My brain! It is still fried! Ha!

We spent all of Anatomy cramming information into our brains at unprecedented rates, only to learn the very next block why it is that we couldn't remember any of it after a month. Ah, sweet irony.

Now, I am stress-free. I went to the library yesterday and stocked up on books. I have one on Queen Victoria's private life, a mystery-drama about some woman in Paris, an autobiography by Mae West, a book on Mozart's sister, some glorious Margaret Atwood, and a collection of Ogden Nash poems. I love my library so much that I don't even mind when it smells like freshly-poured plastic, as it did yesterday.

At the moment, my head is pounding. It is spitting out all the information I stuffed into it over the past nine months. I haven't slept more than about five hours at a time for the past three nights, and the sleep deprivation is catching up to me.

But you know what? It's all over! I am stress-less! I am the anti-stress!

Phew.

The best answer choices from my exams

From the behavioral science exam:

"Inserting increasingly large vaginal dilators."

From the neuroscience exam:

"Cannibalism."

The cheery little ditty that runs through my head during exams

"I hate my life, la-lalala!"

Quote from my study buddy this morning, with which I wholeheartedly agree: "I don't want to play med school anymore!!!"

One more day of cramming, one more exam. It's going to be a long, long day.

Out of the frying pan, into the fire

Now that I'm well, I have to study all the time! Hooray! I have my psychiatry/psychology final on Thursday and my neuroscience final on Friday. Should be a fun week. I'll be back when that's over and I'm on summer vacation.

And then I got sick right before finals.

Studying today is going to be interesting, to say the least.

Kitty Culture

Kitty society in my house is an interesting thing. I sometimes feel like a zoologist, creeping through the jungle to try to understand why this cat turned his back on that one. When they play, sometimes it's all fun and games and sometimes it's a true power struggle. I can almost tell the difference.

The dominance battle was traditionally won by Daniel, who was the alpha cat. He seemingly lost every play-battle, but somehow retained his ultimate authority. Ilya was the beta cat, constantly trying to assert himself in little ways to infringe on Daniel's authority. There must have been some undercurrent that I never saw, because even with all those little attempts, Ilya never managed to dent Daniel's armor.

Godfrey has always been the gamma cat. Slow, usually rotund, sweet disposition: your typical Dopey in cat form. He never seemed to care that he was at the bottom of the totem pole. Very occasionally, his tail poofed up to three times its size and he would run around the house kicking ass, but that was the only sign he had any kind of leadership ability.

Until now. The balance of power has shifted. Godfrey is the alpha cat! It is a startling change. Godfrey seems to have come into a new sense of self. It's as if long-dormant brain cells have suddenly begun firing left and right, and instead of a slow-witted doofus he is now a powerful dictator.

How can I tell that this is the case? Well, when Godfrey is cuddled up to either Hubbers or me, no other cat may do the same. It is an unwritten rule, but Ilya and Daniel respect it without fail.

Ilya remains the beta cat, still trying to chip away at the alpha cat's status and still not getting anywhere. Daniel is the gamma cat. It is quite a fall from grace, and I think I might have had something to do with it. You see, in order to discourage him from scratching the carpet, I have been scruffing Daniel and flipping him on his back to assert my dominance (hopefully impressing on him that this is MY carpet and he may NOT scratch it). While this has had mixed results with the scratching, it has had profound results in the kitty society. Now, every time I do this, Godfrey immediately follows after me and play-fights Daniel when I'm done.

I don't know exactly how or when, but somehow I think the back-flipping and scruffing in front of the other cats destroyed his status. Whoops. The command change coincided with the initiation of this new method of training, so I'm reasonably sure they're connected. Also, what else could have interfered with four years of dominance?

Our house has been a bit odd lately, what with this change in kitty leadership. The way in which the cats approach us for snuggles and affection has changed because it now matters if Godfrey is in the room. Daniel doesn't act like such a lone wolf anymore - he sleeps alone, but is happy to blink his hellos at me. Godfrey talks a lot more, frequently demanding attention and affection. They are subtle changes, and if you didn't pay close attention, you'd miss them.

But this is life in my house these days. Through all the exams and studying and work and singing that goes on here, the cats do their own thing and have their own agendas. They establish their own mini-society with its own rules and regulations.

And to be honest? Sometimes I really wish I could join them.

It's getting to be a habit with me

I now have to go to the gym in order to maintain my sanity. My mind scatters if I don't go frequently enough. The funny thing is that I still don't LIKE the gym. It is not a place I ever desire to be. I would love it if I could never go back there again.

But I do fit back into my jeans. This is important. This was my original goal, after all. And my legs are totally hot.

If only I could LIKE the gym. It would make things nicer. As it is, I am happy when the time passes quickly and I am free to go back to my daily life, a little sweatier and a little farther along on the path toward overall health.

My next goal is to tame my tummy, but after that, I'll be goal-less! What should my next goal be? I'm not a runner. I can't imagine enjoying a marathon. I don't like to swim competitively, so a triathlon wouldn't be so great. Is there such a thing as competitive ellipticalling?

For now: the tummy. I am doing crunches with my butt on the floor and legs on the couch, and so far it hurts a lot and hasn't made much difference. I did only just start, though, so I should give my body a chance to start kicking ass before I jump to the conclusion that my tummy will always be a point of contention.

To the crunches I go, full of hope and determination. Never thought I'd feel so positive about working out!