How bizarre

Today (well, i'm finishing this a week later, but began it the day it occurred) was, in some ways, one of those days that began last night, and at the end of which you prepare to fall into bed praying to hit the reset button for the next day. Still, it was fraught with examples of God's benevolence and mercy, and provision. So today was not a perfect day. It could have, however, been much worse.

It began when i, feeling the guilt that resulted from watching my male cat, the evil Dr. No (real name Manoah) first lick a piece of ceiling wood and then walk through sewage water. The floor was strewn with tile pieces from the ceiling, the sink was littered with the same interspersed with raw sewage- in short, the room was disgusting. i decided not to clean it last night (the job of course falling to me, bubs being weirded out by the sewage and not exactly being the cleaning sort anyway, and mom having been told before that i would do cleaning, and thinking that she had already done it), thinking that instead i would go today to graduate school, come home and clean the kitchen, and then go to a friend's house for a hot shower. (Oh do i lust over a hot shower right now.) i did not, in short, have the motivation to tackle the kitchen last night. Guilt, however, would not allow me to leave my cats in the mess. A purposeful jail break was engineered, then, with full approbation of the warden.

i look at the cats being out at night with trepidation. This is, most likely, largely due to their recurring night time proclivities when liberated from their cage- catching things. Now, this is a laudable thing for a cat. However, i am irrationally afraid of dead animals, and loathe watching the death in action of a creature at the hands of another creature. The last time these two had been out at night, i had awoken to D-rock playing with a dead mouse on top of me while i slept. By the grace of God, i had handled it quite well, i must say. Only, however, by the grace of God (well everything is only by the grace of God).

So last night, i anxiously fear what might go squeak in the night. D curls up with me, and i think that perhaps it will be alright. Mom comes downstairs, her feet torturing her, and starts med-seeking. i text ms. texas (my middle sister) to call mom, and she and her boyfriend manage to shake her out of her pain induced funk. i fall asleep.........

.........and awaken some hours later to No coming down, D jumping to see him, and the distinct sounds of mouse claiming commencing. No had caught one, close to two am. i put the cats in the entryway, just so i could get some sleep (after calling my brother to deal with the situation, which i again, only by the grace of God, handled quite well).

At shortly before seven this morning, i heard alarming noises from the foyer. Afraid for their safety, i got out of bed to check on the cats. i found my brother's golf clubs knocked down (there's something he shan't learn), let them out (how much trouble could they get into in the half an hour before i had to get up), and went back to bed. Approximately ten minutes later- sure enough noah's caught another one. i manage to handle it quite well (thank God!!!!!!!!!!) and trap it myself under a shovel, and holler for bubs. He comes downstairs, but the mouse is gone. He goes back upstairs to bed, and No catches another (or the same) mouse almost immediately. This time bubs gets it outside, by my sleep is ruined.

S., my friend with whom i ride to school, is sick. So i, not wanting to bring the sickness home to mom (or catch it myself) decide to drive myself. i might have thought better. In the next few hours:

-i fall down the stairs.
-i realize that when i fell down the stairs i ripped a hole in my pants and underwear, and have been walking around like that (including outside).
-i realize the road is not pleasant at the beginning for driving to school.
-i drop my coffee before i get to drink any of it.

i arrive at school flustered, grateful to God for having arrived well, and had a good drive there, but in a sort of "what a week it's been" mood.

The next several hours are wonderful. i adore my new professor. He's young, dynamic, very into social justice, not very into standard educational practices, and- oh the icing- a hasher. (There's a hashing group nearby too!!) He ran a classroom activity which was brilliant. He told us we had to decide between two grading options:
1. He grades very stringently. This means only one or two people will receive an a, several will receive a b, and a few (those who do not do as well as the others) are guaranteed to receive a c.
2. He grades very laxly. There is much less stress, and most people will receive a b. However, this means that it is much less likely (though possible) that anyone receives a c or an a.
After we discussed this (i argued that it was unfair, and that we ought to be given what we earned) he revealed that it was an exercise. See, that is how people look at society. Some are okay with a system whereby a few exceptional people reap all the rewards, many are in the middle, and some live in below average means. The argument is that the people on the top deserve to be on the top, and those at the bottom could always work their way up. Others feel that a system where everyone is brought up to a basic level of existence is better, where very few people realize either extreme prosperity, or extreme want. It's an interesting lesson, and was a very effective illustration.

On my way home from school, however, i had a flat tire. i couldn't get the old tire off and called bubs to come, who was also unable to remove the old tire at first. One man helped by giving us a bottle of free-all solution and adding his strength to bubs'. When two large men cannot pull off a tire with lubricant on it, there is a problem. Eventually, when that good samaritan left and another took his place, the tire came free. This didn't happen, however, until after a sledgehammer was used.

Here's the benefit to this, and that which i'm very grateful to God for!!!!!!!!!

1.)It happened just before i lost cell reception, so i could call bubs.
2.)It happened during daylight (at first).
3.)It happened near a gas station (so i wasn't stuck changing a tire on the side of the road).
4.)It happened on a rural road (so i wasn't stuck sitting on the edge of a highway).
5.)The tire did come off, and people did help.

After arriving home, i cleaned the kitchen.

The subsequent week has been much better, thank and praise God for all!!!!!!!!!