July 25 - Great Eastern Tour Day 9

Garbage plates: 1
Plans made: 2
Quizzes: 1

11:15 a.m. - Arrive at doctor's office with little brother and hunker down for a long wait. Try to focus on the human learning homework that has been neglected for several weeks. All is well until a woman comes in and sits down right next to me. There is no one else waiting on our half of the room. Eight empty chairs sit along the walls, and she sits down right next to me. Claustrophobic tendencies kick in and my ability to focus diminishes significantly. Little brother goes in to the doctor, and returns with a clean bill of health. The woman is still there, and I'm staring at the same paragraph I was when he went in a half-hour before.

12:12 p.m. - Call Dad as we drive by his office to see if he can meet us for lunch. A sudden craving has us pointed towards Nick Tahou's for garbage plates, but Dad has already eaten. A plate is hard to manage without a fairly empty stomach. The merits of homefries vs. french fries is contemplated, along with why the bread looks green. The plate itself is too much food for either one of us to finish, which is slightly depressing.

1:28 p.m. - Testing our theory of the pool water feeling better during the heat of the day, with Mom in tow. The temperature is really no different, but we seem to acclimate more quickly. Too much spinning in the bright pink tube made me seriously dizzy. Should have known better, spinning without sickness is not a family trait.

4:30 p.m. - More bonding over Buffy. Becoming disturbingly addicted.

6:37 p.m. - Yet again trying to crack the books. If I can just get this chapter finished only the quiz for this week and the final will be left. This class has gone on too long.

8:45 p.m. - Finally finished the half chapter of reading. Skipped the websites, skimmed the instructor notes. Consider the irony in my complete and utter lack of motivation for dealing with the chapter on motivation. Tackle the quiz, cursing internally when I discover it is short answer and not multiple choice. Experience a rare moment of thankfulness for the drama of my students - their need for affiliation and all the trouble it causes will suit my quiz answer nicely.

10:11 p.m. - Make plans to go downtown tomorrow with childhood friend. Looking forward to the change of scenery and some time out in the city. We're going to an area that is not overly familiar, but supposedly very cool and artsy. Also make plans to get drinks Monday night with the writer, who will be in this weekend for his brother's wedding. Brother was a senior when we were sophomores. Haven't seen him since, but it is still hard to picture him married. The writer is best man, and yet asks me what he should buy for a wedding gift. Having no clue what to say, besides "you moron why haven't you bought a gift yet?" choose to ignore question and continue writing blog.

1:37 a.m. - Finally finish updating the blog. Set the alarm to get up and run, the 5,300 calories consumed at lunch still fresh in my mind.