The others may play marbles

2007-01-09 - 4:10 p.m.

"It appeared that the swift wings of their desires would have shattered against the iron gates of the impossible."

"Let the unfortunates rail; the others may play marbles."

I finished reading The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane on my way home from work today. The timing was perfect: I finished the last paragraph at the bus stop before mine. The book is significant to me because it was required reading for me in eighth grade. Of all the books I was ever required to read in school, this is the only one I didn't read. I was able to bluff my way through and get A's on all the exams and essays despite never getting past the first chapter. Now, at long last, I can say that I've read all the books I was required to read in school. (The quotes at the beginning of this entry are my favorites from the book.)

The weather is, once again, horrible in Seattle. They're predicting snow again tomorrow, but since it's still 46 degrees out, I'm doubtful of the snow. It is, however, raining, and really, really windy. At the moment they're reporting sustained wind in the 30's and gusts in the 40's. I got soaked on the way to the bus stop after work--it's really hard to stay dry when the rain's falling horizontally.

When I got home today, they were no strange men in my apartment. There've been construction workers in and out all day yesterday and today (according to Lolo) working on replacing our windows. I've been home for nearly 90 minutes and I haven't seen any of them--do you think they'd mind if I shut the window they left open?