Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Minor Miracles

After failing spectacularly on my first grad school assignment (and by "failing," I really mean "got a C") (by which I actually mean I scored 3.6 on an assignment worth a whopping 5 points) (and yes, I absolutely did get way too damn worked up over that), I got a 9 out of 10 on my very first grad school paper.  I wrote three drafts of a two-page paper, so damn right I got a 9 out of 10.  Let's hope this bodes well for the second two-page paper I turned in, where I worked up five drafts.  I've had a really horrendous couple of days here, letting myself get really stressed out, worked up, and overwhelmed about the end-of-semester crunch that's still six weeks away, so this feels like a small win.  I think in grad school, you have to take those where you can find them.  

I'm still trying to adjust to being a student for the first time in six-ish years, and a grad student at that.  I'm heading into my fourth week of classes, and I'm four-for-four in meltdowns per week.  They usually come on Wednesdays (I'm on campus for roughly 9 hours, and thus feel like there's no way I'm ever going to get anything done ever again, and I'm completely behind on all my work, and I'm never going to catch up ever, and why even bother because obviously I'm not smart enough to be here, ad infinitum), but this week's happened on Monday.  Let's hope that I can get through the rest of the week unscathed!

Monday, September 16, 2013

What She Wore: September 2013

Another great dress!  I wore this on my last day of work, just before I left on my cross-country road trip to move to the east coast.






Dress: ModCloth (2013)
Shoes: Maurices (2011)

Thursday, September 12, 2013

What She Wore: September 2013






Cardigan: Maurices (2013)
Blouse: Maurices (2011)
Jeans: 7 For All Mankind (2013)
Shoes: Payless (2010)

Sunday, September 8, 2013

What She Wore: September 2013

How cute is this dress?  I'm a sucker for a great print, and this dress absolutely delivers with its adorable bicycles.




Dress: Unique Vintage (2013)
Shoes: Maurices (2013)

Want to Hear Something Awesome?

Want to hear something awesome?

I only have class three days a week--Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.  But for those three days, I have four classes, and since it's grad school, I have anywhere from five hundred to a thousand pages of reading every week, plus occasional writing assignments.  (My class schedule is rad, but that's not the awesome part.)

Even with Tim being here this weekend, I'm on track to finish with ALL the work I need to have done by NEXT Sunday, the 15th, by this evening (that's the awesome part!). I have one play left to read, plus 100 pages of the driest textbook ever written (which will be painful and awful, and will take the most time of every other assignment I've had so far).

Managing my time like a boss!  I'm going to give myself a pass for tomorrow and catch up on cleaning, laundry, Harry Potter, etc, but I'm hopeful that I can give myself a head start on reading for the week of the 16th, and that maybe, just maybe, I can stay afloat and be prepared and get smart.  Hooray!

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

What She Wore: September 2013





Blazer: Maurices (2012)
Camisole: Maurices (2012)
Pants: Forever 21 (2013)
Boots: ModCloth (2013)

Sunday, September 1, 2013

Remembering How to Make Friends, Part 2

So, classes start tomorrow (for those folks with classes on Monday--I don't have class until Tuesday afternoon), and I'm really looking forward to getting things underway.  I've been working toward this moment for about eighteen months now, and I'm sick and tired of the anticipation.  I'm 85% unpacked and settled in my apartment (waiting on my desk to be delivered next week, and for Tim to get a couple things out of storage so that I can have room to put some things in there), my backpack is packed, my lunchbox is standing ready, my books are organized by class, and I remembered (at just about the last second) to buy notebooks and binders and folders, because I will probably need those things.

I dithered back and forth about going up to spend the weekend with Tim, but in the end decided to pass in favor of staying here and doing laundry (which I totally have not done yet), doing homework (for classes that haven't started yet!), and not having to deal with the stress of negotiating beltway traffic on Labor Day weekend.

So, one of the MFA girls is having shindig at her place tonight, and I believe I'm going to force myself to go.  When I first received the invitation, I was unequivocally not going to go. Firstly, I don't much care to be coming home after dark.  Secondly, I don't much care for hanging out with strangers; I find the pressure to make conversation to be highly stressful.

But, I need to make friends.  I'm already planning on spending very little time in this place, so I feel like I need to take advantage of the opportunities to be social as they arise.  I'm a nice person, I really am, but my determination to put my marriage first can have the unintended side effect of making me appear anti-social, stand-offish, and reclusive, which in turn only serves to isolate me.

So.  Here I go, putting on my big-girl pants, to go forth and try to make friends.