so christmas is over and i have finally emerged from my little mini winter break. back to work and back to reality. AND back to my little peice of the webosphere. did you miss me?

i had a pretty good christmas, nothing terribly special. but the awesome thing about christmas this year is that i received enough gift cards and money to go out monday and purchase myself a new digital camera. i chose the Nikon D50. it is slightly below the much-worshiped D70, but not enough to concern me.

now that i have a rockin new camera im going to have to start posting pictures again to my album. i’ll let ya’ll know when that happens. in the meantime, let me share a funny christmas story with you…

so i was helping my baby brother (ok…hes not really a baby, hes 20) empty presents out of the trunk of his car on sunday and i happened to notice that the handwriting on the tags of said presents was a little bit…oh how shall i say it….girly. like full out graceful loopey loop girly. and then i noticed that all the presents were wrapped very neatly, with a bow on top. i turned to the brother and say….”did you get someone else to wrap your gifts for you?”. well, turns out, he had a lady-friend up from VA for a couple of days who he somehow convinced to wrap his gifts for him. he tells me that “she offered!” but i have to say, when i offer to do something for someone, it doesnt mean i really want to do it, im usually just being nice. but he let her wrap all his gifts. “you better have taken her out to dinner afterward” i said to him. and his response was, “i compensated…”

::hanging my head in shame::

my baby brother is a whore.

CHRISTIANS BEWARE: satan is now spawning himself in the form of recycled white paper!!

well…i was convinced of it by the time i left my exam last night….ya know, 3 and a half hours after i got there. i have to say, i did a hell of a lot of work in college. i typed papers until there were blisters on the little tips of my fingers (ok, that might be a slight exaggeration, but it is at least possible), but i never took an exam that was so purely evil. i was a writing major for a reason, im good at bullshitting—really good at it. the key to successful bullshitting, just like the key to successful theft, is confidence. people are easily fooled, so if you sound like you know what you are talking about, they’ll usually believe you. computers on the other hand, not so easily fooled. and when you are asked to write computer programs….on paper…with a pencil…it just isnt right.

but….im fuckin done.

at least till mid january.

i am happy to report that in 5 hours i will 1. officially be done with my java class, 2. have time for something resembling a social life on the weekends again and 3. be a much more pleasant person to talk to (this is not to be confused with me saying i will be a pleasant person, because i wont—you know that—but i will be slightly less crazed-angry-stressed-out-bitch-ish than i have been*).

so yeah. wish me luck on my final.

*please note implied emphasis on the word ‘slightly’.

since it is finals time, i thought i would reintroduce everyone to one of my fondest college memories:

*this is a .wmv file i compiled and edited of katie and deirdre (and 2 shots of me—i conveniently edited my sweats-wearing-hair-astray-havent slept in 4 days-self OUT) during some hellishly stressful week in college where we had finally just reached a breaking point….breaking out into song that is…

Hunny Bunny and Dre in “I Believe in Miracles : I will Graduate College Someday”

enjoy.

Im driving home from work in rush hour traffic, staring out at the sulfur stained sky in between gas-pedal, break-pedal rotations while country music christmas carols parade themselves on my radio when suddenly I realize Im not alone. I look out the passenger-side window to discover a man in a red Toyota pick-up truck staring at me. Logically, I stare back.

This is not some strange occurance, especially at rush hour when traffic is moving so slowly that there is plenty of time for people to examine the world around them, and the other drivers. Ive grown used to men, usually in trucks of some sort with greasy hair and ugly hats, staring at me and, when I look over, presenting me with some clever gesture involving both their hands and tongue (that is as close to multi-tasking as people like that will ever come). But this time—this time its different. The man is in his mid to late thirties, with nice hair and all his teeth, who isnt staring atme, so much as through me. His gaze is not intrusive, but sad. He looks tired, and worn-out, like he just wants to be home, wherever home is. Mostly though, he looks lonely.

Its a very strange concept. Here we are, together, on a public highway, surrounded by hundreds of strangers, and yet, we are each completely alone. Distant and disconnected—this is how modern society has taught us to act, toward each other and ourselves. Its a form of seclusion, of protection and of mild conceit.

The concept of community has become archaic. We value our privacy, personal freedom, and individuality—we dont want to be considered part of something bigger—because then we not only are forced to depend on others, but to allow them to depend on us. Vulnerbility and responsibility—two things no one wants any more of. So we stare out at the world through the thick glass of a window, wondering what the person next to you is thinking, or feeling, or where they are going….but we never ask.

what….what is that i hear?? snow is coming you say? to the baltimore area?

OH NO! NOT SNOW!

quick!! gather all the milk, bread and toilet paper… we must brace for….

THE SNOWSTORM OF IMPENDING DOOM!!

yeah….so snow again tonight. and you know marylanders, anything over an inch and the end of the world is upon us. for all of you who dont quite understand this maryland snow attitude, let me illustrate it for you more clearly….

this…is what the radar looks like:





this is what a native marylander sees:

so….as i am a native marylander, if anyone wants me i will be cowering in fear in the hall closet, clinging desperately to my toilet paper and sacred last loaf of bread….

todays simple pleasure:

getting up way too late but still managing to make it to work on time. the traffic gods smiled down upon me this morning…

ok. some news highlights from today and a few thoughts for you…

from an AP article on restricting kids in public places :

“Too often, though, our cultural emphasis on freedom and individual rights gets taken to the extreme, becoming “a kind of selfish entitlement that undermines our ability to function as a civil community,” said George Scarlett, a professor of child development at Tufts University in Boston.

“The rights of any one individual — whether he or she be a parent, child or stranger — do not negate the rights of others.”

this is why they are calling the followers of generation X the “entitlement generation”. we’ve become a society of selfish, whiny, little brats. yes, you have your rights, but so does everyone else and yours are no more important than the others. i think Oliver Wendell Holmes summed it up nicely when he said, “The right to swing my fist ends where the other man’s nose begins.”

from a Washington Post article by Alan Cooperman on the Bushes sending ‘holiday’ cards over christmas cards:

“This clearly demonstrates that the Bush administration has suffered a loss of will and that they have capitulated to the worst elements in our culture,” said William A. Donohue, president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights.

Bush “claims to be a born-again, evangelical Christian. But he sure doesn’t act like one,” said Joseph Farah, editor of the conservative Web site WorldNetDaily.com.

wait wait wait….Bush isnt acting like an evangelical Christian?? are you saying that there needs to be more religion in the government?? what the hell are you smoking? seperation of church and state was created for a reason, and it wasnt just to please a group of agnostics. you cannot combine faith with politics, it just. doesnt. work. if you dont believe me, please take some time to read up on some current world politics, specifically those of some choice middle eastern countries.

from a Reuters article on Cokes new soda:

Coca-Cola Co. , the world’s No. 1 soft drink company, on Wednesday said it will launch a coffee-infused soft drink called Coca-Cola Blak in various markets around the world in 2006.

great. just what i need.

from an AP article on Bush defending his Iraq strategy:

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi suggested that Bush was out of touch with reality in Iraq. “Just because he says thing are improving there, doesn’t make it so,” the California Democrat said…

In his speech, Bush acknowledged that there’s still plenty of work left to do in cities like Najaf and Mosul…

“Security in Najaf has improved substantially but threats remain,” Bush added. “There are still kidnappings and militias and armed gangs are exerting more influence than they should in a free society.”

Bush…out of touch with reality concerning iraq? no. i wont believe it.

and…”armed gangs are exerting more influence than they should in a free society?’ is this like the cereal box standard, only 2 dead bugs allowed for every 10 boxes? what exactly is an acceptable amount of influence from an armed gang in a society? should i be concerned?

i am up every day before sun-up and down every night long after sun-down, and yet i never see the sunrise or sunset. i think that is a sign that maybe i am missing out on some of the best things life has to offer. the things you only see when you pause.

Tracks

tracks in the snow
from where our movements
had fallen in step with one another
remain long after sunset
long after
you are gone

so let me tell you about my day yesterday…

it started off on a really good note, with me sleeping in until 10am because i took off work because….well…i can, and never do, and i have this really big important project that i need to finish by next monday. so it was necessary (except the sleeping till 10—that was not necessary, but it was a nice perk). and then i showered and ate breakfast, both very wonderful. and then i checked the weather report to see that they were calling for a maryland style blizzard (anything over a quarter of an inch) to begin AT ANY MOMENT!! this was more than wonderful, this was spectacular, as i have class on monday nights and really really really didnt want to remove myself from the apartment to go do tedious java programming via distance learning.

so yes….SNOW—very exciting.

so i opened the blinds to watch for the impending blizzard and started work on my really big important project. an hour passed. project going well….still no snow. two hours passed….project still going well….still no snow. three hours passed and OH MY GOD I HAVE TO GO TO CLASS SOON WILL YOU PLEASE SNOOOOW NOW.

and there were flurries!! and life was wonderful and perfect and happy.

but then it stopped.

so i had to go to class. i cant say for certain, but there is a slight possibility that i might have thrown a teeny weeny temper tantrum involving loud complaining, kicking of feet and several strange word combinations.

shockingly enough, as soon as i got to class, the snow began.

and there was much sadness and gnashing of teeth as well as several accidents (as maryland drivers cannot drive if there is even the slightest chance of any form of precipitation—or even humidity—or cloud cover).

of course, it did snow all night, which neither got me out of class nor delayed my work day. it simply annoyed me even more by adding 15 minutes of car cleaning-offing to my normal morning routine.

all in all—it sucked. where is my blizzard?? the news channels promised blizzard!!