ARGH.

Well, today was kind of a big ol' bust.

I had my first doctor's appointment scheduled for 11:30 this morning, so I left the house about 10:40, figuring that surely that would be enough time to make it to Westlawn (the building with the Student Health Service) before my appointment, especially considering it's only about two or three blocks' walk from the English-Philosophy Building (where I go every day).

What I was not counting on was that the moment you get north of the Iowa River there's a massive tangled mess of paths all over (that the campus map, in a rather spectacularly unhelpful manner, did not show), and it's VERY VERY easy to get on the wrong one, especially when (like me) you have an atrocious sense of direction. Also, unlike south of the river, almost none of the buildings have signs outside saying what buildings they are, so you have to actually GO INSIDE to find out where you are. I ended up making several wrong turns: first I ended up at the Medical Laboratory, then at the Quadrangle. At the Quadrangle I asked the receptionist how to find Westlawn, and her directions took me to the Art Building. Finally I found Westlawn, but by then it was after 11:45 and I'd missed my appointment, so I think I got charged $20 and I had to reschedule for Monday afternoon at 2:45 (which is less than fun, given that I have class till 1:30 that day). At least I know where it is now. >_<

Normally this wouldn't have been an issue, but between the time it took to get onto my insurance and then the appointment made, I'm running low on my UC medications and so I NEED to get in to the doctor, so that then I can get referred to a gastroenterologist, who can THEN get my meds prescribed so that my colon doesn't turn itself into raw hamburger. Good grief. >_<

Anyway, after the waste that was my morning, I came back home and ate lunch at Tony's Grill while going through some more of the book I have to read and give a presentation on in a couple of weeks. See, from what I'd read so far I was figuring the book would be a relatively straightforward examination of the massive outpouring of great literature of 1819, its reflection of the Peterloo massacre and other major events of the period, and what this said about the period and the authors. And then he started to argue that the Romantics were trying to write history themselves (both in the sense of recording and of making it), which I'm like, OK, this makes sense.

Then he mentions that he was worried that, because a spate of "England in year XX" books came out around the time he started, that he was projecting an academic fad onto the Romantics. So in order to counter this worry, he (as far as I can tell, from what I've skimmed of it) spends the next 230-some pages in dense writing about literary theory and case, drawing on Sartre and Levi-Strauss and a host of other folks.

...the prospect of reading this makes me want to go into the bathroom and attempt to slit my wrists with a business card. (Remember Rippy the Razor's advice: it's down the sidewalk, not across the street!)

But who knows, maybe the theory part will be so well-written that I won't mind reading it! (I mean, it's possible, right? Right?)

Let's Positive Linking!
- I've been meaning to post this for days - python explodes after eating alligator. With extra-yummy pictures! :D
- Parents sent to jail for kissing their baby. (From jantalaimon.) Can we say "overzealous"?
- More about the OU bomb fatality. I still find myself suspicious of the idea that this guy meant to commit suicide by bomb. I mean, who thinks, "How should I kill myself? Gun, knife, hanging, jumping off a bridge...wait, I know! I'll blow myself up on a park bench 100 feet away from the OU game!" I mean, please. T_T

There's no place I can be, since I found Serenity

I picked up the first volume of Death Note today, since enkiae had raved about it so much.

...wow, I never dreamed a manga whose hero is a sociopathic killer with a God complex could be so much fun! <3 <3 <3

( A short description for those unfamiliar with the series )

I'm totally looking forward to future volumes now. :D

I was also hoping to get a couple of other books, but Prairie Lights didn't have them in. ( Specifically, The Wizard of London and Finding Serenity )

Edit: Dude, there's a Serenity pen-and-paper RPG based on the Firefly universe. If I played p&p RPGs, this would totally be like the holy grail! :D

In fact, it kinda makes me want to take up p&p roleplaying just for this game, but sadly I have no one to play with. ;_;

But note that entering "Serenity" into the Amazon search engine will also get you some undesired results. Like Serenity: New Bad Girl in Town, about a "bad girl" named Serenity who can only be saved by the "care and concern" of the Prayer Club, who must try to "break through Serenity's tough shell - and prove to her that true love does exist"? It sounds hilariously bad. XD