April Fools

Mother Nature played a cruel joke today, giving us snow for the second time this spring.  Rain boots would have been a good idea, but I wasn't expecting snow so I wore my slippers to class.  Bad idea.  The wintry mix soaked my slippers, socks, and the bottom of my pants.  It was 8:00 in the morning on a Friday, so I didn't care what people thought of me, in the middle of class, I rolled up my sweats and went barefoot.  On the way back to my room, my slippers squishing against the pavement, my friend joked telling me I would probably catch pneumonia.  Since then, I have noticed how overheated I have been feeling, that cough from yesterday seems to be getting worse, and my throbbing headache won't seem to go away.  Now, I'm starting to think I might just be acting like a hypochondriac.  Thank you Mother Nature, if I actually become sick, I blame you.   

Always read before you sign

Extra credit is available for students who are willing to offer their time as participants in experiments run by other students in the Psychology department.  So, capitalizing on the offer of extra credit for one of my classes, I signed up for an experiment without really knowing what it was about-- mistake #1.  I signed the informed consent form and then sat behind a computer screen.  The experimenter told me I had to press letters "z" and "p" on a keyboard in order to get coins to drop into a box on the computer screen.  So I sat there idiotically, pressing the z and p keys for an hour.  I tried figuring out some sort of pattern between the two keys to get the coins to drop faster but I couldn't figure it out.  Out of frustration, I complained to the experimenter.  "At least you don't have to do this all day like the test pigeons!"  he replied.  Great.  A pigeon can do this and I am sitting her tapping buttons wondering why the coins aren't coming down faster.  At the end of the experiment I asked the experimenter what the purpose of the experiment was, but he wouldn't tell me.  Turns out, I had mistakenly signed up for a two day experiment.  Next week, I have another hour long date with a computer program made for pigeons... lucky me.      

Sigh of relief

Sometimes, I look forward to an empty room.  Walking in, throwing my keys on the table, and then jumping on my bed.  I'll just lie there and think.  I don't need to worry about people watching me or wondering why I wasn't in the midst of something more productive.  So as much as I enjoy sharing stories, listening to others' days, or wandering around the floor, sometimes its nice to just relax, throw my head back, and watch the minutes on the micro fridge beautifully tick by. 

Hello Spring!

Spring break is officially over and I am back at college.  I am thrilled to be back but exhausted from my trip and settling back into the dorm.  I can't believe there is only two months left before I am off for summer.  I am usually counting down the days, but not so much this year.  I am hoping spring drags on so I can hold on to freshman year a little while longer.   

Lost

Our 5 hour trip to Maryland this weekend was full of adventure.  We got horribly lost on the way, losing our bearing on all sense of direction.  We just laughed it off and made many U-turns.  I always factor in "getting lost time" because I know that it wouldn't be a true road trip if we don't lose our way at least once.  We got to our destination eventually, however.  And our reward for finding our way?  Seeing larger than life sights in Washington D.C. and spending some time with great company!  Well worth throwing the Mapquest directions out the window on Route I-97.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I hope everyone is celebrating with corned beef and cabbage today!  Every St. Patrick's day I make my sister teach me a set of steps from one of her Irish step dancing routines.  However, this year I never got the chance to re-learn the same old moves because I went to see some Irish step dancers in action!  Today was my first time in New York City for the St. Patrick's Day parade and it was a giant green madhouse.  We walked for blocks and blocks until we met up with a few more friends.  And we saw many kilts, banners, flags, and Irish sweaters, to say the least.  I was so surprised to see that people come from just about anywhere to see this parade (not that I blame them, it was a very good parade!); we saw marchers from places far away, like California and Florida.  It was beautiful weather for walking too!  I left the long sleeves at home and let the sun be my jacket for the day, instead of the bright green hoodies that filled the city and moved in rhythm with the bagpipes.

Dreaming in the afternoon

Napping is a guilty pleasure of mine.  If I were to place it on a list of guilty pleasures it would fall right between chocolate covered strawberries and Gilbert's late night milkshakes.  I always used to poke fun at a friend of mine for napping.  I thought it was a waste of time.  I still do.  But the temptation is just too much!  After my 8am class I look forward to sliding back into bed, under the sheets, hiding from the world.  Morning naps are always best and I feel less guilty about wasting that time because I figure that if I didn't have that 8am class I would be sleeping anyway.  But there is no justification for an afternoon nap.  Plenty of people would say there is, but I tend to think my time could be better spent reading, writing, going for a jog, catching up with people (If you laughed at "going for a jog," you are getting to know me quite well).  There are only certain days where a nap is acceptable.  The first would be days where I am feeling a little under the weather.  The second would be if I stayed up really late the night before doing work.  And the third would be if it rains all day.  Yes, I know the third reason seems like a cop out.  Yet, there is something soothing and sleepy about the day when the window glistens with rain drops and the air is heavy.  The sky takes on a dark gradient, almost pulling down the window shade for you, saying go ahead, stay nice and warm under the covers and come outside when the sun returns.