HELLO, first day of class!

Welcome to senior year.

This morning, I went to drop La Mais key box back off at the housing office, and a lady asked me what year I am, and I responded, "I am going to be a senior." Wrong.

Like I said, welcome to senior year. I am a senior.

Despite my inability to adopt said title, I am very excited for my classes. Today opened with "Critical Issues in Child Health." The professor is an incredible person. She was a ballerina for 10 years before coming to Stanford, and she majored in HumBio. She moved on to get her MD and is now teaching, as opposed to practicing because she wants to be a better mother to her children. Wow. She's incredibly engaging and knew all of our names when we came in to class. We'll be looking at topics that are pertinent to a child's health in the world today, like diseases in children (cancer, asthma) and psychiatric disorders (ADHD, eating disorders). It all makes having 9 am class worth it...

Next, I headed off to Pilates where I was reminded how inflexible I am. And that I need to have better posture (I sat up upon typing that sentence). And that I need to breathe better. And that my abs may or may not exist.

Later in the afternoon, I had Stats... sigh. This class is some 300 people large in a HUGE auditorium where it's next to impossible to hear the professor over the whispering neighbors. I admit; I fall prey to the whispering too, and it certainly doesn't help matters. Anyway, it's one of my last requirements, and at least it'll be useful for my research.

Tomorrow will be a day fillllled with NEURO! "Neural Systems of Behavior" consists of looking at different aspects of behavior and how the brain gives rise to these behaviors... the field of neuroethology, essentially.

Then, I've got my Neuron Death class (which I described in the previous post). Yessssss.

I love the first day of class, filling in my planner with the dates of exams/papers/assignments. I also love people's enthusiasm... I find that it's prime time to meet people who I've seen in my other classes but have never actually introduced myself to. Once you reach a certain point in our oh-so-short quarter, it's impossible to say "Hi, I'm __." etcetc.

Annnnnnd, FINALLY, I get my first meal in house. Yesssss. As much as I love In-N-Out (what I had for dinner last night), I was getting really tired of eating out (it's hard to believe, I know). There are smells wafting in through my window (from Haus Mitt or from our kitchen, who knows) but it smells incredible. Yum. 30 minutes left...

I posted a bit ago about going to Fresno to visit my grandfather. I really don't like seeing family under sad circumstances, but I suppose it's better than nothing. I shouldn't need a reason to go drive to Fresno, but in reality, I wouldn't have gone that weekend just to visit. I can't help but feel a little self-serving just driving over when something goes wrong, when it's convenient for me, when I make time for it in my schedule. Anyway, my grandfather is not doing the greatest, but at least he's around family and is maintaining some level of dignity, as opposed to being in a nursing home, where he did not want to ever be.

I picked Tim up from Santa Cruz on the way and dropped him back off later that evening, but it was nice just to sit and talk about anything. Not everyone gets time for that kind of thing, with real life/school/other priorities in the way; road trips slow things down. Note to self: either make it a priority to talk about anything with friends and/or go on more road trips with friends. (Easier said than done?)

D'acc, ça souffit pour aujourd'hui. À demain, peut-être? On vera. Je n'ai pas autant de temps comme les cours ont commencé... mais je pense que je vais trouver du temps très facilement pour écrire juste un peu. Juste un peu. HAH!