To Kill a Mockingbird...

I have had a very stressful evening.

I had to give my oral presentation on my researched paper tonight. We ran out of time in our last class so there were five of us who still had to stand in front of the class and give our presentations.


Afterwards, I had to take my final exam.


Yes...

I had to take a final exam after the emotionally draining and stressful act of public speaking.

While public speaking isn't all that bad, I seem to suffer quite a bit of anxiety when I speak in front of a class and with the understanding that I am trying to earn a grade for my efforts.


I suppose I should admit that I must be suffering from some form of "performance anxiety".


Needless to say, after my grueling class tonight I actually began to feel physically ill.

Surely the symptoms are solely related to the stress that I was under.

And then compounded by the negative "self-talk" that I was trying to overcome concerning what my grade would end up being for the class.


My only hope and prayer is that my professor absolutely loved my presentation and perhaps will give me some special consideration on my final.

She did make several comments about my presentation this evening. All of which were very positive.


So, I am starting to feel a bit better and it is now time for bed.


I have been suffering quite a bit from sleep deprivation which is due in part to my ~brain injury~ issues.


However, lately I have been having more trouble than usual.


It seems that a Mockingbird has decided to take up residence in and around my back yard.

I enjoy birds.

And I enjoy listening to birds.

In fact, I have three bird feeders in my back yard.


However, what I don't enjoy is listening to a loud and raucous Mockingbird run through his repertoire from 11pm to sometime after 1am in the morning.


Yes... You've heard me right. He's singing in the middle of the night!

This bird is so loud that I can hear him through my bedroom window.


I've been meaning to ask my neighbor Sue if this bird has been harassing her too.


I wonder if this bird's midnight songs are due to the weather? My grandmother, Mamma, used to say that it was going to rain if you heard a rooster crow at midnight.


And we have certainly had some drought breaking rains lately.



Finally, my Thursday has come to an end.

Hopefully I will drift into a much needed restful sleep.


And if that bird keeps me from my beauty rest...

I will then be forced to dream of a very large and powerful gun that spews bird shot out its mouth...

After which I will envision myself resting my head on a cloud of feathers.



later...