VACATION!

Yes, Folks, it is finally here. Vacation. My professor canceled class for tomorrow, which means the moment I make it out of my Western Civ class at 3:15 I will be DONE!

This really couldn't be coming at a better time. I felt it necessary to pull an all-nighter last night. Those of you who know me also know that I love sleep. I think sleep is essential to optimal health and to feeling good, so I make a conscious effort to get at least 7 or 8 hours a night. I am not a fan of sleeping through the day, so usually this means I am headed to bed around 11 or so. Last night, however, I found myself too nervous for the midterm I had this morning! I took the extremely difficult quiz he gave us last Thursday to be a sign that this would be a big one. I found myself recopying notes by hand (this always helps me remember them) and giving myself pep talks around three in the morning. By the time I had given myself carpal tunnel from all the writing, I was too nervous to sleep!

Luckily I was able to recharge at six with homemade granola and some spinach! By the time I got to school I felt a bit more confident. The exam didn't disappoint. It was probably the hardest exam I have taken in all my years as a student, and also the exam I spent the most time studying for. It was a lot of multiple choice, which normally might be good, but this guy is tricky! He did warn us in class of his love for 'trick questions', but still...rude.

I got out of the exam early, knowing I had done my best. At this point, despite the lack of sleep, I was high on granola, spinach, and post-exam bliss. I headed over to the gym and was pleasantly surprised to find it COMPLETELY empty! It must have been a pre-vacation fluke, but either way it was nice treat to have all the equipment to myself for the first half hour!

Since I now have all this extra time to kill before my last class, I thought I would share this link my friend Steve sent me. I think this is something everyone should read, because I feel like a lot of people like to overlook the fact that animals have feelings too. It's not a terribly long article so I really think everyone should read this (A Note to My Mom: it is not about being in a slaughterhouse and there are no gruesome pictures, so you should read this too).

Empathy in Chickens!

Isn't it incredible the things living creatures are capable of?

Another fun note, as some of you may have seen, Mike Tyson has a new segment on Animal Planet! I had no idea until I saw the commercial, and I spent about ten minutes speculating with my boyfriend as to why Mike Tyson would be on Animal Planet surrounded by pigeons...

Turns out Mike Tyson (yes, THE Mike Tyson) is a vegan! No kidding, I honestly had no idea. He is a huge supporter of animal rights and has even admitted that the first fight he ever got into was over the defense of an animal! How cool is that? Maybe I should actually check out some Animal Planet next week when I'm enjoying my vacation...

Speaking of enjoying vacation... my sister leaves for France tomorrow! I'm super bummed I can't make it home in time... she has some plans to visit me here in Boston when she gets back, so I am definitely holding out for that. She is going to have SO many fun stories to tell and I already can't wait to hear them (even though they haven't happened yet).

Hourly countdown continues until my return home. We are now at 47 hours and counting! Cat-urday can't come soon enough!