Yesterday I spent a lovely day outside, and today I'm paying the price, allergy-wise. I've been watching Little House on the Prairie for most of the afternoon because this show is freaking great, blowing my nose and wiping my eyes. (Gross! Willie Olsen was hiding in the store and watching Laura try on a dress! Will this be a Very Special Episode in which we learn how to deal with underage Peeping Toms?) It was worth it though. Roommate Kate, her friend and I went to a party in the park near our apartment, and then to Taste of Madison on the Capital Square. It was packed, and every other person was wearing a Wisconsin t-shirt. Apparently that's really common; Kate said Madisonians- and Wisconsinites (Wisconsinians? Wisconsinonians?) in general- always have closetsful of Wisconsin t-shirts to prove their Wisconsin pride.

Could it be? Could I be living amongst people whose state pride outstrips my own? I don't have any Kentucky t-shirts! I have already defended Kentucky's honor a few times to doubters, but I don't have any clothing-based beacons to broadcast its awesomeness to any who might look upon me. I feel like a failure. I'm sorry, Kentucky! I promise that once I have more than $14 in my bank account (every day I check my mailbox in hopes that my financial aid check has arrived), I'll order some t-shirts.

Moving on. After Taste of Madison (pumpkin spice cheesecake and an ear of roast corn, delicious!) I went to a friend's for a cookout. The weather's been beautiful, which makes staying indoors today hard, because I know it's not going to last. I want to be able to do some hiking before it's -151 degrees outside. Hopefully staying inside today will mean I can go outside tomorrow. Or that my allergy prescription will start being worth its outrageous price tag.

Orientation was this week, which was a nice change of pace. My classmates seem pretty fun, though the assessment exam for Statistics and Microecon was brutal. Fractions are the devil's work, I tell you. (Though this kid on Little House is now doing complex long division (or "cipherin'") in his head. Now I feel stupid.) But everybody else seems to be in the same boat, so hopefully I won't be too far behind.

This show so One Life to Live on the Plains. Laura and that hodag Nellie Olsen are catfighting! Nellie totally deserves it for lying to Laura about the teachers' exam and then flirting with Almanzo. Now she's lying to Charles about Laura and Almanzo kissing! What a bitch. They weren't kissing, though Almanzo is flirting with her pretty hardcore, and he's quite a bit older than she is. I forgot about the age difference, that's kind of skeezy. Holy crap! Charles is beating up Almanzo, and Almanzo called Laura a "little girl" and Laura's hearbroken and shouting that she's "A WOMAN!" which has been a theme of the past couple epsiodes, even though she looks like she's about 12 and I wish everybody would stop talking about Laura being a woman in such a creepy way.

If I have to stay inside with a washcloth on my face and a box of tissues at hand, at least I have the nonstop drama of Little House to entertain me.