anarchatomy

anatomy is pretty rad.
we've so far covered bone structure throughout the body and have now moved on to the muscles of basically the upper half of the body.
what strikes me about anatomy is the (forgive the cliche) "organized chaos" of it all.

so far, there seems to be four levels of seeming disorganization in the body. of course, it's not really disorganized at all, but i'm just speaking from my perspective. or possibly that of victor frankenstein. yes, let's go with that. i'm going to assume he shared similar feelings.

#1 "organized structure"--the majority of the skeleton.
the skeleton is made up of what seems to be bare necessity. that makes it organized to ensure that you don't go around having a spare femur chilling out in your leg because it simply isn't necessary. dr. frankenstein and i agree that the skeleton's simple design of plug-sockets and obvious function of support make it a delight to study because it feels more like your playing with a box of k'nex than doing research.

#2 "disorganized structure"--the skull.
the skull is where the skeleton gets a little crazy. it has so many wacky ridges and random crests and holes that it seems less like the skull was made alongside the brain, and more like the brain was put into a mold of some sort and the skull is the shaved down plaster casing we get from it. sure, we can see why a lot of the skull's elements are in place, but it still seems almost random at times... but not random in it's functions.


#3 "organized chaos"--the muscles of the face, neck, and torso.
these guys make sense. you can see the need for them and why they work. however, they still are reminiscent of a kid with a limited selection of legos trying to build a space ship. frankenstein would have been quick to note that many of the muscles look more like they were made and then placed where they could be put to use and less like they were each created for a specific need. so, random pieces, but together in a way that makes sense.


#4 "disorganized choas", or "the anarchatomy."--forearms and legs (but mostly forearms.)
how do the arms work? well, the doctor succeeded in recreating a functioning arm, but he still isn't even sure how he did it. the forearm has so many spiraling, overlapping, elongated muscles that it seems like a seventh grade science project. like a kid rigged up a bunch of pulleys and tried to get enough ropes connected in certain places to perform neat little functions. of course, he wouldn't have much success in his random trying, so what probably would happen is that he would try random combinations for a while until he found one that made it so he could control lots of cool little lifts and twists, so he stuck with that set up. that's what these muscles sort of seem like. like they were a great big trial and error operation. they work great, no doubt about it. but wow, they have one crazy set up.

so, yeah. the body is an amazing thing. i make this list purely from amateur observations, and it's meant to be anything but scientific.

it's more so i could feel like i'm in league with frankenstein.

please excuse my dear aunt sally.

for the first time in a long time, today i have felt some appreciation for algebra. sure, i've had it prepare me for higher-level math courses and concepts. yes, it makes you sound clever when you can use "logarithmic" as an adjective outside of a classroom or textbook(though i've only heard a choice few times that this has happened). however, for the skull-stretching hours i've invested in the past, today was one of the only times i thought to myself, "wow, it's a good thing i took algebra."

we're currently studying probabilities in my psychological statistics, and it incorporates (dare i say, relies on) algebra. while trying to discover the likelihood of sarah and her two best friends getting into her school of choice with 10 students applying (each student having an equal chance to be accepted, of course), i wound up assisting two of my own classmates with the problem and ending my explanation with, "i'm glad i took algebra last semester."
this of course was a lie. i don't feel all that guilty, though, as it was said in a moment of passion without me cognitively processing it first.

who knows, maybe i meant to say that i was glad i was in algebra for the last two class periods where we learned probabilities. maybe i was just so overcome by my mathematical explanations and the satisfaction of being able to actually explain a algebraic concept that my left brain temporarily held the reigns. whatever the reason, it is satisfying to think that--even for a second--i appreciated having learned upper level math. in some way or another.

thank goodness for people who actually enjoy math, who daily can tell themselves, "i am simply thrilled about having studied math so thoroughly." it means that i will never need to.
to a certain degree.

sleep cycle monopoly

sleep: the natural periodic suspension of consciousness during which the powers of the body are restored.

it's a shame, really.
i'm fairly certain that i used up all my "get out of sleep free" cards in high school and my freshman year of college. back in such glory days of high school, coming home from play practice and playing playstation for a while after (or before, or possibly in place of) homework, eating some food, maybe making some music, i'd hit the sack late enough that my 5:30 am alarm was close enough that i certainly used some of my cards. especially after sterling scholar applications and student body office, i'd imagine a good portion of them had already been used.

then came freshman year at byu. summer term wasn't so bad. i had plenty of sleep between freshman english and a tapdance course. then came fall. going without a job at the time, i decided i would take just above the average course load with 17.o credit hours. well, fast forward through the semester, tack on mission paper stuff and somehow winding up with a girlfriend as well as a mean set of finals to prepare for, more cards were in line for use. admitted, i was able to keep up to speed to a degree compliments of off-day naps and a fort that hid me from the late night parties my roommate held in our dorm room.
just the same, the cards were thoroughly used. i think this was when my deck started getting thin.

a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints didn't help much in this department. Sure, you get eight hours a night (or you're supposed to), but being on your feet for ten hours every day can effectively counter-act. i think that only a few nights used any of my cards, but none of them replenished them.

and now i'm off the mission for a year, have had one "morning job" (7:00 am shift at byu laundry) and currently have an "early morning job" (4:30 am custodial shift at the benson buidling on byu campus), and anything short of seven hours substantially effects my waking effectiveness. sure, i may have been able to use one or two of my precious get out of sleep free cards, but any recent attempts have had me drawing from an empty deck.

what to do? well, i've lowered my weekly hours, and this could help yet. however, my class load of human anatomy, stats, trig, and chemistry may counterballance just as the ten hour work days. i suppose we'll see.

in the meantime, i'll take a nap.

the obturator foreman inspired 3:30 am shift.

so, random.
yesterday morning i woke up an hour early to be able to study up for my anatomy quiz. an hour earlier for me is three in the morning, as i normally begin work at 4:30, thus requiring me to arise around four.
well, that worked just fine yesterday.

today, the time came to awake, i did the morning routine, and headed to work. much to my surprise, when i got to the office to punch in, the room was empty save my supervisor, who greeted me with, "um, why are you here?"

pause.

"i was wondering who was here this early."
a glance to the watch confirmed that i was indeed early. my blessed early morning study method from the day before had (compliments of my absent mindedness) brought me to work an hour early.

"go ahead and just start if you want, then you can leave an hour early."
and so i did.
but i still have a class in this building at 8:00 am. so: no point in going home, just enough time to study. or...
blog! i feel so true to myself now.

the apple portal.

disaster has struck, and i'm now a "blogger." or, you could take the immature route and think that i'm a "booger." i personally think that's the funnier option.

and on that note, my first blog post is complete.