QLC (the quarter-life crisis).

I am going to be turning 25 soon (June 20th, to be exact). I will also be graduating college in December, with a Bachelors of Science in Elementary Education. It has hit me I'll soon be out in what is termed the "real world." And I gotta tell you...

...it feels weird.

How I'm feeling actually has a term: QLC (or in layman's terms, the quarter-life crisis). I didn't even know I was in crisis mode. It even has its' own wikipedia entry:

The quarterlife crisis (QLC) is a term applied to the period of life immediately following the major changes of adolescence, usually ranging from ages 21 - 29. The term is named by analogy with mid-life crisis. It is now recognised by many therapists and professionals in the mental health field.

Do I possess all of the characteristics? Let's see:

Characteristics of quarter-life crisis include:

1. feeling "not good enough" because one can't find a job that is at one's academic/intellectual level (no, not yet; but I have a job prospect).

2. frustration with relationships, the working world, and finding a suitable job or career (I'm pretty happy with being me and being alone, 'cause it doesn't mean I have to be lonely. *smiles*)

3. confusion of identity (I know who I am.)

4. insecurity regarding the near future (I'm not afraid of the future. Life is too short to worry about something you can't control.)

5. insecurity regarding present accomplishments (I'm proud that I'll soon be graduating. That is my BIGGEST accomplishment.)

6. re-evaluation of close interpersonal relationships (pretty comfortable in this area as well.)

7. disappointment with one's job (well, yeah, I am...but I work at a crappy job anyway)

8. nostalgia for college life (I like college, but excited to be moving on.)

9. tendency to hold stronger opinions (I've always had strong opinions.)

10. boredom with social interactions (not really.)

11.financially-rooted stress (everyone has financially rooted stress, and I know I'll have it my entire life

12. loneliness (I have my family and friends. As far as a relationship, I'd like to have one, but that will come in its' own time. Whenever life feels I'm ready to have one, it'll give me one.)

13. desire to have children (I do want kids, even if I have to adopt. That won't come till later.)

14. a sense that everyone is, somehow, doing better than you (sometimes I feel like that, and then I remind myself that I am doing just fine.)

So I guess I'm not in QLC. I guess I just feel weird. That's normal. Everyone's weird in their own special way. :)

Slow Dancing in a Burning Room

I am in love with the song Slow Dancing in a Burning Room. I'd marry it if I could. To show you how good this song is, here is Johnny boy performing it live:




Here is the lyrics in case you want to follow along:


Slow Dancing In A Burning Room lyrics

Again, I love this song. I loves the bluesy riffs, and I am in love with John Mayer's voice as well. It is like chocolate. I could live off of it and be totally satisfied.

websites.

I'm building a website.

I forgot how much work it is.

HTML annoys me.

Blech.

Time Machine Update #7

With John Mayer being on tour now, I was wondering when he was going to update his blog. And he did, today. Here is his latest entry:

With Marcy out of the house this weekend, I finished painting the large cardboard wheel with black and white swirls. This will serve as the time machine's time travel indicator, or TTI. The TTI will let my team know that time travel is taking place and not to open the porthole or doors. Then again, I could also lock the porthole and doors, or even hire a team of humans for that matter, but most films I have seen that feature successful time travel include a machine that has a spinning wheel of this nature.

But on to my salient point; if I am to live amongst the people of 1999, I must blend in with them. These two recent purchases will help.

And to the secret government agency that has been trying to recruit me via my eBay feedback, please stop. I didn't ask for these powers. But I am glad you are enjoying the Budweiser mirror.

*****

Johnny Boy, I think someone has read too much Ray Bradbury and/or science fiction. *laughs* But if you are hiring a team of humans, I want to put in my application.

the night owl gene

I'm looking at the clock and wondering why I am still awake, and why I'm not tired. I've always been a night owl.

Apparently, science has an explanation as to why I'm a night owl.

A genetic mutation called the "after-hours gene" may explain why some people are night owls...It could also hold clues for pharmacologists working to develop drugs to help people adjust to shift work or jet lag. There are further implications for the study of causes of some psychiatric disorders.

The altered gene, named "after hours" or Afh, is a variant of a gene called Fbxl3, which had not been linked to the body clock that keeps our metabolism, digestion and sleep patterns in tune with the rising and setting of the sun.

The discovery involved scientists from the Medical Research Council Mammalian Genetics Unit, Oxfordshire, the MRC Laboratory for Molecular Biology, Cambridge, and colleagues based at New York University.

Pharmaceutical companies are already beginning to study this class of proteins as potential drug targets.

By monitoring when and how often the mice chose to run on an exercise wheel the team spotted a change in some of the animals’ normal rhythms.

Instead of following the typical 24 hour pattern, some of the mice had body clocks that stretched to up to a 27 hour day.

Closer study of the DNA from the mice then revealed that those on a 27-hour-cycle had the after hours version of the Fbxl3 gene, one of a large family that controls the breakdown of specific proteins within body cells.

Dr Patrick Nolan, of the MRC Mammalian Genetics Unit, who led the study said: ‘‘The internal body clocks of mice with the after hours gene run on a longer cycle than mice that have a normal copy of the gene, who like most of us live on a 24 hour schedule.’’

The “cogs” of the body clock consist of interlocked cycles of proteins that wax and wane in cells. One of the key components of this loop is a protein called Cry.

“We found that mice that carried the after hours gene also had a delayed Cry protein breakdown rate, leading to a slowdown in the molecular feedback loops and a lengthening of the body clock cycle.’’

(from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/04/27/nclock27.xml )

Even when I go to bed early (9, 10) I still feel zonked the next day. So apparently my biological clock's batteries needed constantly recharged. Okay.

I'm amazed.

I was thinking about something my sister told me about her favorite band, Nickelback: the lead singer, Chad Kroeger, wrote a lot of songs for his wife, Maryanne. Most girls are lucky to ever have one song written for them in their entire lives...this girls gets about 13 (I think this is what she told me).

I'm listening to another song that was written for a girl, "Layla", by Eric Clapton. (The acoustic version, not the rock version from when he was with Derek and the Dominos. I like the acoustic one better.) It would be nice to have a song written about me...as long as it was a nice song.

no, this is not a perm.

I don't mind people complimenting me on my hair (I'm a natural curly head. Get it from my mommy). But it gets a little bit tiring when people ask me if I have a perm. No, this is not a perm. And then they say, "You're so lucky. Do you like having curly hair?" If I said, "Oh, yes!" then it'd be a lie. So, I answer them truthfully. I say...

"Most of the time."

Since I am a curly head, I go through about one bottle of defrizzing product and one bottle of gel a week. If I had all the money saved up from what I've spent on hair products, I'd be a quadruple millionaire.