1 Week Off, Followed By FINALS?!

Hey guys,

I'm just going to ramble here a little bit about what's on my mind. It's been said that when you just spill everything out, you'll feel better. Here's praying...

I find it rather... not good... to have a full week off for Thanksgiving. Reason being is you come back and finals are staring you in the face. Of course people can say, "Well, just study over your break!" I will tell you that I studied off and on throughout the vacation, for about an hour here, and hour there... that sort of thing. But let's be real, I am in the minority, right? I wonder... how many college kids out there actually sit for more than an hour at a time, several times over their break? Please do feel free to comment and let me know...

So now that my sleep schedule is completely out of whack and I'm sitting in my empty Intro. to Lit. classroom, I find myself extremely tired and not really motivated to do anything but get through the day so that, come tomorrow, I can fully get back into the swing of things. So much so that maybe I'll forget about the vacation.

So... sleep. I'm wondering... has anyone else out there found themself lying in bed completely unable to shut their "thinker" off? I'll tell you, I'm a dreamer. A BIG dreamer.

There was a day back in Inglemoor... I recall listening to my Bruce Springsteen Greatest Hits CD on the bus. It was my new CD I got for Easter. I was listening to a song called "Thunder Road". Immediately, I found myself picturing a house so detailed and so memorable, I went home that day and drew out the floorplan. That, my friends, is my dream house. It still is, darn it all.

But at night, whenever my wife and I hit the sheets, I find myself thinking about that house. The gravel driveway leading to the concrete pad in front of the garage. The steps leading up to the wraparound porch. The front door open, but the screen door closed. Lori making her famous iced tea in the kitchen. Everything. It's so real, I can feel it. Every. Night.

Of course that leads to my other dream. The one where I win $315 million. Okay, so this one's completely unrealistic. But it's fun. What kind of Mercedes do I want? The dream house is then embellished some. Sure, tack on another 5 acres to the backyard. Turn the 2 car garage into a 6 car garage. Build a second, much smaller, house on the side of the driveway for friends and family.

Then, BAM! I'm confronted by reality. Finals. Crap.

Do we have a test in Japanese? Do I even remember any Japanese? My mind struggles to make sentences. It's difficult. My vocabulary. Crap! Where did it go? Intro. to Lit. - did we have anything to read? English Comp. - paper due November 30th. Two CTL sessions this week. Tuesday, 2 P.M., Dr. Leonard. Wednesday, 6 P.M., Thomas Webb. English Comp. - paper due November 30th. Analytical paper for English Lit. due December 5th. Is my topic good enough? Am I confident enough to go through with that topic? Japanese... oral interview. Did Maeda sensei e-mail me back?

*sigh* The dream house. Reality. Eventually I fall asleep, but by this time it's nearly 3 A.M.

More thoughts.

5 hours of sleep. I won't make it. I'll be too tired. Maybe I won't go to school tomorrow. No, don't be silly. You've pulled less sleep in the Navy, you can do it! Yeah, but I don't want to do it.

Eventually I fall asleep.

Spring Break I think I'll be fine, as there will be a good 2 months to go after it to get back into it all. Thankgiving.

The turkey was good. The break, not so much. *sigh*

I gotta go. I still have a good 15 minutes I can use to type some more into the two papers that are due soon.

However, I'm curious as to what you guys have to say about this. Does anyone else out there feel the same way?

God, I miss home.

Take care, you guys.

~ N.