Slept better. Will probably work on finishing Jane Eyre today. Got to the marriage-gone-awry yesterday. Oh, will also take a hike (possibly; it's way below freezing though, so maybe not!), and probably play ping-pong and Boccerball (a great game, and one I've never seen anywhere other than here). Sounds good, don't you think? Time's up!

Last night I slept about six hours because Dad snored and Mom snored. The first is normal; the second is only because Mom has a cold and thus her nose isn't working quite right.

Yay!! We're going on our annual winter four-day vacation tomorrow!!!! I've got books to read! Trails to hike! A nature center to visit! A pool to swim in! Ping-pong games to play! Fireplaces to enjoy! And pancakes to digest! Hmm... this must be my thirteenth or fourteenth year going.... if I was one or two by my first trip there, and we've only missed one winter since then (I think).... oh wait, it might be my fifteenth or sixteenth!! Amazing. But I love our traditional vacations.

It's my second day wearing full makeup (listing: liquid stuff, compact stuff, blush, eyeshadow, and lipstick!) and it... is... weird. And eyeshadow is not easy to put on!!! But anyhow. I got a call from "my" admissions counselor at one of the colleges I applied to - in fact, the college with the huge dorm rooms (for double occupancy!) and open-all-day dining hall - and she told me that I'm going to receive a full-tuition scholarship as soon as Mom fills out the FAFSA. Ain't it niiice? :-) So all I've got to cover is about $6,000 worth of room and board, plus books/stuff/laptop. I'll most likely move in there come August (unless, of course, some other college likewise offers me such scholarship plus something better). And our computer mouse isn't working right. Irritation (as my brother has been saying). It seems to get stuck sometimes, and cleaning the gunk out of the inside isn't helping. Oh well.

I obviously had way too much fun with mom's friend's digital camera! She was very kind; she even put in a new memory card when that one got filled, and e-mailed me the pics off the full one! The other card was huge though; I may not get those for awhile. But as soon as I do, I'll post a few.... :-)

34 years..... and counting.

Last week (was it really that long ago? wow...) I forgot to mention this one Senate bill that was not entirely good, but not entirely bad. But it is a moot point now; the bad part, as I understand it, was removed by amendment, so the big bad lobbyists would be barred but the little-guy grassroots organizations would still be able to stir the citizens to action. I think it was Senate Bill 1.... Not much for a political post; belated and vague. But hey, it's ten till nine PM and I have to get off soon! Tata.

But that was probably last night...or, whenever it was, it was too long ago to actually remember. Ah, maybe it was that it cost $1.50 to mail two scholarship applications Wednesday. Fat bundles. Or that I actually won an essay contest and will be awarded a $50 Meijer gift certificate. I might get a bookcase and one of those plastic three-drawer cabinets that are something like $8. Or, perhaps, it was the fact that I actually like this book I'm reading of short Spanish articles. I understand most of it, and what I don't is already defined for me in the margin (almost always, anyway).

1. What is your opinion on skepticism? Is it a good thing in itself? Consider this anecdote, if you will: Little "Raggedy Ann" is told about a colony of purple-haired, orange-skinned aliens residing on the moon, and with wide eyes asks "really?" But when told that a marble is capable of being chipped, she smiles knowingly and says "nuh-uh!!" When in fact (as you know) the first story is false but the second entirely true. 2. What is the proper "netiquette" for linking to someone else's blog from yours permanently? My sister says I'm crazy. And she laughs at me. Constantly. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? And she says that was three things..... this feels familiar, somehow...

Please explain to me why FoxTrot showed up with the same cartoon for a week on my Yahoo page... in Spanish, no less! And if you can't read that.... As you can deduce... I've discovered how to "screenshot".

Ooooops... It was 1987. So the tablecloth turned 20 on Monday! Anyway, we had a great time. I got my new sewing machine all fixed up (had to make it fit into the cabinet, and I didn't have to saw into it after all!), ate a lot of buckeyes, and "controlled" the giant stuffed animal, to the absolute delight of a 9-year-old cousin. (I was told it was a dog, but it reminded me of a large, very cuddly bear.)