The Anticlimax of My First Quarter of Grad School

Anticlimactic seems to be the word of choice (thx to my classmate) for describing how my first quarter of grad school ended. The good news is that, it's finally over!

Since last Thursday, I've been on a ridiculous caffeine marathon. I would down 3-5 cups of coffee a day, sometimes having 2 (more) around 11 P.M. just to struggle to stay up until 3 A.M. Occasionally, I pumped my body with Red Bull before class/exam. Too bad I still fought narcolepsy every time I sat down into one of those hard wood seats. Thank God for the generous classmate that provided candy canes to stimulate our minds (and consciousness).

Man, I am seriously one crazy caffeine fiending mofo. I hope I haven't turned into a Red Bull addict, too. As I remind my bro to pick up a whole case of Sugar-Free Red Bulls from his Red Bull PR friend (and to try to get a Red Bull mini-fridge).

Through the past 10 weeks of caffeine highs and narcoleptic lows, I somehow managed to crank out papers, complete projects, prepare for presentations, and take numerous exams on top of working 30 hours a week. I know it's not much to whine about b/c there's always somebody else out there that can or has out-done me.

I.e. my "lil sis" worked 40+ hours AND attended school f/t at UC Davis for almost her entire time there. Much to her self-discredit, she still, to this day (this past Christmas, to be exact) insists that her grades suffered majorly. (Much to my own self-credit/bragging rights, I've managed to keep my GPA up, including winning 2.5 scholarships -- 1 for "academic excellence." =D)

I.e. (or is it *e.g.?*) my Miamian Latino grungy co-worker "twin" is pursuing his Masters in Computer Sumfn at UCLA right now. He works f/t and takes 3 courses. (He was taking 4 until he started getting heart palpitations and his doctor said he's gotta chillax and maybe take up yoga...prolly from all those Red Bulls he drinks).

*re: e.g. ~ If I've learned anything this quarter, it's that there is a difference b/t "e.g." and "i.e." What that difference is? I still can't get it right. According to Dr. TBI, i.e. is a specific example. e.g. is a general example. Anybody beg to differ?

Back to the topic at hand (as I demonstrate *tangential* expression): the anticlimax of my first quarter of grad school. I sweated so much blood over the past few weeks just to sum up everything I learned in 3-5 pages of paper (final exam). I thought I'd be so excited to be done. Y'know, feel accomplished. But walking out of my last final, it was as if nothing changed. It just didn't settle in. Being done with the quarter was simply anticlimactic.

Maybe it just hasn't settled in because I went in for my full 7.5 hours of work today, like all the other Fridays that signified the end of another school week. Man, I can't wait to quit work. Other women at work have nothing better to do than to create drama. Me? I Kronos in (we live by it) at exactly 7:23 A.M. to avoid the incriminating red box...and to permit me to Kronos out as early as possible (3:54 P.M. vs. 4 P.M.). I've got this Kronos system down to a T. So yeah, my day consists of Kronosing and avoiding drama. Oh, and raiding the candy bowl.

I also took a different bus route today. I can't say I enjoyed it, but I definitely liked that the bus stop is literally at the end of our block. What didn't I like? I guess my princess heinie prefers the Commuter Express. It's so much plusher and cooshier, whereas the regular Big Blue Bus is just soOOoO crowded and -- well....janky. =P

OMG, I'm a bus snob! I may have to get used to it b/c I may not have a car in a few days...