Stressed Like a Pair of 80s Jeans

Now I realize that the things I am about to complain about are trivial compared to, say, world hunger and issues in the Middle East, but this is what stress in my life looks like right now:

1. I am three weeks late on submitting homework assignments for one of my classes this semester because my professor’s computer is not compatible with the formats I originally submitted. I got an email from him this morning that he was getting ready to “substandardize” my grade if my assignments are not submitted in a different format by this afternoon. As an added bonus, I am stuck in an airport with no access to my original files until at least 5:00 PM.

2. I just found out that for three weeks, my group in this same class has been communicating via email instead of posting to our group site. This means, I have been checking my group site everyday and seeing nothing posted, have done nothing. I logged in to check my email this week only to find weeks worth of work having been done without me. My group is pissed and the latest email they sent to me three days ago was titled, “Where the Hell Are You?”

3. My dogs are stuck in a kennel until tomorrow even though we are returning home today because it is Easter Sunday and they aren’t open to free our dogs. I can’t write more about this because I cry and I’m sitting in an airport, so that’s awkward.

4. My first day back at work tomorrow is also the first day back at work for my boss who has been traveling internationally for two weeks, so you know he’ll be ready to jump right into everything before I’ve even had time to reboot my computer. It is also the first day back for our students after a two week Spring Break, so they’ll be full of issues, too, I’m sure.

5. I am nauseous, hungry, full, and bloated all at the same time. I would wonder if I was The Big P, except that Chris has the same symptoms, so I’m fairly certain it is just my stomach revolting against all the Mexican, BBQ, and beer I’ve stuffed into it this week.

This is why I hate taking vacations. As soon as you start to wake up from the haze of sleeping late and overindulging on late night plates of nachos, you realize that, oddly, the rest of the world has not in fact been on vacation and that as your punishment for having the nerve to leave for a week, you have to try to jump on the moving ferris wheel of school, work, and fruits and vegetables.

On a lighter note, I have a tan/sunburn and my freckles are back! I actually think that’s a fair trade…