Weird sick day yesterday -- I felt crappy and wiped out when I got home, crawled in bed to read a little -- yes, I know, that was a tactical error -- fell asleep for a hour or so, still felt lousy, had saltines for dinner because I didn't feel like real food was a good idea, read some more, then went to bed -- where I tossed and turned and got overheated and cold and achy and definitely NOT ASLEEP until about 2 in the morning. I was not happy.

I'm feeling better today, and actually got some stuff done. Not as much as I needed to. Why? Well....

I went to the library after work yesterday. Have I mentioned how much I love the Chicago Public Library in general, and the Harold Washington Library Branch in particular? If I'm a book junkie, and bookstores are my drug house, this, I guess, is my methadone clinic. It allows me to get my fix without spiraling into debt and out of control Of course, checking out 11 books at a time is probably not a good sign. Not that I can't read them in the three weeks given (I've finished three already), but it's a little... unhealthy, I guess, to walk through the new releases section saying "Ooh! I have to have that one, and I know I want that one, and I can't leave that one behind, and and, and..." I have a hard time limiting myself to one bagful (about 12 hardbacks is the limit in my library tote) because "What if I can't find it next time?" Brilliant, Jersild. It's a library. The nature of libraries is such that books keep coming back. that's kind of the point. But still, I found that I could justify putting only three back on the shelves, and walked out, hunched over and listing to the right, with my sack o' books.

So, what am I doing this weekend? Um, reading, mostly. And cleaning. But the emphasis is on reading.

Ugh. Andy went home sick yesterday, and now I'm feeling all icky and achy and ugh. Damn you, Andy! Damn yooooooooooooouuuuuuuuuuu!

Jeremy's response to last night's post:

If you want to go to South America, go to Suriname. Not only is it the best place to learn Dutch in the western hemisphere (screw Spanish), but, history proves that its a great place. The Dutch got Suriname when they traded with the British. The British got New York City and Delaware, and the Dutch got Suriname. Considering what they traded for it, Suriname must be amazing! I'll even visit you in Paramaribo!

Um, tempting as that sounds, not many of my friends and neighbors speak Dutch. I'm thinking Spanish is the way to go. And to be honest, if the Dutch traded Delaware for Suriname... well, that doesn't say much. Remember, they got Manhattan for $24 worth of beads.

(Also, Jeremy? Learn to capitalize your e-mails. I'm anal enough that I couldn't let your quote go through all in lower case. Sigh.)

I want to learn Spanish. It seems like a good idea. And, being the intrepid traveller (read: easily bored) person that I am, I immediately thought I should check out Spanish Language immersion programs in Spain and/or Latin and South America. And I started wondering if I could take a sabbatical. Never mind the fact that I live in a heavily Spanish-speaking neighborhood, or that there are plenty of Spanish classes in the city. Nope, I immediately thought travel. Sigh.

This isn't completely random, as both sisters did Spanish-language immersion programs, in Mexico and Costa Rica. I believe they had studied the language beforehand, though. Maybe I better take a whack at it here before I start buying tickets to La Paz.

More Oscar speed ratings (I forgot some stuff):

Cameron Diaz in a bathrobe and scrunchie: F
The wacky, up-tempo song of the year contenders: C-
The fact that nothing from Moulin Rouge was eligible for best song: F
Faith Hill's "I can sing a rainbow" dress: D
A running time that far exceeded Lord of the Rings: F
No shots of Orlando Bloom (Legolas), my new husband, because he and the actors who played Merry and Pippin WEREN'T GIVEN FRICKING TICKETS: F-
Helen Hunt's bottle tan and bedhead shag: D (I know some people liked it, but I thought she looked awful)

Also, check this out: Ernie of Little Yellow Different has come up with the quintessential graduation song. Brilliant, I say! Brilliant!

I was out all day yesterday, first at Katie and Carlos' baby shower, then at Kat and Bob's Oscar party.

Baby showers kind of make my skin crawl -- look, a diaper bag! Let's all coo! -- so I was glad that this one was (1) a bunch of college friends, and (2) all about books. I can respect that. We all gave copies of books that we'd either loved as kids or that we thought were cool. I gave The Runaway Bunny and Alice and Wonderland. They also got Curious George, a bunch of nursery rhymes, Clifford the Big Red Dog, The Velveteen Rabbit, Frog and Toad, plus Green Eggs and Ham in Spanish. Carlos grew up in Honduras and didn't have the same kids books, so he's got plenty of reading to do before the baby gets here.

I took a bit of shit for giving one book that was just a wellspring of mother issues, and another that was probably an extended drug trip. I don't care. I like them both, dammit.

I left the shower in time to get to Kat and Bob's for the Oscar party (the shower was in Milwaukee, a couple of hours away). Good lord, were the Oscars stinky this year. I mean, please. I feel the need to indulge in Speed Ratings:

Tom Cruise oozing sincerity while trying to convince us that the movies still matter: D

Everyone from Laurie Anderson and Lou Reed to regular schlubs talking about what movies they like -- before anything happened: F

Whoopie Goldberg, in general: D (Is Anna Nicole Smith still supposed to be funny?)

Jennifer Connolly, who is absolutely beautiful, choosing to wear an Ace-Bandage-colored icky gown: D

Jennifer Connolly reading her thank-yous from an index card, without expression: F

Me having to admit that Jennifer Connolly, who I usually quite like, was disappointing as hell: F

Uma Thurman's post-childbirth breasts: A (actually, probably DD)

Ian McKellan snuggling with his hottie younger-man: B+

Ian McKellan not winning the award, and therefore not being able to smooch said hottie before going up on stage: C-

Jim Broadbent winning that award: B+

The Bouffant That Ate Jennifer Lopez's head: D-

The corset dress beneath the hair: C

Random mimes backstage: What the?

Finding out that said random mimes were part of the Cirque de Soleil troupe that did a KICK ASS performance based on special effects: A

Babs Streisand somehow making Robert Redford's honorary Oscar about her: D

Denzel Washington winning: A+

Julia Roberts hugging Denzel as they walked off stage: B

Julia Roberts continuing to hug and fawn over Denzel, actually getting between him and the cameras backstage, thereby making the moment about her: D-

Julia Roberts' pit-revealing dress: B

Gwyneth Paltrow's eyeliner: C

Wondering why they kept focusing so tightly on Gwyneth Paltrow's face: C

The god-awful see-through-top, wrinkly dress she wore that actually made her look dumpy, anorexic and flaccid all at the same time: F

British actors in general: B+

Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson's costume spoof: A

Woody Allen's surprise appearance: B-

Showing a bunch of clips from great movies set in New York: A

Realizing that nothing produced this year even came close to any of those movies: F

The animated characters sitting in the audience: D

The reaction shots of Monster's Inc. when they didn't win: B+

Being able to put "Woman to right of Shrek congratulating his Oscar win, 74th Academy Awards" on a resume -- and probably get a SAG card for it: C

Sidney Poiter's speech: A

Sidney Poiter in general: A

Only using black actors to talk about Sidney Poiter's impact: D

Only using white actors to talk about Robert Redford's impact: D

Realizing how much Robert Redford just was Brad Pitt when he was young: B

Halle Berry's speech: A

Halle Berry's real emotion when giving said speech: A+ (And if she was acting, then hell, she just deserved the award even more)

Russell Crowe pretty much oozing "So, here's my number, call me" as he congratulated Halle Berry's win: D

The washed-out colors that dominated Oscar dresses: D

LOTR only taking technical awards: D, but I'm not exactly impartial

The best part about the Oscars, of course, was being able to snark about them with the Girls' Night Out crew and other tenth-level cynics. It was a joy.

This time it wasn't my fault.

Liz is in town from LA, and we wanted to do a Girl's Night. She had never been to the Evanston theater, so we went there It was a zoo, we got there late, a lot of movies were sold out, Kat had never seen it....

Which is a long way of saying I saw LOTR last night. Again. For those keeping track, that's four times.

It still rocks.