Simultaneously productive and use-free

I've finished the quilt for my cousin Maria! Now I just have to save enough money to send them off to be quilted, and they'll only be...oh...about two years later than I intended. It's beautiful; purple and green and jungly, with a solid dark green border and small bouquets of flowers at each corner. sal_sal's quilt is in the same state, but it has a picture-frame border and the pattern is more random. I'm proud of them both.

Feeling a little antsy today, and a little useless. Becoming a little more aware of the world news sets off a reaction inside me that says "the world desperately needs help, and you're not doing anything/you're only talking about it/you're only thinking about yourself." I never know how to deal with this feeling, because no action is ever quite enough to make it go away. Fooey.

On the other hand, I'm nowhere near as antsy as I was this morning. Lesson for today: Two cups of coffee brewed at work is not the same as a medium Dunkin' Donuts coffee. I was so caffeinated I started losing some motor control...typing became a fun adventure for a little while.

My giant list of "Projects for After the Papers Are Done" is shrinking! Next up: shrink my inboxes and respond to emails. Preferably in front of Law&Order.

I should learn to meditate--to be in the moment. I don't think I could count to ten without having my thoughts go everywhere, to next week next month two years ago that one time in Portland half an hour ago and so on. Last semester felt like my momentum was out of control, like I was rushing headlong towards some horizon, unable to stop. Even with the moments of quiet and peace among the classes, there was far too much scrambling.

Items from the past two weeks:
--The Blue Room has a killer cassoulet. But really, should I expect any less from them?
--Beefcake night was v. good. We watched Troy. Sadly, Eric Bana in a leather skirt and giant flaming balls of twine were not able to balance out the suckitude.
--sen_no_ongaku is wonderful.
--His nephews are still occasionally confused by the fact that I have my own parents, and when I refer to "my Mom", I am not, in fact, talking about their Lola (grandmother).
--I have another stack of books that I'm getting rid of, and will shortly post on LJ to see if there are any takers. Mostly nonfiction this time around.

Thanks to all of you who've been there for me during the finals this month!