12.23.2004
shopping
The UPS guy just came, and I am now officially done with my Christmas shopping! It's a nice feeling, being as I am usually one of the last people to do anything. It's a possibility that this is part of the new Oxford-me. Somehow, I doubt it, but there's a lingering doubt that Oxford does, indeed, change people for the better.
Speaking of Oxford, I had lunch and tea with my good high school friend Edith yesterday. She's an Oxford graduate who is now working as a barrister in London. I totally used to crush on her when we were younger; something about the accent, probably. But we are quite good friends, though I haven't seen her in over two years. She seems to be doing quite well; still looks stylish and stunning, and she's enjoying life as a lawyer. It was really nice to see her again and to catch up with her. We're definitely going to have to meet up sometime in England.
I read with horror about the woman who had her kitten cloned for $50,000. As the New York Times story pointed out, and rightly so, that woman could have helped a lot of stray cats with that $50K rather than spending it all on one kitten.
Also in the New York Times today, a story about test-taking and the psychology involved. This might explain why I used to blank out on tests in high school so much: a lot of what I did was very short-term memory intensive, instead of actually learning material cold. So, as the story says, the best way to avoid having this is by actually studying such that the information is moved out of short-term working memory and into more long-term basic memory. This is difficult, but it certainly reaps benefits down the line. But then again, "down the line" is so long to have to wait: procrastination pays off now.
Speaking of Oxford, I had lunch and tea with my good high school friend Edith yesterday. She's an Oxford graduate who is now working as a barrister in London. I totally used to crush on her when we were younger; something about the accent, probably. But we are quite good friends, though I haven't seen her in over two years. She seems to be doing quite well; still looks stylish and stunning, and she's enjoying life as a lawyer. It was really nice to see her again and to catch up with her. We're definitely going to have to meet up sometime in England.
I read with horror about the woman who had her kitten cloned for $50,000. As the New York Times story pointed out, and rightly so, that woman could have helped a lot of stray cats with that $50K rather than spending it all on one kitten.
Also in the New York Times today, a story about test-taking and the psychology involved. This might explain why I used to blank out on tests in high school so much: a lot of what I did was very short-term memory intensive, instead of actually learning material cold. So, as the story says, the best way to avoid having this is by actually studying such that the information is moved out of short-term working memory and into more long-term basic memory. This is difficult, but it certainly reaps benefits down the line. But then again, "down the line" is so long to have to wait: procrastination pays off now.
