Homework is going well...

Clearly.


Fortunately the strep turned into a false alarm and never progressed beyond feeling crappy for a while (which could have been sleep deprivation) and the tell-tale white spot on the back of my throat. Usually, and I can say this as I get it so often, strep progresses quickly on me and starts kicking my butt within a day or two of the dreaded spot. So that was a relief, however...
I knew starting my Master's was going to be a lot of work but after one month with homework always hanging over my head I'm starting to get a little mental. It seems my fuse runs about 3.6 seconds these days. I hate having unfinished work on my shoulders and I'm finding that even beginning the final paper for my first Master's class an exercise of monumental proportions. I haven't written a paper in 5 years. I don't even know how to start a paper anymore. And APA citation? I don't care how many songs you make me sing about it, I'm not going to get it (you had to be there for that one.) I've always suffered from this disease of not really having much to say and having even fewer words with which to say it. Paper writing is painful. Excruciating. Akin to, oh, say cleaning a community cat box after 8 weeks of multiple patrons. Yah, it's about like that. So all week I would come home from work (or acupuncture, more on that in a minute) to a house in a state of national disaster, make dinner and attempt to pull out some of my books for a genuine start on my arts rationale paper and oh look, here's something to distract me and oh look, it's after nine. No homework gets done after nine. I hadn't read a sentence on critical pedagogy or arts modalities all week. On top of which I'm trying to design my integrated arts lesson, which I'm pretty excited about but terrified of actually starting in class. All the while the clock is ticking down to November 3rd, the due date. Oiy.

Acupuncture. Let me give some back story, and I'll try to keep it brief. I was rear-ended when I was 20. My chiropractor believed that was the initial event that led to my current neck pain. For years it has been something that came for a week or two and went for a month or two. But before school let out last spring the pain came on, I assumed due to end of the year stress, but then it never went away. All day long the aching/burning pain between my neck and shoulder made just about everything harder, but it was summer and all I had to worry about was my pottery. Months now it's been hurting and by the start of school I'd dare to say it was worse. Minutes after waking up in the morning I'd have my shoulder hunched up around my ear (I do Quasimodo very well by the way) and it would remain there, burning all day long. The chiropractor didn't fix it, ibuprophen doesn't help it (and I'm not big on drugs anyway) so I'd started considering acupuncture. I've heard so many wonderful things about it I became convinced that this was my salvation. I called around, found a doctor of eastern medicine with 30 years of experience under his belt. Figured if anyone could fix me it'd be him. He's a very sweet man with a passion for people so I felt good in my decision to commit to his recommended 12 sessions of electro-stim acupuncture. If it worked, and I was completely convinced I'd be cured by the 3rd session, it would be well worth the first-born child I promised him. Yesterday I had my 11th session after a particularly excruciating day of pain only to find it still there when I got up off the table. I cried on the way home and arrived in one of the most foul moods I've been in for a very long time. Clearly acupuncture is not my miracle and I'm just about out of places to turn. Being waist-deep in homework, enormously behind on the chinking and oiling project we're doing on the house, neck-deep in dirt, grim and dirty dishes and a brand new beautiful pottery wheel gathering dust makes having this pain go on another minute completely unbearable. Adrian puts up with my moods like a champ (in silence and distance when necessary) but I seriously need to get a grip on things. I'm thinking of scheduling a massage this week. I have a couple of gift certificates I've been needing to use. Perhaps I can find a small miracle there.

So I do apologize for not updating more these days. I'm turning to pottery now as my stress relief so perhaps you'll be seeing some more of my work coming soon. One can only hope.