Day 269: Dietitian Appointment

Today, I had an appointment with my university's dietitian.  I'm in a therapy group for people with a history of disordered eating, and the group facilitator said that she wants all of us to see the dietitian.  So I complied and made an appointment, and today was my appointment with her.  I really wasn't expecting to get anything out of the appointment.  I've seen dietitians over the years, and my experience has been that they usually don't listen to what I say and make my meal plan based on what THEY think it should be.

Result:  I told her about my concerns, particularly my concerns about my digestion issues.  So she tailored a meal plan for me that takes into account the fact that I have difficulty digesting fruits and vegetables.  She also took into account the fact that I like dairy and don't have much difficulty digesting dairy.

I wasn't planning on scheduling a follow-up appointment with her, but she suggested that I do so.  So I will be seeing her again in two weeks.  Surprisingly, it turned out to be an enjoyable and worthwhile appointment :-)

Day 268: SCI Tabling

Today, my student group and I did some tabling in the Social Science building.  Tabling has one main purpose:  Recruiting.  We are hoping to get more members for our student group.  Now, we have tabled in the SS building at this specific time and day of the week several times now.  I really didn't think that we would have a successful tabling session, but we had already reserved the table, so why not?

Result:  It took us a while to get a table, but we did eventually get one in the correct location.  And long story short, we got more donations than we've ever gotten before, and we had several people say that they hadn't heard of our group before and that they were interested in becoming a member of our group.  So it was a VERY successful tabling day! :-)

Day 267: Research Assistant Week #2

Today was my 2nd stint at being research assistant for one of my school's psychology professors.

Result:  This time, my professor was not present to help me with the study.  However, I did have a partner help me.  We are going to be conducting research together each week.  Unfortunately, we were not able to access the research file programs.  The professor eventually ended up at his office, and he was able to show us how to access the programs for the research project.

Next week, I REALLY hope things run smoothly!

Day 266: Homework Sucks.

I'm taking a Computer Applications of Statistics class this semester, and we started with Excel.  I have almost zero experience with Excel.

Result:  This homework assignment is literally THE hardest homework assignment that I've ever had (at least that I can think of).  There were only 10 problems, but each problem had a bunch of stuff that we had to do.  And everything had to be formatted correctly.  I don't even know how many hours I worked on this homework assignment overall.  Luckily I worked on it off and on for 2 or 3 weeks.  But DAMN this homework was really difficult.

I have no idea the grade that I got on this homework.  I'm just hoping for a 90 or above, and normally, anything below a 98 would be disappointing to me.

Day 265: A Hike at Kennesaw Mountain

Today, my friend Melissa and I decided to go hiking at nearby trails at Kennesaw Mountain.  I decided to bring Daisy, the dog I was petsitting at the time.  We had decided to take an hour long hike.

One hour later:  I looked at my phone and saw that an hour had passed.  We hadn't yet turned around.  So our hike ended up being 2 hours.  I didn't know how Daisy would do on the hike, but she ended up being fine the entire time.  And Melissa and I both made it for the 2 hours.  And afterwards we had lunch at Panera Bread, which was yummy.  So a one hour turned two hour hike turned out to be worthwhile and fun :-)

Day 264: Housesitting Cancelled

Today I was supposed to start housesitting for a client/friend of mine.

Result:  They cancelled because they decided to leave tomorrow instead.

Result:  I was with my friend Melissa when my client called and told me not to head over later that night.  SO, we decided to go see the movie Super 8 at the dollar theater nearby. 

Result:  Super 8 was AWESOME!!!  It was super suspenseful, and it was just a really good movie.  So not petsitting tonight ended up leading to an awesome night with my friend :-)

Day 263: Sleep.

Sleep.  Oh, how I love sleep.  I REALLY love sleep.  And yet, sometimes, sleep does not love me.

This past month, my sleep schedule has really been messed up.  Taking 8am classes 3 days a week will do that to you.  Most nights lately, I have a hard time falling asleep.  Then I wake up at 4 or 5 in the morning and can't fall back asleep.  Then I end up taking a nap some time during the day.  As you may be able to imagine, these sorts of things are rather disruptive to my daily life. 

Add to this the fact that my motivation level has been low the last several days or so, and I end up with a huge desire to sleep. 

Sleep.  How I love sleep, and yet how my body sometimes hates sleep even more than I love it. 

It's times like these that caffeine can really come in handy.

Day 262: Sensitive Much??

Today, my student group tabled in the Social Science building.  What does that mean?  Basically, it's how we advertise to people about our student group--who we are and what we do and such.

Long story short, one guy came to our tabling event who is in our facebook group but who had never come to one of our events before.  He said that our table looked like crap, that we looked unapproachable, and that we needed to reposition our table so as to allow more people to see our signs.  For some reason, this REALLY rubbed me the wrong way.  I immediately started crying and got my stuff and got up to leave.  I told him why I was upset.  I left the tabling event an hour before I had planned on leaving it.

I still don't know why I was so upset by what he said.  But I do know that it's partly because I've worked really hard on getting this student group running, and it felt like he was pissing on all of the hard work that I've done.

One good thing about what happened is that it sure makes for a good story!  I don't even know how many people I've told about it lol.  It's fun to make fun of myself sometimes :-)

Day 261: IRB Meeting

I know that I've used this image before for the IRB, but . . . it still feels appropriate to use for this post.

Today, I had a meeting with my university's Institutional Review Board.  I want to conduct a research study this semester, and I have to get it approved through the IRB first.  I turned in my approval request form and consent form to be used in the study, and they had some questions for me regarding my application.  So today was the meeting for them to ask me questions.

I had NO idea what to expect.  None whatsoever.  My professor wasn't able to attend, so it was just going to be and the IRB.  There were 9 IRB members there, and all of them were professors and old.  Well, not all old, but they were all older than me.  The chemistry guy was pretty scary.  He yelled a lot.  Not at me, but still, he got pretty fired up about IRB-related stuff. 

Long story short, they told me some things I needed to change or add in my consent form and approval request form.  The members were most concerned about my potential participants and any risks my study may pose on them.

Overall, it was a good meeting, and it was cool to have a meeting with the IRB.  Here's hoping that the changes I made to my forms will be approved, and I can start and complete my study!!

Day 260: My First Day as a Research Assistant.

Today was my first day acting as one of my university professor's research assistant.  My job:  To administer computer tests/programs to 3 students in order for them to earn extra credit points. 

Result:  I felt like a complete moron.  I didn't know what the hell I was doing!  Luckily my professor was there to help me administer the tests.  And yes, even though he was there and was telling me how to do it--I still felt like a complete moron!  It was very uncomfortable for me.  But I got through it and am still glad that I am acting as his research assistant (grad school anyone?).

Day 257: Online Training Fail

Long story short:  I was supposed to have this online computer training done for Devereux by Labor Day.  It's now nearing the end of September, and I'm not even close to being done with it.  What can I say?  I'm lazy lol.  I'm hoping to get it done by Thursday.  We'll see.

Day 259: Online Dating is Awesome!

Psychostick (a band) had it right all along:  Okcupid is stupid.  I'm sure that's probably not what they're actually saying in their tshirt above, but I'm totally using it to symbolize that online dating sucks.

Tonight, I deleted my plentyoffish and okcupid dating profiles.  Why?  Because, well, online dating just sucks.  It's like, if you want to get rejected on a continual basis, or meet jerks on a continual basis, just try online dating.  I mean, it's not ALL bad.  But overall . . . .

I've realized, and accepted, that I date down.  I do.  I date guys who don't really deserve me.  But it's like, either I date down, or I don't date at all.  And being single, it just plain ole sucks.  I mean, I'm human and therefore have hormones.  And not to mention the fact that literally my #1 goal in life is to find someone I love and who loves me and get married. 

So yeah, I'm going to just focus on dating people I actually meet in real life versus through a computer.  Because why waste my time talking to guys who I have no interest in?  Believe it or not, getting a free meal yet talking to someone who is not interesting--it's just not worth it.

The real question is where in the HELL do I meet guys who actually deserve me?  Where do I meet guys who are smart and not boring? 

Beats me.  Seriously.

Day 258: Carnival Oops

Today, Devereux (the place I volunteer at) held a family carnival in order to raise money or clothing donations.  I signed up to volunteer from 9am-11am for carnival setup.

Result:  I go to Devereux at 9am.  I drive around.  There is no one around and no carnival setup stuff.  I go into one of the buildings and ask where the carnival is.  Long story short, turns out the carnival is in a shopping center 5 minutes from the center.  The volunteer coordinator never said in the emails that the carnival was located somewhere else!  And I wasn't the only volunteer who thought they were at Devereux. 

But it all worked out.  We both got there, and it was no biggie.  It was fun, and I'm glad that I volunteered for it.

Day 256: Toastmasters Fail

I had signed up for today's Toastmasters meeting.  I signed up to be an evaluator for one of the speakers.

Result:  I missed the meeting.  I had an appointment with my professor, and the meeting ran pretty long.  It was the only day and time that we could meet this week.

Oh, well!  Better luck next meeting.

Day 255: Book Club Fail

I had a book club meeting tonight at 7.  I hate going to book clubs when I haven't finished the book (especially if it's fiction).  I could have finished the book before the meeting, but . . . I took a nap instead.

Result:  I still went to the book club meeting since I absolutely love this book club group.  Of  course the parts I hadn't read yet were given away, but I knew that it wasn't that big of a deal; I only had maybe 50 pages left.

I'm really glad I went, because I had a great time :-)  I still hate when I don't finish the books before the meetings, though.

Day 254: Chalking

Today, my student group did some chalking.  It was me, the vp, and a recent graduate.

I didn't want to do the chalking by myself.  Why?  I don't like unwanted attention.  I don't want people watching me while I'm chalking.  I don't even know why.

So I chalked the thing in the 2nd picture.  And that was about it lol.  Sad, I know. 

I have 8am classes 3 days a week.  I get on campus usually by 715am, so I have 30 minutes before I have to head to my classroom.  So I am thinking about doing some chalking before 8am.  That way, there won't be a lot of students to watch me do it.  And the students won't be in my way either.  I'll start off easy and then do more as I get more comfortable with the simple act of chalking.

Day 253: A Missed Debate

Today I was planning on going to a college libertarian meeting at school tonight.

Result:  A petsitting/housesitting client of mine called me as I was heading towards the meeting.  Long story short, I skipped the meeting so that I could go and take care of the kitty.

I didn't mind it; I like housesitting for them.  The cat is super duper sweet, and they have a ton of books that I can choose from and read :-)  I got to finish a book I had started there the day before, so I was happy.  It all worked out :-)

Day 252: A Vegan Potluck Lunch

(My good friend Carl; he accompanied me at the lunch)

Today was a vegan potluck lunch date.  I've been a member of the lunch group for probably a year or so.  It's always a lot of fun, and the food is always amazing!

So what could the problem be?  I.  Don't.  Cook.  EVER.  And I CERTAINLY don't cook strictly vegan foods (boring and bland foods don't count).  And buying yummy vegan food in a grocery store that doesn't require any cooking or preparation--that is challenging.  I always struggle with what to bring to these things.

I decided to bring a simple fruit salad.  Already chopped, sliced, sorted, all ready to buy and serve.  But what if no one eats it?  What if other people bring fruit?  What if people are like, "How lame-o?" 

End result:  People ate it.  And, once again, my fears were unsupported.  I knew I was being ridiculous, but . . . you never can know 100%, can you?  

Day 251: When No Plans Turn Into Good Plans

Saturdays.  How often do I NOT make plans on a Saturday?  Pretty much never.  But today, I decided that I just wanted to hang out where I was housesitting for the night.  I wanted to get some reading done and do whatever else I felt like doing.  By myself.

Result:  So I'm on facebook, and my friend Connie comments on a comment I had posted on one of her photos.  She lives in Colorado, and she had come to Atlanta to come visit friends for her birthday.  She had posted a picture she took at a national park near where I live.  So I posted a comment saying that I live only 15 minutes from that park.  Fast forward to 10pm--she comments on the photo and says that she and her friends were headed to a nearby diner if I wanted to join them.

Normally I'd be like, "No, they probably don't want me to go, I don't know her that well, what if we miss each other," etc etc etc.  But you know what?  I just shut those thoughts up as soon as they came up, and I went and drove to the diner.  I ended up finding her and her friends, and I sat with them.

End result:  It was a lot of fun!  I'm really glad I went :-)  I hadn't seen her in well over 5 years, so it was nice to hang out with a John Denver friend :-)

Day 250: A Missed Meetup

So.  Today I had planned on attending a board game meetup near where I live. 

Result:  I ended up not going.  I was hanging out in The Commons (my school's dining hall) and ran into a friend there.  Long story short, he convinced me not to go to the meetup.  Why?  Because it was going to be at some random dude's house.  I'm not one to be paranoid about someone doing something bad to me, but . . . why take your chances when you don't have to?  So I went to my friend Lani's and hung out with her instead :-)  I think it was a good choice.

Day 249: SCI Movie Night

Today, I ran a movie night for my school's student secular/skeptic group.  I had all kinds of worries:  What if the classroom doesn't have  DVD player?  What if the classroom is locked?  What if I can't get the sound to work?  What if no one shows up?  I can go on and on with more worries--those are related to the food I had to bring (pizza and soda).

Result:  The classroom was open.  I had to call my group's advisor to get the sound to work.  The food thing worked out fine.  Not a whole lot of people showed up.  The DVD's were kind of boring (we watched the first 3 episodes of Carl Sagan's "Cosmos" series).  But all in all, it was a success in the sense that it all worked out in the end. 

I don't know what events to create, or when to schedule them, that will get a large turnout.  And that is frustrating.  But at least I'm doing events for the group, and maybe in time, with effort put into it, attendance will improve on its own.

Day 248: A Colcoscopy

This post is about women body parts stuff.  If you don't want to read it, then by all means, skip this entry.  But basically, that thing in this picture--yeah, it doesn't go in your ear . . . .

I had to have a colcoscopy done today after receiving an abnormal pap smear result at the end of July.  I had no freakin' idea what to expect.  None. 

Long story short, I didn't cry.  I was really proud of myself!  I didn't cry out of pain (although it certainly wasn't pleasant).  And I had a male examiner, and usually when a male doctor examines me, I start crying.  (Seriously.)  So therefore, I make sure never to sign up with a male doctor for female stuff.  But in this case, I didn't really have a choice because there's only a doctor at this location once a month. 

So anyways, I didn't really fail today.  In fact, I think I succeeded rather well.  Yay for not crying! 

Day 247: A Missed Meeting

(I think this picture is hilarious.  Group therapy only looks like this in the movies.  I've never seen a "happy" therapy group.)

Today I was supposed to go to a group therapy meeting at 3pm at school.  But I was still experiencing the lovely Con crud, and there was no way that I was going to leave the house for anything.  So I called the counseling services office and said I couldn't come because I was sick. 

And it was no biggie.  I was sad that I wasn't able to go (odd that I actually enjoy group therapy now), but I knew that it was best that I stay home.  Plus I'm sure that no one else there wanted to catch my cold.  So yay.

Day 246: Con Crud

"Con crud is the general term for any illnesses picked up during a convention . . . .  It's entirely common to leave Dragon*Con with a cold, the flu, a norovirus, or Swine Flu . . . . The resultant illness tends to be called con crud." -from a random website

I caught the Con crud.  It was very interesting--I distinctly remember this--it was Saturday night around 1145pm.  My friend Don and I were walking to the parking garage so we could go to our places of residence and sleep for the night.  While leaving the Hilton hotel (or was it the Hyatt?), I felt a sore throat come on all of a sudden.  One second it was there, and the next second it was not.

At that moment I knew that I had it:  The infamous Con Crud.  I managed to escape its powers in both 2009 and 2010, but alas, I was powerless to it this year.  I felt not so good Monday, and I felt not good at all on Tuesday.  It's now Wednesday, and I still am sneezing and coughing and stuff, but I feel okay other than that.  I'm really good at doing not much when I'm sick, so I am recovering fast.  Yay.

Day 245: Dragon*Con + a Bad Mood = ??

(me with two women in MST3K costumes)

Yeah.  So for some reason, I was in a bad mood pretty much all day while at Dragon*Con.  And it certainly wasn't for any particular reason.  It was just . . . one of those things.  Seriously, I think it's because I had a conversation 3 days before with someone about how they think happiness is a simple thing and people make it too complicated.  I completely disagree (when you're battling decades' worth of negative thinking, your brain can't all of a sudden say, "Oh, you want to be happy?  OKAY!!!").  I could go on and on about that, but anyways . . . . I honestly think my brain was like, "You think being happy is easy?  Well, I'll show you how not easy it is!" 

And so I spent the day just being mindful of my bad mood.  I was proud of myself for going to Con instead of just staying home and moping.  And I spent a lot of the day at the Skeptic panel so that I wouldn't have to walk around a lot and be submerged in the massive crowd aka Dragon*Con.  I was tired and cranky, but it was all okay.  I didn't try to force myself out of my bad mood.  Around 10pm I was feeling kinda lonely and so I texted my friend JT to see what he was up to.  I was way proud of myself for doing that instead of just thinking to myself, "He's not going to want to hang out with me."  You know, one of my typical stupid thoughts.  But I resisted it and texted him, and it was fun hanging out with him that evening :-)  So yay me for not judging myself and stuff!

Day 244: A Missed Costume

See these people in the above pics?  This is from the Dragon*Con parade that was on Saturday at 10am.  Yeah, I was supposed to be with those people, dressed up in a doctor's outfit with a cute little black cat stuffed animal on my shoulder.

Margaret Downey had brought the costume for me and brought it to the Star Party.  Of course, I forgot it there.  Long story short, one of the Atlanta Skeptic organizers took it and figured it was Margaret's, but I never quite got the costume from him.

But honestly, I was okay with the fact that I wasn't in the parade.  I still had fun and enjoyed hanging out with friends.  And it was fun taking pictures of the parade people.  And if I do participate in it next year, I would want it to be for something I'm passionate about.  A character I really like, or something like that.  We'll see.  I have a year to decide basically :-)

Day 243: Star Party

Okay, so this picture is technically from last year.  And I wore a different outfit than this one.  But you get the idea.

Today was the Atlanta Skeptics' Star Party, where people buy a ticket and the money goes to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  Various astronomers came and gave talks, and we were able to go to Emory University's observatory and look through their large telescope (certainly the largest I've ever seen in person).

I, of course, was worried that I wouldn't have fun.  Why do I always worry about not having fun?  I DON'T KNOW.

Result:  I had fun.  I was glad that certain friends of mine went.  I really should start reaching out and being friendlier to people I don't know, though.  I mean, I can turn on the charm when I want to (I amaze myself when I do this lol).  But those moments are too rare.  I really should start to change that . . .

Day 242: Trivia!

Tonight was team trivia at Mellow Mushroom.  My student secular/skeptic group went and played.  What was I worried about?  Who knows.  That no one would show up.  Or that I wouldn't get there early enough and all of the tables would be gone.  That people wouldn't have fun.  Who freakin' knows really.

Result:  It was fun.  Everyone (I think) had fun.  And more trivia events will be happening in the future :-)