Stop it

SI don't know if I have ever mentioned this on either of my blogs, but I am currently working toward a bachelor's degree in psychology. I mention this because it means that even though I am not a fully licensed psychologist, I have taken a few courses and I kno what it means when someone is schizophrenic: it means that they have a psychological disease usually marked by delusions and/or hallucinations. There are more complex and technical criteria that I admittedly can't rattle off without looking through my Abnormal Psych notes, but I do know that "schizophrenic" does not mean "self contradictory".

Schizophrenia is an extremely difficult disease to understand, even for those in the mental health profession. Patients percieve and see things that others do not. They can be dogged by paranoia and thoughts that their caretakers could be trying to harm them. Sometimes they become catatonic, retreating within themselves and not moving for days, weeks, or even longer. Needless to say, communication can be very difficult. The cause could be genetic, environmental, or a combination of both. Treatment is tricky, and sometimes the medication is more difficult to deal with than the disease itself.

The misuderstanding of schizophrenia reaches far back into history. Even after the mentally had stopped being imprisoned and started being treated, the public had begun to understand that "schizophrenic" meant double personalities. It isn't hard to see why. Definitons of mental illness have been written and re-written over the last century, and this constant flux paired with the media success of Sybil and The Three Faces of Eve probably paired multiple personalities with the term. However, it seems that new people have begun to use "schizophrenic" in a way to mean something self-contradictory.  This isn't just hearing it on the street either. I've read articles which use the term in this way, and these are articles from otherwise intelligent and informed people.

I realize that terminology is constantly changing. Dumb used to mean someone who was mute, but now it means stupid. Gay used to mean happy and exuberant, but now it means homosexual or is a more unsavory term for stupid (I hate that particular usage). I don't know why people using the word "schizophrenic" annoys me so much. It could be that it is because I am more familiar with the technical and psychological definition, just as I am sure that scientists must get frustrated when people say that they "have a theory" when what they really have is a hypothesis. But really, can we stop using schizophrenic to mean this? I'm afraid that people's perception of the disease will get warped. Again.

Lying to my parents

Parent: "So, how does it feel to be done with this semester?"

Me: "Actually, I still have a paper to write." (this part is true)

Parent:(stern look) "And when is it due?"

Me: "Uh, the 19th" (also true)

Parent: (stern look)

Me: "What? It's mostly written. It just needs some polishing. Unfortunately, it needs a lot of polishing, so I'm going to be working on it the next couple of days."

Translation: By "mostly written" I mean that I have done some research. By "polishing" I mean writing, and by "a lot of polishing" I mean that I need to start writing. And by "working on it the next few days" I mean watching College Humor videos on YouTube. For some reason, I end up watching this one over and over...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZ83EBh3r7g

Turn, turn, turn

I go through many craft obsessions. I am a bit of a craft project polygamist, because at any given time I could have two knitting projects, a crochet project, some cross stitching, and some bobbin lace to work on. Lately I've been in the mood to spin some yarn.

Last year when I visited Webs in Northampton (a yarn store with a 21,000 square foot warehouse out back) I found that they had a little section dedicated to spinning. I had been interested in learning how to spin for a few years so I picked myself up a Louet top-whorl drop spindle and some wool roving at 99 cents per ounce. I left very happy. My first yarn was extremely clumsy and lumpy. As was my second and third. This past summer I ordered another 8 ounces of wool and it got a little better. A month ago I suddenly decided that I needed alpaca wool so I hopped in the car and did an after school trip to the warehouse. The result of this spinning effort was a yarn which vaguely resembles a misshapen worsted weight/chunky variety. This will become a hat. I also picked up a very small bag of local wool from the farmer's market and spun it into a worsted weight yarn in about two hours.

That is the point when I got spin crazy. I had no wool left. On top of that, my awesome friend gave me a brand new Turkish spindle, so now I have two lonely spinning tools with nothing to spin. Sure, I could work on my other projects, but nothing is as satisfying as seeing a fluffy lump of fuzz run between your fingers and turn into a thin strand of yarn. I love stretching out the lumps and feeling the fibers run past each other until the piece is smooth. I love feeling the weight of the spindle and the thrum as it spins. I feel all out of sorts. And besides, the blanket I'm working on is getting fairly large and unwieldy. I would much rather deal with a spindle than about 6 pounds of blanket.

I do have a sort of project to keep the spinning part of my mind active this winter break. In the basement there is a spinning wheel which has belonged to our family for years. The crankshaft is disconnected from the treadle and it's so gummed up with dust it looks gray instead of brown. I don't even know what kind of wheel it is, it's that old. Well, that and I need to seriously educate myself on spinning wheel parts. So that is what I shall do. If possible, I want to fix it up a bit and get it working so that I can learn to use it. Then all that's left is to raise some sheep/alpacas/angora rabbits and then shear the wool, wash it, card it, and then I can start spinning. I think I have more work to do...

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By the way, did you know that there are some crazy spinning fibers out there? There is the usual sheep's wool, alpaca, angora and whatnot. There non-hair fibers like silk and flax. But then you can also get camel, yak, and bison wool (bison runs for about $40 per ounce. Yak is a little cheaper at $20-$30). And then things get really crazy. You can buy milk protein (casein) fiber which I shouldn't get because that's precisely what my boyfriend is allergic to, as well as a blend of 70% merino (sheep) wool, 15% cashmere, and 15% New Zealand common brushtail possum. Yes sir, I can spin myself some possum yarn. Challenge accepted!