Bad things come in threes, so of course the pinnacle of my day was when the tree behind my house got struck by lightning. We're in the outer bands of Isaac right now, sort of light rain off and on, not so bad, until today. The afternoon got stormy suddenly, right while I was reading about storms, and then there was a giant crack and my house shook and my head felt funny. The police knocked on the door and told me they thought the house had been hit and someone had reported smoke in the backyard. I grabbed the cat (who I will immediately be ordering a carrier for) and stood on the porch with my neighbor (and her beta fish, dog, and tiny kitten in a bag). The cat struggled. It was pretty awful.

We're going to have to tell the landlord to cut the tree down tomorrow, when they're not closed for Labor Day.

What a day.

...which resulted in a long and complex dream that was definitely part Magic the Gathering, part Hunger Games, part fear-of-aging, part massive zip line through a jungle while drinking La Croix (really. There really was La Croix in my dream. This is...worrisome).

I am worn out from all this visiting and walking and talking. Yesterday, I got incredibly worked up about something unrelated and had about an hour of loud, nauseous tears, but I can't help feeling like I wouldn't have been so upset if I hadn't been so tired. I am the most vulnerable to my own neuroses when I am worn down like I am now. I was so upset, in fact, that I forgot I got another acceptance yesterday. I have never gotten back-to-back acceptances like that. And my parents, who(m?) I love a lot, are here with me, and I am feeling a little more at home in my new home every day. Also my couch doesn't smell of cat pee anymore, and I ate a lot of pickled mussels tonight. I have to tell myself that Okay, self, you can be upset about the things that make you deeply sad, but you also have to be happy about the good things.

As Dottie from This Is My Life would say, Girls, this is a Life Lesson.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpCXKpxnykU]

I cannot tell you how many times I've seen that horrible film.