One Down, Two To Go

So I'm checking in now that I've completed comp-one. It was the creative writing one, which is basically a lot about contemporary authors and aspects of the story in general. I feel one-third lighter now, really. I think I did okay, and if I didn't, I'll come back and edit this out later. But I think I did fine. I almost even though "Aw, what was I worried about?" but if I didn't worry, then I wouldn't have studied, and I would have flunked it -- cause it is a hard test if you're not ready, and it was hard enough anyway, if for nothing else than the fact that it took four hours. For little attention-span guys like me that's a long time.

Monday is the test on the Modernists, Pound and Yeats and those fellers. That might be the hardest, although some say that the one I took today was the hardest. Friday is the test on Harold Pinter.

Hey, Nyleva. We love Clyde Frog. I can't wait to see the pictures. You should send me scans when you develop them. Nyleva is one of my two favorite photographers. The other is Liza.

I'm just glad The Breeders are breeding again. And I hope Mr. Philips was doing well at his club. I haven't seen them ever, but then again I've only seen just a tad of folks. Living in Hattiesburg, you know: culture capital of the south. At least they have me, but not for long.

If Nyleva could come up for another day, she could recorded another Mnemonic Devices song with me for the album I'm gonna make as soon as this week's over. The criteria for appearing on this album is that you have to be cute and have a degree in English (I've got seven gals lined up right now who fit the criteria -- oh, and me, and I'm the cutest). I'm thinking of calling it Sparkling Objective Correlatives or something with that phrase in it (yeah, so I've been reading too much T.S. Eliot, but it seems to fit somehow). Everyone has enough trouble saying or remembering the title of the band, so I'll screw people even more.

Good ol' Buffy. I don't know if Jason knows this yet (I'm sure Liza told Nyleva), but I've been watching the Buffy shows with Liza on her season one DVDs. I don't really want to become an all-out fan and watch new ones or catch up on old ones, but I'll watch them on the DVDs as they are gradually released. I like watching things in order. I actually try to avoid the TV when Liza's watching new ones, since I want to keep myself ignorant of the developments. Anyway, I like the show pretty well (the few minutes I had watched of it previously seemed like a kids' show, which is sort of is, but not in so much a bad way as I thought). Giles is my favorite character. Willow is cute, and Buffy looks pretty hot in those mini-dresses (which Liza tells me she loses in later seasons, which is the saddest development of all).

Oh, and everyone should be playing the Buffy the Vampire Slayer board game, which is in my top five board games of all time (seriously). I bought one for Liza a while back, and I recently bought one for myself in case she leaves me, and because they only cost $5 at our Toys R Us (though they seem to cost $25 at lots of places). You have to say things every now and then like "I'm going to use my soul restoration card," but don't worry that it's too D&D or anything, or Magic: it has some of those nerdy elements, but it's mostly just a good board game. Search your Toys R Us-es!

Hey, Steph. I can't wait for Storytelling myself, though when I go it won't be a first date. I'm sure I'll have to drive to New Orleans for it, and I keep checking the date at the cinema I go to when I go there, and no luck yet. I don't know when it becomes more widespread than it is now.

And speaking of movies, I also saw Ghost World and liked it a great deal. I know Steph and Nyleva liked it (unless I misunderstood something, which I do sometimes). None of my friends liked it, or if they did, they thought it was "okay" instead of "good" or "really good." The Thora Birch character is my new girlfriend, by the way. Liza doesn't mind, since she's invisible.

And, Jason, I have to say... I'm a little hearbroken that you left the robot, but you still post on the Bulky Mail Truck. Traitor! And right when I've got all this Buffy-related stuff to talk about! Again, hurry back.

Ahhh... anyway, just wanted to breath a long sigh of relief, a one-third sigh. Today was the first day I haven't studied in weeks, though I'll cram again tomorrow. Come Friday, I'll be floating around the room, writing music and working on my dissertation (I know that sounds like work, too, but it's not -- I'm putting together a collection of short stories and writing an introducing, not writing one of those big long things like Nyleva had to do... I wrote my a little at a time over three years). I also plan on putting on a music show, maybe in March or April, or whenever I finish the album, hopefully having all the singers from the album sing on stage for their songs. Oh, if only everyone just followed me and lived wherever I did...

Rusty.