July 24, 2015

 I kind of work up with my alarm clock but I stayed in bed and I know I dozed off at least a couple times. But when I wasn't dozing, I was being productive by running through my presentation in my head. I remember that the first presentation I gave in graduate school was pretty nerve-racking because I hadn't presented since college and I didn't practice it nearly enough as I should have. I've gotten better about it since then and remembered the importance of practicing. Not only figuring out what I want to say but timing it and going through it several times. I already kind of go into auto-pilot when I present and don't really feel like I have much control or awareness of what I'm saying, so it is good to have the practice so I can trust that I'm at least saying stuff that is in the ballpark of being correct. That's the goal anyway.

Before and after lunch I didn't really accomplish much. I burned a couple CDs for my mom and that was about it. Soon enough it was time to take a shower and pack up so I could leave town. The drive down was pretty good. For the last ten to fifteen minutes of the first half of the trip I got stuck behind a car, and eventually a school bus, that weren't going as fast as I would have liked but it wasn't too slow. On the last stretch of highway where I usually get screwed over by large trucks, I got hung up by a car that either didn't have or didn't believe in cruise control. I would catch up to it so I would kick off my cruise control and then they would speed up. The first few times I tried matching their speed with my cruise control but it was fluctuating too much for that to be an effective strategy. They also seemed to speed up every time there was an opening to pass them, which was annoying. But I made good time and actually got into town a little earlier than I was expecting.

Class was interesting, just like last time. I still enjoy the professor and I think I'm in another one of his classes in the Fall. We had a brief visit from the dean of the library school and then we ended the night talking about disaster preparedness. And in the middle of that discussion the fire alarm went off. It was unintentional but perfectly timed. Thankfully it happened after the sun went down so the temperature was in the mid-90s. The temperature today according to my car was 102 degrees and I think I heard the heat index was around 114 degrees, which I totally believe. I only briefly experienced it but that was more than enough. I also think my brief time outside affected my allergies because my nose is clogged and my eyes are feeling a bit itchy. Hooray.

Keeping with the trend at the hotel, I am staying in a completely different room. I'm fairly certain I've stayed in a different room every single time. And there is no confusing it this time because I'm in a completely different building, across from the one I normally stay in. The layout over here is different, too, with the sink and mirror outside the bathroom, which has blue tiles instead of beige and a small frosted window. I could do without the window.

When I got into my room it was hot, even though the air conditioner was on. Thankfully, I always bring my fan with me. The general idea for the fan is that it is the same one I turn on at home for the noise when I fall asleep. I figured having the same noise would help me fall asleep in a hotel. And it does. This time there is just the added bonus of it all keeping me cool.

After watching a couple YouTube videos while I ate the rest of my dinner and drank a bunch of water, I practiced my presentation. Three or four times just to be safe. I'm feeling pretty good about it but there are a couple parts that still trip me up a little bit. Hopefully not tomorrow.

Now I've got a bit of a headache and I think I'm tired. I'm not entirely sure because it could just be my allergy eyes. I shouldn't be tired because I didn't get up super early but I also drove down for class which can be tiring. I don't know, but I'm going to stay up for a little bit and read some of the first volume of Suicide Squad, which I bought along with my poster the other day. I've heard good things and the movie looks cool so I figured I would give it a shot.

I forgot to sign up for a presentation so I go last tomorrow. I don't really have a problem with that unless I find out my idea for the presentation is completely different than the collective rest of the class. I'm also slightly worried that people will go way long which will put more pressure on me to go quickly because we're running late and everyone wants to leave. So two small worries, but I'll also have more practice time, in my head, which is nice. Always a positive.