Feel Good Friday, May 9

What makes me feel good today? Graduation! A fun memory with my school friends and family there to celebrate with me. Yep, that's definitely a feel good moment.
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Location:Morning Glory Dr,Norman,United States

Make Up Monday

 

You know that saying about needing a vacation to recover from vacation?  Yeah.  That.

I always enjoy traveling, but I’m also always glad to be back home, even if it does take a few days to get caught back up on sleep and get back into the swing of things.  We had a good time at the Phi Theta Kappa Nerd Nation in Orlando, and I hope I get to do it again next year, though it will have to be on my dime next time around.  I think it’s the sort of thing college days were made for, even if I am getting started about three decades too late.

Anyway, today I’ve got a few photos from the trip that should have gone up yesterday, but for the fact that I was exhausted and fell asleep with a laptop open and waiting for me to do something with it.  Oh, well.  Better late than never, I always say.

So, the pictures.  And, yes, it was a national gathering of honor society students, but who says nerds can’t have fun?

Six Word Fellowship

 

PTK sisters hanging out at Universal.

Feel Good Friday, April 25

 

I have to say, it’s really been quite a while since I’ve really felt like much of a personal Feel Good Friday, but I’m feeling it today.  But what can you expect when you spend a day hanging with PTK buddies at the convention and then spend a few hours at Walt Disney World?  WDW may not technically be “the happiest place on earth” according to the Disney folks, but I would beg to differ.

We really did only have a few hours, so our park visit was limited to Main Street USA and Fantasyland, but it was still a good time.  We got to walk around and enjoy a nice afternoon/evening, rode It’s a Small World, saw both the Main Street Electrical Parade and the Wishes fireworks show, and Tigger waved at me and then blew me a kiss.  Oh, and we had some really tasty ice cream to end the day.  If that kind of day doesn’t make you feel good, I just don’t know what will.

 

Day One

 

Day one at the Phi Theta Kappa International Convention—Nerd Nation, as we like to call it—is in the books, and was great.  Three speakers today, each with a different style and point of view.

Justin Jones-Fosur kicked us off with a rousing presentation abut the importance of diversity and inclusion.  He was funny, highly energetic, and had some good thoughts to share—exactly what you want in a speaker.

Then we went into a break out session where the activity was a team egg drop exercise.  I am proud to say that my team came in first in our room, winning by a pretty decisive point margin.  If you ever need to protect an egg with some craft sticks, masking tape, rubber bands and paper towels, look me up because I can hook you up with the details. 

After lunch we heard from Inge Auerbacher, who is a holocaust survivor.  It was quite a change from the morning presentation, and her story was heartbreaking, even though it was the story of survival. 

Then, finally, this evening, we were graced with Alison Levine, who has climbed the highest peak on every continent.  Her story of reaching the summing of Everest (on her second try) was inspiring.  I like to listen to amazing people like that tell their amazing stories.

Anyway, as I’ve probably said before, these conventions are just an excuse to try and get folks to drink the Kool Aid, but I have to admit that after these types of days, I start thinking Kool Aod isn’t really such a bad thing.

I’m Tired Already

 

It’s kind of amazing how you can go from a slow-moving, not much to do week to an OH MY GOSH, I’LL NEVER GET IT ALL DONE week in just the space of a few hours. 

I’ve been planning a trip to Orlando with my PTK peeps for a few months now (really, just the possibility of being able to make this trip was one of the factors last year when I was considering whether or not to take more classes this semester!), but with the blood clot and the hospitalization and all, lately I’d been preparing myself for the idea that I probably would not be able to go.  Consequently, I have not been getting ready to go.  Like packing.  Or even laundry. 

So when my doctor cleared me today to travel, I was both elated and just a little bit panic-stricken.  Then, I looked more closely at my class schedule and realized that homework I thought was due next week is actually due tomorrow, which means that the quiz that follows that homework is also due this week rather than next.  Panic isn’t even the right word.

And, add to that the fact that the trade-off for not having to drive myself to the airport tomorrow and leave my car there all week (and pay ridiculous parking fees), is that Brian has to take me to work tomorrow before he goes to his own job, which means I have to be at work about an hour early.  After being there two and a half hours late today. 

All of this means I will be going in to my fun-filled trip already at a sleep deficit, so I should be completely wiped out by the time I return home Sunday evening.  If I was heading off anywhere but the Land of Mickey, I’d give serious consideration to just calling the whole thing off, but turning down a free trip to Florida?  Nah, I don’t think I can do that.

So, dream of me tonight, since I won’t be getting much sleep of my own, and I’ll wish upon a star for you once I get where I’m going. 

That’s What Friends Are For

 

You know, I was saying to someone recently that when I returned to school a couple of years ago, I hadn’t anticipated that it would be a particularly social event.  I mean, not that I expected to just sit in a corner and never interact with anyone, but I didn’t figure it would be too terribly far from that.  Besides being a natural-born introvert, and shy, I also planned on being the oldest person in most of my classes. (That last part has mostly been true, but less important than I’d imagined.)  I figured I’d get along with people as much as necessary to make some idle chit-chat in class and muddle through a group project or two, but really nothing more.  It truly never occurred to me that I would have friends.  And yet . . .

Conversations that started out as discussions about lessons and readings, turned in to conversations about husbands and kids.  Companionable strolls to the cars after class turned in to long visits in the parking lot.  Visiting on campus turned in to monthly lunch get togethers.   Baby showers have been held and attended.  (Yes, I’ve been the attendee, not the guest of honor!)  It’s been really nice.

And, though I’m less active in PTK this semester than I have been since I joined, I think this may be my favorite group of people yet.  Maybe it’s because most of us are “older students”, or maybe we’re all just the same kind of weird, but we all seem to get along really well.

I’m thinking about all of this because I had a really enjoyable time with the PTK folks this evening, first at a meeting, then working on a chapter scrapbook, and then at an impromptu dinner out with one of the advisors.  And it occurred to me that my time at school certainly could have turned out the way I anticipated.  I still would’ve learned, still would’ve passed the classes, still would’ve gotten my degree.  But none of it would’ve been nearly as much fun.

 

Overload

 

Something had to give.  In truth, a lot of things had to give recently, but visiting here at the blog was the one I missed the most.  It’s strange the way life just sneaks up on you sometimes, and you suddenly just find yourself just going with the flow—or raging current—with little to no control.

It started simply enough; I wasn’t feeling too swell one evening.  By the next morning, I was really just feeling sort of “off”, and by end of shift, I was ready to make a stop at the walk-in clinic.  They ended up sending me over to the ER, and by half-way through my visit to the hospital, I was feeling pretty miserable.

The really stupid part of the whole thing?  Nothing too drastically wrong with me, just a pretty bad case of vertigo. (Not that I’m asking for a more serious diagnosis; don’t get me wrong about that!)  Turns out vertigo is not particularly uncommon after a respiratory infection, which I’d dealt with a week or two before that.  What is uncommon, though, at least for me, is not being able to stand for more than a few minutes, or move my head too quickly, even when sitting still, because doing so just about causes a blackout.  It was totally stupid. 

That was a Wednesday night, and I pretty much stayed in bed for the next four days, moving as little as possible.  I think it was at least Saturday before I realized I hadn’t been posting to the blog.  Oops.  I blame it on the medication.  But, Saturday—or maybe Sunday—when I realized I hadn’t been posting, then I made the conscious decision that I couldn’t do it.  I was still feeling pretty cruddy, and I just couldn’t fathom the idea of sitting at a computer even long enough to tap out a short piece, much less actually think of something to tap out.

Monday I dragged myself back to work, but was far from recovered, so had to take a few hours to to drive back to town and see my own doctor to figure out why I wasn’t getting any better.  (And, yeah, driving was undoubtedly a risky proposition at the time, but I managed it, thank God.)

The problem with being sick enough to miss work, of course, is that the work doesn’t care if you’re there today; it’ll just be waiting for you when you make it back.  The first couple of days back, I had no choice but to take it sort of easy, though that just meant getting further and further behind on the work.  By Wednesday, I was finally starting to feel a bit better, but that meant working crazy long hours to try to get caught up again—which still hasn’t happened yet, by the way.

But that’s the sort of thing that starts the George Jetson treadmill going.  Then, the next thing you know, school is being neglected, the PTK weekend event that’s been planned for months is suddenly looming, seemingly unexpectedly, and, oh yeah, at the office, we’re suddenly preparing for trial next week.  So, you get through the week as best you can, muddle through the weekend on a total of about 7 or 8 hours sleep, then drag yourself into the office to do it all again Monday morning. 

As I said, something (besides sleep) had to give.  So, part of the PTK event weekend was missed; an assignment got turned in a few hours late, and my office looks like a cyclone tore through.  And, of course, I didn’t stop to write. 

I’m not happy about any of those sacrifices, but I’m most discouraged by being away from the blog for two weeks.  It was, as I mentioned, a conscious decision (once the meds wore off, you know), so I suppose there’s no one to blame by myself, but a careful analysis of the situation said there was just no way to make it happen.  I think my choice was well-reasoned, and in the same circumstances, I imagine that’s how I ‘d handle it again, but I can’t deny that I felt a little emptiness inside.  So, tonight, I made it home from the office just after ten, ate a quick chicken sandwich while watching the news (it’s amazing how quickly you can feel really out of touch these days), and now I’m here.  I think the treadmill is still running, but maybe something else needs to give for a while.

Monday, Monday

 

 

There isn’t really much to say today, except that it was a Monday, ya know?  Just an all-round, things-not quite-right-feel surrounding just about everything.  Even this post was supposed to be an easy-peasy thing—get it done and hit the hay.  That was almost three hours ago, before I fell asleep on the couch, laptop open, cursor blinking at me.  Now I’ve got a few hours’ sleep, a couple of lines written, and a big ol’ crick in my neck.  Joy.  I’m going to blame in on falling asleep before midnight, while it was still technically Monday.

Still, it was a fairly productive day at work, and I crossed quite a few things off my to-do list (I really enjoy it when the attorneys are out of the office), even if it did seem like things were slightly off-kilter.  I made it to class just in time for lecture, even though I was stuck in ridiculous traffic that caused it to take over twenty minutes to go about four miles (and most of that time was spent in the first three blocks).  And, I got to spend a short amount of time visiting with some fellow PTK members while we staffed a table waiting for canned good donations for our food drive, though we only had one actual donation in the time I was sitting there. 

Still, every single donation counts, and this particular gentleman waited quietly in the background while we talked with some other people about our goals, then timidly came forward to hand us a ten dollar bill.  We weren’t really set up to take cash donations—and it’s technically against school rules—but I wasn’t about to turn him down.  Especially when he looked like he didn’t have too many ten dollar bills to spare.  I thought it was a particularly kind gesture, and he looked very pleased when we took his name down and assured him we’d put his money to good use for fellow students. 

Come to think of it, maybe it wasn’t such a bad Monday after all.

Six Word Ceremony

 

Fall Induction.

Welcome new PTK members!

 

Six Word Conference

 

 

 

 

  Fun times with the PTK group!

A Learning Moment

 

I’m at a Phi Theta Kappa event this weekend, and while I am often frustrated with a lack of organization on the part of my local chapter, I have to say that the events I’ve attended have largely been well run and mostly interesting.  This particular event is on the campus of Oklahoma State University, the rival of my hometown University of Oklahoma, so it’s a little strange to see everyone wandering around in garb you rarely see in my neck of the woods, but that’s okay.  I’m a tolerant sort.  And, I’ve never been up here before, but what little I’ve seen of the campus so far has been very nice. 

The main speaker of the evening was one of the professors here at OSU, from their journalism department (though the department actually has a different name now.)  Anyway, when she was 22, just barely graduated from this same institution, she was in a horrible car accident that left her paralyzed.  She told us—from her wheelchair—a little bit about her life since that accident.  The accident happened in May; by December of that same year, she was working in her chosen field.  She has not only worked consistently since then in various forms of advertising, but completed both a masters and a doctorate to go along with her original undergraduate degree. 

She’s pretty impressive, though she doesn’t really see her accomplishments as all that spectacular; she said it would’ve been harder to just lay around and wonder what was going to happen next, so she took charge. 

She had several thoughtful anecdotes to share, but the single most important things I think she said tonight was, “defeat is not permanent; it’s just an opportunity to try again.”  So many times when things don’t go just the way we planned, we assume they will never work out.  Or we just sit around and feel sorry for ourselves, which really doesn’t accomplish anything at all. I think we could all probably learn a thing or two from her. 

Going Drama Free

 

I’ve mentioned that I’m not much of a fan of drama, right?  Some might say it’s me causing the problems, since I seem to run into it so often, but they’d be wrong.  I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve got a pretty long list of faults, but I guarantee you that causing drama is not one of them. 

Currently, it’s my paralegal club giving me grief.  We’ve got officers bickering, professors trying to take advantage of students, and basically just a whole lot of stress from something that is supposed to be fun.  And while I try to help people navigate through their hurt feelings and see the opposite sides of any given situation, I still find myself having to remind them that this is not high school and we are not children.  Personally, I think you really shouldn’t have to explain that to grown—and I mean fully grown, not like just-barely-21-grown—people; that’s something they should’ve learned for themselves or from their parents a long time ago. 

So, the school has a big annual function this Saturday, and we’ve finally hammered out all the details and I think the group is ready to make it a success.  But, I’ve got a schedule conflict and will be out of town with the PTK group, so I’m hoping for the best and leaving them to it.  On the upside, I think most of the drama that existed last year with traveling with PTK is now gone (though we still have to share a room), so maybe a day away will be just what the doctor ordered.

Making the Most—and Least—of the Weekend

 

 

“The time to relax is when you don’t have time for it.”

                                                   ~Sydney J. Harris   

 

 

 

 

Image courtesy of Ohmega1982 at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

 

Every once in a while, even when there’s stuff that you ought to be doing, I think it’s more beneficial to spend the day doing nothing.  You know, looking back over that sentence, I think maybe it should say, “especially when there’s stuff that you ought to be doing”.  Honestly, that’s precisely the time it’s most important to take a step back and regroup.

Lately, I am really beginning to feel the strain of always having something to do.  Deep down, I’m glad that I front-loaded my classes so that this final semester only requires six hours, but I am also really beginning to wish that I’d had an actual summer break.  A new job while carrying nine hours over summer semester (which followed a jam-packed spring semester of eighteen hours) really wore me down, and a couple of weeks between summer and fall just didn’t let me wind down much.  Add to that trying to launch the Paralegal Student Association, and also trying to figure a way to stay involved with PTK, and I am beginning to feel stretched far too thin. 

So, even though I’ve got a couple of chapters I need to read, an assignment that needs doing, and a bunch of PSA stuff that needs sorting out, those things didn’t get done today.  Instead, I slept in this morning, snoozed a little on the couch this afternoon, had cereal for lunch and a simple tuna and crackers for dinner, and worked my way through a whole bunch of programming piled up on the DVR. (I’m all caught up now with The Glades, Rizzoli and Isles, and Perception, and hope to finish up with Longmire and maybe one other show before I have to jump back on the treadmill Tuesday morning.) 

Not that I never take time for myself even when I should be doing other things, but then I’m usually overcome with guilt and end up staying up far too late to finish up the things that needed doing, thereby undoing any possible benefits of the relaxation time.  But not today.  Today was totally a mental health day, and I’ve got zero guilt.  I might even do it again tomorrow.

Getting it Done

 

“I am definitely going to take a course on time management... just as soon as I can work it into my schedule.”  ~Louis E. Boone

This quote makes me laugh; I think it pretty much sums up the way we live our lives these days.  I worked my butt off for the last two semesters so that this final term of school I would have an easy schedule.  And I do—only six hours.  I do still have to be on campus four days a week—which really sucks, by the way—but it still feels like a pretty easy workload compared to the nine hours I just finished in summer school or the eighteen I packed in back in the spring.

But, of course, rather than trying to kick back and enjoy the relative ease of the schedule, I’m filling my time with other things.  Phi Theta Kappa always needs something, and now we’re trying to get the Paralegal Student Association (PSA( up and running.  Today and tomorrow we’ve got campus-wide back to school activities, so I took a long lunch and ran over to the campus to help support my clubs, then hurried back to work to finish up some actual work, then rushed back to campus for tonight’s class.  Then, a quick trip to the gym before heading home.  And I’ll do it all again tomorrow, with the added pressure of an important motion that has to be put on file before the day is over.

Wednesday I’ll take my normal lunch hour to drive over to the school and talk to a new group of students about the paralegal club and then Thursday I imagine I’ll have to work through lunch to make up some time.  Finally, Friday will roll around and then it will be time for the Back to School Mixer the PSA is sponsoring. 

Then, by the weekend, I figure I’ll have the first round of homework to churn out, just so I can drop into bed Sunday night to get ready to do it all again, only the details will change.  I’m not sure when life became so busy, but I’m not sure I entirely approve, even if most of the business is of my own making.

Heading off to bed now, while there are still a few minutes left in Monday. 

Done! (For Now)

 

  Whoo-hoo!  The long semester is finally over!  It’ll be a few days before the last of the grades are posted, but I’m pretty confident I’ve managed to pull As from each of the classes.  The one I was most worried about turned out fine (thank goodness for prompt instructors who post final grades quickly and put students out of their misery), and I think the others were strong enough that even if I totally bombed the finals—which I hopefully did not—the grade should survive. 

  Either way, I’m just glad to be done with it all.  Come fall, I’m sure the then me will be grateful to the now me for sucking it up and getting those classes out of the way this spring, but there were times it seemed like quite the ordeal.  And this summer, I’ll crank out a few more so that my final semester can be light and easy and let me concentrate on putting it all together and preparing to go out into the working world.  It’s a good plan, but it means not much of a break.  18 days, to be exact, so I have to decide how best to spend them.

Of course, I’ll have to devote some time to working through the DVR queue.  I wouldn’t be living up to my title of TV Junkie if that wasn’t at least part of my plan, right?  And besides cleaning off the DVR, I probably need to clean out my car, do some laundry, and clean up my studying area.  In fact, now that I think about it, I should probably tackle my study area first, so there are at least a few days of cleanliness before it gets all cluttered up again.

I’ve also got some PTK business to attend to at least for the next few days, so that will keep me occupied for a bit.  And my professor that wants help with the paralegal club says she might want to do some work in this break before summer classes begin, so I’m probably not entirely done with school stuff, even for these 18 days.  And, of course, sometime around day 16 or so, I probably ought to crack open the new books and take a peek at what’s coming up.

Other than that, my only big plan is to also do a bit of straightening up in my exercise room and find a way to get back into a fitness routine.  There’s still room to work out in there, sort of, and I’ve even managed some simple things a time or two in its current condition, but it’ll be much easier to stay motivated if I don’t have to squeeze into a tiny little spot to do what needs doing.  Though, the truth is, that probably won’t happen until Monday.  Tomorrow is one of the days I need to devote to PTK, so I’ll throw a roast in the crockpot tomorrow morning then head up to school.  And this weekend . . . oh my gosh, I almost forgot!  This weekend—Sunday—I’ll be seeing the new Star Trek movie!  Brian’s work schedule wouldn’t allow us to get to a showing on Friday, and Saturday we’ve got family plans, so it’ll be Sunday before I can get there, but there I will be.  I’m sure you’ll be hearing my thoughts about it soon enough.

So, those are my plans for my semester break.  Once I write it down like that, it doesn’t really sound like all that much of a break, but I forgot to mention one very important task: naps.  There will be lots of time for naps, and maybe even out in the nice spring sunshine, if I’m very lucky.  Because, really, what’s school break without naps?

Six Word Events

 

 

     

    PTK Spring Induction

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BFF Wedding Shower

Find other Six Word Saturday entries at ShowMyFace.com

Song of Life

 

Now that our ΦΘΚ group has returned from the national convention, it’s time to start putting together whatever we might have learned and trying to put it to use for our chapter.  Of course, it’s also time to take a look back and remember the fun we had.  As the media officer for our group, I need to put together a newsletter about both this most recent gathering, as well as our regional convention a few weeks ago.  But I have another job to tackle, as well.

The other thing I am tasked with is sorting through the hundreds of photos we took while in San Jose and putting together a slide show.  It seemed like a simple enough request when our advisor tossed it out, until I sat down to plan it out and immediately realized I’d need music to go along with the pictures.  That part didn’t seem so simple at all.  Music seems like such a fundamental part of life, and it always seems to make everything better, but how do you pick a single song to represent a feeling, philosophy, or event?  Or even a life.

On the plane home, the in-flight magazine was dedicated to baseball, and it had a small blurb about major league players and their walk-up songs.  You know, those snippets of songs that play as a hitter comes up to bat, or a relieving pitcher makes his way to the mound?  Well, the article said that some of the players just choose a song that they really like, but some really try to choose something that fits their personality.  Even then, I was thinking how hard that would be.  I’ve wondered a time or two what my own personality would sound like set to music, but I’m not sure I’ve ever come up with an answer that completely satisfies.

You may be wondering what would make someone think about a personal theme song if they weren’t reading some random magazine article, though I’d propose that more people have probably wondered about that than you might think.  But, also, as I’ve probably mentioned before, I’m a huge fan of The Big Bang Theory, and during one episode, Raj had a theme song tee shirt.  It’s a real thing, and it can be personalized with whatever music you’d like.  Of course I had to wonder about what kind of song I’d want following me around on a piece of clothing. 

Anyway, while for myself I would probably choose something with a happy, hopeful message in its lyrics, deciding what might work best for the PTK slideshow was a tricky thing.  I looked through lists of friendship songs, fun songs, travel songs, popular songs, school songs.  I read song lyrics, browsed through YouTube, and just plain racked my brain.  I just couldn’t decide what I wanted to use.  You’d think I’d been asked to create the soundtrack for a major motion picture or something.

Finally, I made a decision, or at least a preliminary one.  I won’t know for sure, of course, until I get all the photos selected and everything put together.  But I think I’m going with “These Are the Days”, by 10,000 Maniacs.  It’s got mostly appropriate lyrics, a good tempo for such a project, and doesn’t sound too old for a group of college kids.  At least, that’s my hope.  If you’re not familiar with it, take a listen and let me know what you think.

Oh, and by the way, while I’m not absolutely certain, I think if I had to pick my own theme song right this minute, I might go with “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”.  What about you?  What’s your song?

Snapshot Sunday, April 7

 

Man, it has been a whirlwind week.  Travel is often like that, especially when you’re trying to combine work with some fun slipped in.  But it has been a fun week, no matter how busy we were or how much sleep I missed out on—which was a lot. 

I got to know my fellow PTK officers so much better, and we all agreed it was a shame we couldn’t have done something like this earlier, rather than when so many of them are getting ready to graduate and move on.  Still, I’m grateful we had the time now, and we really did have a great time.

And, I think we even managed to learn some stuff, too, so we’re hopeful that we’re ready to make some positive changes to our chapter when we get back to the grind at school.

In our week away, we saw some sights, studied a little, and laughed a lot, all while growing closer together.  At some point, I may be able to write more in depth about some of the things we did, but for now, just a few pictures from the past few days. 

And now, I am off to bed.  Not only were our hours of sleep limited this week, but I slept in a chair the entire time, so I am ready to stretch out in an actual bed, and maybe even get a full 8-10 hours of shut-eye.  I think that would still give me time to study for my test tomorrow night, so it seems like the best plan going.  Good night.

Six Word Bonding

 

 

Arrived as classmates; leaving as friends.

 

Check out the six words that are important to people this week at Show My Face.