The high density lipoprotein (HDL) is the good one and LDL is the bad one. Needless to say, I’m on the high end of the bad one and the low end of the good one.

Accodring to my most recent blood test, I have high cholesterol. While this doesn’t particularly suprise me genetically, I never really thought of myself as an unhealthy eater. Apart being liberal with the cream cheese when I have bagels and a fondness for whole-fat yogurt (both of which are not everyday things), I don’t really eat unhealthily. So it was rather baffling when I looked at a recommended diet and suggested eating guidelines and discovered that I had been following most of them already. I suppose I’ll just have to cut out the incidentals like delcious Powell’s Fried Chicken. Mmmmm, fried chicken…

I found a place to live, finally. It’s not far from where I live now. If you want the address, send me email — if you want to help me move (read : masochistic), I’ll be doing that this weekend. Feasts! Fun! Frolic!

Research is going terribly — those things I can prove are at the fringes of things that are more exciting. They are like tide-pools, brimming with their own secret and temporary ecosystems, but insufficient to support my thesis aspirations. Time to go skinny-dipping again, academically, I suppose. Hmmm, academic skinny-dipping.

Ranting on causality and a possible new interesting problem to follow.

I have a sty in my eye. Apparently every 4 hours I need to lie down with a hot towel over my eye for 15 minutes and then take these eyedrops. Forced relaxation! How dare they!

Last night I almost got into an altercation with someone who called me “Habib.” I took it as a slur, they meant it as a slur but in a joking way. I really don’t like the kind of person I was last night, and I really don’t like ignorant talk like I heard last night. I need to make changes right quick.

The sunlight warming the back of your neck while you stand outside the shower waiting for the water heater to engage.

I had a pretty long week this week — I can hardly remember the 9 AM section I taught on Monday. It only hit me for real when I had some coffee. I felt like one of those cartoon motors getting extra gas after having run dry. Putt-putt-putt-kachung-grrrrrrrrr… putt-putt-putt. If only stimulants didn’t wear off so quickly.

More posting to come soon on Ian Bostridge, Peter Pears, and other singers.

And at last, snow in Urbana. Sort of boring powdery snow, but snow nonetheless.

In case any occasional perusers of this blog care, I just spent a lot of money on airplane tickets. From December 20-31 I will be in Champaign, IL, and from January 5-17 I will be in Boston, although the tail end of that will be Mystery Hunt, natch.

The Head Yeti himself, Ranjit, was in town yesterday and we got to hang out very briefly. What’s even better is that he’ll be out here again in a scant few weeks!