Back in the Saddle, Plus More!

So, by now you all know that I'm hit or miss with blogging. I always hope to fall into a regular routine, but it ends up being very difficult for me. Part of that struggle is that when life is interesting, there's no time to write... but when I have time to write, it usually means I'm not up to much of anything.

With that in mind, I'm considering running a series of stories from our adventures on Flogging Molly's Salty Dog Cruise 2016. We had so much fun, and it was so awesome, but the level of detail to do our adventures justice would require multiple posts. We've already put down the deposit for our cabin next year, and I HIGHLY recommend YOU come with us!! We're already planning hijinks.


After we returned from the Cruise [and our accidental pit stop in Denver, thanks to a combination of food poisoning and bad weather], my quarter started at school. When you factor in the wedding, this is my first quarter with ZERO distractions--I am able to focus entirely on school and learning. It helps that Matchu is so supportive. He takes care of a lot of the little things so that I don't have to stop what I'm doing, and I can stay at campus longer and make sure my assignments get done on time. So far, it's been paying off! Surprisingly, my entry-level engineering course is actually the most work, and I'm not struggling much with Trig. Java... well, bless his heart he's trying to teach. It's not great. But, I'm having a lot of fun fooling around with code.

This is the very first mixed media project I did.
I keep it hanging over my desk.

Part of the reason that I think I'm doing better this quarter is that I am embracing my true nature. "To thine own self be true," said Mel Gibson. Just kidding, it was totally Polonius. But yeah, embracing yourself is much easier than fighting against yourself. What do I mean by this? Let me give you a couple examples. I've taken a lot of pressure off of myself to focus or complete one task entirely. Instead, I will do bits and pieces of things until I get settled. It may seem disorganized, but I've actually managed to accomplish more by doing this than by dreading every task ever. Another thing that I am accepting is a biphasic sleep schedule. I've written about this before, and I've done this before, and now that I can control my whole life, I keep coming back to it. Again, it helps to have a supportive partner who holds such vomitously cute beliefs as, "as long as you're sleeping next to me, and we get to cuddle, it's like spending time together."

For some reason, the days that I have every class, I come home exhausted. I'm not sure why--it's not like I have to hike up a mountain or walk to school or anything. My guess is that either a) using that much brain power to concentrate, think, focus, study, process information is tiring; OR b) being around that many people in one day is exhausting. I wish I could explain this idea in more depth, but think of it in a metaphysical, personal space kind of way. Either way, the days I only have one class, I am much less tired. But on the days I have all my classes, I have to take a long nap. Instead of fighting  to stay awake and making myself miserable, I can make the best of it and adjust. I usually sleep for 2-3 hours, and then either go to yoga or do homework. Then I'm free to stay up til at least midnight, which is a much more natural time for me to go to "bed." But since I've already gotten one sleep cycle out of the way, waking up around 8 am is no longer a miserable ordeal. I'm actually settling into a nice routine of taking out the pup, making coffee, etc.

[Insert Clever Title Here]

I keep blogging in fitz and starts. It's true that I'm doing less than I used to, but I'm still doing enough that I should be writing about.

Not even sure where I left off, to be honest! I went on leave and visited my grandma, and when I came back I started taking my math class for the quarter. It's not particularly difficult, but it's where they wanted me after the placement exam. It's a review at least, so I'll be ready to move on... all the way up to Calc 3 [scaredface!]. I'm still trying to figure out exactly what I'm going to do as far as tuition and GI Bill goes, and work. But, if I play my cards right, I might be able to get a MSE by 2020, and be working on a PhD as well! With minimum out of pocket expenses, even!

I've been slacking on crafting, arting, and even cooking. Mostly my life has been math, cleaning, and work. I'm on the night shift again, so my days are completely upside down. For some reason, I've been sleeping WAY too much lately. I'm trying to get my medication, vitamins, and minerals back on track, but it's been more of a struggle than usual. Lately I've been reading about adrenal dysfunction and how that affects... well, nearly everything, really... and I'm pretty sure that my adventures in hormonal birth control, coffee, and whatever else lifestyle choices you want to lump in there have more or less caused some sort of issue with my hormones. This is a thought I've had before, of course, but it just makes so much sense. I don't know why this isn't more well-known knowledge, or a bigger deal to more people in general. I'm going to try and take better care of myself, but it's going to be a huge struggle. I figure since this year is technically my 30th birthday [more on that joke later], it's about damn time I take care of myself. I've already started by quitting smoking, now I just need to work on a healthier diet and the right kinds of fitness. [I'm about a month in to that quitting, so let's see how much longer I can make it stick!!]


But anyways, that's not really what I wanted to write about today. As of some time today--like I said, I slept pretty much through all daylight--we recovered our house. Long story. My kitchen has been freed from the oppressor, and I celebrated by rebelliously cooking my butt off. Well, not literally, or I wouldn't be talking about diets... but anyways yeah. I make two different kinds of banana bread. I made what I think is my official Best Mac N Cheese So Far. I also experimented with meatloaf cupcakes. Although mine look nothing like anything you'll find on Pinterest, they were really tasty. Snackbar couldn't find the french-fried-onions at the store while he was out, so half-way joking I said "oh, just get Funyuns instead." Best. Joke. Ingredient. EVER. Best [non]-Mistake Ever. Crushed up, they make the BEST topping. I even put some in the meatloafs because I was running short on breadcrumbs. Delicious meal. I wish I was hungry so I could eat some more. But alas, that D-word is looming...