I had a productive day today! I really needed one. I've been spending considerable amounts of time on the couch. I was hired for weekend work and a few hours during the week. So in practice that has meant I work weekends and not during the week. I only have 9 hours of classes, so that means I am spending a lot of time doing nothing. And for me, down time = drug time. Not that I'm back to it; I control it by keeping busy. I felt myself getting that old feeling, "Man, I'd like a beer." And if I had one the next thought would be, "Man, I'd like some dope." Been there. So today I dragged myself out of bed in time to work at 8:00 (my sleep schedule is messed up because of all my couch time... I sleep a lot). I worked an 8-hour shift then went to my two evening classes. All told I did 14 hours today. And it felt great! And I'll have a pretty fay paycheck for it... well, relative to my last paycheck anyway.
And I came home in a good mood for the first time in weeks, which put my roommate in a good mood and we're not at each others' throats for once. I think we needed some time apart... he's also spent considerable amounts of time on the couch. And he went to look for a job today, after weeks of talking about how he's going to get a job "tomorrow." (That's been a major source of arguments. He's not working and behind on his half of the rent, which means he owes me because I've been covering it plus groceries and my own bills. It stresses me out and I feel like I'm basically his b!tch because I'm doing all the work and I get mad and we fight about it. Looking for work is a pretty nice acknowledgment that it's time for him to pull his own weight... well, that and the fact that he said he felt like a loser because I'm doing all the work while he plays poker on F@cebook all day).
While he was out he stopped by a martial arts studio and picked up a brochure. Once he has a paycheck he wants to start. And he's got me talked into it as well I think. The women's class is combined Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Thai kickboxing, but for the monthly fee I can take as many classes as I want, up to 6 hours per day... though roomie warned me I probably will be dead tired after about 30 minutes to start. He's done this sort of stuff before, I have not. I was an orchestra and drama club nerd, went to competitions in nerdy things like Odyssey of the Mind. He was invited to the Olympic wrestling team. Only drawback is that I have to go get contact lenses before I start. Apparently kickboxing and eyeglasses are not compatible.
Wow. I'm talkative. I really feel good today, I feel social again. I don't feel like a boring, pathetic lump. I'm not so stressed out, I don't feel like my roommate's a complete jerk. It's great. I love it. I have an early class tomorrow and then I have to take my roommate for his court date (nothing crazy, just a child support hearing... I take it back. His ex is crazy :P), so I get to be semi-productive tomorrow, too!
I'm a little bummed that I have to skip a department function on Thursday. Usually one of the energy companies that pays for everything else in the department sponsors all the students to attend this event. I like going, it's a great opportunity to meet industry people which helps employment prospects and it's also good to meet professional geologists. After all, I could train most simians to distinguish between a sandstone and a granite; but--as with any profession-- there's more to being a good geologist. This year no funding came to pay for dinner and it's a little pricey for me. But there are other functions during the year, so I'll just have to go to those. I like this one though because it is strictly alcohol-free; the others are not.
Aight... I'll stop babbling. Great day!