remindmeofthe: (Sam is not so sure about this.)
Oh my god. It's like a million degrees out and someone somewhere in the neighborhood is mowing the lawn. At least I think that's what that sound is, though there isn't a whole lot of lawn to mow in this neighborhood. Maybe someone's finally attending to the grass outside the school across the street.

Anyway, my point is: It is a million degrees. Why would someone do that? Because in an hour it will be two million degrees? Okay, but in the evening it will probably only be half a million degrees. What is so urgent about mowing a lawn that it can't wait until you're less likely to get heatstroke doing it?

(As I type, the sound has ended, so it probably wasn't that, but I need an excuse to post, dammit. Maybe it was just a really small lawn.)

The first thing I did today was crawl into the bathroom for a cold shower. I don't think I've ever done that before in my life. The heat: I do not handle it well. At least I'm not living in any of the places where it's worse.
remindmeofthe: (Default)
It's June 28! That means today is the anniversary of the assassination of Franz Ferdinand in 1914, which is one of the more bizarre coincidence-laden events of history. There are so many things that just happened to fall into place: the lead driver didn't get a message about the change of route; one of the group of would-be assassins, Gavrilo Princip, decided to go chill in a café after the initial failed attempt, and happened to go outside when the Archduke's car drove past the café hours later; Princip closed his eyes and fired twice, and those bullets hit Ferdinand and the Duchess, Sophie; and a thousand other things that have slipped my mind, and let's also not forget that the various eye witnesses' stories conflict and are from different people with their own agenda, so we'll never knew the exact facts of that day. But from what we do know, it's a miracle Ferdinand managed to get himself killed at all.

This, of course, is what finally set off the explosion in the Balkans - something would have happened sooner or later, Austria-Hungary was just itching for an excuse to go after Serbia because of some anti-Habsburg sentiment that had been coming from there (I think; it was some kind of unwanted propaganda, anyway). And Serbia had Russia's promise of protection, and dumbass Wilhelm II in Germany was all, "No, Austria-Hungary, it's cool, if you go after them I'll give you whatever help you want" and then the net of alliances and ententes choked everyone and HERE HAVE A WORLD WAR YOU GUYS.

Today is also the anniversary of the 1919 signing of the Treaty of Versailles, which was an excellent and well-balanced piece of diplomacy that forced Germany (yes, Germany) to take all the blame for starting the war and saddled it with reparation costs that would break its economy and make a nice opening for some political party calling themselves the Nazis to come to power. Guys, the Treaty of Versailles sucked so bad that the US refused to join the League of Nations to ratify it, and Ferdinand Foch (who was French, not German as his name might suggest) said, "This is not Peace. It is an Armistice for twenty years." He nailed it right down to the year: Hitler invaded Poland twenty years later in 1939.

This is a pretty simplified account, based mainly on my memories from a class on the World Wars I took a couple semesters ago (and the Wiki article on the Treaty, because I definitely did not remember the exact quote and who said it right off the top of my head). I felt I should talk about it a little, though, because it's all fascinating and because WWII gets all the glory these days and a lot of people don't know about the kind of colossal fuckery that went into creating WWI and then resolving it with a bunch of bullshit that ended up feeding into WWII. And we should remember that fuckery, because as a race human beings are not a whole lot smarter today and it would be good to remember so we don't start any more fuckery on this scale, because next time we do we're not gonna survive it.

Have a nice day! :D
remindmeofthe: (this fucking song)
It is time for my annual complaint about the ice cream truck and its music.

*ahem*

I HATE THE ICE CREAM TRUCK AND ITS MUSIC.

The end.
remindmeofthe: (can't take this bullshit)
Okay, so, just FYI for people: my modem has decided that it doesn't have to work, or my connection has, or something, and right now I'm leeching off a very unreliable network that is bizarrely strong at the moment, but that probably won't last. So, in the event that I'm not around, that would be why.

There is the possibility of getting a new modem, if I can find a ride to the center. Otherwise, there's a technician scheduled to come out on Wednesday. I guess I better clean my room. (Easier said than done.)

If this interferes with my getting hold of Doctor Who tomorrow, I will cry. Real tears.

The last time I had to have a technician come out, it turned out that my connection had somehow been severed. That was special.

This is the worst timing ever, you guys, I'm just starting on a month with not a whole lot going on; I've finished the Kubrick class and my next class starts in July. And I don't have a job. And I'm superbroke while I wait for some money I'm supposed to be getting on Monday. So. HRRRRRGH.

I do have about five million books I haven't read, though. So there is that.

ANYWAY. If I all but disappear for the next few days, that would be why.
remindmeofthe: (Hamlet is damn interesting)
As mentioned yesterday, I'm taking a summer course on the films of Stanley Kubrick, which is structured to give us enough time to watch an entire movie in one class period. Which is pretty awesome. Especially since I realized upon looking at the list of movies we'll be seeing that I hadn't seen any of his films before. That's a lot of pop culture I've missed out on! So I've been enjoying this class a lot so far.

(Also, the room is airconditioned. I miss it already.)

So far we've watched and discussed 2001 and A Clockwork Orange, and today we screened Barry Lyndon. Juuust barely. That is a long-ass movie and we needed like every second of classtime to get the whole thing in - it ended exactly when class ended.

[livejournal.com profile] karaokegal asked that I post my thoughts on Barry Lyndon after watching, so!

The short version is, it was my favorite so far. The long version is long and has spoilers, so I'm cutting since it's lesser known than most of his other movies so there might actually be plot points people aren't familiar with. )

There is a fuckton of other stuff I could talk about in this movie, and no doubt a full fuckton of other stuff I didn't even catch, but basically it is awesome and everyone should see it. The end.
remindmeofthe: (Nicola - ew gross)
Oh look, I went a week and a half without posting again. I don't have long, so this post will be short, but.

Upside of taking summer classes: I can make up for the credits the insomnia totally screwed me over on, seriously, half the reason I haven't posted is because I don't even wanna talk about it.

Downside of taking summer courses: I still have to walk the mile to campus, even when it is the first legitimately hot and gross day of the year. And this will continue for the rest of this month and part of June, and then begin anew toward the end of July and into August, AKA the hottest part of the year.

At least today the room I'm in has air conditioning, because it's full of movie-watching equipment. (Class subject? The films of Stanley Kubrick. Fuck yeah, you guys, I'm getting credit to watch movies and talk about them.)
remindmeofthe: (Owen is not impressed.  (credit alazysod)
So I got some blood drawn to test for anemia and thyroid issues, just to see if there might be anything going on there that is not doing me any favors with the insomnia. I can't remember the last time I got got blood drawn, but I am pretty sure that ripping off the bandaid (which I firmly believe in doing all at once) is not supposed to do MORE damage than the needle. Stupid industrial strength bandaid glue.

OW.

(My Owen icon mostly thinks I'm a wimp.)
remindmeofthe: (elevator Huckabees)
So - last night the Ambien did not work so good. I think I was not tired enough for it to hook in properly - I was well-rested yesterday (and actually did a little RPing, omg, I've been too tired either physically, mentally, or both to do much of it, and I've missed it) and went to bed before I was feeling especially tired to make sure the Ambien had enough time to at least start exiting my system before I had to get up. So I wasn't ready to sleep and I think that fucked it up. I will be ready tonight, oh yes.

At least I hope that was it, because man, this is all I've got for now. Ann has reached the end of what she can do, and is working on getting me a referral to the outpatient psychiatric center at a nearby hospital, because there is clearly something the fuck wrong with me that is keeping the sleep cycle resets from taking root. I've got the okay to keep up with the Ambien, and she suggested every other day again to keep tolerance from setting in too deeply. I'm gonna start that a couple days from now, because I also have school stuff to worry about. I am so close to the end of the semester, I can't screw up now.

So, I'm on a waiting list at the hospital, which is going to be probably weeks' worth of waiting, though I might be able to cut it down some by making regular phone calls to remind them that I really really really want to do this and I'm not kidding around and I need that spot.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, I'm going back to the student health center to get some bloodwork done, just so they can rule out thyroid and anemia problems. I should have gotten it done before, but I was worried about the money - the health fee doesn't cover lab costs - but now I don't care. Have all my money! I just want to sleep normally again.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go work on a paper that needs to at least get started whether I'm up to writing it or not.
remindmeofthe: (Terri facepalm)
So I tried going off the Ambien last night; as I expected, I didn't sleep.

Cut for people sick of hearing about my insomnia. I know I am! )

My major problem right this second is that it is now nine AM and I have an entire day to get through before I can Ambien up and go back to bed. At least it's a day with Doctor Who in it.

Also: could I use a few more semi-colons in this post?
remindmeofthe: (Nicola - oh really now)
I have an important question!

I just cooked okra for the first time and have never had it before, so I have no reference point. My question is: is it supposed to be slimy? If not, what do I need to rectify next time I cook it? I like the taste well enough, but the slime is less fun.
remindmeofthe: (Tek and Papi)
(I need an icon that better demonstrates flailing excitement. Any suggestions?)

I slept last night! For, like, eight and a half hours! The nurse practitioner at the student health center prescribed me some Ambien (along with a billion warnings about avoiding addiction, so yes, I know, I'll be careful), and it woooorked. Thank god. I also scheduled an appointment for counselling, since they offer a certain number of free counselling sessions per year and it is becoming steadily more obvious that something is the fuck wrong with me if my mind is so fired up at night that it's screwing up my sleep so badly.

If I'm really lucky, I might even be able to give that presentation tomorrow that I've had to put off twice already because of this stupid insomnia. Which my professor has been very understanding about, but I feel like a jerk anyway. Important notice if you attend school of any kind: Do not get insomnia near the end of the semester! It will fuck your scholastic shit up!

In other news, since I feel like I should tell you guys about something other than how my life sucks lately because I can't sleep, I registered for my fall classes today! Which officially turns my four-year degree into an at-least-five-year degree, but whatever, these things happen. I'm in no hurry to graduate anyway. Being a student beats the shit out of being in the real grown-up world.

But anyway! I'm going to take an English class on WWI (studying it via literature, obvs); a class called Oral Interpretation that is basically learning how to read stuff out loud without being boring, a skill I could stand to hone, in search of the ever-elusive Fine Arts credit; a History class on early Germany taught by that History professor I like so much; and a senior seminar (another requirement) called Aphra Behn and the Libertine Tradition, which I don't know exactly what that is (all I know about libertine stuff I learned from the movie Libertine, most of which I have forgotten by now anyway) but it sounds awesome. AND they're all afternoon classes like I had last semester, which will help a lot with keeping a more consistent sleep pattern than I've had this semester.

So that's what's on my mind today. Now I have to go hit the laundromat; I had to wear Laundry Day clothes to campus today because I was too tired over the weekend to face doing laundry. If nothing else, I'm learning a thing or two about getting shit done when I feel good enough to not worry about counting spoons.
remindmeofthe: (Default)
Thanks for the comments, guys. ♥ Unfortunately, despite those and Benadryl (EXTRA Benadryl, even), I did not sleep. (There was a reason I switched from the Benadryl to what the NP at the student health center originally prescribed, tho. But I had to ditch that stuff because it was giving me weird tightness in my chest. Sigh.)

Am off to shower and head to the student heath center once more to beg for a scrip for something that will put me out of commission for a week. Will probably also want a note to get me out of trouble with professors for today, esp for the class in which I am meant to be giving a presentation that I ALREADY had to delay once because of this crap. I'm gonna call a cab and everything. I can't face the walk to campus today.
remindmeofthe: (Default)
FLIST. After having gotten back into a reasonably normal sleep cycle again and even giving up the medication I'd been taking (I slept better the night after, which was Friday night, than I have in ages), I once more have missed a night's sleep and am basically terrified that it's starting again. Obvsly I'm going right back on the Benadryl tonight, but I am not above begging for reassurance and calming vibes and all that shit, because SERIOUSLY getting worked up here. Please help me snap me out of it in the next couple of hours before I have to go to bed! I am going to lose my damn MIND if I have to do this again so soon.

(Uh, and to those of you on [livejournal.com profile] the_thickofit who may have been wondering where this week's comm rewatch post was - my bad. By the time I remembered it, it was so late I decided to go with taking a week off and apologizing profusely next week. It's gotten so quiet, anyway; I'm not sure how many people even care anymore.)
remindmeofthe: (bunny - credit kadath on JF)
Omg, you guys, I slept last night! That makes two nights in a row for the first time all week! I feel like a human being again. Kind of a tired human being, but a human being nonetheless.

After I posted yesterday morning, the ants-under-the-skin started up again (it was especially bad during my class, I could barely sit still toward the end), but you know what? I think this time it was mostly psychological. After I talked to a nurse practitioner at the student health center and we worked out a plan to try and reset my sleep cycle (basically, I stick with the Motrin PM I bought a couple days ago, which was probably the only reason I did sleep the night before last, and if that doesn't work she prescribed something a little stronger to switch to), the ants started going away. The relief of having figured something out was immense. I still didn't feel too great, but I was a lot more relaxed for the rest of the day.

I have a follow-up appointment scheduled for next Friday, but I think I'm gonna be all right by then. The Motrin PM is helping, the ants are actually gone, and my stress level is much lower.

Thanks so much to everyone who offered comments and ideas and support. It all really helped. I think without it, I would have been wound up even tighter. You guys are so great.
remindmeofthe: (Nicola - and there you go)
Thanks to everyone who replied to my post earlier! I did, in fact, manage to fall asleep when I went back to bed, and the crawling-ants sensation seems to be pretty much gone now. I really appreciate how many people kindly assured me that I wasn't dying - I didn't really think I was, but I was anxious and (naturally) not thinking clearly.

I have a class to get to now, even though I couldn't do any of the reading for it yesterday, and I'm still going to stop at the student health center to see if I can get any assistance there, bcause I know this ain't over yet. I managed to sleep Monday night, too, after all, and look how that worked out.

So in conclusion, you guys are awesome and I love you.
remindmeofthe: (Default)
Insomnia continues. I'd guess I've had about ten hours sleep in the last three days, and for well over twenty-four hours now I've felt - I don't know how to describe it. Like I drank too much coffee, or like I'm a few minutes away from throwing up. That shivery ants-under-your-skin feeling. It just won't go away and it's keeping me awake more than anything else. I thought initially that it was caused by the NyQuil I took a couple nights ago, but surely that's long since out of my system.

I'm kinda freaked out by it at this point, though. I've never before had insomnia this bad, so I haven't got any prior experience. Is this feeling normal? Is something wrong? It's keeping me awake more than anything else at this point, and I just don't know what to do. I'm going to hit the student health center on campus tomorrow to see if they can help me out with anything. I don't know how much longer I can even function if I don't get some real sleep soon.

In the meantime, though, reassurances from insomniacs on the flist that I'm not dying or something would be much appreciated. I'm gonna go back to bed, but I expect I'll be checking my e-mail again before long.
remindmeofthe: (Malcolm - fuck off)
Wow, so, I don't know why getting little to no sleep before I have to get up early has become a theme in the last month or so, but I'm really over it and am ready for it to go away now. Attending my four PM class is going to be an impossibility now, as my current goal is to survive the next three hours or so and then come home and (hopefully) sleep until four, after which I will work on a project I have due Wednesday. Which is something I should be doing this afternoon, but I will be sleeping instead, because my brain and body hate me all of a sudden.

Note to self: no early classes next semester. This shit is not working out.
remindmeofthe: (Nicola - oh really now)
I just took my first look at my almost-thirteen stepsister's Facebook profile. Her Political Opinion is "john mccain shoulda won."

I'm just like, awwwwwww she thinks she's edgy!

I am going to ruffle her adorable head next time I see her and not tell her why. She's a smart kid, she'll grow out of it. (Hopefully at around the same time she grows out of Twilight.)
remindmeofthe: (Terri facepalm)
Why do I put off filing my FAFSA every year when it only takes like five minutes? I even have my electronic signature PIN memorized, for heaven's sake. (You only need to lose that thing once to decide that maybe it's worth your time to memorize four freaking digits.)
remindmeofthe: (can't brain today)
Today I had two classes, Medieval Popular Culture and Historical Construction of Sexuality.

Each of my professors took the opportunity to discuss Jesus's foreskin.

I don't even know, you guys.

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Cathryn (formerly catslash)

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