Beyond that, now I find I have a sore where my tongue joins the back of my throat, positioned in such a way that it makes my ear ache too. Picture a nuclear plant melting down on the point where North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia meet; it would cause problems for all three states. That's how the pain feels in my head. It's a constant source of aggravation. Ladies: imagine a little steel wool substituted for the substance of a tampon. Gentlemen: imagine a backwards-pointing thumb tack in the knot of your tie. Punk rockers: imagine being stranded on a desert island with a working solar-powered stereo and a stack of Bare Naked Ladies CDs.

The day, well, what can I say? I was indoors while a cold rain fell outside. The news shows on teevee mulled over Karla Faye Tucker's impending execution up until and then even after it occurred at around 8:00pm. It's really too bad that Karla whacked a woman 30 some times with a pick axe in a fit of drug-induced sexual ecstasy, but you know, if she hadn't, she probably would have lived a brief life of unredeeming sociopathy anyway. Texas death row straightened her out real good, and it's unfortunate that it's ultimately fatal. If death row could be expanded to include others who might be rehabilitated but not executed, it might actually begin to serve a societal purpose.

Today was Angela's 19th birthday. It wasn't really celebrated in any interesting way. Matthew ordered a half bacon, half green peppers pizza from Gumbys, but it was so lukewarm and its unavoidable Gumbys aftertaste was so strong that it wasn't exactly a joy to eat.