My Sweet Tooth

Do any of you watch The Closer? I watch it occasionally and always enjoy it (in fact I don't know why I'm not recording it). The main character is Deputy Chief Brenda Johnson, played by Kyra Sedgwick. Deputy Chief Johnson runs the Priority Homicide department in the LAPD. I am sometimes reminded of me when I watch it.

You see, Brenda Johnson has this odd, little quirk. She keeps a drawer in her office desk full of different chocolaty snacks which she gorges on when she's stressed. I also have this bad habit. When I get stressed I tend to mindlessly eat different sweets without noticing until I get that stomach ache that tells me that I've had far too much sugar during the day and not enough fruits and vegetables.

At the moment my drawer is full of Fruit Pastilles, two different chocolate bars, and chocolate eclairs. Normally, the days after Halloween I could go out and buy really cheap bags of candy and keep my drawer stocked, but Halloween isn't terribly big here. Unfortunately this means that most of my comfort sweets are unavailable to me.

You see, you can get American sweets here but not in the small variety. What I could use right now is a big bag of Reece's Halloween candy. That, and a big bag of York Mints.

I know this isn't the healthiest of habits, but sinking my teeth into a Peanut Butter Cup or a patty of chocolate and mint is just lovely when I'm biting my nails and pulling my hair out.

The Power of Shaving

November is not only National Blogging Month, but also "No Shave November." I personally have never participated in "No Shave November." And, seeing as I shaved last night, I don't think this year will be the year I start.

You might think that it's weird that I'm talking about shaving on a blog, but I find that shaving is a great way to relieve stress. That might be because when I shave, I do it right.

Last night, after working for three hours on m Psychology report only to feel like I was getting nowhere, I finally stumbled upon a journal article I could use. I read through it, jotted down a few quotes and points of interest to use in the report, then wrote down the full citation so I wouldn't have to do it later. At this point I was still feeling a little stressed. Three hours of work and thirty years of journal articles in two different Psychology journals and all I found was one article and a few quotes. So, I ran a bath.

Like I said, when I shave, I do it the right way. I ran a ridiculously hot bath and sunk into it all the while my skin shouting from the pain. It got over it quickly. I'm use to hot climates. I'm one of those people who needs a hot shower or hot bath to be happy and I don't quite understand people who don't. My flatmate is one of those people. Who take what I would consider cold showers and still think they're hot. I just don't get it. Hot water relaxes the muscles more so it takes away stress from them. Anyway, I sat there reading a book, a pleasure book mind you, not something for school, for about an hour. The water by this time was tepid. It's about this time when I start to shave because I know cool water is not too far away. I use a nice smelling soap or shaving cream (right now I'm working my way through Dove's Shower Cream because they've been on sale) and then slowly shave my legs. It allows me time to think and legitimately be by myself for just a while.

When I'm in my room, I'm consciously aware of my flatmate in the next room. But for some reason, when I'm in the bath, the rest of the world seems to melt away and all that exists is me and my hot water.

Again, it's a weird subject to talk about on a blog and you might be wondering why I'm sharing my shaving secrets with you. It's my personal belief that if anyone out there is tense or upset, then all they need is an hour a day to themselves. Truly to themselves. And I'm of the belief that people would be happier if they took a hot bath everyday.