Talking Soup

This is the week from the deepest reaches of hell. Four major papers due, three of them within the next few days, not to mention response-type papers sprinkled in there just for kicks. This one essay has bee absolutely fighting me for the past week. Usually essays are a breeze for me, but every once in awhile one like this will come along. It doesn't matter how motivated I am or how much research I've done or whether the topic is interesting--it just doesn't want to get written, and the end product is essentially a bunch of words vomited onto a sheet of paper. I went to bed at 6 in the morning last night, and I don't expect to get more than 7 hours between now and Friday.

I also don't have a job yet, and I really don't have time this week to even call the one place I've turned in an application to, never mind fill out the forty-fucking-minute applications for Borders and Barnes and Noble. Never mind that, unlike past years, I need a job in order to survive. Welcome to the world, right?

On top of it all, a kid is dead.

I didn't know him at all, but he was a Writing major, a freshman, and he was found on campus in the same pond that we released a goldfish into three years ago. Maybe it's because this is the first time a student has died on campus since I started coming here and he was found maybe 200 yards from the apartment, or maybe it's because we've been calling it Buster's Pond because of that stupid goldfish, but this just makes everything else seem so ridiculous and unimportant and weird. I just want to go walk in the woods and clear my head but I can't even do that. And to think, they've been searching for him all over for the past two days, with helicopters even, and all that time he was just waiting in that pond.

I feel stupid for caring so much and stupid for just wanting to work on my papers and stupid for acting like it means something that it was Buster's Pond. And I feel stupid for putting all of this here because I don't have time to actually talk to someone.

I'm starting to hate this campus. I don't even feel safe here anymore.

At least I'm getting a kitty on Friday.

I've been really crappy at updating this lately, but yes, I'm still alive.

Woo, sinus infection! Ah, this always happens at least once a year, but it doesn't make it any more fun. Woke up a few mornings ago just like "oh my god I'm drowning -fhggakhhggghkksnerk-*" I know what this is all about by now so I went to the health center right after class, and despite waiting for an hour and a half it wasn't as awful an experience as I thought it would be. Got some Amoxicillin and now I'm feeling better. Though I didn't sleep much two nights ago. Not. Fun.

We have mice. Like, an infestation. No, I'm kidding, but we do have mice--two of them, in a cage. One is brown and the other is white with a black patch over his eye. The brown one's name is Malcom Reynolds. The white one's name is Hoban Washburn, or Wash for short. This is because they have a little spaceship in their cage upon which we have written "Serenity." Wash is excitable, friendly, and likes sweets. Mal is somewhat antisocial, cautious, and likes to hide his food, which is mostly health food.

I swear, they are Mal and Wash in...mouse form.

Plus they are tiny and fuzzy and cute and thus far have remained undiscovered by said RA peoples.

Though we did have an adventure last week, I think. Mal got away from me and ended up under the couch. We spent awhile trying to catch him and finally just lifted the couch up, but Mal is not one to be held down by The Man (or Woman) and actually squeezed under the door and ran out into the stairwell. Well, as one who has owned mice before, I figured hope was pretty much lost by then, but we chased him. He was on the edge of the balcony part of the staircase and we were chasing him along the edge, but then I got distracted when the door across the hall opened and a kid started walking out. Mal decided death would be better than capture by The Woman and threw himself off the stairs, landing two sections down. I ran all the way down and managed to catch him and scoop him up just as the kid drew level with me. It was like something out of a college comedy movie. And let me tell you right now, catching a mouse barehanded is no easy feat. Mal was returned to his cage where I'm sure he told Wash all about his adventure and has since not attempted escape.

I'm gonna get started on the next chapter of my fic since it's been awhile. I also need to write two things for Fiction II, one of which is due tomorrow. Dear God I'm starting to hate that class. I think I mentioned already that it's taught by a teacher I'm not really fond of, but more than that--she's one of the many writing teachers 'round these parts who is all like "oh, haha, genre, it's not really writing. It's all cheap and pulpy. It must all be literateur and meta if it's going to be legit!" To which Julie and I say a big FUCK YOU. We're both gonna write nothing but genre stuff for that class. So fucking there, bitch.

Grants and Proposals is picking up speed as we hear from more and more promising projects (the ones I'm looking at so far are this local alt ed school which teaches diversity education and wants to get funding for a trip to Guatemala, one involving EcoFashion, and of course the SPCA one which involves a spay/neuter program (desperately needed!)). We get assigned our groups over the weekend and have to have make our choice on which project to tackle by Friday. After that we leap off the boat and then it's sink or swim. Man.

Going to a thing at Cornell tomorrow for my Terrorism class--a talk by a woman who is a Palestinian and is working on the peace movement. Should be awesome.

ASIC has been awesome. We've been watching Death Note which leaves nothing to be desired (L, I want to have your babies!) and the second part of Jubei-chan which is as insane as the first part. But this one has a tiny little chibi-guy who is...so...cute.

I've heard tell that we'll be watching Ouran later in the semester too. Yes!

So far we've been maintaining a shopping/cooking schedule in the apartment and it's been working! I cook on Wednesdays. I've gotta work on my time management where that's concerned, but so far my recipes have worked (just made carrot-ginger-pear soup and pots de creme which is XOMG awesome). Woo. And Kate continues to be AWESOME by making AWESOME food. She also won our Iron Chef two Fridays or so ago.

Julie has successfully completed both Kingdom Hearts I and II and now understands my love of the Organization members. And the awesome tragedy that is Axel and Roxas's relationship, whether or not you think it's just friendship or what have you (I must confess myself a shipper, but y'all knew that. I think...).

Avatar starts Friday, Heroes the following Monday, and House the Tuesday after. Hells ya.

Oh, and. The latest Naruto chapter? WHUT? WHUT? Revelations liek woah??