connecting and evicting the ants

When I upload this it will show up as being posted on Sunday the 24th, which is technically true, but really it's just 2 a.m. on Saturday night. I suppose that the prudent thing to do at this point would be to go to bed, but I've only been awake for 13 hours today, and I spent most of that time sitting in my papazan chair (with the exception of a lovely 5 block stroll to Walgreens to buy toilet paper and ice cream).

My apartment has been spectacularly messy for about a week now. In the last couple days, ants have found food in my kitchen garbage, and instead of emptying said garbage and waiting for the ants to go away (which is what I usually do), I've just been letting them go to town. Their path goes under my dining room table, so they don't really get in my way. But the garbage can had actually reached capacity today (as had all my other garbage cans, mostly due to used tissues), so I took out all the trash. As a side note, it may surprise you to know that I have three trash cans in my studio apartment--that works out to one trash can for every 150 square feet, plus a mini trash can in the basket that's hung on the side of my bed. The kitchen and bathroom trashcans are obviously necessary, but the one in the "living room" is purely for reasons of laziness. Likewise, I have about six tubes of lip balm stashed in various places in the apartment (that's one every 75 square feet, in case you're still counting), because I'm addicted to it, and again, I'm very lazy. Anyway, I emptied all the various garbages, and I also did the dishes and put away a big pile of clothing. Then I took a shower and put on a clean pair of pajamas. Being clean and having a cleanish apartment did wonders for my mood and productivity, so I've spent the past couple of hours grading exams and watching my collection of R.E.M. DVDs (beginning with When the Light Is Mine, which is their newly released compilation of music videos and live performances circa 1982-1987, when they were on their old indie label I.R.S.--my brother and sister-in-law, or Griffin and Faramond, to call them by their dorky Lord of the Rings screen names, got it for me for my birthday*). I'm still feeling fairly perky, so I think I will watch one more DVD and see if I can grade one more section of the exams (which will leave only one section left to grade--Dr. J is going to be seriously impressed with me...I don't think he understands that being sick makes it easier, not harder, for me to grade, because it forces me to be at home).

I'm not even sure why I'm writing this post. I suppose I'm feeling very isolated. Which is odd, because I saw E and M yesterday, I've talked to a several people on the phone today, and gotten several emails. But I was already feeling a tad isolated this semester because I'm only taking one class with my usual econ posse, and even before I got sick circumstances forced (or at least strongly encouraged) me to bail on McDreamy on a couple of occasions, so I haven't seen him in a while either. And the weather really has been lovely, so it would be nice to be, you know, doing stuff. I guess I'm writing this post partly to complain, and partly to add to my feeling of connectedness to the world. I guess that's the point of the blog in general. Well, that and to "hear" the "sound" of my own "voice", which you all know I adore.

*For the record, Rebel also bought me this DVD for my birthday, and unlike Faramond and Griff, who had to be instructed, she came up with the idea on her own. She was just unlucky enough to buy it for me after they'd already given it to me; she still gets credit for having a very good gift idea, even if she has to return it now. Oh, and while we're on good gifts, MJ, I got KINK Live Nine in the mail today. Yay! I was really hoping someone would get it for me. Thank you.