(no subject)
I think I have physical-ADD. It’s an interesting hypochondriatic twist, all the more surprising because hypochondriatic isn’t a real word. I believe it can be traced all the way back to the early years upstate, where they created the spastic label, and frequent references to supposed muscle spasms became the universally-accepted, all-purpose excuse for violations of personal space (ex: sudden, involuntary and fully-clothed entry into the lake).
I began considering the developmental causes of my inability to remain still as I sat in a 3-person class, 4 if you count the professor (and I suppose the professor is a notable component of the class), repeatedly shifting in my seat. Quite noisily, I might add, particularly when one leg was folded under (think: half-crosslegged position) and my shoes’ interaction with the seat was comparable to that of leather pants against themselves or a similar surface (leather couch, maybe). In large classes, it’s easier to blend in with general paper shuffling, random noises, and occasional side conversations. When the amount of people in the class renders it a mandatory conversation, however one-sided, rather than a class, frequent meaningless movements seem to be an attempt to physically accent understanding, emphasize agreement with a point made, or frequent meaningless movements. Increasingly aware of my behavior, I stole a few glances at the other two girls. I wondered if they were unnaturally glued to their seat, which would be cheating, since I saw no other explanation for their utter (or relative) immobility.
Toward the end of the lecture, I realized it’s not my fault after all. Right before class, when I told the lady at Java City, “decaf latte please,” she must have heard “not decaf latte please.” Because it wasn’t. I have been intentionally avoiding caffeine lately. Combine that with a generally rather low tolerance for caffeine (maybe I made that up), not having eaten, and a neuroscience-oriented psych lecture, the espresso was having a party. The shaking of my hands and the transformation of my handwriting to that of an excited 3 year old practicing penmanship without knowing the alphabet revealed caffeine’s responsibility and relieved me of my physical-ADD diagnosis- which isn’t real either so I wasn’t in much danger, but I’m a little disappointed in that Java City lady.
I began considering the developmental causes of my inability to remain still as I sat in a 3-person class, 4 if you count the professor (and I suppose the professor is a notable component of the class), repeatedly shifting in my seat. Quite noisily, I might add, particularly when one leg was folded under (think: half-crosslegged position) and my shoes’ interaction with the seat was comparable to that of leather pants against themselves or a similar surface (leather couch, maybe). In large classes, it’s easier to blend in with general paper shuffling, random noises, and occasional side conversations. When the amount of people in the class renders it a mandatory conversation, however one-sided, rather than a class, frequent meaningless movements seem to be an attempt to physically accent understanding, emphasize agreement with a point made, or frequent meaningless movements. Increasingly aware of my behavior, I stole a few glances at the other two girls. I wondered if they were unnaturally glued to their seat, which would be cheating, since I saw no other explanation for their utter (or relative) immobility.
Toward the end of the lecture, I realized it’s not my fault after all. Right before class, when I told the lady at Java City, “decaf latte please,” she must have heard “not decaf latte please.” Because it wasn’t. I have been intentionally avoiding caffeine lately. Combine that with a generally rather low tolerance for caffeine (maybe I made that up), not having eaten, and a neuroscience-oriented psych lecture, the espresso was having a party. The shaking of my hands and the transformation of my handwriting to that of an excited 3 year old practicing penmanship without knowing the alphabet revealed caffeine’s responsibility and relieved me of my physical-ADD diagnosis- which isn’t real either so I wasn’t in much danger, but I’m a little disappointed in that Java City lady.