placebos and comfort blankets.

as i've begun my trek into the next semester by beginning my studies and trying to fill out all my rotc paperwork including a comprehensive graduation plan for my degree in psychology, minor in chemistry, and requisites for rotc. so, jumping in with both feet, i've once again broken out the school year's glasses and backpack and am gearing up for battle.

many of you know and adore linus from the classic comic strip 'peanuts' (and many of you also adore my nephew, linus, who is all the more adorable). he's famous for always carrying his blue blanket, despite infinite encouragement from the other characters and numerous attempts to do so. whatever the reason, he can't seem to operate properly without it.

for a period of time, he also had a pair of glasses which he wore because he found that his eyes would water whenever he read and ate potato chips at the same time. they were eventually phased from the comic strip, but he did have them for a time to ensure he could enjoy his reading and eating potato chips.

me and linus have a bit in common.

for me, i have a sort of matching set of comfort blanket and glasses. my backpack is my comfort blanket during my studies. even when i've no intention to study, it comes with me. whether at a computer, desk, or on a lawn i for some reason require my beat-up old puma bag. and "glasses is glasses" here. i may be able to study a bit without glasses, but when the frames come out it's business time. time to eat chips and read, so to speak.

all in all, they're both basically serving the functions of a) making me more comfortable to study, or 'getting me in the zone' and b)somehow convincing me that i'm more effective than i may actually be. that's where the placebo part of the title comes in. do these things actually make a difference? maybe. m&ms may also help a cold a bit, but really the difference is made in the fact that your brain is convinced that those m&ms will make a difference. likewise, over time these glasses and this bag have driven their way deep enough into my sulci to make that sort of difference. and yes, i realize that me considering them as placebos sort of ruins the whole thing. whatever.

so. glasses on, backpack at side.

let's rumble.