Work/ School Balance

All week I’ve been keeping an eye on the weather. It started with the potential of 2 feet of snow, then slowly decreased, then increased, and back and forth. Ice has been a big factor in the forecast, also. Salisbury University did a very nice thing and announced a few days ago that we’re doing virtual classes this week, so the stress of figuring out if I’m driving to Salisbury on Monday is gone.

Today has been filled with already scheduled things such as my hair appointment and Scarlett getting her nails trimmed, mixed with making sure my trash was out, the snow shovel handy, and charging everything I own that needed charging. See, I’m getting ready. I’m also posting this today because if I have no power, I have no internet.

My teachers have emailed the assignments for day 1, which I’ve been working on. I am around halfway done, I think, or pretty close to it. So, you know what I’m doing tomorrow. I figure if I have no power, then I can read and write. I can work on my personal essays I’ve started, and I can think about what I may want to do for my pictures in literature class. I have stuff I can do, which is nice. I’m also going to download a few things on my IPad so I can watch television when I need a break.

Today I also opened my door to my new printer. Did I need a new printer? Not particularly, but here’s the thing: my current printer only prints one-sided, and I have a class where I have to print 17 copies of my stories for one class and the stories from each student in the other. I may end up running through ink, but I can save on paper. When stories have to include pictures, must be 8-15 pages long, and you have to print 17 copies, you go through paper pretty quickly, so double-sided it is. I have money from financial aid, so I might as well use it for something I need for school. Yes, I know I have to pay it back, but how much money in paper am I going to be saving?

This storm has me slightly worried. I am not someone prone to freaking out about the weather, but of course, everyone has been warning about power outages. That is my big fear. Everyone else is worried about the ice and snow, but I don’t want to lose power. It’s going to be freezing, and I have no backup. Plus, I have fish, and if I lose power, it’s going to be very difficult to keep the tanks warm. Plus, if I have no power on Monday, that means I won’t be able to do my Zoom class. I can email my teacher from my cell if I need to. So my big fear is no power. Say a prayer I don’t lose it please!

I’ve had so many people tell me to be prepared with food. What those people don’t understand is that I have Celiac. I am on such a restricted diet, I ALWAYS have food on hand that you don’t need to heat. I have everything from muffins to three loaves of bread and peanut butter to chips to salad to nuts to the original Chex Mix recipe (it’s just really good). I have plenty of food. I’m prepared to have food for outings of any kind, which means I’m more likely to freeze than starve to death.

For those of you in the 30 states being hit by the storm, be careful and stay warm. All I can say it Scarlett will be afraid of the snow, then love it and play in it. As long as I have heat and my books, I’m good.