Sometimes

I have come across studies dumbed-down in magazines like Time and Psychology Today a few times explaining to exasperated parents that their teens, while they look like adults, have brains wholly unique to adolescence and young adulthood. Teens make irresponsible or just bad choices where the correct or best choice should be so clear to an adult. The brain is supposedly finished forming into a fully-functional adult with great decision making skills (I'm sure they'll concede that this doesn't always result) by the age of 25. That means I should be responsible in 1 and 1/2 years. Gone is my neuro-psychological excuse for rebelliousness.

Most of that was to say, I seem to make mostly good, rational decisions and then sometimes I make really stupid decisions (even after knowing the consequences).
Good decisions: do my homework,
go to bed on time,
plan ahead for reference letters needed for grad school (by being a total keener...)
choose studying over TV and fun

Bad decisions: choose TV and fun over studying (this one is a process)
lending my housemate (of-age-but-doesn't-have-a-licence-housemate) my ID to hang out with the boy she likes knowing it could be taken away (oh, and it was)
brownies for breakfast (not today...but it happens)

I'm sure there are many more additions to my good choice/bad choice list, just from this week.

I'm hoping it is just the glasses

Today I met with a professor who I had been communicating with by email through the summer and now am taking one of his classes. He is teaching linguistics and is easily one of the most learn-ed people I have met (he has studied Quechua in Peru, Inuktitut in Northern Canada, speaks french, spanish, norwegian and various African dialects) and quite possibly may be too smart for our class. He made the remark after we had sat in The Spoke talking over organic English Breakfast that he was relieved to find that I was not nearly as 'rigid' as i appeared in class. Always great to know I give off a "tightwad" vibe (no less according to a 60 year old professor).

Class today will be long, getting home at 10pm after much tossing and turning last night. I never would have wanted to admit that a man could have that affect on me (no longer talking about the professor here!).

External Locus of Control

Going for my bi-lifetime physical (I'm assuming I have been to the doctor for a check-up before last week but I can't actually remember a time) has revealed some biological shortages that could become problems. Basically I want to use them as the reason I am a terrible runner.
My iron is low (16, normal range is 10-291). Not below normal but the range is large so apparently I'm just getting enough to meet my very most basic daily needs but don't store any. I'm actually happy to hear that I was getting that much. A handy B vitamin of the 12 variety is below the normal range so we are going to work on bumping it up. So now I am gulping vast quantities of supplements in the mornings (ok, like 4 pills) The iron ones are little green discs that smell....bloody. I also added a regimen of Vitamin D since I am Canadian and will not get enough for most of the year and CBC radio recently aired a discussion about Vitamin D that hinted that we may actually need it for almost all bodily functions and in quantities hundreds (even thousands) of times what Health Canada recommends.

Other than the slight deficiencies (apparently B12 deficiency belongs to vegans and old ladies) I am pretty fit and have been instructed to carefully watch my moles due to the lack of pigmentation in my skin.

Isn't it always the case

An update on my junk food craving: I had some. It wasn't that good. Maybe I chose the wrong thing and I'm sure i had a bit too much. Afterward there was no satisfaction just bloatedness. And a sugar crash. Too bad I know I'll have to just keep on learning this lesson.

My obsession lately has been names. This isn't connected to wanting children, there is no place in my life right now for things that cry all the time, are messy, and constantly demand my attention. But I am fascinated with how people name them. Almost daily I find myself on the babynames website perusing the message boards to see what other people like. Some are pretty out there and some are growing on me.

My forever favourites:
Audrey/Aubrey
Maggie (but as a nickname, I'm trying to come up with something other than margaret for this)
Briar
Levi
Ezekiel (Zeke)

And then, from being on the site more than is healthy, some names I would love to use but most likely wouldn't. Let's call them guilty-pleasure names
Piper
Emerald
Olivia
Finn
harper (for a girl)
August (boy)
Dmitri (this one I've loved forever, I tried to convince my mom to name my brother this 16 years ago)

And i'll stop because i could go on forever.

I WANT COOKIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Or brownies, or donuts, or sugary sugary cake, or cheesecake, or rich rich ice cream, or a chocolate bar......

I has been over a week since I have had junk food. I want it. RIGHT. NOW. I'm too cheap to buy it and it is safer if it isn't in my house. But I am in the cafeteria and i can smell it.....

My lunch is good: and orange, some quinoa with salsa and cucumbers (also will be my dinner). Where the chocolate at?

And His Brother Asparagus

There are now 6 mammals living in our house (that we know of, there could be something in the walls). Yesterday, while starting a friendship with the girl in the room next to mine, we/she spontaneously brought a cat home from Pet Smart. So we have a cat. Sort of. Someone is allergic (it is ok, long story, i'm not typing it all) but it means the cat is somewhat restricted. He is black with fabulous green eyes that fade to rhinestone yellow. A very sweet temperament letting me play with his paws (!) which are the cutest part of a cat. His new name is Bok Choy, way less cliche than Midnight; the appellation on his adoption form. The really cool thing is that I have never had/lived with a pet. At least not a real one that could roam. I have had fish and a crab, neither of which require much attention or care or give it either.

Today was my first class. Spanish. It should be fun and challenging: a good combination. The real excitement for the day was biking over 10k (ok not that far, i couldn't have run it!) to a volunteer orientation. I will be doing the Talk It Up program on Saturday afternoon at the London Speech and Language Centre. Basically it is additional therapy for children with communication difficulties in the form of a small classroom with a teacher and an assistant/volunteer (that's me!) to every one or two children. We have the opportunity to sit in on their individual, half-hour therapy to get to know them better and learn as much as we can and then we apply the therapies and work on goals in the classroom setting. One of our biggest goals will be to encourage social interaction and using words or practicing specific sounds. Tonight was an orientation, Saturday is the first therapy day. It is the perfect opportunity to get me on track to eventually be a Speech-Language pathologist (SLP)

Finally trying to stop

I have painted my finger nails and decided not to bite them. Must be that fact that classes haven't started yet but it has worked, almost a week now and without much temptation! i started to notice a difference today in that it is slightly more difficult to type with my nails hitting the keys and sliding off. that is a new one for me! they are still little and may need even a few years to rejuvenate before I'll love my nails but it is about time. Now that it is public everyone can slap my hands away from my month if I try to bite. Besides, it was wearing at my lower front teeth and causing pain. I can't afford new bottom teeth!

I biked to the Western campus today for the first time. It was a surprisingly easy and fast bike ride, no more than 10 minutes but i forgot to actually time it. The day was spent in lines, first for a student card, then a bus pass and then student health services. Now i am enjoying some time off before classes start. I am mostly unpacked and will just continue to pick up things here and there as I need them. The last of the 5 girls moved in today and it is a very full house ie. everyone brought a lot of stuff. I had some time to wait this afternoon so i spent some of it browsing the library periodicals....D.B. Weldon Library, you will be my refuge.