12 March 2003 ~ Sloppy Joes...

I feel like a moldy leftover sloppy joe that was accidentally left too long at the back of the refrigerator.

I think it's the weather. Or maybe PMS; gahd knows I don't remember what THAT feels like...

I apologize profusely for my lack of entries recently. I live in a house full of people obsessed with various computer games, and it's damn near impossible to interrupt Jake while he's playing Star Wars Battle Man With A Big, Big Light Saber, or whatever. Or Jake's nephew while he's playing Civilize The World With My Big, Big Nuke. Or Jake's mom while she's playing Something That Lowers The IQ(unfortunately, I was the one who installed that one). Or Jake's dad while he's playing chess. Jake's dad likes the archaic stuff.

There hasn't been much action in the life of Helena this week... Helena has been tired and mopey and moody. She's pretty sure it's degenerative kidney disease, but it's probably PMS. But here's a news update anyway...

I officially registered for classes yesterday. Which is good, in that it will ensure that I get my student loan, and I'll have access to the library books again. However, Spring Quarter is notoriously difficult as far as finding a program you like. I tried to get into this psychology class, and the professor told me the class as full, even before registration had opened. I tried to get into this German class, but it was only eight credits, and there was nothing else I could have taken to supplement that eight credits, without it interfering. I was thinking of taking this one called "Fiction and Nonfiction," but, a.) I don't want TOO many writing credits on my transcript, or people are going to think I don't do anything else (which I do! I watch Lifetime TV, and have a lot of sex!), and b.) the professors were really terribly rude to me at the academic fair. So I'm signed up for a class in Abnormal Psychology, and a program called "What Are Children For?" Courses at Evergreen have very weird names. This program is about the historical views of kids, and the sociological evolution of the idea of "childhood." Right. First of all, I'm not exactly interested in any of that. Second of all, after my recent experiences, this is about the last thing in the world I want to be taking. But it's taught by the same people who taught my Fall program, and they're great. And it does give credits in education, and that will look good on my transcript when I start applying for teaching positions.

I got new sneakers yesterday, too. They're big white men's Converse sneakers with blue stars on the sides. I love them boundlessly. I would have sold the family hound into doggy slavery for these shoes. Fortunately, I didn't have to; the rest of the family might have been a little pissed off. But really: I haven't bought new shoes since 1998; I've been getting half-dead ones at Salvation Army, and so forth, or wearing old ones until they're so thin they look like socks. I finally had to throw out the old black Chuck Taylors. I'd had them since 1995.

[Once, the old Chuck Taylors smelled really very bad, so I stuffed them full of baking soda, sprayed them with freesia-scented body spray, and left them on the balcony for three days. For about a month, every time I wore them, little squirts of scented baking soda would come out the holes in the sides as I walked. It was terribly amusing.]

Aside from that, I've been sometimes hanging out with Louise, and I've been having a lot of sex with Jake.

Life is generally okay.

Except for the sloppy joe thing, but you know how it is...

I'm going to go try to answer some emails. Again, I'm REALLY sorry, but I'm very, very backed up as far as emails... PLEASE don't think I'm ignoring you, or that something's terribly wrong with me... I just DON'T get much computer time, and it's kind of hard to email everybody I need to talk to in the time I get with this monster machine...

Love,
~Helena*