Saturday, December 4, 2010

Oh, the Exhaustion!

December is a very, very, very hectic and overcrowded month this year. And to further muddle things, I'm now on three preventative daily drugs for migraines (all of which have "fun" side effects) and I have given up dairy products. No egg nog, no delicious holiday creamers, no ice cream, no cheese. It's a miserable experiment, but I have got to find out whether or not foods are influencing my migraines. So, December is "non-dairy month" and January will be (shudder) "wheatless month". In February, I'll try giving up caffeine and chocolate. Hopefully, by then I'll be able to discern if anything makes a difference. With a thesis looming in my future, I have to do whatever it takes to get the migraines under control.

On the bright side, I discovered that Silk makes their own version of egg nog without any dairy, so I've been consoling myself with that. I also found, after considerable searching, an ice cream that is made from coconut milk. It actually tastes better than most ice cream, but the price is enough to bring on a migraine! I've reserved it for a very special treat.

My final days of graduate classes are upon me; after the 13th of this month, all I'll have left is my thesis. The workload for these last ten days is staggering: two research papers, two required books to read (on top of what I read for research), two presentations, an arduous quiz, and two book reviews. And, of course, I still have my two jobs. And I have a puppy to housebreak. And I am on the church hospitality committee. And I'm sending out applications for further education upon graduation.

Pardon me for a moment while I go whimper.

Okay, that feels better. In happier news, Sidhe Eyes is still progressing at an acceptable rate, though I'm not quite certain how I've been managing it. I'm now on chapter 5 of Book Two, which means Book Two is about a fourth of the way done. I'm going to go back and add to Book One in order to balance things better, since I believe that Book Two will probably require twenty chapters, and Book One only has thirteen. I'm hoping to get a lot done over Christmas break.

I have narrowed down my list of programs to apply to. I'm going to apply to three PhD programs and two post-graduate certificate programs, all of which excite me. I'm also applying for adjunct positions at several universities and sending in applications to a few other possibilities. As I've said before, I am really keeping my options open. Overall, I'd prefer to stay here, but I'm open to alternatives.

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"Passage—immediate passage! the blood burns in my veins! Away, O soul! hoist instantly the anchor!
Cut the hawsers—haul out—shake out every sail!
Have we not stood here like trees in the ground long enough?
Have we not grovell’d here long enough, eating and drinking like mere brutes?
Have we not darken’d and dazed ourselves with books long enough?

Sail forth! steer for the deep waters only!
Reckless, O soul, exploring, I with thee, and thou with me;
For we are bound where mariner has not yet dared to go, And we will risk the ship, ourselves and all.

O my brave soul!
O farther, farther sail!
O daring joy, but safe! Are they not all the seas of God?
O farther, farther, farther sail!"

~Walt Whitman, "Passage to India"