On the morning of April 22nd at around 8:35am I turned in a 40+ page photo book to the office of Graduate Studies. My comprehensive exams were complete. The chapter of Graduate School is coming to a close.
The past two weeks have been a nice little hurricane of projects, lack of sleep, questionable self-care, work pressure, stress, angst, and finally a little bit of relief. Comps consisted of two large papers and a book of 100 original photos with captions, printed and bound. I thought I would have the opportunity to work out but all I worked out was my digestion track with the Dominos Pizza, McDonalds, Wrap Shack, beer, candy, and cookies I ate. Needless to say, I was a bit of a mess. I stayed focused and put my all into the projects, they got done, and I believe I did well. But I let myself go. I'm dying to get back to the gym this week.
The morning I turned in my photobook, I had 5 hours of sleep the night before and I had to work a 10 hour day. I was irritable and all my clients needed things in my absence. So there was no easing back into work flow. The whole week played out that way. Even after I'd sleep 8 hours, I'd wake up as if I hadn't slept at all. It was rough and I hated feeling so drained. My apartment was a mess, I didn't make it to the gym, I was eating a lot of microwavable things. I felt unbalanced.
Then this weekend hit. On Friday we said farewell to one of our coworkers who got a full time job at her part time place. Then a few of us went out to Happy Hour at this really awesome BBQ place near work. The restaurant made you feel like you were out at a Carolina BBQ! The way it is constructed and set back from the street, you really are transported out of the city for a bit. The food was delicious and the happy hour specials were fantastic. I will definitely be going back.
On Saturday I had to cover an arts festival in Cheltenham for the magazine. I was tired and I didn't feel like it, but I am so glad I got assigned that story. It put me outside in the spring weather for a good four hours. I really connected with the photographer assigned and together we created a good text/photo story. The whole experience was pretty enjoyable. I love journalism moments, they are pretty great.
After the assignment, I went home and took a nap...which lasted 3 hours. And somehow fell asleep that night and slept a full 8 hours. I suppose this was the catch up and collapse from the past two weeks. On Sunday I did laundry, ran errands and worked on some articles both for school and for the magazine. I cooked up some fish, farro and corn for dinner (FINALLY SOMETHING WHOLESOME) and picked up some produce for the week.
Today is Monday and I can finally say I feel a bit more balanced. I'm still a little tired, but at least I feel like I'm eating better again and I am in more control of my life. I'm planning on hitting the gym tomorrow after work. I have a departmental awards ceremony on Weds. I'm going to the opera this weekend for a final assignment for school. Then it is just two weeks until graduation!
Glad to be feeling more like myself.
Until next time...
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