Do the Hustle

I leave for Texas in exactly one month from today. That means it’s time to haul ass. It’s busy times around here–wrapping up another academic year and closing the buildings, doing the grunt work they dole out for us in the two weeks before our contracts are up, packing up my crap, hyperventilating about gas prices. The last time I moved it didn’t cost $300 in fill-ups. It’s practically a whole new era. There’s an endless list of things to panic about, but I think that overall I’m doing ok. I mean, I’m overemotional and cranky, but not much more than usual. (I’m aware that some of my friends may beg to differ.)

Right now priority one is surviving the remaining days of work, and let me tell you, it’s a strain. This is the most time-consuming job I’ve ever had; it makes my last position look like a piece of cake. In an average week I’m pulling around 55-60 hours of work, between office hours and meetings, committee stuff, staff programs, crisis management, and paper-pushing. Two nights a week I’m home by 6pm–and I CHERISH those days. The rest of the week it’s more like 10:30 or so. Even though things are going to wind down soon, drama after drama keeps erupting over here and making the days feel even longer. I fantasize about five-day weeks and 8-hour days. About commuting. Owning a dog. Sitting in my non-campus apartment grading papers without a duty radio attached to my hip. Freedom! If I can just survive the next thirty days, better times are coming.

In the meantime, here are two things that suck. One, I burned my arm on a light bulb. Don’t ask. Suffice to say it hurts like hell, and I feel like kind of an ass. Two, it’s cold up here again. I know that April is a big tease, but to go from eighty degrees on Friday to a chance of light snow tonight is just cruelty.

And in the interest of balance, I’ll leave you with two things that don’t suck. One: the movie Lars and the Real Girl. If you haven’t seen it, you need to. I’ll grant you that it’s a little optimistic, but that’s what I loved about it. Rent it when you’re having a shitty day and you need to restore your faith in the goodness of people. And two: I made a gorgeous pair of socks (and they’re actually the same size this time!). They’re so beautiful that I’m almost afraid to wear them. Infusing some of my stress and rage into knitting has been a good thing–I may not be able to jab at people with sharp, pointy sticks, but I can sort of act it out on the yarn, and actually create something useful and beautiful at the same time. A fabulous example of turning negative energy into goodness. Everybody should try knitting.