1:58 AM:

Three Triolets for an Insomniac

What do you do when you're really tired
And yet you're wide awake?
What do you do when exhausted but wired--
What do you do when you're really tired?
Your thoughts are chaotic, almost inspired
But you can't get one to take.
What do you do when you're really tired
And yet you're wide awake?

What do you do when you're short on sleep
But you can't get the Sandman to call?
When you've already counted a few hundred sheep--
What do you do when you're short on sleep?
Will you ever fall into a slumber that's deep,
Or are catnaps the best to be hoped for y'all?
What do you do when you're short on sleep
But you can't get the Sandman to call?

What do you do when you're totally zoned
And the whole mess is just getting worse?
When your few restful moments aren't given but loaned--
What do you do when you're totally zoned?
Do you secretly think that you'd rather be stoned?
Do you passive-agressively churn out bad verse?
What do you do when you're totally zoned
And the whole mess is just getting worse?

2:21 PM:

Done.

Well, I still have stuff to write -- I don't care if I'm past deadline, there are essays planned and outlined that need to be done in the next couple of weeks -- but the semester is over, the grades are in (or are out of my hands now, at any rate), and I can finally get some sleep.

Except that I need to return some library books and drop off my laundry at the laundromat first. But... well, anyway, you get the idea.

Yay.

Even I can't do everything I want to do.

Dammit.

8:34 PM:

Five down, one to go.

As anticipated, the public speaking final was a breeze, capping my one really easy course of the semester, not to mention the most fun.

On the agenda for tonight: get some sleep and write some essays. Not necessarily in that order; we'll see how my internal clock goes.

I could actually stop here; I'd get a B in the Provocative Language tutorial. But no, no, a hundred times no. This is my tutorial, this is what I've been wanting to do for ages, this is what I've already done tons of research for, and which just needs to be written now. I'm not giving up on this one.

I've just gotta get a nap so I can manage it, that's all...

Four down, two to go.

I did okay on the linguistics final, I think. Not brilliantly, but more than enough to pass. It might have helped if I hadn't missed two of the last five classes (one to take my sister to the railroad station after the awards ceremony, one to show my painting professor my portfolio), leaving me uncertain as to what would actually be on the final, but it couldn't really be helped.

It also might have been nice if I hadn't blanked on the difference between relational antonyms and complementary antonyms, when three out of forty questions required one to differentiate between the two. I actually got them right at first, then changed my mind and got them all wrong. I confirmed this a few minutes afterwards, at which point I groaned aloud and bonked myself on the forehead with my textbook, startling another student on the other side of the lobby. Oh, well. What's 7.5 points between friends?

Public speaking final in about an hour, after which I have a few essays to write tonight, assuming I stay conscious long enough. (I got about four hours of sleep last night.) Stay tuned.

10:53 PM:

Three down, three to go.

I don't think I did wonderfully well on the political science final. I do think I passed, though, which is all that matters at this point, I suppose.

This whole thing would be a wonderful victory over my perfectionism if it weren't so pathetic.

I've finally seen The First Wives Club. My gosh, what an awful movie.

Not that I can possibly evaluate it on its own terms. I'm comparing it to the book. And the book is so much better than the film, I don't even know where to start. They barely resemble one another, aside from the names of the principal characters.

If you've seen the wretched waste of celluloid, please don't judge the novel by it.

Two down, four to go.

The Nutrition final went much better than I'd anticipated. I figure I'll probably get an A on it, which, averaged with the C on the midterm, should leave me with something in the B range as my grade in the course. That'd be nice.

Coming up: Monday night, Political Science final, for which I seriously need to prepare. Tuesday night, I get my break, with the season finales of both Buffy and Angel. Wednesday, the final flurry of activity, with an afternoon final in Linguistics, and an evening final in Public Speaking.

In parallel with all of this, I have some more essays to write for my Provocative Language tutorial, for which the final, final, final deadline for submission is Thursday morning.

Monday's the toughest day of the bunch. I'm almost certainly getting no less than a B in the other three courses, and probably better; in Political Science, everything's riding on the final, and I don't feel ready for it yet.

This oughta be interesting.

On the bright side, after Thursday, it's all over.