An Analogy

this semester is to me what the damn grrrowl were to the ice pilots in the playoffs (yes, i'm still pissed about that). i've hung in there all semester, valiantly procrastinating my way to A's in all my classes. but alas, the semester kills me at the end. it gets under my skin (another toenail fungus simile coming here...) and plants itself like digger the dermatophyte. i can't shake it. it's in my head and it's wreaking all sorts of havoc in my already fragile brain. i have to survive for 9 more days, and i'm already making threats to the safety of others. lucky, lucky vanessa whose semester is now over. lucky, lucky vanessa who can turn her thoughts to happy times in the future when she'll go on lots of fun trips and capture tons of great photo ops. oh, how i wish that my semester were over and that i, too, could turn my eyes toward the upcoming summer. well, i'm actually doing that anyway, even though i shouldn't. yesterday i got off my metaphorical ass (but not my physical ass, as i was sitting when i did this) and emailed dr. v. about the summer. he's kindly offered me an REU student to help out with my research in the upcoming months. for those of you who aren't familiar with the workings of research, REU means Research Experience for Undergraduates. basically, a student is coming to work in dr. v.'s lab for the summer. he/she will be doing a project of his/her own, but as i am now a grad student and no longer a little peon, i get to monopolize a bit of this poor sucker's time doing work for me. i'm told i don't have to worry about money for this research. and i quote, "monies are not an issue." the phrase "road trip" was also used in dr. v.'s reply to my inquiries about the summer, and i'm meeting with him next thursday or friday to discuss things...if i survive until next thursday.

at the rate things are going right now, i may be dead or in jail before next week. not really, of course...that's just the way i'm feeling. i'm doing this stupid phys oce problem, and i want to hurt people. it makes my head hurt. or maybe that's just my pal digger inviting a few friends in to see what they can screw around with in my brain. i think i've figured out an answer to the problem (i'll not even try to convince anyone it's the right answer). but half the information i'm using was pulled straight out of my white girl butt crack. and explaining why i made the (probably wrong) assumptions that i did is going to be a bitch. it took 6 sheets of notebook paper before i came to a workable solution - one that didn't give me an average pacific ocean depth of 49,000 meters. the depth of the pacific ocean is actually ~4200 meters. and with my new solution i get ~5000 m. reasonable, in my humble opinion. so now i have to summarize what i did and why in 3 pages or less. bleh.

another thing that's chipping away at my morale here at the end of the semester is our freakin' biometry assignment. i haven't the faintest clue what i'm doing. not that i've started it yet. it just seems so...hard. biometry isn't supposed to be hard. none of the previous assignments have made me cry or pull my hair out. this one hasn't yet (since i haven't actually worked on it) - but it will. i can feel it in my bones. so, when i get through this afternoon, i have to sit in phys oce for 3.5 hours tomorrow (we're meeting a half hour early), figure out the stupid biometry thing, and study for my phys oce final. which i'm strangely not worried about. the first test was pretty easy. it's the freakin' homework that's killing me. ok, ok. enough whining. i'm going to do what the ice pilots couldn't - make it through the semester unscathed and come out clean on the other side and into - summer.