It’s been a while, yes. Things have been absolutely insane this week…between recording for ITC09, schoolwork, month-end at work, and a seriously nasty case of laryngitis, I’ve been either working on something or totally collapsing with absolutely no mental function whatsoever. I was able to get my solo recorded; I didn’t feel spectacularly about it, but Phil seemed to be okay with it, and I trust him, so it’s done. I started getting hoarse over the weekend, and apparently Monday was the *last* of my voice, because I’ve sounded TERRIBLE since. But the pressure’s off now, so if I sound raspy/squeaky, it is what it is.

I’m looking forward to the prospect of next week being mostly normal, without tons of extra stuff added in. I’m always amazed by those people who can keep on going and going and have their calendars absolutely packed and be happy. I’m just not like that…I need to have several nights at home each week to decompress and recover. It’s something that’s taken a long time for me to learn about myself, and I think that, for the most part, I’m doing okay with it right now. I’m down to only one evening commitment, choir, which is a nonnegotiable for me; everything else has been stripped away and I’ve never felt better about it. It’s weird, though….like, I LOVE it when friends come over, but to actually go *out* sometimes is a little overwhelming.

I’m also *very* routine-oriented….so to have a week where the routine’s disrupted so much really weirds me out. This week hasn’t been too bad; I just had recording on Monday and then went to most of the choir recording last night (I just listened since I couldn’t sing), but Tuesday night and tonight were normal and I don’t think we’ve got anything big going on tomorrow night either (except for schoolwork for me).

This semester is really rocking schoolwise. I did procrastinate this week…I hate that; I’d been much better about it for the first month. But overall, I feel much more connected to the coursework and the program in general. I feel like I *am* actually in a graduate program and I *am* actually working toward my academic goals, finally. It’s funny…I always felt so confident in my academic abilities when I was in college. No fear. Seriously. I attacked every paper and project and felt absolutely certain that I’d be able to pull off an “A.” Then, I get away from school for five years, and go back and now, I feel like the lowest common denominator sometimes. I’ve got to get my mojo back;)

Saturday…FLEA MARKET day!!! I’m going to take ten bucks with me again and see if I can find SOMETHING this time since I went away with nothing last month. I’m loving going to Metrolina expo again….we used to go every month when I was a kid, and it’s so awesome to get to do that with my folks again. We always have a blast! And, the end of the month is the Gun Show! That’ll be exciting.

So, overall, lots of good stuff coming up (camping trip in a few weeks too!)…just got to keep the right frame of mind.

Happy World Vegetarian Day, by the way! Most of you probably didn’t know about it, so try to go tomorrow without eating meat. It’s not that hard, and it’ll really make a big difference for you, health-wise and soul-wise. Maybe take the time to think about how far-reaching the sins of Mankind really were. We didn’t just sentence ourselves to death with the first sin….we sentenced ALL of Creation.