Well, I was originally planning to title this entry "Bleaghhhh," so I guess you can all figure out what my mood's been like today! But I just spent a few minutes reading new comments on earlier entries, and they did a wonderful job of cheering me up. Thanks guys! I love getting comments. Even when I forget to respond, I just love getting them. They make me feel ur-cool.

Patrick and I had to get up way too early this morning so that I could get to a teacher-development session on time. Gaah. The weirdest thing is that I'm not a teacher this year. I was a TA for undergrad music history classes last year. This year, all I'm doing is admin stuff for professors. And yet, this is the year I'm signed up for teacher-development. (Sigh.) So the whole thing felt slightly surreal, since it was all based around filling out questionnaires and reflecting deeply on our current teaching practices and "what we've been doing in the last two sessions taught".

I kept sucking down cold water to try to stay awake, and taking notes to myself in German in cramped little handwriting, so that, if I had to be immature and whiney (or, for that matter, if I wanted to write down ideas for my novel), it could at least be in a language that I was pretty sure none of the people around me could read. (I found out a few years after graduating from music conservatory that another horn student I didn't know well at the time--but who later, by the time she told me this, became a good friend--had enjoyed reading my novels-in-progress in Horn Studio every Monday night as I "casually" scribbled them down, trying to look attentive to what was going on on-stage. Luckily, she liked them...and I don't think my professor ever realized what was going on....)

Now it's dark and damp, but time for Nika's walk nonetheless. Maybe it'll inspire me for tonight's writing session--or at least, for tonight's pecan pie-making session, an even happier thought! For the first time ever, I'm hosting a big Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow. (Thanksgiving in England without turkey...well, why not?) Wish me luck!