Fever Broke--Back to the Grindstone

Although I'd like to lay about another day for a full recovery, I just can't. Too many things on my "to-do" list have me up at this ungodly hour getting ready to make that 1 mile drive to work. I know that Leo would come and baby me if I wanted him to--foot massages, telling jokes, warming my soup, and the like--but I'll not bother him for support this time. Just knowing that he would if I wanted him to is enough. I'm looking forward to the first two meetings today since they are the kickoff meetings for the CIP moves coming up. This is a big project that removes people from their office space to a "camp" space (yeah...that's a blatant attempt to make it sound like fun) for a period of two weeks, then back into their upgraded (painted, new carpet, new lighting) space. Some of the tenants haven't been out of their space in an incredibly long time, so packing up for a total move is a HUGE feat. It's necessary, though; no way around it. It's also a very good thing. Upgraded office spaces will give the site such a boost in energy and morale, as well as giving this aging building a really good chance to resist degradation. So...a quick shower, the packing up of all my electronic toys, and ready for the first move meetings. Yippee!

Bloodshot Eyes and All

I can't believe it! I've got such an incredibly busy week scheduled, and I've spent most of the weekend in bed. I've already cancelled my meetings for tomorrow, but feel a lot of pressure to show up to the three I am scheduled for on Tuesday. I hope I make it. I was able to make a mad dash home this weekend (I didn't go home at all last weekend) but was only there for about 8 waking hours. What a waste. Today is one of those days where I'd just like to chuck it all and go home. No job, no school, no ambitions, just spend time fishing with the guys. Of course, when I called and mentioned this to Leo, he was all for it, explaining that he would just keep working as long as he could and we would "get by". [What a sweetheart I am married to. In spite of what you might think, he really means it.] By morning I'm sure I'll be okay. I felt good enough this afternoon to drive the five blocks to Walgreens and stock up on much-needed spend-a-couple-of-days-in-bed "stuff". Diet cokes, Benadryl-D, aspirin, toilet paper, and 2-minute microwave meals...oh yeah, I'll make it. Nitety-night!

College...What a CRAZY Life

Well, the first week seems to be going okay, but I am still a bit overwhelmed. I have several instructors that treat us like babies..."If you miss a day, you get a 'zero'". "If you are late to class, the door will be locked, so don't try to come in." "If you have a testing conflict, get it resolved...we do NOT make exceptions." [Oh great--I have TWO instructors with this attitude that have scheduled tests for the SAME TIME!] Yikes! Then I go to the next class and the professor says, "I don't really care whether you come to class or not. Just get the assignments done, take the tests, and take what you get for a grade." Two of my "online" classes consist of reading, watching videos, and taking 2 or 3 tests--that's it. The third one requires that we access our WebCT accounts three times a week, turn in reports every Tuesday, post discussions every Thursday, and take a test every other week. What have I gotten myself into? I'm actually in one class with less than 50 students...one. I'm also in one class with over 200 students. The instructor assures us he has no idea who we all are and does not feel the need to find out. He says he won't know whether we attend or not, but since he gives a "popper" with questions at the beginning and questions at the end of class EVERY TUESDAY AND THURSDAY night--no makeups allowed--he feels sure we will all be in attendance at every session. I jokingly explained to someone today that I got my husband and daughters together this weekend, took them out to eat, kissed them soundly, and said, "I'll see you in May." While it got a lot of laughs, the truth in it is almost not funny. Ah well...this worn out student is headed to bed now. I've resolved the problem with my CougarNet password, gotten past the problem with my WebCT login, had no trouble at all with my VNetID, and am waiting for the IT group to mail me my SkillPort password. In other words, I've accessed almost everything I need to access at least one time, and have created a spreadsheet to make sure I continue to access it all before deadlines are reached. I LOVE COLLEGE! It's definitely the CRAZY life. How's work, you ask? Oh...that's for another day.

Back to School

School starts again today. I have two classes to attend tonight...Human Resources in Technology starts at 4:00 and Finite Mathematics with Applications starts at 5:00. Oh, there's also no break between the classes and the trip from the first to the second class takes 6.5 minutes [yes, I timed it...twice]. I got online at the end of last week and added one more class to my roster. I'm taking a total of 18 hours worth of work. What was I thinking? Somebody needs to look into having my mental health examined! I'm an old lady with a full-time job and a less-than-perfect living arrangement. I have no clue what possessed me to think that I needed to go to school full-time on top of all that. Oh well. I kissed my children, grandchildren, and husband goodbye over the weekend and promised I would see them again in May. [Of course, there's a small chance I might get to see them over Spring Break.] And it's not like this is just one last big push so I can get finished...I still have two semesters to go when this one is complete! So, send your best wishes my direction, and be patient if I don't answer your email right away. I am learning to get by on 4 hours' sleep a night [gee...if I could just learn to get by on less food, I'd REALLY be in an improvement cycle!] and looking forward to the summer.

Happy New Year

I promised "honey" I would get back in the blogging mode, and here it is four days into the new year without a post. Yikes! Not a good start. Gosh it was hard to come back to Houston! I was home, in Port Lavaca, for a whole week over the holidays. I spent a LOT of time watching TV, trying out some new Photoshop projects, surfing the web, and "chilling". I also spent a good bit of time with my husband, which worked out fine. I know we have quite the unusual relationship. Even though we are married, and have been for more than 16 years, we are currently in a long-distance relationship. We talk to each other almost every day, and see each other almost every week, but rarely spend more than 2 days in a row together. We've had this arrangement for years now. While it seems "odd" to outsiders, it seems to work okay for us. Some people wonder if we choose this lifestyle in order to have some freedom from each other. Truth is, our choice is purely financial. Leo makes a decent living in Point Comfort, and I make a decent living in Houston. If either one of us moved the other direction, our income would be cut in half. So, we live apart, and deal with it. We have learned a few survival techniques, however, that really help us out. First of all, the things that we know the other one does not like to do, we take care of when we are apart. For example, during the week, I spend as much as 16 hours a day in front of a computer screen. If I were at home every day, this might cause a problem for us. But because of our living arrangement, this takes nothing away from our marriage. When I come home on the weekends, especially if Leo is "off", we spend the entire weekend trying to do things that we like to do together. So weekends at home are almost ALWAYS a ton of fun for us both. So while the living arrangement is not perfect, it is something we have learned to deal with. There are things about the city that I love, and I get plenty of time to enjoy it. But BOTH of us agree that our place is together, and our choice of "home" is Port Lavaca. Even though this may continue for a few years more, our ultimate goal is to spend a lot more time together, living in the same house, and enjoying each other's company daily. Give us time...we'll get there!