Things which have me stressed

1) Midterms are tonight for both my classes. Did I get to study last night? No, I did not. This is due in large part to the fact that my back was getting fucked up, which caused my acid reflux to act up the night before, which meant I got about three hours sleep. I helped the boys with homework, guided them through getting ready for bed, knitted a few rows because I could at least put that down and pick it up easily when interrupted. Once they were finally in bed, I took my bath, read a few Blake poems again while in the bath, got into my PJs, sat down with my book, and promptly nodded off. I woke up an hour or so later just enough to straggle into bed and pass out again.*

2) Connected to #1, I need a few blue books for the tests tonight. Have I been able to pick up said books? No, I have not. That whole thing about trying to find the time to get to the bookstore (naturally across campus from my class) early enough to pick up the books and get back, but then not so early that I have to spend twice as much for parking.... it's awkward timing at best. Not to mention that whole "taking off even earlier from work" thing, which gets me frowned at.

3) I realized that I haven't applied for my reimbursement for day care yet this month. I realized this because my internal financial alarm went off. Eek. Gotta get that done today.

4) My living room is a wreck, and I've misplaced about half the paperwork I need. I have to excavate the flat surfaces this weekend... it's really not helping.

5) Gotta find a way to study today over lunch. Gaaaah.


*Re: back, went to the chirorpractor yesterday when I finally made the connection between 3 days of acid reflux and back issues again. When I was on the table, he looked at me and said, "Do you think you're laying flat?" That's never a good sign, btw, because yes, I did. I was wrong, but I did. Things are much better now, though.

Er... what I meant to say is...

Scene: Pulling into the final 7 minutes of my last midterm. I've been taking tests since 4:30 PM, and it's now almost 9:00. The classroom is growing emptier by the second as people come up and turn in their blue books. I'm in the home stretch, working on a closing paragraph, which I've decided I should have. The lady sitting next to me is scribbling furiously as well. My hand hurts.

The topic is Janice Radway's essay on.. well, the difference between critical thinking and literary theory and then reading just for pleasure, and why she's conflicted about the two things. We had to summarize her arguments and compare and contrast to earlier essays we've read in the semester, picking two authors to work with. I chose Plato and Aristotle, not the least of which was because Plato was an easy target for this one.

So 3+ pages in, I'm working on the last paragraph. I had earlier described her as a critical colossus with one foot on the popular culture shore, and one foot in academia. I thought it was a clever turn of phrase. I write the following:

"In essence, Radway is straddled not between highbrow and middlebrow, but between Plato and Aristotle. No wonder she finds the position uncomfortable."

I reviewed it, searching for a sentence to find to finish it off, only to have what I'd written slowly sink in. No eraser to speak of and no time to write something else, so off it went. Uncomfortable indeed. Let's hope my teacher has either a cleaner mind than mine or a great sense of humor. :)