Long Time Coming

First things first: No, I don't have a job yet (still). Yes, I'm getting nervous/frustrated. No, I don't want to talk about it.

Now the good stuff:

1) Our apartment caught on fire a week ago. Well, not our apartment per se, but our apartment building. It's a little freaky to be evacuated from your building and realize that you didn't even grab your wallet on the way out. Fortunately, it was all taken care of quickly.

2) I turned in my last paper ever yesterday morning. That means I have about 45 papers to grade and then my career as a Masters degree student here at Penn State is officially over. I am pretty excited about that.

3) '24' has taken a turn for the silly, I think. Jack's hijacking of a plane yesterday was entertaining, but pretty over-the-top. At times that show is just as much fun to mock as it is to watch. Still exciting, though.

4) Summer movie season is almost upon us. I'm looking forward to it. XMen, Superman, Mission Impossible, and Poseidon seem to be the big budget extravaganza. Even if they're not excellent, those kinds of movies are always fun to watch in the theater, and State College theaters in the summer are fairly empty, which makes for a pleasant movie-going experience.

5) I know many will mock, but I'm into graphic novels lately. I think it's partly a rebellion against the canonical texts I've been stuck reading for the past two years (though I've read some really good stuff). Frank Miller, Alan Moore, etc.--these guys are pretty good writing in an undervalued medium. I ordered some basic stuff from Amazon recently, but I'll keep you updated on how I rate them. Plus, there's a lot of non-superhero-stuff that needs to be more appreciated. Up next I hope to buy "Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid in the World" and "Maus I and II." Give them a look sometime.

6) Yesterday was Amelia's birthday. I framed a couple pictures of us and got her a pair of shorts, but the real present was Dance Dance Revolution for the Xbox with two floor controllers. Have you seen this game? Once you get over your embarrassment (it does look kind of silly) it's a lot of fun, pretty challenging, and good for you. Gym classes are using it to help get students active. The disc itself has a "workout" option. And it's pretty entertaining. We played for a couple of hours yesterday. I'm sure our downstairs neighbors HATED us, but it was good fun.