Today has been the day of procrastination. I was supposed to get up at 8, but after I shut off the alarm, I went back to sleep for almost two hours. I started work on my essay at about 10:45 and my parents brought my grandma to visit at noon. That was a planned interruption, but I extended it by asking them to drop me in town after an over-long lunch. I've got enough vouchers that I can finally justify getting myself a copy of the MLA Manual of Style --- except that after I spent half an hour combing the touch-screen search database and the shelves, I convinced myself that they really didn't have it in stock. They had three big badass hardback editions of the Chicago Manual, but no MLA. I confess that Kinokuniya has finally disappointed me.

All of which puts me on a crowded train on the way home, instead of plonked in front of my computer at home. I've wasted at least four hours today, which means my paper is one-third of the way done instead of two-thirds, and l probably can't justify watching the 8 pm rerun of this week's Survivor tonight. I missed yesterday's because I was hanging at a friend's place in the evening and we weren't really in the Survivor mood.

Terz is at a school camp all weekend. I'm not sure if I would be spending my time more efficiently if he were home.

Here's a strange sight: a mother in front of me is reading a book to her four- or five-year old kid. This is weird because most kids spend train rides staring out the window, playing on the floor or otherwise fussing because they can't move about freely. This kid is even asking his mom questions as they go along. Maybe there is hope for the next generation. The only problem with the image is that the dad is beside them but reading his own big adult Clive Cussler-type book. Why does the mom have to do the nurturing-bonding-type stuff?

And I'm almost at my station. Homework ahoy!