You think this is going to be a smart blurb about how I drink too much coffee and end up with insomnia, don’t you? And how there is this wacky several day aftermath of suffering from heightened emotional states, distraction, inability to focus, repetition and redundancy? About how the fragments of long-distance conversations held in my mind become internally reverberant and I believe the person on the other side must be actually hearing and answering, thinking they too are imaging the exchange? And why it is so difficult to not be aware at least once a day (if not once an hour) of how much I miss certain persons? How my future seems like such a difficult and steep climb but it feels like it could have been less so if someone else had come along too? It’s not just me. I’ve read several friends’ blogs today and seen that “love is in the air.” Guess it’s the colder weather - makes you want someone to snuggle. At his place though. My lumpy mattress is so ratty and thin you can feel every damn spring.

This is probably why some of the students here think I’m an over-achiever rather than a highly competitive perfectionist non-achieving slacker.

p.s. Forgot to mention how we learned this week (and a half?) that the kidney is the most important organ in the body. Forget the heart! Liver? Bah! It’s all about homeostasis, baby.

Am so grateful for the study groups. If they read this, which I imagine they don’t, it’s way fabulous meeting up and I’m starting to learn! For now I’ll be trying to maintain involvment in both.

“In Oklahoma, dogs must have a permit signed by the mayor in order to congregate in groups of three or more on private property.” So says my spam.

It’s been really hard to establish decent study habits. I’ve never really needed to do the kind of review for learning purposes I am facing now. It’s always been so easy! Smart = knowledge! but not any more. Now it’s hard work = reflected learning. Ugh. Am currently, temporarily, in two different study groups: the old ladies vs. the locals.

The old ladies are those of us 30+rs. They have been meeting regularly since the start of classes (in Aug) and are women who I think I “should” befriend based exclusively on commonality of age. It’s not working. I keep trying, they keep extending, it just doesn’t naturally stick. The locals = my roommate, and a “two-headed” pair of flatmates who live down the road. No brainer here. But for both groups, which are using the same basic study strategy, I need to do homework and there is the real marrow of the issue: sit and parse the notes. Parse the notes? How? There are so many books needing to be read, so many facts needing to be sorted, so many classes to attend, so many reports to write up. Why are the Brits so casual?

“Alien Rock” is the place my love came to full bloom. The church turned climbing gym opened my eyes to the experience I’d always imagined would be mine: I love climbing and damn, I will be good. Tired as hell after hanging by my fingers and knees in mid-air for 2 1/2 hours and cannot wait to do it again. A bit pricey of a hobby but going to be worth the cost and risk. Sigh. Why did I never get around to this on the Gunks? Yeesh.

Party animal web-genuis Kevin and I have been exploring the very suddenly very chilly town: tourist attractions, student attractions, local attractions. Walked by more wasted & beligerent tweens than I’ve ever seen in my life - wall of children waiting to go into a 13-year-old&up club - amongst. Oh yeah, and the girl falling down drunk who accosted Kevin with “whadd’a you lookin’ at?” “you! :)” “GET DA FUCK OUTDA HEAH! NOW! GO! BEFORE I KICK YOUW ASS!” She was like 13. And could totally have kicked his ass. LOL

Go see IDreamInCode for pictures.

It’s Fresher’s Week (i.e. Junior Drink Fest) and a much needed break. We moved into the flat on Friday/Saturday. Spent WAY too much money at IKEA only to realize that better goods could have been got at the charity shops for less! but at least the room is now mostly my own. Still have some odds and ends to be fetched but they’ll accumulate with time. Am generally pleased and think (knock wood) it will all work out. The space seems to have immediately improved my moods despite the very thin, very lumpy bed (ooooh, can feel every spring in that one). On Tuesday we went out to a Livestock Market in Stirling (part of our EMS requirements) and decided to stay a bit longer in order to check out the castle. Lovely touristy experience despite the scaffolding / repairs. Friend Jackie noted that everywhere she goes the places are always under repair. Maybe they meant to spruce up for her arrival and mistimed? LOL. Ran out of time for the rest of the sites so perhaps will drag Kevin over to see the William Wallace Tower and legendary atrocious sculpture of Mel Gibson when he arrives on Friday?

Yesterday I penned my name on far too many club mailing lists as I walked through the Fresher’s Fair. Not that I really expect to sign up for them in the long run but there are nearly unlimited numbers of school organizations you can join to fit your interests, from archery to the zoological society (which I am an official member of) and the many in between (science fiction bookclub?) and it was far too overwhelming to decide on the spot particularly considering my current lack of class schedule. My intention was and is to join the Dick Vet Climbing Club, and perhaps (money & time allowing?) both the Yoga Club and the Massage Club. Ooooooohmmmm.

Today was the Zoo Club’s student trip to the Edinburgh Zoo and for the first time in many weeks we had a day of pouring rain so very few animals out and about other than we humans who are too stupid to recognize bad weather and stay in. But I did get to see possibly the cutest animals on Earth: the koalas.