Stupid, stupid rat creatures

Well, to quote Jeff Smith's Bone. I survived my trip to Milwaukee this weekend despite the fact of the snowstorm here and the one there. It's gotten so bad that they haven't been able to clear the sidewalks, and stupidly I walked to lunch on Sunday in non-snow boots. This meant I was wet and in constant danger of falling on my keister. Despite previous posts that have lauded slapstick as some antidote to daily boredom, I didn't want to eat icy sidewalk.

My talk went well, if not exactly well-attended. Still, showing up is half the job, right? But stupidly, again, (hence my thematic title), I left my laptop cord there. They are sending it to me, however, I'm not sure when it will show up. Therefore, I have two hours of computer time that I need to use sparingly. (I write this post from an undisclosed location at the moment -- hey what is Cheney doing here?).

I would have posted earlier to report on the trip, but on Monday, I felt like I had been run over by a truck. I was so achy from carrying stuff and from avoiding all the "sneeze-sneeze" and "cough-cough" on the plane. Obsessive handwashing didn't seem to do the trick. Then Monday and Tuesday evenings, I was at school. As I always tell my students and colleagues, "gosh, this would be so much easier if I didn't care." On the bright side, the students held a poetry slam which was a lot of fun. Students nominated others for "best poem" and "best performance" from each class. I take full credit that both of my nominated "best poem" kids placed. I have warned them that with the bookstore gift certificate as a prize, I will be spending it for them in the form of a reading list.

But now the midterm grades are in. I can finally take a breath and rest. I need to become more acquainted with my bed. I'm so exhausted and sick that I have lost my facility for spelling. All words seem completely foreign to me at this moment. More, later.