Harry Potter and the Grad Program of Azkaban

Okay, or maybe something less horrible sounding.

I was reminded tonight of some Harry Potter book (I cannot remember which one it is, does anyone know?) where Harry felt like he would never catch up in his work, no matter how hard he tried.  It was probably an insignificant detail alongside the fight against Voldemort, but whatever.

I didn't have any classes today, but I planned to meet a friend on campus for lunch.  I had a lot of trouble sleeping because my calves were incredibly uncomfortable.  I was icing them overnight, which meant I had to lie unmoving all night, and my body didn't appreciate that.  But then again, if I hadn't iced, I would have been in pain all night, so eh, better that I iced them.

When I woke up, though, I felt totally nauseated,* probably from staying up too late the night before, working on my schedule.  I texted my friend, who completely understood and was actually not on campus anyway (there had been a mistake in her schedule; she was not pleased).  I decided to forgo going to the intro biology lecture; I'll be able to catch up with the eText/my biology degree, and I wasn't going to put my calves through any unnecessary walking just to go to a 50 minute lecture.

I had PT around 4:15, which went pretty well.  We took it easy, since my calves were in such rough shape.  I was very upset earlier in the day when I called my new insurance provider.  Apparently, my coverage has already started ... but I'm not officially enrolled.  I don't know why health services won't return my phone calls about this.  I need health insurance.  More importantly, I need coverage that I can actually use, and I need it ... now.  So I'm paying out of pocket for the rest of September, and then I'll struggle to get reimbursed.  It'll be fun.

I got home around 6 and implemented Operation Stop Eating Crappy Foods and Wasting Stuff Because You Let It Go Bad.  I sliced up some beef and cooked it in a big pan, and then cooked some frozen veggies that came precoated in some kind of sauce.  The sauce was eh, as were the veggies (I'll finish the leftovers, as part of Operation SECFAWSBYLIGB, but I won't buy them again), but the steak was delicious.  Then again, I'd eat steak completely raw,** so that wasn't surprising.

I spent the rest of the evening reading my biochemistry textbook and trying to learn the amino acids.  I think I'm 80% done memorizing the abbreviations and letter designations.  That is, I did (online) flashcards and think I know most of them extremely well, but there are some I forget sometimes.  I think it'll be much harder for me to learn the R groups, especially because as a biologist who never took organic chemistry and barely remembers inorganic chem, I don't really have the language to describe the R groups.  And because I don't have the language for it, it's hard to remember everything.

By the time I finished, it was getting pretty damn late, and the last thing I wanted to do was to read my molecular biology text.  Specifically, 60 pages of molecular biology text; I only had to read about 30 pages for biochem, and it took me the whole frickin' day.  I know that the textbook for this class is recommended and not required, but I'd like to stick to my whole, "This will not be a repeat of college" plan and make the effort.  So instead, I just rewrote my biochem notes from yesterday.  Tomorrow night, I'll do the molec reading and if I have time, rewrite more notes.  Friday night, the no-homework night when I was in college, will be more reading and the molecular problem set.

And I still have to do all my prep work for labs.  AWESOME.

* My mom and I had a discussion a long time ago about what was correct when you wanted to say you felt sick: "nauseous" or "nauseated."  While both are acceptable in casual conversation, "nauseous" technically means "inducing nausea," whereas "nauseated" is what you are when you're experiencing it.  I actually do often use "nauseous," but when I do, it's a deliberate decision, usually because I know that people are going to be like, "What?"

** While I usually eat my steak as rare as possible, I have eaten raw steak before.  And it was amazing.