August 28, 2007
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Compensation of Brainwork
Today I ate more than I usually needed during lunch and I ate similar amount of food during dinner. I have found out that this situation occurred several times in the past and these were the time when I was mentally exhausted. For instance, when I finished an assignment for my MEd courses or when I was doing tedious timetabling work.
I went back to school one hour earlier this morning because my adorable Principal had given us wrong instructions about the curriculum and therefore we had to start the timetabling work all over again. Well, since I had to complete the work today so that the school could distribute the timetable to each class and to each teacher, I was excused from all meetings. Timetabling is a very exhausting work. It is not physically exhausting but mentally exhausting. If you speak to me in the middle of the work, I will look at you perplexedly without any response. I once replied the assistant principal that I could not partition my brain to answer your questions. It was true and I did not mean to hurt him. Of course he understood my straightforwardness and how mentally demanding the work was. By 4:00pm I finished the timetabling work. However, I was a zombie then. One of my colleagues gave me congratulations and asked how my brain worked. I pondered for a second and said, “The work is not easy. I also wonder how my brain works.”
During the brainwork and afterwards, all I wanted were food. Loads of food! It seemed that large amount of food could compensate what I had given out as brainwork. Some scientists say that more than 20% of the food we intake is transformed to be the fuel for our brains. I need much more when I REALLY use my brain. It is now one hour after my dinner and I start feeling my dinner has almost been digested completely. I think I need more compensation!
