thank you for pointing that out

so yes, i do recognize the fact that being entirely content - no, more than entirely content, totally ecstatic - to learn about star wars and read comic books for my birthday makes me a complete geek. i knew that already and if you didn't, well, surprise! i have tried in other years to get together with a dozen plus friends and have them all buy me drinks, but that never really turns out being as much fun as you think it's going to be. mostly, all my friends just don't have things to say to each other, and then i vacillate between trying to draw them together by talking to them all at once and trying to make them feel special individually by withdrawing with them and asking them about their lives. it never really works and it's not that fun and honestly i don't really drink that much anyway. these days i prefer a small adventure with one, maybe two friends (they have to know each other beforehand) or a warm evening in. on one hand, this makes me feel extremely old; i still know a lot of people who just want to go out on the weekends and spend $40 at a bar or get dolled up and go to a party. i'm not that kind of people anymore, really; the big party always turns out to be a disappointment and i usually want to smack the majority of people at the bar. on the other hand, i don't really want to meet anyone, i already have most of the friends that i need, and what kind of friend do you meet at a bar anyway? so, i did not want to "go out! whooo!" for my birthday this year, and honestly, it was the best birthday i've had in a really long time.

if you think i'm putting how old i am on the internet you have another thing coming

yesterday was my birthday. i had a great day. i slept in and had a delicious cup of coffee and read the paper. then, jake took me to the star wars exhibit at the oregon museum of science and industry. it was AWESOME. the website said plan on it taking about an hour to get through; i think i was there for about two and a half. i watched all the videos, touched everything you were allowed to touch, and took pictures of jake next to the most awesome stuff like darth vader, the robots and the wookie costumes. darth vader's costume was HUGE. it was the first thing i saw when i walked into the exhibit and my jaw just dropped at how ENORMOUS it was. that was pretty satisfying, because what if i had gotten there and it was my size? not intimidating. the best interviews were with the sound guy, who said he used bear noises for chewbacca, and anthony daniels, who played c3po and was way, way into it even though putting on the costume was obviously like relegating yourself to being in a tin can for hours. then we went to burgerville and i had a chocolate peppermint milkshake. it is just not my birthday without a milkshake.

then i went to tutor. the family i was tutoring for found out on monday that 1. i love comic books and 2. wednesday was going to be my birthday. when i came in yesterday, there was a bag of home-baked delicious goodies and a pretty heavy present waiting for me. i was awed by how thoughtful they were, and then i opened the present - the new "Absolute Sandman", a hardcover set of the first 18 issues of neil gaiman's celebrated comic. unbelievable. not only expensive, but obviously carefully researched and purchased.

also i got two messages from jordan pierce while i was at the museum, both of them parts of a song he had written, composed and scored for me for my birthday. best day ever.

let's think about this

should i feel bad for thinking this is funny?

my favorite is the vampire

JUST IN CASE YOU WERE WORRIED!

the deadline wasn't friday! it is today! i win!

when i got that email i almost wrote back telling the dean's secretary that i love her and that i'm going to send her some cookies and a copy of my christmas mix. then i realized that no i do not love her and if i actually got my act together and did those things she would probably think it was really weird. also, maybe she's jewish.

it's fixin to be a long one

it has been a real long time since i pulled an all-nighter. i feel slightly hysterical but surprisingly competent. the key is to not get too wordy; that way, it's much easier to edit with a clear head the next day. a lot of ten-dollar words can confuse a mind full of coffee (and maybe a pastry? maybe. but not if i hit the snacks hard tonight. it's harder not to think about chocolate on the even hours, i find). another key is music with no words, or maybe words in another language or that are so soft they're like water. so pretty much, air exclusively.

here is the situation. when i was putting together my little checklists in october (i'm applying to sixteen grad schools, if i'm going to stay on top of the various deadlines and weird small requirements, i'm going to need checklists), berkeley's website said that applications were due on the 11th. that is what i wrote on my little checklist. the admissions webpage says that everything needs to be postmarked the 11th, "not December 8th as listed elsewhere" (see for yourself). when i read that, i was like "ok cool, still the 11th." well, now when i log in to the online application, it says i've chosen a major for which the deadline has passed, and sure enough, when i re-looked at the grad programs & deadlines website it said the 8th. screwed! well, i sent a few mildly upset/slightly confused emails to who i hope are the right people, and i'll find out tomorrow if i can still submit. so, tonight's long haul may or may not be completely necessary and/or completely disappointing. either way, i will most likely not come close to getting in because it is the number one program in the country, but at least i will have enjoyed some late-nights snacks combined with some late-night truths about myself and how i always wait til the last minute and how that is just silly.

stan lee is 84

if you want to write him a fan letter, here is his fan mail address:

Pow! Entertainment
9440 Santa Monica Blvd., Ste. 620
Beverly Hills, CA 90210

you're running out of time. i would do it before the year is out. myself, i'm going to do it as soon as i finish these applications.

no way they can keep this, although i would probably try if i were them

slow wave

this is my favorite new webcomic.
there are some weird trends: superman and wal-mart are pretty common themes, and goats, chickens, and dinosaurs pop up a lot. also, a lot of people get stranded on deserted islands.