Helpless

As of this morning at 9:53am:

1. My iPod still has the same sad face it has had since last night, despite my attempts at following the instructions on the iPod website.

2. My living room still has the same dead-animal smell it has had since last night. M. thought someone was cooking cabbage last night. But now...it has occured to me that it is most definitely a dead animal smell, a conclusion I have reached based on the comes-and-goes character of the odor. We're thinking maybe the other trap got tripped by Mouse #2 last weekend, who escaped with a mortal flesh wound and a) in my scenario, ran under the floorboards or behind the wall to die, or b) in M.'s scenario, ran under our couch and somehow climbed inside to die. The latter choice, of course, makes me vomit a little bit. Although it would give us that excuse we've been looking for (other than the complete discoloration and broken springs) to buy a new couch.

3. All of the above is going on while I'm sitting here taking a sick day (digestive bug) and watching the September 11th coverage on all three major networks, sitting in my underwear, at the computer, writing about insipid things and worrying about minor concerns, just like I was 5 years ago.