I am so very excited to have found Madeleine Robins's blog. I read her book, Point of Honour, a few months ago at Sherwood Smith's recommendation and found it wonderfully engrossing. I have yet to pick up Petty Treason but I think a trip to the bookstore is just what I need today.

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In more personal news, yesterday was a strange strange day.

Most people who know me know that I can be--hmm--quite energetic when I'm not lazing about. But yesterday, when I woke, it was like swimming up from the deep end of the pool. So difficult, and tiresome. My body was physically exhausted.

I've never felt that way before, ever. I was literally dragging myself around. And it isn't as though I had done anything particularly tiring the day before.

I continued to nap on and off again until around 6 pm, when I went to Barnes & Noble and huddled for warmth with Jason while reading Sophie Kinsella's latest, The Undomestic Goddess. I continued feeling somewhat lightheaded, with strong pounding of blood in my head whenever I stood too quickly until that night, when I joined Cynthia and the usual gang for her birthday picnic.

Then I felt completely fine. It was a lovely time; the Hudson River Park is really quite gorgeous and I can't believe I've never been before! We were rather entertained by a group of loud gay (I'm assuming as we were in Chelsea and also due to their shorter, tighter outfits) black men near us who were doing some sort of interpretive dance which necessitated falling on the ground constantly.

It was nice, not to feel threatened. Suzanne and I noted this safe feeling again as we walked back to our dorm. After all, we were surrounded by plenty of men. But where normally we would be bracing ourselves for the inevitable "Hey baby"s, we were instead paid about as much attention as an elephant does a mouse.

I'm feeling perfectly normal today, though, thank goodness. I never want to feel like that again.

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Also, I crossed off another point on my 'to do in new york' list this past Friday. Yes, you know it. I joined the screaming tween/teens at the prestigious...

TRL.

OMG, I know! Believe me, there is nothing that makes you feel smarter than after you've spent an hour in line with TRL studio audience.

I was crammed between a pair of Staten Island boys who kept up a constant stream of rehearsing for a shout-out which they never did and a girl who just didn't seem to understand shout out instructions. S.I. boys: "Yo, I'm Idiot with mah homie Goochy chillin' in the city and we wanna give a shout out to all the Staten Island crew blahrgity blargh..." and one of these goons had that horrible Gotti boy hairdo. Gross. Deaf girl, after being told about two thousand times "For a shout out, you have to say your name, where you're from, why you like the video, and your shout out": "Hi, I wanna give a shout out to all my friends back home!"

Seriously, people.

But I got to see Courtney Cox and Natalie Portman up close. Courtney Cox seems like a really funny, down-to-earth person... loved her dress. Natalie, even with her shaved head, was absolutely beautiful. Tiny tiny skinny tiny though. Was wearing Citizens with major heels, so it isn't just me who needs shorter pants!