Drowning…
by V.E. on October 24th, 2006
filed under health, ladyamedeus, personal, to do
…is a lot like dying.
- A friend of my mother’s died this week. She was sweet to me and now she’s gone.
- I really need to get recommendations nailed down for my grad school apps.
- I have an incredible head cold that has caused me to sneeze and cough at the same time.
- Also, I have been stupidly slacking on (all of) my work and am now drowning in it.
Therefore, until I can pull myself up again, there shall be no more updates.
That is all.
hey hun,
to reply to each of your… points:
1. I’m really sorry about your mother’s friend. Are you okay? How is your mom?
2. When are your apps due? I am assuming that because you say “nailed down”, you mean that you don’t know who to ask…. It is our tendency to ask the people who give us the best grades or think we are amazing- but just think how many recommendations the schools read! To them, “amazing”, “brilliant”, and “top marks” are boring. My trick is to ask for recommendations from people who didn’t necessarily give me the best grades, but from whom I learned a shitload and for whom I worked my ass off to get even a half decent grade. To the schools, things like, “struggled, but persevered”, “made incredible progress in a subject they know nothing about or aren’t required to know”, or “hard working and dedicated” are the things to look for. I always asked Michael Billig- I took three of his classes, he thought my writing was shit, he pushed me really hard, and he is a no-nonsense kind of guy- he’ll be completely honest in a recommendation. I always asked Nakade-sensei too- similar reasons. If you need a third, get someone who knows you outside of class (from clubs, organizations, etc) – that will add an extra, sometimes more personal, dimension to this written evaluation of your character.
course if this isn’t the problem you’re having, ignore the above comments, and just be a pain in the ass until your referees cough up your recommendations quickly.
3. drink lots and lots of peppermint tea. eat goja (i think that is how its spelled) nuts- very high in vitamin c.
4. take deep breaths. Make a list of the things that need to get done so you aren’t trying to remember everything all the time (with convenient checkboxes next to each item so as you check things off, you feel uber productive). Then go item by item. if you think about everything too much, you will over-oxygenate your brain and pass out.
*hugs* good luck with everything and keep me posted!
*HUGS*
My condolances about your mom’s friend. : /
Let me know if there’s anything I can do / get for you or help you with or anything. I’d be willing to give you a real hug except I’m still sick and getting worse and I wouldn’t want to give you anything on top of your head cold. but LJ *hugs* all the same. I hope you feel better and are able to focus to get your stuff done! *hugs*