Ever catch yourself doing something that fits in with an old habit? One that has nothing to do with your life as it is now lived? I suppose that people who have successfully kicked cigarettes or booze or drugs must occasionally find themselves performing old rituals tied to their days as an addict.

In my case, it's nothing so dramatic. I don't tend to think of myself as a fussy person, but every time I set up a house or an office or even a car, I find myself nesting; setting up my environment in a very specific, nay, fussy way. This is precondition #1.

I tried my best to get my room and my office desk the way I like them. I tried to improve on a few things, such as stocking up on highlighters & post-it notes in order to improve my memory. But there are a thousand picayune details to keep in mind, and I'm not exactly Bobby Fisher. This is precondition #2.

Today is a weird day - this is precondition #3. On Wednesdays we usually get a free hour in the morning for staff development. (Last year I did much of my development sleeping on the couch, but that's neither here nor there.) This means that our "normal" schedule is somewhat augmented at the front end & somewhat compressed through the rest of the day. Classes begin and end at times even odder than usual - and I've forgotten a lot of these timing details in the past 2 1/2 months. Today I kept staring at my desk, wondering at what time I should begin teaching. The desk was unresponsive. I stared harder, barely realizing what I was doing. I shuffled some papers with the dim idea that it would help. Then it hit me.

I used to have a schedule taped to the desk. Just so you know: bare wood? Just not as talkative as a laser-printed schedule. I fetched an earlier version of my schedule from the recycling and taped it up. Suddenly all was well.

It's only 4:36, and I feel like I'm going to collapse. Honestly. I had a gym appointment this afternoon, but I begged off with a spurious excuse and hightailed it home. I hate lying to my gym, but I was just having one of those afternoons where I feel like if I don't get home soon, my bones would collapse into dust and my hair would fall out in big messy chunks. I wonder if this is a pregnancy thang or a teacher thang. Not that it really matters, since both stop around the same time. But damn. I feel like my face weighs 1000 pounds and my back is on strike.

And now our phone is dead. 5 days after the last time it went dead. We keep getting maintenance guys who insist that there's nothing wrong with our phone lines. This'll be fun.

Booty Call: Day 187 - Your baby's eyelids open and eyelashes are present. Blood volume has doubled by now; iron requirements are high.

2 years ago today: tremendously ironic musings about the inadvisability of pregnancy.