Friday Five

AAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!!

Which is my polite way of saying, &*#$*A@#*$#A(#(@()$#!!!!!!

I've started round two of grant proposals, and the process is even harder the second time. Because now, in addition to having the voices of my advisor and my inner critic interfering, I also have a chorus of rejections chiming in every time I sit down to write. The result is utter crap.

And don't just take my word for it: My advisor agrees. I met with her this morning, and her feedback was very discouraging. I knew my revisions were still far from perfect, but I was hoping that she'd say that it was stronger in some sections and needed work in other areas. But she trashed the whole thing. Really. She didn't have a single positive thing to say, and her disappointment in me was very visible.

So I'm back to the drawing board. Again.

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Thank goodness I'm meeting friends tonight for margaritas and chocolates.

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I finally picked my first tomato. It was only a little bigger than a golf ball, but fully ripened. I'm still not sure if I just selected a small variety or if the cold weather stunted the tomato's growth.

It was so yummy. I sliced it and sprinkled it with a little salt, pepper, and fresh basil.

Now I'm even more impatient for the rest of the tomatoes to ripen.

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I'm also eagerly awaiting my birthday present:


My current vacuum is crap for picking up dog hair---or anything else. This one has gotten great reviews in Consumer Reports and the store sites where it is sold.

It should be here any day now.

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Classes start again on Wednesday. I still can't figure out what happened to the past three months: It's all a haze of pain, meds, undergraduates, and CSI reruns.

At least I have a soft start to the new term: Only one class and no discussion sections for TAing during the first week.