The big ketchup

2006-11-12

so…. it’s been awhile… 🙂

That means I have a lot to catch up on (or ketchup as my friend Haley says). But I have this problem. Lots of work… a foot of snow to shovel… a house to clean… and a Christmas letter to write. Those of you who receive our annual family Christmas epistle will understand what I am talking about. Those of you who don’t… you will this year. So I apolgise if some of what I say ends up being redundant later on – even I get writer’s block (and carpal tunnel!).

Let’s start by saying that Maya Angelou has become my daily mantra… not her name per se, but one of her quotations (and for those of you saying Maya who? shame on you! Google her!). A specific quote – ‘The main thing in one’s own private world is to try to laugh as much as you cry‘. I spend lots of time these days trying to remember why I thought this was a good idea, that I can do this, and… to breathe. 🙂 Apparently that takes more concentration than I have at times! And why would I need to do this you ask? Forget all the other stressors in my life – I am staring straight into the face of an 80% final exam for BChem. Yes… my final exam is going to be worth 80%. There doesn’t seem to be an innate understanding of biochemistry willing to stay in my brain.

On that note (those of you who’ve been paying attention remember that if I did well on my midterm my final was only worth 60% – so you know what that means) I found a new tutor. He’s nice. He tells me that I’m much smarter than all the brainiacs studying for mcat and the med students that he tutors, because at least I know something. He reassures me that at some point it will all fall into place – I’m just worried that it will fall like Jenga, instead of like dominos! 😛 And it’s coming… but sooooo slowly. I’m not sure that I have time for the processing to all take place before I have to write the exam! See now I have to remember to breathe… this is where yoga comes in very handy.

My husband came out to visit last week… 🙂 he was here for 5 WHOLE DAYS!!!!! Now I don’t see him till the 11th… 😦 But then I get to have him here for a whole month!!!! Okay. I think I’ve calmed down from the BChem trauma and can write about something else now. 🙂

So I haven’t had any real contact with living creatures lately… unless you count the meal worms at school (this month I deal with meal worms since my hawk died, and the other one that I was temporarily taking care of got shipped off 😦 ). Did you know that meal worms need a good spritz twice a day? I didn’t… did I care? Hmmmm…. up for debate. 😉 on a side bar – For those of you with budgies they also like to be spritzed – not too hard, but they’ll spread their wings and dance for you. 🙂

So that just leaves the cats… I’m not sure that they love me right now – they miss Jason so much because of all the attention that he lavished on them, that Mirage can’t be bothered to talk to me (unless he’s getting fed), and Echo literally smacks me when I walk in (I think he thinks that I’m away too much… so he runs up, growls, leaps onto the bench by the door and bats me before sprinting off and hiding). I think they think I made Jay disappear, so now they’re punishing me. Echo has even now engaged me in a very violent game of fetch – I get smacked if I don’t immediately pick up the mouse and I get nipped if I pick up the mouse. Quite the punishment from my sweet, love-hungry cat eh? In retaliation I spend lots of time palpating parts that I’m sure they wish I’d never touch – of course eventually I may wish I had never touched too…

This is getting long and I haven’t covered half of what need to say! Ah well… I just wanted to reassure everyone that I am still breathing… though I try and only breathe through my mouth during exams – have you ever been in a room where everyone is so afraid that they start to get that musky fear sweat happening? It takes less than 5 minutes for the room to smell worse than the men’s hockey locker room… brutal. 🙂

lots of love to everyone!

j ox