This Is Your Brain. This Is Your Brain On Finals.

I decided I should just write this blog post because I'm already procrastinating super hard. It's just really difficult for me to get over the fact that I am trying to memorize things regarding the neurobiology of memory. Too meta.

Alright, so..finals. aweopihgbpin;fs;waOwjoeihrubsfsd:WALJKejhbfjdsi;kljfebrfij;dklsmh

Am I right?

I'm planning on spending all day in my pajamas attempting dodging "helpful" study cats and drinking copious amounts of coffee. 2 cups in and I'm still considering a nap.

I'm also wondering if there is a black hole lurking in my room somewhere. I went to bed with an ice pack because I spent 2 hours doing this yesterday after my usual weekend of non-stop dancing. I woke up this morning being unable to find this ice pack. Very much looking forward to the day I climb into bed to find it has exploded all over everything. GONNA BE SO GREAT.

Okay, ACTUALLY off to study now. See you all in 2 weeks.

Stay sane!

Feelin' like Garfield on a Monday

I dumped my first cup of coffee all over myself today. Darn morning hands. It brought on such an overwhelming cascade of emotions. I felt the pain from the hot sting of boiling coffee on my skin. I felt despair at not having consumed more than two sips it before losing it all over the floor. I felt angry that I derped so hard trying to grab the mug handle. And I pretty much raged at the fact that I was going to have to clean it up before making another cup.

Yes, it does seem a little over dramatic. But nobody deserves this kind of a Monday.

I've got a bad feeling it has set the tone for the rest of my day, too. I dropped my mitten in a melted snow puddle on the bus on my way to campus this morning.

As the smart people in my life would say right now while grabbing my face to ensure eye contact, "puppies, and rainbows, and unicorns, and butterflies, and sunshine, and lollipops...."

So yeah, if someone wanted to bring me a basket of adorable puppies, that would be cool...

Puppies, specifically. I'm not feeling as fond toward cats as I normally do. It probably has something to do with the fact that my cat was running laps around my room at 4 AM last night and then meowed for a half an hour outside my door when I kicked her out. And no, I couldn't have just cuddled her. She is the most fidgety cat I've ever attempted to snuggle with. If I have to choose between incessant meowing or tiny cat paws drilling into my face and body as she readjusts for the billionth time, well, I guess you already know what I'd choose.

And now the coffee loss rage makes so much more sense..

On that note, good luck with your Monday, folks! You might just need it.

Procrastination At The End Of "Hell Week"

The question is never, "Should I buy this onesie?". The question is always, "Where can I wear this onesie?" and the answer is always "Wherever I effing want to!".

I really love that I have friends who will not question my suggestion to turn random things upside down in a store while they're on the phone with me. Even better is when I get photo evidence the next day.

So, I had an awkward moment today when I realized that my mom has become somewhat knowledgeable of modern rock music because of the songs I sing in the shower every day.

My social influence class is making me increasingly suspicious of everything. Lately, I've been wondering how much of my social interactions with people are based on the principle of reciprocity. How many people that claim they like me think I'm awesome because of the halo effect?  I'm literally questioning everything about myself because I'm using the general other for information. Really looking forward to my Interpersonal Relationships class next semester... Sorry in advance, everyone.

So I was putting "ginger" onto my shopping list app earlier and the first suggestion that popped up was "gin".... student life...

Anyone having trouble sleeping these days? I'm offering a copy of my latest lab report written for my Research Methods in Cognition class to help out with that. There is nothing that will put you to sleep faster than reading 17 pages of my results of random visual search tasks I was forced to do. Wow, look at that graph. That independent variable gave results that differed by 0.2 of a second. I bet that's significant...zzzzzzzzz.

Anyway, that's it for now. Gotta go eat some more chocolate-covered coffee beans and be productive. 

You'll Probably Want to Read This All The Way Through

 This is basically a compilation of things that I may or may not have been tempted to post on Facebook. Consider it a blooper reel of ideas.


Why is there so much cat litter on the kitchen table??

I'm getting really good at procrastinating.

If my cat could get her butt off of my keyboard, that would be great. Actually, if she could now get her butt off of ME, that would be even better.

I'm pretty sure I know why there's cat litter on the kitchen table...

ARGH! I forgot to drink coffee out of my pirate mug for "Talk like a pirate" day!!!
*Walks the plank out of shame*

I really wish I hadn't just stepped in a giant pile of dog drool. True story, I have unfortunately conditioned him to salivate at the sound of me eating an apple because I keep positively reinforcing the behaviour by giving him the core. Considering pairing an unconditioned stimulus with my apple eating for instant drool at hilarious times. You know that would be ridiculous...

Half a cup more of coffee and then I'll be able to finish this assignment..

And take a shower..

And clean the house..

And basically take over the world. (I love caffeine!! :):):))

That hilarious moment when your sister belches after eating cereal and the dog burps in reply. He even matched frequencies. Truly impressed.

Too Much Time For Reflection

I love sitting in CCIS and hearing people talk about plasma membranes or what X means in a certain mathematical equation as they walk by.

It's just really refreshing to be in the presence of people nerding out so hard over something they're passionate about. I mean, you hear so much of the "oh man I was so DRUNK LAST NIGHT" on campus wherever you go. Sometimes it's just nice to see people get excited about chlorophyll.

And holy crap, do I ever have the nastiest caffeine withdrawal headache going on right now. Actually, it's probably because I'm dehydrated. But I'm probably going to drink more coffee anyway. 

So, I was somewhat impressed with a small section of humanity today. During my bus ride home from university, a man in a wheelchair boarded and I watched as several people immediately left their seats so he had enough space at the front. Shortly afterward, a group of 3 or 4 people with mobility limitations boarded as well. Again, several more people got up and made their seats available at the front for these people. A couple of stops later, a woman with a stroller got on the bus as well. Now, the tricky part was that these people sitting at the front of the bus had to move to accommodate the stroller but they couldn't exactly move very far. However, the people in the rows behind them immediately vacated their seats to make room for them. (Social norms at work people. Can you see why I'm so excited about my Social Influence class??)

The best part of all of this, though, is that the people at the front of the bus began to actually talk to each other...

If you've ever been unfortunate enough to have used Edmonton's public transit system at least once in your life, you'll know that initiating a conversation with the strangers around you just simply is not done. The one time my bus seat mate attempted to befriend me by talking about our crapberry phones made me feel even more incredibly awkward than I normally do.

Anyway, I just thought it was rather cute how that group of people bonded in a situation not typically conducive to that sort of activity. 

Okay, enough procrastinating. I should actually finish writing about social norms in the assignment I actually need to hand in for that class. Guess it's time for another coffee!