My apartment smells like brussel sprouts

I put in another long day in the TA office yesterday, but I don't feel like I got much done. I am starting to feel like I need to forsake some sleep in order to really catch up...but oh, sleep is so important. I got an extension on a paper that was due today, but now I'm wondering if there's really any more time to get it done over the weekend than there was yesterday. Maybe I should have just stuck to the deadline.

I've been avoiding my apartment as much as possible because it's messy and I don't have time to clean it, but last night I had brussel sprouts with dinner and now it also smells funny, so I don't think I can put off the cleaning much longer. I can never get married or have children, because my husband will divorce me and my children will get taken away because I will say to them "sorry honey, I can't change your diaper right now, I'm writing." I'm good at being a hermit, not so good at being part of society.

Tomorrow, I'm doing a reading for the U of Akron English Department's Graduate Student Symposium. It's a little mini-conference that the faculty coordinates so that we get some practice presenting our papers/reading our work in front of an audience, and frankly, it's the scariest audience I've ever been in front of (I did it last year, too). Why is it scary, you ask? Because every prof who has ever put a grade on anything I've written is sitting there listening. (I got my BA at Akron, too) Plus, all the other grad students will be there, and even though they are my friends, grad students are a competitive, critical bunch. And here's the sugar on top: my students will also be in the audience (well, the ones that can be lured with extra credit and free food). I didn't think it would be right, since I'm always talking about being a poet, to not let my kids get a chance to hear my stuff. Anyhow, I'm nervous. Partially because of this audience, and partially because most of this audience knows that what I write is primarily autobiographical and suddenly that is making me feel very vulnerable. On the up side, I have a very cute skirt to wear. And let's just admit it. As nervous as I am, I love to be the center of attention.