posted
I haven't posted in God knows how long. But anyway, I'm just tired. I'm very tired. I hardly got any sleep last night working on concept art for a class.
I started working again, at Loehmann's this time. While I like this job, and the pay is not an issue, my time is. I need to work at least 20hrs a week for me to be able to pay my rent. Sure, I get my financial aid check for 3k next week, but I can't rely on that money too much since it's not a steady source of income and my next check, in 3 months, will not be as big. My problem is that 20hrs of work, 20hrs of school and 20 hrs of homework is killing me. I need my job to pay rent, I need my school to graduate on time and what's suffering the most is my homework. I cannot, under any circumstances drop any of my classes or fail any. I'm almost in the final quarter before I nab my degree, so I'm working on all my portfolio assignments. I have absolutely no time for myself and right now, no money either. I can't buy anything for myself, I can't just sit down and relax. When 'homework time' arrives, I can't get down to it because I can't think. I can't get to work on what I need to do because no ideas come to my head and if a good one manages to sneak out, I'm just too tired to execute it. To top things off, my boyfriend isn't even in town. He attends a regular university which doesn't start class until September so he'll be stuck in Imperial Valley, 120 miles away, until then and the only way I can talk to him is through the computer.
As if that wasn't enough, my bones are really giving me problems, and I think it's arthritis. I wouldn't be in the least bit surprised if it was since it runs in my family like green on wasabi. I don't own a car, so I walk or take the trolley/bus most of the time. The nearest bus/trolley station to me is a 45 minute walk from where I live. All this is taking a toll on me and the bones in my right foot, back, knees, and hands just hurt. I couldn't even make it to work or school on time yesterday because my foot was hurting a LOT. It felt like my cartridge was dancing all over the place. Not pretty at all.
And now, I have another reason to feel like crap. Orson Scott Card is coming to town. I've wanted to meet this man since I was 14. The last time he came to Comic Con was 04 and I couldn't go because my mom wouldn't let me. Today, he's coming again because of the new Ender's Game comic book and I again, won't be able to go. Because of lack of money, and because registration for the Con is closed anyway. I just found out he was coming a few days ago, and it made me almost want to cry.
Even as I type this, my muscles are twitching, my elbows ache and my eyes don't really feel like staying open.
posted
Having no time and no money are facts of college life. I've been through it, as have millions of others. Most of us have turned out alright.
What you really need to do is reorganize your time. Try putting some (not all!) homework off until the weekend, if you can. It's amazing how much time appears on the weekend when you are well-rested. When my schedule was as rough as yours, I thought I was going to collapse, but I found a way to prevent that by putting of homework for a day or two and doing it on the weekend before it was due. I'm not advocating procrastination. You can get as much done in two hours when you're rested as you can in four hours when you're tired.
I can't be sure my advice is prudent because I don't know your full situation, or if it is possible for you to push back homework. Do you commute to college, or live on campus? Do you have other people to take care of? Do you have spare time on weekends?
It sure sucks that you're going to miss Comic Con. I wish I could go.
(((AoD))) for your fatigue and possible arthritis.
Remember, your time is a small sacrifice now for a great reward in the future. I think you'll be okay.
Posts: 684 | Registered: Jun 2002
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posted
It could be worse. OSC hasn't been anywhere near my area in the last ten years for a signing...
At any rate, hang in there and do the work. Trust me when I say that you'll feel great when school is done and these challenges are behind you. They're worth working hard for, right?
Posts: 1813 | Registered: Apr 2001
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posted
I think most of us who've been to college can relate. From my own experience in grad school I think this is your big mistake.
quote:I have absolutely no time for myself and right now
It may seem like you can't take time for relaxation and enjoyment because you are so busy. But your body and your mind simply won't let you continue like that for very long. They start to rebel and your productivity plummets. You end up wasting all kinds of time that are neither productive or rejuvenating and that just adds to your stress.
When I was in grad school I found I had to set a side time to do something fun and relaxing every week or my productivity dropped dramatically. For me, that was taking the time to go hiking or canoeing or cycling on the weekends. It sounds contradictory, but I found that if I stopped doing that for more than one or two weekends, I actually had less time because I was so much less productive.
You need to set aside a good block of time, maybe half a day on the weekend or an hour every evening to do something fun and enjoyable. No matter how much you think that you can't afford the time, the truth is you can't afford not to take that time.
As a side note, if you are spending an hour and half (or more) daily walking to and from the trolley -- get a bike. The 45 minute walk will likely take less than 10 minutes on a bike. I know you're broke but if you check the thrift stores and craig's list or simply ask around you may be able to pick up an old junker that will serve your needs for little to no money and would buy an extra hour or more of time every day.
Posts: 12591 | Registered: Jan 2000
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posted
in my experience, freaking out in college (or elsewhere) is more a problem of not having balance than the actual workload. If you don't make time to blow off steam (even if it's just a few minutes here and there) you're productivity goes down and you'll do worse than if you did relax some.
posted
Well, things are looking up to me. I went to a Women in Animation cocktail party in downtown yesterday, and one of the officials there gave me her Professional pass for all days because she was going back to L.A. and had no use for it anymore. Therefore, I have access to OSC today. HOWEVER...I'm scheduled to work at 6p today, and that's exactly the time that he's going to be there. I called work and told them I couldn't make it because of a personal reason, which it really is. They said that its an unexcused absence flat out, they wouldn't even call to see if someone could cover me today saying that it was my responsibility to do so. I know it is, but if someone is calling saying that they can't go, around 9 hours ahead of schedule, then doesn't that give them enough time to get someone to go? I mean, if I was calling 1 hr or 5 mins. ahead of time, I'd totally understand, but 9 hrs? Anyway, while I didn't like how things went, I'm willing to take the consequences.
Orson Scott Card is a very important person to me. I've devoured his books since I was 14, and I made up my mind to read anything and everything he ever writes. The chances of me ever seeing him again and having the opportunity to tell him how much of an impact he's had on my life, are pretty bleak.
But I'm torn. The job I have is as a sales associate at Loehmann's, a clothing store. I love working there, the people and the environment are really nice. However, it's a side job, and it's not part of my industry in the least bit. But that doesn't mean that I don't value this job either.
I don't want to lose my job, but I really want to meet OSC. I have enough money saved up to pay rent and bills for the next 3-4 months, but I like my job.
I don't know what to do, meeting him is deeply important to me at a personal level.
Oh, and by the way...I met Stan Lee yesterday. Pretty cool guy.
Posts: 3389 | Registered: Apr 2004
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posted
Can you go into work now and get the phone numbers or maybe ask if someone working now would work in the evening for you if you covered their shift now?
Posts: 416 | Registered: May 2005
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posted
I'm assuming you work at a restaurant? What's their policy on a no show? Where I work you get one no show before termination, and if seeing OSC is that personal to you, then just weigh those numbers.
Posts: 368 | Registered: Aug 2007
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posted
How did you have time to meet Stan Lee yesterday?
How do you have time to sit on Hatrack?
I'm a poor college student myself, and time is hard to come by as well, but it seems to me like you don't have your priorities right. I could be way off, but couldn't you have done homework during the time you met Stan Lee yesterday, knowing you were going to take more time today to meet OSC?
Posts: 332 | Registered: Apr 2005
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posted
Emp, as Alt said, Loehmann's is a high-end discount clothing store.
Lanf, that's rather harsh. First of all, she didn't know yesterday that she was going to be able to (assuming she was) able to see OSC today. And she is hardly ever on Hatrack anymore!
And I really think someone taking a couple hours to do something fun that they don't often get a chance to do is hardly reflective of priorities out of whack. To the contrary, Alt strikes me as having hers very much in order.
Alt, were you able to go see OSC?
Also, if your school has a Student Health clinic or similar, please go see someone. It could be arthritis, but you're awfully young for that. Please get checked out!
Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Lanfear: How did you have time to meet Stan Lee yesterday?
How do you have time to sit on Hatrack?
I'm a poor college student myself, and time is hard to come by as well, but it seems to me like you don't have your priorities right. I could be way off, but couldn't you have done homework during the time you met Stan Lee yesterday, knowing you were going to take more time today to meet OSC?
I did say that it wasn't at Comic-Con, it was at the Women in Animation party thing which was a school related event that I had to attend because of networking reasons.
Posts: 3389 | Registered: Apr 2004
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