Journal: No Rest for the Wicked(ly Successful)

Last night I was so tired I forgot to take my bedtime meds and was stuck in my worst nightmare until I woke up at 5:30am. No meds, exhaustion, and stress are a nasty combo. Reassurances and hugs from my husband helped me shake off the emotional aftereffects enough that I was able to take my missed meds and go back to sleep for another 4 hours.

Today would normally be my day off in order to make up for working all weekend, but it’s looking like that’s not going to be possible this time. If anything, I have a longer than usual workday ahead of me.

I sold so much at Emerald City Comicon that I absolutely had to update my Etsy store inventory first thing this morning. I usually use the Etsy app on my phone to edit my inventory as it sells, but it had trouble connecting during the show. Each night I came home, ate dinner, and passed out, so there was no way to update it then. I would rather put in an hour’s work on my day off than have to deal with order issues, so I started up the next episode of The Walking Dead on Netflix and got it done.

Today is the first day of Spring quarter, so I had to at least check in to my classes online and go over my syllabi. Now I’m not so sure if my Public Speaking class will be doable with my health issues. The whole point of online only classes for me is flexibility and not having to go anywhere in person except for maybe a final. For this class there is NO acceptance of late work, each recorded speech requires a live audience with a minimum of 5 (or 7) in attendance, and all four speeches must be completed or else it is an automatic fail. Right now I’m waiting for clarification on the required audience number since class documents state both (and I am hoping this isn’t going to be a trend for the class). With the rules as is, if I get sick and miss an assignment I get a zero. I can invite friends over and do my speeches from home, but if less than the minimum number required show up I fail the speech. I do not like that my grade is dependent on the availability and reliability of others. And, even if I have been doing excellent work in the class, if I get sick and can’t do a speech I automatically fail. Whether or not this class will be possible will depend on my school ADA accommodations and the instructor, so I will be looking into that this week. I have until Friday to decide whether or not to withdraw. I would switch to another class if I could, but there are no other open classes for my degree. If I withdraw, graduation will be delayed another quarter. Withdrawal will also cause issues with my financial aid and student loans. Right now I’m really, really hoping for some forgiveness on those rules, so I can stay in the class.

Lastly, today is the final day to apply before the price goes up on a show I’m considering doing again this year. This means that I have to get all the post-show finances from ECCC squared away and plan my shows for the rest of the year. My options are to take the rest of the day off and pay more later if I do apply or work extra late tonight and save money. This is a common choice I’m faced with, primarily with show applications and sales on jewelry supplies. My body keeps its own schedule and sometimes I have no choice but to forgo discounts. I’m not sure yet what I will choose for today.