rax: (kotone/silver hug awwwwwwwwh)
[personal profile] rax
Today we're going to be talking about what it's like coming out of the hole I was in!

For a while I blamed the hole entirely on grad school but that's not entirely fair. I was already pretty fucked up when the first PhD program started, from a few things. First, the MA program, while not as stressful/bad for me as the PhD programs by far, was a lot of work, and that whole thing where my advisor refused to read my thesis or show up to my thesis defense was pretty bad. Second, the whole moving-to-Indiana thing (not helped by leaving a year later) was pretty draining and was kind of the worst a move could have gone without technically being entirely successful: no one was injured, no significant objects were broken or lost, no major unexpected costs were incurred. And yet. Then there was the dissolution of my relationship with Cassandra, which, well. I am going to continue (and make spoken) my unspoken policy of not talking about it publically on the Internet, but it made me very sad for a very long time and in some ways I am still recovering. I do not regret it, but I do regret that it was the right choice.

Which is remarkably like how I feel about leaving school.

When I left, I expected that things would get better, and then they would get worse, and then they would gradually get actually better again. I had the general gist of it right, but it turns out that I misunderstood just how poorly I was doing. I did in fact have a rush of energy for a few days, and then plunge into a hole of "oh god all of the things I have been putting off indefinitely are still real and still problems and they are my problems and I cannot escape them by working on grad school anymore." That was ugly for a while and I was worse for longer than I expected. I'm still not done, but I can tell that I'm doing better, weirdly, by noticing myself doing things that a few years ago would have been signs I was slipping down from where I wanted to be:
  • actually taking time for myself to just fuck off (more on this later)
  • putting every single little five-minute task on my tasklist
  • isolating myself from other people more than usual
  • caring an unproductive amount about cleanliness/organization
  • a couple of other things that aren't important to this blog post
Right now though these are all improvements. I've been doing things that I've wanted to do since I moved here --- there is now a working hot tub in my yard, and after today the circulating pond next to it should work as well. The leak in the irrigation system is (a) found and (b) getting fixed. (That was a huge pain, it was hidden in this really random place and only came on at 4 AM and ugh. I happened to wake up ridiculous stupid early one morning and realize "wait why does it sound like it is raining when I go to do dishes at 4 AM because I am a weirdo.") The house is clean...ish. (Waaaaaaaaaaaay better than it was.) Today, assuming the ibuprofen I'm about to take I just took fixes this weird headache, I'll be putting up shelves, reorganizing my Shaymin collection, and starting to put up art in rooms that aren't the dining room. I've lived here for how long and a lot of my favorite art is still sitting on the floor next to the walls I want to put it on? More than a year? Yeah fuck that. I'm nesting, yo. It is avian as shit up in here.

Also I make kombucha now (anyone local want a SCOBY?). And am starting to do hikes with a lot of vertical in them instead of just flat ones. And am starting to cook interesting things again. And am still making a play to qualify for the Pokemon World Championships in the summer. And all of this is good.

The thing where in the evening after dinner I pretty much do whatever I want and don't feel obligated to be productive is really nice. I've been reading, talking to friends, playing silly games (including the occasional "Watch Rax Beat Some Old NES Game In One Sitting" in the living room, which is hilarious --- I might give the Zelda Second Quest a shot someday soon if I feel like it), sitting in the hot tub, cleaning things up in a leisurely way... It's really nice. I'm not sure this is actually bad. I do think it's important that as I pick up projects and work I care about, that it take up some of this time. But right now I am recovering, and part of the work of recovering is to chill the fuck out. And that's really, really good.
I have to decide in the next couple of weeks whether or not to permanently withdraw from grad school. I'd hoped that I would be able to take one or two extra classes and get an MA, but it turns out I'd have to take like four, because of UA's transfer credit rules. That's annoying --- between UA and IU I have enough or more than enough classes for an MA at either university --- but I cannot get one at either. Luckily I already have an MA, and while a second one would be nice, I don't need it. What I value the most is what I've learned. I went to grad school to make myself a better person and hopefully to make the world a better place. I don't think grad school is a useful way to do either of those, for me, anymore; I've learned a lot but I experientially know that this program, and the last one, made me worse off in more ways than they did better, and I don't think I was doing the rest of the world any favors by being there either. I should move on, let someone else have the funding slot who needs the money, read books on my own, and continue my scholarship in a different way.

So... yeah. That's the last while in a nutshell. How are y'all doing? <3

(no subject)

Date: 2012-11-13 01:28 am (UTC)
masu_trout: Delicious. ((CURIO) Vivi *Hairclips*)
From: [personal profile] masu_trout
I'm so glad to hear things are getting better for you! I think your system sounds good (especially the importance of taking time for yourself. I know that can be really easy to forget, haha) and I am amazingly jealous of your hot tub. ;)

(no subject)

Date: 2012-11-13 06:36 am (UTC)
ranyart: (satyr)
From: [personal profile] ranyart
But right now I am recovering, and part of the work of recovering is to chill the fuck out.
YES. Such an important thing! I'm really glad you're giving yourself some chill-out time, especially since that involves a hot tub and hiking and kombucha!

(no subject)

Date: 2012-11-13 08:11 pm (UTC)
ranyart: (Default)
From: [personal profile] ranyart
You're welcome! I'm really glad someone finally wanted to take me up on the SCOBY offer. I keep trying to get friends excited about kombucha and usually it's a really hard sell.

(no subject)

Date: 2012-11-13 03:15 pm (UTC)
3rdofjune: (Default)
From: [personal profile] 3rdofjune
I'm really glad you made this decision; there's a lot to be said for collecting experiences rather than titles.

A good deal has happened, including changing my primary journal. ;) I need to write about that.

I'll try to be on AIM over this week and the next; let's talk, soon!

(no subject)

Date: 2012-11-21 05:41 am (UTC)
3rdofjune: (Default)
From: [personal profile] 3rdofjune
How does tomorrow or Thursday sound, afternoon/early evening-ish?

(no subject)

Date: 2012-11-12 09:19 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] ff00ff.livejournal.com
Sitting in a hottub while finishing an NES game in one sitting sounds like a pretty good way to determine whether or not spiritual transcendence can be achieved.

(no subject)

Date: 2012-11-13 01:35 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] rax.livejournal.com
I haven't tried doing both at the same time yet. I may have to. :D

(no subject)

Date: 2012-11-12 11:21 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] daharyn.livejournal.com
damn, now I want a hot tub. I haven't got a yard to put one in, but surely we could work something out in my building, maybe put it in the basement and have a building-wide hot tub time share.

(no subject)

Date: 2012-11-13 01:37 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] rax.livejournal.com
You'd have to figure out who to bill for power and water, and then make sure everyone involved knows how to take care of it, but that would be pretty amazing.

(no subject)

Date: 2012-11-13 12:57 am (UTC)
ext_646: (Default)
From: [identity profile] shatterstripes.livejournal.com
> The thing where in the evening after dinner I pretty much do whatever I want and don't feel obligated to be productive is really nice.

Yes. Yes it is. I've been experimenting with the rule that I will stop work at 5pm, DAMNIT, and this has been great both for the sense of urgency it adds to the day's work, and for the lifting of obligations I get at the end of the day.

Plus not living in a fucking pigsty because you never have a chance to beat it back when something makes a mess is a GOOD THING.

(no subject)

Date: 2012-11-13 02:15 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] rax.livejournal.com
I'm not doing the rule quite so hard and fast, but I'm trying to make sure that 7-3 is at least 80% work, and 3-eventually is at most 20% work. Since I occasionally get work calls at weird hours that works better for me, but something along those lines seems like a really good idea.

(no subject)

Date: 2012-11-13 02:17 am (UTC)
kelkyag: A cluster of red-blushed yellow apples on a tree (apples)
From: [personal profile] kelkyag
Three cheers for relaxing and enjoying the good things in your life.

(no subject)

Date: 2012-11-13 02:17 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] rax.livejournal.com
That's the theory. :)

(no subject)

Date: 2012-11-13 06:41 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] redconverse.livejournal.com
A hot tub and NES? I really need to get out of my own AZ bubble and meet you in meatspace.

(no subject)

Date: 2012-11-13 02:20 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] rax.livejournal.com
It's true!! I mean I have to admit I'm cheating and playing games out of the Wii store --- I do have an actual hardware NES but it would be a huge pain to get it wired into the AV system with the controllers at a usable distance from the couch, and so I haven't bothered. But if you wanted to meet up at a cafe or come by for dinner or something I'd be super down!

(no subject)

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