Bummed

My class schedule for fall got jumbled because of a change in time of one of my classes (a class that sounded AWESOME!), which conflicted with another class that I kind of have to take.  I was not happy about that.

Then, I found out that my best friend in our cohort decided to take a year off school (leave of absence for family reasons).  She is the kind of friend who can take one look at me and know what kind of day I’m having, and she was a very empathetic listener to a lot of venting from me during our overwhelming winter semester.  I told her one day that she is my security blanket in grad school!  She laughed and said, “My kids don’t even think of me as a security blanket!”  I’ll miss her terribly.

So, I’m hoping the next news about the upcoming school year is Happy News!  Anyone?

Drama class, Day 4

We started to read the play “Proof” in my drama class today.  A math play!  I was so excited!!  And I got to play Catherine, the female lead who was played by Gwyneth Paltrow in the movie version.  It’s a great part — sassy, sad, and smart Catherine who is reluctant to pursue mathematics for fear she’ll end up like her father.  We finished the first act tonight.

I’ll be sad to see this class end in two weeks.  It’s so fun, and it totally taps into a part of me that doesn’t get expressed much.  The arts, in total — music, dance, theater — keep me sane in this crazy life.

Happy Baby!

This is Christian Joshua, the first of the five 2009 babies in my family!  And he lives in North Carolina, so we didn’t know when we’d get to see him.  Everyone was thrilled that he and his mom could fly up for his Grandpa’s party!  He is a super sweet baby and smiled at everyone.  And I think if you put 100 babies in a room and asked me which one was related to me, I could have picked him out easily — he sure looks like our family babies!

U.P. Trip Photos

During my recent trip, I saw my grandmother, two uncles, two aunts, eight first cousins and their families, and three of my Mom’s cousins and their families.  That was roughly a zillion relatives!  We saw the most relatives at my uncle’s retirement/birthday party, which was held at my cousin’s house right on the water.  A great setting, despite chilly weather.  I forgot to ask permission from various cousins to post photos of their kids (especially the new babies!), but here are a couple of shots from the party.  As my mom said, I was getting great shots of people’s backs that day!  Ha! 

A couple of days later, we drove to Ontonagon and had lunch on the shore of Lake Superior.  Here are some photos from that day.

Still here

After I’ve been on vacation and away from the internet for a few days, it’s so hard to get back into it.  I’d just as soon leave the internet behind and do real life!  Real Life is the next big thing, you know?  I heard that somewhere…

Times are busy.  I am finishing up a couple of freelance projects, so I’ll hopefully be down to just two summer jobs in August.  I’m tentatively planning to have a Friend Day one day each week in August, where I make plans to have lunch, see a movie, hang out with a friend.  I already have one “booking” for that on August 4th! 

I’ve been entertaining everyone with the story that I got my sense of smell back.  I didn’t know I’d lost it until I got it back (thank you, thyroid meds!), but that now explains why I thought everyone else was crazy all winter.  A poor undergrad at school said, “Oh my God, what’s that smell?” one day, and I honestly thought he was crazy!  I didn’t smell a thing!  But I also didn’t smell the banana peels that were in my garbage for two weeks or more, so you know…  But I can smell again now.  It’s a mixed blessing!  LOL

Drama class, Day 3

Today was an off day for me at my Drama class (much like the off days at my dance class, where the dance just wasn’t my style or didn’t click for me).  We finished up “The Glass Menagerie” (great, sad play) and then started a much more modern play called “Art” that I don’t care for.  But at least it’s short!  *grins*  So we’ll start reading “Proof” next week, which I’m sooooo looking forward to — the other math person in this class is also happy about that, of course!  We do love our proofs.

Home again, home again

I’m back home!  And I have to be at work in less than eleven hours.  Boo!

I’ll quickly sum up my trip, by the numbers (totally stealing the idea from another blogger…):

Miles traveled:  1,341
States visited: 2
Hours spent in the non-Michigan state: 3
Deer seen:  4
First-cousins seen:  8
Other relatives seen: about a zillion
Babies held:  1
Chocolate-free s’mores eaten: 1 (yum!)
Pictures taken:  87
Meals eaten on the lake or canal shores: 4 (or five?)
Mosquito bites:  None!

A good trip:  priceless

Off to the great upper peninsula

Tomorrow morning, I have my annual physical, and then I’m leaving town!  Away from work and school and doctors and the internet, thank you very much.

My Mom and I will head north after my appointment tomorrow morning, and I’ll see many generations of family in the days ahead – from my grandmother who is 89 to baby Christian Joshua who was born in March!  So hopefully there will be baby holding, and for sure there will be picture taking!  I’m taking two cameras to keep up with everything.

We’ll be gone for several days, and I didn’t set up any blog posts to post magically while I’m away, so my blog will observe several days of silence…

Have a great week!  Keep an eye on the world for me.  *hugs*

Drama class, Day 2

I was glad that I felt up to going to my drama class tonight.  We had fun!  We finished up “The Importance of Being Earnest” — where I got to say one of the funniest lines, something like, “If you don’t take too long, I’ll wait for you for the rest of my life!”  Such a funny play.

And then we started “The Glass Menagerie.”  There are only four parts (two female) in Glass Menagerie, so our instructor decide that I’d be Tom (the brother, who is also the narrator of the play).  Turns out that I do pretty well as a 20-something, sarcastic, frustrated young man.  *laughs*  I got to fight with Amanda (the mother), played by a woman in our class who has been in many plays (and is wonderful).  And I had long monologues that set the scene of the play as a memory.  It’s a good role.

Fun times!

Of bumps and couches

I hit my head so hard on my cupboard on Saturday that I got a huge lump on my head.

And Monday, I suddenly felt quite ill and had to lie down on the floor at school and then call for a ride home.

Unrelated items, I’m pretty sure, but my body is a bit rattled these days.  I opted to stay home today, giving me good opportunities to work a little, rest a little, work a little, rest a little.  While I rested, I was remembering the couch that I had in my office at work a few years ago and wondering if I’ll be able to fit a couch in my office when I’m a junior faculty somewhere.  Couches come in incredibly handy when one has weird episodes with their health!  And it’s much better than lying on the floor.