The End of the Semester

Well, my schoolwork is done for this semester and it is strange how little that makes me jump for joy. I clearly remember many times during my high school and undergrad years where the end of the semester (or quarter as the case may be) was met with screaming in the halls and general good times felt by all. It was a time when people turned off their brains for weeks at a time and tried to catch up on much that they had missed during their mandatory school days. Of course, it was never mandatory in college, just highly suggested.

Those times in my life were always grand and full of adventure, where anything could and did happen. Sleepless nights spent playing one video game after another with friends, such as the time Potts and I got through an entire baseball season in Ken Griffey Jr. with my knuckleball of doom always ready to strike out one batter after another. I seem to recall getting quite close to a perfect game once only to have a harmless squib just get past the outstretched pixel that was the player's glove in the game. Other times during these stretches, I would challenge myself to read as much as possible in as small an amount of time as possible. This was a big deal for a kid who spent the majority of his youth not allowed to drink anything with caffeine in it because I had been diagnosed with attention deficit disorder. Those were the days when I could read huge opuses like 'The Stand' or 'It' in a single week. In contrast, I have been working on reading the Stand again and it has taken me almost three weeks to get two-thirds of the way through. Still impressive, if I may say so myself.

At the beginning of each semester (or quarter), I was always the most motivated and would get everything I needed for the upcoming semester. Every semester, i told myself with seeming confidence that this time would be different and I would keep up with all my readings and do all of my homework on time and generally be a model student. At the end of the semester, I would usually be scraping along trying to get everything done that I had procrastinated until the very last second. Either a testament to my own skills as a student, or the lack of a challenge in the material itself I have always been able to get everything done on time and with a good grade. This rush to get everything done at the end always engenders a need for a tremendous cooldown period designed primarily to think about anything but school.

So here I sit trying to do anything but work, but have found it quite difficult in this faster paced and more challenging world of graduate school to think about things other than next semester. It will be quite a big one for me, and for Jess as well, as I finish up my thesis and embark upon the adventure of a lifetime: job-hunting!!! During my break, I will be working every day on my thesis to make next semester run much smoother and get everything done on time to defend in May. I have no allusions that everything will run exactly the way I have it planned in my head. There will be snags, some big and some small, but if I keep up with things in a much more mature way than my high school and undergraduate semesters I am confident that I will be able to deal with absolutely anything that rears its ugly head on my path towards graduation and getting back to my life.

Thank you, all of you, who have helped me get through this in all its good times and its bad times. The end is indeed in site, and it is wreathed in a glorious light that makes me ache for the day when I can call Jess and tell her that I am done and can come home.

...And That's the Way the Cookie Crumbles

I thought it might be a good idea to post something before the time period between posts reaches a month. There is something about it reaching a month that would just be absolutely unforgiveable in my mind. I mean, obviously as I get busier and busier with school it would be forgiveable for me to have these breaks in between posts. However, if it reaches a full month that would indicate that I am somehow less serious about writing and my strong desire to keep at it. If I want to become a published author at some point in my life, then perseverance is the name of the rather lengthy game.

I've been quite busy, some of it school and some of it video games (I'm being honest, at least!!). I have had alot of school work, and as much as I like to bemoan how much I procrastinate I obviously still manage to get it all done, and do it well in the process. I just took a test yesterday that I can say with about 99% certainty that I got over a 100 percent. The best thing about this is that it means I can get a 50% on my last project and still come away with an A! Of course, I would never actually put that little effort into what I am doing but it is a nice thing to know all the same.

The end of this semester is fast approaching, and I couldn't be happier that I get a long break back in Columbus with Jess. It won't be a completely restful break, however, as I will be putting finishing touches on the first half of my thesis while I am simultaneously building my database that will be used in my thesis. I would give more statistics now, but I can see the glassy-eyes increasing in number even as I think about it. I'll just say this, something that Jess once told a friend as I did my customary dance around what I was doing down here: He studies Mayan garbage! Thank you for that, Jess. That is a real life-saver.

I'm really looking forward to reconnecting with many people that I so rarely get a chance to see anymore these days. Inevitable with the whole growing up situation, I suppose. My best friend from Mentor, Potts, should be making a trip up to Columbus. I sure hope that he doesn't expect me to come to see him when we've spent good money on a plane ticket so I can at least make it make to the state.

I come back into town next Wednesday for what will be the last interim time period before I am back in Columbus for good, hopefully with a tremendously well-paying job!! (fingers-crossed) Knowing that I only have one rather long stretch of time left, all of next semester, makes me feel really happy. Peace out for now, but I do plan on writing more once again when I am settled in Columbus with Jess during all those cold days with lots of snow (I can only hope)