My Day

by poppy [as transcribed from her notes by Fëanor]

3am

Wake up after sleeping for approximately 5 hours. Realize that, unlike 5 hours ago, I can now roll over, change positions, etc., without yelping. This does not, however, mean I can actually sleep well; toss and turn until 7.

7am

Jim gets up; I remain in sleepy half stupor until he is dressed. Then I begin to issue my demands. Jim is quite the good sport about it.

8am

Jim leaves, after supplying my demands. The bed is now littered with various entertainments, and I am supplied with water, tea, and wheat thins. I try not to think about what happens when the wheat thins run out.
begin reading:

• Finish special section on Americans and food out of an old US News & World Report. After section on effect of Hmong food on MN cuisine, decide for no particular reason that I want Thai food. Mull over logistics of that plan. Decide that crawling along highway in my pajamas may not constitute a "good plan;" I abandon Thai and drink some tea. The rest of the section is as interesting as the beginning, which included articles on seed preservation and the patriotism of red wine in war time. Consider career change to gourmand, whatever that is.



• Finish article in New York Review about Oppenheimer. It brings back memories of undergrad and my thesis. Decide I should have stuck with original plan of being radical lesbian historian-lawyer. Mull over contemporaries who are now radical lesbian historian-lawyers, including one who spits anti-Semitic rhetoric because she links the oppression of Palestinians with the patriarchal oppression of women. Mull over irony. Decide I turned out all right. Note that "patriotic" and "patriarchal" are startlingly similar words. Fancy I am the first ex-radical lesbian historian to think of that.



• More tea.

9am

Finish reading NYR article on John Stuart Mills. Not wholly satisfying. Consider forcing future offspring to learn Greek at age 3. Thought cheers me.

• More tea. Cold.



• Play 3 rousing games of Tetris on the GBA.



• Consider options: article on Newt Gingrich (in old NYR), article on John Roberts (in latest NYR, or book.

10am

• Wheat thins.



• Was planning on reading Pride and Prejudice in honor of Heather helping me so much at work yesterday. Stare at P&P. Make excuse that I should read Death in Venice first, since it is shorter. Pout. Decide to read about Gingrich.

11am

Tire of Gingrich and wheat thins. Decide to foray into the rest of the house. Perform "getting-out-of-bed" ritual, right after the "sitting-up" ritual. Thank the higher powers I have a fixable condition. Start to crave pasta. Put water on, and try to find something interesting on TV. Fail. Eat pasta. Start to become discouraged. Decide to make list of things I will do when I can move freely again. Decide that is too depressing. Watch show about cookies. Start to rummage around cabinets for cookies. No cookies. Decide to go back to bed. Go back to bed; perform appropriate rituals. Sulk. Eat granola bar. Play Super Mario Land on GBA. Contemplate how playing old Mario games is like riding a bike.

12pm

Nap.

1pm

More nap.

2pm

Get up and think about getting dressed. Mother-in-law arrives to take me to the doctor's. Decide to get dressed.

3pm

Doctor's. Think how it's always a good sign when a doctor tells his assistant, "Just hold her down so she doesn't fall off the table when I do this."

4pm

Get home. Open presents from Jim's parents. Love them. Curl back up in bed with new knitting books and return to age-old question: to Austen or not to Austen?