from start to finish

At supper somebody asked me how my day had been.  I wasn't entirely sure how to respond.  I said something to the effect of: it was pretty good.... a little weird though.  Weird.  I don't know how else to describe it.

I ran this morning in the fog - the first time in a long time without pain in my calves.  Yes!!

I sat in my first class wishing my teacher actually understood what he was talking about.  It was a long class period.

I went to work, when my boss found out a close friend of her's died this morning.  I didn't even know the guy and I felt like crying.  Death seems so weird to me right now.  I feel like I hear about it so much more often than I used to - and that's probably just because I'm getting older.  (Death isn't a typical topic for little kids - Thank goodness!)  But really, I didn't used to know people who had died; I didn't have close friends who had nearly died in car accidents, my grandparents hadn't died, people didn't get murdered while running...  Anyhow, answering the phone at work was suddenly more difficult, as I had to concentrate on smiling so the person on the other end thought I was just thrilled to help them.

I checked my email and found out my uncle who lives Nepal just had a heart attack.  Thankfully he didn't have complete occlusion and was able to get from Banepa to Kathmandu in about an hour (which is a record time).  He had a stent put in, and they found more occlusion on the other side, which will be removed later.  He probably won't be able to travel for another month, and after that he'll likely return to the States to have the second surgery.  The crazy thing he was quite healthy and had no risk factors for heart problems... and neither did his brother, who just died of a heart attack over Christmas break.

I sat in the library this afternoon, wishing I was outside doing something to keep my blood flowing and my heart pumping.  Instead I situated myself on a creaky wooden chair, drank blueberry tea, and studied for two tests. Which surprisingly didn't seem all that bad.

I intermittently texted my brother, making plans to go home this weekend. I called my mom to tell her we were coming and she was so excited!  My parents are just amazing.  Nobody else in the world cares about EVERYTHING I have to say.  I can't wait for yummy home-made bread and family worship.  I can't wait for my dad to teach me how to use the lathe in our shop.  I can't wait to go skiing.

I found a package in my mailbox today from my aunt and uncle in Portland. Among other things, they sent me this foaming soap, peppermint flavored. It's amazing.  It smells like something I used to eat or drink when I was a little kid.  The problem is, the specific synapses for that memory have almost stopped firing because I haven't tasted it in years.  And it's driving me nuts because I just can't quite remember exactly what it was.  Ah, what a memory, if I could just remember it!

I relaxed to Ingrid Michaelson almost all day, either in my earbuds while studying or in my head as I did everything else.  I hummed everywhere I went.

While studying productively for the first time in a few days, I was disappointed to leave at 6 pm. Why on earth did I register for an evening class?  6-8 pm?  What?  At that time of night I can usually think of at least one good reason to skip class :)  But I went today because, well, I skipped last time.

Tomorrow evening I am going to the Banff Film Festival showing at Whitman, which I expect will be inspiring as always.  I'm still not sure how to feel about today.  Weird, huh?