All posts in: weekly

weekly
02 Apr 2012

2012: week twelve & thirteen


March 18 – April 1

I’m not sure I can remember what has happened in the past two weeks. So much. So busy. SO MUCH SO BUSY!!

Here’s what I remember:

1. Ate cheese and drank wine in the dark in Boston Common for a friend’s impromptu birthday celebration.

2. Woke up early on a Saturday. Ran 2.25 miles around the park, then stopped at JP Licks for an iced coffee, ran some errands, and took the bus home.

3. Attended a friend’s fancy-fancy wedding shower, aka day-drinking & desserts!

4. HUNGER GAMES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

5. Successfully applied for two jobs – job application docket temporarily clear.

6. 450 dollars in dental work. My face still hurts.

7. Read a bit from one of my old manuscripts in public with other people. Far less painful than dental work.

8. Children’s Literature Brunch. Three of my favorite words, right there.

9. Started playing Skyward Sword!

 Aaaaand that’s about it. Fun fact – only 5 more weeks of school! And only 3 more weeks of schoolWORK – all my finals are due in April. How about that?

Reading:

  • Shine by Lauren Myracle. I was excited to read this after the National book Award debacle, but I don’t know what to think about it right now. It’s a bit confusing, and so, so dark.
  • The Radleys – kinda silly family drama… where the family are all vampires. I liked it. Clever.

Listening to:

  • All I am listening to is the Hunger Games soundtrack. I think my coworkers are probably getting annoyed.

Watching:

  • Suffering from television ADD. Bouncing between 30 Rock and Scrubs and Mad Men and on the suggestion of a professor, The Secret Life of an American Teen. I am all over the place.
  • Um, has there ever been a sadder movie than 50/50? I love Joseph Gordon-Levitt, though, I really do.
  • Sooooo the boy and I kindamaybesorta started watching LOST again. Ahem. This is like our 4th try. Halfway done with Season One! We’re at the part where Michael starts spending half of every episode running through the jungle screaming “WAAAAAAALLLT! WAAAAAAAAALLLLLTTT!!”

 

weekly
19 Mar 2012

2012: week eleven


March 11 – March 17

Hectic. Stressful. That about sums it up.

My schedule is so tightly packed that anytime something else gets tacked on to my schedule, I feel it immediately.

This week was a perfect storm of assignments for both classes, job interview that killed my free afternoon, asking people for references (urgh), lots of stuff going on at work, online class video-chat class meeting, etc, etc.

I fear my ears may become permanently glued to my shoulders. I might wire my jaw shut with stress-clenching alone. Everything I eat, I feel like I have eaten lead.

It’s not a downward spiral, though. It’s just a season. Things are not going to feel better until I have more time on my hands, which will happen in May. It sucks because things aren’t going to ease up – except incrementally and intermittently from day to day, week to week – in fact, they are likely to get worse before they get better.

But it’s 100% situational. This is comforting. Situations change, and in eight short weeks, I will have an entirely different life.

One in which I can read whatever I want, whenever I want, lest you forget.

Other notes of optimism:

  1. I can’t wear a pair of pants I bought last summer because even fresh out of the wash, they are huge-mongous.
  2. I got to eat a St. Patrick’s Day brunch cooked by actually Irish ladies. It was decadent and consisted mostly of Kerrygold cheese. Although I’m not sure if the green mimosa was all that traditional…
  3. It’s getting dangerously close to skirt & dress season! I love you, global warming!

 

Reading:

  • Frost by Marianna Baer. SCARIEST BOOK EVER. I couldn’t read this alone in my apartment at night. I don’t think that’s happened to me since I read the freaking Shining.
  • Purity by Jackson Pearce

Listening to:

Watching:

  • I officially ran through every How I Met Your Mother episode. Again. I tried to download Season 7 but realized that’s the season that’s still going on…
  • So now what do I watch when I want to watch a 30 minute comedy that I really don’t have to pay attention to while I eat/clean/live, etc? The winner: Scrubs.
  • My podcast habits are turning me on to stand-up, which I haven’t watched since I was like, 14. This week was Louis CK (excellent) and Patton Oswalt (not as excellent)
  • There was also a night with me, homework, a bottle of wine, and It’s Complicated. Ahem.

 

 

grad school
12 Mar 2012

2012: week ten

March 4 – March 10

 I think the universe knew I was turning ancient at the end of the week and decided that I deserved a break. Everything was turning up roses for Professional Jessica:

 

+ I got a (part-time summer) job interview

+ My paper is on the wait list for a summer children’s lit conference (that is more than good enough news for me)

+ My first professional blog post went live for the old Internship

+ I finished my second professional blog post for the other old-Internship, which should be posted soon

+ I found out I get to write a REAL review for the print magazine at the old Internship

 

Non-professionally, I seem to have overcome some of my “I just feel like garbage”-ness that plagued me for a few weeks. I give credit to mainlining Kombucha. Additionally, I seem to have entered a small superhuman phase, during which I just don’t need to sleep. I’m not particularly tired when I go to bed, I kinda lay around, half-awake, half-asleep until well past midnight, and then when my alarm goes off I’m just… awake, like the minor league insomnia never happened.

Maybe (oh just maybe!) my life becomes more manageable when I’m not working 30+ hours/week and doing the late-night thing? Today marks my return to the grind, starting off with a lovely 12-hour day and a paper due at 6. Yay.

But the semester is half over. Whoa.

Reading:

Listening to:

  • I am obsessed with You Had To Be There and listen to nothing else, except for….
  • …. this song


which I have had on repeat thanks to Faryle. I like the original, too, but you know. A cappella.

Watching:

  • Kramer vs. Kramer. I read some random article that listed this movie as one of the biggest Best Picture upsets – that in the 70’s divorce was big news, but that the movie doesn’t hold up. I kind of agree, but not because the movie was bad. I just thought that watching Dustin Hoffman play A Single Father!!omg!! wasn’t exactly revolutionary, and Meryl Streep is in like 3 scenes. What’s the big deal?
  • I watched half of Black Swan before the player refused to cooperate. I won’t tell you exactly where it cut out… but it was pretty awkward.
  • The Boy and I were talking about the new Lorax movie, and I started singing a song about Barbaloots, and he was like “wtf is a Barbaloot.” So we have watched the 1972 TV special version like, 5 times in the past two days.

Thank you, Youtube, for allowing me to relive my childhood any time of day or night.

3
life maintenance
05 Mar 2012

2012: week nine

February 26 – March 3

 Movie-themed food and wine at a friend’s apartment for the Oscars.

Lunch with friends on Friday afternoon, out to a bar on Friday night.

Impromptu Sam Adams tour on Saturday afternoon, friends over for wine and Pictionary on Saturday.

Fries and Original Sin on Sunday night.

A for social interaction this week, Jessica!

This somewhat makes up for the rest of your report card:

Schoolwork B-

Exercise C-

Diet C

Housekeeping D

Health and Wellness C-

Not Going Broke D+

Not Cutting Yourself on Kitchen Things and Bleeding Profusely D

You did however earn an A+ in kitty cuddling! Congrats!

(Contrary to what you might assume, this is a rather difficult subject)

Reading:

Listening to:

Watching:

lance romance
27 Feb 2012

2012: week eight

February 19 – February 25

The nice thing about being hopelessly busy is that you are forced into a groove. I like being in a groove. While I wish my current groove allowed more time for things like creative cooking, long phone calls home, being social, or laying about and reading delicious books, I am feeling semi-balanced, and the groove is certainly taking over.

I was especially impressed with how in-step things feel between The Boy and I this past week. Mutual grooves. You load, I’ll unload. You wash, I’ll fold. You play, I’ll read. I’ll drive you to work, you start dinner, we’ll meet at the gym later. What do you want to do this weekend? Why, the same things that *I* want to do this weekend! How convenient!

On Saturday, we had an errand to run south of Boston. I woke him up earlier than he would have liked because I wanted to stop by this coffee shop I’d heard so much by reading Carrots ‘N’ Cake for the past year. He said “Ugh, don’t wake me up.” I said, “I don’t care, I want some of this coffee.”

On Sunday, he picked me up from work. After the gym, we got in the car. He said:

“Would it be completely unreasonable to drive to Marylou’s right now to get some coffee?”

A well-oiled machine, I’d say.

 

Reading:

Listening to:

Watching:

  • Parks and Recreation. I was excited about this when it first aired, but I fell off the wagon. Now, it’s on Netflix, and now, everyone is like OMG PARKSANDREC every week, so I feel like I’m missing out on something. This is our “dinner-watching” show, right now. I still find it only occasionally silly. I’m hoping it will pick up.
  • The Cartel – an interesting documentary on corruption in public education, but one of those docs that doesn’t even try to act like it’s not biased as all get out. Those documentaries annoy me.
weekly
20 Feb 2012

2012: week seven

February 12 – February 18

 Some weeks are just plain blurry.

So, here are the stats:

– 35 hours worked

– 10 hours interned

– 1 teen librarian interviewed

– 1 paper turned in

– 5 blog posts. (Woo!)

– 8 Sudafeds consumed

– 7.5 miles run

– 1 full day of anxiety

– 2 important items lost (headphones, T-pass)

Holy crap.

That’s a lot of stuff. Even for me. No wonder I can’t remember any of it.

Reading:

Listening to:

 

grad school
14 Feb 2012

2012: week six

February 5 – February 11

This week started off with an ominous Superbowl. I went to the gym after work and ran my first 5K distance. Yay! Then I left the gym, looking forward to a nice night at home by myself with Netflix and homework, and found myself padlocked into my Boston-school’s residential campus.

Trapped.

I had to chase down a security guard.

And then the Patriots lost.

And then I had to write a paper and I got sick.

On Thursday night, I took some CVS-brand Nyquil and I pretty much didn’t wake up at all the next day. I mean, I got out of bed, but I felt like the walking dead. I had a Starbucks Doubleshot at 8:30 a.m., an iced coffee at 10 a.m., and half an energy drink at 3:00… and nothing. NOTHING. It was brutal.

 

My weekend was not much more restful. On Saturday night, my domestic-disturbance prone neighbor decided to lock her boyfriend out of the bedroom at 3:30 a.m., and he proceeded to pound on the bedroom door for twenty minutes, then go outside and lay on her door buzzer (which I can hear perfectly). Then come back inside and resume arguing.

I woke up still sick, running on little sleep, headed to work for 6 hours, and oh, that paper!

Urgh. Urgh. Urgh.

I’m having higher hopes for this week. I really am. More blogging. Less stress. More sleep. Less illness. That could be the Sudafed talking, though. I love Sudafed!!

 

Reading:

Listening to:

  • Will Grayson, Will Grayson on audio, which I’m definitely digging.
  • On Saturday, I was left alone in the apartment to work on my paper. Needless to say, a lot of Broadway occurred…

Watching:

  • The Boy and I finally watched that Temple Grandin HBO movie! So good!
  • Any Elizabeth Warren fans out there? I threw on Maxed Out, this documentary about America’s credit crisis on Netflix, and SUPRISE! She’s pretty much the star of the show. Also: don’t go into credit card debt because you might kill yourself and your family will still have to pay your debts/receive offers for additional credit cards in your name for the rest of their lives and it will just be sad, sad stuff.
  • More HIMYM. My two favorite episodes, currently: The one when Barney runs the New York marathon and of course, Swarley.


 

 

life maintenance
07 Feb 2012

2012: week five

January 29 – February 4

 

1. New Moleskine, specifically for Task Juggling purposes. (And new Post-it flags)

2. Worked on what will hopefully be my first blog post for my internship, assuming I can gather the balls to finish the dang thing and send it in.

3. Had friends over for drinks + Wii games on Friday night. They couch-crashed for the evening, which means… SORELLA’S FOR BREAKFAST. This isn’t a picture from this particular weekend trip to Boston’s finest brunch establishment, but this is the kind of eating that was had.

4. Followed up epic breakfast with a day full of dreary labor: grocery shopping, eight loads of laundry, lots of vacuuming, visiting the local Comcast office, and TAXES.

5. Followed up that nonsense with free PBRs, leftover from a trivia victory we almost forgot about. They taste better when you earn them.

6. Found the first job that I am excited to apply to. It’s in Chicago. But it doesn’t pay great. But it’s negotiable. But I’m nervous. But I’m excited. But I have no time to decide things/write resumes.

Reading:

Listening to:

Watching:

  • Downton Abbey. Willingly watching Masterpiece Theater makes me feel like the oldest person, but I can’t resist!
  • How I Met Your Mother. I may or may not have restarted from Season One. And by that I mean: I restarted from Season One. Such a junkie.


 

 

7
grad school
31 Jan 2012

2012: week four

January 22 – January 28

My (last!) first week back to school+work+otherwork+otherotherwork+internships+life.

For me, the first week is largely experimental. I spend a lot of time planning(obsessing) over my schedule in preparation for a semester. The first week back is putting theory into practice.

Am I really going to be able to do everything I want to do? Everything I need to do? What goals were too idealistic? How much energy will I really have?

Of course, it’s not a perfect system. It’s the beginning of the semester, so I’m still fresh and full of energy. I will, inevitably, wear out. And I have little homework. Hm. Where will that go?

Productivity-wise, did okay, but felt pretty exhausted all week. Energy during the day, but at night: go-to-bed-at-9:00 exhausted.

Oh, life.

Reading:

Listening to:

  • Of Monsters and Men – My Head is an Animal
  • Ellen Hopkins on audio. Much more bearable than in print.

 

grad school
23 Jan 2012

2012: week three

January 15 – January 21

Sunday: Boyfriend wanted to go out to a bar in the 5 degree weather. Convinced him to stay home and play video games instead. Win.

Monday: Fact-checked book reviews, mailed packages to reviewers, pulled books on a shelf, and let a friend take me out to Olive Garden for unlimited soup, salad, and breadsticks!

Tuesday: Came in second place at pub trivia! Our gracious (and smarter than us) teammates allowed us to keep the winnings (25 dollars at the bar)

Wednesday: Decided to go to the gym after my internship, which entailed a long, painful T ride that involved waiting for 20 minutes in a station with an unattractive girl with a cold singing country hits over a microphone.

Thursday: My boss returned from her sabbatical and took me out to lunch!

Friday: Worked late, came home late, skipped the gym, cleaned, packed, ran stupid errands, made plans to go….

Saturday: … to New York for the day, to celebrate our anniversary! Left on the 7 a.m. bus, got back into town just after midnight.

Reading:

Listening to: