6 November 2001 - 4:43 p.m.

Know who was a really good writer? Shakespeare. I actually read all of Pericles last night/this morning, which the editor of my edition calls "the play from hell" in his intro. Even so, I enjoyed it. So there goes the end of my not reading stuff for class.

Wait, what?

That's why I need to go to grad school, so I can study literature and culture and learn to be an articulate person.

McHotHot moment of the day: In response to someone using the word "Pshaw!" the prof said, "Pshaw? Pshaw is such an underrated word. Pshaw! Thank you, [classmate's name], for reminding us of the availability of the word pshaw."

Do you ever wonder if cats think humans are as cute as humans think cats are? I hope so, for cats' sake, because Hattie sees a lot more people than I see cats. I wonder if she sees, like, the cast of The West Wing and says, "Aww! Yook at da cute yittle senior staff!"

My sore throat is improving, but other elements of my cold are getting worse. For example, the bottle of orange juice I had with lunch today seemed to produce a more than usually large number of chunks of blood-flecked mucous. Is this a bad thing? When I spit a rather alarming amount of solid snot into a napkin, Gus, looking a but freaked out said, "That looks red."

"That's how it always looks, " I said, tucking the newly pink napkin away. When Gus made his "I am very sad and upset face," which causes his eyebrows to quiver like nothing you have ever seen before, I started singing the "I will love you till the end of time" song from Moulin Rouge.

Was that inappropriate?