Pick your jaw off the floor and wipe the drool off your chin. Turn off that video.

I'm not sure how it happened, I think I was looking for a Phoenix video on youtube, but I just found myself watching EllesGlitterGossip. Next thing I know I'm staring at the screen, my jaw slack and my eyes glazed over. Because she talks like this: "Ijustlovethistimeofyear!IloveeverythingaboutitIlovethemusic!andthefood!andthedecorations!andthelights!andthetraditionsandeverything"
and periodically she adds and upward-toned query sound for variety: "Ijustreallylike?tags?thatareholidaythemed" while tilting her head and looking to the corner of the screen for a studied quizzical/cute effect.

I probably just lost some crucial part of my brain because it seeped out my ear.

Darth Vader

So, um, I joined Twitter. I thought I'd just take the self-absorption all the way, you know? Plus also I use it to keep tabs on Congress, now that I'm not at FCNL any more. But really, that's beside the point. The point is that Twitter gave me this:

Oh holy shit, Martha. You make my heart go pitter pat. Look at that wrapping. Have I mentioned how much I love wrapping presents? Given the choice (and the time) I would spend as long wrapping a present as I spent picking and buying/making it. Seriously, this article (and its longer counterpart) is making my brain go all mushy. Paperfabricbowspreeeettttyyyywrapping, want.

(Oh yeah, and I, er, added a Twitter gadget to my blog. We'll see if I can stomach it or if it makes my soul die a little bit.)

Another shooting in DC, this one closer to home

A store owner in my neighborhood was shot and killed over the weekend. I guess a couple of guys were robbing the place in front of his wife and son, and when he came out from the back room, they shot him. I walked by the shop on my way home last night, and people had put up flowers and notes of prayer and sympathy.

There was also a candlelight vigil last night, organized by the neighborhood. I didn't go since I didn't know Mr. Patel, but it's nice to know that so many people knew him and care about him and his family and want that to be visible and known.

Haverfest '09

I scanned some pictures from the end of my senior year. They live on the walls of my cubicle at work. They make me happy. Notably, we totally have the automated photo booth timing thing down. We're photo booth rockstars. (Ha.)

I should note that the plate of curly fries was totally full when Steph and I got in line for the photo booth... but the line was long. And we were hungry. I think we had Steph's boyfriend go refill it for us once, too. So we ate two platefuls in line. That's what the end of senior year is all about, right? Hanging out with friends and eating way too many curly fries.

Vouchers redeemable within the continental US

My family (and Fernando, our exchange student for the year) came to visit me in late October. My littlest sister suddenly cares about clothes? We took one of those trolley(bus) tours around the tourist sites, we ate good food, we went to the arboretum, we took a walk in the woods, and we played a lot of Wii. It was so, so good to see them. The weather obliged this time around, after being cold and wet and generally everything that sucks about DC fall and winter when they came last October. Last October Celeste was still recovering from her torn ACL, and couldn't walk too far or too long -- so when we went to the zoo we got her a wheelchair so that she wouldn't get tired and achey and cut our zoo time short. We took turns wheeling her around with an umbrella covering her legs to keep the wet, and some of the cold wind, off. This year though, was sunny pleasantly autumnal during their visit.

Bu-bump

Then what happens is we get to the hospital only to realize that my bag -- ID, insurance card -- is still sitting behind the sound table at Annual Meeting. But it turns out they have been trying to reach me -- they looked at my CT scans again and realized I have a very small bleed. In my brain. More doctors, more following fingers with my eyes. Another CT. An IV with anti-seizure medication in it. They tell me I need to stay overnight for monitoring. I end up spending the night in the ICU, no food allowed, on a saline drip with all kinds of wires hooked up to my chest, being woken every hour to make sure I know my name, date of birth, where I am, and the date.

I pass. In the morning they finally allow me to eat. They've been giving me anti-seizure medication by drip which I will need to continue in pill form. I am not to take ibuprofen or aspirin. I am not to ride my bike or do anything that might possibly result in another head trauma. I may have headaches. I may not feel like myself. This is normal. I am free to go.