Random Thoughts and Observations from the Thanksgiving Holiday

Thankful to be back in Tallahassee after an abnormally long odyssey from Orlando. Hit much traffic between Orlando and Gainesville. A drive which would usually take around 2 hours ended up taking 2 and a half. Glad to be out of stop and go traffic...finally.

Clementine isn't at her usual perch, I'm getting worried. She wasn't there last Sunday night either. Maybe she migrated south to warmer weather. I hope she didn't, it was fun watching her.

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas. On the drive back I saw porch lights twinkling at me as I sped by on the interstate. Reminded me of something I've seen in a movie. The Bing Crosby Christmas CD we listened to only added to the feeling. I'm glad Christmas is almost here. I miss being at home and not having to worry about school and papers, although that seemed to be the hot topic between my friends and I over the weekend. "How's school going this semester?" "Are you ready for finals?" "Do you have to write any papers once you get back?" "What's your major again?" Hard to escape school when that's all you can think about, like a two ton piano hung above your head by a weak thread being chewed by a malicious rat named Percy who is suffering from the plague and a serious case of jealous because he never got a college education [absolutely dying to insert stab at rival college, straining to resist].

Wireless networking is wonderful.

Chasing the Sunset. We started heading west on I-10 around dusk. The sky was mostly dark blue, off in the distance it was pink and red and orange. We drove and drove, but the sky wouldn't dim completely. I found this strange, the sun usually sets quickly, but not this time, we were chasing the sunset. We had been on I-10 for over an hour when the sun finally fell into a deep slumber. I was envious.

I had more thoughts than this over the break, I have just forgotten them already. I guess they weren't important.

And so it begins...

Everyone goes through this yearly. The contemplating over what to get people for Christmas has begun. I've already decided what to get for a few people (will refrain from disclosing who and what as some of the recipients might actually read this), but the rest are a mystery. I can never figure out what to get for my parents, other than the obligatory calendar which I get for my dad every year. Although last year I didn't get him a calendar. Apparently my mom found a sale and got calendars for everyone, and I was like, well what am I going to get him now? I had to find a real gift for once. So anyway, the brothers and I are going to pitch in and get them something, so it should be pretty cool. I don't think anything is going to top what we gave mom last year though, cause it was awesome. We went and took black and white pictures of my brothers and I and bought matching frames. It was awesome. Now we find ourselves in a predicament like none before. In the past our Christmas gifts have been relatively corny little things, nothing comparable to the colossus of last year. There is absolutely no way we are going to one up ourselves, which is disappointing to say the least.

On a completely different note, the godfather of birds is back outside my window. It has been decided that it is a cardinal, and that since cardinals have their homes for life, that we (my roommate and I) should name our new neighbor. It's a female bird, so I probably should stop calling it the Godfather. How disappointing. Any suggestions on what to call her? I was thinking something Shakespearean.

If you think you're one of those people for whom I should be getting a Christmas present, leave me a comment and let me know what you want. Expensive jewelry and accessories are out of the question, so don't ask.

It's 3 AM, I must be lonely

I just returned to my desk after taking a short break from Romeo and Juliet to obtain a mug of hot chocolate. I'm just now starting on the body of my paper. My paper is due in under twelve hours. Also to be done in those twelve hours: sleep, attend two classes, eat. I'm thinking one or two of those events might have to be cut from my schedule, probably sleeping and eating. Why do I do this to myself?

I spent most of today sleeping, half-heartedly reading Shakespeare, listening to recently obtained music, sitting in front of my computer surfing the internet learning what mayhem occured thousands of miles away in the last 24 hours and just sitting in general. I should have been whole-heartedly reading Shakespeare, writing a paper, and reading my Play Analysis book. Now I'm up the creek without a paddle. And I'm stalling even more by writing in this blog. Once this night is complete, the aircraft of my conscious will be making a rapid descent towards sleep. By descent I mean nose dive. Let's hope I don't sleep through class again.

To be completely frank, I am fed up with writing a paper almost every week for Play Analysis. The only comfort I have in this paper is that after it's completion I will have only one left, plus a 3,000 word summary paper due on the day of the final, but I plan to ignore that one for at least another day. I did not think writing this many papers would be so bad, they are after all only 1,000 words each. But every week I find myself resenting them more and more. I have spent many moments thinking of a suggestion to make to my teacher for the benefit of future classes, but none presents itself. Writing these papers is pretty much unavoidable if the class goals are to be accomplished. I hate it when professors are right.

Home for the Weekend

This weekend I went home for the first time since school started. It was a nice (if brief) vacation from the life which I lead in Tallahassee. I, for a few moments, ignored the fact that I have a midterm, a paper, and a quiz staring me in the face and played Nintendo for as long as I wanted. My brother rented "Spiderman 2: The Game" and we both played far more than we should have, but well, it's not like there is much else to do, and besides, it's sibling bonding. Funny, isn't it? A computer program which is meant to entertain one person at a time brings my brother and I closer together. How sweet.

Since the hurricanes came through and messed up my house, it has undergone some serious changes. There's a new roof and tile in most of the house. The tile process is ongoing, and it just so happens that this weekend the laundry room was the target for rejuvenation. It also just so happens that I took a bag of clothes home to be washed over the weekend. Needless to say, I will be re-wearing a pair of jeans tomorrow. Don't you dare say that you've never done that. Everyone has. Step off. Anyway, I'm doing laundry tomorrow.

I bought Aida and Fiona Apple's Tidal, a CD which I have wanted for years, and have never obtained for lack of money. Now that I've got a little cash in the bank I can buy stuff. I should probably be saving it for a car. The little sibling and I spent most of the weekend playing Spiderman (gosh, Tobey Maguire is hot) and listening to Aida. Yeah, I know, I'm a loser. But well, as previously stated, it's bonding time.

Going back to the topic of motor vehicles, I went and looked at one today, about which I was fairly jazzed. The prospect of not having to find rides home and being able to go home at will is quite exhilarating. The prospect of having to get a job to pay for said car, necessary insurance, gas and cell phone (the obtainment of which must soon follow the car) is on the other hand a little (ok, a lot) depressing. Anyway, the car I visited today wasn't for me. It has an automatic transmission. I like manual. I know, most girls don't (too complicated for the female mind or something like that), but I would rather drive manual. I just feel cooler, although that might be the A/C. Ignore the fact that the car I get even with manual transmission is probably going to be a 4 door Ford Escort with under 75k miles, cruise control and air conditioning as opposed to the Ferrari which I envision as I slide that car around a corner and into the lamp post on the far side of the street. I've never done that, but well, I could see it happening...I've not actually tried taking a corner so fast that said situation would occur [did you feel a breeze? That was my parents breathing a sigh of relief]. Anyway, no matter what kind of car I end up getting, I will be happy that it has 4 wheels, an engine and isn't a Saturn.

The Godfather of Birds

There is a tree outside my window that is frequented by birds of all kinds. Cardinals, blue jays, pigeons. Last night perched on a branch was the godfather of birds. No joke. This bird was brownish-grey with a yellow beak and a girth twice that of any bird I've ever seen. It returned today as well. I couldn't help but wonder, have I done something to upset the Godfather of birds that he would linger by my window on multiple occasions? He sat there, his beady black eyes scoping me out, ruffling his feathers every few moments, his orange beak glaring like a warning sign.

Godfather of birds [in his best Brando voice]: You know why I'm here, kid.
Me: I don't godfather. What have I done to deserve such treatment? I didn't cheat you, I promise.
Godfather: You think I don't know that. I need a favor. My friends, the cardinals, have been attacked by a gang up north called the "sox."

I am reminded of the "Goodfeathers" cartoon of Animaniacs fame. Maybe the Godfather of birds just dropped in to scare away my roommate's hicups. Lets hope so, I was rooting for the Red Sox.