So much to do, so little time

So, another quarter has started. I've had all of my classes and all I can say is that it's going to be a doozie. Tons of books, lots of reading, and exams upon exams - which oddly enough I'm not too rankled about as I'm feeling a little burnt out on papers lately and am willing to accept anything else. This quarter I'm resolved to turn a new leaf (as I am almost every quarter) to mend my procrastinating ways and start early on all things important - no more end of quarter madness. Will I actually make these changes? It's debatable, I always have such good intentions but well . . . it clearly hasn't panned out in the past so it may not this time either but I will try and try again, I'm nothing if not optimistic.

At the moment I'm feeling a little torn between reading for class, doing taxes, and reading my new book from the library. Taxes have taken a back seat to books, after all books are much more exciting than taxes (ick!). But should I read school books or fun books? I know I should read school books but fun books are just so much more . . . fun. It's like falling off the wagon at the first bump, how did I ever expect to make it the whole ride? Clearly at this rate if I can't prioritize serious school reading I'm never going to be able to turn a new leaf and be uber productive and avoid procrastination . . . oh dear.

The problem isn't ameliorated by the fact that I'm already in the midst of three fun books which I started over spring break.
The Earthsea Quartet - My father gave me this in high school and I finally decided to commit myself to reading it. I know that sounds strange, committing oneself to reading a book, but the circumstances under which it was given to me have a lot to do with that. My father gave it to me since I had so enjoyed the Lord of the Rings trilogy and it was of a similar genre and he thought I would enjoy it also. But I decided to not read it since I was afraid that it just wouldn't be able to compete with the Lord of the Rings. This fear is born from a similar experience I had with Jane Austen and Thomas Hardy. Hardy was recommended to me by my father since I had so enjoyed Austen but when I read Hardy, not long after I had whisked through several Austen novels, he just put me to sleep. In retrospect I may have not given Hardy as much of a chance as I ought but there it is, I wasn't impressed upon first trial. Anyway my point is that I didn't want to have that same experience with LeGuin and thought that perhaps a break from the genre altogether might be beneficial. Little did I anticipate that break to be years upon years. So, The Earthsea Quartet came back from Japan with me over winter break but I didn't even start reading it until a month ago - this is the sad state of affairs around here.
Persepolis - Note to Sherry: I can just imagine your exasperation, I know, I know. I'm finally reading it. It got buried under so many other books that it really didn't have a fighting chance until now. Besides, in comparison to The Earthsea Quartet this pace is downright speedy!
Time Was Soft There - I haven't gotten very far in this yet so I'm not entirely attached. But it sounded so lovely on the staff recommendation card at the bookstore that I was suckered into finding it at the library. It's about a bookstore in Paris called Shakespeare & Co., a store which I just fell in love with when I was there. It is the epitome of the bookstores that I daydreamed of as a child, scruffy around the edges, vast while being compact, and it is as much a visual feast as it is a literary one. Of course, the fact that it's on the banks of the Seine just across from Notre Dame doesn't hurt either. On a tangential note, how many kids daydream about old scruffy bookstores? What an odd child I was.

Do you see my dilemma? They're so fun . . . or at least full of the promise of fun. How could I decided between these three books and school books, let alone the new book that I got at the library today?

Have you been dreaming lately?

Just two notes from my dreams of late . . .

1. I'm stuck in an octagonal toaster and can't get out
2. The cheeky nerve of bananas only being sold in bunches but when I yank them apart because I want all my bananas to be individual fruit they reattach themselves!

Dreams are weird . . .

Stress eating commences . . .

Here's the list:
Goldfish crackers - Parmesan flavor
Green grapes
Oreo cookies
Ben & Jerry's -Fudge Brownie
Mint chocolate chip ice cream (yes, 2 types of ice cream)

Let's hope the list doesn't get any longer . . .

Before I crawl into bed with my crossword

It's Thursday night again. I've let a whole week go by without a post. I wish I could say I were guilt ridden but honestly it hadn't even crossed my mind. The end of the quarter is drawing near which means I'm insanely busy and haven't time to think about anything . . . except being busy. Oddly enough I think I spend as much time thinking about my busy-ness as actually being busy, if that makes sense - nothing really does lately. My brain has turned to mush and has taken on the characteristics of a sieve, all rather unfortunate.

My busy-ness is caused by the necessity to write papers. I don't really enjoy writing under pressure, ironic since that's basically what grad school is all about and therefore it is really all that I do these days. At the moment I'm writing (or contemplating writing to be exact, since no part of the actual paper is written yet) about the role of religion in Japanese social activism and the role of overseas development aid in Japan's foreign relations with its Asian neighbors. Those are two separate papers for two separate classes in case you're wondering what the two topics have to do with each other - a big ol' nothing is what they have in common. Any suggestions you might have on either topic would of course be welcomed.

But don't let me drone on about such academic topics that are of limited interest. Here are some light and fluffy thoughts that are completely unrelated but are at least amusing if not interesting:

1. My little 'lucky' bamboo is sprouting leaves out of its side! I'm so excited, especially because it lives in my dark cave-like room and I was fully expecting it to die from lack of sunlight.

2. I made chocolate cupcakes last week and they were just heavenly. But what was even better was that I made frosting to go on the cupcakes! It's been ages since I've had homemade frosting and it was so so delicious, I'd forgotten how different it tastes from store-bought frosting (which I hate). I know that it's bad for me (it really is just pure butter and sugar) but like most things that are bad for you, it tastes SO good. I was especially fond of the cream cheese frosting . . . yummy-licious. And a little frosting really goes a long way, I've been savoring it and having a little bit everyday on a piece of toast - don't knock it 'til you've tried it!

3. I now have giant holes in both my sneakers and my jeans (sadly this condition has actually existed for several weeks now, maybe even a month) - it's pathetic I know. I should get replacements for both but I haven't the time or energy to go shopping. I never thought I'd see the day when I didn't have energy for shoe shopping . . .

4. Lately my eyes have been bothering me. I think it's all the reading I've been doing combined with the dry air. It's as though they're rebelling against me and saying, "Let us the hell out of these damn sockets!" Coincidentally I was talking with a friend about glass eyes and we've decided that should one of my eyes successfully escape from its socket I should go for a wooden eye instead of a glass eye. It's so much more retro-chic and has a certain je ne sais quoi about it.

And that is all for now folks, I'll be going into social hibernation again until the end of the quarter at which point all my papers will be finished and I can lavish time on such things as e-mail correspondence, Internet browsing, reading non-academic tomes, and maybe even the viewing of films!