Dead Week

There comes a time each semester when all the energy spent paying attention in class, all the getting up early to study, and all that going to bed late after talking with friends begins to take its toll. One's body starts to fight back. First comes the sneezing, then falling down stairs, having weird food cravings, drooling in public, people sleeping just about anywhere. You name it, it can happen..

At PC, we call it dead week--and that's not because there's nothing going on, it's because we aren't quite sure we will make it out alive.

Next week, we will have exams. We are all stressed out. We are all complaining. We are all frustrated. There is simply too much work to be done.

There are these little moments in between everything, however, that make it all ok.

It never fails that you run into an old friend from weeks gone by and spend 10 minutes talking on the side-walk, just catching up on life. You spend a lot of time studying in random places and discover the secrets hidden within the walls (or rooftops) of campus. You linger at meals just a little bit longer--swapping stories, solving the problems of the world. Then, there are the outfits. No matter what you are wearing--and chances are it is something you wouldn't be caught dead in at any other time in your life--there is always somebody wearing something even more ridiculous. I am a fan of the whole "slip some clothes on over your pajamas and run to the library" thing.

We wonder out-loud why we choose to put ourselves through this; we mourn loss of sleep.

There are moments when we sit down for tests and our minds go blank. There are lots of typo's in our papers, lots of late night visits to Sonic, and plenty of caffeine buzzes going around.

This is my shout out to all the college kids wrapping up the semester. You will get through it! Just keep putting one foot in front of the other--and try not to fall down any stairs.

Here is a picture of my desk from this weekend, (I think I wrote a total of 27 pages):

Arts and crafts for Immunology students (see the resemblance):

IgG made of Easter eggs

IgG

The Luck of the Irish

Call it bad luck.

Call it work. Call it school.

Call it whatever you want.

Just don't call me lazy. 

(counterintuitive to my last  post, I know)

This is what I have been up to:

Psychopharmacology- Models of Depression

Psychopharmacology- Cortical hypoarousal in ADHD

Psychopharmacology- GABA cell surface recceptor

Immunology- T cell activation pathway

Immunology- IgG

Immunology- Complement activation

Immunology- Western Blot/Electrophoresis of Bovine Serum Albumin

February.

-from the Latin, februum, meaning "purification."

It is also the hardest month to pronounce.

There are a lot of interesting holidays in February: Groundhog's Day, Valentine's Day, Black History Month, National-Bird Feeding Month (that one's for Dad), Chinese New Year, etc. Birthdays: George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Edison, Susan B. Anthony, Ronald Reagan...

Going back the purification concept....

I have noticed that I am really lazy sometimes. (Part of that comes with the territory of being a college student: wanting stay up late/sleep in, yawning in class, procrastinating on homework, etc.)

I came to this conclusion as I sat on my futon one night last week. I needed to look up a professor's office hours, and instead of leaning up, unzipping my book-bag, and finding my notebook, I went to the school website, found my class on the Blackboard site, and downloaded the syllabus. This may not seem lazy, but it is. In fact, it may seem smart and efficient, but it isn't.

You see, I downloaded the syllabus and read the office hours, closed it, and then promptly moved on to the next tab on my browser and forgot all about the office hours. Then, I had to lean up, unzip my book-bag, find my notebook, and look them up again.

I had reason to remember them after that.

What does all of this have to do with purification, you ask?

It is a small, simple reminder to live purposefully; with intention; to avoid distraction and busyness as much as possible; to live in the moment, appreciating and celebrating people and times that bring us together.

It is a variation of stopping to smell the roses; to soak up the sunshine on a pretty day, and to marvel as the rain-drops slip down the window panes or the snow dusts the ground.

It is a reminder to love, and love deeply; to love with the love of our Creator, and to relish in His joy along the way.

Happy February, my friends!

2/5/11