Allow me a moment

Grubby, germy students: 2

Elaine and her immune system: 0

This is the second time this year that I've had to stay home because of some bug or another. Crap. I hate it. I hate feeling like crap. I hate looking like crap. I hate having to run out of my first period so that I can get acquainted with one of the toilets in the girl's bathroom. I'm feeling better and so am making my way to school this wonderful Friday morning. Crap.

Here are a couple of things that I realized during my week with the germs:

1. Apollo 13 is a great movie. I mean, seriously, a great movie. From Ed Harris' beautiful white vest to the part where they make the geeky science guys figure out how to fit the square filter into the round one. I just have to say that I will follow Tom Hanks anywhere, especially in that movie. He was just amazing. I love his voice, too. That's why in The Simpsons Movie, they had him talk about the "new" Grand Canyon that was going to take the place of Springfield. I mean, I'd buy anything he's selling. Any day.

2. Eff, Marley and Me. I hate that movie. There is absolutely no reason for a movie like that to be made. Why did I just fall in love with  that dog only to see him (spoiler alert) die in the end? Here I was, sick on the couch, having just woke up and I see that it's on. Oh, this is good. I never got to see it, I tell myself. Fast foward an hour later when I'm bawling on said couch. Screw. That. It hits a little too close to home when you've got a dog nearing her 12th year, who is having some health issues. I huged Akira for a while. She was confused.

3. When I'm sick and disoriented, I walk into things. Big things. I walked into a door and have a nice bruise to capture the moment. I also walked into the world's biggest desk and almost tumbled over it. That was a nice, embarrassing keepsake.

4. I was a little bummed for no particular reason on Tuesday when I was heading to work. Maybe it's the stress of the 1,000 different things I'm trying to do all at once. All I know is that I was just not having it. That was until Scandal's "The Warrior" came on my ipod. Remember when I was talking about what defines awesome? Well, this video falls under that category and then some:

Forget my bee costume (to be revealed soon), I should have gotten an idea from this video. People are dressed as God-knows-what and it's seven kinds of awesome. I'll tell you, I definately was "shootin' at the walls of heartache," Tuesday. It was a great day and all because I heard that song.

Anyone feeling sick lately? Thoughts. Comments. Now! (or whenever you damn well please)

And I'm Spent...

Over to the left is public enemy no. 1--my Chevy Cavalier. It's broken. Again. I swear, it's out to get me. This is only the second car I've ever owned (hence it's name: Number 2). At first I thought it was a better alternative than the '92 Ford Tempo I bought for 300 bucks in college (It's name: Blue). I'd be lying, though, if I said that lately I long for that first car even if it would only go up to 60 and the seatbelts didn't work properly. Argh.

Yesterday I had a bit of a private fit at home because the stupid thing was making a weird noise and I'm sick of sinking money into it and work is really out of control. I have to say that though I cried and though my mother, in so many words, told me to get over it, it's just a car, I was proud of myself. Why you ask? Well, I'll tell you.

I've noticed, thanks to some constructive observations by the husband, that whenever something goes wrong, I start to tally all the other crap that's going wrong. I'm like Joe Pesci in My Cousin Vinny when Marisa Tomei has just given him lip about her biological clock tickin' and he just blows up:

Vinny Gambini: Lisa, I don't need this. I swear to God, I do not need this right now, okay? I've got a judge that's just aching to throw me in jail. An idiot who wants to fight me for two hundred dollars. Slaughtered pigs. Giant loud whistles. I ain't slept in five days. I got no money, a dress code problem, AND a little murder case which, in the balance, holds the lives of two innocent kids. Not to mention your [bangs his foot] BIOLOGICAL CLOCK - my career, your life, our marriage, and let me see, what else can we pile on? Is there any more S**T we can pile on to the top of the outcome of this case? Is it possible?

That is what I feel like. It's as if I want to find all the things that are going wrong so that I'm justified in crying or in eating that piece of chocolate or not cooking dinner because it's just not my day. So yesterday, when I about had it with the P.O.S. I own, I just got pissed about it for a little bit, then wasted time on the internet until Mike got home and we drove the darn thing to my parents house where the mechanic (he makes house calls, y'all!) is going to work his magic.

I'm not the type of person who works for the weekend. I enjoy my job and my evenings at home. But I just want Friday to get here so I can wash my hands of this week. I just look at Mike and we're both so tired, we're crabby and that's never fun for anyone. Maybe it's the weather.

Things are a little better today, that's all that matters right? That at the end of the day, things are better. Ah, perspective. What would we be without it?

How about you guys? Is the constant rain getting to you? Do you have a car you just love to hate? Leave your thoughts in the comments. (Yani, I'm talking to you!)

Today's picture of the day is an oldie but a goodie and it's not even one I took. This picture is circa 2003 when I came home for the summer. Mike came to visit and we took a little road trip to the west coast of Florida. He snapped this one of me during a little driving break: