My roommate got back to me! She sent me two really long messages! She explained that she was out of town and out of the country, and that she had limited internet and cell phone access!!! Yay, I’m so glad she wasn’t just ignoring me all this time!
She seems soooo nice! I think we will be friends! I still haven’t told her about my Tourette Syndrome because I’m afraid it will freak her out if I tell her before we meet in person. But I will tell her when I meet her in person on Thursday. I will let you guys know how it goes! :)
For now, I’m a bundle of nerves, excitement, stress and tics. Oh joy. Pre-orientation started two days ago (Sunday), and regular orientation starts on Thursday. Then classes start the 28th. I get to see my puppy in about a week, too! Soooo excited about that!
I also got to meet Lazlo (the dog who lives in my dorm) and the faculty member that owns him. Lazlo is an adorable, very ball-focused, 2-year-old golden retriever. I’m glad I won’t be completely dog-deprived this coming year. I’ve been so dog-deprived this summer without a dog. I miss having a dog so much! Dogs really help me calm down and relax, I can tell you that much.
Well I don’t know if I’ll have time to blog during my regular orientation, but we’ll see. Oh, and I also am going to keep working in the neuroimaging lab that I’ve been working in this summer at the Washington University (St. Louis) Medical School. I’ve been working mainly on the Tourette Syndrome studies and New Tic studies, but I’ve also done some anatomy tracing and work with the brain, specifically the thalamus.
I’m taking about 4 weeks off to get adjusted to college and then I will start working once or twice a week in the neuroimaging lab. Everyone is fantastically flexible there and just fantastic in general. Dr. G, the neuro-researcher with TS, is still a huge mentor for me, and Dr. B, another neuro-researcher, is becoming another mentor to me as well.
Also I finished my OCD-intensive program the other day. I am so proud with all the work I did. I will now confidently be able to do laundry and take showers efficiently without ritualising so much, and that is a huge accomplishment for me and is going to be a huge time saver as well.
I never thought I would be able to make this much progress, and my therapists at the program have told me many times that they are so proud of me and the progress I have made. Things are going so well in terms of this!! :)
