My New Life

Maybe I worked to much yesterday... six hours on the body of the document... another two or three on removing names of people without permissions...

I am doing my laundry and had a massage... and enjoying my favorite show... Bo*k TV.  Hope your day is great.  Love and kisses, Marilyn 

I started revising my dissertation to have it published as a book.  I got one third of the way through revising the body of my dissertation today... and tonight I revised the footnotes to remove peoples names... hmmm I cannot use the names of people from whom I don't have permission to use their names.  That is really hard to say. 

When I needed a break I raked the yard... and worked for another hour and took a walk... hmmmmm

Hope your day was good... Love and kisses, Marilyn

Okay.... I had six days off so now it is time to get to work.  I heard in October from a German company that they will publish my dissertation, so now I have to re-read it and revise it.  I have about five people I need to get permission to publish their interviews out of twenty-one. In addition, I need to remove anyone's name I do not have permission to use their name.  For example: I have about twenty pages of information garnered from the Americ*n Society of Int*rior Design files, quoting letters, memos and e-mails of what happened in each jurisdiction I examined.  I hope it won't take a long time to do this... hmmmmm

I hope your day is wonderful.  Is is sunny and bright here, but cold... I can't believe I think 45 degrees is cold.  The moon was amazing last night and it shone on my bed which I love... Love and kisses, Marilyn

I feel as if they last post was whining which is not appropriate for Thanksgiving.. I have so much to be thankful for.  I have many friends around the world... around the US and Canada... and in Virginia and in Michigan.  I have a beautiful home, that I have made my own.  I love my profession and have been successful in executing it.  Since last Thanksgiving I became a Ph.D....  although I have had my struggles, but overall have had a wonderful life, I think because of my optimistic spirit... but everyone has struggles it is how you deal with them.  I have one good friend down here and my sister is in my life...  I am thankful for everything I have.  Have a blessed day.  Love and kisses, Marilyn

I hope that you have a wonderful day! 

I got a good night sleep and my stress is melting away.  Swimming is helping with that... I am happy that I  have considerable time off.  Last term was tough.  My students were challenging.  We are really seeing how "No stud*ent left be*hind" has affected our education system.  The students we are getting are not able to relate information from one class to another.  They feel that if they pass the test then they can forget the information.  A profession is about learning and relating complex information together into an integrated whole...  Some how my students in my Studio class who are two thirds of the way through their college education and did not know anything from the classes that they had previously. 

Normally, I love teaching this class because it is where they understand how all their classes come together in a project.  They learn lighting, materials, building construction, programming, and how to apply a companies brand to the interior.  Hmmmm this term four of the students were able to do this... three not so much.  I do think all of the student learned a lot, but it was a hard term. 

Hope your day is wonderful, Love and Kisses, Mairlyn

Yesterday I was sorting through my file cabinet.  I threw away about two foot high pile of paper.  Assignments from Kendall when I worked there in the 80s and 90, CMU from the 90s to 2003... and files I will never use again.  Some files are hard to toss, so I still have two and a half drawers of a four drawer filing cabinet.  hmmmm  I am also sorting through my books.  I think that I will get rid of many books I will never read again. I have six bookcases of books... and can lean that down too...  There are some books too precious to me.. ones I have read many times that I want to keep like old friends, but I do not need to keep books I didn't enjoy the first time I read them.  I have already packed up most of the Nora R*berts books.  I enjoyed them but will not read them again... I have four boxes to books ready to go somewhere... someone suggested a library or book exchange.  or Goodwill..

Went to the pool yesterday and swam really well and was feeling terrific... until a woman was rude to me in the locker room.  She said yeah it was obvious I was a northerner in a drogitory way.  I was shocked!  Almost ruined my day.  I really wonder where the vaunted Southern hospitality is in Savannah.  I have seen none of it.  For example, of the four times I have been invited to someones home for a party, twice they wanted me to buy jewelery or exchange gold jewelry for cash.  I have tried to develop friends down here in the same way I did in Virginia by inviting people to my house for dinner, inviting them to go to dinner and the movies, or to go on walks... and basically I only have one good friend here besides my sister.  And he is from Michigan.  It makes me so sad.

Well, I am off to the pool again... this time I will avoid the nasty women.  Hope your days is great.  Love and kisses, Marilyn

Twenty six years ago John F. Kennedy was killed in Dallas, Texas... The first time my life was rocked by outside forces.  Opps I meant 46 years ago or maybe I am only 38 years old.... hmmmmm Thanks Carole for helping me count... Hope your day is great.  Love and kisses, Marilyn

I took Khoi to the airport this morning for a 6AM flight... so now I am up and I figured why not just sit in my living room with my Christmas tree all lite and music on and write.  The sun should be coming up in about an hour... hmmmm  Give me time to reflect...  I will write more once I process stuff in another place... Hmmmm Love and kisses, Marilyn

by re-orgainizing my office.  I have had papers piled from here to there for the last two years.  Today... I have already thrown out about six inches of papers... need to delve deeper.  Do I really need to keep class teaching binders from Central Michigan University.  Hmmmm  If I teach those classes again I would re-work the class.  So why keep them????  Hmmm but it is hard to throw stuff out.  hmmmm  My office looks better or well, it will, when I am done. 

I have had acid reflux the last few nights.  I think the stress is well it is eatting at my esophacus when I lay down. hmmmmm  Had to sleep sitting up.   I looked up the information on my computer this morning and I need to stay away from tomatoes, garlic, onions, coffee (Ha like that will happen), soda, and reduce my stress.  Ha... Okay in the meantime I will sleep sitting up.  

Hope your day is good.  Love and kisses, Marilyn

I finished grading at about 12:30 today. 

Came home to go to the dentist for a cleaning and then relaxed when I got home... had left over chicken, turkey, duck pot pie and took a bath with a margarita... hmmmm in the bath I started writing my presentation of the IDEC International Conference.  I am pretty sure I will present and the words just started flowing... may have been the relaxing and the margarita... hmmmmm any way I have a semi soggy pad of paper with all kinds of great words on it... hmmmmm 

Hope your day is great!  Love and kisses, Marilyn

Hope your day is fine... Love and kisses, Marilyn

I am all caught up on my grading... Critiques this morning, rendering this afternoon and final grading of that class.... then Studio III tomorrow.  Love and kisses, Marilyn

Well I am off to school this morning.  Students are working on their final presentation and I will grade rendering.  Love and kisses, Marilyn

Maybe this is why I am feeling optimistic.... Okay world I am here...

Finishing the grading for my one class this morning then going to school and picking up new grading from my two rendering classes.  Once I grade those it is down hill from then...  Three smaller projects to do at the end of the week and cleaning up the last recording of grades and absences and other stuff.  Had a really good Saturday, rearranging my house and mowing my lawn.  Hmmmm 

Hope your day is grand.  Love and kisses, Marilyn

I am still working at 3:00, I had 20 minutes off for breakfast... but now my brain just turned off.   so I will finish up tomorrow morning.  I only have about half of one project left to grade.  Another two hours or so... Hmmmm Hope your day is grand.  Love and kisses, Marilyn

For an extra help class.  Marilyn

Another early day under my belt.  Hope your day is grand.  Love and kisses, Marilyn

Kathy suggested that my sleeping problems came from the storm front coming through... Ida is dumping rain on us... I think she may be right.  I slept better last night.  The rain brought down a lot of leaves so I may need to rake my yard this weekend and one last mowing/edging before winter sets in...

Happy Veterans Day to any one that has served our country in a myriad of ways.  Carole that includes you!  We would not be here without your dedication and service. 

Hope your day is good, the pool is closed today for Veterans Day so I will toddle off home while it is still light out.  Love and kisses, Marilyn 

After a terrible night sleeping... Don't know why but I could not go to sleep last night.  Greeehhhh.  Makes for a long day today.  Love and kisses, Marilyn

Well yesterday I had a small headache... I think a remains of my massage on Friday.  I probably didn't drink enough water. hmmmm well today my headache was worse.  I sort of lounged around this morning, glasses off, not sleeping but not exactly upright.  Then remembered Therm* Care product.  When I was in Virginia I used to use them to get rid of my pain after massages... so anyway.  I got one out and strapped it on my sore back and neck... I laid back down and a while later I went my head still aches... maybe I should wrap it around my head like a turban.  It worked... my head ache eased.  I removed it to go out to lunch with Connie and Matt.  The headache came back... so off to the restaurant I went with the wrap on my head and a knit hat over it.  But my head stopped aching.  We had a nice lunch.  When I came home I lay down on my sofa and took a nap.  My head fells much better now.  Sometimes I think my body just says enough is enough you need rest and I will make you rest if you don't pay attention.  I feel much better now. 

Hope your day is good.  Love and kisses, Marilyn

Yesterday I worked on my writing.  After about six hours of working I my massage therapist came to my appointment early and we hit the deck... it was a beautiful coolish afternoon so we visited for about 45 minutes before my massage.  My massage was pretty intense.  My body is sore today from the work she did.  I probably need to take a bath.   

Last night, I had dinner with a friend at Sweet Potato and went to the movie from SCAD Film Festival.  It was a fun night.  As we were trying to park and coming out of the movie... there was a movie being filmed on the streets of Savannah.  Robe*t Redf*rd (my absolute favorite) is filming here.  It was fun to see all the trucks.  We did not walk up to watch.  I am too cool to gawk at a movie set.... ha ha ha...

Love and kisses, Marilyn

It is 8:20 and I am up and dressed and ready to work on my stuff for the day. 

What a relief to have the three weeks of meetings and conferences over.  It was hard three weeks because of the sleep deprivation in the first weekend.  I ended up like a walking zombie for the last two weeks.  It is so hard to recover from sleep loss when you have sleeping problems and have to get up early.  For example this week I seem to be waking up about four times a night.  I get up to use the facilities (that is not what woke me up, but once I am awake why not use the facilities) and then it takes 20 minutes to get back to sleep... so that is and hour and 20 minutes of not sleeping during the night... I think that hot flashes have awakened me... They seem to be more active in the last two weeks.  But I am not complaining about that because I went back to sleep.... when it gets rough is when I can't get back to sleep for an hour or two FOR NO apparent REASON.  That is when being in bed is like torture.   

So it is Friday, no school today and I could sleep in... and I am up and ready to go by 8:00.  hmmmm  Enough complaining... Have a good day.  Love and kisses, Marilyn

A friend of mine was recently discussed in his blog a meditation on life he read... it came out of it questioning how much we just rush around.  Being busy doing this or that thing like a "tourist in our own lives"....  That is what it has felt like this last two years in Savannah.  So many "have to's" that want to's gets pushed aside. 

One of the things I really valued going back to grad school was taking the time to be able to just plain think... what an amazing luxury... to read and think... to talk and think.  In todays world we rush here and there with our phones, ipod and emails... always connected... no alone time to wander and enjoy the... oh so small things in life like a cloud flitting across the face of an almost full moon.  I saw that a couple of nights ago.  If I were still in Virginia, in school, I would have written a poem about its beauty.  Here it has taken me three nights to even remember to note its beauty in my blog. 

Hmmmm  One more day this week and then I have a three day weekend.  I really need it.  I have been having problems putting sentences together for my students... my brain is so tired from so much travel and meetings.  Love and kisses, Marilyn

Hope your day is grand... didn't sleep well last night, but getting up an hour later was great.  Love and kisses, Marilyn