Exam Fun

Learning about photosynthesis for probably the fourth time in as many years. It's still not too much fun. Also enzyme kinetics, which are even less fun. Oh, and there's an exam in nine hours. So that's fun...

Thank G-d for Thanksgiving. This year, I'm thankful for a vacation. Taking four or five days to hide in a warm bed with history books and American Gods. That's basically going to be my Thanksgiving break. And there is nothing wrong with that.

The hiatus temporarily ends

And I post again. A few updates on life in general:

1.) I am done with extracurriculars for the semester. BMR performed; Macbeth was staged; Chorale sang. I am now free of obligations most evenings. Which is glorious.

2.) This appears to be the semester when things start to go right. Knock on wood...but I have A's in every class at the moment. Which is also glorious.

3.) Having free time, I have begun reading for pleasure again. Right now I'm making my way through "Citizens of London" and "The Magicians." I read Michael Chabon's new book, "Manhood for Amateurs" at work over the past two weeks, and I've started Terry Pratchett's new book, "Unseen Academicals." How that man can pump out a quality book every year and a half or so is beyond me.

4.) Life, in short, is pretty good right now. Chronic frustrations occasionally crop up, but over all things are good. I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving, and shortly after that, break.

5.) Speaking of break, it's close to winter-like here. We had our first snowfall last week - two inches that stayed for about a day and a half before melting. Now we're being tortured with a few days of 60 degree weather, before we inevitably plunge into single digits.

6.) But I'll be nice and warm this winter, since I'll be spending January in a microbiology research lab. Happiness is two kinds of agar.

7.) I think that's about it. More as I remember it.

So sue me

New Avett Brothers album came out the other day; I think it's great. Other reviews are good as well.

It's nice to see them get some mainstream recognition, even as I resort to being an indie snob (I liked them BEFORE they were big).

In other news...I was reelected to the student government association, this time as dorm president of West Quad. It was a close race. I auditioned for and got a smallish role (Ross) in Macbeth, which will be performed the fourth weekend of October (the 23 and 24). BMR is chugging along as always; Chorale features a new director and an interesting new direction.

That's about it.

Oh, and I cut my hair. And when I say this, I mean REALLY cut it. Like this:


So yeah. Anyway, just getting that picture up took 20 minutes. Stupid old camera and stupid lack of drivers. Good thing I keep a backup Yahoo account around for spammers.

School is Fun Now

All through high school, classes were something I usually regarded with apathy. I was going to learn regardless, but I wasn't necessarily going to enjoy it. Now, though, I look forward to my classes. Not only am I going to learn something, but I'm going to enjoy learning it. Take physics. In high school, physics sucked. I'm not naming any specific reasons, but take my word for it. In college, physics is pretty awesome. The professor is enthusiastic, and the class pays attention. No card games are involved.

After a few days of classes, I'm enjoying being back on campus. It's odd that a good chunk of my friends have graduated, but I'm dealing. I've taken a part in a week-long production of Grease, as Sonny (beg pardon if you don't know who that is; I didn't either, having never seen the play or the movie). Suffice to say that I'm not John Travolta (or Olivia Newton-John).

A friend is directing a production of Macbeth this fall that I may try out for as well. As always, I will be doing BMR; I will be running for dorm president next week. I'm working for the bookstore and for the school radio station this year, as music director for blues, country, gospel and soul. I now receive CDs from less well known artists with personal notes enclosed.

On to some less related issues...

iTunes has introduced "Genius Mixes," which as far as I can tell is an attempt to order shuffle by genre. Which is unfortunate, since iTunes assigns genres fairly inaccurately.

Enough for now. I'm happy enough listening to the Beatles sing "Sie Liebt Dich."

Summer winds down

Finished working today. This marks the first summer I have not worked two jobs. It also marks the first summer I wasn't making minimum wage. I'm moving up in the world!

I now have until September 3rd before I head back to Maine; classes start September 9th. Plans are not concrete, but do include a trip to Chicago for the last four days of August. Go Megabus!

The usual bitching about my fantasy squad: hitting is on fire; my pitching staff is having a meltdown. Which is frustrating, considering the quality of the pitchers I have. So it should turn around...hopefully. I'm not excited about a third-place finish.

For the next week, before heading to Chi-town, I am planning on doing a lot of reading, and a lot of sleeping. Also some general hanging out, and definitely hitting Jungle Jim's before leaving. Once I get inside, I can still forget that the outside is horribly like a strip mall.

I have far too many books to read. I finished "Fool," the latest from Christopher Moore. If you haven't read it, and enjoy King Lear, read it. If not, pick up "The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal." It's hilarious. Next on the agenda is "Shadow and Light," a noir mystery set in Weimar Berlin. One of the characters is Fritz Lang. Need I say more?

I'm also perpetuating my love of war histories with "The Day of Battle," the second of Rick Atkinson's fantastic trilogy about the North African/European theater of World War II. This one's about the battles for Sicily and Italy, and is a fascinating read. To me, at least.

I also plan on rereading Italo Calvino's "If on a winter's night a traveler," because it's a great read. Just sayin'.

Anyway, that's it from me. Enjoy some music, on me.

Happiness Measured Through...Bloggers?

It's true. A new metric has been developed that analyzes blogs (as well as song lyrics and speeches, such as presidential State of the Union addresses) to determine the average mood of the nation. Read about it here.

Interesting things to take away:

Teenagers are the most unhappy bloggers, according to the study, using negative words like "mad" and "fat."

Michael Jackson has positive lyrics.

Notable days of depression include the fifth anniversary of 9/11 and June 25, or the day MJ died. Days of higher than average happiness include Christmas and Valentine's Day (although both have negative words associated with them).

It's interesting, at least.

Wait a minute

It's August? I don't remember approving that. There are now three weeks of work left, and a month between now and my flight back to Maine.

In other, tangential news, my fantasy baseball team is struggling to overcome third place malaise. I have no points from either saves or stolen bases, and I'm not likely to get any. My hitters lead the league in RBI, runs and homeruns, which is a constant surprise to me (second in batting average). My pitching staff, normally solid each year, leads in wins but has of late taken hits to ERA and WHIP. I've got a nifty 73 points usually, but the teams ahead of me keep flirting with 80 points. I was in first back in June for a bit, but it didn't last. Trying to trade outfielders (I'm overstocked) for starting pitching with low ERA and WHIP, but I don't know if that'll work. Anyway...

Got a shortwave radio for my birthday. It's pretty awesome (see the picture above). So far I've picked up broadcasts from Cuba, Venezuela, China, Taiwan, and Romania, to name a few. Most have English broadcasts, so I'm not left guessing. Apparently the BBC doesn't broadcast to North America via shortwave anymore. I'm disappointed.

That's about it for now. I'm still hoping that the government can turn out decent healthcare reform, but pessimism is slowly creeping up on that hope. More later.