A Day Off

Well, yesterday ended up being a kind of day off of sorts.

First, the coffee maker has finally broken! Waa! When I woke up realizing I didn't smell freshly brewed coffee (since I program it to brew at the same time my alarm clock goes off), I immediately headed to the kitchen, bleary-eyed, only to find a malfunctioning machine (meaning, it basically went kaput! and failed to turn on). Needless to say, it was a day off from caffeine. It was hard!

I ended up having to go out for coffee. I need caffeine more than I care to admit. I just couldn't face the whole day without it! See, I sometimes go for a time not needing coffee, but then something prompts me to start drinking it regularly, and in larger than normal amounts (going from 8-9 hour shifts to 12- to 14-hour shifts at work . . . or starting graduate school . . . you get the picture).

Since I hadn't weaned myself off coffee after my last semester ended mid-December . . . well, it was kinda hard simply going without it this morning.

So I decided to go to the bookstore, where I could sit in the café with one of my current reads (Death Come for the Archbishop by Willa Cather) and a mocha. (And a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup cookie.) Partly because I had some time while Livie was at school, and partly because I won't get much of a any chance to just sit and read for pleasure (with a coffee and a treat) once my semester starts. Okay, so maybe I'll have some time before I go to bed, because I usually try to allow 30 minutes of pre-bed time to chill out and read before turning out the lights. But that's not exactly the same as treating myself to 30-45 minutes of leisurely reading in the middle of the day, just because I feel like it. 

And let me tell you, as soon as that mocha hit my tongue - it was like liquid gold! Such a welcome relief, partly because it tasted good, but also because it seemed (after a few minutes) that it took the edge off a headache I'd developed earlier in the morning. I wasn't sure if it was solely due to sinus pressure or the lack of caffeine. Who knows? The headache never completely went away, so maybe it was a combination of both?

Anyway, the second reason why yesterday was a day off was because I'd accidentally whacked the top of my foot (just below the middle toes) on the edge of my dresser Tuesday afternoon. I'd been running around doing something (barefoot) and boom! It hurt like a you-know-what. I immediately wondered if I'd broken something! (After a bit of icing, I realized I hadn't.) I woke up yesterday with a massive bruise on my foot along with some soreness . . . so I figured I'd just skip the run/walk today. Tomorrow will have to be on the elliptical at the gym, because we're supposed to get snow (finally?) and blowing winds tomorrow.

And third, it dawned on me that my semester starts NEXT WEEK!! I start school on Tuesday afternoon! I knew it was coming up, but the realization that it's in less than a week really surprised me, if you can believe it.

So starting next week, I'll be back to sitting at a desk looking something like this:

 And glad I study at a campus like this:

. . . but will most likely look something like this (that is, until Mother Nature changes her fickle mind once again):

Oh, and that reminds me, I am going to do another "4 Seasons Series" (like this one). I've been thinking (since around October) about good locations, and have narrowed my choices down to two spots; I'll make my final decision on my first day of class next Tuesday. I definitely had fun last year taking photos in each season from one particular spot on campus and have been looking forward to doing it again.

So be on the lookout for that photo . . . I should have "The Winter Shot, 2012" posted within the month, I'm assuming.