"too much in love to say goodnight..."

Sometimes I just have to laugh at myself. I’m convinced that an important part of surviving life is the ability to laugh at oneself.

I’ve been sitting on my bed since approximately 2:30 this afternoon. It is now 11:30. Granted, I did take a break for dinner at 5:15. I’m trying to write my senior thesis, and at twelve pages I think I understand what it must have felt like the first time they broke the sound barrier. The longest paper I’ve ever written was ten pages. I’m only halfway done with this beast [in the jungle] and I've already spilled three fourths of my thoughts. This isn’t the funny part.

I’m sitting here on my island, which really looks more like an ocean because my bedspread is sort of an aqua blue like that “ocean breeze” body wash and shampoo that Suave makes. So far this afternoon I’ve consumed a Fuji apple with peanut butter, a pack of peanut butter sandwich crackers, three Girl Scout cookies, a couple of barbeque Pringles, some trail mix, a Blow Pop, a grape popsicle, and a few too many handfuls of Colossal Berry Crunch cereal. I should add that there were two cups of coffee and a bottle of water. This doesn’t include my “dinner” in the cafeteria that consisted of a fried pork chop and three desserts. Not surprisingly, I have a bit of a tummy ache here on the high seas. This isn’t the funny part.

My computer overheated between pages nine and ten, and again in the middle of page eleven. My brain overheated in the middle of page twelve. This is the funny part.

We moved into this new room in McAllister, thrilled at the idea of having a thermostat. Just in case you don’t know what that means, we can control the temperature of the air in our suite. That is if we can figure out how the little white box works. For some reason the thermostat is set at 71 and the fan is set to “on” and “cool,” but it is a balmy 79 degrees and rising. Is it any wonder my computer and brain are going into meltdown?

Fortunately my computer seems to be fine now that I have a small fan here on the ocean-island with us. I brushed my teeth and washed my face, partly so I would stop eating and partly in expectation of falling asleep, and climbed up here in my little corner to continue writing. I soon found myself with eyes closed and head back, humming and swaying along with Art Garfunkel, imagining him standing by my bed and singing me to sleep. Something pulled me back down to Earth and I realized how ridiculous I must have looked. Good thing I thought to close the blinds earlier.

Such a Saturday night could seriously damage one’s self-esteem. I’m so glad I know how to laugh at myself.

It is now 80 degrees in my room.