After enduring a particularly protracted and demanding study timetable, yesterday that managed to wind on far into the early hours of this a.m., I opted to take my daughter out shopping for ballet clothing/needs, this afternoon. New ballet shoes, two new (pale pink and lilac) leotards and two new pairs of tights. After that, we enjoyed a quick, light salad lunch at my in-laws town house, followed by an hour at a nearby Mall. My mother-in-law came, too. Primarily to offer some much-welcomed respite for me, by watching my daughter play on the Mall's indoor playground. Meanwhile, for the first time since I've lived in the U.S., I wandered into "Bath and Body Works". In New Zealand, we only have "The Body Shop"-so, I guess that "Bath and Body Works" is the U.S. equivalent. As I mentioned to my husband afterwards, I splurged rather a lot. We have a two-person hot-tub with spa jets, and in the Summertime. especially, it's super-relaxing to have a twilight time bath, letting the coastal breezes float in from outside an open window, while watching the dapples from the trees dance on the steamy water below. So, you see, I simply had to indulge in some bath gel. It has apricot fragrance notes in it, which bring back special childhood memories of the ranch where I was raised, and of the sun-ripened, sweet and glowing fresh apricots which we grew in our orchards.
Unfortunately (or fortunately), I'm something of a lip-gloss 'junkie'. I have developed quite an impressive collection from throughout the world. 104 cities in four different countries, to be exact. Not surprisingly, the C.O Bigelow display caught my eye, so I now have a couple more glosses-and got one free for a friend, too. That same friend says that if you own more than two of anything, then you have a 'hoarding' disease. Oh, well....
Part of my life philosophy is my regularly engaging in random acts of kindness. There's a quote that I really like that says, "The greatest gift that we can give to each other as human beings, is rapt attention to one another's existence". Each day, I try my best to live out that thinking by making a difference in someone else's life.
On the Kaplan side of my life, I'm still in 'organization and settle down' mode/mood, which is usually characteristic of the second week of the Term. I've an impressive stack of neat, hand-written flashcards for Anat&Phys (it's all in the intricate details, as I'm rapidly discovering). For Comp II, I now have a 'set' study timetable, together with a tentative topic for my Final Project. My topic has an abundance of potential, so that's always exciting. I enjoy the challenge that comes with developing a cohesive and critically thought out paper. I can see how the 'nuts and bolts' of the other compoents of this course will hopefully complement that work, somewhat. I only hope that I don't get bored with this Term (as I did, last Term). Sadly, whenever I get bored, or am not being challenged sufficiently, I become lazy. In psychological terms, I'm 'high-functioning'.
Back in Med School, my colleagues all agreed that I'd make a great E.R Nurse The sudden appearance of copious quantities of bodily fluids do not bother me in the slightest, and I like being constantly challenged. I remember my first day as a student in the acute, nursing care wing of a psychiatric hospital. I was p'd on, vomitted on and hit, all in my first hour on the job. The Psych Tech who I was shadowing simply laughed and said, "You'd better get used to it." I did. In the psychiatric setting, there are other clinical manifestations and presentations that are far more frightening.
Oh, and just for the record, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is an anxiety disorder, that includes driven sets of repetitive behaviors (taking up more than one hour of each day) intended to relieve disturbing thoughts, and which interfere significantly with normal everyday life and relationships (Random House/Webster's). For the person who is living with OCD, it can be really debiltating-and is not to be confused with routine behaviors and actions-like cleaning the bathroom with bleach, for instance. If you have kids in your household, that one's pretty much a 'given'.
It's mid-evening here, and past time for cranking up a grill, and throwing together some sort of a salad/smoothie combination to go with whatever, other protein we're having for dinner, tonight.
