The Tao of Sleep
Good morning, my friends! I’m sitting here in the school library, which I call the Stately - not because it holds a candle to, say, the library at Oxford - but because it’s the stateliest place on MY little campus. I like it in here. This is where I feel at home, and this morning - before the influx of students - it’s lovely and peaceful. I have The Tao of Jung, by David H. Rosen, at my left elbow, waiting to be checked out, and only one class today: Spanish. It feels like a good day.
Except I could NOT sleep last night. It’s horribly ironic that yesterday, the last day of psychology class before Thanksgiving break, we started the chapter on stress - because I could use it NOW, thankyouverymuch. I am definitely planning to do my chapter reading on my time off. Besides, what else will I do? Watch movies? Read nonfiction? Take walks? Live, and breathe, and love?? Ah-hahahahahaha! Fools and cormorants. I thought you knew me. If nothing comes my way to stress me out, I shall sally forth to meet it.
Oh dear, look at all the space left to fill.
We went to see the late showing of American Gangster last Saturday night, because we were desperate to get out of the house and do something different. It started out very slowly - well, except for the opening scene - and for a movie with the subject matter it has, it stayed surprisingly quiet throughout. I wasn’t sure for the first third, but by two-thirds of the way into its two-and-a-half hour length, I leaned over to Scott and said, “This is an excellent movie.” Oh, ha - I’m eavesdropping on a conversation between a student and one of the librarians, both of whom are standing a few feet away from me looking at a shelf of books. The librarian is talking about Nicholas Sparks, saying, “I don’t know ANYBODY who doesn’t love his books. They’re love stories. I mean, they’re real love stories.” Okay, at the risk of alienating any of you out there who may happen to be Nicholas Sparks fans, personally, I detest his books. I may be the only woman in America who has never seen The Notebook, let alone read it, and who - in fact - breaks out in hives at the mere thought. Wal, hullo little fella! - there’s one right now! I’m going to name it Nick.
Thanksgiving. God help me. I’m never thankful at Thanksgiving; I’m only stressed to the point of banging my head repeatedly with the potato masher and using the turkey baster in unseemly ways - UM, such as for cooling off my armpits with ice water, OKAY? You know, I missed my chance in psychology yesterday. When my teacher, Cinnamon (yes-huh), asked for ways we can de-stress, I said, “Meditation.” OBVIOUSLY, I should have gone for the laugh and said, “Masturbation.”
hee. And okay, the same librarian who loves Nicholas Sparks? Has red hair, like me, so she’s always trying to talk to me, like there’s some unspoken understanding that redheads should be friends or something. I don’t know; I’ve never received an invitation to join any Red-Headed League. Anyway, we were chatting, and she asked, “What’s your course of study?” I told her I’m majoring in psychology, and she asked, “Really? That’s wonderful! What do you plan to do with it?” I said, “Well, it’s my ultimate dream to be a Jungian analyst, but that’s going to take years and years. Barring that - or maybe in connection with it - I’d like to write books.” She looked down at the magazine she was reading and said, “Oh. Well, it’s nice to have dreams.” HA! Do you know, I’m discovering that a person’s unenthusiastic response is more about them than it is about me, 99.9% of the time. That little bit of information was free. kisses for you all!
November 20th, 2007 10:46
You can join my FantaForce club if you want Kelly? That is what us red-heads at my work get called. Fanta.
I haven’t seen American Gangster yet, but my flatmate said the same thing. Good film, but starts out slow. Must go see it at some stage.
i love Thanksgiving, because we get it off, but it isn’t an holiday so no one else does. w00t!! etc
Apart from the non-sleeping how are you?
November 20th, 2007 10:55
Well, I didn’t get outta Dodge soon enough. We are now having 3 guests (and a baby guest) at our house for Thanksgiving. At least they are helping with the food. And, I don’t think they’ll eat and run. LOL.
Happy Thanksgiving my dear!
November 20th, 2007 11:56
I have never been a Nicholas Sparks fan either, so you are not alone in America.
And I find that Thanksgiving is a holiday where the hostess (most of the time a woman) facilitates everyone else’s thanksgiving at the expense of her own. That’s one reason I have given up on the traditional meal because it saps my joy and I want to be able to be thankful too.
And meditation and masturbation are BOTH good destressors but the one interferes with the other so they should be practiced separately. I am serious that masturbation is a destressor. From a physical standpoint it helps burn up some of the energy that the fight-or-flight stress response jump-started so it is physically beneficial to help lower the cortisol levels in the blood and it increases oxytocin (in both men and women) which not only further combats cortisol but has a relaxing effect. So take that to class with you!
November 20th, 2007 13:00
Thanks, Red. HOW did they start calling you Fantas? Is it because that’s all you drink? You know, the soft drink Fanta? (I, personally, have never seen nor tasted a Fanta, but I know they exist because of that stupid annoying commercial they used to show before movies.) Or is it an Irish thing? Either way, I’m pleased to be invited to join your club. What time’s the next meeting?
I am about one million thousand times better than when I wrote my “depressed” post. Thank GOD. Fency, do you get Thanksgiving off because you have so many American students (assuming you do)? Well, a day off! wOOt, etc., indeedy do.
I think you’ll like American Gangster. xo
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Karedy, I have to negotiate food et al with OUR guests, too. I have to do that today. I hate doing that. Will you do it for me?
Happy Turkey day to you, too, sweetness and light. I mean, Eeyore. xo
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Oh thank GOD Jenns, seriously. I can’t stand love stories like that. I want my love stories to have shadows and preferably a vampire or two. And I’m with you one hundred percent on the stress of hostessing the meal. I was pushing for hero sandwiches (HONEST), but everyone else wants the traditional. I think I may end up telling them that if they want the traditional, dey is gonna have to cook the traditional. The problem is, they’ll say they will, and then I’ll be plied with a hundred questions every five minutes, so I may as well do it myself. MOTHER OF GOD HELP ME.
If I wasn’t at school right now, though there IS always the bathroom (hmm…), I’d take a little time to destress in that delicious oxytocin-releasing sense of the word. Dang, I should have talked to YOU before I wrote my essay. xo
November 20th, 2007 22:25
Kel - are you having guests for T-day or is it just y’all? I remember the Chinese T-day you had. Why not try another ethnic meal? Or if everyone wants traditional, I say go for the least stress possible. Do on Wednesday anything that can be done ahead…use convenience foods when they taste (almost) just as good…get the crew involved in the kitchen. They can chop and stir. It could turn into a lovely time. The point is to make it as easy for you as possible, to not allow yourself to carry the whole load.
Do you have any T-day traditions, other than the traditional gluttony?
November 21st, 2007 02:23
SAY NO TO THE MADNESS! Order Chinese.
I didn’t mind the movie of the Notebook, and I quite enjoyed A Walk To Remember (the movie, despite the really cheesy voice-over they ended it with.) So I picked up N.S.’s latest novel, “A Bend In The Road” thinking it would be worth a read. And it was…okay. Frankly, it was too predictably “love-story.” Ever since watching “Failure To Launch”, it’s like I can watch a love-story or read the books and just pick apart all the different ingredients that go into it–and they are usually the same. What’s refreshing is when they can make a love-story that catches you by surprise–but not with a sad ending!
So, anyway, I just mailed that book off to someone in the “informal book club” chain letter thingee I just got. I knew I’d never read it again. I can only hope for the recipient’s sake that they put it off until last in the deluge of books they are about to receive.
Goodness, I can blather on, can’t I? Hugs to you, Kelly!
November 21st, 2007 07:12
The Fanta thing is on account of the orange drink link (see my internal rhyming structure there) with orange/red hair.
And we Thanksgiving off because we’re an American institution. Kindof. So its all good.
November 21st, 2007 09:50
Twytie, you must have fantastic mindpower skills, because I’m doing exactly as you suggested: tomorrow we are having a variety of sandwiches and tortellini salad and fruit salad and - to console Jesse - garlic mashed potatoes. But everyone is absolutely FINE with it, and now I’m very excited to have everyone over. Oh - ‘everyone’ is our friends from Canada, who’ve come for six years in a row now. It’s AWESOME that they’re from Canada, because they don’t give a flippin rip what we have to eat! They have no turkey dreams filling their November sleep…
Other than the tradition of having them over, we don’t have any others. Maybe Guitar Hero competitions, and poker (both of which we’re planning this year) will become new ones. How about you? What will you do this year? xo
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Taleny, did you like Failure to Launch? The only love story in that movie that caught my interest was the one between her roommate and his friend - when they tried to revive the mockingbird? I laughed till I peed, practically.
(And blather on, friend! I don’t mind atall! I’m pretty adept at blathering myself!) Hug you too.
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Ahhh, well THAT explains that! I need to color my hair a bit oranger, I think; this last box was too dark. I need to “pop” a little more. Except I felt a little embarrassed while watching American Gangster, when Denzel’s character said to his brother, regarding his pimp-like clothes: “The loudest one in the room is always the weakest.” Gulp. Maybe I should keep my hair its current demure auburn?
(Nah.) ‘S all good. kiss! Happy day off tomorrow, Fency.