Welcome to Journal Entry February 10. I have decided to do something a little different with this entry. I felt like I needed a change of pace, thus the style is much different. Perhaps it is because in class we discussed Leonardo da Vinci today, whose middle name was innovation. I have always admired him, and his approach to life, so perhaps the discussion triggered a desire to go outside my own box (or perhaps just change the colors within the box.) I am feeling preoccupied with all the work I have to do coming up in the next few weeks: 3 papers, 3 finals, and one oral report. College did not seem as daunting--I think the work was spread out more. And I care about what grade I make a lot more now. I had a weird dream last night that terrorists captured my family--perhaps this is influenced by things in the news--and my aunt, who is very religious, had to sacrifice herself for us, when they said they had to kill one person. It was an awful dream, and I was reminded of it in class today because were talking about interpreting the dreams of Peter the Great, and whether this was a valid way of learning about a person. I dream very vividly and lucidly and remember my dreams very clearly. There are two dreams I have often--one is that I am still in school, and the other is that my grandmother is still alive. I really don't know why I would have unresolved issues with either of those things, but I guess I do. The funny this is that I wore my "Dream" fragrance by Gap, which I love so much, to class--without it even occuring to me.

While I was driving home from class today, I heard this on the news:

Mice are heart disease-free after gene therapy

NEW YORK, Feb 10 (Reuters Health) -- Delivery of a specific cholesterol-clearing gene into mice via gene therapy appears to reduce high cholesterol and virtually eliminate fatty plaques that are similar to those in the arteries of humans with heart disease, researchers report.

Wow! That is big news. It started me thinking about how medical research is developing so fast. I bet in 20 years, people will think it is normal to go the doctor and get their yearly injection to unblock their arteries. It will become as commonplace as aspirin. The ironic thing is that I was thinking about olestra, and whether anyone still uses it. I was eating my fries from McDonalds, and wondering if they had to disclose if they used olestra. I was also wondering if it is possible to sell Olestra, like Sunflower oil, or like Crisco. (They probably do, but it is really scary.)

ps-the music you hear is from Hadyn's Surprise Symphony, which is one of my favorite pieces of music.

anyway, enjoy your new day--and I will enjoy my sleep,