So I'm definitely supposed to be working right now. Things like doing homework and prepping for my CMIS 201 CLEP test (basiclly just Excel and Access stuff). And yeah, I'm not. I brought my digital camera with me. Yes, my NEW digital camera that finally came in the mail on Thursday. It's beautiful. I love it. I wish it would make purring noises when I stroke it (well, maybe not). So far I've only taken a few pictures, but here is one of me and Caleb. Yeah, we're cute, I know it. ;)

I worked at David's Place last night till midnight and it went by really fast. Jordan and I talked about (to quote Danny) "wierd artsy movies" for a long time, and I got to play Catchphrase for ten seconds with Chad and all of his actor friends. Caleb and I were supposed to watch "The Secret of Nymph" after I got off work, but we were too tired. Especially since we had "fitness evaluations" this morning.

Jordan (from DP) is an Exercise Science major, and we're helping him with his final project. About ten of us (various people from work and some of his friends) met him today at 10:30, and he did this fitness evaluation thing. We had to different endurance tests (like leg extensions and bench presses), walking a mile (which I did in 10:45, thank you very much), flexibility, and other stuff. He also measured our body fat and weight and blood pressure. He's going to take everything and analyze it over the next week, then meet with us to establish health/fitness goals and work out a plan for us to reach them. We have to follow the plan until April, and then he'll re-evaluate us to see how the plan worked. It's really cool because not only do I get a free personal trainer for three months, but it's going to keep me accountable for working out since I know I have to report back to him. I'm a little sore from some of the tests, but I'm excited to see what my "plan" will be. Motivation for working out, how crazy is that!

Caleb and I are going to Roanoke tonight to see "Big Fish". I've been wanting to watch it ever since I first saw the previews--the cinematography looks absolutely beautiful! I've heard lots of good things about the plot, too, so hopefully I won't be dissapointed. I think Sara Carl, Cameron and Jordan are coming with us, which will make it even more enjoyable.

It's really cold in here. Oh, and now I can show you a picture of what "here" is (the Mac lab, at least. This is a side view of some of our computers (aren't they pretty?).

Ok. Homework. I've been here for at least 2 hours and I haven't even touched it. ::squeezes eyes shut and cautiously reaches towards book bag:: yuck.

I'm currently wearing one of the biggest shirts I've ever owned. Adam (my manager at David's Place) finally gave me two staff shirts to wear, but they're huge. Men's mediums. Which, granted, isn't exactly the biggest size shirt in the world, but on me...well, they're large. I could probably fit three of me in here with no problem. I really want to alter it, but I don't have a sewing machine. I'm actually contemplating getting it altered at a tailor's, but I have no idea how much that would cost. I have to wear it every time I work, so it would be worth it to pay a little bit, but still. I think I'd feel dumb asking them to alter a t-shirt. They'd probably think it was beneath them.

I've had a really good day today. I spent some of the morning recruiting people to get their picture taken for the yearbook (which I'm currently a part of for my practicum). It was actually a lot of fun; my friend Dana is the yearbook editor and she's absolutely insane and I love her. She also lives in the same apartment complex as Caleb, which means it will be a lot easier to hang out with her this semester. Yay!

I'm having a postcard day today--I have this entire box of postcards with old catalogue pictures from the seventies on them, and tomorrow I'm sending some to Phil, Eb, and the girls at the Pink Nasty. Eb is the one that got me excited about sending people postcards...they're much easier and cheaper than letters, plus they're just more fun! I'm collecting the cool ones I get, so email me if you want to send me one. :)

I got two new records on Monday. One is full of old Platinum hits like "Rock with Me" by Michael Jackson, "Always a Woman" by Billy Joel...plus stuff from ABBA, Eltron John, the Bee Gees, and more. The second one is full of Henry Mancini's "Theme Songs", like the theme from "Love Story" and (best of all) the theme from M*A*S*H. I've been looking up record shops in Baltimore--we're going to take a little road trip up there sometime in February to go record-hunting. It's amazing how actually having a record player that works makes you want to buy more and more records...alright, maybe not that amazing.

I finished reading Pilgrim's Progress for 18th Century Lit. It was very tedious--as is the tendency of that time period. However, I was suprised to find that so many of the allegorical parallels continue to be relevant. It amazes me sometimes how basic the Christian walk really is, yet still so complex to those who aren't truly following it. I also find it interesting that living for Christ in the 18th century really didn't differ all that much from the way we live it today. Granted, the blatant advocacy of sin is much more apparent in modern society, but those in the 1700's dealt with as many day-to-day struggles as we do. The presence of political and denominational pressures were much more pressing to them, bringing along so many issues of pride, gossip, and incorrect doctrine. Living a life to please God will never be the easiest of things, but it will always be the most rewarding. No matter what the time frame.

Well. Didn't really plan on going off on that, but there it is. And now I need to work on designing the fliers for Open Mic Night on February 8th. Hasta.

Well, I said I would post again, and viola! I am. So, back to this weekend...

My family stayed at a hotel for the two nights that they were in town, so I got to stay with them. I love hotels. Not to mention the fact that Caleb came over and went swimming with me both nights. We sat in the hot tub until we couldn't feel our toes, then drank Dr. Pepper and tried to stay away from the scary group of Jr. High girls that were cavorting all over the lobby (yes, I said "cavorting", and believe me--they were, to the fullest extent of the word).

My family went with Caleb and me to church on Sunday. The service was good, as always, and my parents really liked the church--which is important. It was my dad's birthday, so we ate lunch at Kyoto's Japanese Steakhouse. Yum. That place is great. The chef comes to your table (which contains a large hot surface in the center) and cooks your meal. In front of you. Doing incredible things like throwing knives around and juggling sauces the entire time. It was great, and the food (chicken and shimp) was wonderful.

Monday and Tuesday consisted mostly of Caleb and I running around, trying to get numerous house-relate errands accomplished. We did fairly well for ourselves, and he was able to (finally!) move in to his apartment last night. His roomates are great; they were all friends before, which makes things nice. We spent three hours last night putting together this Beast of a Desk. Walmart's assembly-required furniture is heinous. My hands still hurt from turning the screwdriver!

Yesterday's classes were great; I'm actually looking forward to the "school" aspect of things this semester. I'm taking Interactive Multimedia Design (basiclly a "Dreamweaver MX" class), Biology (with Caleb, yay), Biology Lab, 18th Century Literature, Yearbook Practicum, New Testament, and Role of a Christian Woman in Ministry. Here's to hoping I can keep myself on the Dean's List again....

Tonight looks towards more errands, hanging out with Caleb and Cameron, and seeing a movie that starts at 9:30 or so--no more hall meeting for me, thankyouverymuch!

The Mac lab has become my home once again, and I can't help but smile as I type this on the newly installed OS X. It's beautiful, albeit the adjustments that I have to make to the new format. I still can't believe that classes have actually started and I only have one more left before my day is over.

We left Detroit on Friday evening, my brother and I in my car and my parents in the other. A long, winding trip though southern Ohio left us halfway across West Virginia when we stopped around 1:30 am at a Holiday Inn Express. Phil and I were still full of energy (listening to INXS does that to you) and weren't even close to needing sleep, so we were a bit frustrated at the idea of stopping for the night, but I'm glad we did. The next day provided us with about four more hours of driving until we finally made it into Lynchburg.

It was great to see Caleb again; it's strange how even a few weeks can make you appreciate someone so much more. He helped my family put another coat of paint on the walls and trim in my room. It looks amazing compared to what we started with--when I finally finish getting everything set up (it's still a bit of a mess right now), I'm hoping to get some good pictures with my new digital camera...that should be arriving sometime next week! I'm so excited, I can't wait to spend a few days fawning over it.

Unfortunately I have to draw my post to a close, because my final class of the day (New Testament) is rapidly approaching. I'll update the rest of my weekend today or tomorrow. Especially since I only have one class tomorrow. Mwahahahahaha....

I know I'm ready to go back to Virginia now. I know because I'm having dreams about the new OS X that was installed in the Mac lab over break. I know because it's so cold outside that it literally bites your head and feet off. I know because ten minutes after I left my house, I still couldn't feel my hands on the steering wheel. I know because I've watched so many "Trading Spaces" that I feel like when I open the door to my house, I'll be greeted by Paige and all the designers, brightly colored smocks in hand.

I know because I got tears in my eyes after flipping through an ingenious ad for Photoshop CS . And no, I am not kidding.

So yes, thank-you-very-much, I'm ready to be at school again. It's sad, but I admit defeat. If for no reason other than the fact that it's currently seven degrees below zero. And that's more cold than I need for a long, long time.

I spent two or three hours at Barnes and Nobles today, gorging myself on Photoshop/Digital Camera/Graphic Design magazines. And realizng how much more time will be spent in the Mac Lab once I get back to school. Especially since (drumroll please) my parents have agreed to get my a digital camera. I'm chipping in a bit, and hopefully within a week or so, the Canon Powershot a70 will be mine. It's pretty, it uses AA batteries, and most importantly--it has full manual controls, including Tv and Av settings, just like my Canon EOS Rebel G SLR.

Oh, and I would also like to congratulate myself on the fact that I worked out today for the second day in a row. Yes, go me, pats on the back, etc, etc. And yeah, I am definitely sore.

Can I just say that I really miss watching Gilmore Girls? It's one of my favorite shows, and I'm so glad that soon I'll be getting a tv when I'm at school so I can actually keep watching it. Witty dialogue, funny yet non-skanky main characters...I'll take it.

I know I'm being random tonight, but...man, I really like the song "Ziggy Stardust" by David Bowie. Maybe it's just the guitar riff, but dang, it's catchy.

Okay, goodnight, before I keep adding random sentances to last six more pages....

Really.

I mean it.

G'night.

I rediscovered one of my favorite old sites today: couplandesque. This site has more content than anyone could ever ask for, and it's the home of the "Which John Cusack are you?" quiz (I'm Rob from "High Fidelity"). I love finding sites that I used to visit but somehow (usually because I forgot to save the link) stopped going to. It's great because when I finally do go back to them, there's tons of updates and new things for me to look at. And, thanks to Kris (couplandesque's owner), new quizzes! And apparently...



Which 1990's Subculture Do You Belong To?


I don't really think I'm all that of an elitist, but eh. Whaddya gonna do?

I got an email from my landlady today. Apparently one of the back porch lights was left on and the front door was unlocked. Apparently it's my fault. Um, noooo. Not so much. Cameron and Caleb are both witnesses to the fact that I was super-extremely anal about making sure everything was off and locked up tight when we left the house before break. And they were. I double and triple checked enough to drive both guys halfway up a wall. It bordered on the beginning of an OCD. So yes, I locked the doors. No, I didn't leave the light on. Grrr. Yet I'm still stuck here feeling like I'm in trouble or something.

My friend Dylan just sent me a picture of a civet. If I ever had to describe an animal that was "funky"...well, this one would be it. It's said to be the reason that SARS has been spread around China. I think it very accurately represents the face of SARS, don't you?

We got about five inches of snow last night. While snow is nice and pretty and I do live in Michigan, I can't way I'm all that excited about it. My car is now all but buried under really annoying ice and snow, and it got a lot colder outside. Which makes for a cold me when I'm in the garage putting the first coat of reddish-orange paint on the dresser/TV stand that my dad and I are re-finishing. Which I just happened to have been doing about half an hour ago. And my toes are STILL cold.

I'm listening to "We Laugh Indoors" by Death Cab for Cutie, a song where the phrase, "I loved you Guinevere" is repeated a number of times. And it makes me even more sure that if I have a daughter, I'm naming her Guinevere. Because it's a cool name, because her nickname would be "Gwen" and because I really really like that song. And how cool would it be to have some band singing that they loved you, even though your name isn't something general like "Sarah". Oh yeah. It'd be cool, you know it.

And now it's time for the part of our show where I go play Nintendo games until it's time for dinner.