Dr. Faintsalot: or How I Learned to Stop Standing and Love the Floor

Abstract

Some experiences take you to new places. Others take you to alternative forms of consciousness. Or in my case, unconsciousness.

Introduction

I am a highly sensitive person (HSP) with a low tolerance for real or imagined pain. Sometimes, I get so overwhelmed that I zone out and forgo my basic needs. In addition, I am prone to anxiety-driven vasovagal syncopes. When I go to a doctor, it might not only be my worst nightmare, but also theirs.

Methods

Be dehydrated and/or low on sugar.

Freak out about something minor.

Forget to breathe.

Results

Places where I’ve nearly fainted: check up room, blood draw room, middle school clinic, emergency room, high school classroom, William & Mary lecture theatre, behind a Cambridge college bar.

Places where I’ve actually fainted: sidewalk, check up room, allergy test room, kitchen, blood draw room, elementary school classroom, theme park (Ireland in Busch Gardens), church (the priest was discussing “sober inebriation”), W&M lodge living room (landed on fireplace pokers), and a tissue culture room.

Note: The number of incidents is likely an overestimate as some locations served multiple functions. The actual number of incidents is around 17.

Discussion

Reasons I have fainted or nearly fainted: scraping my knee, getting allergy tests, receiving a shot, seeing bags of blood on TV, running a fever, accidentally stabbing my palm with a pencil, seeing someone else bleed onto a sidewalk, having a nosebleed, getting my blood drawn, seeing a human liver on TV, seeing someone else faint, thinking about a friend’s injury, thinking about a hypothetical injury, scraping my shins, and accidentally stabbing my finger with a sharps needle.

Conclusions

I’m lucky to be alive.

People are generally caring and helpful.

I could probably write a book about this.

At least I’ve been consistent.

Acknowledgements

People who have had to deal with my fainting: my poor parents, my sister, my entire 6^th grade class, regular doctors, allergy doctors, nurses (bless them all), tourists, a P.E. instructor, my godmother, my grandmother, several Catholics, my lodgemates/friends, a SCUBA instructor, a barista, grad students, and post docs.

References

Title Reference: Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

HSPs

Vasovagal Syncopes

Free

You rush by and wave at me,

Then draw back when met with glee,

Crash and break with misery,

Trapped in this reality.

Push and pull is your game, I see,

Spreading grit that leaves me all sandy.

I want to help you keep your cool,

As you erode the pain and sanity.

I have been to your depths.

You led me down to the danger and beauty,

And so much unknown mystery,

But I reached back up so as not to drown.

I now stay near the shallows,

Although we despise superficiality!

Perhaps because at the surface,

One may see the projection

Of all that is unattainable,

Even for beings as powerful as we!

A loyal fan, I may be…if only a shadow.

I can take the briny tears

And turn them into something fresh and alive,

As I firmly root…for you.

You can capture clouds, the stars, and the moon,

While at your periphery,

I merely sway

to the rhythm

of

my own.

heart.

Cambridge A to Z: A is for Appetite

So, it’s been a while…I came to Cambridge over four months ago, and then…life happened. I’ve provided graphs to sum things up regarding my blog.

Ideal:
 

 

Reality:

 

I realize the second graph is rather misleading. It is my attempt to mask my denial and put a positive spin on the situation.

Since it’s far too late to detail my experiences chronologically, I will try a different strategy that should help me keep a more consistent blogging schedule. Essentially, I am compiling my entries into a glossary based on the letters of the English alphabet.

Here is my first entry in this new series on dining spots for which I’ve become somewhat of a regular.

Anatolia

Anatolia, also known as Asia minor, makes up most of the Republic of Turkey. I went to this place for dinner my first night in Cambridge. They serve authentic Turkish food, and it is more of a fine dining experience than some other places from which I generally procure food. I’ve tried the chicken kebap, some appetizers, the hünkar beğendi, and the çöp şiş kebap, which literally means “trash kebap” but actually refers to chaff, the part of the wheat that is not harvested (or the male tribute from District 11 in the 75^th Hunger Games, if you’re a fan). In the context of the meal, the “trash” is the wooden skewer on which the chunks of lamb were traditionally served as street food. I was quite satisfied with all the options. The hünkar beğendi lamb dish is absolutely delightful and quite homey.

 Cheese pastry and falafel at Anatolia

Agora at the Copper Kettle

This is a fusion and brunch restaurant by day and Mediterranean restaurant by night. Its location is optimal for tourists – right across from King’s College Chapel, and not too far from the Fudge Kitchen, another shop I frequent. The portions at Agora are reasonable and decently priced. The “Mixed Meze" provides a very thorough sampling experience, and “Yogurtlu Kebab” is very rich in flavor. The Indian curry, Moroccan tagine, and English breakfast are all quite tasty as well.

 Indian curry at Agora

Avalanche

This is not exactly a Turkish café, but it feels a lot like one, and a nice Turkish employee once gave me a free latte there. The food is mostly brunch and lunch items. I’ve ordered both versions of the vegetarian English breakfast, which is quite generous and includes one of the creamiest, richest “regular” coffees I’ve ever consumed. They also serve omelettes, with chips (read: French fries).

 Traditional English breakfast at Avalanche

Aromi

The queue for this Sicilian café is often quite long. Think Georgetown cupcake, as a friend of mine recently observed. I got a pizzetta (just the right size for me) and an extremely rich Italian-style hot chocolate. It sort of congealed into a pudding after cooling down a bit. Yum.

 Pizzetta and hot chocolate at Aromi

To wrap things up, all of these places provide excellent and varied dining experiences at a good price. Anatolia is great for dinner, and is also a fine lunch option. Agora has a a diverse range of choices for any time of day. Avalanche is a very good place to have a large brunch or lunch. Lastly, Aromi is perfect for an afternoon coffee and snack or meal.

***

I’d like to make a shameless but related plug for a video my family and I made just before New Year’s.

What Does the Turk Say?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knNeQM458kg&feature=youtu.be&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DknNeQM458kg%26feature%3Dyoutu.be&app=desktop

Until next time! Hopefully, it won’t B too long a wait…

Castle Hill Open Day: A Celebration of Heritage

During my first week in Cambridge, I found out about Castle Hill Open Day, a full-day event celebrating a local spot called Kettle’s Yard. I only made it for the last few hours, but I still learned quite a lot about the culture of this area. My time there included an interdisciplinary art exhibit, two ancient churches, and other local collections.

After stopping at a booth nearby a group of kids, who were attentively listening to a storyteller, I stepped into an exhibition to see the newest works. These consisted of photographs by Sophie Rickett, who made an appearance for the festival together with the astronomer Roderick Willstrop from the University of Cambridge. Using negatives from Dr. Willstrop’s Three Mirror Telescope, Rickett developed photographs reinterpreting the process of artistic creation as well as the sublime subject itself. For example, one work features a circular “window” into space, with a cloudy center reminiscent of the Milky Way. Rickett explained that this cloudiness is not part of outer space, but a product of chemicals used to develop the photographs. Thus, the product serves as a reminder of its own nature. In addition, Rickett took this same image and developed ten smaller versions in the bold colors of the Eagle Nebula, showing how art can further inspire art. For more information on the different themes of Rickett’s work, see: http://www.kettlesyard.co.uk/exhibitions/2013/new-art-2013/sophy-rickett.php.

  “Pillars of Creation” depicting the Eagle Nebula, taken by the Hubble Telescope

(Image: http://annesastronomynews.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Pillars-of-Creation-a-star-forming-gas-and-dust-region-within-the-Eagle-Nebula-M16-or-NGC-6611-a-young-open-cluster-of-stars-6500-light-years-away-in-Serpens-Cauda.jpg)

Once I had finished learning more about the artist, the scientist, and their work, I went on a tour of two nearby churches. The first, St. Giles’ Church, is relatively ornate and large. A guide discussed the meaning of the architecture, explaining that the interior of the church traditionally resembles the design of an ark and thus evokes a sense of safety. Beautiful stained glass windows line the walls, and the benches have unique images of saints and animals carved into them – symbolic meaning can be found in every nook and cranny. After St. Giles’, we walked back up a hill to St. Peter’s Church, which is a small, pale, chilly room in comparison. In the otherwise barren center stands a baptism font with mermen carved into it – it is about 1000 years old! We could see a door had been sealed shut on one wall to block off the cold winds. The outline of the door had been left as an indication that the church used to be larger. So much could be gleaned from the architecture and modifications to these edifices.

 

 

St. Peter’s Church in Autumn

Our tour then took us into the nearby Cambridge & County Folk Museum, which has some major artifacts from Cambridge and an old pub room, as well as a café for afternoon tea, of course. The last stop was Kettle’s Yard house, where we saw some modern paintings and sculptors collected by the previous owner, curator Jim Ede (See: http://www.kettlesyard.co.uk/house). One of the iconic sculptures is a cubic dog, which children were happily replicating with paper mache in a crafts stall in the backyard.

All in all, this was a wonderful opportunity to delve into the world of art, architecture, history, and science. I also enjoyed the blend of the modern and the ancient. I look forward to visiting more museums and buildings during my time in Europe.