I have been away too long

Well. It's been what, a month? This calls for an update, I guess. But it will be an update dealing with only the most recent of things in my life.

I woke up at 2:45 a.m. on Monday, down in the Twin Cities, in a lot of pain. Nick drove me to the hospital, where it was discovered that I had a kidney stone. They gave me some pain medication and ran a CT scan which showed that the stone had passed and was no longer a problem. I got back to my friends' house around 5:30 a.m. or so, just in time to pack up and head back to Bemidji (Nick drove us; I was in no condition to be driving with the meds and all). I slept a lot Monday and Tuesday. Today, less so... but I'm still tired, and I'm still getting little twinges of pain. Nothing bad, tho. Just residual achyness. The doctors told me to drink lots of water and if it happens again, I may need to have some tests and stuff done to figure out what's causing it. I REALLY don't want to have another one (omigod OW!), so I've been drinking water pretty much nonstop since then.

Also, today I am reading a book that I borrowed from a friend. It's called Contemplative Prayer by Thomas Merton. I've only gotten as far as the two introductions, but nevertheless, I've found a quote I love already:

Self-chosen sacrifices are nearly always inferior to those unasked for ones which the situation throws in our way.

That is all.