The Value of Denny's

Today, I had two big exams. One covering memory, and one covering an abundance of psychological disorders. I spent the majority of my weekend scouring my notes on the Atkinson/Shiffrin model (that's the traditional view of memory... Sensory store, Short term memory, and Long term memory... just an FYI), Dual code theory, Prototype theory, ect. However, by Sunday night, I still did not feel like I sufficiently studied memory, and I hadn't even begun studying for my abnormal exam. That is when I decided to leave the apartment and study at Denny's. I asked if anyone else had homework they needed to get done. Before I knew it, the 5 of us were at Denny's. That was my first "mistake", although not a true mistake. Only a mistake in the sense that I thought I was going to get a lot of work done. I didn't. Between jokes about the names of delicious drinks, fake calls used to spy on certain elected student government officials, and awkward looks from the girl sitting at the next table, I ended up only studying for about 40% of the abnormal exam by the time we left at 1. Returning to the apartment, I decided to surrender and sleep for a few hours and get up with a clearer mind to prepare for my back to back exams. Waking up promptly at 5, I began to realize just how long my day was actually going to be. I spent the next 3 hours studying everything from stress disorders to substance abuse disorders. (At one point, I looked up and realized the sun had risen. Oh the simply joys in the times of hardship.) I have now taken both exams, I am tired, my mind feels like jello, I am tired, I have yet to eat today, I am tired, and I have more homework to do. That being said, Denny's was a good decision. Spending time with the friends, even when facing down the double barrel of Abnormal Psychology and Cognition, is never a bad decision.

Oh yeah, and I dominated those tests

Awkward First Post to get things started...

In the words of the great sage Tobias Fünke, "Let the great experiment begin!" I, however, have no plans of crying in the shower later tonight. As you can probably tell, this is my first entry. If you joined us a few months in, you can probably skip this since it is most likely no longer relevant. However, every good thing has a beginning, and this is my blog's beginning. Whether it will be good or not is yet to be seen. Eventually, I plan on having something interesting to say and some interesting pictures to post. However, as of right now, I am sitting on my couch waiting to start "How To Train Your Dragon". (I've seen itbefore, but am excited to see it again. If you haven't seen it, see it.) That is literally what is happening to me in the immediate present. But as a human being I am not confined to the here and now, I come from some place and am heading some place.

Where have I been?

Lots of places. Particularly in this last year. I traveled through Europe this past summer, spending a month seeing Holland, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, and Poland. Throughout this time, I met amazing people and heard amazing stories; all the while

being watchful for opportunities to share the greatest story of all time with whomever would listen. For the second half of the summer, I spent my time in the Beautiful city of Prague. I "helped out" at the youth hostel "The Czech Inn". If you ever swing through the city of a hundred spires, make sure you stay there. While I do not mean to romanticize my time there (it was like 95 degrees for two straight weeks after all), I definitely appreciate my time there now that I am away. I have even begun to feel the tug of nostalgia calling me back to the wonderful capital of the Czech Republic. That's where I have been lately.

In the past though, I have been around. I grew up in Powell, Ohio. A quiet suburb of Columbus. I am the middle of 5 children. And although I don't quite buy into the psychology of birth order, I definitely see myself as the most independent of the Miser clan. I have two amazing older sisters who have two amazing husbands. I didn't have older brothers when I was growing up, but I couldn't ask for two better older brothers to have. They are quite the role models. I have a younger sister, who I will probably always see as my best friend. And a younger brother who has put up with enough crap from me that he deserves my love and respect. I love my parents dearly, even if we have our moments. Eventually, I will be victorious over mom in Jeopardy, or be able to talk with dad about the complexities of the human body. (HA! Fat chance of either of those happening)

Where am I headed?

In the short term, I am headed to Jerusalem, Istanbul, Athens, and Rome this summer. I'll talk all about this in a future post.

In the long term, let's not talk about that.

Well, that about does it for the awkward first blog post....