Well, I'm back from Pennsylvania. It's interesting - while I have certainly flown alone before, I had never flown somewhere where I was COMPLETELY on my own, not meeting someone or getting picked up, etc. Anyway, my paper went very well, and I actually had someone assume I was working on my doctorate already, which was awesome. When I was on the plane home, at a layover in Cincinnati, I was stuck for awhile because the door to the plane wouldn't open to let us off. Maintenance came and pried it open. Luckily I don't have claustrophobia.

I returned and was thrust into the thick of things again. I had election day training on Tuesday, and got to watch little videos made by Homeland Security. Now I feel safe. :P Tonight is my Halloween concert, and I'm already in costume. I wore it today to class, actually, because Michelle wanted us to dress for decades day. It's technically a tavern wench/gypsy costume, but I'm telling everyone I'm from the 1970's and am Stevie Nicks.

Must away to my radio office hours, but will hopefully have something good to report after the concert!

Last night I got the breath knocked out of me, had a puffy lip for half the night, got kicked in the shins, and woke up with sore shoulders from them being twisted this way and that. Nope, there was no domestic violence involved; I just went to a Deftones show. Aside from the very minor aches and pains I was left with, it was actually quite fun. I got to dance. I recognized many more songs than I thought I would. And no one attempted to use my head for a stepladder or a diving board, so that's already an improvement from that one Cursive show. I'm already mentally gearing myself up for when NIN tours again (haha, I know, right). Seriously, though, it was fun, and I liked seeing Dredg. I also wore earplugs, so no ringing ears for moi.

Yesterday morning I got up bright an early for my GRE. I think I did well, though I'm not entirely certain how to interpret my scores - someone tell me what a respectable score is pleeeease. While the getting up at 6 in the morning was a pain and a half, it was fun doing the sleepover thing with Katie and Amber and her friend Melody (and Michelle, though she didn't take the test). We need to again soon.

Weirdly, I do believe I have finished my paper. I cannot believe it. Anyone want to edit?

Ok, how messed up is this?

I was walking to fencing class, in the gym, when my upper right arm hurt very badly. I looked down and saw that I had been BIT. BY A FLY. I didn't even think those things could bite. It was smallish, not like a huge horsefly or anything. I brushed it off in horror and went on to class - I couldn't even find a bite mark. About five minutes later, my entire arm cramped down to my wrist. I mentioned it to my coach, and she suggested I get it checked out. Since I couldn't even find a mark, though, I decided to try and stick it out. Half an hour later, I decided to try the clinic. However, since they were about to go to lunch, they've scheduled me for one o clock. I think that's a bit silly, since if it were some sort of allergic reaction I'd rather sick by then, but oh well. It's been almost an hour and a half since I've been bitten, and my arm is still rather sore and crampy from the shoulder to the wrist. Now I ask: what the hell bit me? It wasn't a wasp. It sure as hell looked like a little fly. Oh, and now a bite mark has appeared, a small reddish dot. Weirdly, I almost think my other arm is starting to feel sore as well, but that could be psychological. So....can flies bite, or am I stuck in some weird Amityville Horror-esque world?

Update: so I went to the clinic. Despite being told I had the first appointment after lunch, I got to sit and watch an episode and a half of The Cosby Show. Once I finally got back there, they decided there was nothing they could do. My range of motion is fine, my reflexes are fine, my strength is fine. The fact that the soreness runs up into my back and neck is negligible. They gave me an antihistimine and I'm to report back tomorrow. Actually, I'm really to report back tomorrow cause she was far more concerned about my blood pressure. Since April it's been consistently 130/94, and this is evidently not good. So, this means tests to determine I don't have kidney problems or something equally problematic. I guess I just have to have the drama.

Plane tickets have been bought, hotel reservations made. Amy's wedding came and went, and was beautiful. If I have time I'll go into more detail later. I'm relieved that it's one more thing checked off the list, but also slightly nervous. I have this strangely rolling feeling, for the wedding marked the first of my Hell Weeks activities. From now, it's all downhill on its own momentum, moving quickly from GRE to finishing the paper to getting ready for this conference. I feel like things are now beyond my control, and I'm just trying not to fall off.

The American Pie series amuses me. When we were in high school the first one came out, and everyone could at least semi-relate to one of those subplots. When the second one came out, we had just started college and the idea of maintaining relationships and such was extrmemely relevant. And now I just watched the third one. Interestingly enough, I'm going to be a bridesmaid in a wedding the day after tomorrow.