hannah | Days were long.

All the university's offices, classes, and departments were closed today, and evidently they'll be closed again tomorrow. Much as I like the snow, I don't like this - my job isn't something that can be translated for telecommuting, and I want to get back to the books. And there's no news yet about Wednesday. One of my teachers graciously extended the deadline on an essay, but the same isn't true of my other projects, all of which I'd been hoping to do from campus. Mostly because my mouse still isn't working, and the computer's stopped recognizing the touchpad for minutes at a time.

Since I didn't have work, I walked the three miles to the Co-Op to do my grocery shopping. It seemed like a good idea at the time and I still hold it as one. Not all the sidewalks were cleared, so after a couple of blocks of navigating the knee-high snow to find the spots other people had packed down, I moved over and walked in the street. It took me about as long on foot as it would have waiting for a bus, given when one passed me; additionally, getting the chance to interact with the snow and see it undisturbed in the park - at one point I took off my sunglasses to really watch how the sunlight glinted through the tiny pieces of ice - was worth the wet shoes. And I got my exercise for the day.

I took the bus back, and when I had to get out I jumped off and landed on all fours in a snowdrift. I picked myself up, brushed myself off, and if anyone had been around, I'd have remarked, "I meant to do that." And it worked very well.

Incidentally, while I have a beta-reader for my

house_bigbang story, given the size and scope of the project another pair of eyes would be helpful. So if anyone's interested in reading and critiquing a 35,000 word piece on gender, social performance, and personal identity, I'd love to know.