I understand feeling as small and as insignificant as humanly possible. And how it can actually ache in places you didn't know you had inside you. And it doesn't matter how many new haircuts you get, or gyms you join, or how many glasses of chardonnay you drink with your girlfriends... you still go to bed every night going over every detail and wonder what you did wrong or how you could have misunderstood. And how in the hell for that brief moment you could think that you were that happy. And sometimes you can even convince yourself that he'll see the light and show up at your door. And after all that, however long all that may be, you'll go somewhere new. And you'll meet people who make you feel worthwhile again. And little pieces of your soul will finally come back. And all that fuzzy stuff, those years of your life that you wasted, that will eventually begin to fade.

——from Iris, The Holiday

FAQ: The Illinois Aphid Swarm

村里这两天闹虫灾，漫天飞舞的小虫子跟阳光下的灰尘一样密密麻麻到处都是。号称这种蚜虫只爱大豆和一种叫buckthorn的树，十几年前从亚洲移民来米国，作风强悍，没有天敌。目前全校、全县、甚至全东伊利诺伊的空气里都充满了此虫，它们在夏末要从大豆田迁徙到树上产卵过冬，整个迁徙过程大概要好几周…… o_O