Spring

I really love the desert when it is cool and the flowers are blooming and the air is moving. It looks and smells and feels so beautiful. I had this moment the other day sitting on a bench at school that was really surreal... taking in the fleeting, remarkable moment.

Glad I enjoyed it. I think our three days of spring are over and summer is on. I got a sunburn on my arms walking to my car today.

I just got into full swing on exam prep and today I got assigned a research paper. It is so hard to keep up, prioritize, and make everything work. If college teaches me anything, it will be endurance. I'm so excited at the prospect of it winding down.

My cat, Akira, just jumped up on my lap and went to sleep in mere seconds. This never happens. (The sitting on my lap part, not the sleeping part.) This particular cat hates me and loves Mark. (But Kazi loves me. He lays on my back while I sleep. I presume he is also sleeping.) Note of the obvious: Cats sleep a lot. Do they have some kind of special brain activity that requires a particularly high level of rejuvenation or something?

I decided to answer my own question and did a little research on cat brains and sleep. Apparently, they sleep 2/3 of the time. However, they have a unique state in which their brains are sending out high voltage signs of wakefulness while their entire musculature system is completely slack (a sign of deep sleep.) Perhaps this state of wakeful/deep sleep is a factor in the need for lots of sleep. (The brain not at rest during most sleep periods.) I bet this is a predator thing.

I am recommending the book "Study Manual and Solutions for Exam P of the Society of Actuaries" to anyone trying for the exam. It is very good. I have avoided it previously because the problems are crammed in together so tight that it is hard to read. But the effort is rewarded. If only the editor had formatted the pages...

The cat's awake now, so I can get up and go to bed without feeling guilty for cutting the rare lap-sitting moment short.