Pepe Le Pew and Poisonous Mangos

Pepe Le Pew

If I was swimming and saw a shark, I’d know to float on my back and hold very still. If I saw a mountain lion, I would know to maintain eye contact, stand very tall, and back away very slowly.

But what do you do if you come face to face with a skunk? I’ve had to figure this out recently because it seems that my friendly neighborhood skunk enjoys roaming my back yard right about the time I go out for my last evening cigarette.

The first time this happened, I froze. I didn’t want to startle him. But eventually I looked down and realized my cigarette was out and I hadn’t smoked any of it. Was I going to sit like this all night? So I went from 0-60 and ran inside the house and closed the slider behind me.

This has happened a couple of times, and seems to work. But the other night things changed. My porch light went out, so I didn’t see him sneaking up on me. Okay, he wasn’t sneaking up on me; in fact, I don’t think he even realized I was there. Out of the corner of my eye I see something moving by my foot. Before I realize that it’s Mr. Le Pew, I automatically jump a little bit. He in turn jumps about two feet, landing perfectly with his raised tail to me. It’s amazing how fast the brain can analyze a situation when it needs to. I decided I didn’t have time to open and close the door – so I just ran. It wasn’t until I was by the car that I realized all the other doors were locked, and I had to go back in through that one. So I walked back hesitantly, found that I’d startled him just as bad and he, too, had run away.

I built a fence around my back yard the last couple weeks, but he just digs under it. It looks like I’m going to have to find a way to co-exist with that little bugger.

School

In other news, I took my math placement test; I didn’t have to take English because I’ve already taken several English classes. I was surprised to find that I’d tested into Algebra. In eight grade I took a pre-algebra class – and haven’t taken a math class since. But I suppose that little bit of studying the night before did me well.

I can register for classes on the 20th – I’m going to take Biology, Algebra, and Advanced Emergency Care. Then next quarter will be math, biology, and chemistry.

Poisonous Mangos

In still other news – my wife and I apparently have developed an allergy to mangos. Did you know they are in the same family as poison oak? Needless to say it has been a painful couple of days – but steroids seem to be taking care of it. Damn you store for having a sale on mangos!! I shake my fist at you.

The weekend wasn’t a total loss, though. It was 72 degrees so we went to the beach and combed for beach glass. It’s about time to start boogie boarding again! 

I have an acupuncture appointment today. I’ve never done it before, but my chiropractor thinks it could help reduce my level of pain. *Crossing my fingers!*

Oh, and I’m going to interview at Home Depot for a part time job while I go to school. Not much money, but the discount is worth it! I’ll be able to start adding to my power tool collection hehe.

Have a good week!
-Dylan James

Crossroads

For the last couple years I've been considering and slowly working towards a degree in psychology.
A couple weeks ago, however, I stopped to ask myself: Why?

The simple answer:
Well, psychology is easy for me. I've always been able to read people and understand why people do things. I'm good at getting people to talk and helping them feel relaxed and safe. I analyze people's decisions and actions without hardly any effort at all, and usually without meaning to do so.

I wasn't satisfied with that answer. Just because something is easy doesn't mean you should spend your entire life doing it. So I delved introspectively to find the real cause of my desire to choose this career path.

The deeper answer:
Often times helping other people with their troubles relieves some of my own. When I'm delving into someone's mind - I can see things so clearly. It's like looking down on a maze and guiding them out of it; for I have the bird's-eye view. I think that part of me hopes that somehow by doing this I will be able to find my own way out of the maze.

The understanding:
I realized what a defeatist attitude I had. It's not like something horrible happened to me and I need to work it out. If that were true, psychology would be a perfect field to explore. I had settled for learning to deal with pain - when instead I should be focusing on fixing it. That's like hating yourself for being overweight but never doing anything to change that fact.

The solution:
I doubt that medical science will solve the mysteries I yearn to learn in my lifetime. But, that doesn't mean I shouldn't try. There are several biomedical fields that could potentially offer up solutions. Genomics, cellular biology, biochemistry, molecular biology, etc.

I don't know if I have the intellectual potential to pull off a career in the biomedical community - but there's no reason I shouldn't try. So, starting in February, I'm going to start taking some biology and chemistry classes. If I grasp the concepts and pass the classes, I'll keep taking them. If I fail, I'll take them again. If I end up having to accept that my mind doesn't work that way - I can always fall back on psychology.

Like I've always said - time doesn't change things; people have to change things. And I very highly doubt that many biomedical scientists are making my challenges their research priority.

So I'm off to register for school.
Wish me luck.

-Dylan

Web Mastering Skills

Does anyone have any cool web design skills? You know, like nunchuck skills, bow hunting skills... Ahem. Moving on. The point is, I'm creating a website. And after hours of random fiddling I've realized that I know as much about web design as my grandmother knows about Paris Hilton. That is (I hope) not very much.

I'm a big do-it-yourself type. I don't like being taught, I like figuring things out. But I'm a big enough man to admit when there may be a slight chance that I might need a pointer here and there. Possibly...

Sigh.

The end.

My new home *sigh*

I'm sure it'll go down in the history books - the great journalspace crash of 2008. And to think the world kept turning...

In any case - this will now be my new "what's new in Dylan's life" blog. If you're an old JS friend and want to read my more personal journal, it's on another site so just message me.

Otherwise - you're stuck with silly pictures and stories that may entertain you but don't really have a moral to the story. Hmm.. Mindless entertainment. A truly exploitable concept..

-Dylan James