Headaches.....

Wow...I now have a new understanding of the word migraine.

Not that I have ever doubted the painful reality which some people have to deal with regularly but experiencing the pain is very different that having some one explain it to you.

Grades are out....

I really can't complain..... with 2 A's, an A- and 2 B+'s my scores weren't that bad. Unfortunately it drops my GPA to a 3.82. I know it doesn't really matter, but my OCD seems to keep poking at me.

*sigh*

oh well...... back to my crit lit and Civil War homework.

Medically Necessary

Today was full interesting information. So I thought I would share one of my many conversations:

Kristine: For some time, tryptophan has been available in health food stores as a dietary supplement. Many people found tryptophan to be a safe and reasonably effective sleep aid, probably due to its ability to increase brain levels of serotonin (a calming neurotransmitter when present in moderate levels) and/or melatonin (a sleep-inducing hormone secreted by the pineal gland in response to darkness or low light levels).

Kristine: And, (also according to wikipedia) it's in chocolate

Rachel: and now I am well informed.... I am going to eat it before going to bed every night

Kristine: so chocolate does make your brain work better :)


Rachel: I have an excuse

Kristine: yay! serotonin's also the neurotransmitter that most anti-depressants target
so chocolate functions in a similar manner to anti-depressants, just on a lower level :)
ergo, chocolate is medically waranted when one is having a bad day?

Rachel: exactly or trouble sleeping or overly frustrated

Kristine: yep

Rachel: there are many many cases which warrent the medical treatment of chocolate!

Kristine: precisely :)

The stream of conscience ramblings of a tired student

I know I have no right to complain, there are others far more busy than I.

But I am tired and I miss my old life. You know, the one where I could do what ever I wanted as long as I put in my hours for the day at the office. I have vacations every year and I made enough money so i didn't have to worry about it. Yeah, that one. I know that attending school is good for me. That I need to get my degree....but man, I sure do miss my 2 weeks of vacation.
I miss my old boss, and my work friends. I even miss my hour long commute on the metro. All that prime reading and quilting time. *sigh*

Now I am going to go take care of my readings for World History and Brit Lit so I can make my 8:30 French Conversation study group ... so that some day, I will again be able to take a week off work and do nothing but lay in a hammock by the beach and read a book.

School Woes....

So this week I have been trying to figure out what I am going to do about classes this summer. I am so tired I am afraid I am burning myself out. I have finally decided that I am going to take only 2 classes this summer; a Crit Lit class and a history class.
I have also been trying to piece together a schedule for my classes in the fall. Unfortunately, this is not as easy. I have finally reached the upper division credits of both of my majors. While this leads to classes that I find much more interesting, most of these classes are held in the middle of the day.

I happen to work full time as a receptionist. My hours are 10-6. The office has been really good about working with my schedule, but I can only push it so far. I just don't know what to do. Anyone know a company who is willing to hire someone for $12/hr who can only work after 3 pm. Lol!

*sigh* I'll have to get this figured out.

The Battle

It seems for year no my body and I have been waged in a war for years now. Sometimes I win sometimes I don't.

Let me explain.

Most of you who actually read this blog know that I get tired. Really tired... brain shutting down, not finishing sentences kind of tired. (It's the "saying I will meet a friend at home but forgetting half way there and stopping to get gas only to remember when she called looking for me" kind of tired) It has been this way since my mission and no one knows why it happens. All I know is that when I am sick, or in pain, overly stressed, or just plain doing to much, my body combats this by trying to sleep for long periods of time. Like 12-24 hours. I am only half joking when I say that I came home from my mission and slept. I have very little memory of what went on between August and mid-December of that year.

In the years following my mission, I learned to recognize the signs of, what I term, crashing. Sometimes, I would be good and dial things back but usually I would just try to cram everything I had to get done into the remaining time and take the weekend to sleep it off. Or if that wasn't an option I would do nothing but go to work then come home and sleep..... all week long. Which usually got me back on track for another couple of months or so. Lately, the crashes are a weekly thing. If I take Saturday easy I am usually good for church on Sunday and then I take a really long nap.

Last week I wasn't feeling well and knew my body would want me to sleep.... but I had things to do ... so I didn't. I won that battle. This week ... my body didn't listen so well..... there was too much play /school/work and too little sleep. So when Sunday rolled around I slept through the morning and now have been awake for about an hour. Enough time to eat, get a headache, and realize that I am going back to sleep.

Never fear!

My body might have won this round, but it hasn't won the war.

I have to much to do ... it will just have to wait until after my nap.

A book to stand the test of time.....

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I had forgotten how much I enjoy reading the classic but Elizabeth Gaskell's portrayal England in the 19th century certainly reminded me. Not only is this a great love story (with no kissing. What can I say it is a victorian novel.) but it also delves into the mandates of English society for the time period. Focusing on the roles of women, the differences between the agricultural south and the industrial north, the breaking down of class barriers, and the effect of religion.
I am proud to say that this will have a special place on my book shelf.

View all my reviews >>

Done for the night....

Well I finished North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell and the reading on FDR for American History tomorrow. I'll have to study for my film test tomorrow.... sometime before I take it. *sigh*

For now, I am going to bed. hopefully I can be asleep before the clock strikes one; if only to say that I got at least 4 hours of sleep. Lol!

The Debutante....

Every one who knows me knows I have a slight obsession with word and I get all kinds of excited when my french and english worlds connect. So last night while doing my french homework, I learned the word 'une debutante' which translates to a begginer.
I immediately thought of the debutante balls. Which totally makes sense.... As the balls are presenting women to society for the first time.

I am totally fascinated....

But I'm not a geek. I'm just boring. :)

Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

weekend quotes...

While there were quite a few quotes from this weekend, I think this one was my all time favorite.

While having breakfast with my father and younger sisters we got on to the topic of books. (Really when don't I end up on the topic of books....) The conversation ended as follows:

Me: Sorry, I can ramble on about books forever, I am just a geek.

LL: You're not a geek! You're just boring.

So am I happy that I am not a geek or sad that I am so boring?

18 hours.....

give or take an hour.

This weekend was a whirl wind of excitement. From the wedding to Sariahs obsession with Princess Boo. There was homework and cream puff Jokes, Watching the olympics with dad and Tiana straightening my hair. There wasn't a whole lot of sleep, like many of my weekend trips. Lol!

So coming home on Sunday found me curled up in my bed dead to the world for about 18 hours. I feel better today....though still really tired. If I can just get my French and Film homework done I can go to bed ontime tonight.

Cross your fingers!

P.S. Steph, we are still wondering who guess was closest.... tell me you made it at least 15 min...

not quite done....

Well the laundry got done, along with the World History readings and the massive Brit Lit assignment.....

BUT...

I didn't get my packing done OR clean my room OR the bathroom. OR study for the french exam tomorrow.

Tomorrow is going to be a long night. Followed by an even longer yet fun filled trip to AZ.

Wish me luck and lots of caffeine. Lol!

That is why I read.....

Nothing is ever gonna come crawling out of my books to kill me.

Here I am at almost 11 pm lying in bed realizing that I can't go to sleep. I want to go to sleep. I even would say that I NEED to go to sleep... but every time I close my eyes I see Noah backing away from the creepy creepy little girl with the phone ringing in the back ground!

Therefore..... I am going to read a story that turns out a little happier.... and then another... and then another.... Hopefully at some point I will fall asleep with out nightmares.

P.S. Another time I am gonna have to blog about the realization that Meg, Sarah, and I are characters out of a Nora Roberts novel.... not tonight though.

Creepy Creepy little girl!

just another day in paradise.....

So after a fabulous nasal flush (which is just as enjoyable as it sounds) I am climbing in to bed with the good doctor...

here's hoping rest will make what ever this is go away!

100%

I hate it when professors lead you to believe that something is going to be difficult ...

and then it isn't.

After 2 weeks of stressing because the professor said that many people find the tests difficult or abstract, I took my first exam today..... And I have decided that the professor was just being mean...

I got an A after only 4 minutes. At least I can go back to treating it like the fine arts credit I signed up for.

Mondays....

Apparently the song is true... Mondays will get you down. Or maybe it is just me. Either way, my self fulfilling prophecy has come true.

Mondays are my bad day. From the time they start with my beautiful alarm at 5:15 in the morning (Okay lets be serious, you all know I lay in bed until 6 when the shower is finally free) until I finally get home from my Film lab between 9 and 10 pm, Mondays just seem chock full of things to do. And I never get it all done.

And I am tired.... So good night all. I will have to write my paper tomorrow.

*sigh*

Forgetfullness....

It seems to be that lately I am lucky to remember my own name let alone more important things like the assignments for my classes that I printed and left sitting on my desk at the office!!!

Some days you can't win for losing.

For Jer and Tink....

I am sad to say I haven't really had time to watch for a while... but Kate sent this on to me and it made me giggle....

Well rested!

Good Morning Everyone!

Apparently the week took a bit out of me. I came home from work last night and crawled into bed. After reading for about an hour I crashed and slept until about 6 this morning. I hope this isn't a sign of how this semester is going to go. I am not sure I have time for a 12 hour crash every weekend. Especially when the homework picks up.

Speaking of homework, I feel rather productive already. It is only 8 am and I have finished the novel I was working on, started my readings for wold history and started my french homework (which should be done soon). That means I should be able to get to my chores here in a bit. The bathroom has been screaming at me for over a week now.

First though..... I need to eat. I haven't had anything but water since the early afternoon yesterday and my tummy is telling me it is hungry. What do you think about taco soup for breakfast..... Mom said she made it spicy just for me last night?

lol!

Another Night.....

Apparently I gave the impression that I wouldn't be blogging until summer, Which was completely unintentional. While I will admit that blogging will be sporadic for the next while I do intend to continue writing.... just for you Dad. ;)

I am supposed to be studying.... but unfortunately I am distracted. So here I sit in my small room surrounded by text books, baskets of unfolded clean laundry, my unmade bed and a desk with papers piled so high I can actually see the desk top.

I am trying not to get discouraged tonight but today seems to be a day for it.

It is the first full week of my semester and I am already feeling like I am never going to keep up. The list of papers to write this semester seems never ending, though all seem to be easier then either of the major papers I had to write last semester. My French class is taught by a man at least 4 years my junior, if not more. He has already called me old in front of the whole class though the young girls in the front row were quick to jump to my defense. They kindly informed me "that 30 is the new 20." Lol!

On a good note, my world history class seems to actually cover a lot of the same information as my Brit Lit class. :) Though, the first 3 hour class period almost put me to sleep. I hope she gets more interesting. I look forward to reading Galileo's Daughter and things Fall Apart for World History and deciding on 2 Novels for Lit class.

Alright that is all the time I have for now. The study guides for my intro to film class (darn Fine Arts credits needed for G E's) have started to yell in my general direction. I have to complete them for the class at 8 am tomorrow morning (after my amer. history at 7 am).