meeting jim tressel, "i wanna be sedated," allergies to allergies, & other such affairs
Sorry to overwhelm you with LJ's, but there's been a lot of my mind as of late. Life has also been more demanding, which means that I need to focus more intently. To that end I have been dumping "superfluous" thoughts to deal with later on LJ, thus reducing the danger of tripping over them on my way out the door.
I figured it might be nice to provide a general "life overview" sort of update in here, so that way those of you with lives (hehe) can skip all the previous crap and still know what's going on. That way I also can ponder just a little bit more before crawling into bed.
MISCHIEF:
The Jimmy Buffett quote "If I'm not dead by Thursday, I'll be roarin' Friday night" seems to have been written about me. I have a tendency to launch into Mondays with the force of the Mongol Hoard, then crawl out of Thursday half unsure that I'll live until Friday. night The weekend is then usually lots of fun, although so far I am still in a bit of a slump that I need to get out of. Believe it or not, I have not hosted or attended one party since moving to this house!
That aside, Monday night was extraordinary fun. I climbed hard-core with a bunch of friends (Weifei, Jing Jing, Michaela, Noah, Chris, and I think Kevin) and then went out to get Bubble Tea with Michster and the boys. I haven't made a late-night Pochi run in ages... it brought the good times back. :) I then accompanied Mich & Boys to Noah's apartment, where he made us INCREDIBLE waffles and we sat around drawing and playing a game called Guitar Hero. Drawing together would have been enough, as it's been too many years since I've done something like that, but Guitar Hero turned out to be fiendishly fun. I really, really enjoyed myself. I sucked but I danced while I was playing. And I now have a new-found appreciation for the song "I Wanna be Sedated"...
Tuesday night I went to PSA at 8 and came home pretending I was going to go to sleep, but Anjali called me and before I knew it all of my housemates came pouring inside. Apparently the found 20 bucks on the street and decided to buy Chinese food for all of us.. *laughs* It was fun. I then finally gave in and agreed to watch Gray's Anatomy while snuggled in the bean-bag. I got very little studying done, but it turns out there's some really hot doctors on TV...
Wednesday night I intended to go the AMA meeting but got intercepted. Hina informed me of a rally at the Union so we headed down there and got utterly stormed on. When we got inside, the sirens went off and they forced us all into the basement, where we met up with Frankie and made some friends.
At the anti-abuse rally we got free t-shirts, free pizza, and free gum. All of this paled in comparison, however, to Meeting JIM TRESSEL!!!
Yes, yes, I know, I'm a goober. But I really am a big fangirl now! He actually came up to *me* first, asked me where I was from, and then made small talk, utterly catching me off guard with his pleasant, respectable, and approachable demeanor. I feel shyly honoured that he talked to me first. He was composed and patient for someone being mobbed by eager Ohio State fans, but not in the least disingenuous or condescending.
I cannot emphasize enough how thoroughly good Coach Tressle seems to be. His anti-abuse speech about selflessness moved me, but it was his overall behaviour that really made me feel proud and admiring of Ohio State. I'm glad that Hina and Frankie were so enthusiastic about meeting him; because of them, I wound up with this photo and his autograph on my Buckeye sweatshirt. We came home utterly high with excitement and I actually updated my Facebook for once. Miraculously, this seems to have caught the attention of some old friends of mine... which is neat.
But most importantly of all, I left that rally feeling empowered by having signed up to volunteer for future anti-abuse events. :)
HEALTH:
I don't know if I mentioned this or not, but Chris helped me figure out that I was apparently allergic to my allergy medicine! You've probably noticed by now that I've been under the weather quite some time, and my last doctor's appointment yielded a recommendation for Claritin. As soon as I started taking it, though, I found that I started to get nasty headaches, and soon I was more or less incapacitated by feelings of crappiness that lasted for days. A fleeting comment from our neighbor Chris put it into to my head to skip it a day, and sure enough, the pressure in my head finally abated. I have been off it for five days now and up until today I have felt excellent (though tired.) Today I suddenly felt really crappy (damn sinuses again) but I think this is a legitimate and common concern due to the crazy weather. I am trying to take it easy.
My knee is also doing way better -- I will only wear the brace when I climb or work out. :)
My only concern, then, is that for some reason I seem to have incredible trouble sleeping even when I feel exhausted. Ah well, I am pleasantly warm and sleepy right now so that cycle may be broken. :)
CLASSES:
I seem to have done very well on all of the quizzes and midterms last week. This pleases me enormously. For once I worked hard and it PAID off. Changing my major was utterly brilliant, as is the fact all my classes interest me. Doing homework with my friends is fun, but it's almost a danger now because I always want to share the cool things that I'm learning. :)
My two really nasty midterms have yet to come, and so I am preparing in advance... slowly. I'm basically in the swing of things now, which means the studying will not relent. When I'm not preparing for exams, I'm trying to keep up on the homework of day-t0-day life, whihc is working. But it'd work better if I stopped getting sick!
FAMILY:
I have been bad about this. I still have not talked to Aunt Nancy or a counselor and everything seems to be fine in my mind. But it could be better, in a way? I've more or less stopped thinking about the situation entirely, and I frequently call my parents... They are pleasant to me and my mom drops unusual comments like "Good, you deserve to be happy" with increasing frequency. They are coming up this weekend to buy me a heater and otherwise help me get necessities for life.
Apparently John and Dad spoke three times today, arguing but nevertheless listening and being civil. John also spent the weekend in New York with Aunt Nancy, which went very well. I regret missing all their phone calls, but it might have been slightly odd. John sent an email today saying that I came up in a spirit reading they did; apparently, I showed up as being in the midst of a difficult, emotional struggle. This is true. But I don't know that I am willing to discuss it with my aunt.
FRIENDS:
Good times have been had recently. Old friends have been contacting me through Facebook and friends from home have been active on AIM. B and I talked on the phone twice today! I also bonded more with Hina and Weifei, venting my worries about one of my friends and receiving some sound advice. And tea.
CLIMBING:
Ah, clearly I saved the best for last. ;) Haha, nah, I still have onyl gotten into climbing once a week, but the climbing I have been doing is really intense! I am still sore all over from Monday night!
MOnday I climbed with my brace on, so I decided to focus on skill before strength. I attacked a few walls that I have not been able to finish and did not finish but got much farther. Little by little, I am learning these walls. My hands and feet are re-gaining their callous, which I (and probably only fellow climbers) think is beautiful. I am improving rapidly because I've been so out of practice.
Monday I meant to take it easy, but discovered an auto-belay route of gorgeous proportions, and then, unattended, climbed it half-way through at least six times in a row. I was really into the beginning of it. The moves were so critical, so tense. I did not attempt to finish it beacuse finishing it was not the objective: teaching my body the movements was the mission. Muscle enneagrams are a priceless gift.
I look forward to my next climbing trip and hope to improve my recovery time as the year goes on...
And now, time for bed, I can't believe I wasted an hour on LJ trying to wind myself down for sleep. Sure worked, though, as I am now thoroughly exhausted, peaceful, and ready to happily curl up to sleep. :)
I figured it might be nice to provide a general "life overview" sort of update in here, so that way those of you with lives (hehe) can skip all the previous crap and still know what's going on. That way I also can ponder just a little bit more before crawling into bed.
MISCHIEF:
The Jimmy Buffett quote "If I'm not dead by Thursday, I'll be roarin' Friday night" seems to have been written about me. I have a tendency to launch into Mondays with the force of the Mongol Hoard, then crawl out of Thursday half unsure that I'll live until Friday. night The weekend is then usually lots of fun, although so far I am still in a bit of a slump that I need to get out of. Believe it or not, I have not hosted or attended one party since moving to this house!
That aside, Monday night was extraordinary fun. I climbed hard-core with a bunch of friends (Weifei, Jing Jing, Michaela, Noah, Chris, and I think Kevin) and then went out to get Bubble Tea with Michster and the boys. I haven't made a late-night Pochi run in ages... it brought the good times back. :) I then accompanied Mich & Boys to Noah's apartment, where he made us INCREDIBLE waffles and we sat around drawing and playing a game called Guitar Hero. Drawing together would have been enough, as it's been too many years since I've done something like that, but Guitar Hero turned out to be fiendishly fun. I really, really enjoyed myself. I sucked but I danced while I was playing. And I now have a new-found appreciation for the song "I Wanna be Sedated"...
Tuesday night I went to PSA at 8 and came home pretending I was going to go to sleep, but Anjali called me and before I knew it all of my housemates came pouring inside. Apparently the found 20 bucks on the street and decided to buy Chinese food for all of us.. *laughs* It was fun. I then finally gave in and agreed to watch Gray's Anatomy while snuggled in the bean-bag. I got very little studying done, but it turns out there's some really hot doctors on TV...
Wednesday night I intended to go the AMA meeting but got intercepted. Hina informed me of a rally at the Union so we headed down there and got utterly stormed on. When we got inside, the sirens went off and they forced us all into the basement, where we met up with Frankie and made some friends.
At the anti-abuse rally we got free t-shirts, free pizza, and free gum. All of this paled in comparison, however, to Meeting JIM TRESSEL!!!
Yes, yes, I know, I'm a goober. But I really am a big fangirl now! He actually came up to *me* first, asked me where I was from, and then made small talk, utterly catching me off guard with his pleasant, respectable, and approachable demeanor. I feel shyly honoured that he talked to me first. He was composed and patient for someone being mobbed by eager Ohio State fans, but not in the least disingenuous or condescending.
I cannot emphasize enough how thoroughly good Coach Tressle seems to be. His anti-abuse speech about selflessness moved me, but it was his overall behaviour that really made me feel proud and admiring of Ohio State. I'm glad that Hina and Frankie were so enthusiastic about meeting him; because of them, I wound up with this photo and his autograph on my Buckeye sweatshirt. We came home utterly high with excitement and I actually updated my Facebook for once. Miraculously, this seems to have caught the attention of some old friends of mine... which is neat.
But most importantly of all, I left that rally feeling empowered by having signed up to volunteer for future anti-abuse events. :)
HEALTH:
I don't know if I mentioned this or not, but Chris helped me figure out that I was apparently allergic to my allergy medicine! You've probably noticed by now that I've been under the weather quite some time, and my last doctor's appointment yielded a recommendation for Claritin. As soon as I started taking it, though, I found that I started to get nasty headaches, and soon I was more or less incapacitated by feelings of crappiness that lasted for days. A fleeting comment from our neighbor Chris put it into to my head to skip it a day, and sure enough, the pressure in my head finally abated. I have been off it for five days now and up until today I have felt excellent (though tired.) Today I suddenly felt really crappy (damn sinuses again) but I think this is a legitimate and common concern due to the crazy weather. I am trying to take it easy.
My knee is also doing way better -- I will only wear the brace when I climb or work out. :)
My only concern, then, is that for some reason I seem to have incredible trouble sleeping even when I feel exhausted. Ah well, I am pleasantly warm and sleepy right now so that cycle may be broken. :)
CLASSES:
I seem to have done very well on all of the quizzes and midterms last week. This pleases me enormously. For once I worked hard and it PAID off. Changing my major was utterly brilliant, as is the fact all my classes interest me. Doing homework with my friends is fun, but it's almost a danger now because I always want to share the cool things that I'm learning. :)
My two really nasty midterms have yet to come, and so I am preparing in advance... slowly. I'm basically in the swing of things now, which means the studying will not relent. When I'm not preparing for exams, I'm trying to keep up on the homework of day-t0-day life, whihc is working. But it'd work better if I stopped getting sick!
FAMILY:
I have been bad about this. I still have not talked to Aunt Nancy or a counselor and everything seems to be fine in my mind. But it could be better, in a way? I've more or less stopped thinking about the situation entirely, and I frequently call my parents... They are pleasant to me and my mom drops unusual comments like "Good, you deserve to be happy" with increasing frequency. They are coming up this weekend to buy me a heater and otherwise help me get necessities for life.
Apparently John and Dad spoke three times today, arguing but nevertheless listening and being civil. John also spent the weekend in New York with Aunt Nancy, which went very well. I regret missing all their phone calls, but it might have been slightly odd. John sent an email today saying that I came up in a spirit reading they did; apparently, I showed up as being in the midst of a difficult, emotional struggle. This is true. But I don't know that I am willing to discuss it with my aunt.
FRIENDS:
Good times have been had recently. Old friends have been contacting me through Facebook and friends from home have been active on AIM. B and I talked on the phone twice today! I also bonded more with Hina and Weifei, venting my worries about one of my friends and receiving some sound advice. And tea.
CLIMBING:
Ah, clearly I saved the best for last. ;) Haha, nah, I still have onyl gotten into climbing once a week, but the climbing I have been doing is really intense! I am still sore all over from Monday night!
MOnday I climbed with my brace on, so I decided to focus on skill before strength. I attacked a few walls that I have not been able to finish and did not finish but got much farther. Little by little, I am learning these walls. My hands and feet are re-gaining their callous, which I (and probably only fellow climbers) think is beautiful. I am improving rapidly because I've been so out of practice.
Monday I meant to take it easy, but discovered an auto-belay route of gorgeous proportions, and then, unattended, climbed it half-way through at least six times in a row. I was really into the beginning of it. The moves were so critical, so tense. I did not attempt to finish it beacuse finishing it was not the objective: teaching my body the movements was the mission. Muscle enneagrams are a priceless gift.
I look forward to my next climbing trip and hope to improve my recovery time as the year goes on...
And now, time for bed, I can't believe I wasted an hour on LJ trying to wind myself down for sleep. Sure worked, though, as I am now thoroughly exhausted, peaceful, and ready to happily curl up to sleep. :)