The endless cycle

I have a tendency to take summer courses. That doesn't leave much time between semesters (A week and a half at best), and this time I didn't get to enjoy it. Now I'm knee-deep in a math class that thankfully, wonderfully, joyfully, is taught by someone that speaks English as a first language.

Sadly, the opposite seems to be true at UB. So far the courses in my department have been taught by professors with a mastery of the English language, but many courses out of the department have not fared so well.

Anyway, right now: math. Up next: statistics. Then: Fall semester. At that point I'm almost done, save for one required course that's only offered in the spring. Otherwise I'd cram it in there somewhere and be done with it all by December. As it is, I have to wait. I'm hoping it's scheduled in the evenings, that way I can seek out a relevant job to fill in the time. (Job + full course load = bad idea. Job + one class = good idea, especially if they're related)

With my luck, it will probably be 4 days a week at 11AM. I guess I'll find out later this fall.

Sleep Paralysis

So there I was, in bed with a sky full of stars above me. In my peripheral vision someone was moving about, but I couldn't tell quite who, or what they were doing. I think there was also a cat loitering about. My wife was there, next to me, as is quite normal at 4AM. My right arm was draped outside the bed, and when I tried to move it, something became quite obvious.

I couldn't move it. In fact, I couldn't move at all. I was very aware of my surroundings, and suddenly very aware that they were... wrong. It was as if one eye was awake, and the other was asleep. I was seeing what was real, *and* I was seeing the dream at the same time. I was familiar enough with sleep paralysis (and oddly alert enough) to realize that I was likely experiencing just that. I tried asking my wife if she could shake me out of it, but I couldn't even move my jaw. Or my tongue.

Ok, irritated moaning it is. I'm not quite sure how long I was making that sickly noise, but I heard her asking if I was alright. Eventually she shook my arm-

And the entire world snapped back to normal. I know my brain is wired strangely, but whoa.

Today I learned:

If I get up with the kids in the middle of the night when they cry, my wife will let me sleep in and take care of them in the morning.

If I have a bag of marshmallows with me, my oldest is a complete angel.

Turns out I'm the kind of guy that needs something to do. Not having classes for 5 weeks (or a job) was nice at first, but I-AM-BORED and can't wait to get back to it. For the most part, I already knew that, but it's really hammering my brain. There's only so much I can fix and clean.


Frankly, I like this warm January. Not a flake of snow on the ground. I typically walk to class, so I hope it lasts.

Another New Years Day post.

My wife and I do this thing every new years where  we each write up a list of the top ten best things about the past year, and another ten things that will be awesome about the next year. Then we'll compare the previous years lists to what actually happened.

I'm 50/50 this year. Not bad. Without digging up the lists:

I no longer share a building with a neighbor that smokes the nastiest smelling skunk weed in town.
I had private study space on campus all year. Didn't see that coming, but I blame it for my GPA.

That's all. Like said, I'm not dredging up the lists. Though one important thing, I actually feel like I got my head on straight. I know, it seems like most people are like this, but it's completely new to me. I can think clearly, have attainable goals broken down into manageable chunks, etc.

And it's weird.

Another New Years Eve post.

It's my annual new years eve blog post, but I don't have a lot to talk about this time. I've seen a lot of people posting about how their 2011 sucked, and earlier this year, I would have done the same.

But I won't, because my 2011 was awesome. This past week I seemed to have just what I wanted. I spent Christmas here, at my own house, with my in laws. Yea, I got to sleep in my own bed. Spent a few days with my parents, then back home for New Years.

After last year, where we spent a week too long out of town (seriously, my kids don't travel well), this is exactly what I hoped for. Yay. The younger one is a bit sick, but not screaming about it. I'm surrounded by good food and video games.

Well, I'm good.

Entirely too much eggnog.

As the title implies, my stomach has an aversion to dairy, and when eggnog is afoot I simply don't care. It always wins, but I make it earn every inch of ground.

Oog, I've been busy. Not busy-busy, just busy. My finals were all during the last week of class rather than in some bizarre schedule afterward, and my grades were all astounding. yay. I've been taking classes non stop this year. The breaks between summer and fall were nil, so suddenly coming upon winter break caught me off guard. I was going so fast getting all my work done, and not paying much attention to what the actual date was, that when it was over I was still going. I felt like Wile E Coyote running off a cliff. No more ground, still going.

So I cleaned my basement. The kind of clean that makes it finally alright for a toddler to come down and fill with toys. The kind of toys he can play with while his adult supervision plays video games nearby. Toys or cartoons. Toys or cartoons or snacks. Or some odd combination of all three which usually turns into a dance party.

My basement is awesome.

CHILDREN

My two year old will often take two objects and place them across each other. He will then call it an airplane, and proceed to make it fly. He did this with two strips of bacon recently, and now I believe anything is possible.