a Feline Day

Life at Haverford is no utopia, I think I've been quite explicit about that in the past; perhaps excessively so. Yet in spite of all that, when I leave Hall at 6:45 after talking about Bartleby and Borges for three hours, walk down the hill to the apartments with a smile on my face, mind whirring gently with thesis questions, it can't be all bad. The master of the uncanny makes my experience here "unheimlich" a lot: familiar, home-like, and uncomfortably unsettling all at the same time.

I've developed a rather cat-like sleep pattern lately, and I think it's been invading other aspects of my life as well. This afternoon, when I came back from a decent stint in the Science Library working on a paper, I had just enough time on this uncannily warm afternoon to snatch a few winks. A cat nap, as they say. Some soothing tunes in the background, I curled up on my westward facing bed, windows on 2 sides, took off my dangly silver earrings so that I could properly snooze, and let the 3-4:25 pm sun melt me into my leopard-spotted pillows. I think I might have actually woken up to my alarm purring. Maybe not. It's so easy to empathize with the tendencies of my furry friends to sleep during the afternoon hours to compensate for nocturnal activities, although mine might be slightly more intellectually demanding than, say, mouse hunting.

Also, in true feline fashion, I noticed the V's of Canada geese flying over the fieldhouse through a salmon colored sunset this evening. The birds are going south, as am I. Both of us headed down the coast to the Beach, which makes me happy. I like the beach in the fall, and it will be nice to have some time to get work done in a different setting, watch some cable TV, and see the flaming blue van again. I might even spend some time working on my baby, if I get overly ambitious =).

In 48 hours I'll be able to regroup, get some sleep, and bond with the cat, of whom I seem to be resembling of late, especially with regards to my fur-bristling nature. Retract those claws, Thea. I've had to add the caveat "or that could just be me being bitchy" to far too many statements this week, and have been nearing the cacao quotient of unsweetened baking chocolate (super-híper-amarga, como dicen), so I need a little time to temper myself back into a more agreeable state.

But at the moment, one more paper, a trip to the gym, and an early morning trip to the PMA are what are in store. Almost there...