biologically shocking

i can't train with my nose and chest like this. today's far better than the last two days, and that's said with a perpetually running nose and one incident where i was forced to spit a mouthful in public. trust me, swallowing was not an option, and on the crowded streets it was impossible to do it surreptitiously :(

---the primary theme of the last day has been preparing for the slam finals. i met up with rabbit at a nice little coffee shop in saint henri so that we could help each other figure out which pieces we're going to perform. the new piece that i have yet to publish? rabbit, with all her talk about always being able to cut, was forced to agree with me that it's simply a four-minute piece and cannot be less.

i initially felt bad about our reciting poetry possibly disturbing the people around us, but it became clear that those who weren't listening to their headphones weren't unhappy about it at all :)

the two pieces that i'm readying for the second round aren't what i expected at all, as a matter of fact. signs in the dead of night made rabbit tear up, and i can make acupuncture pretty emotional. i'm actually surprised at myself for how comfortable i am acting these as opposed to reciting them. the last couple of months of slam have been good to me, i guess.

...

while there, i received a call from the company i've been interviewing with for a while. i'm finally ready to disclose that it's google, and the reason for said disclosure is that they called to say they're not interested. i may have passed all their technical exams but their hr committee determined that something about my profile "wasn't a fit" for the job i was applying for. i don't know what that means. but i'm extremely pleased that i didn't risk the job i've accepted!

after we were done i walked to h2o's gym to meet up with gd. the lack of signage freaks me out - i'd been given instructions and couldn't find the place, even when i was already in the building on the correct floor. how can that be good for business???

my sinusitis was terrible and i was completely exhausted; i felt utterly spoiled to have gd taking care of me for the evening. i ordered indian from the usual place* and we both ate too much.

* this'll be the last time, i thought i'd confused the numbers before but cari mela is insanely expensive. it's a lot of food for two people, and it's delicious, but $40 is outrageous for dinner in front of the telly**.

** netflix

we watched pirates! band of misfits - i'd actually forgotten i'd seen it - and i think even less of it now than i did before. it's beautifully done, but the story is pathetic.

we chased that with two comedies i'd already seen: my girlfriend's boyfriend was just as great the second time, and thinky pain was even better (than the first time).

i took the night meds and we both went to bed early.

---today:

i woke up after midnight with aching feet. i was suffering serious rls and no amount of stretching (on top of salt water, the usual fix) or massaging was helping. at one point i was feeling too confined and i didn't want to disturb gd, so i snuck out the back (a nifty feature of her apartment) and literally walked up and down the dark street, quite stoned from the night meds, eventually becoming antsy to return even though my feet were still griefing me.

fortunately, they calmed down a bit a short while later, but well over an hour had passed in torment and it's never been that bad before. i returned to bed, and gd woke up and convinced me to use a nasal decongestant spray. i'm usually loathe to use those because "once you pop"... but it did help to make the rest of the night easier. i wasn't feeling well-rested when i got up, but i was definitely feeling better.

...

i finished a game of hero academy with zenstar this morning, and decided that i've outgrown it. it was fun for the longest time, but the ratio of the effort it takes to recall a game versus the pleasure derived from the game has steadily worsened over time. i'll stick with penny arcade: gamers vs evil for social gaming and another case solved, even though i've cleared all the cases, still has some entertaining challenges while i wait for the next round of cases to be delivered.

...

this morning's discussion turned to songs gd and i want played at our funerals. i like the fact that we've both got good ones :)

...

even though i ran errands today, my focus was primarily on memorizing and practicing my performance for sunday. so any time i was walking or on the metro, i was talking to myself in a way that those around me probably weren't too comfortable with.

i hurried down to wire's area with the intention of having coffee with him, but he was in a hurry so he dumped two thirds of the cash on me and we walked and talked until we got to where he was headed. firstly, it's great that he's on his feet, and secondly, it's great that i didn't lose a friend over money.

i was already on the green line, so i headed to an art supply store i'm familiar with to pick up charcoal pencils for gd who's been getting back into drawing since just before we met. i dropped those off at the front desk of her work and sneaked off, which i hoped would be seen as romantic [it was]. from there i headed to the saq to pick up wine for uncle hate's birthday. on the way i passed an asian dude who was so decked out in hipster garb that i had to fight the urge to say "hey dude, you left your identity at home".

there's nothing that destroys a well-made subway foot-long better than an unfinished cut down the middle.

our muay thai instructor and i travelled together from lionel groulx and he imparted a lot of sparring advice. i was intrigued to discover that he's actually about to return to university to work on his master's.

i called up uncle hate to wish him a happy birthday, and was almost sorry to have asked him how he is; turns out he's been having a really uncomfortable week. anyway, once he was done complaining he simply said "goodbye" and hung up, so that was easy enough.

i passed out on the couch, hoping that after a rest i'd be ready for sparring, but that's definitely not happening :(

instead, i've taken the opportunity to catch up with all sorts of things. then i got an email from steam telling me that an item on my wishlist is on sale.

bioshock infinite for $10? or $15 for all three???
*that* is a price i'm willing to pay.