No Rest for the Weary

Trafton B.

March 15, 2010 - 5:53 AM

Insomnia is a very peculiar thing.

Why would our mind not want our body to recharge its batteries? It just doesn't make sense. I'm tired right now, yet I cannot fall asleep. But the worse part of it all is that I'm doing it to myself. I have little to no control over it. Sleep deprivation is a form of torture, right? Does that mean I'm torturing myself?

Anyway, this week is going to be a long one. They're making me earn my Spring Break. I tried to rest as much as possible this weekend, however, knowing that finals week would likely bring early mornings with coffee and late nights at the library. This middle-of-the-night writing session was not a planned part of my agenda.

I have a study group at noon tomorrow for Planning & Policy Analysis, and I can assure you we're all equally excited to finish up with this course. It's not a bad course, by any means. In fact, I'm very interested in what we just finished discussing - the cost and benefit analysis of acting on global warming. It's just that I can only take so much economics before my head starts to spin. I'd rather just be taught the ideas of economics, without such a focus on the formal names and definitions. Oh well, you can't win them all I guess. All there is left to do is memorize about one hundred terms, like popular referenda and Utilitarian social welfare function, and I'm home free.

Tuesday morning I'll finish up with that final around 10AM and then probably head straight to the library again for start reviewing for Natural Resource Policy, which is on Thursday morning. It shouldn't be too difficult; I just need to brush up on the Endangered Species Act. For some reason, I struggle with remembering the names of government organizations, especially when it comes to who enforces what.

Wednesday, I'm meeting my ELP class at Glenwood Café for brunch. It's sort of sad because we all split off into our separate teams after this term ends, so we won't see as much of each other. At least, we won't be all together as a complete group. Environmental Ed was one of the more eye-opening courses I've taken at Oregon. The depth and the passion of both the course and my classmates was extremely fun to be a part of. I will surely miss that class.

After brunch, my team is riding to Prairie Mountain School for an afternoon site visit. Finally, we'll see who and what we're working with in the spring.

Speaking of spring, it's feeling more and more like springtime and less and less like the melancholy winter. I actually walked around Eugene yesterday in shorts and Birkenstocks.

Okay, I'm going to try that whole sleeping thing one more time. Wish me luck.