Free Time, Time to Be Free

Hello, OU-C Tutors!

It's amazing how the Thank-Gods-It's-Friday motto takes on so much more meaning when one is a full-time employee. It didn't mean much to me during my years as a student because, well, you never have a day off as a student. But in the "real world" of employment, I am able to clock out, walk out the door, get in my car, drive the blessedly short distance to my apartment, and be safe in the fact that none of my work has followed me home.

Unfortunately, I feel like I have less "free time" than I did as a student. I suppose it's because a student's hours are so blurred around the edges. "I have a paper due at 6, but I can run to the post office at 1:30 and then pick up some milk from the grocery store before coming straight home again to work on my paper." So yes, while there was always an assignment hanging perpetually over my head, I could take a break to do what needed done.

Not so with full-time employment. Ever notice how work hours also seem to be the hours that the rest of the world operates? When can I make a car appointment? When can I go to the post office? Thank goodness Kroger at least is open 24 hours. I do very much appreciate being employed, especially in the economy of the world at this time, but boy, I sure do miss "student hours."

Perhaps I need to buckle down and take fuller advantage of what free time I do have. With 8-10 hours of work per day, plus 8 hours of sleep, that leaves me, what, about 6 hours? Don't ask me—I was never a math tutor. (Derivative. Doo doo doo-doo doo.) Even as I type this, though, I'm a bit amazed that I have that much time, and rather ashamed that I'm not making better use of it.

In at attempt to fix this, I have a few goals for myself.

- aikido—make it to aikido every Friday (I've missed a few Fridays, but in general I have been doing pretty well at driving back to Chillicothe for my class, especially since it coincides with my weekend visit home)

- jujitsu—well, I'd hoped to have the stamina to drive back to Chillicothe every Tuesday evening, get my butt kicked in jujitsu, then either drive back home right away or sleep at mom's and wake up veeery early to return to Springboro for work Wednesday morning. Alas, I have not yet made it to one jujitsu class. Perhaps in my months' absence from the class, I've grown a little afraid of it? A definite possibility. I'm an overweight 31-year-old woman, the [i]only[/i] woman in the class (other than sensei), and I want to pay money for people to throw me around, knock me to the ground, pin me down, and fight me tooth and nail as I try to do the same to them? Yes... it is a little intimidating. But it is also damn fun. I do miss it... and perhaps realizing this, I should try harder to go at least every other week while the weather cooperates with a 2-hour drive. We shall see.

- judo—I've been unable to find a local jujitsu class (I might have to look in surrounding areas—surely there are some to be found in Dayton, but I was hoping to find one in Franklin or Springboro), but I [i]have[/i] found a local judo class, which bears a lot of similarity with jujitsu (judo focuses more on throws, jujitsu focuses more on the groundwork, but both will leave me limping the next day). So to help my emotional and physical health (I always feel so much happier when I'm involved in a regular physical event), I am going to start taking judo lessons from a dojo less than 4 miles from my apartment. I'm both scared and happy :)

- cello—yes, you heard it! I have long been in love with the cello, but I was never able to find lessons in Chillicothe. Ok, so I didn't really look all that hard, but while living in Chillicothe, I didn't have the money to spare for cello lessons, either. I found some private cello lessons in Springboro. Only about $17/week for 30 minutes. I don't mind parting with $68/month if it is for something that I have wanted to do for literally the past 13 years.

All of the above require money—though thankfully, not much of it (I am still on a VERY tight budget as I try to pay some debts off!)—and my leaving the comfort of my apartment to go to a studio or dojo to work with strangers. But what about things to do at home?

- write—I need to write at least a page per night. Progress won't come unless I make it come.

- art—whether drawing, painting, or photography, I need to get back into this. This will also be relieved by my cello lessons and with my martial art classes, but the part of me that wants to create pictures has been ignored for far too long.

- Netflix—damn straight. I love me some Netflix. I don't have cable, but I've been working through some of the television series I've wanted to see. (Those unaccounted-for 6 hours per day? Yeah, well, a lot of them go to Netflix... but that's too much. I was never a long-term t.v. watcher, so I fear falling into that habit if I don't stop it now.)

What was the point of this post? Who knows. Do I ever have a point? ;) I suppose I wanted to give you guys a look into my post-OUC life (it does exist!) and perhaps I wanted to encourage you to budget your time as well. Don't let life pass you by unexplored. As a student, you probably don't have time/money to do all you want now—but do the things you can do for now, and plan on doing the rest for later. Just make sure you DO do them later! (I've been putting off the cello for years, but I registered today for my first private lesson!)

It's never too late to start anew. It's never naive to explore the world with open eyes. And it's never a bad time to say hello to one's former co-workers. Best of luck to you in your studies and future explorations!

Poem In Your Pocket Pics

Hi, peeps!

Sorry it took me so long to get these posted--I had another photography project to work on before this one.

Here are some of them; the rest will be coming up soon.

Hold on while I try to think of a title...

Hello :) Hmm... I really don't know what to write about, but I feel bad that I haven't blogged for a few weeks. I just had to put on my hoodie, not because I'm cold but because I'm a bit self-conscious about my bruises from ju-jitsu class. I re-bruised a bruise from last week that was fading to yellow-green, but now it's a lovely mauve color with a background of yellow-green. I have a doozy forming on my elbow; it's deep purple and hasn't fully formed yet, so it's deep. Once it comes to the surface, it'll either be dark or big... or both. While grappling in ju-jitsu, we're supposed to grab each other's gis for take-downs or throws, but occasionally we accidently grab sleeve and skin rather than fabric alone. I think that's what happened to me last night. Oh well. Injuries of all kinds come with the territory.

I've gained a few pounds this past week thanks to Easter over-indulgence. Ugh. Hate it. I was doing well with at least maintaining my current weight if not losing, but with the gain I am now shifting my focus back to losing. Adding karate to my weekly martial art classes might help, too. And bike riding. I've really been wanting to get back into bike riding.

Four more weeks of grad school. I'm sort of overwhelmed with stuff that needs done, especially since a healthy case of senioritis has set in. My motivation waxes and wanes. I want to be done, but in order to be done, I have to do stuff. I don't wanna do stuff. I want to ride my bike, and read what I want, and take walks, and draw, and garden.

The finish line is in sight... but I am questioning the reserves of strength that will get me there.

My Favorite Toy...

(I would have responded to this days and days ago but I couldn't figure out what my password was!)

Like Julie, I was also poor when I was little, but also blissfully unaware. My favorite toy when I was a child was my imagination.

While anything related to horses enamoured me, and anything small with wheels was fun to roll around, what fascinated me more was that those little toy horses were an intricate family and had herd issues as they galloped over the plains of the kitchen floor. My little Garfield in a jeep (one of the best McDonald's toys EVAR!), with its reliable 4x4 system, could easily tackle the rocks, hills, and valleys created by the blankets on my bed.

I also spent a lot of time outside. Though I can appreciate the convenience of living in a city, I have always been a country girl--and one of my favorite cartoons was David the Gnome. Oh, how I loved going out into the forest--or even simply into our front yard!--to climb trees, "talk" to animals and nature, and explore all the great world has to offer (or at least "all" that a small, shy girl can get to).

I am 30 now, and my imagination is still my favorite toy. I write and create art. I imagine ways to decorate my living space. And on some days, I still find shapes in the clouds and hear the trees whispering to me.

Howdy!

Hey, all :)

Okay, so day 3 of training is behind us. I feel like I got a lot out of our sessions. While covering Caleb's shift today, I had a tutee come in, and I was able to remember some of the things we discussed--i.e., "Why?" I found myself focusing more on fleshing the paper out than on grammar, which I had been getting bad about. I would love a full-time job as an editor or proof-reader, but alas.

Ankle is throbbing. Can't wait to go home and prop my feet up, snuggle my kitties, then watch some Spock on Star Trek. :D

Book Review: "A Beautiful Mind" by Sylvia Nasar

A Beautiful Mind

"A legend by the age of thirty, recognized as a mathematical genius even as he slipped into madness, John Nash emerged after decades of ghostlike existence to win a Nobel Prize and world acclaim." ~ from cover of book

Though not a good selection for someone looking for a quick and light read, A Beautiful Mind is an intense biography of John F. Nash, Jr., a mathematician who rubbed elbows with the likes of John von Neumann and Albert Einstein. His arrogance was outweighed by his eccentric genius, which eventually won him a Nobel Prize in economics.

Before this award, however, Nash slowly lost his grip with reality and, by his thirties, fell into full-blown schizophrenia.

I have no particular interest in the field of mathematics. Nevertheless, I found this biography fascinating and poignant despite its occasional slow parts. Perhaps because biographies/autobiographies deal with the lives of real people, I overlook the "slow parts" by simply remembering that I am a voyeur into someone's life. Now that I have read the book, I have added the movie starring Russell Crowe to the top of my Netflix queue :)

How to Give a Cat a Pill

Got this in an email a few years back. I've just re-discovered it and thought I'd share!

HOW TO GIVE A CAT A PILL

1. Pick up cat and cradle it in the crook of your left arm as if holding a baby. Position right forefinger and thumb on either side of cat's mouth and gently apply pressure to cheeks while holding pill in right hand. As cat opens mouth, pop pill inside. Allow cat to close mouth and swallow.

2. Retrieve pill from floor and cat from behind sofa. Cradle cat in left arm and repeat process.

3. Retrieve cat from bedroom, and throw soggy pill away.

4. Take new pill from foil wrap, cradle cat in left arm, holding rear paws tightly with left hand. Force jaws open and push pill to back of mouth with right forefinger. Hold mouth shut for a count of ten.

5. Retrieve pill from goldfish bowl and cat from top of wardrobe. Call spouse from garden.

6. Kneel on floor with cat wedged firmly between knees, hold front and rear paws. Ignore low growls emitted by the cat. Get spouse to hold head firmly with one hand while forcing wooden ruler into mouth. Drop pill down ruler and rub cat's throat vigorously.

7. Retrieve cat from curtain rail, get another pill from foil wrap. Make note to buy new ruler and repair curtains. Carefully sweep shattered figurines and vases from hearth and set to one side for gluing later.

8. Wrap cat in large towel and get spouse to lie on cat with head just visible from below armpit. Put pill in the end of drinking straw, force mouth open with pencil and blow pill down drinking straw.

9. Check label to make sure pill not harmful to humans, drink 1 beer to take taste away. Apply Band-Aid to spouse's forearm and remove blood from carpet with cold water and soap.

10. Retrieve cat from neighbor's shed. Get another pill. Place cat in cupboard and close door on neck; leave head showing. Force mouth open with dessert spoon. Flick pill down throat with elastic band.

11. Fetch screwdriver from garage and put cupboard door back on hinges. Apply cold compress to cheek and check records for date of last tetanus shot. Apply whiskey to compress to cheek to disinfect. Throw T-shirt away and fetch new one from bedroom.

12. Call fire department to retrieve cat from tree across the road. Apologize to neighbor who crashed into fence while swerving to avoid cat. Take last pill from foil wrap.

13. Tie cat's front paws to rear paws with garden twine and bind tightly to leg of dining table, find heavy-duty pruning gloves from shed. Push pill into mouth followed by large piece of filet steak. Be rough about it. Hold head vertically and pour 2 pints of water down throat to wash pill down.

14. Get spouse to drive you to the emergency room, sit quietly while doctor stitches fingers and forearm and removes pill remnants from right eye. Call furniture shop on way home to order new table.

15. Arrange for SPCA to collect 'mutant cat from hell' and call local pet shop to see if they have any hamsters.



HOW TO GIVE A DOG A PILL

1. Wrap pill in bacon.

2. Toss it into the air.

Of Whining and Websites

I was able to work all but 1 hour of my shifts this week in the library and in the Tutoring Center. Feels good to be back, but I don't have all my strength back yet. I seem to get tired SO easily! (That's why I am minus one hour in the library--I begged Allan to let me go home a little early on Thursday because I was so tired I was goofy.)

Several times in the past week I have slept well over 12 hours. Last night I slept 13, and though I woke up feeling energized at last, it waned before too long.

I guess I'd forgotten how much being moderately ill really takes it out of you. It's been awhile since I've been really ill, and stupid me tried to fight it off on my own--hence the slow recovery, I'm sure.

Thankfully the antibiotics have been doing their job. I'm feeling MUCH better, and the cough is gone. Once I get my strength back up, I'll be good as new.


Now, to stop whining about myself, I thought I'd share a nifty-cool website with you all. This may be of interest to those of you who are bibliophiles. The website is called LibraryThing, and its address is simple: www.librarything.com. Basically, it is a virtual bookshelf. It doesn't store ebooks or anything like that, but it lets you keep track of books you have read, are reading, or want to read. You can write reviews and read the review of others. You can add friends and comment on other people's profile pages, add your own tags to your books, and more!

Basically, if you love books and have an obsessive-compulsive complex with organization, this website is PERFECT for you!

Thought I'd Share This Odd Dream With You...

I'm not sure exactly where the dream began, but I know that I was ill and came to the Tutoring Center to be sure that someone had covered my shift for me. Sarah was at a computer but didn't know I needed the shift covered. When I mentioned it, she said, "I'd be happy for those hours," and I replied, "They're still available if you want them." She agreed.

My mind was put at ease at least for that. In the library, there was some construction going on. They were re-doing the break room and back office area. I told Allan that I wouldn't be at work this evening.

Next thing I know, I'm back in the Tutoring Center, still hanging around even though I wasn't supposed to be working. Leona was there, too, and she was going to help Sarah cover my shift.

Suddenly I'm driving on Liberty Hill, and I see a desolate old building nearly overgrown with weeds, and the architectural style looked just like Bennett Hall, except that it wasn't as wide as Bennett Hall. I tried to read the carving above the door, but I couldn't make out the words; I made a point to ask Allan if OU-C used to be in a different location.

Then I'm back in the Tutoring Center. There are some students there being very loud. Substitute teacher mode kicked in, and I scolded them all for being too noisy when we're supposed to make it "an environment condusive to learning." They quieted down, but then got loud again. I got loud again, too ^_^ Second time's the charm, apparently.

Then one of the construction workers from the library came over and asked if we wanted a television installed. Some people heartily agreed; a few other tutors and I said no, that it would be too distracting.

Finally I went home. Sitting in my car in the driveway, I felt something under my right arm. At first it looked like a piece of lint, but when I pulled it out, it was a dead goldfish--all decayed and skeletal. I shuddered and threw it to the ground... then I noticed its gills were still moving faintly. I thought, "There's no way that thing can still be alive... nothing like that should be alive." I was trying to work up the courage to finish it off when it began to rain. The water re-hydrated the fish, and it soon swelled into a plump, healthy-looking fish. I began looking for a bucket so that I could put it back in some water.

----------

At that point I woke up.

Oddness, though... I just found my betta dead upon waking. Spooooooky! (Don't worry, it wasn't under my arm!)

Blog Jar: "My dream job..."

I've had so many different dream jobs---I mean, I've dreamed of them but not actually had them.

When I was about 12, I wanted to be a Marine Biologist.

By 12 1/2, I wanted to be a photographer with National Geographic so that I could travel the world. (I still love photography and I still want to travel the world.)

By 16 I wanted to be a novelist.

By 18, I didn't know what the hell I wanted to be.

I'll be 30 in three months, and while I never accomplished these dream jobs, different aspects of them still are with me. I adore photography and am saving up for a digital SLR, with which I hope to do some psuedo-professional art (I sold my first photograph a little more than a year ago!). Though I've not been overseas, I still have gotten a decent amount of travelling done in this country. I love to write and hope to one day get something published. ...the ocean scares me, though, so I don't know what started that Marine Biologist kick.

I am more than halfway through my master's degree, which will allow me to get a job that I feel will be good for me. This job will allow me to be my own boss, put my OCD organizing skills to use, and to work in an isolated and cold room for hours on end.

This, my friends, is the life of an archivist.

I've been volunteering for OSU and working several hours per week in their archives. I adore it.

So my most recent dream job is something that I'll actually (hopefully) be doing soon.


(And I'll moonlight as a photographer and novelist, of course.)

Blog Jar: "My Dream Vacation"

This is easy. GREECE!

But I'm more picky than that. I do not want to go during the summer when it is hot, when the tourists outnumber the natives. Brandi no like heat. Brandi no like lots of people.

I would like to go to Greece in late autumn, or even in the dead of winter. Southern Greece would still be fairly mild, and northern Greece would have sheets of snow and ice. Oh, how I would love to see the black sands of Santorini as the cool waters of the Mediterranean lapped at my bare feet... How I would love to walk around Demeter's "birthplace" of Eleusis... How I would adore going to Athens and meet my friend Martha...

I can't wait for the day when I can put a Greek stamp in my passport and can put into practice my pathetic Greek vocabulary. Just thinking about it fills me with wanderlust!

Following My Own Advice... Outlines!

I am the type of student who works well under pressure, who waits until the pressure of the ticking clock becomes nearly unendurable before I truly set to work to finish a paper.

As a writer, I let the blinking cursor on the screen lead me to whatever weave of the tale comes next.

Aaaaand these things lead to problems. Sometimes I stress myself out over a paper that I waited too long on. And with my writing? I've barely made progress in a story I've had in my head for several years now.

When a student comes in with the need to brainstorm for ideas, I always tell that person that an outline is a good idea. An outline is the skeleton of your paper--all it does is support the frame and tell you where all the pieces go. What you fill in from there is the flesh that will finally create the whole body of your paper.

But then I think, "Wow, why don't I follow my own advice?" How hippocritical of me to lecture about outlines when I don't make them either?

So I've decided to start creating outlines. At least for my creative writing. I'm starting with a general one, then I'll add detail until I have a mini-outline created for each separate chapter. And you know what? A lot of pieces fell into place with the plot that I've been struggling with for the past three years.

I'm really excited for summer break. Though I'll still be working at one place or another--I hope!--I won't be taking any classes until fall. That will leave me with three months to play with these outlines and start doing some creative writing again. I even brought along a binder to work today, one which had been buried in a box and contains all the old notes for my story. It was such a treat--sometimes a cringe-worthy one--to read some of my old scribbles. Re-reading old notes also cast long-forgotten ideas back into the forefront of my mind.

After an overlong respite, my muse is starting to stir again. (I think that might account for my having, what, three posts now in as many days?) And all because I decided to work with an outline.

Sometimes stubbornness does not pay off.

(But sometimes it does!)

Ah, I write in here more than I thought I did!

Here I thought I hadn't written anything here since my acrostic poem about Winter Quarter, but I'd forgotten about my nearly-spring-break post a few weeks ago. See, Deb? This blog isn't dead! Just... sluggish. ^_^

As promised, I am posting my free-write that came from our meeting earlier today.

Pushing myself toward my goals is something that only I can do. The situation I'm in now is not ideal, but neither is it terrible. Reminding myself that it could only be worse, I continue trudging through the snow of obstacles--sometimes ankle-deep, sometimes waist-deep--toward whatever horizon awaits me.

In the valleys and foothills to come, I hope to find peace but not complacency; rest, but not laziness; solitude, but not loneliness.

Only I can meet my future.