sick to death c/w mystery box!

was at the protest yesterday. couldn't stay for the march, but was there before it got underway. even more police than last time, which i suppose makes sense. loads more on horses. helicopters overhead, at least two; might've been more. all the buildings kinda get in the way, so i couldn't really see. Federal Plaza was filled with people, and more kept coming in all the time. it was good to see, but still made me cry. this whole thing. i try to stop thinking about it, but i can't...

even after i had to leave, though, i could hear their chanting all the way across the Loop. it was half-heartening and half-sad. so many people who feel this way, and the ones who can do something about it, of course, don't give a shit. way to treat your constituency. :P

i'm going to try to think of other things. i don't know how much luck i'll have. yesterday was one of the most completely emotionally draining days i've spent in a long time, and i'm fairly certain i'm not alone in that.

it's horrid. there are people around here who are complaining because there've been these articles in local papers about how Mayor Daley's requests for an FAA-declared no-fly zone over Chicago have been ignored. ah, yes, it all comes down to this. believe what you're told, oh yes. you'll be ever so much better off that way. some people are such unbelievable tools. it's really sad and frustrating to see. i bet they bought the fucking duct tape, too. and the plastic wrap.

yes, children---remember to duck and cover. cos yanno, it's really all coming down on our heads. imagination wins out over reality every single fucking time. disgusting.

i'm, er, a bit bitter and worked up. 'scuse me. >P

oh, i know. here's something kinda amusing from the other night, just before this country actually began this thing they're doing.

i got to the train station near my house, and as usual, Spaz picked me up. as we're driving home, he asks who i know in Australia. i know people who've been there, but i don't think i've got any friends there right now (and if i do, and you're reading this, feel free to kick me for being so forgetful).

i can't think of anybody, and ask why. he responds that i've got a giant box that just got delivered sitting at home, from Australia. he can't remember the name on it, so there's not much i can really do about it till we've gotten home, other than wonder who it could possibly be from.

a few minutes later, we're home. sure enough, this huge box is sitting on the table in the kitchen. i examine it; the name isn't one i recognise. it's from Breckenridge. hrrm. can't think of anything to do with Breckenridge. look at the customs slip, and it states the contents to be "SNOWGLOBE." signature doesn't look familiar. hrrm.

(of course, this makes me think of my sister. Mariam had this thing last year for snowglobes; in particular, there were these REALLY nice ones that had been made featuring scenes from Lord of the Rings. i wouldn't spend so much money on them, but i did think they were quite lovely. she collected them all. XD)

i look all over the outside of the box, trying to see if there's a note attached. look under the customs slip. nothing.

finally, Spaz hands me a razor and i slice it open. no note inside; just a lot of styrofoam peanuts surrounding a slightly-smaller-big-box inside that says "Harry Potter" on top. a Harry Potter snowglobe. hrrm.

Spaz holds the big box so i can pry the HP box out of the midst of all the styrofoam. pull it out, open it up---still no note. sure enough, it's a snowglobe; Harry Potter, even:

you shake it and there's little stars. there's even Scabbers! the books are really cool; the bookmarks are actual ribbon coming out of the ceramic. and the cauldron is pretty neat (although if they've got a cauldron, why not Snape instead of Dumbledore? XD), with the little bubbles.

but still---where did it come from? i couldn't think of any contests i'd entered. i never really liked any of the HP merchandise---except the Legos. thought the Grandpre art was hideous. didn't want the movie stuff (excepting the actual movies themselves on DVD). so i pondered. and Spaz teased, in a singsong voice, "you've got a STALKER! someone must've seen a SWEK show or something! XD XD XD" pointing and laughing. i glared, half-amused but playing along. where could it have come from?

i decide to call Mariam.

(now, what i mentioned earlier? people upset about there not being a no-fly zone in place? my mother was one of those people. she had in fact called me at work earlier in the day, wanting to set up a system wherein we'd check in with each other with a phone call every day. nevermind the fact that a) it's bullshit, and b) even if it were much of a possibility, were something to happen, i'd think either one of us would probably figure out something was wrong with the other. :P really, such a system makes no sense whatsoever. way to buy into the bullshit, mom. :P)

anyrate, i'd told my sister about this conversation via a phonecall we'd had earlier. her response was a gigantic pause, followed by "my silence is my response. O.O;;;" i'd had a similar one, i told her---there was a long pause in my convo with my mom, during which i could feel the ellipses circling my head. and i also related that suddenly, i'd felt this overwhelming urge to run to the bathroom. so i told my mom, "er, i've really got to go to the bathroom. can i get off the phone now?" and i did. i wasn't making it up. and i told Spaz about this conversation on the way home, too. hence, what followed after i announced that i was going to call Mariam:

"Ooh, can I call her?" he asked. "I want to make sure she's okay---tell her she needs to check in with us twice each day to make sure nothing's happened to her. XDXDXDXD and then we can call your mom and tell her we just opened up a big box from someone we didn't know, with a snowglobe filled with anthrax---see, Harry Potter is evil! XDXDXD"

he phoned up Mariam. and informed her solemnly that we ought to check in with one another every day, twice a day. and it was hilarious. and he told her about the snowglobe.

and we found out she was the one who'd sent it.

"...but from AUSTRALIA?!?!?" i asked. apparently, it was my late christmas present. she thought it was neat, and that i'd like it. and it is, and i do, even if i never would have bought it for myself. Hedwig, Hermione, Ron, Scabbers, and Dumbledore look pretty good. and Harry looks a bit like he's got leprosy, which is okay too. it now sits amongst my Lego HP sets, Milk & Cheese + Lenore lunchboxes, and Filler Bunny in his capsule on our bookcase. the books at the base are the coolest part of it, though. XD

well, we were amused. XD