I'm back!! Yes I'm back. I've really missed this little universe of Xanga the past couple of weeks. Thanks to everyone who commented my last entry on dating, which was written like 10 years ago, so you probably don't even remember you commented it  I've been up to my neck in schoolwork and things, not to mention I was driving all over the midwest during Easter break and didn't have much time for Internet stuff.

So me and a couple friends took a road trip to Michigan the other week. We drove through Chicago and spent a short night there. The pizza was amazing!! Giorgino's was the name of the restaurant (I think). Maybe I was just really hungry, but I'm pretty sure that was the most incredible pizza I've had in my entire LIFE. I took my first train ride too. We spent rest of the week in Monroe, Michigan at my friend's house. I popped my Chuck E. Cheese cherry, finally! It took 21 years to do but I'm glad I finally went! There was this one creepy old dude who walked in by himself right behind us. We lost him by the time we got in. He looked like he could have been one of those guys in the amateur sketches for wanted pedophiles on the 6 o'clock news. I really hope he was just meeting his family there or something and he wasn't a serial child molester

Monroe is just on the southern border of Michigan, so we went to Tuledo, Ohio a couple times for shopping and stuff. We bought FIREWORKS too  They're legal in Michigan, and it was the first time I'd actually seen a STORE that sold fireworks (and some hardware). It was this giant warehouse that had every explosive thing that you could think of that isn't classified as a weapon of mass destruction. Since that stuff is basically outlawed in California (and Iowa, as I found out) we took full advantage of the situation. Bottle rockets are theeeeeeee bestttt!

On the way back to school, I drove the final 5 hours or so of the trip. Somewhere on the I-80 west in eastern Iowa I ran over a poor little squirrel that was running across the road. It came from out of the bushes and even though I tried to swerve out of the way, it was too late. I've never killed an animal with a car before  Partly out of logical deduction, but mostly just to clear my own soiled conscience, I've concluded that this squirrel committed suicide. My action of vehicular homicide, therefore, was really an act of consideration for the squirrel's true intentions. I can't even explain how horrible I felt as I glanced at my rearview mirror and saw the poor little thing on the asphalt behind us.

What really sucks is that before we left, my friend's grandmother (the sweetest of sweethearts) told us this Native American myth about why you should be kind to animals and give a good home to as many pets as you can in your lifetime. It's said that when you die and you're about to cross over into the next world, you have to step on these rocks to get there. All of the animals you were kind to in your life will help you get across. The more pets you had, the better off you'll be.

So now I can look forward to a pack of angry squirrels clawing at me as I cross over into the afterlife. With my luck, God will probably turn out to be a squirrel. Curse you, I-80 W.

peace&love

One thing I like to do from time to time is invent new diseases. I don't mean actually creating them by breeding microorganisms in a petri dish, but rather giving a name to some sort of psychological, physical, or otherwise abnormal condition which I feel can one day be considered a medical disease.

Self Perpetuated Insomnia (SPI). A primarily psychological, but consequently physical and potentially emotional condition in which the diagnosed develops habits which keep him/her from sleeping at "normal" hours. Reasons completely unrelated to obligatory tasks such as homework, or a job. Reasons more like: spontaneously drinking coffee at 11:00pm, after having woken up at 10:00pm from a 4-hour "power nap". 

I'm convinced there are many of SPI victims out there. If you're one of them, I think we should collaborate on some sort of Self Perpetuated Insomniacs Anonymous group. Face it folks: we have a problem.

So I'm not gonna lie, my track meet this past Saturday was less than spectacular. It was my first time vaulting on an actual runway and pit in 4 years. I was rusty, and it showed. I didn't clear the opening height of 7' unfortunately (my old personal best was 8'6"), and the winning height ended up being around 11'. I got smoked! I was expecting it though. But it's one thing to expect something and then to actually experience it. I practically had a N00B sign taped to my back the whole time I was there.

I also ran the 100H (100 high-hurdles; 100-meters is a straightaway on the track, and the hurdles are set on a slightly higher height than the 300 or 400-meter race. Just a little clarification on the track vernacular ). I was either last or tied for last with my teammate, at around 21 seconds. That's a pretty average high school time, which is fine considering I've had less than 2 weeks of hurdle practice since my high school days. 

Needless to say, I have my work cut out for me (for lack of a better phrase). On a side note, I've got some of my color back  It was a beautiful sunny day in Rock Island, Illinois. The pastier skinned folks didn't fare so well though. Thank goodness for the extra melanin in my skin! On another side note, I twisted my ankle on my last pole vault run. No bueno. It's been swollen the past couple of days. F MY LIFE!

Anyway, today I did some career research. I'm taking a Business and Technical Writing course in the fall. It actually seems like an interesting career. Of course there are pros and cons, but I spent a good chunk of time this afternoon looking into it. Good stuff.

It's almost 2:00AM. I had something else to blog about but I really should find something a little more productive to do. Not to say that entertaining all of you with my profound wisdom isn't productive. But I should really move on to some homework or something.

Toodles

peace&love