I wasn't on the UVA trip this weekend, so it's been massive doses of homework on the home front. I have a Control test on Tuesday, plus homework in Bioprocess and Separations, a probable Safety Quiz, a prelab quiz for the Control lab, and working on the previous lab report for Control. I did make my homework more interesting yesterday, though, by playing the "extra features" of the Lost DVD in the background. Who would have guessed the guy who plays Hurley first tried out for Sawyer? I can't imagine him as Sawyer. It's very funny.

What was also funny was that on Wednesday when Graham was coming over to watch Lost there came a knock at our door at 8:54. Since Graham never comes over until exactly 9:00, I don't know why, I said to Catherine, "It's early. That can't be Graham. And the knock's not manly enough." But then I opened the door and it was him, so I had to ask if he heard that, which he didn't, but then I'd given away that we had said something and had to tell him anyway but he didn't seem insulted.

I was looking through the family cookbook my mom sent me and decided to make Safarancho, which involves pork chops, rice, ketchup, and Worcestershire sauce. I don't remember my mom ever making it but I trust her recipes. And it sounds pretty easy. I'm not up for making very involved thing with this much schoolwork. I still haven't tried creme brulee like I want to. Maybe I'll make it over Thanksgiving. I'm going to stay at school like previous years, but this time I'm going to make myself tamales. I found the masa harina at Kroger, and after a long search and asking several Kroger employees I found lard (really, it's the South? Why was lard so hard to find?), but absolutely no corn husks, so either I'll go to Whole Foods before then or make them in foil wrappers like my mom says you can do.

At church today they had their Thanksgiving meal like they normally do, with turkey and stuffing. Graham was talking about the stuffing his mom makes, one batch with apples and raisins and one with chestnuts. I forgot some people put chestnuts in stuffing. I'll have to watch out. That's the only thing on the list of stuff that people with latex allergies tend to be allergic to that I haven't tested yet. Since I've found out I'm allergic to kiwis, bananas, and avocado, chances are I'm allergic to the only remaining item on the list, chestnuts.

People think you're absolutely insane when you say you're allergic to rubber. But I am. At Christmas I should ask my aunt, who's a nurse, how she deals with her latex allergy. I remember she said years ago that she got a persistent rash on her hands that turned out to be a latex allergy. I wonder if she's sensitive to as much other stuff as I am. According to one doctor at the campus health center "You're the most sensitive person I've ever heard of. Are you sure you're that sensitive?" as if the rash on my hands was imaginary.

I got two packages of break-and-bake cookie dough at Kroger yesterday. One is the S'more kind my sister recommended, and one is "Turtle" with caramel, pecans, and chocolate. I think both sound very good. I remember a friend telling me once about somebody she knew who just didn't like food.

I can't imagine that.