Prost!

Seems like the string of stress, tears, and bad days are over. Ok, who am I kidding? I'm still smack in the middle of the busiest and most stressful time I've ever experienced (think long, slow pain with kicks of sharp, piercing pain every few hours). However, denial is a wonderful defense mechanism, as is apathy. I have an assignment due tomorrow that I haven't started (to be honest, I haven't even bought the book I'm supposed to use), but I just can't make myself care. Today I realized there are more important things in life, and for a couple hours I was able to check out of grad school.

My best friend from middle school is visiting relatives this week. Lucky for me, said relatives live in Texas. She was in Houston for the day, so I met her and her fiance for lunch after my morning classes (neurology at the med school - talk about STRESS). We got a bite to eat at one of the south's shining stars - Jason's Deli. Soleil and Rob still had a couple hours to kill and I was none too eager to get back to grading 300 undergraduate essays on Child Development, so we decided to check out the microbrewery down the street. Now their beer is no Sprecher, but it's always fun to try the local concoctions. An added bonus - Wednesdays are $1 beer days at this place!

We sat for about 3 hours and had 3 beers apiece. I'm no lightweight, but I'm not used to drinking at noon! Let's just say it's a good thing I walked there from class, because I was in no shape to drive. The 1.7 mile walk home helped me get my bearings back and reflect on the pleasant afternoon. It definitely took the edge off some of my stress, and made grading essays seem a little more bearable. Of course, the nap I took after I got home helped too!

Now it's time to snap back to reality, oh, there goes gravity... sorry, thought I was Eminem there for a minute. Guess I should ... um, start that assignment. Or get crackin' on grading those essays... maybe just one more little nap would help me focus...