The 8th Nerve

Yesterday was dark and the rain came down all day long. I was in training from 8:30 to 4:30, statistics class from 5 to 7:30, and then assessment lab until 9pm. Then I came home and had a take-home midterm to do for physiology, so I was up until 1 am. I don’t think I’ve ever had to process so much information for such an extended period of time in my life. Needless to say, by 1am my brain had the productivity and effectiveness of mashed potatoes.

I still need to get a costume for Halloween. I am thinking perhaps I will be a devil, with the red glittery horns and the whole red get up. I should try to be more original but I usually when I attempt originality it ends up more like obscurity. One year I went to a college party wearing a silvery dress and carrying a pair of scissors. I was Delilah. You know, Samson and Delilah? She cut off his hair and he lost all his super strength? Ah, never mind. Everyone thought I was Cleopatra and I put my scissors back behind the counter with the beer keg.

My most successful and inspired Halloween costume ever was 4th grade. My Mom had a one piece snow suit that buttoned all the way up and it had a turtleneck collar. I put it on and buttoned it all the way up over my head. I could see through the space between two buttons and the turtle neck up on top my head created a very effective illusion of being headless. I went to class this way, carrying a big plastic orange jackolantern like it was my head. Everyone was in costumes and we had a costume parade outside. From the little that I could see through the quarter inch hole in the snowsuit, I discerned that my costume was a hit and left the ghosts and GI Joes in the dust.

The last year I went trick or treating was sixth grade I think. A friend and I went around town for at least four hours and had pillowcases full of candy that must have weighed about ten pounds. Towards the end of the evening we went to a house and knocked on the door. A guy from our class came to the door, dressed very maturely in manly pajama bottoms. He looked faintly amused when he recognized us. I abruptly lost my sugar induced giddiness and felt very childish and uncool. He gave us some candy from a bowl. I decided my trick or treating days were officially over.

On Halloween some friends are coming up and we’re all going to a concert, which is also Magic Hat’s big Halloween bash and we’ll all be dressed up.

I still want a bag of candy though.

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Oct 28th 2003Uncategorized

Just got home from work and now I am attempting to sum up some energy to get back out there for class from 7:30 to 10pm. Steve informed me he has found a new host for his site and my journal, but it will take a few days for him to transfer everything and the site might go down. But it’ll be up and running again soon and the URL stays the same.

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Oct 23rd 2003Uncategorized

I’m surprised how much running and journal writing went together. Running gave me time to be reflective and think about things without interruption. Usually when I got back I was inspired to write an entry and most of it was already put together in my mind before I started writing.

I haven’t had a chance to do any real running since the marathon and I’m realizing that all my time, as well as my mind, is busy and cluttered without running. I think about writing an entry, but without running I don’t seem to have any thoughts put together nor do I seem to have the energy or time for it. But I will not let the eighth nerve pass into oblivion, and I’m determined to get a run in this week!

My new job started this week. The environment, simply with its presence of order and structure, is so incredibly different from my last job. I was taken to the conference room and there was a place set up for me with office supplies, a letter of welcome, chocolates, a “stress reliever” ball, a couple enormous binders full of information, plus a shoulder bag, t-shirt, and coffee travel mug with the company name and slogan on them- and they were actually tastefully done too. Three other ‘newbies’ are starting with me, and they are starting us off with intensive all day trainings for 2 1/2 weeks. The trainings are very thorough, with powerpoint presentations, modules, speakers coming in, tours, shadowing of co-workers, even homework and take-home quizzes. This is also interspaced with breaks, and little exercises like scavenger hunts where we have to go around getting to know all the co-workers in the process. I am amazed. I was expecting to have to scrounge for office supplies and then get thrown right into my job and have to interrupt harried co-workers to answer all my questions while learning everything the hard way. I thought all jobs were that way!

It’s exhausting though, 8 hours of training followed by 2 1/2 to four hours of classes at school. Whew. Steve is also getting bombarded with lots of work, but that’s a good, good thing.

Snow is coming!

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Oct 21st 2003Uncategorized

Today was rainy, windy and your above average blustery day. I had a window open in the bedroom and a chilly wind was sweeping through the room when I woke up. The darker than usual morning made it doubly hard to get out of my warm bed. It was due time to make up for so many mild, sunny and brilliant leaf colored days. I was excited to put on a nice cozy sweater and make a cup of tea before going to work. The roads were strewn with wet leaves and branches. The elements are in a mood and they’re putting up a fuss and dare to take it out on the world.

Just two more days at work. Then a whole new adventure begins on Monday, and I find out just what I may have gotten myself into.

I’ve been busy catching up on schoolwork. I was going to do the same tonight but received an email from a co-worker inviting me to her house. I decided to throw caution to the winds (it was very windy). I took a trip out to the Champlain Islands and spent the evening with a group from work, eating some food, drinking some beers, and playing some poker .

At some point before October 31st I have to move this site elsewhere. I’ll keep you posted.

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Oct 15th 2003Uncategorized

Unfortunately, the Mormons have such a stronghold on the culture and history of Utah that most people wrinkle their noses at the mention of this particular state. As in “Utah? Who would want to go there?”

This is really too bad because, after traveling the length and width of Utah the past week, I’ve found that it is a spectacular place. I’ve never seen anything like it- the shape, color, and size of the landscape changes so often that I didn’t dare stop looking out the window of the car. Just when I thought the land couldn’t possibly produce another unusual or fascinating formation or geological process, it did just that.

The landscape of Utah reminded me of the Aborigines of Australia, which I studied as an anthropology minor in college. The Aborigines do not experience linear time as we do, and see the past, present, and furture occuring simultaneously in the timeless landscape. They also saw a mystical force at work in the land, carving and creating formations that interact and portray beings, gods, stories about the world. This made sense to me as I looked at the vast variety of shape and formation that bore resemblances to castles, fortresses, animals, humans, beings from another world. The power of the landscape implies the presence of a living force with an artist’s mind, surely having more intent and purpose than the meanderings of wind and water.

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Oct 7th 2003Uncategorized