we have these nectarines from baker's that came "certified ripe" (the sticker said so), and they are unbelievably good. maybe they're full of secret chemicals designed to keep them in such a deliciously ripened state, but if poisoning is the price i pay for quality fruit, i am willing to pay it. after all, if i'm going to die in a dramatic fashion, a lethal dose of "certified ripe" nectarines will do just as well as tuberculosis. i just wish i could *smell* this snack. my body's been in a pre-ill state lately... sort of lethargic and ill-wont to adventure, plus a bothersome stuffy nose. and i *just* recovered from that other thing...!! oh well... with enough rest and vitamin c, maybe i can force my weak immune system to fight back against this one.

and filed under the heading of recent events, i finished order of the phoenix. in fact, i believe i won the harry potter race against alan's sister... though i'm not sure she was aware we were racing at all. the critics weren't kidding when they said that book was dark. hilarious in some places (i heart fred and george, oh man... sparklers that spell 'poo'... it's genious), frighteningly true to life in depicting teaching situations in others, and pretty much... dark overall. i'm still working on stranger in a strange land, which peter lent me. and once i'm through that... the iliad awaits. learning. *sigh*

hm. amdist the sniffles, i think... i need... sleep. goodnight.

holycrap it's early. i made it to chapter 30 (from chapter 19, mind you... *with* musical distractions and an hour of jewelry making) before deciding sleep might be a good option. but look where i ended up instead.

oh well, no use hiding the fact that it is currently... 4:30 in the morning and i am still awake. sorry alan, it's just the way it had to be. i really wanted to finish book 5 tonight, but if i'm going to be conscious during daylight hours at all, i should probably get to that resting thing. man, i guess your sister's going to win the harry potter race. no matter, i'm pretty close to my usual bedtime anyway and i'm slowly growing accustomed to getting 7 or 8 hours of sleep over 11 or 12. the former is most likely better for my general health and well being anyway.

(insert screams of pain) oh my lord, my stalking muscles kill. i am so out of shape. it hurts to lean forward, it hurts to walk up stairs... who am i kidding, continued existence hurts. but on the up side, i've been laying in bed all day, and i am now exactly half way through book 5. i'd forgotten the activation phrase for the marauder's map is "i solemnly swear i am up to no good." i think we should all be required to swear we are up to no good every now and then. for official purposes.

(insert afterthought) gordon j. binky III's chariot of doom could use a good cleaning. and i could use a good sandwich. just thought i'd let you know.

laser tag: like a rave... where you shoot people. exhausting, but unbelievably fun.

my cold (that is all it is - my doctor swore the throat culture was negative) is better, my reading list is longer (reed just sent me the iliad for my learning pleasure), and my relationships with others can now be classified into three easy categories (wacky adventures, average low-commitment summer correspondence, and recently ceased). all in all, life is looking up. then again, that's probably just an after effect of the whole new relationship thing. love is a drug, and it does a lot less damage to your lungs than... other... drugs.

and so, because running rampant with a gun in a multileveled blacklit cube filled with pulsing trance beats and cunning adversaries has pretty much stolen my energy, i am going to go to sleep.

oh man. i usually don't post twice in one day, but i feel i need to share this with the world. look at all the wonderful emails i've been recieving as opposed to the italy trip email i've actually been expecting from my latin teacher.

from: hank subject: your-septic-system-needs-aid
for some reason, i thought of hank from king of the hill when i read that, and it made it all the more fitting.

from: rjnr subject: Are you good at research?
i didn't write an ap english paper devoted entirely to the use of trivial objects in lillian hellman's plays for nothing, did i?

from: FREDDIE MOOTE subject: Warning: free sensual content!
for one thing, i'm glad i was warned. but really, i just love the way it was worded.

you know, i never got to go back to sleep. after the appointment, dad had a camera store he wanted to visit, we got lunch, and came home. and as i was standing in my bathroom listening to creepy scratching sounds coming from the wall (it's birds on the roof and not a squirrel trapped in the bowels of the house - dad swears), lindsey stopped in to get a ride up to jensen tire. she's the bakery overlord at super saver on 144th and Q now, so... stop in and buy donuts from her. even if the rest of the store seems skeevy, rest assured the bakery overlord has been keeping the pastries deliciously sanitary.

wow! things keep happening!

sickness: less fever, more cough. bothersome. spreading to others... quickly. will visit the doctor if symptoms persist.

relationships: officially broke off the business with colin. but everyone knew that already. it hurt a little more than i thought i would, but i guess that proves i'm not the heartless destroyer of love i'd had myself pegged to be. conscience... always comforting. i'm also guessing everyone already knows about alan. if not, well... it's like this - we're constructing a doomsday device in my garage... out of household appliances... and mice. but keep it on the dl, kids! we wouldn't want any nasty rumors spread, would we?

adventures: thanks to the greenfields garage sales, i now own two toasters (a 4 slot *and* a 2 slot), some scarves, a little monster finger puppet, a purple arty candle, a "fur lined pot," and half of a hibachi grill. alan owns the other half of the grill in addition to a $15 microwave, a "vintage" suspiciously taped-shut game of risk, the other purple arty candle, a hideous belt (it was free, like my scarves... who can complain) and a wicker frog. now gordon j. binky III has an automotive mascot counterpart whose body is similarly hollow for the convenient hiding of illicit things... or cookies... or illicit cookies.

future adventures: jen is a harry potter geek and has already reserved her copy of book 5. she will be picking it up at midnight. she may have other wacky (and most likely sugared up) individuals in tow.

responsibilities (or... the reason, aside from the fact that certain individuals decry my sleeping schedule, that it's time for me to wrap this up): dentist appointment at the ungodly hour of 10:45. that means i have to wake up at 9:30. in the *morning*!! i am coming home and going back to sleep. disturbances will result in a firm verbal chastising.

and with that, i am off. to... dooo... things. at least i won't be draining away the hours online. i'll be... constructive! reading! aww baby, don't be like this.

i am... very confused. technology and i don't get along well to begin with, but now blogger's making my posts vanish and reappear. it's... unsettling. yesterday's/this morning's post vanished after i wrote it, reappeared two seconds ago, but never posted or published when i hit the button.

summary of dead post: went to ren faire. bought "sinister" wings. upon returning home, i safety pinned them to the back of my computer chair, and now my reflection in the monitor looks damn cool. trust me on that one.

so, on to more pressing matters. i am sick... again (surprise, surprise). don't know what it is, but i have a low grade fever and a sore throat. it's not in my lungs this time, so i'm just going to wait this out and hope i don't die. and if i've managed to get alan sick, then congratuations are in order on the occasion of our first shared disease! let's hope it's not fatal.

speaking of fatalities and such, i'm going to try to wrap up all this craziness with colin tomorrow if my ill internals are up to it. and even if they aren't, because i know this stuff needs to be taken care of. ah, the social processes of life drudge on.

friday the 13th came and went. it appears i am still alive.

molly and allyson have been sent off to nationals with a two page scavenger hunt of wacky. sample items include Covin (1,000,000 pts.), mullets (50 pts. each), a live mouse (500 pts.), and barf bag puppets of P and Hawk (100 pts. each). extra points will be awarded for pictures of inflatable mascots, molly touching a clown, allyson touching a squirrel, and kimmy kissing a picture of hitler. it was decided that acquiring a certain signature braid would warrant "winning" the scavenger hunt. i suppose doing well at nationals would also warrant the title of "winning," but i think sam would do just as well with a stolen hotel-copy gideon's bible (100 pts).

as for the personal life, things are a bit crazy right now. for those of you who have been *out* of it, yes - i have not been answering my cell phone. i apologize for the inconvenience and the fact that i've been a sucky friend or for giving the appearance that i am dead, but frankly, i'm lazy and... otherwise occupied. maybe there's a reason i haven't been answering your calls, or maybe i've just accidentally missed them... either way, i suppose all will be revealed in time. or at least before i leave for reed. and for those of you who are *in* on all of this, those movies are due back later today. considering the gravity of the situation, perhaps i shouldn't be so casual about this, but... hot damn, this smells like a showdown!!

current: good stuff... and bad stuff. naturally. ah, "stuff" and "a lot of things." that's me, doing ap english proud. that's just what you get, you mla touting learning fiend! so. long story short, good stuff took the forefront in the last leg and ultimately won the race for emotional precedence. the bad stuff i will deal with... later. after i finish telling reed whether or not i think i eat well (i don't) and if i'm physically fit (you have got to be kidding). crazy medical forms.

until next time... hell, you know the drill.

inside of us, our organs are in little compartments... like ziploc bags. this arragement is useful in situations when one may find one's self, say... upside down, flipped 360 backwards, and strapped into a little cage at a fairly large height from the ground. thus is the beauty of amusement park rides... and coelem, nature's plastic wrap.

taria may or may not be dead. i'm working on figuring this one out. though based on the amount of times she calls my cell phone, i'm going to have to go with "alive, but not posting." i may be flying solo here this summer.

man... i feel unusually warm. it's sort of radiating; i can feel it... it's pleasant. i could get used to this.

until next time, see you on the other side.

i would say something meaningful... like how my brainmeats are bustling with activity tonight... but frankly, i'm just too damn tired. what a long, wacky day... full of socializing, styx scavenger hunts, kiddy pianos that play techno, and one great pomeroy show at the ranch bowl. days like these rock. and now, the exciting journey to bed. goodnight.

oh yeah, and i bought that card. it had a little balloon on it and the inside said something about lifting my spirits. the walmart thing i'm working on. i think i'll stop in sometime next week.