days_unfolding

I wound up staying up late last night watching a program about an Air Canada flight that ran out of fuel in the 80s. The heroic pilot managed to land the plane with no loss of life. The cause was that previous planes calculated fuel in pounds, but this new plane (a 767) used kilograms, leading the fuelers to fill it only half-full. It was very interesting.

Yay. I texted with the guy who will take my washer and dryer, so it looks like someone will take it.

Italian went well. Afterward, the junk removal guy said that he would be about 30 minutes, so I gobbled a peanut butter sandwich to have something in my stomach.

YAAAAAAY! They took the washer and dryer! And I can contact the company when I'm ready to get rid of the futon. Excellent!

Went grocery shopping. I now have the ingredients for the Spaghetti with Sun-Dried Tomato Cream Sauce.

Reserved the U-Haul. With mileage, it'll be a small fortune, but Mom thinks that I can get reimbursed for it? No, I can't get reimbursed for it but I'll be getting some money from my aunt's estate.

Napped briefly.

The study session that I attended was very helpful. I need to eat, but then I want to do homework while the session is fresh in my mind.

Ate. Took the garbage out. Now I'm feeling exhausted, so I'm wondering if I should get to bed early. I would like to tackle the homework though (done, so I want to go to sleep after emailing the OKCupid person).

I have homework. I'm thinking about going to sleep and getting up early, except that I had an idea about an assignment. I'll try the idea, then go to sleep.

The official grades for my Javascript class aren't up yet, but I should have gotten an A.

I brought some of my stuff in, and left the car unlocked, planning to go right back out and grab my library books. I completely forgot about it, and my car has been sitting unlocked this whole time. At least I remembered it before I went to sleep.

Good class so far, except not being able to install GitHub Desktop on my netbook. My studying paid off; I was able to answer a bunch of questions posed by the instructor.

Need to go to sleep early and sleep the creeping cruds off. And I won't stay up late reading (she said)!

I've been seriously looking into Computer Science degrees. I already like the University of Illinois-Springfield's program. I also like Illinois State U's program, but they require physics and chemistry. Ugh. If I have to take them, I'll take them at Heartland (Community College).

Took a short nap and woke up before the alarm went off. Coffee is brewing.

Got an A in my Web development class. Woo-hoo!

Zara currently has her paws on my shoulder and is peeking over my shoulder. Wait, now she's on my lap. I think that she's checking to see if I'm eating. Soon, Zara. But you'll have to get off so that I can make some soup.

Need to work on the kitchen and living room.

Added: went "shopping" on my phone and found that J.C. Penney's has a washable navy blazer and pants that won't break the bank. Can't get them right now though. They're more expensive than eBay, but you can return them.

Crap. I'll have to throw myself together and run into work because I need to send my rented textbook off right now, and I need to print the labels. (My printer isn't set up yet.)

I overslept a half-hour, but was ready to go at 7:30 AM as I had planned. Google Maps' directions were good this time, and I made it to the bus, and got off at my stop. I had a four-block walk to the meditation center. I felt warmer in Chicago than I had at the train platform in Lincoln, even though it was colder, because I did a lot of brisk walking. I got to the meditation center before anyone had got there to open it up. About five minutes later, someone came to open up, and she was surprised that I was there, and even more surprised that I had a suitcase. I explained that I had come up from Central Illinois for the class. I drank some tea and perused the books that they had for sale. The instructor showed up, and then the students trailed in. There were about 12 (?) students.

We went into the meditation hall, and the instructor talked about meditation, how to sit, and to pay attention to our breath. She told us to keep our eyes open, which was new to me. Then we practiced. I was drowsy, not surprisingly, and not quite fell asleep. However, I was going deeper in my meditation than I usually do. I jumped whenever she struck the gong to end a session. The second practice session, I got into a good posture. I like the rectangular meditation cushions better than a zafu, but I don't think that I can afford a new one right now.

We practiced walking meditation. I kept on feeling like I was going to fall over, but when we talked about it later, apparently that's fairly common. Then we took a break.

I drank some coffee to wake myself up, and ate some apple slices. I was looking at a Buddhist magazine that had an article about the occupation of Tibet.

When we reconvened, the instruction talked about starting a meditation practice. Then we had a longer sitting meditation session and a walking meditation session. Then she talked about resources that we could use to learn more, including some classes there that I'd like to take. Then the class was over.

I bought two books on meditation that had caught my eye. Then I headed out to walk over to Union Station. Well, actually, to the restaurant where I wanted to eat lunch. The place was barely organized chaos, but the food was good.

Then I walked to Union Station. I was way early for the train, but I knew that I would be. I settled down to read my meditation books. A homeless guy was hanging out until the shelter opened. He had a conversation with me about how everyone wants him to quit drinking, but he's not ready to do so. He told me that I seemed like a winner. (Really?) Then he left.

Got on the train with no problems. I was hungry again, so I grabbed a cheese mini-pizza from the dining car. Dozed a little while after setting my phone alarm. Got off at Lincoln and got home.

The cats were giving me an earful, not surprisingly. I called my mom for our weekly call. My uncle is in the hospital. He was feeling weak, and fell when they were leaving to go to the doctor. He's okay with some bruises. They're transferring him to extended care.

Mom and I are looking for a cheap hotel with a refrigerator for my soda for Christmas. I need to get back to her on that.

Otherwise, I'm going to sleep soon because I'm really tired. I'm sure that I'll have feline company :)

Oy. Harlee would not shut up last night. She wanted out of her room when I was going to sleep, so I wound up letting her out. So she came into my bedroom, meowing. She wanted to jump on my bed, but Mimi was already there, and didn’t want to share. I was going to read a little, but I quickly shut off my light to get Harlee to settle down. I love her dearly, but….sheesh.

I didn't get up as early as I planned, but in a way, I'm glad because I needed the rest. I did fold some laundry and put some laundry in the dryer, plus unloaded some cleaning supplies from the car.

Mimi went to the back door and asked me to let her outside, which might be the dictionary definition of optimism.

I'm kind of working for the weekend, like the song goes, because I want to start getting organized.

I'm considering going to a meditation class in Chicago next month. It would be the day before my birthday, and would be a nice birthday present to myself. I'd have to stay overnight because the class starts at 9 AM. I found an Airbnb place that's a reasonable walk from the meditation center, although it's $135 for a couch. (Welcome to downtown Chicago.) Around $50 for the train and $40 for the class, so it would be one expensive class. But I would like to do it.

The drive to Champaign-Urbana was, well, memorable in all the wrong ways. I tried to get out early, and did a little bit, but I had forgotten that I wanted to get gas before I left. (I could have made it there and back on what I had in my tank, but I wanted a full tank of gas driving a long distance in this weather.) I checked the road conditions before I left, and it still said "some slick slippery patches," and they weren't kidding. We'd go at a pretty good clip for a while and then have to slow down because of snow and ice patches. I still was on track to get there more or less on time, when the traffic completely stopped. There was a truck in the center ditch that skidded off the road, jackknifed, and rolled over on its side, spilling some of its contents. There were three tow trucks in the left lane just kind of looking at the wreck. I guess they decided that they couldn't do anything because the wreck was still there when I came home. At that point, I realized that I was going to be late. We also passed some cars in ditches. But I made it there, and didn't miss too much of the class. The drive back was more clear, but still had a few slick spots. Anyway, I made it home as well.

I enjoy these classes, but could do without the epic drives. I just have class tomorrow, and a one-day class in a couple of weeks, and most of my travel back and forth to Champaign-Urbana will be over. (However, I like C-U, but would like it better in the Spring.)

I have homework to do, but need to lie down for a little while and decompress. TGTF!