In Progress

Today was extra long. I ended up staying up extra late last night--had a gutwrenching conversation with Dr. J about my personal feelings of inadequacy (hence the posts from the blogfam about body image issues really struck a cord). I have never had a weight issue per se--but I'm incredibly out of shape and have grown through all types of issues about my body--especially my skin and my hair. Like many things, my acceptance of me is a work in progress, and the perfectionist in me means it is always a struggle. I didn't realize how personal these issues were to me until I tried to post a response, and I couldn't. Maybe a little bit at a time--later.

The house on a sea mess took an interesting twist today. I came home for lunch to find a team from the city cleaning out all the drains around and behind our property. That's good news, but I'm pissed. The crew "leader" came up to me and told me that the "big ol pipe in the ditch" behind our house was full to the brim with debris. (Thanks Sherlock). What pissed me off was that he attempted to "scold" me and said something like, "y'all shoulda just called the city when it first started backing up so we coulda come out here and clean it for you--next time, just call us right away." You know I hate to confirm stereotypes about Black women, but I had to roll my neck on that man. I said, "Excuse me? We have called the city every time this happens since last YEAR--as in last August." He quickly began to backpedal saying that they weren't sure at first that it belonged to them or the railroad company--but now that they've been out to clean it, all we need to do is call him (he gave me his name), and they'll come out right away. Now it ticks me off because they are trying to backtrack and clean up their mess after significant damage has been done. I know that the TVreporter called the city and asked what they were going to do about the problem--so I feel like someone is suddenly trying to cover tracks. But somebody needs to fix this damage done to the house, and I don't like the feeling that they are going to say "well we cleaned out the drains--that's not our problem." Argh. The drama continues.

The meme is in progress as well. Possible questions:
How did you survive grad school financially?
How did you figure out you were in the right program?
How did faculty members help you survive?
Did your intimate relationships survive while you were in school?
(For those with families) How did you maintain a healthy family life during school?
How did you keep your head above water during coursework? During exams? During your thesis?
What did you do outside of school to keep your sanity?
How did you survive balancing coursework with teaching or research responsibilities?
When did you realize you were actually going to succeed?
What comfort food/music/TV show helped you make it through?
What bad habit did you have to pick up to make?
What was the best piece of advice you received before or during grad school?
Was there anything you were told about grad school that you didn't believe was true until it happened to you?
If you had to do it all over again--would you? What one thing would you HAVE to do differently?
Any more suggestions before I post the official version?