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No Rest for the Well-Intentioned

By Gloria Diaz

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Fort Wayne Reader

2017-03-22

I didn't have much of a spring break, and it's a bit of a shame, since this is probably my last one ever as a student. I'm struggling with a thesis, so I'm trying to be proactive by working ahead and getting a good start on my other projects, which I hope to finish soon. That will free up extra time to work on this torture, errr thesis. But there are some things getting in the way.

First and foremost is senioritis. I just don't care anymore. I haven't cared for a while now. It's a combination of things, one of them being if the instructors don't post the readings for a certain week, I can't work ahead. Seeming lack of interest is another thing. If my instructors don't care, why should I? But to be honest, with IPFW splitting, does ANYONE care, at this point? What I expected to be a collaborative process with my thesis, with some guidance on their part, turned out to be almost as big of a do-it-yourself project as the 396-page novel I finished writing entirely on my own in September 2015. Yeah, it took me three years to write the thing. But no one was cracking a whip over my head. I did this of my own accord. And it was so satisfying to finish.

The thesis? Not so much. It's a very condensed, first-person, humorous version of the novel I finished a couple years ago. We agreed the thesis would be 100 pages, because that's all this person wanted to read. So I'm struggling with pacing, and making it funny enough. I'll be honest—I'm tired of it. I can't afford to hire an editor, yet, I'm not getting the kind of solid, concrete, “oh, THIS is what the hell I'm supposed to be doing” help that I need. I made a list of stuff I wanted to get done on break, and working on the thesis was one of the entries. It's Sunday night, and I haven't crossed that off the list yet.

But I did get some stuff started. I didn't get it finished, like I wanted to, but at least I made a start. Monday, I slept late and did homework. Tuesday, I slept late and had a job interview. After, I went thrift shopping and found a red leather coat that perfectly matched the John Fluevog Sugar knee-high lace-up boots I picked up in San Francisco for a mere $49 (they originally retailed for $399, so yes, they WERE a bargain).

Wednesday morning, I took Daphne to the vet to see why she cried when I picked her up and hugged her (usually, I only get that reaction when I do that to men) and was relieved to find out it was merely arthritis in both hips. (She IS 90, after all.) He prescribed some medicine he had great faith in, and after dropping her off at home, I ran some errands, like washing the car, cleaning the interior, and fixing a seat belt latch. I came home and made some paper beads for a few hours, and got ready for bed at an earlier hour than usual.

Thursday, a friend of mine and I went to Cleveland to visit A Christmas Story house. We also explored an abandoned house down the street with a complete stranger and didn't get murdered. We had a late lunch at a Spanish restaurant, then headed home. After the car broke down, my friend decided we might as well enjoy ourselves, so she bought us both swim suits and we stayed at Castaway Bay, an indoor water park. I got my swim and hot tub on, and actually was able to fall asleep without prescription meds.

The car got fixed, and even though I was exhausted, we made it back to Fort Wayne Friday afternoon. I took a nap before heading into work, then after work, I came home and went to bed. Since I work on weekends, my spring break ended Thursday. I've never had a week go so fast in my entire life.

But it was productive and fun. I wish it could have lasted longer, but isn't that what everyone says?