S.A.D.

In early May, I was pretty sad about moving down earlier than I had expected from SF to LA, but one thing that I WAS looking forward to was being back in sunny, warm SoCal weather sooner. I knew I could just lug my books to the beach, lay out and get back to the normal skin tone I used to be, and relax and absorb dense MCAT material...

Except I get here and the weather is all poopy. Ugh. Something's wrong with LA. Something's wrong with CA in general (all those earthquakes and lightning/thunder storms... the heck!)

I'm sorry, LA... I brought the SF weather with me.

S.A.D. is seasonal affective disorder. S.A.D. affects 6.1% of the US population. I have S.A.D. hahaha I laugh now, but weather actually is a huge deal for me. Since it's been gloomy, I noticed my tendencies to get upset, emotional, tired and sleepy, and frustrated. When it's sunny, I'm much cheerful, happier, and more energetic.

For me, deciding on grad school was, to be frank, also deciding on which climate I'd like to commit to for the next two years of my life. I was choosing between institutions such as Berkeley (muggy, spotty sunshine, rainy but still beautiful)... or UCLA (the beach weather you see on The Hills, Santa Monica and Malibu... sunny, no distinct seasons)... or Columbia (nasty summers, frigid winters)... or Baltimore. I'll be getting the nasty winters in Maryland too, but I think I'm a lot better off than being more northeast (like Boston. oh hoice!)

I am honestly v. worried about how I'm going to endure e. coast weather, esp. when I thought SF was friggin' cold, but whether I come back frozen or not, I'm going. I have been asking everyone on how to keep warm for e. coast winters because really I don't know I know what true "winter" is. My uncle from Korea bought me some unsightly, made-for-50+-yr-old-women (God bless his thoughtful soul) long john thermal undershirts and pants, but I don't know if I want to sport that... but who knows, if I freeze enough, I might need to. How should I keep warm? (and please don't suggest Uggs - I've alreadly, and shamefully, succumbed).



Oh, and last tidbit of the night before I go off to slumber: I don't usually get sucked into snazzy, jazzy commercials, esp. for new products like shampoo or face wash. I don't deviate - I know the products that I like, and I stick with them. But I saw the commercial for John Frieda's new Root Awakening line and got intrigued. My hair is fine, and if it really was effective like they claimed, it could do my fine, volume-less hair some good. An extra bonus was the fact that these products were on sale at Target (Target + Tina = death).

I've used this product for over two weeks, and already my hair feels stronger in general, and it looks more shiny and healthy without looking too oily. I'm not a huge fan of the scent though (I think they can do better than the subtle eucalyptus scent they have) but I think it's been great for my hair, and I love seeing the results (a certain male figure in my life doesn't believe me, but really... what guy notices the differences in haircare?).

Let me know if anyone out there ever releases a hair treatment line to alleviate S.A.D. symptoms. And tell them to make it smell like candy, not eucalyptus.