One heck of a week

Katie D.

March 13, 2010 - 11:31 AM

Friends and readers, it's been one of those weeks.

It's the last week of classes, so I am again experiencing the bittersweet moment of walking out of a class for the last time, and reflecting on the good things learned and the acquaintances enjoyed within those walls. I always have a hard time with the last day: I want to run from person to person and demand we get together for dinner or drinks to continue discussing the theoretical applications of tolerance as discourse, or the various apparitions of torture in modern society. I want to invite the professor to coffee. Sometimes I even do these things, but not usually on the last day. You leave a classroom and watch that chapter close.

But there's no time for sentimentality. Theoretically, week ten of classes is "Dead Week," a time when nothing is assigned and classes are wrapped up to prepare for finals week. This theory has never proved the case for me: I am always racing from one thing to another in week ten, trying desperately to start essays and finish readings, to visit professors' office hours and spend a little time with friends. Chaos added to the top of my regularly scheduled chaos.

This week has been even more of a doozy than normal. In an unfortunate but not unforeseen twist of fate, one of my roommates has decided to seek housing elsewhere. While he has never quite fit in with my two other fun-loving and outgoing roommates, Curtis was a decent person with whom to share a house. He was not loud (usually) or messy (except the kitchen sink). We all have our flaws, especially when living situations come into play, but Curtis was really a decent kind of guy to live with for these past six months. However, a small confrontation over nighttime noise proved the last straw and he has decided to leave before the end of the month. This created quite the stir around the house: while none of us were angry over the decision, we were a little concerned about the timing, which has placed us in the unfortunate position of seeking a roommate just two weeks before the end of the term. So we've been placing roommate ads, interviewing people, and trying to convince friends to ditch their own leases in favor of our fabulous home.

Sheesh. For someone who truly enjoys communal living, it certainly has been a source of stress and frustration to maintain a household of four for the past two and a half years.

The good news is that we have just found two fabulous candidates for the little room I lived in last year. We haven't made a final decision yet, but the situation is looking good, and hopefully we'll get a better personality match than we did on the last attempt.

But don't think that's the end of the stressors for me this week. On Tuesday I'll be intervewing for a graduate program (more on that in another blog). On Thursday my two roommates and I will be heading to Arizona for a week of volunteering, which definitely means a week without internet, possibly without phones or showers, and certainly without an opportunity to work on the Inside-Out Publication, my internship, or my thesis. While these are all positive things, it puts pressure to put on this next couple of days-I basically need to get my affairs in order before I can go have fun. Our trip also means we need a roommate NOW: in order to have someone lined up the April's rent, we need a selection, a signature, and the passing of the keys before we head off on adventures.

As a final bit of woe, readers, I must sadly report that I have a dreadful cold. It's an upper respiratory thing, and no big deal in the grand scheme of possible illnesses, but it's distracting and distressing. Trying to write a final essay while your nose is running like a faucet is never fun. Even worse are the sneezes. I've never been a big sneezer, but I think I've already sneezed fifty times today. It's painful and distracting. Oh readers, don't give up on me, but I'm having an "I wish I was back at home in Colorado with the TV on and my mother upstairs offering me snacks, conversation, or complete autonomy" kind of day. I wish I was seven. I wish it were any week but week ten.

OK, OK, enough self pity. Back to the books, the roommate interviews, the grad school preparation, the packing lists. Fetch yourself some tea, gargle some hot salt water (I only recently discovered this, and my history of ailments improved drastically). Perhaps I'll even have a nap later today: just get a little bit of work done and thou shalt be rewarded.

Just one week left, and then it's away from here and off on an adventure! My nose will heal, my essays will be written, and things will be aligned for my return to work and normal life on March 30th.

Deep breath. Wish me luck!