I'm digging it.

I actually did some work on my thesis yesterday that will matter and in a positive way.

And I got drunk last night!

I don't ask for much.

Wisconsin Travel Alert!

FYI to all my friends in Milwaukee and Madison and near by, I will be travelling to Madison, via Milwaukee for one brief weekend in March. Matt Peters is getting married and he was kind enough to invite us to his party in Madison on Saturday March 24th. (He and his fiancée are having a private wedding ceremony, so what we are attending technically is neither a wedding nor a reception but it is a party and it is celebrating their marriage.) Once again I say congratulations to Matt.

Anyway, this also means I'll be able to see some friends that I haven't seen in a long time, even if they are not also attending said party.

We will be landing in Milwaukee on Friday the 23rd in the late afternoon, getting our rental car, and then driving to Madison and checking into our hotel. So we'd have time on Friday to hang with people in Madison, and probably Saturday too. I'm not sure what time the party is yet but presumably there will be time both before and after to hang out.

Sunday I was planning on driving back to Milwaukee a little early to maybe meet with some folks for lunch or something like that before taking the rental car back and waiting for our plane.

We are flying into Milwaukee because it was the cheapest option between it, Madison and Chicago-O'Hare.

So... if you'd like to hang with Holly and me, let me know...

new laptop!

I've been super busy with school but wanted to point out that I have a new laptop! No, Mac fans, it's a Windows machine. Macs are too expensive and do not offer me anything that gives me an advantage over a Windows computer, at least for what I need to do with a computer. It's a nice new Gateway w/2 GB of RAM and a 160 GB hard drive and everything else you'd expect a new laptop to have. It's not super huge but it's not tiny. Maybe I'll post a photo and a link or other specs later but right now I am too lazy.

"German gov't considers jail time for gamers"

Crazy Europeans! "Proposed legislation targets pixelated mayhem and virtual violence; legislators consider acts of cruelty against 'human-looking characters' as reason enough to fine, imprison." Rest of article here.

Big thanks to The Flick Skinny for bringing this to our attention.

Today is the first day of classes

...which is just fine with me. I will not be a student in any classes, but am teaching two sections of accelerated elementary Spanish. I also have to finish my MA thesis.

I'm a little groggy (although I'm currently enjoying a nice latte which should help) because I woke up super early this morning and, because I still have a cough from my recent cold, I couldn't get back to sleep.

Winter will never come

I am convinced that winter will not come to northeast Georgia this year. It certainly has not arrived as of yet. This morning it is a comfortable sixty-something degrees Fahrenheit and sunny. No need for a jacket, and of course the temperature will likely only rise over the next few hours. It's January 6th, for crying out loud. I realize that there are plenty of stubborn weirdos who refuse to accept the scientific community's consensus regarding the global warming theory, but you'd think that days like today would make them reconsider.

I am from Wisconsin. I don't miss the insane cold and winters that are too long. I do kind of miss the snow, to an extent. I don't miss having to shovel it though. Since moving here, however, I have come to appreciate moderate weather, and summer is no longer my favorite season.

I've often thought recently that if we have children I'd like to raise them in a climate that has a proper winter. It's good to have four distinct seasons. It also does one much good to realize that it is possible to live in a cold climate. It's fun to play in snow. I can't stand to listen to people that have never lived in a cold climate fuss about how they can't stand the cold. Most people don't like the cold, but you learn to live with it. You dress properly, and it's not that big a deal. In fact, if you are dressed properly, it's really not that bad at all, provided it's not TOO cold and the wind's not blowing. If you've never been in those conditions, I guess they are difficult to imagine. I can't imagine living in an extremely hot climate either, say that of Iraq for example.

I wish winter would come. I thought I'd never say that but it's true. This weather is bullshit. We need some cold. Just a little bit.

from NY Times: a "secret" to a long life

I knew I was doing the right thing by going back to school.

it's a good day

And a great start to what I can't help but think is going to be a great year.

I'm here at UGA, not much to do, but am going to re-arrange my office, and then maybe work on my thesis a little.

We enrolled in a health club last night and started our morning with a fairly strenuous workout today which I have to say has been totally invigorating for me. I can't wait to do it again!

I hope the rest of you, my friends, are also off to a good start this year.