.:. A funny thing happened on the way to Baghdad
Monday, March 31, 2003 ~ 09:32 p.m.

So let me get this straight. They fired a reporter.....for making an observation???? *blink* Now that's a new one. Granted, Arnett stepped out of line by not clearing the interview with his employers, but I can guarantee you that if he had been more "pro-America" in his statements, he'd still be working for both NBC and National Geographic. Funny, also, how his employers initially supported him, but then suddenly reversed opinion. I wonder what call they received. Government influence on the media is scary, n'est-ce pas?

I don't think the military has screwed up, per se, but it's certainly obvious that this war isn't going according to plan. Wars seldom do. We've encountered more resistance than expected and things are moving slower due to weather and other problems. In a war, plans change to adapt to the new circumstances that come along as it progresses. This is obvious.

"My son's over there risking his life with all of his buddies and this guy's basically saying we've failed, we screwed up," Fissel said. "That is wrong to me. It seemed un-American and unpatriotic."

I'm sorry, but if it's unpatriotic to step up and point out that this isn't the lightning campaign the American public was initially sold on and that military plans are changing to accommodate the real war, then what are we fighting for anyway?

I hate stupid people.

Tomorrow my schedule is thus:

Class: 9:30 - 11:30
ASCE City Meeting: 11:30 - 1:00
Work: 1:00 - 4:00
Project Group: 4:00 - 7:00
Jeff and IEEE Bot: 7:00 - 8:00
ESC Meeting: 8:00 - ?

It's amazing how something always comes up to fill those pesky free time bubbles. I made pretty good progress on one of my Water Quality projects today, so I feel a little better. I'm sure that will all be dispelled tomorrow when I realize exactly how much I have to do for my senior design group.

.:. Bright and shiny and new!
Monday, March 31, 2003 ~ 11:11 a.m.

Lookie! I have a comments section! Now when I piss you off, you can feel free to let EVERYONE know. :-)

.:. First things first...
Monday, March 31, 2003 ~ 09:00 a.m.

Happy Birthday, Jen!


Hope you have a wonderful day (even if it IS a Monday)!

Todd just called me to say that he was in the middle of TEN inches of snow yesterday. He took lots of pictures so he could gloat at me properly. ;-) Either I want snow or I want 75 degrees and sun. None of this 29-degrees-I-mock-you weather.

.:. Head Case
Sunday, March 30, 2003 ~ 08:58 p.m.

I've spent a good portion of today wondering why it is that people do the things they do. I'm an engineer, not a psychoanalyst, and I am usually at a loss to explain what goes on in people's heads. But while pondering out loud over a couple slices of birthday cake sent home with me by my mother, Jeff reminded me, "No one ever thinks of themselves as the antagonist." You'd think that's a pretty obvious statement, but I tend to forget at times - like now. It gave me a lot to think about, because if they don't think of themselves as being the "bad guy" than I suppose they think its you. Which makes me understand what goes on in people's minds even less. Thank you, Jeff. :-P

EB, I love you. You're a wonderful sister and one of the coolest people I know. You're also funny, beautiful, and loveable. Don't ever think otherwise. *hug* And remember...just say the word and the Huntsville contingent will be there, ski masks and crowbars and all. I just love the sound of breaking kneecaps in the morning....

I'm starting to stress out again about classes. I didn't realize it until I had a horribly vivid nightmare about a professor assigning me another design project because I pissed him off. I was crying, begging him to let me do it next semester because there was no way I could do FOUR design projects at once, but he just laughed and told me to have it on his desk by April 19th. *sigh* The darkest of fear of nerds like me. I'm such a dork.

.:. Boogermobile?
Friday, March 28, 2003 ~ 01:38 p.m.

My first thought upon leaving my apartment this morning was, "why is my car yellow?" The second was, "ALLEGRA, STAT!!!!" I love Huntsville, but spring is a vicious, vicious time. My windshield is currently a gooey mass of yellow-green. Yeah, my car looks like a booger.

Yesterday I was brushing my teeth when suddenly, over the water, I heard a tearing, roaring noise loud enough to wake the dead. I turned off the water, somehow in my panic associating the noise with the faucet, but it got louder and everything in my apartment began to shake. I heard car alarms go off outside and suddenly I realized that what I was hearing was a jet. I walked outside just in time to see three blue F-18s streak by, directly overhead. Ahead of them, in the distance, I could see a few more. Oh. I calmly walked back to the bathroom, scooped up my heart, which was flopping around distressingly on the floor from where it had jumped out of my chest, and went back to brushing my teeth. The noise continued at intervals for the next hour. Did I mention that the Blue Angels are in Huntsville this weekend?

In three hours I will be on my way home to Nashville to celebrate my father and my grandfather's birthdays. My sister will be getting there sometime right as I'm leaving Huntsville. I'm looking forward to seeing her - we haven't seen each other since New Year's! Todd just left to visit his dad in North Carolina - he'll be going straight from there to a week working in Kentucky. Seems like it's a weekend for traveling.

.:. Go figure...
Thursday, March 27, 2003 ~ 03:02 p.m.

cute but psycho
you are the cute but psycho happy bunny. You
adorable, but a little out there. It's alright,
you might not have it all, but there are worse

which happy bunny are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

.:. Fighters for Texaco
Thursday, March 27, 2003 ~ 09:53 a.m.

Want to know how it feels to have your worst suspicions confirmed? Go HERE.

I think I'm going to be sick.

.:. So...how did it go?
Wednesday, March 26, 2003 ~ 08:43 p.m.

That's been the most common question today. Everyone wants to know how UAH did in the Concrete Canoe competition. And you know, it really sucks to have to tell them that we got screwed over AGAIN.

At least this year it wasn't malicious. This year it was because the judges simply didn't know or understand the rules. They failed to assess both FIT and Puerto Rico a fifty percent penalty for failing their float test. They failed to assess penalties for missing buoys in the races. They didn't understand that both FIT and Puerto Rico's boats were illegal (FIT's was painted and Puerto Rico's used an illegal mix). They consistently failed to adhere to the rules and insisted upon going their own way. In the end, they gave both FIT first place and Puerto Rico second, while knocking us back to third and Florida to fourth.

We, of course, are protesting, as is Florida I'm sure. I don't know what the judges thought they were doing when they decided not to follow the rules, but I'll bet the CNCCC won't be too happy. Based on the evidence we laid out for them, I'm fairly certain they'll end up inviting us and Florida to nationals, along with FIT and Puerto Rico.

But now for the good news: We had the most beautiful boat there AND we won three out of five races. Amber and I got first place in the women's sprint and second place in the distance. Our men won their sprint and came in second in their distance and our team won the co-ed sprint. The judges flat out told us we had an awesome presentation. Yeah, we kicked ass! And we had a lot of fun doing it. I'm glad to be home, but it was a good trip.

Picture time!

Amber and I in the slalom

Amber and I in the sprint - 100 m out, a 180 turn, and 100 m back. We're the very last boat, with the blue flames. Note which direction we're headed. ;-) 1:12, baby!

Amber and I warming up - We got to the race site just at dawn.

The inside of Thoroughbred - We couldn't use paint, so instead we inlaid this graphic on the inside and the flames on the exterior. Talk about work....

Mind telling me HOW we lost to this??? - Feh...horribly wobbly gunwales.

A few more crazy team members - Ben, Jack, Robert, Kareen, Monica, Eddie.

.:. A Different Perspective
Wednesday, March 26, 2003 ~ 08:54 a.m.

http://dear_raed.blogspot.com

I read about this man on Monday as we were leaving Miami. He is neither anti-American nor pro-Saddam. He is an Iraqi living in Baghdad, watching his home burn, praying that the people he lives and work with won't be the next ones to pay the "price of freedom."

"No one inside Iraq is for war (note I said war not a change of regime), no human being in his right mind will ask you to give him the beating of his life....There is no person inside Iraq (and this is a bold, blinking and underlined inside) who will be jumping up and down asking for the bombs to drop."

"Now that Iraq has been thru a decade of these sanctions I can only hope that their effects are clear enough for them not to be tried upon another nation. Sanctions which allegedly should have kept a potentially dangerous situation in Iraq in check brought a whole nation to its knees instead....These sanctions made the Iraqi people hostages in the hands of this regime, tightened an already tight noose around our necks. A whole nation, a proud and learned nation, was devastated not by the war but by sanctions. Our brightest and most creative minds fled the country not because of oppression alone but because no one inside Iraq could make a living, survive. And can anyone tell me what the sanctions really did about weapons?"

"Do you know when the sight of women veiled from top to bottom became common in cities in Iraq? Do you know when the question of segregation between boys and girls became red hot? When tribal law replaced THE LAW? When Wahabi became part of our vocabulary? It only happened after the Gulf War. I think it was Cheney or Albright who said they will bomb Iraq back to the stone age, well you did. Iraqis have never accepted religious extremism in their lives. They still don’t."

"The images Al-jazeera is broadcasting are beyond any description. First was the attack on (Ansar el Islam) camp in the north of Iraq. Then the images of civilian casualties in Basra city. What was most disturbing are the images from the hospitals. They are simply not prepared to deal with these things. People were lying on the floor with bandages and blood all over. If this is what "urban warefare" is going to look like we’re in for disaster. And just now the images of US/UK prisoners and dead, we saw these on Iraqi TV earlier. This war is starting to show its ugly ugly face to the world."

.:. Countdown
Tuesday, March 18, 2003 ~ 02:11 p.m.

One more day to go. I went with Todd and Jackie this morning to pick up the boat from MAACO. It looked okay going in, but the clear coat really picked out all the defects. Every patch, every scratch where we sanded, every spot where the dye didn't mix fully - all highlighted in gory detail. It's a rough sight, expecially when you consider what our boats have looked like in the past. If we were allowed to paint it, all the scratches would have been smoothed over with primer. But no. Compared to 2001's Survivor, Thoroughbred looks pretty ugly. Damn the NCCC and their stupid new rules. I just hope the other schools are having as much trouble as we are.

Right now I've just decided that we'll go to Florida, have fun, do our best, and enjoy the competition. That way, even if we don't win, it won't have been a total loss. ;-)

.:. Antilogic
Tuesday, March 18, 2003 ~ 07:30 a.m.

So, in order to prevent the use of chemical and biological weapons, we're going to attack a country we're "certain" has them. To me, that seems like a BAD IDEA.

I think I finally understand Bush's plan of disarmament. We make Saddam USE the weapons and then they're all gone! Never mind that the seven million people downwind are like ants with the Orkin man. I just bet the Iraqi people will be falling all over themselves with love for America-the-savior when this is all over and the Sarin cloud has cleared.

.:. RANT
Monday, March 17, 2003 ~ 09:45 p.m.

Disclaimer: Standard bitchy woe-is-me blog entry. Read at your own risk. Yeah, I hate them too, but I have nowhere else to vent, so shove off.

You'd think that after 38 hours with only an hour and a half of sleep, I'd be tired. I guess I am, but I'm not ready to sleep yet. There's just too damn much on my mind and I don't really want to rest until some of it clears out.

At what point did my entire life become one giant communication gap? It's like screaming in a crowded room and no one turning to look. I feel like I should just start living my life according to the rules of pictionary. I could draw flow charts or sketch out road maps. Maybe interpretive dance would get my point across?

I'm also sick of people expecting things from me and not thinking to return them. I don't exist solely at the convenience of others and I'm really fucking sick of people expecting me to be there for them, only to dismiss me when I need the favor returned.

Hiss, grr, ftt, spit, sniffle, whine, bitch, moan, cry, yadda yadda yadda. You get the point. I'm going to do us all a favor and go watch part of Dune now.

.:. Are those your shoes?
Monday, March 17, 2003 ~ 08:29 a.m.

If never feel like this again, it will be too soon.

The one cardinal rule when pulling all-nighters is "Don't nap unless you mean it." In other words, unless you're prepared to sleep for a solid nine hours or so, don't even contemplate laying down. Silly me, I got home at 5:30 this morning, got a shower, then decided to lay down for a few minutes. I woke up 45 minutes later, totally disoriented and sick as a dog. Sometime during my nap, my stomach apparently decided it didn't appreciate the six cups of coffee mixed with the Cheetos, and I have been incredibly nauseous ever since. The goal of the morning is not to puke on Cobie's shoes. A noteworthy objective, I do believe, him being my boss and all.

I'm skipping out of here at 10 to try and recoup a little more before classes. I'll probably sleep through them both, but at least I'll be in attendance. Since I'll miss them both Wednesday, attendance is considered a plus.

.:. Everything's so...greeeeeeen
Monday, March 17, 2003 ~ 01:26 a.m.

It is 1:26 in the morning and I am at Johnson Research Center. Why, you ask?

It's not easy being green.

It was 11:00. I was on my way out the door - Mo and Jackie were wrapping up and I was going home for some much-needed rest. I decided to go out through the bay to say goodbye and as I was passing the boat, I paused one more time to fawn over how well the inlay turned out. I peeked over the edge of the gunwale and blinked.

..."Uh, Jackie. Did you guys get some blue pigment mixed in with the last big fill?"

"No."

"Then why is our boat GREEN?????"

"WHAT?!?!?!?!"

The (green) sanding pads Jackie was using to sand the boat apparently started leaving a residue in the concrete sometime this evening. No one noticed until I came along nearly six hours later. Jackie thought it would blow off with the air hose. Boy was he wrong.

I just made a pot of coffee. I have the nastiest coffee creamer ever, a box of Nilla wafers, Cheetos, and the will to survive. We can't even begin to fill the boat until 2 AM. It's going to be a very very long day.

.:. 25 bottles of beer on the wall...
Saturday, March 15, 2003 ~ 08:47 p.m.

I think it was the seven miles of paddling this morning that did me in. Actually, it wasn't the first six so much as that one last mile into the wind, against the current. We had fun (or at least Amber and I did) and knowing that we can paddle seven miles straight makes all the pain worthwhile, but my shoulders promise me a serious discussion tomorrow. As it is, I am one sleepy girly.

It's funny - I'm lonely and I want to get out, but at the same time I'm too tired to actually call up people to do something. I'll probably crash in an hour or so anyway. It's too bad Children of Dune doesn't start airing until tomorrow night.

Only four days until we leave for Miami!

Current Music: 'Your Mistake' - Sister Hazel

.:. Red tape
Friday, March 14, 2003 ~ 02:53 p.m.

SGA decided to give us $3000 for our trip to Miami. They looked over the cost of the trip, approved the request, and sanctioned the money for our use ON THIS TRIP. So why is it that the CEE Department now sees fit to hold that money until AFTER we come back???? Do they not understand that without that money, we can't afford to go? What is all this bullshit about POs and receipts???? The money was set aside for us to use to get to Florida and back. If we can't use it, how the hell are we supposed to get to Florida?!?!?! The CE Department is witholding it AND IT'S OUR MONEY!!!!!!!

I HATE red tape. Which is why, if I don't have a check for our account by Monday, I'm going to firebomb SOMEBODY's office. The sheer senselessness of it all.....GAH!!!!

.:. mmmmmonkeys
Friday, March 14, 2003 ~ 12:28 p.m.

Buwahahahaha!!!!!

*wipes tears from eyes* Okay, I don't why that cracked me up, but I can't stop laughing. Mmmmmonkeys...!

So I was sitting at work this morning when it suddenly occurred to me what a strange word Ear is. Think about it. Ear. Ear ear ear ear ear. Obviously, it's been a rather slow day at work.

Due to the breathtakingly moronic drivel I awoke to this morning, I've decided that I will no longer be using the radio setting on my alarm clock. When forced to chose between the auditory equivalent of blunt force trauma or distilled human idiocy, I'll choose the alarm any day. It doesn't do wonders for my will to live when I wake up to the intelligence-starved ruminations of walking birth control advertisements. Apparently the local radio stations (WZYP in particular) screen their callers to ensure that none of them have an IQ higher than that of a small water fowl.

"If she thinks the same as a duck....she must be..."
"A BLONDE! Burn her!!!!"

.:. EXPLOSIVE RANT
Thursday, March 13, 2003 ~ 02:55 p.m.

"The idea, explained Marine Lt. Colonel James Kuhn, is to show people the real images of war and put a human face on the men and women fighting it." - "U.S. Navy, Marines Plan Movietone-Like War Films"

You want to see the real images of war? Well, here you go. All you could ever want: the real images of war.

Fine, go to war. Save the world. But don't fucking try to make it pretty. Don't try to dress it up for the American people and make it any less harsh than it is. No amount of propaganda will change the fact that war is terrible. Showing me a flag with smiling troops in front of it while the national anthem plays in the background won't change the horror. Do you think their precious news reels will show you the charred bodies of your brothers, husbands, wives, sisters, and friends? Will they show you how they died....will you see? Or will you close your eyes, accept your precious little flag in return, and believe that they died for a better cause?

.:. Bye, Jen!
Thursday, March 13, 2003 ~ 12:37 p.m.

Jen is now on her way to a fun-filled spring break in Japan. I am so jealous! ;-) Jen, I hope you have a wonderful time...and I expect pictures!

I am definitely looking forward to our spring break! I'm not going anywhere, but the sheer luxury of only having to go to work will be enough. I'm hoping that will give me enough time to relax and get caught up on everything before finals get here.

Lately it seems that no matter what I do, the moment I find a balance that I'm actually happy with, something comes along and upsets it. I'm not exactly sure what I'm supposed to do about anything and trying to stay between the lines is driving me up the wall. It's only gotten worse this last week and it's spilling over into how I interact with people. I'm pretty sure by next Monday someone from ASCE is just going to stick a tranq dart in my ass and prop me up the corner out of the way.

.:. Springtime!
Wednesday, March 12, 2003 ~ 11:04 a.m.

Forcing people to remain inside on a day like today should be criminal. My lab this morning lasted about five minutes, so I came back home to grab some lunch. Now I'm having a very hard time working up the willpower to go back to campus. It's just the perfect temperature to be outside; maybe on the mountain, maybe at the pond reading my book, maybe at the park with a couple of friends. I can study when it's raining, but I should be outside while it's beautiful. After all, there's only a limited amount of spring before summer hits and we should't waste it!

Too bad my professors don't see it that way.

I hadn't realized that for the entire month of February I was developing a terminal case of cabin fever. It wasn't that I was confined inside - no indeed, I was outside far more than human reason should have allowed. It's just that February is so GREY and depressing and bleh. Now that it's finally spring again, everything is 100% happier, even classes. Maybe I can con my water quality prof into taking us outside "to observe the local surface waters." Hey, it's a thought!

.:. My Precious...yesssss
Tuesday, March 11, 2003 ~ 12:57 p.m.

I am content. I finally made it out to Barnes and Noble to pick up Kushiel's Chosen, the second book in a series I've fallen in love with. *hugs the book* E, thanks for introducing me to the series!

Jacqueline Carey came out of nowhere with her first book Kushiel's Dart. It's a story about a girl named Phèdre, set in a country founded on a religion that rose from an angelic being named Elua - the blood-child of Christ, tear-child of the Magdalene - and the angels that followed him. Phèdre, an anguissette marked by Kushiel, is one of the more complex heroines found in any series. It's an interesting story, and one I'd recommend if you like political intrigue and fantasy combined. Although, if you're easily offended or shocked, it's probably not for you.

Wonderful book. Lovely book. Mustn't lend it to nasty cruel Jeffs...no no Precious.

.:. We can make it!
Sunday, March 9, 2003 ~ 10:46 a.m.

So much to do! I just got done arranging to meet up with Jessica and Jeff at Friday's tonight, so I have roughly eight hours to get everything done. No problem. ;-)

It's coming down to crunch time for ASCE, but for once I'm not completely stressing about it. At least not consciously - I have been dreaming about that damn boat nonstop the last few nights, but I guess I must be working out all of my stress there. Right now I feel pretty confident and I'm actually looking forward to going. I guess we'll see how long that lasts. *grin*

Wow - the high for today in Miami is 84. That's...toasty.

.:. Insignificant
Friday, March 7, 2003 ~ 09:00 p.m.

Now, for the great cosmic joke of the day: I finally have a night free from studying and the canoe.....and I have absolutely nothing to do. I was going to go to Jessica's movie night but no one's answering their phones, so I don't even know if they decided to have it or not. Last I heard, no one was going to be there, so I guess that's how it ended up. I was thinking about hanging out with Todd, but apparently that was a silly idea. So what to do? Too bad the gym's not open because in lieu of companionship, I would really like to hit something that can't press charges.

You know, the world would be a much better place if I was just allowed to whallop people on the head with a whiffle bat when I'm displeased. "I'm unhappy! It's your fault!" And BAP. No explanation, no apologies, just one sharp blow to the head. One of us goes away much happier, the other with a mild concussion, and life goes on.

Current Music : 'Untouchable Face' - Ani DiFranco

.:. Only the Canadians
Friday, March 7, 2003 ~ 01:56 p.m.

*sings*

Telefrancais, Telefrancais
Bonjour, Hallo, Salut!
Telefrancais, telefrancais
L'ananas est merveilleux!

I've got that song stuck in my head! I keep seeing dancing pineapples. Oui! C'est possible! Dancing Canadian pineapples. *glares*

It's funny how suddenly these things come back to haunt you. I was just sitting here trying to remember my grocery list and, BAM, without warning, I've got Les Skeletes playing in my head and I still don't know what it was I needed. It must be an evil Canadian plot.

Mark Roberts is my hero for the day. *grin* We need more people like him for the times we try to take life too seriously.

.:. Babble to stay awake
Friday, March 7, 2003 ~ 10:37 a.m.

My brain is positively oozing from boredom.

I stayed up until 12 last night starting the PowerPoint for the canoe presentation. I don't know if I like it or not, but at least it looks different from the last few years' versions. If I can get the pictures I want, it should turn out looking pretty slick. I figured I'd run the design past a few people today and get some more ideas. It's really a pity I'm not more creative.

Things are finally coming together as far as practice goes. Amber and I managed a pretty good run yesterday (four seconds faster than the times Crystal and I were running last year at competition), which really improved our outlook on things. We've both been really stressing lately because it's been too cold to really practice. Now there is once again hope. ;-)

.:. Just answer the question!
Friday, March 7, 2003 ~ 08:26 a.m.

Best question from the press conference last night: "If all these nations, all of them our normal allies, have access to the same intelligence information, why is it that they are reluctant to think that the threat is so real, so imminent that we need to move to the brink of war now?"

Big surprise, Bush didn't answer it. In fact, he didn't answer ANY of the questions posed to him. Instead, he spouted the same catchphrases he's been dredging up since this whole thing started, hoping to distract the reporters with his patriotism and faith.

"May I ask, what went wrong that so many governments and people around the world now not only disagree with you very strongly, but see the U.S. under your leadership as an arrogant power?"

Bush didn't answer that one either. Go figure. Does anyone else find his blatant unwillingness (or inability, whichever you prefer) to answer even the simplest of questions disturbing?

I'm not saying that we should not go to war, but no country can go it alone. Bush said, "When it comes to our security, we really don't need anybody's permission." Isn't that what Iraq and North Korea are saying too?

.:. Something to think on
Thursday, March 6, 2003 ~ 02:11 p.m.

Disclaimer: This post is in no way related to the joke that Jen posted (which cracked me up, BTW). ;-)

If you are anti-France based on France's opposition to the upcoming war with Iraq, you should read this editorial. And if you aren't, you should read it anyway, if only so you know there's still some sanity in the world.

Jen, I'm pretty sure you're right and the government's got us pinned down as dissidents. Of course, with our propensity for plotting the takeovers of small Third World countries, they might also have us noted as potential advisors. ;-)

.:. T'was on a Thursday morning....
Thursday, March 6, 2003 ~ 08:41 a.m.

I forgot that the pest control people are coming to inspect today! The level of clutter in my apartment is directly proportional to my stress level. The more stressed I am, the more my apartment looks like a tornado ripped through it. It's better now - I just went on a frantic cleaning spree - which actually works out since I'm having Kristen over for dinner tonight. She's looking at moving into Flagstone too, since she's apparently had it with University Housing. That could be interesting...

I got conned into doing some sort of "Program Advisory Board" thing today. I have to go sit in a conference room with a bunch of faculty and some weird academic board official and give them my opinions on what the goals of the CEE department should be. Yeah, it sounds boring, but they're feeding me from the Atlanta Bread Company. Food makes it all worthwhile.

.:. Maybe I'm just new to this...
Wednesday, March 5, 2003 ~ 11:53 p.m.

"...but this, to me, might be considered kind of a step backwards, wouldn't you say?"

I don't know why, but everyone seemed a little out of sorts today, including me. Like the world as a whole woke up on the wrong side of the bed. I spent the day in a perpetual state of annoyance, but I certainly wasn't the only one. Hopefully everyone will be in a better mood tomorrow.

Feh. There's so much I want to say that I just can't seem to get out. I'd try if I knew where to start, although I get the sense that even if I could, it really wouldn't matter. I have no idea what I really think about everything that's been going on lately, much less how to convey that to someone else. Which apparently works out just fine. People are much happier pretending to be happy. Me included.

Current Music : 'Fallen Embers' - Enya

.:. Burned Out
Wednesday, March 5, 2003 ~ 02:29 p.m.

Yesterday was just a fabulous day - sunny, happy, and even fun. Today is kicking my ass.

I left Tech Hall about a half hour ago solely in an effort to NOT snap a certain professor's neck (*coughDrLeonardcough*). It's funny that although I'm an environmental engineer, the class that is the bane of my existance is Water Quality. Every day, I walk out of that class with the intense desire to maim something.

Spring Break can't get here soon enough!

.:. 030303
Monday, March 3, 2003 ~ 09:51 p.m.

I honestly don't know what I expected out of today. Something different, I can tell you that. It wasn't precisely a bad day, just...depressing. I hate feeling insignificant.

On a happier note, SGA approved the entire $3000 for ASCE! A big THANK YOU goes out to all my agents, err, friends in SGA who made it possible. ;-) Now we can afford the $500 worth of racing paddles to replace the old, broken ones we're currently using. Always sucks to break a $250 paddle.

Feh. I need hot chocolate. And to hit something.

Current Music : 'May It Be' - Enya

.:. If cars could speak....
Monday, March 3, 2003 ~ 08:45 a.m.

Last night, leaving the movie theater after the 9:30 showing of Daredevil, Todd and I were greeted by a blaring car alarm. The vehicle responsible wasn't incredibly hard to spot - a pitifully riced out white Honda Civic, complete with bolted on wing-of-doom and body kits galore. Nothing so spectacular as to warrant the Domesticat's attention, but still funny enough in its own right. Horns blaring, lights flashing - Todd decided it could only be saying one thing....HELP ME! I HAVE BEEN RICED!!!!!

Poor little car. No dignity, no hope, no roadkill clearance. No wonder it was screaming for mercy.

.:. Lab Report
Sunday, March 2, 2003 ~ 06:06 p.m.

I swear, if I have to look at this thing any more tonight, I will bash my own head in. I simply can't concentrate, not when there's so much else I want to be doing. I've written about four pages so far - solid text, no graphs - and I'm only about a third of the way through.

Must...keep.....working.....

.:. Oh, the suffering...
Sunday, March 2, 2003 ~ 03:37 p.m.

I realized just as I was getting onto I-65 Friday, headed to Nashville, that I had forgotten to pack the magic cookie tin. Now this cookie tin is truly a wondrous treasure, to be prized above all else. It works like this: it comes filled with all kinds of yummy homemade cookie food which you, and occasionally your friends, devour. When there is nothing but crumbs left, you put the magic cookie tin in a box, mail it away, and it comes back FULL. It can also be brought on any voyage - in this case, you leave it in another room while you sleep, and the next morning it is full of goodies.

So you realize the depth of my error when I failed to bring along the pitifully empty cookie tin. However, the kind natives of Hendersonville, TN (namely my mother) took pity on me and instead supplied me with a week's worth of homemade german chocolate cake and other delectable foods.

I think can get by. ;-)

I had a really great weekend. It was good to see my parents and grandparents, my mom and I went shopping (she forced me to buy a dress), and I took a lot of time off relaxing. I really shouldn't have, but oh well. Now I'm about to start on my huge lab report. It's due tomorrow, but I have four hours until I meet Todd to seee Daredevil. No problem, right?