evil is alive and well.

The title of this post may appear to be a bit melodramatic, but I promise you it is not for two reasons: (1) it's in reference to a song on the new Jakob Dylan album which is not remotely melodramatic but instead very fantastic, and (2) my thesis may be evil but I have doubts as to the "alive" and "well" parts.

I stayed up all night the day before my parents came to visit for graduation in May. I was working on my last class final. I was extremely productive, partially cause I was hopped up on Diet Rockstar and partially because I thought that was the last all-my graduate career. Sadly, I was wrong. I'm turning in the first full draft of the thesis tomorrow and I still have a crap load to do. So it's the library for me... at least until they kick me out when they close at the absurdly early hour of eight p.m. (Although I've considered pulling a Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. If you have not read this book you must.)

And then I'm going to take a half hour dinner break in which I eat and watch the new Weeds episode (I tried to watch it last night but conked out like an oldie--but a goodie!). And THEN, i'm going to drink Diet Rockstar, drink of champions, and finish this MFer!

I'd like to say that today is IN FACT that last all-nighter, but optimism has clearly screwed me before.

--buelsy (pugilistic pessimist)

now, i'm not one to brag...

...but HOLY CRAP! I just got a ridiculous amount of work done tonight. Indulge me and let me list the accomplishments of Sunday, February the 3rd, of 2000 and 8:

• Long overdue creation of Oral Comm. Gradebook, Attendancebook, and Attendance Sign In Sheets.
• Grading and inputing of said grades.
• Filing of all sorts of paper mumbo jumbo.
• Updating of tournament files (yay for OCD record keeping!)
• Posting and publication of coaching hours for this week.
• Extensive redrafting of Interpersonal Comm. presentation and two page handout.
• Creation of extensive presentation and three page handout for Comm. Theory.
• Initial edits on paper nominated for Graduate Symposium.
• Scheduling to the hour (because to the minute would be excessive) of my life for the next four and a half days.
• Packing of lunch.
• Cleaning of kitchen.

This all boils down to the question: How cool am I? And how self indulgent?! I actually feel a little bit excited for it to be Monday.

IN OTHER NEWS:

1. The Yogurt-of-the-Year prize goes to Dannon's Light and Fit Vanilla, a happy experience for dieters and non-dieters alike.
2. Latest Pet Peeve: when certain co-inhabitants of Messy Manor do the dishes and put them away in completely wrong and illogical places. Don't get me wrong, I'm digging the shared domestic responsibility, but the lack of OCD in dish placement? Entirely unacceptable. (I love you, A).
   
3. Thank you, Hollywood and Hollywood Writers for coming out of your respective time-out corners and making up so that the rest of us CAN GET ON WITH OUR LIVES!!!
4. I need to wash the rug in the kitchen in Messy Manor. Who knew that rugs needed to be washed? While I consider myself to have been adequately exposed during childhood to the nitty-gritty aspects of survival in the suburbs (Buelsy cleaned her some toilets), rug-washing escaped my repertoire. Nonetheless, rug-washing has been scheduled to occur between the hours of eight and eleven tomorrow evening (do you sense that OCD is becoming an outstanding theme in this post?).
5. Go Giants, I guess.
6. Things you should remind me to get at Tar-jay this week if you're feeling benevolent, dear readers: more fifty-cent-orange-plastic-dish-scrubby-things (no, they do not have any other name), more plastic sandwich baggies (sorry, mother earth), and a new cutting board (snap-crackle-pop).
   

I think that is about all. Shower, tea, yogurt, bed.

--buelsy (feeling significantly better than in days past).

bottle it up, tuck it away.

As I reached for some hot pink staples in my top desk drawer a moment ago, I realized how much of my sanity depends on compartmentalized mayhem. Messy Manor is generally half-way clean these days (I blame A for a large portion of the remaining mess :) ), the Rav reached new levels of tidiness last weekend, and my office is pristine. However, there are little pockets of space that are all sorts of chaotic: The aforementioned top desk drawer, an aptly labeled "junk drawer" in the kitchen, a couple of baskets near the bathroom, a plastic tub pushed to the very back of the shelf in my closet. All of these spaces are jam-packed with odds and ends and have absolutely no rhyme or reason in terms of organization. Being the English major that I was, and still secretly am, I can't help but look at these haphazard hiding places as metaphors for the rest of my life. Good-to-go on the surface, but just barely keeping the chaos at bay.

--buelsy (buckling down).

getting jiggy with it.

During the first five weeks of my first semester of UCLA, I was a great student. I remember taking this one class in particular, American Literature 1800-1900. I read all but 1 of the 11 books, foregoing lots of Welcome-To-College activities to do so. Once, I even locked myself in a study room on the first floor of Hedrick Hall, without my phone, without the internet, and without music. I stayed there for three hours in the middle of the day, and I wrote a paper. This behavior is incredible to me now. I was so cool back then. Not so much anymore...

It's been a while since I've posted, which is not a good thing in the grand scheme of life. When I write in this thing, it's usually as an escape-slash-writing-warm-up for thesis work. This means that no posting equals even less thesis writing (yes, there can be negative quantities).

The weekend was chaotic in a typical end-of-semester fashion. Enough said.

I just put on Tegan and Sara's The Con, which has historically transported me into a middle of the night productivity rampage. I'm of the belief that putting music on repeat can do that... literally force your brain to remain in one place long enough to get things done.

OTHER PAST MIDNIGHT MUSICAL REPEATS INCLUDE:

• David Bowie, Portuguesed
• Rachael Yammagata, "1969"
• Nelly, "Ride Wit Me"
• Damien Rice, "The Blowers' Daughter"

Sometimes it's just a matter of finding the right tune.

--buelsy (not gonna sleep tonight)

roller coaster madness.

Wow. Back from NCA, which was a pretty cool and also pretty intense experience. Nonstop brain explosion for 5 days. A and I tried to decide on descriptive themes for the experience. Mine? NCA 2007: How to save $175*. His? NCA 2007: Resort to Violence. HA. We're heading back to Chicago on Wednesday for Thanksgiving. Getting ready for yet another trip means that my life should be ranking about an 8 on the buelsy productivity scale today. However, there are other things I would like to do that are neither prudent nor affordable, but nonetheless very very tempting.

*I definitely did not register for this experience. I knew the "poor grad student card" would serve me well some day.

LIST OF THINGS THAT WOULD BE LOVELY IF DONE TODAY:
1. Shop for new clothes. I need long sleeves!
2. Watch three to four movies.
3. Put up Christmas lights and Christmas tree.
4. Knit hats.
5. Make artsy-fartsy Christmas cards.
6. Work on new Oral Comm. packet for Fall 2008.

LIST OF THINGS THAT MUST BE DONE FOR LIFE SURVIVAL TODAY:
1. Clean Messy Manor and the clothes of its inhabitants.
2. Work her not-super-skinny ass out.
3. Edit Methods Chapter for C-H.
4. Grade.
5. Read/Write Poli. Comm. textbook review.
6. Pay utilities bill.

Thankfully, there are a few cross over things on these lists that must be done but are also mildly enjoyable. Like working out, grading and paying utilities bills. Good places to get started.

--buelsy (she thinks she can, she thinks she can).

wash and dry.

The laundry room in my complex is the absolute best place to get work done--at least during dinner time on Tuesday nights when it's completely empty and lacks the a.d.d. enticements of Messy Manor and my office. The sound of the washers and dryers is comforting too. Alone, but not really. As far as prospectus prepping goes, maybe self-destructive patterns really can be broken. I'm remembering that I love to analyze political campaigns, and I didn't even have to take any stimulants.

--buelsy (diggin' for quarters)