what a difference a day makes.

yesterday my room looked like this:

today my room looks like this:

woot.

howdy howdy howdy

christmas...over.

barrett, i don't really know what to say, but i need to update. i feel that i've been neglecting our blog relationship.

so...let's see.

shauna's coming to see me tomorrow. then later this week we're going with my bestie amie to passion 06. oh yeaaah. we're still trying to find somewhere to stay in nashville. we were going to stay with amie's uncle like we did last year, but he decided to get all weird on us, so...hopefully that will come through. or...helllo civic.

i got a dock/speaker thing for my ipod for christmas and it has surprisingly good sound quality. it makes me smile a bit. hoorah for technology. especially of the apple kind.

man, i am one pathetic loser.

so i've become like the fat annoying neighbor who comes over on christmas day to play with/ break your toys before you even get a chance to touch them.
i went to visit shauna for the birthday. i see that she got a paper shredder for her birthday. i also see that she hasn't tested it out yet. so of course i rip the box open, take it out and decide to go crazy with shredder...pretty much shredding everything in my path, including the instructions (although this one was more shauna's fault than mine).
i then decide that shredding paper wasn't really that impressive, so i decide to shove the plastic packaging all up in there. and after it successfully makes it through, make it forward and reverse as many times as possible until i have the entire shredder packaging lodged inside of it.
then i watch shauna spend the next 45 minutes patiently pulling small wads of plastic out of her brand new paper shredder.
then i watch it not work properly. ever again.
cool. happy birthday shauna.

the joys of childhood.

i just wrote a post. i just accidentally erased a post. this dial-up is throwing me off my game.

i bought my mom the chronicles of narnia for christmas; she has expressed some interest in reading it. then i decided i wanted to read it. so now i'm carefully reading while she's asleep or at work. i find it a bit comical. and the book isn't too bad.

to shauna and barrett: i have enjoyed our new-found friendship. however, if another semester of your companionship means another 2.54 gpa, i'm afraid we're going to have to call it quits.
chris, i guess it's you and me again.

and...because yall are some of my closest friends...i leave you with this...
potentially the best picture i've ever taken.

oh, the joys of adulthood.

i feel loved.

my room looks like i just got out of the hospital...lots of baskets, cards, baked goods, streamers, etc. (and it's quite messy)

to everyone who contributed to this love fest--thank you very much.
to everyone who didn't--jerk.

and i feel it only appropriate to give a special shout out to ms. shauna swinney, who went out of her way to make me feel special.

p.s. i'm pretty sure the coffee at grace tonight was decaf. this is not good for my late night study session. oh nooo.

hello, my audience of three

so i've been thinking.

i'm very quick to give myself much much credit for the good in my life. as if i am the sole creator of all that is good. and i should commend myself for a job well done.

we're going to work on this.

the best of all days.

so here's the deal...i just wrote a blog detailing the non-greatness of my day. then i realized 3 things:

1) the only 3 people that read this know full well how my day went without me complaining on here.

2) a bad day in my life is exponentially better than the best day alot of people will ever see.

3) Jesus is still Jesus, God still likes me, and school will still be done in less than two weeks.

now, i've had enough with this day. let's just pray i don't pull a groundhog day and have to relive it. keep your fingers crossed.

"i thought they were joking, professor."

so here's the deal...

i have a presentation at 9:00 in the morning. it's a group presentation. it's over kashmir, the pakistan-india conflict and nuclear weapons. there are 3 of us.
my group's really not bad. pretty typical college students, a guy and a girl. they're also really nice to me. they offered to present my third of the case tomorrow if my voice didn't get better. see, all-around nice kids.
they think that it would be a good idea to have a bit of class participation. so far so good...i'd like to have a little feedback as well. HOWEVER, they think that the best way to have the group participate would be to put sacks on half of the class' head, thus marking them as muslim, and therefore pakistani. and the other half of the class will be marked with none other than a red sticker on their forehead, flagging them as indian hindu. and we will procede to tell them what is happening to them, and how they should look. for example, you're getting bombed; put on your angry face.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
i'm naive. i didn't know. surely the prof can't take it out on me. too much.

no pressure.

this is my goal.

i hate this feeling. the one i have right now. the feeling of utter disgust of the material before me. the feeling of knowing that i have to do something, yet, even upon completion, the only good that will come from it will be the knowledge that it is behind me. no personal growth. no character building. no cash reward. simply completion.
and this is why i do not want to do it. i've already completed enough useless goals in my lifetime.

so my goal for the christmas break: find something i really want to do. and do it. alot. and, ideally, this "something i really want to do" will be nothing of the productive sort. not in the least bit. i would prefer it to lean the other direction, actually. but, oh will there be personal growth. and character building. and perhaps one large cash reward. just maybe.

so, barrett...(since you and shauna are the only two i've given my address to, and i'm fairly confident that shauna won't be looking at this any time soon)...how does that sound? because it's sounds pretty great to me.
oh, the joys of nothingness....how i long for thee.

pressure.

i feel that i have outgrown the xanga. i'm sure i won't abandon it forever. and don't worry, i'll still keep up with the xangas. but, for now...i'm a true blogger.

i've weighed the consequences of leaving: a smaller audience, no eprops, noone will know what i'm currently listening to, reading, watching, or gaming, etc.

but, the benefits have won me over: a smaller audience, anyone can comment, i can title my entries, it's not so...xanga..ish. but mostly because i want barrett doke to leave me comments.

so, here i am. all of me. soak it in.