Friday, January 09, 2009

The Several Day Itch.

So I don't know if any of you non-Puerto Ricans have heard of this little thing called pica-pica, which literally means itch itch. No, I don't know the actual name for it, just the one used colloquially. But, want to know something?

It really does effing itch.

You see, the damn thing is a wild grass: it grows anywhere. And it seems to be transporting itself in hefty quantities right about now through the wind. For several days.

Needless to say, I'm about 17.5 seconds from scratching my skin off.

I've taken showers, put water, tapped, done everything short of running around naked screaming and diving headfirst into a tub of cream. The worst thing is we don't have a dryer: we do drying the old fashioned way. Out in the yard.

Son of a bitch!

In an attempt to not think about this constant itching, I've been writing like mad. Right now, I'm taking a break because I just realized I've been writing for about three hours. I'm about 3-4 pages shy of my chapter goal and believe me, I didn't want to say that because I'm scared I'd be tempting the academic gods into slamming me with their almighty writer's block. But at the same time, I'm so tired and exhausted. Sometimes I just want to weep because I think, "shit. So much effort in typing this and they may very well just crucify it and chuck into the waste bin." Yes, negative thinking, but standards in theses have gone up radically ever since one particular thesis defense was likened to a horror movie. And not a good one.

However! I have decided that once I finish every chapter (aka, chapter gets fully approved), I'll get myself a little treat to celebrate this. Perhaps I'll buy a necklace or bracelet and add a charm whenever a chapter gets approved. And then, get something really big when I successfully defend my MOTHERFUCKING THESIS.

That's right, I used all caps.

Ah. To dream. And perchance, to sleep?

2 comments:

Ilu said...

...maldito pica pica... en mi cuarto en mayaguez no puedo ni sentarme en la cama sin tener que rascarme como una demente. Por suerte tengo el Balmex de mi sobrinita que quita el picor en cuestion de microsegundos!!

Stella said...

Pica pica = proof that some evil force exists to torture us all.