It’s a list of things (and people) in which I find enjoyment.
cadence
alliteration
clean skin
music that makes my heart sing
vitamin water (XXX - acai, blueberry, pomegranate)
words
curiosities
carrot chapstick
Marc
cold weather
colour
Ley
cookies
sleep
Oh yeah. Yesterday was my birthday (well, the 24th). My feet are mourning. At least I always have options.
I’m reading a book called Born on a Blue Day. It’s the biography of Daniel Tammet, an autistic savant with synesthesia (among other things). This blog entry is not a review of this book (as I haven’t even finished it yet), but I am very much enjoying it. It is probably one of the few biographies that I plan to read more than once. Something I noticed about Daniel is that I can relate to him in a lot of ways - and not only because I am also a synesthete. Some of his idiosyncrasies are things that apply to everyone, but for him they are amplified and thus inside of him create a quandary.
Look at his struggle with change. He has mentioned several times in this book that it upsets him very much when there is a change to his routine. He likes order and structure and certainty. He enjoys routine and it bothers him very much when, for example, he is unable to drink his tea at the normal time one day. While it is an everyday issue for Daniel, it is also an issue for people in general. People don’t like change. When a change occurs, Daniel may have a small meltdown and struggle to cope. And then some people just forget that they have a brain.
It has been almost a week since Hurricane Ike hit and our city still has a long way to go before it has recovered. Half of the greater Houston area is still without power. Most of the street lights are not working, which means they are turned into four-way stops. What amazes me is that people know exactly what to do at a normal four-way stop, complete with stop signs. But when an intersection that usually has a stoplight is turned into a four-way stop, people panic. They just don’t know what to do, and I really can’t help but continue to wonder: why the fuck not?!.
They forget to stop. They stop for way too long, and pass up their chance to go. They cheat and go when it’s not their turn. They cheat and go across with the car in front of them instead of stopping and waiting through the next cycle until it is their turn. They decide that they have the right of way and go when it is obvious that other cars are already going. They just plain lose their brains and all sense of logic. It really makes me wonder how many people on the road have taken a driving course. If they have - could they really forget such rudimentary knowledge as the proper routine to follow when coming to a four-way stop?
It boggles my mind. It frustrates me. It really makes me sad.
dé·jà vu (dā’zhä vōō’)
noun.
- 1. Psychology The illusion of having already experienced something actually being experienced for the first time.
- 2. a. An impression of having seen or experienced something before: Old-timers watched the stock-market crash with a distinct sense of déjà vu.
b. Dull familiarity; monotony: the déjà vu of the tabloid headlines.
It’s been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. Over the years it has become more and more frequent. About a year ago it was tickling my curiosity so much that I decided to research it. I read a lot of articles and papers about it. I read about a lot of studies that had been done on it. Some people think it’s a trick of the eyes. Some people think it’s a trick of the brain. Some people think it’s more of a spiritual experience. Since nobody knows what exactly it is, how it happens, or why it happens, I’ve kind of adopted my own thoughts on the subject. I heard this explanation a while back, and it’s stuck with me ever since. I like it, especially since over the past couple of years I have grown a profound fascination with, and respect for, the idea of reincarnation.
Before your soul is reborn on Earth, you are given a quick run-down, a preview, of the way your life should proceed. Almost like your life “flashing before your eyes” before your birth, as opposed to right before your death. A déjà vu moment is like a little flashback to that preview. A quick little glimpse of your soul recalling the way your life was supposed to go. So in a sense, a déjà vu moment is like your soul letting you know that you’re on the right track. Your life is going the way it should.
There’s no telling how accurate this assessment is, but it is the one with which I seem to resonate the most. Maybe it’s just that validation from a higher power that I’m searching for. No matter, though, the reason. I like this explanation and so I hold it with me every time I have a déjà vu.
Now, with all this being said, the reason I bring it up is because I have been having a LOT of déjà vu lately. The moments are getting more frequent, more intense, and are lasting longer. I have them several times a week now.The most recent one was so intense that I had to tell someone about it. I told Ley and she agreed with me that it was very weird!
I was parking my car when it started. I had just pulled into my parking space and was turning off the ignition when the sound of the music slurring to a stop jogged the déjà vu into action. By this time I had gotten to used to the frequent déjà vu that I was kind of brushing it off. “Yeah yeah, déjà vu, and then when I open the door it’s gonna slip a little bit out of my grip” … and it did. “Yeah yeah, déjà vu, then I’m gonna open my back door and reach for the bags and one of them is gonna slide out of reach” … and it did. This continued, me predicting what was going to come to next, until I gathered all of my things, dodged the wasp at my front door, unlocked it, and set my things down inside. I mean, how odd is that? It’s not as if it were even a very predictable moment. I had gone to pick up all of my new things for culinary school, so all of the bags in the bag were a new thing. I never even carry things in my back seat, but since i had recently cleaned it out, I used the seat. There is rarely a wasp anywhere near my apartment, so it’s not as if that was even a regular experience.
Very odd. Very odd indeed.
But, if this means I am so on the right track that I am beginning to predict what comes next… Well, I think I’m okay with that.
Just when I get my bloggery mojo back, my internet has to go and be cut off by a hurricane! I swear, I just can’t catch a break, can I? :P
Image thanks to boston.com.
So, for those of you interested (haha), here’s a run down of what I’ve been doing since Ike:
Continue reading…