what a week

last week, or about two weeks ago, my roommate came down with a cold. about a week ago, i started to show symptoms as well. i could handle it. though ridiculously stressed out and over worked, i figured i had an easy week and a cold could fit into my schedule. that's literally what i thought. the cold could fit into my schedule. well... a week later and i have to say "damn you cold!"
at first i was just sick with, i'd say, the common cold, but then BAM! out of nowhere i came down with some crazy stomach virus. i was bedridden, or correctly, bathroom ridden for two days. at one point i actually called my doctor. now i'm not doctor phobic, nor am i a hypochondriac, but i am all for nature taking it's course. and more often than not, that's what they'll tell you. "just get plenty of rest and drink lots of fluids." also i am no stranger to stomach problems. i've had chronic stomach issues for over seven years. recently i thought about getting it looked into, and the debacle this weekend made it seem even more pressing of an issue.
anyways, the nurse at my doctor's office deemed it important that i saw my doctor so i made an appointment. and ladeedah... i apparently have caught a virus that recently cropped up in the northern suburbs of chicago. how i got it, no idea. i definitely don't hang out out in the burbs. but she gave me a referral to a gastrointestinal specialist. i'm definitely should visit him no matter what happens with the tests from the doctor's visit.
the whole point of this posting was really to say that "i'm back!" i'm still snot nosed, and coughy mccougherson, but i'm trying to scrape my way back into society. getting actually dressed, not lazy dressed, a little bit of grooming goes a long way. all so i can venture back into my school work. it's been an easy week, but that doesn't mean that i had nothing to do. got to get back onto the horse. *sniffle sniffle*

oh how i hate ups... (not to be confused with usps, who i love)

i've been crippled in my activity for the day because i'm waiting for a ups delivery. it says it's out for delivery, but will i receive it? i am a hostage in my own home because of their delivery policy:

the shipment has reached the destination ups facility and is ready to be dispatched for delivery. except for premium air shipments, deliveries can occur at any time during ups's hours of operation to residential addresses and by close of business to commercial addresses. ups cannot schedule a specific delivery time within that window.

so... i can get it at 7 o'clock in the morning or 7 at night. really??? you can't narrow the window any further than that?!? even comcast gives me a 4 hour window. really ups???

catching up on my reading

things to read this weekend/week:

i recently got the third book in the millennium trilogy from the library. the girl who kicked the hornet's nest by stieg larsson. i keep avoiding reading it, not because i won't like or because i'll be pissed there aren't any more, but because i know i will devour it in one sitting. i've been way too busy for that. i really liked the first one. the author has a very unique voice, and it is refreshing to read. the subject matter is a little crazy, lack of a better word, for my taste. the main character is deeply troubled and is hounded by her past. the plot of the first novel is as messed up as the main character. it was all a bit hard to take, and sort of questioned the standing of swedish society. the second book was fairly similar. though the bizarre plot was about the main character instead of outsiders. the third book continues along the lines of the second and let's hope that it ends satisfactorily for the main character.

i also received freedom by jonathan franzen in the mail from a friend of mine. i've read about this book several times in esquire - my magazine of choice (yes i am a woman). then i heard that oprah put it on her book club. ugh... while contemplating it in esquire, i was wary of the hype. now it's gotten out of control. "the new great american novel"... really? maybe, but it's like being the king of shit. does anyone really want to take your title away? i might like this book. but not for the reasons everyone else does. i definitely don't think that i'll be racing to the store for the corrections, which i've never read, or for the next one, whenever it comes out. and to be honest, i thought this book was by jonathan lethem, an author i do really enjoy, and plan on buying his newest book. though i also like him not for the reasons everyone else does. (i don't start with an author's most popular book.) anyways... it'll be interesting to see if the book can live up to all, if any, of its hype.

my own personal bookstore

ever since i moved from brooklyn to chicago i have had some boxes in storage in brooklyn. periodically on visits to my boyfriend, i would walk over to the storage place and shuffle through my belongings. one of the major reasons for keeping the storage unit for so long (2+ years) was that i couldn't afford to move the stuff here. shipping or otherwise. but then my boyfriend's apartment building had a fire, he was homeless, and his stuff had to go somewhere. so a lot of it ended up in my storage unit. (he then took on the payments himself.) now that he has his very own place, and actually was able to unpack all of the boxes he had in his possession, he decided that we needed to empty the storage unit. what a daunting task!

labor day weekend, when i was there for the long weekend, we hunkered down in the basement of the storage place and proceeded to go through the boxes deciding what to keep, ship, and give away. first round to go was the shipping boxes. we quickly marched those over to the local post office. (notice to everyone: it's cheaper to ship books than move them! ask for the media rate. 50 bucks for 4 heavy boxes of books to be shipped from brooklyn to chicago! 50 bucks!) smartly we rented a moving truck for everything else. we didn't have time to drive to the goodwill shop, so everything went up the four flights of stairs to my boyfriend's apartment.

the only good thing to come out of this is the pile of boxes filled with books in my living room. though there aren't as many books as expected, there are a lot that i've missed over the last couple years. the shipping news. a prayer for owen meany. the entire collection of sherlock holmes. there's even one book that i missed so much i bought a new version. now i own two copies. oh how i love books! too bad i don't have the shelf space for them!

study group

so i've been super desperate to find a good place to study/do my homework. and i may have found it! i'm in the library of all places. i know... that's the first place to look. but my previous experiences in here have either been to quickly read the book i've checked out from the reserve, or to print something. i also came here once for a career services workshop about internships. (ended up being a no-go.)

but i can't sit outside all year. plus there aren't any plugs outside. and i don't want to hang out in alumni hall. too many familiar faces, and the temperature is either too hot or too cold. so i was looking for somewhere that is secluded without being lonely, and quiet without being scary, and nicely temperatured. (surprising how hard that is to find.) it also needed plugs, windows, and wifi. the small tables along the outside walls of the library fulfill many of the qualifications. (a bit cold, but it's better than being sweltering! and i'm sure that'll change when the weather outside does.)

i'm enjoying my new surroundings. the top shelf is filled with books about holography!

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