Tuesdayishness

[Status Report]

{Physical} DiZZy. Woke up dizzy, got really dizzy at the gym, had to stop running. Massive headache during night class. Need more water, less caffiene.

{Mental} Resistant to Productivity, Susceptible to Distraction

{Emotional} Frustrated because I left my Pyschology textbook at home in San Jose, and there is a test on the horizon.

{Academic/Working Status} Short story revision going badly. I have a good idea but lack the skill to carry it out. Doctor! Doctor! My brain hurts . . .

{Stress Level} About four days away from emerging from a state of denial to the shocking realization that I still have a bunch of final assignments to do

{Current Obsessions/Fixations} Hot chocolate and poetry readings. I went to two poetry readings today. They were lovely, but I wish more fiction autors would read out loud.

{Daily Distraction} The Oleander flower (Oleander Nerium), also known as Rose-Bay, is an evergreen shrub of the dogbane family Apocynaceae. Native from the Mediterranean region to Japan, the plant is resistant to drought and can grow up to 20 feet tall. All parts of the Oleander plant are poisonous if eaten. (There's a great urban legend about a Boy Scout Troop that died because they used Oleander branches to roast hot dogs) Plant saps cause allergic skin reactions, and smoke from burning plant material can also be quite toxic. The poisonous ingredient in Oleanders is called neriin, oleondroside, nerioside, or oleandrin. Posioning can occur from sucking the nectar from the flowers, chewing the leaves, or using the branches as roasting skewers, or from honey made by bees using the Oleander plant for nectar. Symptoms of oleander poisoning are feeling weak and dizzy, blurred vision, seeing yellow, white, and green halos around objects, rash, hives, loss of appetite, vomiting, nausea, abdominal pain, irregular or slow heartbeat, low blood pressure, drowsiness, confusion, headaches, fainting, disorientation, and death. People have ingested Oleander flowers for suicidal purposes. This plant grows everywhere, and is a common sight by freeways and in neighborhoods. The flowers are colorful and the smell is a strange mix of sugary sweetness with a hint of putrefaction.