Interlude:
A long-overdue post!!!
→ BABY JB STUFF. He is so, so good. Last time I posted, he was about to be a month old, and now he's about to be five months. We've got nursing on lockdown (YEAH!) and he's already sleeping through the night (usually), he's figured out how to roll from his tummy onto his back (but only to one side?? we're still working on it), he's getting the hang of grabbing and holding onto things, he smiles and laughs and "talks" so much, and he's so calm and so happy and just a really really good baby. I love him desperately and he is perfect.
→ POST-PREGNANCY STUFF. Hoo boy. It's been almost five months and I feel like I'm only just now starting to get back to normal. Emotions-wise my hormones have been pretty stable for a while, THANK FUCK, but then my hair started falling out and that just......... wasn't fun. I have these patches around my temples that aren't quite bald but are very noticeably thinner than the rest of my hair and I hate it but it's a totally normal postpartum thing. Also, I suspect this is more of a nursing thing than a postpartum hormonal thing, but for months I was unceasingly ravenous. Just absolutely starving ALL THE TIME. I'd have thought it would have been on par with being pregnant, since I was, you know, making an entire human being form scratch, but somehow producing milk was even more taxing because I could just never ever eat enough. That's finally calmed down too though for which I am grateful. And I still don't have my period (HALLELUJAH) although recently I've been getting mild cramps every now and then hmmm so I don't know if that means it'll be coming back soon, or maybe my uterus is just making that final push back to its pre-baby size?? Who knows~ Bodies are wacky mystery boxes~
→ SCHOOL STUFF. Fucking A. Last semester felt almost impossible. Of the four classes I was taking, three were for a grade and one was credit/no credit, and in the end I got a 3.9 (on one hand I'm frustrated with the one teacher who was so full of shit all semester and then just had to take that .01 off my grade, but on the other hand I turned in some real turds for that class so honestly 3.9 is probably more than I deserved from her) aaaand a no credit. ;_; So now I have to make up that class on top of the classes I was going to be taking anyway, which means this semester I have FIVE classes:
- Adolescent development. The content is interesting but I'm not fond of the teacher who does things like read charts incorrectly and answer questions with "hmm I'm not sure, I just put it up there because I thought it was interesting that the textbook mentioned it" OH MY GOD THEN WHY DON'T I JUST STAY HOME AND READ THE TEXTBOOK WHY AM I HERE???? Anyway I hate this class but it's only one night a week so whatever.
- DNA. The teacher is A Little Much but the content is suuuuuper interesting so I'm actually really into it. Only thing that sucks is that on the first day we were placed into groups based on where we were sitting and we have to stick with these groups for the whole semester and I got stuck with someone who irritates the hell out of me, someone who never really seems to understand what we're talking about, and someone who has a decent grasp of the material but only shows up half the time. Sooo it's a little frustrating sometimes, but oh well. Overall not bad.
- Survey of world lit. This teacher is just... so much. He is just SO. MUCH. Like if Ted Mosby were a lit professor but even worse. He looks like John Noble but sounds like Winnie the Pooh, and he uses military time (WHAT????), and he clearly thinks we're all morons, and literally all he does is lecture -- I don't think I've EVER had a lit class that was 100% lecture, it's wild -- but he takes it so seriously, like I have to wonder how many times he's rehearsed these lectures because he delivers them so dramatically, HE LITERALLY PAUSES AND STARES OUT THE WINDOW FOR EFFECT??? It's too fucking much. And then his quizzes are just. so strange. I just. I JUST. I don't mind being in this class but I will also be very glad when it's over.
- British modern lit. This is how it's listed so I thought it was modern as in contemporary, and then the book list was posted and I saw that it was a bunch of 20th century Irishmen and expats and realized it's modern as in modernist dkfjhdlkfj. I'm slowly realizing that I may not be a big fan of modernism (fuck TS Eliot), but I really like this teacher (I took one of his classes during my first semester and he has remained one of my favorites, so Eliot or no Eliot, I'm glad to be in his class) and it's nice to really dig in to poems again.
- Aaaand TESOL senior seminar. I hate actually going to class only because it's 6-9:30 fuck my life but I like the teacher (this is now my third class with him) and everyone in the class knows each other and it feels like a little community and I really enjoy that aspect of it. I never really experienced this at my junior college because it was basically just a bunch of GE classes, but going through the English/TESOL major here means there are people I've been in at least one class with every semester and we all know each other and many of us are friends, and it's just really nice and cozy.
So that's my class load this semester, and when it's done, I TOO WILL BE DONE. By which I mean I will be done with my BA and will immediately jump back in for my MA because I want to teach at the college level, but this is a huge step!!! I've filed my graduation papers and everything, and in a few weeks I can go buy my cap and gown for commencement!!! I honestly didn't want to participate in the ceremony when I first started, but now that I have JB, it feels more important to do it. I've worked really fucking hard at this, and he's been with me for most of it -- granted, part of that was in utero, but still -- and I want him to be able to look back at pictures of me wearing my cap and gown and holding him and he can say, "That's my mom, she went through school while she was pregnant with me and then while she was taking care of me and she schlepped around her pumping machine every day and washed bottles in the bathroom on campus and did homework after she put me to bed at night and she still got a FUCKING 3.9 BECAUSE THAT ONE TEACHER JUST HAD TO TAKE OFF ONE TENTH OF A GRADE POINT!!!!!" Okay maybe he won't say that last part, but still.
→ LOOKING INTO THE FUTURE. Now that I'm almost done with my BA, grad school is like... an impending reality? Not just a far-off dream? One of my professors is helping me revise a paper I wrote for him so I can use it for my application, and he's going to write me a letter of rec, and I have to ask another teacher for another letter, and in a few months I'll be able to sign up for classes, and I might be able to TEACH?! Shit's getting really exciting now. For this degree I'm doing the TESOL graduation because it's the closest thing to what I want to do, but it's not actually what I want to do -- but for my MA, they actually offer a concentration in teaching composition, which means I'll be able to get really into shit that will be directly applicable to my future job!!! And there are opportunities for TEACHING FOR CREDIT. I need to talk to my advisor for more details about that, but it's possible that within the year, I might actually have my own freshman comp class??? I COULD CRY TEARS OF HAPPINESS ABOUT THIS except as previously mentioned my hormones are back to normal so I probably won't, ha, but it's still REALLY REALLY EXCITING.
→ OTHER LIFE STUFF. Just kidding there is no other stuff, my entire life is school and JB. But that's not too bad, and it's not forever. I'm utterly exhausted, but I'm happy.
Anyway, that's me!!! How are you guys doing? I miss you all~ ♥
Crossposted here on Dreamwidth. Comment here or there! ♥
→ BABY JB STUFF. He is so, so good. Last time I posted, he was about to be a month old, and now he's about to be five months. We've got nursing on lockdown (YEAH!) and he's already sleeping through the night (usually), he's figured out how to roll from his tummy onto his back (but only to one side?? we're still working on it), he's getting the hang of grabbing and holding onto things, he smiles and laughs and "talks" so much, and he's so calm and so happy and just a really really good baby. I love him desperately and he is perfect.
→ POST-PREGNANCY STUFF. Hoo boy. It's been almost five months and I feel like I'm only just now starting to get back to normal. Emotions-wise my hormones have been pretty stable for a while, THANK FUCK, but then my hair started falling out and that just......... wasn't fun. I have these patches around my temples that aren't quite bald but are very noticeably thinner than the rest of my hair and I hate it but it's a totally normal postpartum thing. Also, I suspect this is more of a nursing thing than a postpartum hormonal thing, but for months I was unceasingly ravenous. Just absolutely starving ALL THE TIME. I'd have thought it would have been on par with being pregnant, since I was, you know, making an entire human being form scratch, but somehow producing milk was even more taxing because I could just never ever eat enough. That's finally calmed down too though for which I am grateful. And I still don't have my period (HALLELUJAH) although recently I've been getting mild cramps every now and then hmmm so I don't know if that means it'll be coming back soon, or maybe my uterus is just making that final push back to its pre-baby size?? Who knows~ Bodies are wacky mystery boxes~
→ SCHOOL STUFF. Fucking A. Last semester felt almost impossible. Of the four classes I was taking, three were for a grade and one was credit/no credit, and in the end I got a 3.9 (on one hand I'm frustrated with the one teacher who was so full of shit all semester and then just had to take that .01 off my grade, but on the other hand I turned in some real turds for that class so honestly 3.9 is probably more than I deserved from her) aaaand a no credit. ;_; So now I have to make up that class on top of the classes I was going to be taking anyway, which means this semester I have FIVE classes:
- Adolescent development. The content is interesting but I'm not fond of the teacher who does things like read charts incorrectly and answer questions with "hmm I'm not sure, I just put it up there because I thought it was interesting that the textbook mentioned it" OH MY GOD THEN WHY DON'T I JUST STAY HOME AND READ THE TEXTBOOK WHY AM I HERE???? Anyway I hate this class but it's only one night a week so whatever.
- DNA. The teacher is A Little Much but the content is suuuuuper interesting so I'm actually really into it. Only thing that sucks is that on the first day we were placed into groups based on where we were sitting and we have to stick with these groups for the whole semester and I got stuck with someone who irritates the hell out of me, someone who never really seems to understand what we're talking about, and someone who has a decent grasp of the material but only shows up half the time. Sooo it's a little frustrating sometimes, but oh well. Overall not bad.
- Survey of world lit. This teacher is just... so much. He is just SO. MUCH. Like if Ted Mosby were a lit professor but even worse. He looks like John Noble but sounds like Winnie the Pooh, and he uses military time (WHAT????), and he clearly thinks we're all morons, and literally all he does is lecture -- I don't think I've EVER had a lit class that was 100% lecture, it's wild -- but he takes it so seriously, like I have to wonder how many times he's rehearsed these lectures because he delivers them so dramatically, HE LITERALLY PAUSES AND STARES OUT THE WINDOW FOR EFFECT??? It's too fucking much. And then his quizzes are just. so strange. I just. I JUST. I don't mind being in this class but I will also be very glad when it's over.
- British modern lit. This is how it's listed so I thought it was modern as in contemporary, and then the book list was posted and I saw that it was a bunch of 20th century Irishmen and expats and realized it's modern as in modernist dkfjhdlkfj. I'm slowly realizing that I may not be a big fan of modernism (fuck TS Eliot), but I really like this teacher (I took one of his classes during my first semester and he has remained one of my favorites, so Eliot or no Eliot, I'm glad to be in his class) and it's nice to really dig in to poems again.
- Aaaand TESOL senior seminar. I hate actually going to class only because it's 6-9:30 fuck my life but I like the teacher (this is now my third class with him) and everyone in the class knows each other and it feels like a little community and I really enjoy that aspect of it. I never really experienced this at my junior college because it was basically just a bunch of GE classes, but going through the English/TESOL major here means there are people I've been in at least one class with every semester and we all know each other and many of us are friends, and it's just really nice and cozy.
So that's my class load this semester, and when it's done, I TOO WILL BE DONE. By which I mean I will be done with my BA and will immediately jump back in for my MA because I want to teach at the college level, but this is a huge step!!! I've filed my graduation papers and everything, and in a few weeks I can go buy my cap and gown for commencement!!! I honestly didn't want to participate in the ceremony when I first started, but now that I have JB, it feels more important to do it. I've worked really fucking hard at this, and he's been with me for most of it -- granted, part of that was in utero, but still -- and I want him to be able to look back at pictures of me wearing my cap and gown and holding him and he can say, "That's my mom, she went through school while she was pregnant with me and then while she was taking care of me and she schlepped around her pumping machine every day and washed bottles in the bathroom on campus and did homework after she put me to bed at night and she still got a FUCKING 3.9 BECAUSE THAT ONE TEACHER JUST HAD TO TAKE OFF ONE TENTH OF A GRADE POINT!!!!!" Okay maybe he won't say that last part, but still.
→ LOOKING INTO THE FUTURE. Now that I'm almost done with my BA, grad school is like... an impending reality? Not just a far-off dream? One of my professors is helping me revise a paper I wrote for him so I can use it for my application, and he's going to write me a letter of rec, and I have to ask another teacher for another letter, and in a few months I'll be able to sign up for classes, and I might be able to TEACH?! Shit's getting really exciting now. For this degree I'm doing the TESOL graduation because it's the closest thing to what I want to do, but it's not actually what I want to do -- but for my MA, they actually offer a concentration in teaching composition, which means I'll be able to get really into shit that will be directly applicable to my future job!!! And there are opportunities for TEACHING FOR CREDIT. I need to talk to my advisor for more details about that, but it's possible that within the year, I might actually have my own freshman comp class??? I COULD CRY TEARS OF HAPPINESS ABOUT THIS except as previously mentioned my hormones are back to normal so I probably won't, ha, but it's still REALLY REALLY EXCITING.
→ OTHER LIFE STUFF. Just kidding there is no other stuff, my entire life is school and JB. But that's not too bad, and it's not forever. I'm utterly exhausted, but I'm happy.
Anyway, that's me!!! How are you guys doing? I miss you all~ ♥
Crossposted here on Dreamwidth. Comment here or there! ♥