StressBusters

Think MythBusters. I've heard lots of strategies proposed for busting stress. Mostly, they involve aggression, but of course, they escape me. Humor escapes me. It's hard to be funny when I'm pissed off that Hildegard's is closed early. I guess I should have called. I WILL call, I promise, before the January Write Night. If I can keep the house clean, and I should be able to do so, we'll do Write Night at my house if we need to.

Hmm, what else? I don't know. I feel stressed. Imagine that?

Stressors:

• papers to grade for 1102H-A; I think I've done six, which leaves me with eleven to finish by Wednesday
• two papers to grade for 2060, late papers that still need to be finished; actually, there should be three papers to grade, but one is still missing. I wonder if it will be turned in at all.
• a grant to write: Rebecca and I met to work on this today. It looks like we're up to a twenty-five page grant without having completed certain sections. Still, we've never had this much of the grant written this early.
• waiting for the pizza to arrive. I ordered two much: two medium pizzas and cheese sticks for four people. Well, maybe Wes and Beka will help with the food. I keep looking to my left to look out the window to see if the pizza goes is pulling up in front of the studio. That's somewhat distracting.
• candy making--I have to make two batches of Oatmeal Gem Delights before I go to the all-day candy making on Saturday.
• final exams to grade for two sections of 2060, but they don't necessarily come in until Thursday afternoon. I'll definitely have to use a rubric to get through those in a timely manner
• 17 poster presentations to grade Wednesday during the final exam; that won't be hard, but I have to type up the rubric I'm using and grade while being friendly and smiling and chatting with folks (chatting is tougher than grading)
• averaging all these grades once they're completed
• meeting with the director of grants and contacts to review the budget and the actual grant
• writing observation letters for Shane and Matt
• reading and responding to the 1101/1102 syllabi
• writing other very important letters
• getting Lindsi's and Rebecca's signatures on the final draft of the grant

Usually, lists help me, but tonight the lists are stressing me out. Maybe I'll do a list of stressbusters instead.

Stressbusters:

• a hot bubble bath, so hot it's hard to breathe and my skin is boiled-lobster red or maybe cherry Lifesaver red
• a grande, nonfat caramel mocha
• typos: I accidentally typed "nonfact" mocha and kind of liked the way it looked
• sleep, but only once I warmed up in the Artic expanse that is my bed in the North Pole that is my room--yes, the window was open last night when it was 29 degrees outside. The dog had to come in, but apparently, we had to almost go outside. That's just wrong, isn't it?
• reading a good novel, good as in trashy, not good as in artistic and thoughtful
• laughter: Rebecca and Shane are threatening to slide the cushion onto the floor (Look at what all y'all are missing at Write Night in the Studio! Earlier, Rebecca was planning a sleepover, but you had to be here to be invited.)
• a clean house--I cleaned house all day Friday. Cleaning doesn't de-stress me, but being in a clean house does. Periodically, I look around and enjoy the house. It won't last, but for now, it's awesome.
• funny emails, particularly ones involving pictures, like the one Lindsi sent drawn by a child whose mom sells shovels at Home Depot or the video about men being sent to the doghouse for buying practical rather than romantic presents--even though I've never been that woman
• leaving work and having nothing to work on after hours, except spending time with the hubby--that rocks!
• afternoon naps--okay, I'm not a huge fan, but I took two this weekend, and they were incredible

Okay, I think I'm out of stuff to say. Now I'm just waiting for the pizza and Diet Coke. Actually, I'm more excited about the Diet Coke than the pizza. It's been a long day.