Just a few more weary days and then,
I'll fly away

So, the monster paper/presentation is done, and though it wasn't as polished as I would have liked it, it's been handed in and presented. At Kirsten's suggestion, I ran the presentation as a seminar, rather than a lecture. I think it went well - the class discussion was lively, and people had formed some great opinions about the topic. Unfortunately, the topic was problematic; the term 'confession' and 'confessor' had different meanings to various class members, and was often linked to coercion and religion; this didn't help me make my point that we engage in confession on a daily basis, about all aspects of our lives (and have extended that impulse to the web). But whatever, the discussion was good and I got to use a few of my slides.

The paper was in pretty rough shape; I was working on it for a couple of weeks, with Kirsten's editing, but I was having a hell of a time getting my head around all the information. I had tried to break confession on the web down into a model, and was finding that it was difficult to apply the model. In the end, I think I got some interesting work done in the paper, but I really think it could have been presented much better (didn't have time for a final polish and edit).

Also, general awards were announced today and, to nobody's surprise, I didn't get any funding. I'm not too shook up about it; I didn't really expect to receive any awards from the university for my degree. But it would have been nice to get an award to take some of the financial burden off next term, so it sucks that I wasn't on the list. I'm doing my best to avoid getting imposter syndrome.

I still have a sense of anxiety that's been sticking around me for a few days. I don't know if that's just leftover stress from the paper/presentation, or if it's due to the fact I'm a nutbar, but I just can't shake it. Hopefully when I get a chance to relax and catch my breath it will go away.

In other news, all this focus on academic work has left me ignoring the new "Getting Healthy" regime. Since the "Day 6" entry, I haven't gone jogging or to the gym. I've just been far too tired to get my ass out of bed in the morning. This should change this weekend, when I get a chance to catch up on my sleep, and I'll start getting back into routine again.

I need to get my fat ass to the gym; this morning, I discovered that I no longer fit in the belt that used to be 'snug' on me. I feel fat and sloth-like, and just have no energy. I'm not the slim guy I used to be, and I need to get back there. Emails of encouragement / shame-inducement are welcome.

I did manage to get the fork replaced on my old bike, for a pretty reasonable price, so I'm riding it again. Unfortunately, it REALLY needs adjustment. The front break doesn't so much provide braking power as it does squealing, the bolt on the handlebar claim stripped itself (requiring a fast trip to Home Depot this morning to get a replacement bolt), and the derailleurs need to be calibrated. It also tends to wobble a bit on the road, though that could just be me not used to riding it.

As part of the Getting Healthy regime, I'm going to visit Kirsten's traditional chinese doctor, who thinks I have an unbalance in my yin/yan energy and weak kidneys. She's already put me on herbs for the kidneys, and suggested that I undergo acupuncture treatment. I've mentioned my phobia of needles on this site before; it'll be interesting to see what happens when I go in. Either I'll be fine (eyes wide shut), or run fleeing from the office building, with needles surrounding my body. Either way, I'm sure it'll be entertaining for somebody.