I hate moving

I hate boxes. I hate lugging heavy boxes up and down stairs. I hate trying to fit couches through a door made for shorter (and skinnier) people in the 1900s. I hate that our family not only helped us moved, but also helped us clean (I feel so guilty about it!). I hate not knowing where things are in my own house. I hate how our cat Bruce already ran outside twice, once almost getting hit by a car. I hate that my in-laws saw my underwear drawer. I hate that we spent the three days we had off working nonstop. I hate how much money it takes to move when we should be saving every penny for our first mortgage payment. I hate that we finally own property and two red cars park in front of our house, and I don't want to say something and be perceived as the bad neighbor. I REALLY hate that we forgot the garbage pick up was today.

However....

I love that our neighbors brought us cookies and brownies. I love that our family rocks and pitched in without complaint. I love that our house is unusual, unexpected, and completely unique. I love that there are kids playing in both backyards that we can see. I love that you can hear the local baseball game from our porch. I love watching (sometimes helping) Max completely tear down a room and rebuild it. I love that our cats love the stairs. I love sitting outside at night and breathing in the cool air. I love that we were able to use our wedding money for this rather than to pay off debts, as so many of our friends and family members were forced to do. I love that Max and I have achieved our own personal American dream.

I hate moving, but I love where I now live. Even though we had termites, had mold, have ants, and have spent I-don't-even-want-to-know at Home Depot this week, I know that we are home.

Poll Results:
How did your family react when you told them you were an atheist and/or not religious?

How did your family react when you told them you were an atheist and/or not religious?

They were happy. 7%
They were not happy, but accepted it. 25%
They didn't care. 30%
They were sad. 23%
They were furious. 15%

I was not surprised that the smallest percentage were happy about this choice. I was, however, pleased to note that over half of the families either didn't care or at least accepted it. This seems to indicate a positive trend toward acceptance. It is sad that families can still be furious at those of us who choose not to follow a religious path.

Were you surprised by these results? Any suggestions about what to ask next? Let me know!

Back, back to school again.

This week, I returned to graduate school. I take two classes a semester, both at night, immediately after my full time job. Needless to say, I'm pretty tired, a state that is not helped by the fact that we are not going home early today (which we do almost every Friday before a 3-day weekend). I was hoping for some nap time, but oh well. I am even going to the gym after work because it has been tough for me to go this week with classes starting.

Speaking of classes, I have found that there are a few different "types" who emerge in every grad class I have been in so far. This might vary across disciplines; I've only taken English grad classes, so I wouldn't know. But in these classes, where the majority of the students are also working full time, some characters emerge:

1. The too-enthusiastic girl: You know the type--she claps her hands when assignments are given out, "whispers" how she's "so excited" about this class, and hits the poor girl sitting next to her when making a particularly dramatic point. Oh, and she seems to forget that the first class is the only class from which you have a good shot of being let go early. Yet she keeps talking, and talking...

2. The cool, quiet guy: He sits in the back, staring into space, pondering deep, brilliant thoughts. He'll occasionally speak, but when he does, he speaks with the expectation of a few seconds of silence following his every utterance, and rolls his eyes if it does not happen.

3. The overprepared, arrogant student: She's read all of the books already. He wants to know if he can hand in the assignments in early. She had already read some of the books, so she read all the books that author ever wrote to "be fair." He really wants to start talking about his research paper ideas--so what if it is the first day of class! And, of course, these students inform all of the other students, and the teacher, of these facts as often as possible.

4. The writer dude: Hemingway and Dreiser tried to write the great American novel, but he's about to blow them out of the water. Just you wait.

5. The overly angry girl: she's a minority. She's a lesbian. Therefore, anything that does not have to do with both of these things is ridiculous, discriminatory, and a waste of time.

Luckily, I have all of these characters, and more, in my classes this year, so you can hear all about them as we discover the joys of 20th century United States literature.

There are two new students, hopefully unique to my Tuesday class, that I recently encountered as well: Big-head girl, who waved her head back and forth the entire 2 and a half hour class, just enough so I could never see the board or the teacher; and Blabbermouth girl, who had to tell the uninterested (to her story--attracted to her body) guy all about how she just knew she was going to get an A in the class. Also, she seemed to think everything the teacher said was outrageously funny. So I could not see or hear during my first class. Bodes well for the semester, doesn't it...

As I only have two semesters left, I suppose I should try to appreciate these unique characters. I plan to try, but I can think of a few jokes that start: so I was in a room with a bunch of English grad students...