I feel better now! :D

Much appreciation out to those of you who expressed concern about my health and well-being.I didn't end up going in to the doctor, but I took yesterday off work and slept most of the day away, drank like six gallons of water and lemon-honey water (that stuff tastes nasty, by the way... or maybe it's just the way I make it...), took a few Advil when I thought my head was going to implode into my lungs, and today I feel better than ever! Well, mostly. Sometimes I have a little trouble getting my throat working, but once it gets started, it's fine.

But of course, there always has to be complications. Now I've got a boil starting on my lip... again. This is the third time getting one in the exact same place within the last three years. The last two times, the right half of my bottom lip swelled up to about twice its normal size. It was enormously painful and pretty embarrassing, too. So this time, I went to the pharmacy and asked them if they knew any good remedies for boils besides going to the doctor for an antibiotic. (I hate doctors, remember?) She recommended warm water and Epsom salt. Oh, wonderful! So I got some Epsom salt and cotton balls, which I'll unfortunately have to hold in place because you just can't tape or bandage something to your lip... and then I read the package on the salt. Apparently, Epsom salt is a laxative. I'm sure most of you knew that already. Well, as my sister would say, "That nervouses me." I really don't want to be putting laxatives anywhere NEAR my mouth, now, do I? No. No, I don't. Do I have a choice? Well, yes. I could have a tennis ball-sized bottom lip. Okay, slight exaggeration, but you know what I mean.

So, too much information for you yet? Tee-hee!

And more complications, this time not health related. Turns out that not enough people enrolled in one of my classes, so they're canceling it, and I have to find another class. Unfortunately, it would appear that the only classes I still need for my degree... overlap with the other classes I'm signed up for. Rawr, I hate schedule shuffling! My previous schedule looked so nice, too. Whiiiine. Oh, and the other lovely thing about this arrangement is I'm not even really sure which of my credits transferred for what classes, so I don't know exactly which classes I still need and which I've already gotten credit for.

Guess I have to find my academic advisor's phone number again. Boo.

Five days till my birthday! I think I'm going to call up Kamryn's family and see if they'll let me come over and make brownies or cake or something as a kind of good-bye party... thing. I think that would be a fun way to spend a twenty-first birthday, don't you? Playing with little kids and eating Ghirardelli double-chocolate brownies with chocolate chips? Mmmm, brownies....

Last time I was in Anchorage, I stopped by the Burlington Coat Factory to look for a winter parka so I don't freeze to death and get eaten by polar bears. They had this nice little sale thing going on. I spent like an hour and a half in there, going through fur, leather, down, wool, et cetera et cetera. There were like a million coats, but none of them were what I was looking for. Well, there was one that was almost perfect, except for two things: One, it was a boring color, and two, it didn't have a hood. Then I found a similar version of it that had the hood, but it didn't feel like it would be warm enough. Warm enough for anything you could throw at me in Virginia, probably, but probably not Fairbanks. Darn it. That's okay. I'd rather have a dark green coat than a gray one anyway. So there. Gray's a very pretty color--one of my favorites, actually--but it's not a very good standalone color. It's more of a highlight color, or a trimming color. So anyway, after an hour and a half in the coat factory, I came away with... a vest. It's a very warm vest, and it looks snazzy. Of course, it looks silly now that I only have one arm, and I owe the coat factory my first-born now, but that's okay, I didn't really want him anyway. And on the plus side, they only took ONE of my legs, and hopping to my classes will help keep me warm too, right?

Oh yeah, also, I'm starting a new cult. We worship the Almighty Cough Drop, which is the Savior of All Mankind. Thrice a day, we do a one-legged indian dance, then lie flat on the floor, hack on the carpet (or tile, or grass, or cement, or whatever), pop a cough drop, rise to our feet, then howl at the moon. Or the sun. Or the clouds. Or whatever. After that, we sing the Alpine Porcupine's Hymn of Ode to le Drop de Cough. Any want to join? Tee-hee!

I told you I feel better. :D