Not Working

Ugh. Why do I so not want to work today? Bleah!

I hate this. I have been grading and prepping all week --- keeping up with all that fine, mind you, and with less exhaustion than last summer --- and haven't had any time for the diss. since last weekend. I have piles everywhere and so many strange files on my laptop screen with cryptic notes to myself as the document name and I don't remember where I am in the process or really even what I'm arguing. Sigh. By the time I go through it all and figure out where I am and what I need to do, the weekend will be over and I'll be back to teaching and not working on the diss for another week. It's so disheartening.

On the other hand, if I really go through it all well today and write a new paragraph, even a short one, then I would be making progress. And maybe it wouldn't take me so long to read over everything and organize it up next weekend, so it wouldn't be quite as much like starting over (seriously: I'm flipping through stuff going, I read this? Wait, this dude is going to be in the chapter? woah, that's my handwriting!). So it totally makes sense to tackle the piles even if I'll have to revisit them next weekend. Dammit! I hate when I'm so reasonable.

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So far today I have slept in, gotten breakfast and coffee, and transferred all the piles of chapter-related books and notes and whatnot to one location, the kitchen table. And played around on the internet. Now I want another nap, or to do something completely lacking in mental effort.

If I'm not going to do diss. work, I should go swimming, get more groceries, or at least go somewhere nice like the beach or the park. But instead I'm going to sit here on the couch and complain. Maybe I need today as a recovery day and I can do work work on Sat. Mmm, yes, I believe that will happen.

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I may have accidentally gotten my neighbors evicted. I certainly hope so. It wasn't just me, though. They've been playing music and/or having loud drunken fights at 4 or 5 am --- it turns out that like 5 guys are there and they all work different shifts (which explains how they can all fit in a tiny 1-bedroom). So their 5 am is like normal people's 5 pm, when they want to unwind and have fun. Unfortunately, the world just is not set up that way, and I don't want to have to listen to insanely loud music or beery fights after I've been sleeping. It turns out that it doesn't bother me so much if it is keeping me from getting to sleep, but if you wake me up and I have a couple hours before the alarm is going to go off, then I'm pissed.

So the time after I pounded on the wall and called the landlord, some people pounded on my door at 5 or so in the morning. It wasn't neighbors, it was people from the next apartment complex over, who were unable to sleep because the music was so loud. No one was answering at Loud Guy's place so they tried my door. I did not appreciate this logic. They then called the police, which I said was fine, and gave them the landlord's phone # too.

I got a very nice call from the apt. manager who filled me in on the situation ---- the Loud Guys have not responded; if they don't respond with an apology and promise to do X, Y and Z, then she will serve them with an eviction notice, but they are guaranteed 30 days to find a new place. I was hoping that the evicting was going through, but Loud Guy was taking down the satellite dish yesterday and then he knocked and apologized to me that evening, so I wonder if this means he's staying. I'm hoping it means he's packing up. I'm so mean. But this is such a cute quiet place and I would love to advertise it to one of my dept. friends, get in some cool (and quiet) neighbors.

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Speaking of, I can't tell if one or two people from my school are reading this blog now. Someone has an RSS feed and someone (same one?) is googling my cogliness. I know of one person but am suspicious of additional readers ---- it doesn't help that people reading on campus show up in my Sitemeter stats as "UC OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, _____ CAMPUS" which, especially after my fun with Yudof, gives me a mini-heart attack every time I see it.

But the searches that lead people here are getting ever-more interesting! Now I'm starting to get phrases like these:

i fucked up grad school

Or this one, actually searched from my home campus:

i hate grad school english

Ohhh, yes, be sure that I am looking into that bit of gossip! Expect some fun advice to come from here in the near future! Excellent! (*tents fingers and whispers evilly.*)