Closer to Fine

Today I'm plagued with a case of the "Tuesday's" as Monday certainly did not follow suit with the usual. On the bright side, this week will seem shorter and my travels will feel as though they are more quickly approaching.

As the summer session is coming to a close, my hours for sleep have become seemingly less precious. Sunday was in fact the first "all-niter" I think I've ever pulled in my entire college career. I just kept putting off that paper...no motivation. The latter issue has proven problematic for most of the summer. I've been in a sort of "funk" for a while, stricken with the worst case of apathy toward everything except rediscovering my joy for painting, and my favorite East Coast drummer. Luckily those things have kept me smiling even at the height of temptation to eternally bury myself beneath the covers.

This lengthy state of being suddenly broke yesterday, perhaps the hallucinatory result of my caffeine-induced insomnia. After powering through and turning in my 4-page, memo-style, block formatted foe of a paper (on a book I absolutely did not read), instead of surrendering to a much desired slumber I opted for an afternoon of dress-up accompanied by Muse blaring in the background. What better way to pack for the weekend than to try on every possible article of clothing one could wear - ever?

It was mostly just an enjoyable indulgence, and it made me happy.

I'm packed now for Johnson City and Asheville...excessively over packed, actually :) But at least I won't be ill prepared. I'll leave Thursday after work for East TN, where I anticipate a fabulous evening spent with an old friend. And Friday morning will send me off to Asheville, NC for a relaxing weekend of panoramic mountain views, laying by the hotel pool, exploring waterfalls, art galleries, coffee shops, and figuring out answers to some lingering questions (::sigh::, my stress levels are decreasing at the mere thought). I haven't been this excited for a single event since maybe Christmas 1980-something :)

There are still some things that need to be checked-off before I head out on the open road...new front tires, an oil change, and several other school/personal tasks on the "to-do" list. They are stacked and crammed into the lines of my brand new planner in various shades and tones of black ink - a familiar element that has been missing from my life this summer. I'm starting to think, after talking with some friends (and Mom), that maybe that lack of structure and demand for deadline has been partially responsible for the said "funk" I've been trying to shake.

Perhaps it took the jump start of a good ole'fashioned college (and peach enviga) spawned all-night typ-o-thon to get me back on track, or maybe it is the reward for perseverance in my weekend away...could be the two in conjunction, but regardless of why, I'm glad to be feeling a bit more myself today.