Just Another New Day

The whole New Year's Day thing has always been lost on me. Is there really anything magical about the start of a new year? Is it really anything more than one day ending and another one beginning? And what's the point of making resolutions that you never really intend to keep anyway? Maybe it's because I am a perpetual student and therefore my year corresponds with the academic year, beginning in late August/early September and ending in May. (Don't ask me what happens to poor June and July!) The excitement (and fear!) for me is with the start of a new school year, or a new semester, not when the calendar returns to Jan 1. For me, today is just another new day.

I spent last night (and all day) studying Greek, just like every other day of the break, just like I spent today, just like I will spend the next two weeks until the exam is over. Studying Greek until I can't distinguish it from English. And then some more. Passing the exam means I don't have to take the class. And not having to take the class means I can dedicate the necessary time and energy to my classes, well, at least in theory. Maybe I will even have time to do something other than study? Not likely.

At least I get to spend some time at home, in the midst of all this Greek. Of course, "home" is a relative word. My parents are doing crazy renovations, and of course, everything is going crazy wrong, which means I have no access to any of my stuff (other than what I brought home with me) and I'm sleeping on a mattress on the floor. Half the time plastic is hanging everywhere, including the doorways, turning the house into a maze and making me feel like we're in quarantine or something. And no TV to alleviate the Greek. And contractors coming and going and making all sorts of noise. So I go to the library, to the coffee shop, sometimes even the bookstore or mall food court, wherever I can get some work done.

No one ever said the life of a PhD student was very glamorous. In fact, I'm pretty sure cruel and unusual self-induced punishment would probably be more accurate. We could all use a good dose of therapy, and perhaps some strong drugs. In the meantime, I am running on stress and caffeine. And chocolate, always chocolate!