Only one semester left (EVER!)

I'm off to turn in my last final exam! The semester is finally over. Never again will I have to sit through a lecture about the courtly politics of the movie Titanic. What a waste. I'm heading home to eat cookies, watch movies and make people play board-games with me. Yay! See you back here in January.

A Letter to Snow

Dear Snow,

I've got to say, I've always thought we were friends. We played together when I was a child, and we had great times. Remember that winter when I made an igloo out of blocks of you? That was really special. Even as I've gotten older, I've looked forward to seeing you each year. I know that sometimes I pretended I didn't want you to visit, but that was just to impress my friends. Secretly, I loved watching you cover the ground with fluffy whiteness.

But, Snow, I have to be honest. Lately, you've kind of been overdoing it. Sure, I don't mind if you visit once, twice, even three times a month. But you don't know when to leave, and this Snow everyday thing is getting on everyone's nerves. Yes, other people are noticing too. My roommate made a comment today, something about "freaking snowing everyday." As a friend, I thought you should know.

Please don't take this the wrong way. It's just that I get tired of wearing boots everyday, and scraping my car is a real bitch. So Snow, this doesn't mean we're not friends anymore. On the contrary, I look forward to seeing you at Christmas. Just tone it down a little, and everything will be back to normal. Call me, we'll go sledding.

Laura

Why I Blog

Once, a couple years ago, I randomly looked at a bunch of blogs on blogspot. I wanted to get a feel for what people were writing about. It was interesting, because people were writing about everything, but mostly about themselves. In the isolation of post-modernism, we're all looking for a way to communicate. Each blog was a person trying to make sense of a self and trying to tell someone, anyone, about that self. Well, not every blog. One was a site encouraging people to go to church naked. Still, that's communication! What better way to strip off the pretensions of life?

I guess a need for communication is why I blog. I'm afraid I'm becoming more post-modern every day, and blogging is a way to have a touchstone of embarrassing sentimentalism. The thing is, I love honesty. I want to know about how people are deep down. And I want to tell people about me. Sometimes I think I share too much with people, whether in print or in person. I like to explore the little everyday details that make up a life. I may have shared too much about those details when I wrote an essay in undergrad about going shopping for a new bra. Looking back, I think the class may have felt awkward when I read it aloud.

That's the problem with honesty: someone usually feels uncomfortable. But I'm sick of the boredom of being polite. So I will continue to post embarrassing personal and/or sentimental slush on this blog. Try not to feel uncomfortable.

List: Things Men Shouldn't Do on a First Date

1. Offer your arm prom-style and say "Shall we?'

2. Use grotesque cheesy phrases such as "You look lovely tonight."

3. Try to take a picture of your date with your camera-phone.

4. Suggest a walk in the snow when the woman is wearing heels.

5. Disregard bad weather and refuse to leave earlier so that you get stuck on a hill with the tires spinning and your date prays to Jesus to let the night end soon.

6. Insist on getting out of the car and walking your date the five feet to her door.

7. Be a boring, ridiculous buffoon.

8. Tell your date that people always tell you you look like Tom Hanks.

9. Not take hints about the woman being "busy" next Saturday but keep asking questions about what she's doing that day.

10. Call fifteen minutes after you drop her off to tell her you got home safely.

11. Expect a second date.