April

- Took the train down on Thursday night and it was the squeakiest train I've ever been on. It left 20 minutes late and got in 50 minutes late.
- When I got to the hotel, there was a line to check in, so I went to the bar to have a drink and watch some basketball. I ordered a martini with Grey Goose and the bartender said, "What? You're not boycotting French alcohol?" I said that I wasn't and he said that everyone around there was. So I told him that I'd like 2 martinis with Grey Goose, one for now and one to take to my room. I wound up drinking it quickly and checking into my room since the bartender wouldn't change the TV channel from CNN to CBS since the war was more important than basketball.
- I was getting sick of being around all these extreme patriots who decided to boycott all things French, so I came up with this story to tell the next time I was in a group of them:
"So, I was having a manage a trois with these 2 chicks and, Oh mon dieu, I had deja vu. Had we French kissed before? Merde, I shouldn't have done this again. Next time I'll stick to a nice entree of fondue with a bottle of good champagne at a petit restaurant avec mes amies."
- I had Missing Persons' "Walking in LA" in my head while trying to walk places from the Holiday Inn. There were almost no sidwalks, no pedestrian walk signs at busy intersections...
- Surprisingly, no one bothered me too much at the office.
- I worked 'round the clock Friday morning to Tuesday afternoon. It felt good being so busy that I didn't have time to think about all the things I was avoiding at home, but I'm paying for that (slightly) now.
- Having basically no food options without a car made eating pretty difficult. The last night I was there, I wanted to get some pretzels from the snack machine at the hotel. It only took exact change so I went to the desk to get change and they said that they wouldn't have the money box to give me change until later. I went back later, got change, and the stupid vending machine wouldn't take it. I asked Buddy, the friendly guy who worked there (at least there was one friendly guy- if anyone reading this winds up at the Holiday Inn in Timonium and need any help with anything, ask Buddy on the night shift), if there was another snack machine. He asked if I wanted him to run me up to the gas station. That was nice.
- While at the gas station, Buddy was chatting with the people who worked there (he's really a talkative, friendly guy). He commented on one of the guy's haircuts and the guy said it was a military cut- he was going to get his draft card the next day and hoped he got sent to Iraq. He couldn't wait. And the other guys there thought this was cool. I just don't meet people like this often.
- I watched SFU Sunday night. It was a no-one-is-showing-any-good-qualities-and-they're-all-pissing-me-off episode. Not my favourite.
- HBO seems to be getting more mainstream, tacky, and superficial. Not happy about that.
- There were some guys in the hotel Saturday night that frightened me. I got in the elevator with them. They pressed the 2nd floor button and I pushed the 4th floor button. The doors opened at the 2nd floor and they didn't get out. The doors opened at the 4th floor and they did get out. I got out slightly and then got back in and went back down to the lobby. I was scared they would be waiting when I finally did go back up, but fortunately, they weren't around.
- Other annoying things of Saturday night: my phone rang late at night a few times, someone took the do-not-disturb sign off my door and housekeeping knocked on the door at 7:00 AM (I was going to get up 30 minutes later, but I would have appreciated the extra 30 minutes after barely getting any sleep between the ringing phone and the constant traffic on I-83.
- I guess the Holiday Inn wanted me to have all the comforts (or not so "comfort") of home. My room faced I-83, which had trucks struggling up the hill all night- they were loud. So much for having a traffic-free few nights.
- Jeffrey came in the office for a few minutes yesterday. He had just come back from Hong Kong so he was told to go home. Lisa acted a bit extreme. She ran in the back room, slammed the door, and wouldn't come out until he left. I mean, I wouldn't give him a hug & kiss or anything (his wife is though), but I don't think she needed to hide in the back room. Well, this is the woman who wouldn't go to Bethesda for Eytan's birthday dinner because the sniper hadn't been caught yet.
- Saturday evening, Jon picked me up and I went to their house to watch some basketball. It was nice to have a change of scenery, but otherwise wasn't too exciting an evening.
- I won my tournament pool! Even if Syracuse wins Saturday, only one guy has them winning and it won't give him enough points to catch me. So I'll be $100 richer soon. I can't believe I actually won! I decided to splurge for "Long Day's Journey" tickets. Just need to pick a day for that.
- Took the train back yesterday afternoon which got in later than scheduled. I really was spoiled when I took the train to DC in February when the train was ontime. That really only happens once in a blue moon.

Today I got my theatre midterm back and actually did well. Most people got Cs (1 or 2 did better and a few did worse) and I got an A-. And she likes my paper topic and didn't say anything about my not being far enough along. So she doesn't lump me with the slackers after all. That saves me slightly. I still need to get cracking on this paper though. I searched for sources today and found several that I'll check out tomorrow. I've narrowed down that I really want to focus on how Restoration audiences were different from the rest of the population at that time. Hopefully I can find enough information on that to write a valid paper.

Today I also caught up on work, read "The London Merchant" for tomorrow's class, cleaned a little (need to finish that tomorrow), and tried to find my grade for the last human development test (she said she posted the grades outside her office, but the only grades posted were from the first test).

I might not have time for an entry tomorrow. I have classes, in between classes I'll go check out some books, then I'll come home and clean, and tomorrow night I'm seeing Adam Levy at the Living Room with David.

Either tomorrow evening or Friday morning, Paula and Harvey are coming up. Don't know when they're leaving (because they don't know). Either way, I hope they don't wake me up early on Friday morning. I'll have gotten back late Thursday night and I've been going non-stop for over a week and would like a little extra rest. If not, I guess I'll have to wait until April 16th.

Talked to Paula this morning and after 100 changes to their plans, they went from staying with me for a week to staying with me on and off for a week and a half to not staying with me at all. I'll still see them on Friday though for a quick dinner and then Harvey and I are going to see "La Boheme".

Jonathan (Rebecca's brother) and his girlfriend might be coming to the Adam Levy show with us tonight. I kind of hope they don't. Not because I don't like them but because he always acts like he can't stand me and I don't think I've ever seen him in a good mood. I don't want to be around that tonight.

Subway (the sandwich shop) is taking over midtown. There's been one on Lex @ 58th for a while, but now there's one on Lex @ 56th and one on 3rd @ 57th. Why do we need 3 of them so close together? In the city of choice, there are fewer and fewer choices.

Last night was okay. Even though I really liked Rachel Loshak (who was the 3rd performer of the night, I also really liked Juliana Nash who performed before Rachel), I was getting tired of sitting there, so I left in the middle of her set, around 10:30 (Adam Levy was going to be performing around 11:00). Hope David enjoyed the rest of the night.

Tonight I'm meeting Paula and Harvey at Otabe before Harvey and I head up to Lincoln Center for "La Boheme".

Tomorrow night I'm going to hear KT Sullivan with Robyn at the Algonquin (and finding somewhere for coffee and catching up beforehand).

April seems to be music-performances month.

"La Boheme" was okay. I guess it's just not one my favourite operas. And even with sitting in the second row, I still had trouble seeing with my glasses. I could see general things but no details (I can see details from that distance with my contacts), so that added to my lack of enjoyment. But Harvey had a great time which always makes me happy. He wants me to get season tickets for next year (I might do that if I remember).

It was FREEZING last night. Harvey and Paula packed for spring weather and we got winter. I think it might even be colder today, but I haven't been out yet. Guess I'll find out around 2:00 (when I'll be running a few errands).

Last night I was ordering some things from Net Grocer and came across one of the stranger things I've seen in my life. In their International aisle, under the heading of Mexican spices and ingredients, in between paprika pepper and hot sauce is... a guitar. A real guitar, not some kind of weird edible one. It looks fairly nice and is inexpensive. I was almost tempted to buy it. If we were still living in the economy of '99, I probably would have bought it. Anyway, that was definitely a surprise to see in a grocery aisle, even an online one.

Sometimes I find myself scientifically analyzing my high- what changes are taking place in my brain, how it differs depending on my environment...

I tried to sleep in today and yesterday but both mornings I woke up too early and couldn't (or just didn't want to) go back to sleep. It's so gloomy, one would think I would be able to sleep later. I can't sleep in tomorrow since I have to do some computer training in the morning.

Speaking of time, I have to remember to change the clocks tonight/tomorrow morning. Fortunately, some of my clocks are smart-clocks and will automatically change, so that will remind me to change the other ones in case I forget.

I got a memo about what changes will occur if apartment building workers go on strike. I knew there were a ton of services they provide, but I never thought about all of them at once. It really will be a different lifestyle if they strike. The biggest thing is that no one can move in or out while they're on strike. So glad I'm not planning on moving anytime in the near future. Some of the other changes includes: main door locked at all times with residents needing identification to enter, taking your trash to a designated location (they don't say where), organising a group of resident volunteers to handle all the mail and packages, getting resident volunteers to screen all people entering the building, basement (laundry & work-out room) unavailable, minimal deliveries (and you must be home when they arrive), and no visitors allowed late night/early morning since they won't have a screener during those hours. Basically, most of the service in the building will depend on the number of people who will volunteer. Hopefully the strike will be avoided.

Today I plan on reading almost all of the books I picked up on Restoration English theatre and doing some research online about the non-theatre population of the time. And by this evening, before going out with Robyn, I intend to have a clear thesis. Tomorrow afternoon I will organise my notes and next week, I will start writing the paper. I still can't believe she wants us to have a finished paper by the Monday after this coming one.

Yesterday morning I did the software training thing. Fortunately, it didn't take too long, and I could use the rest of the day for other things. I went through most of the mail, answered most email (still have a few I need to deal with), did a lot of research for my paper (but still don't have a real thesis), and had dinner with Paula and Harvey.

Yes, Paula and Harvey. They had to come back to the city yesterday and are now on their way up to Boston (and will be taking 2 days off while they're there- FINALLY). We had dinner at Mayas, and then I hung out with Paula for a bit while Harvey watched TV.

Today I woke up with a sore throat again. I can't believe this is allergies but maybe it is, I don't know. It feels much worse than I remember allergies feeling like. Hopefully it will be gone by tomorrow.

There was a ton of traffic last night- constant emergency vehicles and honking. Not fun. Sundays are supposed to be quiet.

Oh, and Saturday night, Robyn and I had a few drinks at The Muse Hotel before heading over to the Algonquin. I really like The Muse- it's always quiet when I go there, it's comfortable, and they have great drinks. KT Sullivan's show was okay. Her performance wasn't anything amazing but was perfectly adequate. What impressed me was her knowledge of Harold Arlen's life (it was interesting to learn more about him). She really knew her stuff and her delivery didn't seem rehearsed.

This morning I went to my theatre class but now am skipping human development. The snow is really coming down and I figured a lot of people won't be there (maybe even Rebecca, the instructor, won't be there). With this sore throat, it feels good to be home in my warm apartment. And I will use this extra time to work on my paper (that's the plan anyway).

I was thinking I'll cut my hair tomorrow or Wednesday, but now I'm leaning towards keeping it long for an undertermined amount of time. In some ways, long hair is really easier to deal with. But I will colour it on Wednesday. If I did cut it, I was thinking about not colouring anymore and let whatever grey I have show through. If I leave it long, it will take forever for the roots to grow out. So I'll just keep colouring for now.

I still feel awful. My head feels like it wants to explode and my throat still hurts a lot. If I still feel this way tomorrow, I'll try taking something.

This afternoon I sat in a daze on the couch and watched "Short Cuts" (I wanted to watch a long movie). If I'm still awake at 10:00, I'll watch SFU. I didn't get to see it last night since Harvey wanted to watch CNN. But I'm taping it tonight and actually hope to be asleep before 10:00 (or at least before the show's over at 11:00).

I did watch SFU in a daze last night, but I missed some of it so I'm going to watch it again tonight. I think I remember it being enjoyable.

I was so out of it last night that I forgot the NCAA championship game was on. So, I didn't get to see Syracuse beat Kansas. Guess Mr. Five Aces really is an amazing guy.

Not much else to say today- I'm tired.

I'm feeling completely healthy today, as if nothing was wrong with me the past 2 days. This illness thing is getting odd. Fortunately (I keep forgetting to mention), the doctor I finally got last fall who moved his practice to New Jersey, has now opened another location in the city. He doesn't accept my insurance plan, but I figured it would be easier to find another insurance plan than to find another doctor that I like.

Today was not a great day. I spent most of it trying to feel what it would be like living in a different decade. Interesting thing about that was that we learned in theatre history today that it wasn't until the Age of Enlightenment that people thought about the past as different than the present and thought about the idea of progress. I was thinking about whether progress has gone overboard in some areas and if it wouldn't be better for certain things to go backwards to when it was at a good point.

I also had low self esteem today. I couldn't come up with very much I was good at (good enough to do anything with it). This mostly related to career thoughts. I was trying to figure out why I pushed myself to do something interesting or important or anything that involved high stress. Then I tried to think of a low-stress, well-paying job (since I'm sick of being tired and tired of being sick), and I couldn't think of anything other than data entry for a government agency and working full time again for Paula and Harvey. The latter sounds like a serious possibility right now. They've expanded so much and could always use an extra person (especially one familiar with the business). The main problem always was that the job wouldn't be around for my entire working life, so I always ruled against it (then there's the fact that so many people in that business treat me with virtually no respect, but that could be the case anywhere to some extent). So I'll probably stop doing the free lance thing and go work for them full time. Classes will be fairly difficult with the amount of travelling involved for the job, but hopefully I can swing it. At least I'll have job security (or at least more job security I'd get from almost any other job) for a little while.

I ran some errands this afternoon. I was trying to wait until the weather was a little less miserable, but I finally realised that wasn't going to happen anytime soon, so I bundled up but was still cold for most of the day.

I'm still in the note-taking stage for my paper. I had a brief thought that I could stay up all night tonight and finish the research, but I'm getting tired and thought I could try the staying-up-all-night thing tomorrow night when I won't have to wake up early the next day.

Got an email that "The Miracle Worker" definitely closed before it opened. I got tickets for May 9th, when Brian and Rebecca will be up here. There goes another one. Hopefully we can find something else we all want to see.

I swear, last night I heard a car horn that sounded like a train whistle. For a moment, I thought I was living in a small town with the train going through on its midnight run. A moment later, there was the sound of normal Manhattan traffic and everything was back to normal.

Had a flashback last night of walking around through a city park in Soho (London). I also had a vision of what I expect Denmark to look like. Think I've just been wanting to get away recently. Running away might be a better way to put it, but maybe I just need a period of time when I don't have to even think about any responsibilities. I don't know why I still feel so overwhelmed and burnt out.

Got the witch's theme from Hansel and Gretel (the ballet) in my head tonight. I haven't thought of that since I performed it in (I think) '89. I love my musical memory.

I watched the statue in Iraq come down yesterday morning. I got to school a few minutes early, so I watched NY1 on the 3rd floor TV in the west building. How many times will the media repeat that image? Do I even need to ask?

I just got a notice under my door about getting security ID cards in case of an apartment workers union strike. So I look into that tomorrow along with getting my air filters changed (got a notice about needing to get that done a few days ago).

Yesterday I actually enjoyed my theatre class. The information wasn't any more interesting than it has been in the past, but she was in a good mood which made the class much more enjoyable. And she reminded us that "Woyzeck" was running this week. I asked Katie if she was going and it turned out that she was going last night. Tonight is the final night, and I really wanted to see it since we'll be reading it for class soon so I wanted to get a head start by seeing it, so I went last night even though I really wanted to use the entire night for my paper. I figured I could just drink lots of caffeine when I got home and do a lot of work on my paper then (which didn't happen).

So I went up to school and met Katie and her sister (who was in a good mood since she just got cast as an extra in the new Spiderman movie- something I probably should have looked into doing, but I don't need more scheduled activities planned right now). The guy who played Woyzeck was definitely the strongest cast member. Others ranged from average to pretty bad. John (the guy who reminds me of Matt & Kris) was in it and he was disappointing again. The set and lighting were great, I didn't understand the need for ridiculously heavy eye make-up.

I got home and was tired, so rather than work on my paper, I just did a few things and then went to bed. Fell asleep around 2:00, woke up wide awake at 4:00 but forced myself to go back to sleep, woke up again around 6:30 (I think), went back to sleep, and finally got out of bed at 8:30.

My new theory on my "illness" is that maybe the weather is affecting my health. It seems like every day I wake up when it's rainy/gloomy (which is basically every day recently), I have cold/flu/allergy symptoms. Yesterday (which was chilly but not rainy or too gloomy), I felt fine. Today when I woke up, it was POURING (it really sounded like someone was thowing buckets of water against my window), and my throat is bothering me a bit, I'm tired, and a bit achy.

I did manage to get a nice amount done on my paper this morning/early afternoon (about 3 pages). I'm hoping to finish adding the rest of my notes to the paper tonight and then tomorrow I will take some more notes from the sources I haven't read carefully yet and flesh out (and finish) the paper tomorrow. I'm going to push to finish it by tomorrow evening so I can hang out with Eytan tomorrow night. And I can finally take a Sunday off without feeling guilty! And since our human development instructor pushed our test to the Monday after spring break rather than for this coming Monday which was for when it was originally scheduled, I'll have a relaxing Sunday AND Monday!!!!!!! Have I mentioned that the woman who teaches this human development class reminds me of Janeane Garofalo's character in "Reality Bites"? And since we've had too many Wednesdays off this semester, Tuesday follows a Wednesday schedule, so I'll have to go to theatre on Tuesday (unless I decide it's not important and skip it). She said we could turn in our papers on Tuesday since we'll have class, but that doesn't really help me since I'm usually tired on Monday evening after classes and I wouldn't get much done. I'd rather finish it tomororw and get it out of the way.

The ABT does a lot of advertising. There's a poster on the bus stop on my street and I heard a radio advertisment when I was at my corner deli last night.

Oh, I could have seen "Frog and Toad" for free last night if I didn't need to see "Woyzeck". I'm actually glad I had to see "Woyzeck", since I would have wanted to go see "Frog and Toad" but that wouldn't have been a good idea since I needed to be productive last night. Actually, when I first heard of the "Frog and Toad" production, I was excited, but now I don't really care too much if I don't get to see it.

There are 2 shows in early May that I really do want to see. A theatre in Park Slope is doing "Chess" and "Boobs! The Musical" (based on Ruth Wallis songs) will be at the Triad Theatre.

I was feeling good about myself last night. When I usually think about my accomplishments (or really, my lack of accomplishments), I only think about tangible things- college degree, marriage... But I usually forget about things that aren't visible to the eye- like being a good friend. I've helped out a lot of people over the years, big things and small things, and while it's not something that you should use the word "accomplishment" for, it's still a good thing that I've done throughout my life and I think makes me a better person.

I don't remember doing it, but I must have bit the tip of my tongue sometime yesterday. Last night it was driving me crazy. Still is. It's still a little swollen as well- ick.

When I was sitting in my living room last night (actually, it was 4:00 AM- haven't seen that hour in a while, at least not while I was still awake from the day before), and it was still pouring. Are we on a rain-for-40-days-and-40-nights trend? It's supposed to rain next Saturday but hopefully it won't be pouring for the entire ride down to Maryland. I hate driving when it's raining so hard, the wipers are useless.

And also last night there were several loud noises (it sounded like something between traffic, thunder, and explosions). I really wish I could figure out what all these strange noises are.

And for my exciting news of the day? I finished writing my paper last night by 9:00! Can't believe how easily the paper wrote itself. I have to remember to not try as hard next time- maybe it can be that easy again (doubtful, but you never know).

So now I have 2 whole days off!!!! I thought I was going to have some work-related stuff to do, but it turns out that it's already taken care of! Sure, there are things that I could do that need doing eventually, but nothing needs to be done immediately, so I can spend the weekend not feeling guilty at all. This is an extremely exciting thing for me! I feel free!

And to make things even better, it's not raining or even gloomy today! The sun keeps peeking out from time to time so the sky is bright on and off. What a great day this is so far.

And the theory on my "illness" hasn't been disproved yet. It's not a rainy/gloomy day and I don't feel sick today.

Sometime today I'm meeting up with Eytan. I thought I'd be working on my paper into the night, so I originally didn't want to meet him until around 10:00 or so, but now I can meet him whenever is convenient. Maybe we can go do something fun while his friend and his friend's sister are at the opera and then we can meet up with them after the opera's over and go have more fun. I'm looking forward to meeting this guy.

If I didn't have to wait around to get my A/C. filters replaced, I'd go take a walk somewhere. It's a beautiful day! The sun isn't really strong but you can tell it's there and the sky is pretty bright and clear (I can actually see the 59th St. bridge again from my window). Guess I'll have to settle for going out late afternoon/early evening. I called about an hour ago to see if they were still going to replace the filters today and they assured me they would. I think they stop working at 4:30 or 5:00, so if they haven't showed up by then, I'll go out.

So instead of enjoying the outdoors, I'll just enjoy it from my window and spend the afternoon getting in touch with people I haven't talked to in a while (Jay, Marcell, Kim...). I haven't talked to Jay since early December when we had a miscommunication (according to Paula) about our getting together over Christmas. Don't think I'll bring that up, but if he does, that's fine. Otherwise we can just catch up and talk about our usual subjects (sports, weather, and vacations).

It's another gorgeous day and once again, I feel perfectly healthy (although I'm fairly tired). I feel like I should go out and enjoy the weather, but since I'm tired, I also feel like staying in and watching movies (something I haven't done in ages).

Last night I got my security card for my building in case there is an apartment workers strike. I'll be in Maryland the day the worker's contract expires unless they move back the deadline because of Easter and Passover. At least I can read the local news online. One of the many reasons I love the Internet.

Not much else to say today.

The blood vessel in my right eye is still bothering me, so I took out my contacts when I got home this afternoon. I'm going to call Dr. Billig tomorrow and if he can't help me over the phone, I'll try to get an appointment when I'm down there next week (convenient that I'll be down there).

Watched the Simpsons last night. I should try to remember to watch it more often- funny show. But there are some really crappy shows out there (saw commercials for reality tv shows and really am disturbed at how far this trend is going).

Don't know why I don't have anything interesting to say these days.

Why isn't anyone around town talking about the apartment workers' potential strike?

Somehow I managed to NOT set my alarm last night but still woke up with enough time to get ready and get to class. I only woke up 30-45 minutes later than I normally do. So, I didn't have as much time to get stuff done this morning, but I wound up getting home early enough this afternoon to take care of a few things.

I decided to go clothes shopping on the UES today. I don't know why I bother. Of course I didn't find anything (there's really some UGLY stuff out there right now), but I did stop by Bloomingdales on my way home and got 2 nice-ish t-shirts. There was some kind of event going on in the petites section so the clothing area was practically empty, which was very nice as crowds in a clothing store can turn me into a nasty person.

Other nice things about today:
- It was actually hot outside. I could have left the leather jacket at home, but I still had a nice walk around the UES.
- I had a nice salad and pasta lunch at Caffe Buon Gusto.

I've had songs from "Les Mis" in my head the past few days.

I called Dr. Billig's office today and actually got to talk to him. He said that the problem should clear up in a few days, and if not, I should make an appointment for when I'm there next week (and said I should tell the receptionist that he said to squeeze me in if all the appointment times are booked). I'm a bit worried since he said the problem normally clears up in 10 days to 2 weeks and mine has been bothering me for about 3 weeks, but hopefully I'm worrying for nothing.

Okay, now I think I've re-typed everything I had typed when I first sat down. What else do I have to say?

I called Carol to tell her I'd be in Maryland, and we're going to arrange a time to get together once I get down there.

And I think I'll try the clothes shopping thing in Maryland if I have time and if I can figure out where to go (maybe I'll try Fells Point).

Think I'll watch last week's SFU again tonight.

Just read this about "1776":
President Richard Nixon was given a private screening of the movie before its release by his friend Jack L. Warner, the producer. The song "Cool, Considerate Men" offended Nixon, so Warner removed it at his request. The song was restored on the DVD.

According to this NYC subway station payphone report, the Hunter College stop was 2nd worst in the "Station of least improvement" category.

I had trouble getting to sleep last night. I just didn't get tired until around 4:00, at which point, I got in bed and forced myself to try to fall asleep. I'm not sure what time I eventually fell asleep. Fortunately, I didn't have to get up early. I felt very relaxed today. While running errands earlier, I looked at all the stressed-out New Yorkers walking past me and felt so fortunate not to be one of them.

I'm in the mood to watch a movie tonight. Haven't figured out what I'll watch yet though.

I also made an appointment with Dr. Billig for when I'm down in Maryland. The only time the receptionist could fit me in was 10:30 on Thursday, and so I don't have to drive back when it's dark (which I don't think I'll be able to do while wearing my glasses- how frustrating), I'll stay an extra day and leave Friday morning.

I didn't realise it was going to get cold again. I figured today would be like yesterday, and I went out early this evening wearing a t-shirt, jeans, and sandals- bad choice. I will now check the weather every day before going outside and I will pack both spring and winter clothes for my upcoming trip (hope it all can fit).

I love the colour of my hair right after I dye it (Todd stopped by for a minute today and noticed it right away). Why do products seem to fade faster than they used to? These days, after 2 shampoos, it's already pretty faded, and after 2 weeks, it's completely dull (even with that conditioner they give you for use 2 weeks after colouring). I bought some violet hair colour on a whim about a week ago; don't know when I'll be able to use it though.

Last night I signed up to try to get an appointment to try to get on Jeopardy as they will be searching for contestants in New York in June. I doubt I'll get picked, but it would be fun if I did. I know, Neil, you want me to be on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, but they're not accepting applications for contestants right now.

I was up late again last night. It's amazing how easy it is for me to slip back into the late night thing if I miss a day or 2 of forcing myself to get in bed at a semi-decent hour. Josh wasn't tired either (although it was 2 hours earlier for him), so we spent some time IM-ing about dialects and road trips and stuff. That wasn't helping me get tired, but at least it was fun. I think I got in bed around 4:00 and it took a little while before I fell asleep. I'll have to somehow force myself to get tired much earlier tonight since I have to get up early to drive to Maryland tomorrow morning.

I must have slept with my knee facing backwards or something since it was absolutely killing me today. I can't remember the last time it hurt that much. Fortunately, sometime this afternoon, it started feeling a little better (which is odd since I was putting a lot of pressure on it when I was bending up and down cleaning and packing). Hopefully it will still feel okay for my drive down.

And about my ride down, I'm sure whether to wear my glasses or my contacts. My contacts would be better since with my glasses, I don't really have peripheral vision. But my contacts could irritate the blood vessel thing and that would be uncomfortable to deal with while driving. I'm leaning towards the contacts since dealing with the blood vessel sounds better than not having peripheral vision. Plus if it's sunny, I'll be better off with contacts since I can wear sunglasses with them (I don't have the sunglasses you can wear with glasses).

There was some kind of work being done in the apartment next to me this afternoon. It was so loud, it sounded like someone was tearing down a wall (but they probably just put up a bookshelf or something).

Rebecca's going to be in New York in May for her brother's graduation (didn't know people finishing grad school went to a formal graduation ceremony), so I told her she could stay here. May will be laundry month for me since I'll have Neil here May 1-3, Brian & Rebecca May 8-11, Rebecca May 16-21 and then Neil or someone else will be back sometime in late May.

With the potential apartment workers strike, I've been getting a ton of memos under my door about what to do about things. They're really unhelpful though. They tell you to contact the super, but to contact them, you have to go through the doorman and they don't always tell the super your problem. I still haven't gotten my A/C filters replaced, but the air coming out right now is cool enough and it's actually freezing outside right now, so I certainly don't need A/C. And when I get back it may be warmer, but it still won't be so hot that I'll need cooler air in my apartment. And by the time it is hot enough, the strike will be long over. So the latest memo was a blank schedule and they're asking for volunteers (door security, sorting deliveries...). I would volunteer, but if they strike, I'll be out of town when it starts, so my volunteering would be useless. It would be nice that if they did strike, it would be over before I get back, but that would be way too convenient.

I'm hoping to be in bed in an hour or two and really hoping to be asleep before 2:00.

Left on Saturday and had an uneventful drive down. Worked for a bit, hung out at Paula and Harvey's for a bit, and then went down to College Park.

Sunday was Easter. Maxine, her mother, Abby, and I went to church. The service was held at Tawes Theatre (at University of Maryland) and was a bit theatrical (dramatic sermon, music, lighting...) and forced the money-giving way too much. Sunday was a gorgeous day and being in a house with a lawn was exciting. I even tried to do cartwheels (which I expected to be more painful than it was- guess I'm not completely out of shape yet). I also took a walk on the bike path- such a beautiful day.

Monday was a tiring but uneventful day at work. So was Tuesday.

But Tuesday evening was interesting. I saw Troy for the first time in over 10 years! He recently bought a house in Loch Raven Village, so I got to drive by my old apartment to get to his house. Memories of living there came rushing back, but they weren't as interesting as the memories Troy and I remembered that evening. We talked about clubbing, theatre people, other people we both knew. He even still had the program from our "Music Man" production in 1990- that was fun to look at. His kids were still awake when I got there, so I got to meet them. They all actually lived in the Loch Raven Village apartments before moving into the house, and they lived there almost the same time as I did. He moved there in '98 and I moved out in '98, but I think there were a few months of overlap. And there are minus degrees of separation between us- we know a lot of the same people from various places (Baltimore is really a small town in disguise as a somewhat large city). Anyway, I didn't leave Troy's house until around 1:00 AM, so I checked into the Holiday Inn for a night rather than drive back to College Park. It was awesome seeing him again. He's still a really great guy, and I hope to see him again soon.

Wednesday was another tiring day at work, but I left a little early and went over to Les and Carol's for dinner. It was nice spending the evening over there. I only stayed a few hours though since I was exhausted and didn't want to fall asleep while driving back to College Park.

Thursday I worked for a bit and had my appointment with Dr. Billig. He told me that my eyes are extremely dry (made worse by a bad allergy season) and some of the tissue in the white part of my eye was swollen. He gave me some prescription drops to take for a week, and then I should be able to wear my contacts again. So relieved it's not something more serious.

Last night I had dinner at an Italian restaurant in College Park with Neil, Maxine, and Abby. I overheard some people there talking about SARS and how there were 3 cases of it in Baltimore. One guy said, "Well, we better not go there,". Um, if you're that irrational, you might as well lock yourself at home in a room secured with duct tape.

I tried some clothes shopping with my few minutes of free time in Maryland but was pretty unsuccessful. That means I have to make more time to try again soon.

I didn't have time to finish all the work this week, so I brought what I could home with me and will somehow find the time to work on it this coming week.

Abby's funny line of the week: One evening while I was there, she made sugar cookies. Later that evening, she saw me eating a chocolate chip cookie and said, "Hey, what kind of cookie is that?"- she's one smart cookie.

The chinese restaurant in College Park has peppermint bubble tea- yum!

Had an uneventful ride back and spent the afternoon working an answering email.

Kristin was planning on coming down this weekend and staying with her friend, Vanessa. Well, Vanessa got food poisoning last night, and now Kristin can't stay there. She was looking forward to a weekend in New York, so I told her she could stay here. Guess I decided I didn't have enough guests staying here in the near future. I'll just have to force myself to not hang out with her the entire weekend- I have a lot I need to get done.

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