You know how when you're around something a lot, or thinking about it a lot, things will start to sneak into your dreams? When I was working in orientations (sooo much new-hire paperwork...) I had dreams about files. Thousands and thousands of files. They weren't bad dreams. There were just...files.
Last night, I had my first grad-school dream. As an undergrad, we joke about those dreams where you show up to class and realize there's a test you forgot about, or you slept through your final, or whatever. Since I don't really have finals, or tests, that's not a concern anymore, so it doesn't work its way into my subconscious.
Something else does.
Last night, I dreamed that I finally got published. Three different papers, actually. One of them was based on my work with the Department of State (which I haven't done yet). Another was about brewing hard cider. I know, right? I don't remember the third. It was a pretty awesome dream...I remember being super excited about it.
I guess I should put this into the overall context of "How Horrible My Night Was".
Right now, it's about 7F. With windchill, around -13F. And it's a hell of a wind. I had trouble sleeping because it's been so loud, and the side of the building creaks in the wind. It's a brick building, mind you. Pretty awesome. On top of that, EVERYTHING in my apartment is drafty. The windows and sliding door are pretty new, but still the blinds have been dancing since I made it home last night. By the way, that kind of wind, with this cold? I no joke thought my face was just going to peel off. I'm lucky I took the bus...it wasn't until after I got home that I saw the windchill advisory--frostbite to exposed skin within minutes. And greater risk of hypothermia. Which I'm pretty susceptible to.
Anyways, back to the draftiness. You know those howling, disembodied screams we associate with ghosts? That's what my sliding door sounds like when it's windy. So, scary ghost noises, with the blinds wildly flying around, alone in my apartment, late at night, mentally and physically exhausted...it would be an incredible understatement to say I was absolutely terrified.
I'm pretty sure my electric bill is going to be higher than my share of the rent this month. I don't even keep the heat very high. Usually it's around 60F when I'm gone or at night, and 65F when I'm home and doing things. The heater has been on almost constantly since I got home around 2300 last night. Sometimes it'll turn off, for a minute or two, then right back at it. I'm pretty sure the spare bedroom is about 35F right now. My bedroom's always far colder than the living area too. Not. Fun. And this isn't the first time it's been too cold for the heater to keep up this month. More heating bill fun.
As if the cold and the wind and the stress and exhaustion from finals weren't enough...at 0600 a car horn began malfunctioning. In the middle of my awesome publications dream. It took me a minute or so to figure out what the fuck was going on, because that kind of thing is incredibly disorienting. At first--no joke--I thought it was a tsunami siren. Then I remembered I'm nowhere near the water...so my mind raced through another few possibilities. Alarm clock? No... Fire alarm? No... Effing car horn! I went outside ready to beat the shit out of someone. Once outside, I remembered how cold it was, which did a pretty good job of further enraging me. Once I figured out which car it was, and that it was not, in fact, the most inconsiderate person in the world, I at least got less mad, grabbed a jacket, and decided to do something about this disaster. One of the other neighbors came out (only one...why the hell would so many people not come investigate the car horn that's been going on for 15 minutes!?) and we started knocking on doors, hoping we'd find whoever's car it was. It was a girl downstairs...poor thing was mortified. I was just happy for the noise to stop.
Of course, adrenaline and sub-zero temperatures made sure I wouldn't be able to get back to sleep. So today I'll be running on all of three hours of sleep, trying to type up the last few pages of my theory paper, the last essay of my governance final, and actually study a little Russian before my exam tomorrow afternoon. At some point I still have to pack and get my apartment ready to be empty for a month...
Almost there. Just have to keep telling myself. I'm almost there.
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