Tuition, Tumult, Too Much?

I can't help but smirk about it now. Not a happy smirk, mind you, but more of a wry, comprehending smile where your lip curls slightly and where you're thoughtful enough not to let your teeth show.

Tom gave us all that advice about staying out of stress, and how spring break was going to provide a much-needed respite from the rigors of the newsroom (and the rigmarole that sources sometimes give you).

I got a break from the newsroom, that's for sure. But I'd have gladly given it back to keep the headache from what someone did to my vehicle on the highway (and, in the chain reaction that followed, several others) on the way home for the week off.

You can imagine the frustrations that were compiled during that week. Phone calls abound with the insurance company. Finding out exactly what the heck went on. (My brother was taken away in an ambulance rather soon after the accident — thankfully no bones were broken —and I went with him instead of gathering information.

Flash forward to just yesterday, when I was at the UM Curators meeting down in Rolla. I'm busy enough, getting up at 5:45 to get to the meeting on time. I'm writing multiple stories to be possibly used for online and print. Then I get a call telling me the person at fault has no insurance, to the best of everyone's knowledge thus far. (The story is too complicated to explain, and I'd rather not for potential court statements I'd have to give if things go that far.)

I wanted to be mad. But I was there, in the middle of a meeting with all the UM administration talking about voting on tuition increases. What could I do? 

I couldn't help but smirk. Not a happy smirk, mind you, but more of a bite-your-lip positioning of your mouth to keep those frustrated feelings inside.

Just over two weeks ago, I was thinking about how I could get away from all the stress. In some cruel twist of fate, the stress level has tripled. And forget about all the car issues, including finding a new permanent vehicle — there's five weeks of the semester left, and I have papers to write, shells articles to finish that I thought I could do over spring break, and a long-term story that I want to write but won't write itself.

I kind of want to run away and hide. But I've shouldered such stress for two weeks, and I think I can make it the rest of the way. besides, a summer in Miami awaits with the Dow Jones program, so that's definitely something to look forward to.

But for now? You've got to just grow up and realize that it could still be much worse, and that the important things in life are still there.

Still, though, I take it all in, still, with a smirk. Not a happy smirk, mind you, but more of an expression of realization that you've vented a little bit, and that it's a way to, for the moment and for the better until mid-May, shut up, grow up, and move on — for now.