OK only a few more days of this, I promise. The 21st is now set to be sunny with a high of 84 degrees, so it's actually getting nicer. Although it's so late now that that might be tomorrow's forecast for Thursday. I hope this is how it turns out next year :)

I'm not sure why I'm so obsessed with the weather. This 21st thing is a little different, but I generally open up weather.com several times per day. Maybe because it's a good procrastination tool -- it's always changing but only a little so it doesn't distract you very much. Also, I'm always planning several days ahead and I like to know the weather so I have a complete idea of what that day is going to be like.

I'm also a little obsessed with checking the headlines throughout the day and especially when I get up in the morning, but I know why that is. The morning of September 11th it was my first week at college and I was just barely getting into my schedule so I woke up at around 10am for an 11am class and never heard anything until I was starting to walk across (a very weirdly empty) campus. By the time I found out, it was completely over. So now 6 years later I still check the news as soon as I get up to see if anything happened while I was sleeping, and then again throughout the day because just sitting and studying I am so cut off from the real world.

I did get out into the real world a little bit today -- went back to study on the front steps. Had to come in the first time right after lunch because it was actually too hot in the sun (and I was worried I was going to burn) but at around 5pm it was perfect out in the shade. I have an hour long mp3 of the sounds of waves crashing, so I listened to that on my iPod for some white noise and to up the relaxation if at all possible. What would also make it more relaxing is if the city could hang a One Way arrow at the intersection of 9th and Lombard... I guess the fact that the north-south street alternate directions isn't enough for people because every day I see someone turn left from Lombard into the oncoming traffic on 9th street. Usually there is a lot of honking and then the person has to back into the intersection. I'm amazed that I haven't actually witnessed a crash from this problem yet, but if I do enough more studying out there I'm sure I will eventually.

Oh that reminds me that last week I also watched a 10-wheeler trunk back up 9th street. He was technically going the right way, but he was facing backwards. I don't remember what I was doing at the time that I couldn't watch to see how this issue was resolved, but I really can't imagine where or how he got himself turned back around. I guess if he backed past an intersection he could then turn onto that intersection, hopefully in the right direction this time? But there was a cop kind of directing him so he didn't side swipe any cars (read: my car) and he had been backing up since about South Street and had already crossed Rodman and Lombard, headed towards Pine so I don't know what the plan was. He was breaking all of the branches of the trees that line my block because nothing that huge ever drives up our street forward, let alone backwards!!

Lastly, today opened a fifth week in the little 'archive' list to the left, so that means this is my fifth Sunday of studying, as well as blogging. That's a little too much studying if you ask me. Almost there.