Saturday revelations........

Beautiful flowers but full of thorns.....

NOW the semester is over.......I've received my final grades!  I managed an A- in history and an A+ in anthropology.  I was a bit flabbergasted that I managed 129 points out of 150 for the paper in anthropology.  Is it possible it was better than I thought it was?  Naahhhh, it sucked, but everyone wants the semester over, including the teaching assistants and professors and students alike.  Maybe I am lucky after all........

So, this is my first free weekend since mid-January, and I'm ready!  I have a list of chores and errands, but I'm planning on hitting the gym this afternoon.  

Enjoy your weekend!  Special Mother's Day post tomorrow.

Love, 365

Oh, my god the semester is finally over.....

Hallelujah !

The past five days is a blur of sitting here at my computer reading and writing (etc., etc.).  I turned in my history paper yesterday.   I had thought I would be done on Saturday but didn't finish it until 4pm on Sunday.  I was happy with it ~ I will have to wait and see if the instructor is.  He may really skim through everything, he doesn't have a student teaching assistant and there's a deadline for submitting grades.  Hey, he's the one who wanted a minimum of 5 pages, lol.  The class had a bit over 30 students, so the math points to a minimum of 150 pages to read.  My paper ended up being about 7 typed pages, and I'm certain that a few submitted a paper of over 5 pages.  Sucks to be him, haha.

I just submitted my final paper in anthropology.  I am not terribly proud of the ending, which really sucked.  But ~ here's my confession ~ I calculated the minimum grade I would need to achieve an A, and I knew I didn't need to knock it out of the park.  The majority of the paper is fine, but my conclusion is weak and lacks focus.  But you know what?  I don't care anymore.  That's what working full time and taking two classes does to ya.  You just get to the point where you just don't give a crap, you just want the madness to end.  

Now I have 6 1/2 weeks where I have no classes or homework or writing (papers).  I am planning on really focusing on getting in shape this summer.  It's crazy how out of shape I've become over the last four months.  Too much sitting.  

I hope you all have a great week!  I'm cracking open a beer......

Love, 365

5 days left.......

It's the beginning of finals week.....

At my best the low mutterings on the tv are simple background noise as I continue to write on the first paper due ~ on Monday.  At my worst, I quit working and watch for a few minutes for a bit of relief from the seriousness.  I believe I will finish it tomorrow, and then I will work on the second one which is due next Wednesday.  

Although there are parts of the paper that are truly interesting (park architecture), there are times when the constant referring to the thesaurus becomes drudgery.  This is when I'm tempted to crack open that last can of beer in the fridge and let it's effect on my brain take over.  So far, I have avoided the temptation, but I hear it calling to me....hahaha.

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On the home front, Romeo cut the vast majority of the longish hair off, and he looks so handsome!  He always has been handsome to me, but I had a lot of trouble with the length he had grown it.  I'd been bugging him for the last 8 months to cut it off without nagging too much.  I had never seen his hair that long, and it looked so unkempt ~ which is a total reversal of the man he has been for the last 30 years, ~ the one who used to iron a crease in his jeans, and never considered wearing an even slightly wrinkled tee shirt.  

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I met my new oncologist this past week, she seems like a very nice person ~ and she's not the awkward Dr Wong I met last year.  I don't know what it was, but I felt so uncomfortable around him, and worse yet ~ he seemed uncomfortable around me.  I just can't have that in a doctor, especially an oncologist.  I need someone who tells me the way it is, in a way that is compassionate and caring.  Anyway, we hashed out the idea that the protocol for hormone blockers is no longer an issue I need to be concerned with, and that my likely percentage of recurrence is less than 10%.  Of course, the radiation therapy could cause cancer later on, but I'm just taking my (current) wellness one day at a time.  And after finals, I'll finally have time for hiking and all the other outdoor activities I've been missing out on.  :-)

Love, 365

History in a history class

Well, I'm not quite at this age, but sometimes it certainly feels like it...

The truth is, she's probably a visiting professor, and not a student ~ I experienced that last year in the Catholicism in America class.  

And, I only have one more class to attend!  The paper is due on the 7th.  No, I haven't quite started it yet....you know, right?  The looming deadline seems to bring out my creativity, although it does stress me out.  Actually I took today off since my boss is on vacation and I plan to write my outline today.

But the post headline has to do with the age difference between myself and the rest of the students ~ which to be fair, there are a good number of students in their 30's  ~ not all are 20 somethings.  We were discussing the uniforms that were given the first women park rangers.  

The point is, it was NOT pants.

So, being who I am, which means I sometimes say shit I wish I had not, I spoke up and said that during that time period (1945? 1950?) women wore dresses.  And then I continued with "I hate to shock you, but when I was in elementary school, girls weren't allowed to wear pants, we had to wear dresses or skirts".  There was a short shocked silence, and then one of the young women in the class leaned over and asked "weren't you cold?".  

Love, 365

A professor with a sense of humor.....

Please note : explicit language!

This is one of the videos my anthropology professor uploaded to our

class for this week......omg......

I guess this proves that some anthropologists have a sense of humor!

:-)

Enjoy ~ 365 

Danger! Will Robinson! (arms waving about...)

The "original" cast of Lost In Space (bing)

If you were a kid during the mid 1960s, you probably watched this charming science fiction series which only lasted 3 seasons (but remember that a "season" was a lot longer then).  My sister and I loved it.  And when I say charming, I do mean charming.  Sure, Dr. Smith was evil and did bad things, and they were fighting for survival on an alien planet, but it never seemed terribly dangerous. 

The diabolical Dr. Smith

Granted, I haven't watched it since I was a kid ~ I've never actively sought out the reruns, which are undoubtedly somewhere ~ Netflix, Amazon, You-tube ~ I only recall the feeling I had as a kid, which was family fun entertainment, not serious or terribly exciting in the world of special effects.  To me, the funniest character was the robot, with it's arms waving about, stating the infamous line "Danger, Will Robinson!!" whenever there was a threat of some kind. 

But, there's a new version of Lost In Space on Netflix that just recently made it's debut.  And wow, it's very high tech, and not as "family friendly" as the original.  We've watched 4 episodes so far, and other than a slightly slow start, plus the adjustment of a much richer story line, we are enjoying it immensely.  

Yeah, the strange thing on the left is the new robot.....

Dr Smith (in the center) is a woman in this version!

I only hope we can be judicious about watching it, and not binge it in two days.  There are 10 episodes in season 1 ~ I hope you have Netflix so you can watch!

Love, 365

The search for the perfect pillow.......

(bing images)

How is your pillow?  Do you like it or hate it or is it love?  While watching Sunday Morning they featured a story on the guy who makes "My Pillow" ~ who was apparently a drug addict at one point, and now hires people who have been down on their luck, or had been addicts themselves.  Kind of a feel good story.  I've never bought one of his pillows, but I've bought my share, trying to find the perfect pillow.  And no, I don't have the perfect one yet, but what I have will do.....

The sheer number of pillow types boggles the mind.   Down, down alternative, memory foam, latex, feathers, buckwheat hulls (is rather crunchy), kapok fiber (which is apparently highly flammable), microbead, water (yes, water), cotton, wool......the list of different types of pillows goes on and on.  

Remember when a friend or family member told you they've found the perfect pillow?  You go out and find one only to discover you hate it?  Yeah, me too.

How about the prices?  We're talking anywhere from $20 to the dizzying heights of nearly $4,000 for the Van Der Heist custom pillow, where a physical therapist will come to your house and do a 3D scan to produce the perfect pillow for you.  Oh, and if you have a bit more money, you can have 24k gold fabric on it.  You're kidding right?  I suppose this is for people who have personal trainers and dietitians and plastic surgery on a regular basis.  

So there you go.  It seems there is no end to different types of pillows with their own schtick (organic, orthopedic, etc) which makes it very difficult to find the one that doesn't make your neck hurt, or tangle your hair so that when you wake up it looks like you've decided to go with dreads.

Love, 365

Getting on.......

Paleolithic cave art (Bing)

As I sit here at my desk, I can't help but be a bit ashamed of how unorganized I can be when working on research.  Chaos reigns.  The mind whirls with possibilities and yet is quick to discount a book or journal article for relevance to the project.  Of course, part of that is my penchant for procrastinating. But this time I can't put all the blame on myself, but of circumstances.  I know why I took 2 classes, and at the end it will be worth it, but I am too busy right now.  Ugh.

I do give myself some down time, but then berate myself for being so lazy.  While I'm sketching out my paper outline (which is due tomorrow), I'm doing laundry and making the bed, emptying the dishwasher.....just for an excuse to get up.  The good news is that the outline will make writing the paper more efficient and maybe easier.  I'm glad she asked for it, as I might not have done it otherwise.  

The desk in question :-(

I will need to knock out the rest of the outline tomorrow, so that I can spend some time doing research for history.  If you know of any resources for architecture by the CCC in the 30's (western U.S.), please don't hesitate to let me know as I am running into a lack of information.  I have no idea yet how many pages we'll have to read for class, but late tomorrow I will start printing it up.  Sometimes I print it at work, but it doesn't seem right, so I don't do it very often.  I was printing a rather long article from my anthropology class and our accountant tried to print something at the same time.....it was a bit awkward, as you can imagine.  

The good and bad news is that my coworker (yeah, the loud one) will be gone for two weeks.  That's good because I really could use a break from her, and bad because we will be short one person for two weeks, which just puts the rest of us under a bit of a strain.  We'll get through it, I'm sure.  

The other good/bad news is that I have 3 weeks left to write these two papers.  After the semester is over, I'm spending a lot more time outdoors.  My summer class doesn't start until July 2nd, and I'm looking forward to 6 weeks of less time in front of this damn computer.......

Love, 365

Bird song........

Mourning dove

Canyon Wren

Chipping sparrow

I probably missed a few birds, but it is immensely cheerful and uplifting to hear their busy songs.  

My home office is on the front side of the house, upstairs.  Our neighborhood is fairly quiet.  We don't get a lot of road noise since it's a small cul-de-sac that if you mistakenly turn in, will spit you back out on the main road in a few moments.  The birds hang around our house to rest in the aspen tree, and splash about in the small fountain by the front door.  

As I sit hear typing (and trying to figure out which birds are out there singing), much of the chatter is gone.  Time for breakfast........

Love, 365

Trouble on Pine Street........

Here we go.......(bing images)

Romeo has Hashimoto's disease, an autoimmune disease of the thyroid.  Has known of it for 3 years, but lately is becoming more concerned about some of the other health issues that can result from it, like diabetes.  His blood sugar was high at his last Dr's appt.  They put him back on his statin, which he wasn't happy about.  So, he's going to do whatever he can to avoid the diabetes drugs, so he has decided to become an Atkins aficionado.  Which means carbs are the enemy.  Of course, lots of people have lost weight on this diet, and Romeo knows I'd like to lose a few pounds, so has lassoed me into it.  Which is OK, for the most part.  But now I'm resorting to healthy dessert foods.  Like grapes.  Or strawberries.  There are no cookies, chocolate (I know, right???), etc. in our house right now, nor in the foreseeable future.  Poor me.  Perhaps I'll lose weight against my will, haha.

I had a terrible migraine on Thursday, likely facilitated by the horrible allergy season I'm experiencing.  This allergy shit is serious business.  I spent nearly all of Friday sleeping on and off due to how awful I was feeling ~ although part of that is the migraine too.  Now I'm feeling better thanks to living better through chemicals.  Eating a tablespoon of honey (hey! I do have honey in the pantry for dessert - whoo hoo) is for the birds at this point.  When I was originally tested, early blooming stuff is on my hot list.  Forty years later, it appears that hasn't changed.  Sucks, huh?

Most depressing is that after I could finally look through the UNM summer schedule, there is not one history class that fits into my schedule.  The only one that works I took last year.  The other two are Monday through Thursday for two hours daily.  No way can I work that into my work schedule......and remain employed. :-/.    I did find one class that might work, but it's not history, so I need to meet with my advisor to see if this class could be substituted for a history class.  If not, then my hope of graduating in December is dashed, because I couldn't find two history classes for the fall that works into my schedule either.  I'm crossing my fingers.  Wouldn't hurt if you did that too........

Love (achoo!!), 365

Cheating......

While doing research for the 2 (yes two) research papers I have to write in the next 6 weeks, I ran across some adds that offer to write your paper.  No matter if it's an essay, research paper or whatnot, they will do it.  For a price.  The one in the photo above it somewhat subtle.  Some of the others are less so....

This one is not so subtle.  But cheap is relative.  Out of curiosity I checked on what it would cost me to have a 7 page essay written....it was $140.  

I have to admit that if you have a spare couple hundred dollars, it might be tempting.  Except, it's cheating.  If your professor found you out, they'd fail your ass.  Which is what should happen.  But I don't have a scholarship riding on my performance.  I can see the scenario, can't you?  But it's still cheating.

If I do well ~ or even if I don't ~ I want it to be my work.  So, although I checked into it out of curiosity, it's not for me.  I also figured that if you've already turned in a few papers, one that doesn't reflect the style of writing you were turning in might be a giant red flag.  Oh, uh.  Busted.  At the same time, when there are thirty essays to grade times how many classes they teach, you just might get away with it.  

Of course not everyone can afford to dish out that much money for a paper each time one comes due. These options are geared for wealthy kids, whose parents give them plenty of spending money or credit cards.  Even when cheating it's geared for that upper class.......

Love, 365