El descanso sin descanso

Bah Humbug. Yes, Christmas itself was nice and there were some bright spots, but mostly this break has been stressful. I know I haven’t updated in a million years so I’ll just give a quick list of what was good and bad about the end of 2007 and the beginning of 2008:

BAD.

-I’ll start with the worst. Right before finals, a friend was killed in a car accident. She had married into a family that’s like family to me, and it hurts to see them hurt. I missed the funeral because I had a final (Yet another reason to resent Phonetics). The funeral and burial are all over, but they still hurt.

-Finals.

-My students performed with mediocrity on their final, overall. It sunk a few final grades.(GOOD: I still didn’t have to fail anyone this semester).

-Fire in our apartment building. Miraculously and blessedly, our unit wasn’t damaged, but we couldn’t go back for several days and now the on-going clean-up in the building is messy and terribly inconvenient.

-After evading one storm on our way out to my cousin’s wedding, the nuptials were delayed because the groom got caught in another storm, and when we left a day later than planned we got caught in yet another storm that closed down the interstate and left us camped out on a wrestling mat in the Summit County Middle School gymnasium, courtesy of the Red Cross. Happy New Year!

-Raging sinus infection, and the not-so-attentive medical professional who attended to me claims it’s viral and not bacterial (no tests or cultures, mind you) and so I’m fighting this one on my own. It's difficult trying to sleep through the ongoing tests while the apparently inept cleanup crew tries to reset the fire alarm. How tough can that be?

GOOD.

-I passed all my classes, including Phonetics. I have never worked so hard for a B+ in all my life.

-We spent Christmas with my parents and were grateful that our little place was just off-limits and not a heap of ashes.

-My husband and I met an old friend of mine and his partner for coffee the day after Christmas and I got to have an intellectually stimulating conversation that had nothing to do with Hispanic Lit or Ling, or with Law. Well, there was some law in there but it was IP so that’s okay. The world is broader than my research, and it feels good to be reminded of that.

-When we went out for my cousin’s wedding we stayed with my husband’s brother and his wife and their adorable child (I guess that makes her my niece). We actually got to relax and play cards. We also spent some time with other friends we hadn’t seen in a while. So, I did get in a wee bit of relaxation during my descanso.

-The piñata at the wedding had Anna Nicole’s face on it. How can that not make you smile?

-Got to see lots of family at the wedding, including my favorite uncle.

-My brother and his wife and my (other) awesome niece have been here while the hermano’s on a short duty assignment, and I get to hang out with them. She’s still too little to spoil and steer into naughtiness, but it’s best for us to bond early so she’ll trust me later when I get around to teaching her a few things.

And that’s been my welcome to 2008, dear fellow bloggers. As I write this I find myself back at my desk, putting off the preparation of a week’s lessons, sorting out my readings for the coming week. When I woke up grumbling about coming to campus this morning, I had no idea it would be so easy for me to fall back into this routine. It’s comfortable. The craziness of the break is already starting to fade into the new semester. I don’t know if that’s good or bad.

One last note on my nerdiness: Some of you will get this, and some of you will just roll your eyes in disgust/confusion. So be it. When the building caught fire and we heard the alarms, when I had only moments to gather up what’s most precious and irreplaceable and fits in my hands, I grabbed my research (my husband is mobile and doesn’t need to be carried). I gathered up my laptop and some papers, and ran into the other room for the flash drive that has my backup sound files. Everything else could be replaced or the loss would be acceptable, but not my data. I had to save them, above all else. Take that as you will.

Lola’s out of the stressful break and into a (new) stressful semester. Cross your fingers for me, chicos.