Minute details, my wallet

I've attempted to relate every little bit of one of my last days on summer break. It got really tedious towards the middle. This isn't actually interesting, but I think I might appreciate reading later on, just so I know what I filled my days with (CliffNotes version: not much). I posted a little story at the end to make up for it.

* * *

Last night I stayed up until about one in the morning, eating bowl after bowl of frozen berries mixed with yogurt and topped with bits of walnut. It was one of those nights when I'm not sleepy at all until it hits me, very suddenly and very strongly. Usually I manage to brush my teeth and stumble to my room, but last night I just climbed into the guest bed, still in my clothes and dirty teeth.

There was a vicious mosquito in the room, and she bit me about several times (arm, other arm, under my chin, and two foiled attacks on my nose) until I took refuge under the covers. A normal mosquito might give up and gone away, but this mosquito kept buzzing around and trying to get at my nose while I was hiding. When I was almost out of oxygen I threw the covers aside, took a big breath and… the mosquito was gone. I think she died smothered by the bedclothes.

Ah, well, eye for eye. Life for bite, rather.

At eight in the morning I woke up to the sound of doggie nails clicking on the porch outside (love that). Then I picked up my laptop and tried to register for my classes next semester, but apparently all the other biology students were doing the same thing and all I got was "Error 503! Server overload! Hahaha on you!".

My throat hurt a bit when I swallowed, like there was still a walnut stuck in there. My stomach felt like the berries from last night had partied with the yogurt and trasmogrified into a brick. My breath stank. I wanted a mug of tea but went back to sleep instead.

The next time I woke up it was past three in the afternoon. I tried to register again ("Okay, I'll let you log in. Type in the class that you want to take… now press enter… now wait for it… wait for it… oh, sorry, the server timed out. Go on, try again. Oops, error 503! Server overload!").

Anyway, I got up and went to the kitchen and made my tea, read british gossip websites (Britney Spears lost weight while on tour, some celebrity couple I don't know had lunch at a fancy restaurant, another celebrity I don't know was photographed walking her dog). I made a sad substitute for Jaffa cakes to have with my tea: graham crackers spread with jam and topped with a few chocolate chips, then microwaved. Not really the same at all, but still tasty.

I scratched Maxie the Dog and gave her a dog cookie. I ate some cottage cheese with swiss chard. I drank more tea. I made and ate popcorn with parmesan cheese sprinkled over it. I watched three episodes of How I Met Your Mother (Marshall and Lily got married). I read. Did a bit of exercise. Swept the floor of my room. Managed to finally register for my classes.

Now I'm lying on the carpet, the iPod is on random, my head is itchy.

One of those times when you don't seize the day, on purpose.

* * *

Here's something more entertaining as a reward for scrolling down the page (good on you!).

My wallet., featuring $20 and a Metrobús card.

I made my wallet out of playing cards because it folds up tiny and I can carry it in my pocket. People seems to get a real kick out of it, for some reason. They go "Ooooh, is that your wallet? Can I see it? Did you make it? That's so cool!" which is flattering but also disconcerting. I mean, I guess I think my wallet is cool, but not that cool.

Yet it's always the object of much adulation when people first see it. So much that I was in Wal-Mart a few weeks ago and pulled it out to pay for some socks and a caramel-scented sachet, and the dudes ahead of me in the queue started poking each other and going, "Look at her wallet! Look at her wallet! Look look look look!". I handed it over for closer inspection* and we exchanged 5 words or so, I got my wallet back and then I got on with my life.

So there I was getting on with my life, standing at the corner outside of the store, waiting to cross the street, when who should run up to me but one of the guys from Wal-Mart. He explained pantingly that I was "different" (gee, thanks. My goal in life is to fit in and be comfortably normal**, but that's okay, you didn't know) and he would have regretted it all day if he hadn't said anything. So now we've added each other on Facebook and nothing at all has become of it.

I mean, it's just a wallet, after all. Come on.

* That sounds like a stupid thing to do. Trust me, they weren't the types to bolt off with a wallet that's worth not much at all. I mean, they were with their mom and until they noticed my wallet, they had been playfully slapping each other.

** Well, it is. Being original is tiring, from what I gather. Artists and the like are always lopping off their ears because they just can't take it.