11 PM and all is sweltering...

About 90F here and I have a puppy glued to my back. I think it's a lingering effect of all her time alone, so I can't shoo Mochi away, poor baby. 

My nose in the books...

Busy busy busy study study study.

Today is a big reading day.  The sheer volume of reading/learning I must do this semester is staggering.

Staggering.

It won't do itself: I must work for this, must earn this.  Other people have done this.  I can do this.

What one man can do, another man can do.

I started studying a week ago, but the reading in earnest starts today.  Uniform has been ordered, shoes ordered, name tags ordered from the engraver.  What books have not arrived are in transit now.  Orientation was yesterday.  There's a pretty decent online system of tracking assignments/deadlines, and I've already exchanged contact info with two people who will be my study partners.  If I stay the course and do everything I should do on a day-to-day basis, things should fall into place.  My objective is to maintain a strict study habit which ensures that information is established to a degree that last-minute cramming will be obviated.  I abhor last-minute study-- if you don't know it by that point, well, you flat don't know it at all, baby. 

This is going to be intense, but this is going to be worthwhile.
I can do this.  January of 2012 I said here that I felt that I was about to swim across an ocean over the next 4 years.  I now think I've reached a small island that was within sight of that shore.  The big wide water lay ahead of me. 

Yeah. I can totally do this.

...while I was getting my schoolie-school ducks in a row...

Erin Palette shared something of a serious and monumental nature about herself.  As I expected to find, she has been overwhelmingly supported by our community.  I am delighted to say that I share in that support.

Truth of it is that since I myself was welcomed into this pro-2A community some handful of years ago, I've found this to be the most accepting, monolithically welcoming and respectful group of which I've been a part.  Our family encompasses a very wide community of people from different political and social strata, and is handily the most erudite and intelligent group of people I've encountered. [here I'm looking meaningfully in the direction of Theater and Literature departments] In other words, this group is a great working model in celebration of diversity, and I've never seen this massive tent fail to welcome someone genuine who comes in honesty and good spirit.  I LOVE OUR FAMILY!

Erin brings a singular energy and zest to the party which has enlivens discussion and promotes debate with much wit and joviality.  I'm very proud of our community for embracing her, and-- again-- I stand by her, too.  And I'm proud of her for trusting us to take her at heart-value. Trust and acceptance goes both ways, and our community is honored when someone feels they can be open and vulnerable here.  I think it says a great deal about us, and it most assuredly says a great deal about Miss Palette.  Huzzah!

Phlegmmy's first scrubs...

I went to the uniform shop yesterday to order my scrubs for lab, and I vexed rather longer than I intended over which top to get.  I probably should have gotten both. (or all three).  But I was in a hurry, and for this semester, I'll need it for 2 hours for one day a week, so... not so much.

My schedule in town is not as bad as I expected it to be.  One of my 4 classes is entirely online, and one is a hybrid, so I'll only have to be there on Tuesday night for 4 more times this semester, so that eases the schedule somewhat.  I'm hoping to get into a yoga class routine starting next week.  The books I MUST have are slowly trickling into the bookstore, more than a week after I ordered them.  Next semester, it's Amazon for me.  I don't have time for this slow drip of books-- I have quite a bit of studying to do with one I'll pick up today for a class tomorrow.  Meh.

This is exciting, but I have TONS to do.  I'm off!

Blegroll

I rarely bleg, and never for myself, but a couple of ongoing issues could use some attention, so I just want to put it out there:

Squeaky is grappling with ongoing medical issues. I know it's been a struggle and a challenging time, and that any support that comes her way is appreciated. Tip jar is located below the bold letters on left that say "SURGERY FUND."

My friend at SystemsReady is going through some difficulties owing to being jerked around by a university with regard to an internship and student housing(read the circumstances here).  She finds herself in very cruel circumstances which imperil the continuance of her education.  She is a remarkable young woman and is offering 2 hours of custom website-design in exchange for a $50 donation.  Sounds like a bargain on web design, and she's brilliant. Though she's been a guest in my home and friend and daughter of beloved friend, I say that with absolutely no bias: she's a smart one, and worthy of support.

Shifting gears

What a privilege it is to be back in school full-time.

What is strange has been that the primary thing has by necessity been full-time work with two courses on the side.  This has been the mode since January of 2011, so the shift to full-time school with part-time work is head-spinning. 

I learned a valuable lesson with Microbiology. I was very lucky that after a rocky start (with a failing grade on my first exam) I managed to earn a B anyway.  At least in a longer semester, even with a faux pas at the beginning, you've got some time to get your legs back under yourself, but I really don't want that.  I want to sail into the end of the semester with an obvious, no-brainer of an A.

I expect first class was a great eye-opener for the younger students.  Clinicals start in January, but I didn't realize I'd have to get scrubs and the whole nine yards for this semester's lab.  Good times. *groan*  At least the school color is a flattering color for me.  I have an hour break in between clinicals and my next class, so I WILL be changing into civilian garb afterward for the sake of sanity.

I may blog more frequently this semester, as I'll have more odd moments here and there. and I'll have to take time to unfocus from intense study occasionally.  But for now, it's nose-to-the-grindstone. School IS my job, and I'm happy in my work.

Re-boot.

I love the little boots she's wearing.   I like the song too.  Nursing school starts today. 

Yay.



I wish the first class weren't Practical Statistics for Nursing.  NOT that I thought there would be something like "Basketweaving For Nurses" but...  Well, ya know.

I'm NOT Whining.

I'm not.

Onwards and upwards, and all that stuff.

Sunday, Puppy Sunday: why its taking mommy so long to make jelly today

I'm about to make another (larger) batch of Apricot Rosemary Jelly, but it's hard to un-lap the wee brown ones. I'll get around to it, but for now, it's a lovely day with peaceful music playing on Pandora, and life is sweet. 

A pretty melody for all my friends and family, whom I love dearly...

...and particularly for Mom and Dad. I think you'll like this. :)

River Flows In You by Yiruma

Overheard at Casa del Phlegm:

Me:  The NSA bugged the UN Headquarters.
Himself:  Good! That's what we're paying them for.

Weirdo Transvestite. (profanity alert)

[Potty language in video, so watch at your own discretion, and prolly NSFW.   ;-*]

So, the Manning thing.

We all have our own worlds to live through.  I can't crawl inside someone else's psyche and determine what they actually are feeling or thinking.  We have to take some things at face value.  When someone says to their friends and family (or to the whole world) that they are trapped in a wrong body, I would not presume to say they are lying. I am certain their struggle is genuine and a very painful one, and my heart goes out to them.  I joke that I'm actually tall and statuesque, but genetics speak otherwise, so I try to be clean, presentable and to make the most of my humble assets.  For some people, though, there is a more profound disconnect between their physical gender and the way their brain is hard-wired.  Again- we can't PROVE what is someone's head, but I believe them when they say that despite their outward appearance, they self-perceive as opposite gender.

I realize there are tendencies-- many boys tend to play with toy fire-engines and many girls will gravitate to the dolls and tea-sets-- but I don't hold that certain tasks or habits are male- or female-exclusive.  I know many women who mow the lawn and bring home the bacon to Mr. Mom who quite happily washes the dishes and laundry and gets the kids off to school.  Truth be known, I think in most households, there is a division of labor along very personal lines that don't have to do with gender.  (Personally, I'd love Mr. Tolewyn to come tidy up my house, and I'm sure it makes his skin crawl to visit, as he is OCD and peculiarly tidy and I am, well, me!)  Further, I don't think most people analyze everything they do and think "is this a masculine or feminine thing?" as they go through their day.  To do so would be exhausting, unbalanced and silly.

This is a bit of a ramble, and I'll try to get my mud into enough of a ball that you can see my point.  People going through gender-identity issues have enough cruel crap to deal with in life without some traitorous person hitching his big bag of bullshit to their wagon.  Manning has gotten him/herself into a world of shit by his/her own actions, and should now have the grace, decency and dignity to not make a greater spectacle of him/herself by associating people with gender identity issues with Manning's actions and the consequences thereof.

In Big City, I had several residents in various stages of gender reassignment and they were lovely, low-key people who were just trying to live an external life that reflected their innermost being.  They were quiet, unassuming, and frankly they were the opposite of flamboyant dressers.  Most people with gender identity issues are remarkably average and just trying to get through life as people do, and most are not trying to call attention to themselves, believe it or not.  And they were all very likeable.

While I do not dispute that Manning is clearly a muddled individual, my belief is that genuine or not, Manning's gender identity issues did not result in his treasonous behavior.

Here's a video of Eddie Izzard (LOVE him) a male lesbian comedian performing in a frock and makeup and talking about perceptions of transvestites.  I see no problem with him getting tarted up, and he is actually quite attractive, though he's not a pretty lady.  Here he talks about some distinctions which-- although a completely different issue than Manning's revelation-- shape public perception in a way that skews from the (for lack of a better term) norm.



Exactly.

Ew.

I started the day expecting to get through it with flying colors, kicking ass and taking names. I got all gussied up, makeup, dress, the whole bit. I was in a great mood. 

After about an hour at work, my eyes were feeling a little gritty, irritated. Hmm. I'm not having an allergy... By noon, my eyes were streaming constantly. Went to my boss and told him I was having a problem. Kept working through bleary eyes.  Ball of goo in one eye. This isn't good. Went to lunch at 1 and told the other boss I needed to leave. He asked if I was going to the dr, and I said I was going to try to get in to see one, and he said to bring a Note from the dr. 

Mind you, I maybe have called in sick one or two days a year-- rarely. Other people call in sick 2 or 3 times a month and have emergency absences left and right.  I was offended by this instruction. I asked why he'd need a note (my eyes were CLEARLY fuctup) and he said "to see what's wrong with you."

Hippa, much??? None of his business. 

Any the hoo, I have pinkeye. High grode factor on this stuff. Oh, and I can't go to work tomorrow, either, because I'll still be contagious. Yes: I am a vector of disease. 

This throws a wrench in all the big plans I had for the next several days. At least it'll be done with by the time I'm in school on Monday. 

Monday! Yay! Monday begins a whole new chapter. *excited!*

If Obama had three sons... (or would this make four?)

The Melbourne Herald Sun has the cojones to print what CBS doesn't.



I will say that without having seen any particulars on the young men in question, I say they should be tried as adults and summarily executed.  All three, not just the trigger man, if there was only one, which I doubt. 

How incredibly vile.

Sunday, Puppy Sunday: play date weekend with Heidi

Mochi, Heidi and Chuy are plumb tuckered out after constant romping. Cuteness!!!