Crazy RoboSanta in the middle is our first ornament. The apple above it was my parents'.
Bonus adorable Christmas 1989 ornament to the left.

Mark and I did a crapload of shopping today, even though we were both basically too exhausted to move even when we first started... he worked all day and night, I was up coughing and had to rely on the black magic of vodka to finally get me to stop. Which means I fell asleep, but didn't sleep well. And neither of us slept long. Note to self: After purchasing new bottle of Nyquil, do not place it in a location where you cannot find it when you are ill and really desperately need it.

Ugh.

Anyway, I still have a ton of shopping left and it's driving me nuts. I have tomorrow and part of Friday; I'm driving to Pittsboro as usual to leave flowers for Eric that afternoon. Saturday morning we leave for Wilmington to begin CHRISTMAS... part one of... what... five, six, potentially?

Also, WHAT DO YOU BUY FOR CHILDREN??? Kate has the inside track here, I know. But my mom was all A+ on buying gifts for the kids (I helped!) for Christmas -- so I could be part of the "Bonnie, Travis, & Sarah" card. And once I turned 18 my mom would still help me get my shit together, and she'd pick out something genius or whatever.

BUT I DON'T HAVE KIDS AND I FEEL LIKE AN IDIOT. Like, Eva, I can totally chill and remember (mostly) the kind of stuff I wanted when I was six. I mean, things have changed since '93, but Eva's a chill kid. I see Harper once a year so I don't even know what he's doing. Like, I think he was walking around and saying words last year. I imagine things have progressed? I haven't seen the twins in a year either, but I'm trying to put myself in Matt & Kim's position -- I don't want to get the girls things that'll just crowd up the house, or that they won't use/play with/whatever... and then with baby "11/12" (as I am dubbing her), I don't want to make life any more complicated. And I feel like 11/12 (aka Matt & Kim) should get something for Christmas too.

Being one of the three cousins without children and then, of those three, being the only one not living with my parents has put me in a crappy position.

MY BRAIN.
MY WALLET.
MY WALLETTTTTTTT.
(and mark's)

I need to sleep.

http://www.popcrunch.com/this-guy-loves-apostrophes-almost-as-much-as-he-loves-jesus/

Mark (in jest): "Yeah, I'm definitely all of that first column"
(I question a few of them, which he starts eliminating)
"You're a wifebeater?"
"No."
"Who's your wife? I need to know about this."
"You don't have to worry about it, I already beat her to death."
"..."


Also, I passed out for no reason a little while ago and hit my head on the kitchen floor and it hurts. I think I need to eat, or drink, or go to the doctor or something.
Yeah, need to call my doctor tomorrow.

good news: did not die in a black hole last night.
bad news: still have to take latin test
other news: i have three doctors appointments today: 12:10-1, 1-2, 2:45-4
more good news: theresa is coming with me to sr. bar night at the library (because i missed he's not)

and i think dell is supposed to be dropping off my new laptop today. and that requires a signature. which is really, really lame.

OH YEAH, so like, tomorrow, when they turn on that machine that will turn the world into a giant black hole, what will you be doing BEFORE you die by black hole?

lol i love perpetuating the idea of scary things which are either impossible or extremely unlikely.

Bonus, though: I wouldn't have to take my Latin test on Friday.

IT IS FRIEDAY
I IS ARE DONE WITH HOEMWORK
EXCEPT I THINK I MAY HAEV SUMTHIN DOO ON MONDAY
WHO CARES
WEEKEND AHOY
HURRICANE PARTIES

who am i kidding. i'm probably going to write a script that runs latin flashcards on my iphone.
also i forgot to bring my wallet today, and now i have to pay chapel hill like $10 for parking. que ridículo.

UGH.

oh and btw: poss. hurricane in NC next weekend. NEAT.

Damn it. I don't know who to blame -- NVIDIA or Dell. But ONE OF THEM IS CAUSING ME PROBLEMS.

Computer doesn't respond to "Ah - no - don't even think about starting this," "Goddammit don't do this shit again," "WTF, I JUST REBOOTED YOU!!!" etc etc etc.

Dell blamed NVIDIA and had me install a BIOS revision that just turned my expensive strobe light into a display that flickers once and then reverts to what I am lovingly calling "the black screen of death." Its tolerance level seems even lower than before. "Uhhhh, you want to open a web browser? -- no, fuck that shit." Then, "HOLY CHRIST, A JPEG??? WHAT DO I DO?!?" Now, I'm pretty sure it's just at "HOW TO DO CURSOR MOVE ON SCREEN? OH NOES!1!!1!!"

Though the BIOS did, indeed, have some effect, I'm not sure that was exactly positive.

Safe mode wouldn't be so bad if I could like... save things. And have audio. It's like safe mode is a total cockblock for everything fun.

No, I'm totally not frustrated by this.


AHHH I JUST SAW SKELETOR ON THE WEATHER CHANNEL

oh jk it was just Michael Chertoff:




AHHHH!

Advice to the Security Czar: grow that beard back.






Okay, ew, too much Bush administration ITT.

Someone hates New Orleans.
But apparently, because of Gustav, someone either loves or hates the Repooplicans; I can't tell yet. I'm thinking, maybe, the Republicans will actually benefit from death and destruction. But, you know, that's not new.

COMMENTARY ON CNN ARTICLE: ( COMMENCE! )


Finally, I'm going to mention here that Sarah Palin hates polar bears. And I'm not even joking about that. To Sarah Palin, oil > the existence of polar bears. No joke. Look it up.

NOW LOOK AT A BABY POLAR BEAR:

LOOK AT IT

Paul Begala's editorial on Sarah Palin (emphases mine):

(CNN) -- John McCain needs what Kinky Friedman calls "a checkup from the neck up."

In choosing Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to be his running mate, he is not thinking "outside the box," as some have said. More like out of his mind.

Palin, a first-term governor of a state with more reindeer than people, will have to put on a few pounds just to be a lightweight. Her personal story is impressive: former fisherman, mother of five. But that hardly qualifies her to be a heartbeat away from the presidency.

For a man who is 72 years old and has had four bouts with cancer to have chosen someone so completely unqualified to become president is shockingly irresponsible. Suddenly, McCain's age and health become central issues in the campaign, as does his judgment.

In choosing this featherweight, McCain passed over Tom Ridge, a decorated combat hero, a Cabinet secretary and the former two-term governor of the large, complex state of Pennsylvania.

He passed over Mitt Romney, who ran a big state, Massachusetts; a big company, Bain Capital; and a big event, the Olympics.

He passed over Kay Bailey Hutchison, the Texas senator who is knowledgeable about the military, good on television and -- obviously -- a woman.

He passed over Joe Lieberman, his best friend in the Senate and fellow Iraq Kool-Aid drinker.

He passed over former congressman, trade negotiator and budget director Rob Portman.

And he also passed over Mike Huckabee, the governor of Arkansas.

For months, the McCainiacs have said they will run on his judgment and experience. In his first presidential decision, John McCain has shown that he is willing to endanger his country, potentially leaving it in the hands of someone who simply has no business being a heartbeat away from the most powerful, complicated, difficult job in human history.

for the first time in my life, my compy's got a virus. and a shitty one. and i am going to have to backup and reinstall SUPER FRESH because it's fucked with my drivers and got access to my passwords, which is excellent and super stupid.
i don't even know what the thing is, but i have a suspicion it's probably from that 3rd party application i downloaded to sync up an app for my iPhone with Microsoft Outlook. I SHOULD KNOW BETTER. WHO AM I??

i should also not be so brazen as to assume that my antivirus program is something that's simply taking up memory (and thus ending its process or just abandoning it altogether).

so i'm in safe mode.
i suck.

goddammit.

(also plz let me know if "i" sent you a message or did something funny on facebook, which is where i've gotten my security alert)

I had an idea. (UH OH)

Drinking age. It's my general understanding that college leaders are getting into the mix primarily because of their concern with binge drinking among their students. And it has been my experience -- you know, just stuff I've heard -- that most college kids drink, whether or not they're 21.

So... WHAT IF: The legal drinking age would drop to 18 -- ONLY for those either serving in the military or attending college (4-year?). Otherwise, kids are stuck until they're 21. I'd toy with the idea that more kids would consider higher education and work towards that as a goal. This could also impact the cost of a college education (positively?). And, an increase in volunteers for the military would effect the impact of war upon more families, i.e., constituents -- and thus, politicians. As it stands, a lot of 18-year-old kids joining up are those with few other options. The kids who HAVE options and CHOOSE not to take advantage of them would also be CHOOSING to forego their privilege to buy alcohol for an extra three years. The freshmen who jump into college and get TOTALLY WASTED to the point of alcohol poisoning as part of a social scene would suddenly be much less interesting.

The tentative idea of it makes me feel a little better. Less drunken rednecks and silver spoons drivin' around my highways.

Also, tornadoes are attacking Durham again. Thanks Fay.

And, instead of posting to my CCO forum at 11:59, I posted at 5:07. K THX I R AHEAD.