Can I just say "Oy Vey"?

Man, I'm happy this semester is so nice and easy. Not too many classes, easy teaching, simple research, all the makings of a nice semester. Oh. Wait. That was just a cruelly blissful dream and I'm awake now. Seriously, this is probably the worst semester of my life. I've got three classes, I'm moving into my EEG phase of research, and I'm teaching statistics and research design to undergrads. Oh yeah, and I'm moving this weekend and all next week. AHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! Too much!!!!!!!!!

I suppose if this semester doesn't kill me it'll make me a PhD...in another 3 1/2 years. Proof positive of my dire term: the date of my last post. I enjoy adding to my blog yet I've not had the time to do so for over a month. More proof positive: my multiple panic attacks (and at least one of these is not an exaggeration).

But enough about my currently sad existence. The new apartment Nathan and I are moving into is quite nice. It's actually the lower part of a person's house and it's in the really nice part of Berkeley up in the hills overlooking the Bay. It's two bedroom, has a washer/dryer, access to a cute backyard garden, and a 4-window panoramic view of the Bay! I'm very optimistic that we'll be happy in our new home and will not have to move again the rest of our time in the Bay Area.

The move's not coming a moment too soon either. Our current cruddy apartment has again been overwrought by a horde of vicious ants. The battle has been waged and I was victorious, but it was a hassle none the less. Our apartment complex has also been involved in a tête-a-tête with the neighboring house regarding recycling. I don't want to go into it, but it's rather funny if you can get over how petty it is.

Well, I'm off to fix lunch and write up a lesson plan for next week. I'll post pics of the new place when I get a chance.

The final hurdle

Test grading. Hmph. Start the "Chariots of Fire" music and let me at them. I am going to grade tests like there's no tomorrow. Final exams, re-take exams, entering of grades, work, work, work. I will get to my winter break!!!

The jibberish above is attempting to convey the sentiment that I'm not really wanting to grade, but I do want to start my relaxing, and so will suffer through this last hurdle. Is a necessary post? No, probably not. Am I doing it anyway? Umm, are you looking at it? Yeah, I'm doing it anyway. Am I a bit aggressive currently due to my distaste for my present predicament? Indeed! Careful, Nathan, don't get within fist reach.


By the way, there are no pictures for this post. You'll take it and like it!

Blah!!! I hate doing homework

I haven't written for a looong time because I've been so busy. My mom was out visiting for my birthday. That was fun and took up all of my time. Then after she left, I had mucho work for school. And now I'm having to do another batch of delicious bullshit essays for the class I'm teaching! YAY! I teach my sections on Thursday, which means I cover material immediately after it's covered in lecture on Wednesday. Because of this, the students are rarely well prepared, and this becomes a much greater issue before a test like now. I'm supposed to hold a review session this Thursday for chapters 4-7. We haven't even started discussing chpt 7 in lecture. The essay questions for chpt 7 have not been posted yet. But I'm supposed to be well prepared and be able to cover all that in two days. What's wrong with this picture? I'm pointlessly ranting right now to avoid writing out these essay questions, but every second I waste I can feel my stress level increase. So adios.

sad and crazed

Presidential debate is back on!

McCain had bitched out over tonight's debate, but he must have gotten enough slack about it, because he's back in. Nathan and I are going over to my advisor's house tonight to watch the Presidential Debate. I am so sick of America and our politics! But I'm hoping that tonight can help rebound Obama's campaign to it's previous high. If McCain gets elected, I may just move out of the country...after I finish my PhD, of course.

DAMN AT&T!!!!!

I've had internet service with AT&T for less than a month and have had to call them about problems 9 times. What's wrong with this? The most recent problem occurred last night. Nathan and I got home from my eye appointment debacle and tried to check our e-mails to no avail. We called AT&T to find out that they'd canceled our service and even they didn't know why. That's not all, the people who could help us fix this problem weren't available because it was after 5 on a Sunday. So I called back this morning and spent 2 hours on the phone with them (no joke) and the problem still wasn't fixed. Thankfully, my honey took it upon himself to call them back while I was at school and got it all worked about, which took almost another 2 hours. And now that I've got internet access again, I'm spreading the word of their evil works. If you have AT&T service, I would recommend hanging garlic above all your doors and lighting some frankincense for your protection.

Is Berkeley actually pure evil?

I have to ask myself this question practically everyday. Today, I ask it because of my alleged insurance. I was trying to buy new frames and lenses after my appointment, when I was told that I don't have insurance. But I do. As a graduate student in the psych dept I get full tuition and fee remission, including full health insurance. But since Berkeley is pure evil, they're claiming I don't have this. This is one of about a dozen problems I've had with them this semester. Last year was fine (they were fresh out of the wooing me to their school phase), but this year I've spent so many hours in various departments across campus, I could cry. First there were issues with my residence, then financial aid, then getting my friggin bus pass, then registering for classes, and now insurance.

Don't let the picturesque campus deceive you. It seems Nathan was correct in suggesting that I should combine "Berkeley" and "complaints" into a single malicious post label.

What I'm listening to

I usually need music on to study, thanks to the shithole that is Berkeley and their crummy old buildings. What this means, is I can hear our upstairs neighbors yawn, giggle when the pee (yeah, it's creepy), stomp around their place, and have yelling fits in the mornings. Therefore, whenever I'm trying to concentrate on studying or sleeping, I generally have to have headphones on. I'm fairly used to it by now and the near-constant headache that accompanies nonstop auditory input. Another consequence of this is I listen to a lot of music. Now, I'm a bit of an obsessive person, shocking I know, and so I'll usually put on one cd and listen to it 5 times through. What I've been listening to lately is:

Works for violin and piano - Paganini
No need to argue - The Cranberries
Amarantine - Enya
The Celts - Enya
Watermark - Enya
Luna's Fancy - Sarah Marie Mullen
Wild Woods - Sarah Marie Mullen
Celtic Spirit - ???
Greatest Hits - Cat Stevens
Let it be...naked - The Beatles

Bellow is "Across the Universe" sung by Fiona Apple. This song is an absolute must for calming one's nerves before a test or any stressful situation. Instructions: 1.) Listen to song, preferably with eyes closed, 2.) Take deep breathes and saturate your brain with highly oxygenated blood, 3.) Repeats steps 1 and 2 as necessary.

I've made a huge mistake

In the words of Gob Bluth, "I've made a huge mistake." This whole blogging nonsense is too fun for someone whose nose is generally stuck in a book or a research article. Must. Stop. Posting. No, shush.

I'm going to get back to writing bullshit essays for the class I'm teaching now. The undergrads have a test coming up on the 1st, and I'm supposed to hold review with them on Thursday. Therefore, I need to do everything that they're supposed to do before that time. It's not like I haven't gotten anything done today, it's just a lot less than I could/should have. Bagh! Hmm, that makes me want to watch The Fellowship of the Ring... Maybe I can write these essays and watch the movie at the same time... In the words of Cat Stevens "Why not?"

Bugs, what are they good for?

Nathan and I started composting about 6 months ago. We like to pitch in (no pun intended), though we'd probably be shunned by the community if we didn't. That's just one of many "great" things about Berkeley. A result of this composting is bugs. This is partially our fault, we didn't take the compost out for like 2 weeks. But now there are little gross flying bugs all over the apartment. This means I'm on a rampage. I'll lie in wait in the kitchen, armed with Raid, and when one of my foes lands, I pounce... and always feel bad after they die. I don't particularly dislike bugs, except when they're in my home, and then it's war. Berkeley has a lot of bugs too. There are spider webs on practically every car and bush outside, and plenty of spiders inside too. And I'm not just talking about daddy long legs. I'm talking about black-bodied, have-some-substance-to-them, look-like-they-could-kill-you-in-your-sleep spiders. And ants... oh ants, the bane of my existence. I find ants in random places throughout the apartment throughout the year. Ugh! There's no winning, but I shall continue the fight!