this morning was a bit rough.

the freeway i take to get to work was a complete mess. apparently a big rig from the other side of the road crashed through the cement barriers and onto our side of the road. it's probably safe to say that the people involved in that incident had a far worse morning, but i still found it necessary to be frustrated.

when i finally made it into work, i went through my routine of checking blogs, news websites, emails and facebook.

a few other elements were adding to my already pitiful morning ... like the stress of a final exam this evening (for which i am only mildly prepared), 20 more pages of my thesis that have yet to be written and are looming over my head, christmas shopping that has yet to be completed (with ever depleting funds to work with), my departure at 6:45 a.m. for kansas in which i will spend 3 days absorbing the holiday goodness of my childhood without actually being there for christmas (all thanks to the necessity of finishing my degree) ...

things are just mounting. emotionally. physically. socially.

not as much as they have in the past ... but i certainly had my moment for a few hours this morning.

until ...

i found out that a girl i went to high school with who has two young children, died yesterday of an anuerism. she had a headache and then ...

just.like.that.

gone.

no warning. no goodbyes. no preparation.

just.gone.

suddenly, everything else in my life seemed petty when i thought of her boyfriend and her two little boys and how their morning must have been. so, despite my bad start, i'm determined to end today well. for her. for everyone who won't be given the chance to say goodnight this evening to those they love.