One Must Never Call the Police Dumb.

I spent the majority of my discussion today in Human Variation writhing in mental agony because the professor, in trying to argue that some obvious morphological traits may not be considered adaptations if we can't know their function, used the plates of stegosaurus as an example. "We have theories but we can't say it's an adaptation if we don't know that it's something affecting an organism's survival against a selective force" what was said was something to that effect.

Thinking about it now, I get the point she was trying to make, but that example was outright terrible! The implication is that we don't know the exact function of the Stegosaurus's plates, so how do we know they were evolved to increase fitness and aren't a byproduct to something else. My mind kind of exploded out my mouth in a not good way; I can't even articulate how insane that all sounds to me; those kinds of structure arise, if infrequently, in the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods. Similar structures appear on each of the three main lineages of dinosaurs: Theropods, Sauropods, and Ornithischians like Stegosaurus. It's one of the most classic examples of Homoplasy I ever thought of! (aside from the whole fly-wing, bird-wing, bat-wing comparison). It's clear that with several different and yet similar structures among large animals of the Mesozoic that these find structures were being used for something communication, mating, heat regulation... something! Unfortunately I've never been articulate when my mind explodes in dinosaur rage and I made myself look an ass in class.

More towards the end I asked her if she ever shaved a polar bear. I don't know what it is with that class in particular, but I feel like I end up looking more like a freak every week I'm in there.

EDIT: I should probably say that although Stegosaurus and his plates are a bad example, you could talk about that weird space in his hip where people thought he had a second brain for the longest time. Or you swtich species entirely! Go to the Segnosaurs, no one even know what the hell those things are anyways.

Fail Cake

We experienced a set back today. I bombed a test and couldn't flail my Lit presentation/paper together on time. I feel like I didn't have a weekend at all, which is weird because I know I spent time relaxing and I hung out with friends. Obviously I've lost my mind, so it's a good thing I had the forethought to schedule some 'talk me through stress' time tomorrow morning. The problem is that I have papers etc due tomorrow right after my appointment, so I had to call in some substitutes for therapy: Fail Cake.

The rules of Fail Cake: Fail Cake must be delicious. Fail Cake must be rich. In fact Fail Cake must be so delicious and rich that while eating Fail Cake, all you can think about is Fail Cake. Fail Cake cannot be eaten beside milk. Fail Cake's unavoidable Fail Cake Sugar Coma is an acceptable time to Fail Cake Sugar Nap in public like a loon. After awakening from Fail Cake Sugar Nap, it's time to tackle a world where you're not eating Fail Cake for a while.

Fail Cake: because actual success is cake in itself.

Late Night Pitter Patter

The ferrets were keeping me up last night. Norman Bugbear especially was ringing bars because he wanted to play... and I wanted to sleep. So I wheeled them out in to the living room and went to bed. Norman kept going at it though for a while longer before he suddenly stopped.

I was almost asleep when I thought I heard little pattering on the tile in the hallway. I thought I imagined it at first and then he ran into a wall and it became clear that he was on the loose and I had to get up. Turns out the bottom of the cage had shifted off the base and Norman was loose. I walked out in the hallway and Norman poked his little white head out of Justin's room; he wanted to play 'chase'... I was tired... so I made like I was walking away and he scuttled out to chase me and scooped him up when he got close. I fixed the cage and put him back in before flopping back into bed. Norman stared at me in utter confusion.

I need to get a ferret wheel to tire these things out.

Turning Myself In! I Need Help!

So it shouldn't come as any surprise that I'm insane. I'm talking about being mentally unstable... chemically impulsive... prone to unprovoked wild bouts of seemingly random out-of-my-mind, Adam-'Farmer in the Dell' crazy over here!

That's what I'm hoping I won't be saying next week. Why would I think that? Because I'm about to utilize A&M's (probably much under-utilized) counseling services. I'm not being forced against my will or anything. I've never really liked the idea of talking about feelings to strangers before, but I've sometimes wondered if it could help. I don't feel like I'm about to have a mental break down or anything; in other words I don't feel explicitly vulnerable, but at the same time I'm recognizing a little bit of stress stirring up pensive lethargy in my semester so far... so assuming all this cockamamie works, I stand to get some real benefit from it. It's a free service, so I figure why not. Also it'll give me something to blog about.

I should probably commit to being disappointed by writing down my expectations for this: I'm hoping that I can be given someone who will listen with my problems and concerns and give me back perspective and alternative options for how to overcome the walls I keep stumbling over, using the university's other facilities as a platform to lead off from.

So follow me along on a magical journey, as I sign up at the Student Counseling Center: I called in and was directed to open up a registration file online based off the UIN. The website services were listed. I guess they made divisions, but overall it came off as being pretty vague. It didn't tell me who I would be talking with, I was disappointed that I wasn't bludgeoned with notifications that my privacy would be protected in this service. (That's something I'd kind of like to be bludgeoned with)

From there I had to enter some basic information about me. Apparently scholastic probation can require some people to go to this thing. If this service is what I think it is, I have to wonder why I wasn't put on it when I was struggling in my various majors... but I'm getting ahead of myself. We don't know how effective this is going to be yet. Maybe it's a waste of time.

I'm treated to a long list of common sources of stress and I have to mark all the ones that I feel have stressed my life in the past 2 weeks and to what extent. I can see how a lot of them overlap... some are really vague (like 'Depression' and 'Decision Making') and some are really explicit ('Conflict with Parents on Career Choice' and 'Reading/Comprehending Textbooks'). The one that really caught my eye going down was 'Math Anxiety', but if I were to begin to give my opinion of the (College Station) A&M Math Department, we'd get way off track. There were so many things listed I had a hard time keeping them all relative. I ended up just marking the ones I though applied to me first and then went back to determine the severity. I picked 'Academics/Coursework/Grades', 'Anxiety/Fear/Nervousness', 'Finding Occupational Information', 'Dating Concerns' and a few others. I feel like I sound like a crack head when I list them out like that, but trust me I feel better already passing over all the ones I didn't feel stressed by. See! Already I feel more sane and competent! Success!

From there I had to enter in short sentences why I wanted to use the service and the likely hood I felt like counseling would help (I guess that one is to catch those sent by advisors?). Then I had to identify and rank the severity of feelings, like I did above. Like I said, most of this is is pretty basic, unexciting, and largely preemptive (Anxiety again?) After that I had to do the same with a list of strengths (I think I'm 'moderately' good at 'coping with stress' and I have a 'good sense of humor'). Wow, and now I'm feeling even more capable! It's like they channeled everything additive about preteen online quizzes! (Hmmm, I don't know what Harry Potter character I am...)

With that done, it was on to what looked like a near to last page: lots of confidentiality stuff. (So it is in there after all!) It also asked if they were allowed to record sessions on audio or video... it recommended allowing recording for better counseling options; I don't really have a problem with that sort of thing... although I still don't understand why that would make a difference. After that it brought up a list of open appointment times, the earliest being this Friday and the latest being 2 weeks away. I got an early Friday appointment and that's all there was to it.

We'll see how this all goes. Hopefully this is an opportunity to be even more impressed with my university.

Now Blogs = Education?

I attended my english/studies class today. The professor was just as energetic as I remember her being last semester before I had to switch out of her class for physical anthro. We spent the first half of the class talking about blogs. Apparently class themed blogging is now the way some classes involve students. She described what a blog is (to a generation that grew up on xanga and livejournal ;-P) and I thought to myself... oh yeah... I have some of those...

I really like the idea... I just hope I'm not expected to try to sound smart or anything :p

Ball Drop 2009

It's been a crappy break, not going to lie. I feel like I've spent this last half of it stressing out or being depressed. Mom is done with surgeries though and I'm eager for school to start up! But before I run galavanting off into the sunset, I wanted to look back on a few parts of 2009. Here's a brief rundown of most of the important stuff roughly in order:

• Started out trying to re-date
• Attending Blinn
• Loved dead people class
• Thought I had cavities (but didn't)
• Adopted the infamous ferrets from the shelter
• Transfered back to A&M (Stat=no fun. Rec=great!)
• Got a DSi
• Trip to Las Vegas
• Tried hiring artists (yikes!)
• Broke up
• Grandpa passed away
• Transfered back to A&M (again. damn you Howdy)
• Tried dating people (who I found myself for the first time)
• Went to an awkward 'passion party' (broke her foot how?)
• Ferrets fighting fleas!! Massive bombing maneuvers!
• Lost my damn mind
• Made lots of new friends around Sweets
• Grim died
• Obama spoke on campus
• Annna lived with me!
• Tried Nanowrimo
• Wrote a research paper on Animorphs
• Ran a half marathon with mom, dad, and sarah
• made all As and Bs!
• Trip to Austin!
• xmas with mom in the hospital
• scoured San Antonio for bubble tea
• We all watched Samuel L Jackson get eaten Mako sharks for new years!

Goodbye 2009 and all your instability! You were a year of lots of changes, transitions, and a heaping dose of drama... but now get out

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A little late is better than never, I'm officially starting 2010 when I wake up tomorrow! here's to a rockin year in 010!

Break-fest!!!

You know, I kind of miss November. Not because I was in school then. As much as I enjoyed learning, and I did, I'm happy to be out for a while. But I had a list of exciting event in November. Now it's December, and really I got nothing. December is signifigantly lamer than November, afterall, I pretty much spent the first half finishing up school. And on top of that, I had, although willful, obigatory and time consuming travel plans to arrange everything by. With only ten days left in December, nay 2009, I'm thinking I'll do my best to inject a couple of exciting events and projects to spice up life. I can't say life sucks, but I can say that it's a lot more boring since November ended... :(

Tune in tomorrow to start a reel of exciting plans! Damn it, I'm going to enjoy my break to the fullest and stop being such a lardass about everything! (first I'll need an annoying catch phrase... "November Rocks" and "November is Awesome" are pretty hard to beat though... they were so catchy)

13

In a moment of weakness and poor judgement, I decided I should sign up for a half marathon in San Antonio this weekend. Have I been training to run 13 miles straight? Nope. Since signing up have I gone running? Not once! Do I think I have ample amounts of free time to pick up another side track event? Probably not. But you know what? November is the month of fucking adventure! Bring it on!

Grim Fish

I gave Grim a burial at pond today in near by John Crompton Park. He died of an infection that started in his left eye, but eventually began spreading elsewhere. I remember I got him my second day back at TAMUG for my sophomore fall semester; I bought him at Walmart and when I brought him home to his 10 gallon tank and turned on the light he sank right to the bottom and leaned against the glass mortified. I was sure he was going to die the first couple of days I had him, which lead me to naming him Grim. He slowly over the course of the week (mostly during which his tank light was kept off) he got more active and lively. It wasn't long before he grew to needing a larger tank. When I did my awesome semester of Calculus I where I got an A after getting Ds in PreCal and the first time I took Cal 1, he floated around his tank on my desk and intently watched me do homework. Oscar fish are always said to be somewhat smarter than other fish and are renowned for having personalities; I don't know about fish intelligence, but Grim definitely had personality. I had to move him home once and he jumped out of the tank while I was changing water. I scooped him up off the floor to put him back in the tank and he bit me with his big boney, toothless fish jaws. He never tried to jump out of the tank ever again. After I left Galveston I moved him to College Station, first in an apartment, then we lived alone for a while, then we moved through another apartment before settling in the current one. He got so big that fish nets and bags were no longer possible modes of transportation, I had to carry him in a bucket. I took a lot of pride in how large and healthy Grim grew up to be, so it was really difficult for me when he got sick because of me and slowly but surely died over the course of 2 weeks. Some days he looked so much better and some days he looked so much worse. All together he lived a good 5 years and I'd like to think that most of the time he was a happy fish. The apartment feels a lot more lonely without him.

Chi Chi Chi Chia!

I've decisively given up on shaving since the past week. With what little testosterone I have pumping I've managed to puff out an extremely irritating misshapen fuzz. I don't have to tell you it looks terrible. You can probably just imagine and that'll get you halfway there. But the good thing about looking terrible up front is that you don't have to worry too much about much else. Something that pretty much repels any kind of social interaction leaves me comfortably reserved. Plus I like to think of it kind of like a ChiaPet, the hedgehog one (because the head shaped one was stupid), only I don't have to water it, trim it, or leave it out in the sun. I pretty much just scratch and run my fingers along my chin stubble thoughtfully. Yeah, that's the stuff.

Moose Eye View

When you were a kid, did you ever make your own TV or radio stations? Make line ups? Etc.. etc... well I can tell you that was an act of pure boredom. I find myself in immense boredom, so I made something almost as well thought out: another blog. Check out LeafWheels on Blogger; I plan on updating it once or twice a day with random internet things. Don't expect too much effort or originality, and definitely don't expect any analysis.

A birds eye view gives you the scope of everything, it puts things in perspective. The opposite could be a mouse's eye view giving you insight to the gritty workings under the floor and between the walls. This new blog is neither of those things.

Intermittent with the randomness, I'm adding several internet series. While technically you can jump ahead by following the web sites, that's boring and you're likely to watch most of it all at once in an unappreciative marathon. Save yourself from yourself!

More Fleas

Somehow the fleas were able to break through the seal we put on the door to Tracy's hallway. They're back in full force! We're going to flea bomb the apartment tomorrow night. It's been decided that Tracy's room gets it's own flea bomb this time. While they're all over the apartment, they haven't reinfected the ferrets yet. I'm grateful for that!

Wanna Go Clubbing?

School has definitely come down to a rhythm. In fact, it's gotten a little boring. Everyone seems to be having a busy semester, so it's been hard to link up with friends. And now that I'm pretty much over my sickness, I'm feeling fat, lazy, and inactive. I was planning for this semester to be so much more... something.

To rectify this problem, I've decided to join a school club! Now I don't know if I even can, but I'd like to get into some sort of athletic thing. Something where I could meet new people, burn off energy, and level off some of my near limitless ADD-interest. The downside to joining anything athletic is obvious: I'm not very athletic. In fact I tend to range somewhere between mediocre and flat out BAD at most sports (nix that, most things). I went on the A&M interwebs to try to find a sport club that I might be able to get into. Running is something I really enjoy, but really I'd like something a little bit more full body. Judo was something I tried a little bit of before, but I tried getting into it in two different semesters and both times I fell out of it; I'm just not a fighter. The only things that have caught my eye is the Triathlon Club and the Water Polo Club.

The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of getting back into water polo. I kind of miss that, even if I was terrible, and A&M's team probably out classes me. I could probably be happy trying Triathlon Club too though. The thing I'm worried about, water polo has already done tryouts and started practices; I haven't even swam in over a month... and before that one time it was well over 4 or 5 months! I know I'm crazy out of shape, I don't even think I could keep up at one practice as it stands and people sitting out of practices are always bad for the team as a whole. I can think of tons of advantages for me if I got on the team, I just can't think of too many they would have for having me on. <8|:o)

Dream Boats

I had I crazy dream last night. I was part of a crew on a boat and we traveled down this long winding jungle river. Every so often we'd come to various abandoned water parks and dock in huge lagoons around water slides. Then we all had to split up because one of the people in the crew was a douche bag, so then we all had our own little groups. I had my own boat and was on my own for a long while. There was a nice guy I kept running into at the water slide lagoons who was traveling by hot air balloon. He was helpful, but every time I saw him I got scared that he was with the douche bags and ended up shooting him with something (oops). He was always okay though and never held it against me. At the end of the river was a huge Sea World water park and there were more douche bags catching everyone (we were too late!). They had an Apple system for their main computer, so I easily found the control panel icon, found my own user preferences, and set my colors to clear. That apparently worked somehow. If that doesn't make sense, all you need to know is that it made me invisible. I ended up being the only one of the good guys not caught, so I was running around invisible trying to find everyone else and get them freed. Unfortunately I was sick in my dream, and they tuned their dolphin tracking system to the sound of my sniffles. Just like most things in life, a really cool premise ended up getting ridiculous. I got annoyed when it wasn't fair and work up. I wish there was a way to stop it halfway.

Tracy Gone T_T

It's weird how empty my apartment feels these days. Tracy almost completely moved out last night and now there's no one around to bug me when I get up. Now I have to travel outside and find people to bug me. It's really inconvenient, not to mention impractical. There's still a couple of piles of 'Tracy Things' so at least I assure myself that she has to come back at some point. Come back Tracy and move the rest of your crap!

Electric Boogaloo

Last night was weird. My roommate is in the process of moving out, some time around 5:00 am she was using my vacuum cleaner and grabbed a spot on the cord where the rubber has somehow been removed and managed to electrocute her arm. Luckily, as of this morning it hasn't turned black and fallen off yet, but electrical burns arc inside the body, so really they're hard to gauge. From what we can see though, the blistering looks somewhat minor and roommate is following all the post electrocution protocol: ice, ointments, not touching the vacuum anymore...

Now I need to figure out how I'm going to patch up the cord on my brand new vacuum. T_T

Another New Residence

Resident Evil fans who found themselves confused with the mishappened mess of discontinuity and unresolved plot-bunnies are in for a questionable gift: a fourth installment to the series. For those who have never seen any of the movies, the first one, written and directed by Paul Anderson (Mr. Video Game to Movie extraordinare) is a decent suspense movie with a zombie twist. The second and third one, written by Anderson but directed by seemingly less capable people while he pursued important projects such as Alien Vs Predator (don't see it!), got progressively TERRIBLE and should only be watched under extreme duress or in a vain attempt to understand horrible renditions of the video game characters. In spite of it all my complaining I can't lie; I'm going to see the movie. Anderson is directing this one, so I can tell myself that it has a hope to be managed in a way that doesn't feel like the direction is fighting with the script (case in point: Resident Evil 3: Extinction, the movie has some good themes and sequences, but it carelessly lingers on parts that aren't pertinent or that just seem completely random; I felt that presentation choices were trying to redefine focus points in the movie, and that lead it to feel long and awkward).


Even if Anderson wasn't directing it though and it was absolutely garenteed to be terrible, I'd probably still go see it in theaters just to see how they were moving the material from the game source around this time. And that is why sequels are inherently [resident] EVIILL.

Curfew

In spite of all the good intentions I have when I say 'well I want to go to bed earlier tonight', it never seems to happen. It's tiring to get back home at 3 or 4 am and then slowly wind down to go to sleep. And it's really annoying to end up sleeping in as a result. So I'm putting a 'be home at 11:00 pm' curfew alarm on my phone and 'be asleep by 12:00' on me until further notice. Obviously the nights I close Sweets are the exception.

A Critical View of the Eastern European Trade in the 14th Century and its Relevance to the Modern World

I apologize for my blog in the past week. I have failed to deliver short mildly entertaining snippets and instead have had several entries in a row that are all deep and shit. This blog is called Basically Bland, not Possibly Pretentious; I need to stay true to its heritage. You know what's not pretentious though? Fuzz-butts. Awwww.

Ferrets are so far from anything close to deep, soul searching or critical thinking.

Back

I'm finally starting to settle into A&M classes again. I keep feeling paranoid walking around campus and talking to people. I feel like people will realize I sneaked back in and assemble a huge mob to oust me.