1) An old suitemate of mine had to drop out of school because her dad had prostate cancer a few semesters ago. I saw her on campus again and asked how she was doing. She was back in school and is having to drop out again because her dad had a heart attack, lost his job, and she has to work to help support her family.

2) A friend of mine is having problems with her boyfriend of nearly four years. Identity crisis. I'm glad she's a really strong person, because I'd be a total basket case in that situation.

Even the cumulative suckage of my semester is relatively light compared to these situations, so I'm going to stop whining (hopefully) and plow through the rest of it. I just hope things get better soon, because I am a few breaths away from dropping out of society and going to live in the forest with the other crazies.

My mom and sister are on the way up right now, which is why I'm up so late. The quiet is sort of nice, and the solitude too, but I hate going to bed after Fuzzy because I always feel like my day hasn't ended properly. You get into a routine, you know, of starting and ending the day with someone, of them being the last thing you see when you fall asleep and the first thing you see in the morning.

They were supposed to leave nearly 24 hours ago, in the early morning of Saturday, but then my uncle was rushed to the hospital, and they operated Saturday morning to remove his galbladder. I know it's not major major surgery, I mean shit, he's home already, but we're talking about a man who get pneumonia and gets up and goes to work anyway. I can't remember the last time he went to a Dr. It's just really shocking that this is happening to him, he's the only one I don't usually worry about. I just always assume he's okay, so when I found out about it it really bowled me over. He's home now though and the surgery went well, so he should be fine.

I forgot to do the inhaler thing this morning, and I'm really feeling the worse for it now. I hate that my body is already dependent on it, in a way. I mean, it's better than not being able to breathe, and I can be more active, or at least active in more aerobic ways, than I've ever been able to do before. I had to chase a guy down the other day because he left his credit card at the station, and I wasn't even out of breath afterward. I've never been able to run even a little bit without serious breathing problems and chest pain before. This is a huge development for me. Now the only serious impediment to most exercise is the state of my feet, which won't be remedied until I have insurance, but at least I'm part of the way there. Still, I hate having to use the inhaler twice a day. It's one more thing I can't get away from.

We've also had to kick the cats out of the bedroom, which sucks because my main bonding ritual with Franny is sleeping with her curled up next to me. She doesn't seem too put out, though, she just takes up residence on my lap whenever I sit down and naps while I pet her. I know most people don't get it, why I can't just get rid of them because they make it hard to breathe, but they're like children, to a certain degree. We've had them for over two years now, and when you get animals, it's a commitment. Cats can live for over 20 years, we knew that when we decided to adopt them, and they're more than a responsibility and occasional annoyance, they're our companions and a big comfort.

(You know what I hate about being so far from civilization up here? We get four channels up here. Right now, one is offline entirely, one is a show about malaria in Africa, and two, TWO of them are the same show, this guy sitting at a desk preaching the bible. I mean, at least its not on during prime time, but seriously. Why? The good Christian folks will be going to church in about 5 hours, couldn't they put something interesting on? Jeeze, even old episodes of Threes Company would be better. At least the malaria thing is interesting, but I am nowhere near awake enough to really pay attention to it.)

Well, I think its time to give up and go to bed. The breathing isn't going so well, and sleep always helps with that part. Plus Fuzzy just got up, so maybe I have a chance to end my day properly.