Crunch Time and PSP

Well, hello there! It's been a while.

It is now what we university folk refer to as "crunch time." There are so many assignments and midterms due that there isn't enough time to pick of the pieces of my shattered brain off of the sides of my skull. However, procrastination binges (no matter how poorly timed) are not uncommon. You are reading one right now, and you may find yourself reading them all semester.

And now for something completely different:

Have you ever heard of PSP? No, not the game thingy or that red tide illness. The other PSP. Progressive Supranuclear Palsy. No? Never heard of it? Neither had I.

It is a rare neurodegenerative disease whose patients gradually lose their muscle control, especially the ability to walk, speak, and swallow. Cognition is also slowed, so conversation progresses at a much slower rate. The cause of PSP is unknown. It progresses over time and there is no effective treatment and no cure.

Actor Dudley Moore, pictured below, was mistaken for a drunk and treated with disrespect while in the early stages of PSP, because his disease caused him to lose balance, slur his speech, and converse awkwardly.

For a 20/20 story on Dudley Moore's battle with PSP, click here.

It is truly unfortunate that so many battle this disease, yet so few know it exists. Patients deserve respect and compassion, not judgement. While they fight the battle to hold on to their brain, they need us to fight to find a cure. It starts with awareness. So thanks for reading.

But for now I'd better get on with my mountain of homework.

Thanks for stopping by!
K

Four Months in Forty Seconds

Well, hello there. It's been a while. I'll try my best to catch you up on the last four months of my life in under forty seconds.

Anne Lindsay, cookbook author extraordinaire, saves my relationship every night at dinner hour. I like cooking her food and my man likes to eat it. Curried zucchini soup. Fresh tomato ricotta sauce. Seafood chowder. Chicken dijon. Every recipe is fast, healthy, easy, delicious, and inexpensive. Best. Cookbook. Ever.

I spent 54 hours on ferries over an eight day period. During this time, I learned that Queen Charlotte and Sointula are the two most beautiful places in BC and that Gravol is amazing.

Cool fact: if the world's best theoretical physicists are correct, there are ten dimensions of space and one dimension of time. Where are these extra dimensions? Find out here.

I love TED (where I learned about those other seven dimensions.) If you have never heard of TED, go to www.ted.com, click on the first picture that you see, and learn about something cool from an expert in any field in about 15 minutes. Then kiss your free time goodbye, because those videos are highly addictive. So far, I have learned about baby brains, broken brains, spoken word poetry, statistical representation, washing machines, chickasaurus, and Titon.

Strawberries + wine + juice + sparkling water = tutti frutti summer love.

On that note, local strawberries taste amazing. There is a Wednesday night farmer's market in Nanaimo at the VIEX fairgrounds from 4 to 6pm where you can acquire said strawberries.

I turned 24. My spouse's birthday gift to me was a white board for doing math. I think it's awesome and I use it all the time.

Morning workouts are amazing in a sweaty way.

My little brother graduated. Holy moly, we are all grown up.

And that is the last four months of my life in forty seconds. Unless you followed all of the links. Then this post took you two hours to read - time well spent. Until next time - enjoy the fresh foods of summer and your new addiction to TED.