A blurb from last semester, November 19, 2011.

Three rounds of prelims and many sleepless nights due to decisions bereft of sensible time management later, I have finally begun to blog about miscellaneous happenings in my life. I’ve sunken comfortably in a black leather chair in front of the physical sciences library, typing this when I really should be writing my last CHEM 2070 lab report for the semester: Lab 9, Stoichiometry and the Ideal Gas Law (clearly an indication of my focus here). There’s a quiescent background buzz coming from the first floor and the squeaking of metal chairs, which is a much different atmosphere than when my friend and I were here studying Drosophila embryology two nights ago. It’s the beginning of a three day week before Thanksgiving break, and I’m exhausted and in great need of a cat nap. Compulsively drinking Tazo Awake tea and eating Chobani yogurt and omelets are my essentials, cushioning me from fitting in studying, reading, and writing essays here and there.

I’ve received about seventy dollars participating in social/psych experiments so far during my time here. The one I did this afternoon after my biology prelim was about group interactions in a game where the players could earn money by investing in a group fund, personal fund, extraction from other people’s funds, or retention by protecting their own money. While I’m sure we all knew that putting all our money into the group fund was more beneficial for everyone (the group fund is doubled and redistributed equally among all players), there was always one person who shied away (or tried to take advantage of everyone else’s cooperation…damn anonymity) and did the uncooperative thing that made everyone else more hesitant to contribute, and we always seemed to wind up back where we began. All in all, I made $10.50 out of a possible $15, so we must have been pretty average. I’m sure the guy next to me chuckling to himself after every round was the one who was messing with all of us.

Speaking of amusement, I haven’t gone out since two weekends ago. It begs mentioning that I’ve decided that sleepless nights are what my youth is for, and those nights hold my interest (transiently at first but then perpetuated in this sort of positive feedback loop…way too much developmental biology these past four nights), and the energy often manifests in subtle ways when you happen to stumble upon it. It’s not everyday when you can chill on a bed in a brother’s room, watch your friend critique his literary tastes (and chuck Palaniuk’s Fight Club on the floor—he’s had about six beers at this point), and chat about mixology, finance management, Salvador Dali, Daft Punk, and Blink-182 whilst surrounded by an array of christmas lights.

So, what has changed? I couldn’t really say at this point. I’ve sunken quite easily into this college experience with the optimistic belief that I can do everything in moderation. And, as of recently, I have. I might have to retract that concrete statement sooner or later, but I definitely know when to go library hopping (dying) as opposed to other more conventionally fun types. But, then again, it doesn’t take all that much to sit in a chair by yourself