Oh, but I did kind of feel sorry for the guy trying to sell us the phone. I don't think he's ever had such a glum customer. "I'm selling my soul to Satan," was heard more than once this afternoon. He kept trying to upsell the calling plans, and pointed out if we used the phones on a daily basis, with the plan we wanted, we'd only have 11 minutes of prime time talking available a day. And only 1000 nightime/weekend minutes a month. And I finally said, "You know what? I'm not going to actually use the phone, and quite honestly, I don't like anyone enough to talk to them for 1000 minutes in a year, much less a month. Just give us the cheapest thing you've got." I think it freaked him out a little bit. But it's true. We don't use our regular phone (except as a modem line), so why would I use such an inconvenient appliance as a cell phone?
8:50 PM


I am incredibly ashamed to note down here that I now own a cell phone. I hate them for so many reasons, not the least of which is that people who walk around with cell phones attached to their ears are basically excusing themselves from any sort of civil interaction with those around them. I swore up and down I was not going to get a cell phone. Never. Ever.

The trouble is, I spend a lot of time on the road by myself, especially during hockey season. I drive to Indy twice a week, and then there are the longer trips to Columbus, Cincinnati, Detroit, St. Louis, Windsor, Toronto. Now that our car is getting older, I don't feel so confident in its ability to get me where I'm going, and I don't want to be stranded at night by the side of the road with no means of communication.

I know I've done perfectly well up to this point without one, but last spring, when those two Hoosier skinheads tried to run us off the road, we had no way to call for help. The ability to call 911 would have resolved the situation pretty quickly, I think. Yesterday, I would have loved to be able to talk to the police on one line and Catherine on the other, but I didn't have the means to do both. And now I do.

Well, and Catherine got a cell phone, too, so we're total sell outs. But a couple weeks ago, we had a miscommunication of sorts, and Catherine was stranded on campus with no money at 10:00 p.m., and no way to get hold of me or a taxi. Things like that can be taken care of by planning ahead, but sometimes things just don't go according to plan, and I don't want her walking through the campus at night, I want her to call me so I can come get her. Truly, she doesn't think clearly when nervous or upset, and although there were a couple practical solutions to her being stranded, she was too distressed to think things through. I would hate to have something bad happen to her simply because I stood on my principles and refused to let her get a cell phone, all the while knowing that if I don't make it easy for her, she won't be able to get herself home if she's in a panic.

So, I apologize. I apologize for all those godawful, bird-killing cell phone towers ruining the landscape. I apologize for participating in one of the worst kinds of consumerism. I swear I will not walk around talking to anybody in public, I swear it will not ring in the classroom, I swear it stays in the glove box or my bag unless it's an emergency. I swear you'll never even know I have one.
8:46 PM


Wow, I slept for an hour or so, and feel a lot better. During our afternoon of running errands (dropping of the bird feeders at the wild bird store for their autumn cleaning, getting new watch bands/batteries), we stopped to watch the IU women's field hockey game. And I actually nodded off during the first half--how can anyone fall asleep at a sporting event, I'd like to know.

The game was interesting, but it's probably one of the few sports about which I know nothing. It's a real rarity in that I've never even played it. It's not as opaque as cricket, but still I felt really removed from the action. I had no idea what any of the whistles meant.
8:33 PM


Ugh...felt rotten when I got up this morning, but decided to to the run, anyway. It was a good decision, it's always a smart idea to remind yourself that no matter how hard your life is, someone else's life is always harder.

Today was the Jill Behrman Run for the Endzone. The race was started, as it always is, by the Behrman family. Always good to see them, always good to be reminded how they deal with adversity with grace. So, even though I wasn't exactly chipper this a.m., I was glad I pulled myself out of bed to go to the run.

I lined up pretty far back in the pack so I wouldn't have to worry about a fast pace at the outset. This race is run (overall) at a quicker pace than the Hoosiers Outrun Cancer race, more college students in the pack. The race was led off by a cycling team in honor of Jill, which was nice, as they stayed around to cheer everyone on.

Given what a lousy week I've had, how little I've slept, and how little I trained this week, I ran pretty decently. Cut about 1:07 off last week's time, which still isn't great, but I'll take it. Once I started running, I felt a lot better, and felt good through the whole race, up to the last 200 feet or so. Then I thought I was going to pass out. I was totally dizzy and fighting against vomiting. I didn't want to stop so close to the line, but I also didn't want to do a Suzy Favor Hamilton and crash and burn along the side of the track.

Sometimes I am amazed at what I can force my body to do. I finished the race and walked off the dizziness/nausea, and by the time Catherine finished (she was walking), I was completely recovered. Several hours later, I'm about to go take a nap, but other than that, I feel pretty good.