done this week! 

Famous Last Words: Spring - Week 5

This week has been a little rough. I'm a little "behind" on my "ahead of the timeline" schedule for Mythology and Folklore and for my Spanish class. In Mythology and Folklore, I'm trying to stay one week ahead on my reading and story writing assignments, which means I should have wrote a story the day before yesterday. It has been a very bad week for me though and that just hasn't happened. I have completed everything else for the week though. I did some of it even more ahead than intended, so I guess maybe I'm not really "behind" as much as I just rearranged things so that the assignment that takes the most creative effort was left for last. In Spanish I'm just 2 assignments behind, which I'll finish today and be ahead again. So that's also not too terrible. That's the point of being ahead right? So that when you need some leeway, you can take it? 

I'm dealing with a whole slew of opposing emotions right now. I'm excited about school, because I'm really enjoying my classes and I'm getting really close to graduating (with my first major and my minor at least). Spring 2018 I should be able to, actually!! 

I'm also extremely excited about moving. We've got a lot more packed now. Both of our bathrooms are packed up and ready to go and my husband and I both went through and weeded out any clothing we don't wear and don't intend to keep... Then again, I'm also terrified of being in a completely new, unfamiliar place. I'm sure it'll feel like home in no time though. I think it's pretty normal to be a little skittish when moving to a new unfamiliar place. 

I'm also really sad because our dog that we've had for over 10 years was really sick (he had prostate cancer or lymphoma, we're not sure which) and we had to say goodbye to him this week. We made the choice to let him go now and had him humanely put to sleep. It's honestly one of the hardest things I've ever had to do but I'm thankful that his suffering is over now and also slightly thankful that he won't have to deal with the stress of moving. Although, the selfish part of me wishes he could have stuck around and moved with us, because I love him so much and I miss him terribly already. Here are some of my favorite pictures of him and the last picture I got to take with him too. 

(Our dog Rolo; personal photo, taken by me)

(Our dog Rolo; personal photo, taken by me)

(Me and our dog Rolo; personal photo, taken by my husband)

(Our dog Rolo; personal photo, taken by me)

(Our dog Rolo; personal photo, taken by me)

(Me and our dog Rolo; personal photo, taken by me)

I also brought home a foster dog this week. I felt so sad for his situation that I wanted to help him and show him love. He was being mistreated by his previous owner. Kept tied up in a shed outside with a bucket of food always out, he was yelled at to shut up and verbally abused (at the least). He apparently hasn't ever been treated with affection. We will show him the love he deserves and hopefully will find him a forever home soon (anyone looking?? LOL). I regret agreeing to take him just a little, because I think it was a little too soon after our dog left us but I think I would have regretted not taking him in even more. Here are some pictures of him too.

(Our foster dog Hank; personal photo, taken by a friend)

(Our foster dog Hank; personal photo, taken by a friend)

(Our foster dog Hank; personal photo, taken by a friend)

I hope things settle down a lot in the next week or 2. I don't particularly like all of the emotional ups and downs right now.

Famous Last Words: Mythology, Spanish, Moving, Spring - Week 4

I feel like I'm doing pretty well in Mythology and Folklore so far. I've rather enjoyed it and I think it is really helping me fine tune my creative writing abilities.

The reading this week went pretty smoothly for me. I found a story that almost instantly sparked my creative engines and inspired a story that I feel very proud of ("Amelia's Wisdom"). I honestly think it is one of the best things I have ever written. My story was actually based, however loosely, off of the very first story in the unit I chose to read this week ("Folktales of Bengal") but I still read the entire unit, part A and part B. I've made a promise to myself to complete both parts EVERY week this semester and so far I've held myself to it but the semester is still young, so we'll see how that ends up going! 

I've always loved to write and I really want to write a novel (I've actually have started writing one but it hasn't got too far as school work trumps "pleasure" writing). I'm really excited to have the opportunity for this class, because it allows me to read lots of stories and write my own for CREDIT!!! That's pretty cool, because I would ordinarily not have time to read and write this much during a semester. Then, on my down time where I don't have classes, I always try to cram in as much reading as I can and never think it's enough. So, this class solves that problem! I'm hoping to complete this class 3 weeks early and I'm pretty well ahead right now. I'm hoping to be able to take the time this week to figure out exactly how much extra work I need to do weekly in order to finish that far ahead. 

Spanish class is going "okay", I suppose. I earned a 100% on my first composition but I got some conjugations mixed up on my first quiz and failed that miserably. I don't believe I did well on my listening exam either (although I haven't received a grade yet), so I'm really frustrated about that. I'm struggling with the "communication" aspect of the class (actually carrying on a conversation), so I'm looking into options to help me improve my confidence and ability to carry on a flowing conversation in Spanish. I'm hoping to get a couple of people that are willing to just chat back and forth with me in Spanish to help. 

I can't believe we're moving in 19 days. I also can't believe we only have like 5 boxes packed. We're going to have to work on that. Lol. Hoping to pack at least 2 boxes a night from now on! 

That's about the gist of things for me this week... Hopefully things will just keep getting better and I can stay as motivated as I am right now throughout the semester!

PS
I feel like this image about sums things up. LOL. Really, I just don't have enough hours in my day and end up putting things off because I literally couldn't do them (most of the time)...

(Procrastination; online source, stillcracking)

Famous Last Words: Confessions from an exhausted college student, week 1

(Sometimes coffee is the only way I can make it through
my week; personal photo, taken by a class mate)

(Napping in the library also helps me get through
the week; personal photo, taken by me)

Week one of the semester is coming to a close for me. It’s after 2:00AM on Saturday, January 21. I’m currently at work, wishing the clock would move a little bit faster. I thought I was done with school work for the night but I just decided to try to fit in one more assignment before my shift is over.

Since this is the first week of class, we didn’t have the regular reading schedule. I had fun picking through different fables in search of inspiration for my first story though. I was a little disappointed in myself this week. I had a very difficult time sparking my creativity. I wasn’t extremely impressed with my first story. It was alright, I suppose. However, I don’t feel it ranks anywhere close to some of my best work. I was writing while at work and trying to multitask, so that could have something to do with it. That’s the typical situation for me when I work school work though. I work full time and commute, driving anywhere from 50 – 100 miles per day on average. So, I’m very rarely working on just one thing at a time.

This semester has already gotten off to a rough start for me. Initially, I was excited and proud of myself because I got a head start in Mythology and Folklore (thanks Mrs. Gibb’s for that opportunity) and I was an entire week ahead before the semester actually began. Unfortunately, I ended up coming down with bronchitis and an ear infection on Tuesday (the first official day of class because Monday was a holiday [Martin Luther King Day]). Due to my illness, I had to miss class Wednesday and Thursday and fell behind in two of my classes. I also technically “fell behind” in this class but thanks to the early start I had, I’m just “on schedule” instead of behind. I’ve been on antibiotics for 3 days now and I’m feeling a little more human again. I worked hard this afternoon to catch up on my assignments and I completed quite a bit. I believe by Tuesday next week I will be caught up in and, with any luck, ahead in all my classes. That’s how I prefer to keep it. I typically try to stay ahead by AT LEAST 3 days on all my assignments. Things aren’t quite in full swing yet, so I’m not sure how things are going to come together just yet but I think the semester will be fun once I get myself into a routine!!