Clara Jane returned to school today, hallelujah and praise be to the snow overlords. And yet, my blahs seem even deeper.

This is a success: I’m currently sitting at the dining room table instead of in the armchair by the fireplace, which has taken on the shape of my ass.

I had no intentions of being home at all during the the school hours today. After drop-off, I headed downtown to … I don’t know. I figured I’d go to Oregon Trail, have a latte, and try to avoid the sun. We’ve got that winter death-ball thing going, where there’s not a cloud to be had and white reflective surfaces everywhere. I hate it.

About halfway there, my stomach decided it was not please with the giant coffee I’d consumed at home. I thought about turning around and going back home, but I was in the middle lane at a busy intersection. Nowhere to go but straight, and no way to feel but trapped. I continued toward downtown.

When I got there, I didn’t have the energy to deal with the parking situation. Prettytown, I love you, but I’m disappointed in the lack of plowed parking lots. Street parking’s a mess because of the mountains of dirty plowed snow. I looped around the block and headed home without trying.

The whole time, I was listening to Memphis to Manchester, normally one of my favorite radio shows.  I don’t know if my trippy form of malaise is a collective thing, but the playlist certainly reflected my uncomfortable, bloated, lackluster frame of mind. “The Theme From The Pink Panther“, followed by Tom Waits’ “The Piano Has Been Drinking”? My God. My brain. Fucked!

I came home, took care of the angry stomach business, took a long shower to make up for yesterday’s shower phone fest-o-rama, and alloted myself an hour to knit before doing something more active. I didn’t knit. I farted around online. I should had blown the dust off my yoga DVD, but it’s all the way downstairs.

Maybe I’m a bear. That’s the problem. I’m a bear, and I’m supposed to be half-alive in hibernation.

Nutrition! I shall conquer the malaise through nutrition! Shredded wheat sprinkled with black walnuts! Fiber and Omega-3! Oranges! Vitamin C, in case this is scurvy-related! Powdered vitmain B mega-additive!

Maybe I need a nap.

I just noticed that half the lightbulbs in my dining room’s light fixture are dead. Considering the horror induced by the blinding death-ball in the sky, that’s probably just as well.

It will get better. Tomorrow’s going to be busy. I’m ready for busy. I have to fetch my parents from the airport in the morning. Saturday, Brian and I are heading to Champaign, Illinois, to see Jeff Tweedy with a bunch of my Wilco nerd friends. I’m sure that’ll haul me out of hibernation. Until then, please do not poke the bear.