Ain't no rest for the wicked

 There's something irrevocably horrendous about today.
Of course there are always highlights (unless you have nothing but horribleness everywhere you go). I was able to go to another experiment and help activate electrodes for an EEG. And my professor said that he's going to give me an educational video on EEG nets so I can learn how to apply that to experiments (nerdy I know, but I think it's awesome). I'm learning a lot from these experiments and I only hope that I can continue to learn.

I got creeped  on by another creeper. (Creeped is now officially a past-tense-verb.) This time it was a trucker. Oh yeah. He had to have a few missing teeth and looked like he hadn't bathed in months. He kept honking at me on the way home and was going the same route I was for a while. I got freaked out so I took a back road suddenly so he couldn't turn, just in case he was following me. It seems to be a trait that I inherit from my mother's side of the family. Thanks mom. Thanks.

When I came home today I was immediately asked to do this-that-and-the-other (like clean the entire kitchen, which was a complete mess- it wasn't like that this morning). I explained that I had to do a lot of homework- mainly math and linguistics. I also have to write a paper for Western Civilization, which I am starting on. It seemed as if my necessity to do homework was not a good enough excuse because it was clear that they thought I was wrong and were mad. Nevertheless, I went downstairs and started on the pile of work waiting for me.
I had dinner with my family and helped clean up afterward. At that point I said that I had to go back downstairs and do more homework. This led to the topic that I don't help out around the house enough and it's "weird" that I do my homework for hours on end. I explained that they had told me the most important thing is my education and that if I didn't study and do my homework then I wouldn't be doing as well as I am. However, they said that it doesn't take much to help out around the house for however long they need me to (time wise- which could be 5 minutes or over an hour). After further explaining that I try to help out as much as possible, but I can't sacrifice my good grades, they said that I need to help out more like everyone else does. I have been hearing this since the beginning of the semester- I don't help out enough around the house. Perhaps it's because I'm hardly ever home because I'm in class.
My point here is that I cannot do both things at an even level. Inevitably I must choose to focus more heavily on one thing. Before the semester began I told them I was going to be doing a lot of homework all the time and would otherwise be spending my days in class, but I would be there on weekends at least to help out. Otherwise, I would help out when I had the chance. Now that I am putting this into practice I am being told I'm not helping out as much as I can. However, they still expect to me to get good grades, a proper amount of sleep, and a healthy social life, all on top of regularly going to class. On top of that I'm involved in the experiments and am an active member in the Church. I cannot do all these things on an even level.
God comes first, so I will not stop going to Church- It was mentioned that I should "take a Sunday off" when I'm tired. If I did that, I'd never go to Church.
Good grades are a must- If my dad is paying for my education then he expects good grades and likewise I expect them from myself. I have not missed a class this semester as of now, and I don't intend on it.
Sleep is important but not a top priority- I need a healthy amount of sleep during the night, but I also drink heavy amounts of caffeine during the day to make up for it.
A healthy social life is probably the least important thing on my list- However, whenever I do meet up with friends it's always to study and review (usually for linguistics). I make time for friends every once in a while for a few hours at a time- usually during breaks in my class schedule. And by a while I mean a while.

As for helping out at home- As soon as I get home I usually have homework to do, true. But I also stop to help out, usually as soon as I get home. I always try to take time out of my schedule to help out, but when there is a lot of homework to do I have to get it done. Otherwise I'll be up until 1:00 am or later.
I'm trying to keep an even balance on everything. I can't do it all. I explained that I can't do it all because there will always have to be a sacrifice somewhere. I help out as much as possible, and I keep saying that because I can't stress it enough.

So after that discussion I was told to go back to doing my homework, but my dad was outside playing with my niece although he wanted to get ready for bed for work the next day. I didn't want him staying up so late since he has to get up at 4:00 in the morning. I went outside to play with her instead and he insisted that I go inside and do my homework. I declined and let him go in and take a shower. I was told that it would only be "a few minutes" then I could go and finish my homework. "A few minutes" must mean at least a half an hour- I lost track of time, but by the time I got down here it was already 8:00 (dinner was at about 6:30).

Bottom line- It seems as if they are put out by the constant amount of homework I have. I was told that I had overloaded myself with classes this semester, but in actuality there's just a lot of homework to do now because the end of the semester is approaching and everyone is assigning everything all at once. I'm handling the stresses university life is bringing me very well. Being bombarded with criticism about my lack of help around the house is what is stressing me out the most. Every time I go to do homework I feel incredibly guilty because I'm not doing something to help my family out.
I'm going to try harder to help out more, but I refuse to let my grades decline when there are seven other people living in the house (plus a baby) who are just as capable. (Subtracting my parents it's five.) And I adamantly refuse to sacrifice any Church time or any chance to worship God.

I know this entire blog is just a long rant from a biased point of view and it's extremely whiny, and I apologize for that.

(Side note: The title of the blog is a song by Cage the Elephant.)