So much for all my great plans. Fatigue has set in like nobodies business and I've been running ragged trying to keep up with the demands of my assistantship. I'm one of the graduate coordinator's for this year's Pictures of the Year contest and I knew that I would be busy during the actual contest, but it's really been non-stop since even before the semester officially began. There are constantly fires to put out and the intensity of the judging itself (dark room, thousands of photos, steady rejection of images that are much better than my own...) is gnawing away at my mental and emotional endurance.
Needless to say, I haven't done a thing on my Master's project and the running has been mini-mini-minimal. I've had to change my regular run to a smaller 2-mile loop in a park across the street from my house so that I don't get stuck halfway through my normal 6-mile out-and-back too tired to do the back part.
As tiring as I've found it, the POYi contest has also been inspiring and at times even fun. I entered a few of my own images just to see them voted out with embarrassing alacrity, but it's still neat to feel personally a part of the event...as if running the damn thing isn't enough! Tomorrow night will mark the halfway point of the judging, so it there really is a light at the end of the tunnel and hope for my running and my project.
