Friday, August 29, 2008

Almost Done


I'm slugging down some black coffee this afternoon and working on a final project for school. It's a group presentation and will involve some public speaking. I don't mind too much, but I still have to get my slides and my index cards organized. We will be doing a run through next week to make sure we hit the time target.

The sun is out today and there is this perfect late summer breeze coming through the office window. I didn't sleep much last night because I have been nervous about the final, but I feel OK today. If I can get a few hours of homework in tonight, I should be able caught up before my work weekend begins. I also hope to go hiking with a friend on Monday. We will probably do something local and fairly easy. It will be so wonderful to get out in the woods again. I don't even care if it rains.

There have been so many things I have felt like writing down over these past weeks, but school has been my main priority. I did document a few dreams in my "Dream Journal". Some of the images might work in a future story, or I might just look at them to understand myself better. There seem to be a lot of recurring themes and settings that I've kept in my subconscious through the years. I'm sure they are impressions of things I've run across on my life journey...interiors and exteriors of various buildings. Most are beautiful or peculiar or unbelievably grand or elaborate or enormous. Some are very strangely shaped, as though they were built in another country or culture or perhaps shaped by the hands of the dream world. Some are abandoned or crumbling and others are not. There are also many streets and neighborhoods I seem to know...and yet I don't recall if I do. I would imagine a lot of these image were picked up during travels.

I talked a friend from school yesterday and she said she'd like to try going to a dance class with me sometime. I think I might attempt to go once a week in the fall. I've had such a long break from dance, due to graduate school. I tried the weekend warrior drop-in thing for awhile, but all the reading, writing, and deadlines got in the way. I decided it's worth a try to go again in the fall. If not, I'll suffice with maintaining a basic level of fitness and stress management at the gym. I actually like yoga and have noticed it makes me more flexible than ballet did.

One awesome thing is we get to spend a lot of times with the dogs next week. Hubby will be helping because I picked up some extra work. The puppies are so great and I will miss them when fall quarter starts. I'm hoping I can do some more dog walking in the future. It is one of the best jobs ever, but school is kind of throwing a wrench in that too. I would advise that no one go to grad school unless they want to not have much of a life for a few years.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Wee Hours...


My last post was short because I wanted to make sure it published on the 20th. That was my parent's anniversary. Now, it is after midnight and the 21st. It's a cool, breezy night, with a smell of rain in the air. A neighbor is smoking a cigarette near the window, so I'm catching a little of that scent as well. I have candles burning in the apartment and I'm printing off some stuff for class tomorrow. I really wouldn't mind having a smoke myself. I certainly deserve one after all the homework I've done. Besides feeling kinda bummed and missing my mom yesterday, I did manage to finish and print this moderately intense research paper for class. Now there is one more big project before the quarter ends and I go on holiday for a few weeks. All I want to do is hike and catch up with family and friends.

I have been obsessed with school, but I do have a fiction story idea clanking around in my mind at times. I've jotted down some notes about it and have been documenting a few ideas I got from some dreams. There was one day last week that I had some free time, but felt uninspired to write anything. I was disappointed, but later that night I had a vivid dream about some characters that might fit into my story or another story I might start down the road. It's hard to say when I can really get going on my idea, but I hope to do a little over the break.

Rainy Day

Today seemed like this long, sorta blah rainy day. I think I'm down because of the weather and the way it reminds me of winter. Plus, today is my biological parent's anniversary. My mom died in 1995. I think it just drums up memories for me. I miss my mom and I feel sad that she is no longer in our lives. Well. Maybe on a spiritual level. But that's not really the same when you wish you could just call her up.