Chain Gang

          I rose at 4:30 in the morning to go for a run, then got my nose to the grindstone. I knocked out an online quiz for IPE, then prepared for both a team-based policy presentation in USFP and a case presentation in IPE. The USFP activity, a simulation in which several teams played different policy actors in the aftermath of a terrorist attack, had my team representing the FBI. I spoke for the group and it went just fine, though our recommendations were not ultimately followed by the President. After this, I really did not have time to whip up a satisfying presentation for IPE, and was relieved to find out that our syllabus is on something of a lag. Anyway, playing Iran in a mock-UN or WTO session makes you feel like the ugly girl at the dance. I worked out an uneasy alliance with Saudi Arabia and Jordan, who did not desire my support but required it nonetheless. I also had to take a hit on a paper for LatAm, though each day it's late costs me a laughable 1/3 of a point.
          After class, I settled in with a cold sarsaparilla whiskey/ginger beer, kicked back and continued with House of Cards. I cooked up a burger with Swiss, then went into a long and merciful nap. I dreamed that I ran into Maddie at 2:45 a.m., extremely late for my radio show. I looked at my dream phone and saw a text from her, sent prior to our meeting: "hazdam."
          As it happened, I woke up with fifteen minutes until midnight, so the dream nearly came true. I hustled to the studio and aside from some unexpected on-air cusswords (courtesy of Fitz & the Tantrums) the broadcast went quite well. Maddie was a model guest, and we had some fun giving shout outs -- hers for the upcoming lol-Mads release, "Look At Your Butt". After the show, I went home to crack open a cider, read a bit of A Dance With Dragons, and for the first time in a while, PTFO in my own bed at something resembling bedtime.
          Quotes of the day:
"We have our fingers in every pie and not enough fingers!" - dude in class
"We want heads on tables, people!" - another dude in class