The first Taco Bell to reopen in Springfield was on Toronto Road, just a few miles from here. There was a line to the highway exit when it opened a few days ago. It's still bustling tonight. I've never once seen it that busy when it was first open.

Taco Bell was definitely missed. It's no Caltor, but I still like it.

Within a day or two of our water heater first acting up (a few weeks ago), our neighbors' water heater exploded.

Exploded.

I wonder when the technicians will come and fix things today.

I have a headache. Computer screens aren't made for extended reading.

Ok, I can shut up.

Ok, I was wrong. I'll only let a select few resurface for the public.

But they might also have legitimate reasons to open so late. Oh well. I'll try again tomorrow.

I had lunch at Panera today at the last minute, since I decided change things up a bit. Reinvent myself, right? No predictable Empire or Zorba's. Yeah.

I am a fan of the place now. It's a bit overpriced maybe, but the food (the bread!) is yum. I want to start making my own artisan bread now. (Actually, I had this desire to after seeing a show featuring some local bread shop in San Francisco.)

And, the quad looks so tiny and personal when you're focused on your knitting and not the countless students milling around you.

On the way to the quad, I passed a group of people carrying and tapping hand drums. One of them also held a large Israeli flag. Ew.

Slow Hole to China is my Clutch Album of the Week ®.

Condoleeze Rice is nice, but I prefer A-Roni. (I finally understood that on Friday.)

I just started watching Bubblegum Crisis today, and it's now totally reminding me of Evangelion. Except that there's a lot of emphasis on the girls' looks so far. Lady Sylia has something fetishish about her.

21.5 days.

I don't remember if I mentioned it, but I've been worried that that one hour, if turned into an F upon getting a diploma, would actually keep me from graduating since I thought my technical GPA was just barely above the minimum.

And since the professor for that class is impossible to contact physically and electronically, I went to see a dean about what type of credit the class would count for, and what my current technical GPA is.

Well, my GPA was higher than I expected, so I had nothing to be worried about in that regard. An F wouldn't keep me from my diploma.

The kicker is this: the incomplete credit, marked as ‘deferred’ in the records, is actually not counted as incomplete. It just means it's…deferred. I don't know the technical aspects of that, but I now know that nothing happens to it one way or another when I leave college.

So I've had this little nuisance stuck in the back of my head for nothing the past three years.

All that's left is for me to pay the university $320 in blood money, and return books I checked out more than a year ago. Easy.

I should classify myself as a journeyman.

(I just experienced some data transmission errors with this. So weird.)

I got lost yesterday trying to find the big post office in Urbana. Ended up on I-74 East. Woops. But I finally made my way there after some wandering and calling Andrew.

The morning was very sunny and cool, though. Very nice to drive around in with the windows down. I didn't mind getting lost. And I didn't stall nearly as much in Andrew's vehicle this time (the truck responds better than the Accord).

And then I picked up the most awesome package ever: chocolates, tea, wasabi peas, Cool Water, Pink Lady apples, and a wonderful letter. (I'm addicted to wasabi peas, unfortunately.) Asheghetam joonam.

Yes, it's a bit cold right now. Yes, I'm trying to plan my day.

What am I going to eat for breakfast?

Today must be different from yesterweek.

A shirt I've owned for two years and only worn 3–4 times, including today.

CHAPTER ALL

I was sitting peacefully in the corner of the top level of Espresso Royale on 6th and Daniel. My first plan of action was to knit. (This new creation is another tea bag, in the pretty Rust.)

Some time had elapsed and I thought of buying a drink. In the distance, I heard the cashier ask a patron if he wanted her to remake his drink; she had apparently messed it up. Once his order is fixed, I'll go and get mine.

So this man, of Indian origin and an Indian accented-voice, finally had his drink and walked up the three steps to the top level. He set the drink and his belongings a few tables up from me, then went downstairs (presumably to the bathroom).

And that's when I noticed it.

This man had on the exact same shirt I did. I had to focus a bit to make sure I wasn't seeing things. It was astounding.

Actually, I shouldn't say that it was exact, because his was a long-sleeve version of mine. But everything else was identical.

Now I was in a bind. Should I stay or should I go? I hadn't had my drink yet. But, the placement of his drink suggested that he'd face me when he sat back down.

No, I couldn't have it. I couldn't make eye contact with him or be in his line of sight. I didn't want him to realize that we both had on nearly-identical shirts. It was just too ackward a situation.

I had my yarn and needle packed in less than a minute and casually made my way out the store. Disaster averted.

EPILOGUE

Sipping on a blueberry & vanilla Italian soda at the Espresso Royale next to The Canopy Club. There were clouds in the sky, the heat was low, and a lovely breeze was about. Thus, the weather was slightly chilly.

I've generally gone to bed at the same times. Each morning, I'd wake up early but feel so unrested that I let myself stay in bed and think that this would somehow make me feel better.

Of course, I never fall back asleep. I drift in and out and feel awake the entire time. And it comes to a point where I force myself out of bed regardless of how shitty I feel.

I stayed in bed a record 10ish hours since last nght. I went to pee at around 6:30, but I had a bad headache, and so lied myself down again. When I looked back at the time a bit later, it was 8. Time to ‘start’ the day, headache and muscle aches all over and all. Blah.

This is all making me so unmotivated to do much of anything. But I'm feeling a lot better now after a good breakfast, tea, and shower. (And two ibuprofens for safe measure.)

I wasn't as grumpy as I could've been, though. I had Asma on the phone most of yesterday. That was lovely.

(But now I might actually have to start being concerned about using up my 5000 Night/Weekend minutes. I never thought this would happen. Eek.)

And now, it's time to step outside. For a French soda. Maybe. And walking around. And knitting a bit. Before I return to the apartment to program. And stuff.

What razor blades and machine shavers do you recommend? I need a close shave. (I know this is a topic that's come up for close to four years now.)

• decided it was a Christian conspiracy to use the Gregorian calendar. And why are three days named after Norse gods?
• bought blue corduroy pants (on sale) from Gap – 32×32 instead of 32×30. The other alternative was 31×30, which I was able to zip up and button, albeit with my gut spilling over.
• bought two combo teacup/teapots from Gloria Jeans. For 75% off, the question isn't, ‘Why did you buy it?’ but rather, ‘Would you be stupid enough to pass it up?’ And they're cute. Mother's Day sale. Go now.
• (the ‘special’ Hotty Toddy drink at Gloria Jeans is also good.)
• bought two skeins of Lamb's Pride (worsted). The color is Rust. It matches the walls of my room. I love it.
• bought two pieces of golab jam from Basmati for $3. Never again. I'm making it from now on.
• I feel that tonight will be productive.
• I'm in dire need of a shower and shave.

The tuba playing is back and louder than it's ever been. They've generally been good about keeping it down the last few weeks. Whatever.

I'm wearing someone's little hair band thing on my right wrist. Aw.

I'm roughly 20 lbs lighter than I was in November, making this the lightest I've been in…9 years? And I've gone down a couple of inches in the waist. But my abdomen is still a blob. I don't get it.

The tuba playing stopped. It sounded like someone above got annoyed by it too. No, God doesn't tap on the ceiling when It is annoyed

Boos boos, boos bedeh.

The workout was pleasant. Toxins and ill feelings oozed out of my skin. I didn't feel like a sack of shit anymore. Hurray.

One shower and a sandwich later, I'm feeling pretty good.

While working out, I listened to a hip-hop mix and a part of ‘Street Scene’ – a song I've heard tons of times in the past – caught my ear because it made more sense: …sting like chlorine in your eye, or visine, I'll make it clear… I never heard it in that context before. Another Saafir-related epiphany. Hurray.

If Penance Soiree really is the new Icarus Line album, it's a departure from Mono. The songs have a more ‘traditional’ sound. Less abrasive. I guess. I can't analyze music.

Ok¹, carry on.

¹ – ‘Ok’ is not acceptable in Literati, but ‘okay’ might be. ‘Y’s are a luxury, so I have yet to test this for certainty.

I'm gonna eat another Little Debbie fudge brownie. They're so good.

And then your fonts will look nicer. Especially in the browser. Your desktop icons will have an ugly drop shadow, though, but there should be a way to turn that off. (I'm in the process of looking for a way now.)

UPDATE. In Control Panel, go to Systems › Advanced › Performance Settings, and then you can play around with more display options.

Courtesy of Ryan.

I crave all those things, but I have none of them. Sigh.

I wanted to play a game of Yahoo! Literati this morning and found myself constantly refreshing the pages until a server was open. After roughly a minute of this, I told myself to chill. So I diverted myself with other things for a few minutes and came back to find one server open.

The first game I played, I lost due to going over three minutes for a move. Third time since yesterday.

Ah well.

A Nalgene bottle does look pretty when filled with [filtered] water.

Her voice is like chocolate.

Do you folks remember the Homosexual Batman photos? Toby and Derek, from freshman year. A classic time. If you do remember, I have a link for you.

WARNING: this link, even though it goes to a ‘famous’ photographer's work, is trashy porn. Not work safe. Not family safe. You have been warned. Thank Ryan for my knowledge of this.

Derek and Toby, memories revisited in a moment of mutual loneliness.

The bits and pieces of outside I got today were pleasant. I'm still juggling the decision of whether or not I should go for a walk now. My eyes are tired, though. And I don't feel like walking alone right now.

I'm falling fast into another slump. Tomorrow will be a 9 and a turning point.

I miss her more with each day, it seems. Tis unbearable at many points throughout the hours.