Well I made it.

Today was a rough day, because not only did I have Creative Writing (which was rather fun… and yet… more on that later), I had to get together with my partner to complete the homework for Linguistics, there was also a test in the same class today.

However, as it turned out, reviewing the homework in class (complete with RIGHT answers) before the test was pretty much all the refresher course I needed, and I think I did fairly well on the test.

I am sure this was all part of my professor’s diabolical plan.

Even the fact I had to do group work turned out well. Jonathan, my partner, is a great guy, and we actually had fun trying to figure out the right answers to all the questions.

In other words, I actually had normal, friendly human interaction with someone I barely know.

Now THAT is a corrective emotional experience. I will talk about it with my therapist tomorrow.^[1]

Eventually we were joined by a third guy, whose partner had completely bailed on him (poor guy) and so he needed someone to compare notes with, and that was Jonathan and me.

Dude radiated nervous energy. It was sort of cute, in a way. It was clear to me that he needed a friend and I can’t refuse anyone under those circumstances.

And a lot of other circumstances, really. I’m such a softy!

And it was okay when we were all working on the homework (turns out, other people can get right answers too!), but later, when we happened to meet up again after the test (we all finished early), dude talked nonstop and Jonathan and I could barely get a word in edgewise.

Clearly, he was just happy to have someone to talk to and share his thoughts with, so I let him rattle on without interrupting much. I have been in his position and done the same thing.

Oh my god, people are LISTENING TO ME. I must make the most of this!

If it happens again, though, I will give him some gentle feedback (or possibly panic and be brutally blunt and hope my charm smooths it over) so that Jonathan and I get to talk too.

And now that the homework and test are behind me, I feel a huge weight has been taken off my shoulders, and the rest of my week will seem like a cakewalk. A stroll through the park.

A really easy crossword puzzle.

Plus, some time in the next three days, I should get my NEW COMPUTER.

And obviously, the New Toy factor on a brand new PC is through the roof.

So that should keep me entertained for a while, both with the fun of checking out all the neat stuff it can do and the possibility of playing games for the PC that I have been wanted to play for years.

I have at least two Fallout games to play! War never changes.

So after tonight, things should become quite pleasant.

I have pondered whether the increase in video game possibilities is a threat to my plans to get my feces in a lower number of pieces re : school. But to be honest, there are a lot of hours in the day. I can crack the books and play video games and get other things done too.

I just have to take a more active attitude toward life.

Interesting but by no means coincidentally, ever since I swore off sugar for a week, I have felt a heck of a lot better. The fact that I have doubled by dose of Vitamin B12 is probably playing a factor too. My skin feels cleaner, I am quite clearly passing a lot of toxins out of my body when I urinate, and overall, I just feel like a more wholesome critter.

That doesn’t mean I will forswear sugar altogether. Those sort of commitments are inherently doomed. Too much pressure, too much stress.

But it does mean that I will have all this new information about how much better life is without it.

And if I really want something tasty from Tim Horton’s to spice up my meals, there’s always bagels and croissants and such!

They are still carbs, alas, but at least they aren’t full of sugar.

Come to think of it, my upswing in health might also be due to my eating trail mix instead of starchy junk food. I may have discovered my new diet.

My creative conflict with my Creative Writing professor (sorry, instructor) seems to be coming to a head no matter how hard I try to be cool about the whole thing. We got into it a little bit today.

Basically, it comes down to precision and clarity. I want her to clearly and precisely tell us what she wants us to do. But to me, her descriptions are vague and open to multiple interpretations.

So when I was clearly becoming frustrated about it, she came over, and told me that not everybody thinks like me, and she has to teach in a way that everyone understands.

This after a very unproductive attempt to figure out what exactly she wanted via conversation. Hence my increasing level of frustration, which I recognize can seem pretty scary to people who don’t know me.

All they see is a huge bearded fat guy who is getting increasingly angry.

She actually told me that “not everybody thinks like you” (well, duh, I’m not autistic for crying out loud).

And that is more or less where the conversation ended. But when this comes up again, I will go into it with a few facts :

1) I don’t have this problem with any other professor.
2) If she is trying to make her instructions understandable to everyone, that should include me, right?
3) She can ask Nicola Harwood about my communications skills.

I think what is really going on is that she has no idea what she is doing and when I ask her what exactly she means, she literally does not know. She is the sort of person who operates on vague ideas, and that’s bound to come into conflict with my high precision brain.

So I dunno. I am really hoping we can work this out. I need this course.

Oh, and one last thing about Linguistics. It occurred to me in class that this was it. This was the challenge I have been looking for. This is the course that will make me have to really push myself.

And so far, I have been a whiny bitch about it. Well no more.

It also occurred to me that this must be what normal students feel like all the time. For some people, every course is like this. For others, only some.

But it’s only rare birds like me that find it a shock to find themselves in this position.

With the matter thus framed in my mind, I can square my shoulders, draw my trusty blade (my mind), and attack the course with glory on my mind.

For once, things aren’t way too easy!

I will talk to you nice people again tomorrow.