Variables

Oct. 12, 2023

It’s only fitting that this post be named in honour of my first statistics course. After all, things change — often. As the saying goes, ‘truth is stranger than fiction’ and some of what I’m about to share may seem unbelievable. I can assure you, it’s the real deal.

Shortly after arriving and settling into my 270 square foot flat, I learned the late Sinead O’Connor lived and, sadly, died in my building this past August. When I was here in July, there was a “S O’Connor” in our online residents’ group chat offering to clean people’s flats for free. Turns out, it was the artist herself. Apparently, cleaning made her happy or at least served as a distraction from the pain she endured after losing her son.

Still reeling from this information, which is connected to trauma and addiction, I started classes in a 139-year-old faculty that began as the Society for the Study and Cure of Inebriety. Its original members were primarily medical doctors who were motivated to protect those with “habitual intemperance” from imprisonment by recognizing alcohol use disorder as a disease, not a crime.

On day one, I was delighted to see not one but two people around my age in the cohort of 23 students. One of these individuals, Noel, an Irish priest, has become my mate (that’s UK English for buddy, he took an oath of celibacy). We have fascinating conversations and debates, as you can imagine. Noel made the mistake of attending the mature students welcome event at King’s College — the average age was 25. We’ve rebranded as “vintage students” and hold our own social events.

Individual motivations for enrolling in the addictions program are diverse — from being a musician and wanting to better understand why substance use is so prevalent in the artistic community, to being related to members of a drug cartel. The common thread among most is a desire to help people. The other interesting dimensions among our global cohort are local context perspectives. For example, while alcohol is generally considered the most harmful psychoactive substance in western countries (when impacts to both the individual and society are factored in), it is illegal and difficult to source in some nations. (This startling news from our Afghan classmate really rattled the Brits and Europeans in the group.) So what substance use issues exist in a turbulent country like Afghanistan? It turns out opioids are the most prevalent psychoactive substance used by women and children. Afghan men predominantly pursue cannabis if they’re motivated to alter their cognitive function. I wonder if anyone is researching the prevalence of drug use there since 2020?

In summary, there’s a lot to absorb each week but my neurons seem to be keeping pace. I’ve written two papers, successfully inserting scientific citations using the required software. Exploring London on my days off is a bonus. The Imperial War and Victoria and Alberta Museums are top notch. I’ve been able to spend quality time with my adult offspring in both London and Amsterdam, meet new people and reconnect with long-time friends who live here.

I will close with a shout out to the UK for their support of professional women’s sports. The Arsenal women’s football club has a new fan and I’m taking Jason to their game against Aston Villa this Sunday. Last month, I had the privilege of watching Alberta’s fearless Courtney Holtkamp in a Canada versus England women’s rugby game. Amazing! It's all energizing and I feel grateful.