Jay, my internal martial arts teacher, yesterday, repeatedly, and in so many words, remarked that he felt out of his comfort zone in having to write a book. What I felt like saying, but did not, is that he hasn’t a clue as to what constitutes being out of one’s comfort zone. You want to talk about being out of one’s comfort zone? Try being the a right brained idiot in a room full of left brained superstars. Here I am, Alys the Magnificent, bridging the gap between the arts and the sciences. Alas, fantasizing about such things will only get one so far. At least this is what I have now learned.

Actually, I’m doing a horrific job of bridging the gap. It’s more like I’m clogging the drain. Truly – and the

water is on the verge of spilling over the edge of the bathtub.

Case in point: there we were, my unlikely friend Cooper and I, at the appointed time, sitting in our front row seats, there in time for the upcoming test review session. Neither of us had to be there. But we were both there. That should tell you something. I could read the teacher’s mind as she entered the class and strode past us – we were as welcome as two mosquitoes carrying an infectious disease. Malaria – yeah, malaria. Very relevant since a few weeks back we learned about how it is linked with sickle cell trait.

I had tried, repeatedly, to answer questions in class, always getting them wrong, but tonight I realized that, finally, Dr. Nevis has given up on me. English majors are told that there is no such thing a wrong answer. Well, science majors are told that there is such a thing as a right answer. And whoa unto you who gets it wrong. Jesus saves green stamps, not the souls of those who run amuck at the mouth.

Dr. Nevis has also given up on Cooper, who last semester passed Anatomy and Physiology I by the skin of his teeth. I was there, on the first day of class when Cooper in an overly loud voice said “hey Doc Nevis, this semester I’m going to do well!” Her retort was “you started out strong last semester but then began doing poorly.” Geez Louise, I thought. Then I recalled once being a teacher who had a similar attitude. No more. It does no good, no good at all to kick someone when they are getting up off the ground. Rather, it’s far better to extend an arm and give them a hand.

It’s for this reason that I’m now rooting for Cooper. And I am rooting for me. I would like for us to both (as Cooper would say) crush the first test. Then we’ll rise a notch in Dr. Nevis’s estimation. Some would say otherwise, but I am convinced that a learning motivated factor has to do with audience, as in teachers-r-us.

I don’t think that I’m going to do all that well. But I am not going to get all bent out of shape about this. The cards are stacked against me. There is far too much material to internalize. And I don’t know what learning style complements the way I think, but the material is not being presented in a fashion that complements mine. So, rather than get all bent out of shape about his, I will instead continue to do the best I can. I know that I’m out of my league, the league being the Anatomy and Physiology All Stars.

Next: 34. 2/4/16: Rainbow and Tinni’s Ongoing Conversation