The Melting Pot

You know, Seattle really is an intensely interesting city. Let me explain. You see, you have the Californians who think that 30 degrees is really the most frigid weather they'll ever come to endure and forgetaboutit when it snows, the Seattlites who can deal with the below freezing days, but highly prefer not to drive in snow cause it freaks them out, and finally, there's the Midwesterners (along with those from the East Coast, but everyone WANTS to be a Midwesterner, so we'll just group them together) like me who have grown up with the cold and snow for 7 months out of the year and just wear a thin sweatshirt and gloves on days like today when it's 40 degrees outside - warm, if ya ask me! Often times, I overdress and then I get hot during the day. My friend Kelly is from Cali and she is always in a thick winter jacket and scarf. It's really cute. She's always complaining about how cold it is here. Oh, and when I was in the pharmacy the other day, the woman helping me was like, "Is it cold out there? I heard it's getting pretty chilly." I responded, "Uhhh. I think so. But, I'm from Wisconsin, so my judge of coldness isn't going to be very good." She laughs and replies, "Ha! So this is nothing for you! You probably think we're all wimps! Well, get used to it. People from Seattle cannot drive in the snow, so beware." I thought that was humorous.

Ha, ha, here's a headline in today's Daily (the UW campus newspaper - sound familiar to my UMN alum?) that I'm reading right now: CELEBRATION OF DON QUIXOTE'S 400TH BIRTHDAY BEGINS TODAY. Wow. How exciting. Can I get in on that?

Oh, AND you must know that Zack and I are going to the UW vs Gonzaga basketball game on Sunday at the Pavilion! I'm pumped! I guess tickets have been sold out for months and Zack was still able to connect up and score some. Sweeeet. Should be a good time - look for us on the tele! :)

Raya, what is the new obsession of yours? Beyond Juice? Can we go there? Ooooh. Sounds fun. I will talk to Zack about the holidays, but I can't promise anything. I'm sure he won't be able to go, but I'll tell him there's been a request for his presence up in the 'Aps (that's Minneapolis, for those who don't know our gangsta slang).

Okay, a few more things, then I have to actually do my work. First of all, I had this kick ass presentation about the psychopharmacology of ADHD on Tuesday (we rocked) and, specifically, I addressed a type of stimulant drug that seems to decrease the amount of students who give their medication away at school. Keeping this in mind, fast forward to me, at the bus stop, on Tuesday night around 10pm. I was finishing up on the phone with Kelly and I saw a girl with whom I have hip hop class (her name is Maya) waiting for the bus also. I started to talk to her (she's one of those girls that, really, tells you more information than you care to know) and she told me that she had 2 papers due tomorrow (Wednesday). Selfishly and non-empathetically, I was starting not to feel so bad about my workload when she told me she was staying up all night in a rather unorthodox way...she had bought some Adderall from a friend - which is the brand name of a type of stimulant drug called amphetamine - and was planning on taking it to pull a white night (as they call it in France). Obviously, you all know that taking a drug to stay up all night is 1) BAD FOR YOU, 2) STUPID, and 3) BAD FOR YOU. This particular drug increases heart and blood pressure, causes dizziness, increases heart palpitations, induces restlessness and insomnia (which is why she was taking it), and can lead to more serious problems like dyskinesia, dysphoria, tremors, and Tourette's syndrome. WHAT A STUPID GIRL! This just happened to be ironic because I just did a presentation on this a few hours back. When I told Zack about it, he just said, "Oh yeah, that stuff is supposed to help you focus." Ha. What a dork. My colleagues (giggle) were appalled. They couldn't believe I had actually come across that! I guess we're all a little bit naive.

Last point to make today. Not that I didn't already know this before, but I am beginning to realize the essence and importance of BALANCE. I mean, we are really at a constant struggle to maintain a homeostasis in every aspect of our lives: between school and work and relationships, between directed and constructed teaching (that's some classroom babble), between letting people go and holding them close, between eating healthy and eating what we like, between doing homework and having fun, between getting enough sleep and getting enough awake time, between making money and doing what is necessary to have a fulfilling life, between making time for yourself and making time for others, between doing what's right and doing what feels good...It seems to be this constant, never-ending battle in which we are always engaged. Does it ever end? I think not.

Turtle says peace and love.