Snow day!

Apparently, they happen out in the working world. Thanks Mother Nature, I needed it. Nice time for an unplanned three day weekend. Now if we could just get my parents' power turned back on...

Weather outside is frightful...

Well, it's that time of year again. All day long at work, central Illinois has been fretting over the winter storm to come. 8-14 inches! A half inch of ice! We'd better leave early today! We shouldn't have come! Now they are only saying 4-6 inches of snow, now it's back up 14, now they are predicting whiteouts! Everyone gets into the game and monitors NOAA all day long -- it's really somewhat comical.

In some ways though, it's really somewhat nice. All curled up at home with our books and computers and favorite TV shows, a great excuse not to go outside. Pop a pizza in the oven, spend some time with loved ones. It's not helping me get ready for my finals, but I am enjoying it quite a bit. The ice isn't letting up, 6-10" snow still expected. I would not be at all sad if we're snowed in by a blizzard tomorrow -- as long as our power stays on!

Aside from the roads, the other thing that kept me from cocooning at home is that I was packing up my desk. Same company but a new opportunity, a bit more strategic and high-level. It's also a little bit sad as I love what I've been doing these past few years and will miss my co-workers, but it's gotten a bit stressful and repetitive for me lately. It'll be nice to have a break from IT and a stretch assignment. At the same time, I kind of feel like I'm getting ready for the first day of high school or college.

I told a friend the other day that I'm feeling more and more apolitcal these days. More and more libertarian I would say as well. I think it's mostly a lack of ideas and candidates to be inspired by at the moment, and perhaps overall disappointment at the political climate and state of affairs in the world. I'm not angry at the current adminstration or anything like that, as I think they have done the best they could in the given circumstances. I don't feel like any party quite stands for my principals either though, so pardon me for the lack of politics lately.

And as for Illini basketball, I still love my orange and blue. It's been a bit tough to watch the games so far. I've seen a few flashes of brilliance, but the boys have been plagued by injuries and subpar play for them. I sat on the edge of my seat and breathed a sigh of relief when they pulled it out during the Miami (OH) and Bradley games. I wasn't home for Maryland, but the hubby said it was a heartbreaker. I've been encouraged by Jamar's small amount of play, Shaun Pruitt's inside presence, and occasionally Warren Carter's performance. They are definitely missing Brian Randle right now. I know that it's not going to be quite like last year and more losses will probably occur, but I'm still looking forward to the season. I just wish watching the offense was not so painful.

In other news, one of my best friends is being induced this evening. We're eagerly awaiting the arrival of the little guy and praying for you W&J!

Trick or treat!

None of that for me tonight. I was wrapped up in things at work, jumped into my car, headed to class, and hit McDonalds for sandwich. Headed to class, headed home around 8:30...and I didn't see one single trick or treater :(

I wasn't pleased about having class tonight, as I get a big kick out of answering the door and handing out candy. We usually dress up at my house, and the hubby lets all kinds of Star Wars related silliness rip -- showcasing talking Yoda, putting forth some nice lightsaber action, wearing all black and a Darth Vader voice changer...you get the drift.

Tonight my costume watching was limited to two princesses and perhaps a vampire dining at Mickey Ds. But I did get home to find a picture of my baby niece looking adorable in a pumpkin suit, which made up for almost all of it. It's funny how what you appreciate about the holidays changes at you get older...

Happy Halloween ladies and gents!

Friggatriskaidekaphobia

I'm usually not superstitious, but this Friday the 13th went downhill fast about a half hour ago when I heard the EJ news. Somehow I managed to avoid the Internet and radio all day until my sister told me. Some fan I am. If I was a true fanatic, I'd be rolling into the Hall in Chambana right about now for Midnight Madness...alas I couldn't put in the time to drive down and pick up tickets last month.

I will however be in Assembly Hall or in front of a big screen tv loudly somewhere loudly booing the first time that dirtbag Kelvin Sampson takes the floor in Champaign as "coach" of a program that I hope continues to be an overrated embarrassment for its state in years to come. And I'm not the only one I know who feels that way...that's for certain in my family.

I don't really fault the kid so much, but the way his family handled the whole situation was ridiculous....deny, deny, deny, switch! How about just reopening recruitment if this was a serious consideration. Instead, Illinois is left up a creek for '07. However, I still believe that the reason Illini basketball has been so successful is that it has not attracted the "one and done" attitude-laden superstar recruits. It takes solid second-run recruits and turns them into superstars. Deron, Luther, James, Lucas, Roger Powell, Damir, even Jamar...with Dee being the one big name exception.

So perhaps it's a good thing to look for someone who fits the program better. It's not to say that it won't make a little more superstitious about Friday the 13ths that fall near Midnight Madness in the future.

What's going on...

Yet again, I find myself stumbling back to the blog after about a month's absence. Real life just seems to be getting in the way of posting lately, and I rarely am I charged up enough to write something new about the issues. Work, school, and nonstop baby showers seem to be keeping me busy presently. Just a few random notes on my weekend tonight...

I went to my 10-year high school reunion this weekend. Ten years! It seems like just yesterday that we all graduated, and yet it seems like it was so long ago at the very same time. I had a fabulous time visiting with the friends I'm still in touch with and got to see some long-lost acquaintances. However, I was struck by how cliquey and high-school the whole scene still was. As you think you've moved beyond it all, you still sit at the same lunch (reunion) table as you did at age eighteen. You still dig the same people and have little patience for others. So the more things change, the more things stay the same? Or did I just have a weird high school class? I'm not sure.

Reasons not to vote for Blago: 1)$1500 birthday "present" for a 7 year-old? 2) Aversion to debating the issues..."The negotiations are over". Reason to dislike HotRod less: this picture proves he at least has a sense of humor.

Reasons to vote for Judy: She'd live in Springfield. She's not Rod. She'd probably be a bit more business-friendly than Blago. That's about all I'm coming up with presently. I'm kind of embarassed this is the best the state could do. I'm so politically apathetic at the moment that I disgust myself.


What About Brian premieres tomorrow! Want a soapy yet seemingly quality relationship drama about young adults to get hooked on? This could be the one. Season premiere is tomorrow on ABC. It stated to middling reviews/ratings last spring, but I'm expecting it to get even better as the show brought on Josh Reims to write after Everwood's untimely cancellation last spring.

That's it for the time being, but I will try to post more morsels as I come across them. Take care readers!

Five and counting

I wanted to write something today to commemorate September 11th. Something profound. Something reflective and thoughtful. Something appropriate. I'm not sure I have it in me at the moment, but here are my thoughts this evening nonetheless.

I watched a lot of documentaries about 9/11 this weekend. Not the overhyped docudramas on ABC and CBS, but the raw Discovery Channel footage interviewing the survivors. The stories of those trapped on the upper floors and how they called their loved ones to say goodbye. The stories of those lucky enough to step onto the right elevators and survive the collapse. The stories of the police officers' handcuffs returned to their spouses and infant children. These documentaries didn't really dwell in the horror of the day but rather the humanity of it all...and I found it impossible to turn them off.

In many ways, I think September 11th caused me to appreciate life a bit more, to take a few chances. We decided to get married, for my husband to go back to grad school. We took a few chances, because hey...you don't know what could happen tomorrow. But the bigger chances, like packing it all up and moving to DC to work on intelligence issues and help in this battle, we never took for a variety of reasons. Our families, friends, church, and lives here.

Some days though, I feel we are a little too comfortable. Like we haven't done enough to help and we haven't done enough to protect ourselves as a nation...even though I'm not quite sure what enough is. I don't believe WWIII is right around the corner, but some days I question that assertion. Jihad is jihad. These people who corrupt Islam in this way -- they don't believe in living peacefully with one another. They believe in dividing and conquering, massacring people until everyone submits to their barbaric way of thinking. How do you convert people who believe in that sort of insanity?

Five years later and we still do not really know. 9/11 changed everything, and it changed nothing at the same time. For a short time we really came together as people and thought about what was in important -- in our lives and how we wanted to live as a society. Most of that has faded away now. Our government has foiled plots and managed to keep us safe, even as Britain, India, Russia, Spain, Thailand and other countries have been subjected to terrorist slaughters. This week though, the nation has relived the memories and some of the questions from that day have been dragged back into our collective consciousness. Politicians nitpick and use the war to attack one another, but significant thoughtful discourse on what needs to be done is nowhere to be seen.

What will it take for this sort of discourse to return? I really do wonder, and I hope when it does that it will not be too late.

On Twenty-something Disaffection

I'm one of the biggest Scrubs fans you will find anywhere. I liked Garden State, and I'm sort of looking forward to seeing The Last Kiss. But I still find this rundown of Zach Braff’s 10 Easy Tips for Writing Films About Twenty-Somethings® spot-on and amusing to boot.

Hey government?

Listen to my phone calls. I really don't care. There's really nothing you are going to be that interested in hearing, unless you're into what colors bridesmaids' dresses should be and what my hubby and I should buy for the next baby shower gift and the latest so-called crisis at work.

But really....keep doing what you're doing. And keep catching these guys, okay?

(The libertarian in me is somewhat embarassed tonight and will return at an unspecified date in the future. Perhaps months after I've seen World Trade Center and ceased to be perturbed by today's revelations. War is hell, but what are you supposed to do when there are wackos like this out there planning to blow up thousands out of hate. I really don't know.)

A Smidge of B-Ball

Is it wrong for me to think that the Magic and the Jazz were big winners tonight? I realize I am a biased observer here, but I am happy to see James Augustine and Dee Brown drafted in the first two rounds, although they were both taken a big low imho. And the prospect of Dee and Deron rushing down the court and playing off one another again gives me chills.

I'm already scheming up ways in my head to plan wintertime vacations to Utah (skiing?) and Orlando (Disney?). We shall have to see what transpires. Shannon Brown to Cleveland is also an intriguing posibility. I may have to start attending NBA games if all my favorite collegiate players keep graduating :)

I'm also getting ready to leave on a much-needed vacation tomorrow. This whole working 50 hours a week and trying to handle a graduate summer class thing...it's way overrated. Plus we've had a lot of minor, yet annoying health issues to deal with lately and have a surgery fast approaching here. Zoning out on a southeastern beach for a week starting tomorrow, but I may try to post a few thoughts if Internet access allows and my brain has sufficient unwound.

Happy Independence Day a bit early to you and yours!

Big Day in Galesburg

Okay, so it's not exactly a post on something meaningful and important...but Stephen Colbert's commencement speech at Knox College this weekend was big news in these parts. You can read the whole thing on the Knox College website. The speech is really quite witty and is getting Knox some great national press this week.

A few choice excerpts:

"There are so many challenges facing this next generation, and as they said earlier, you are up for these challenges. And I agree, except that I don’t think you are. I don’t know if you’re tough enough to handle this. You are the most cuddled generation in history. I belong to the last generation that did not have to be in a car seat. You had to be in car seats. I did not have to wear a helmet when I rode my bike. You do. You have to wear helmets when you go swimming, right? In case you bump your head against the side of the pool. Oh, by the way, I should have said, my speech today may contain some peanut products."

"On a beautiful day like this I’m reminded of my own graduation 20 years ago, at Northwestern University. I didn’t start there, I finished there. On the graduation day, a beautiful day like this. We’re all in our gowns. I go up on the podium to get my leather folder with my diploma in it. And as I get it from the Dean, she leans in close to me and she smiles, and she says...[train whistle] that’s my ride, actually. I have got to get on that train, I’m sorry. [Heads off stage.] Evidently that happens a lot here. ..." (Incredibly funny only to those who are very familiar with Galesburg, Illinois)

"But the best reason for me to come to speak at Knox College is that I attended Knox College. This is part of my personal history that you will rarely see reported. Partly because the press doesn’t do the proper research. But mostly because…it is not true! I just made it up, so this moment would be more poignant for all of us. How great would it be if I could actually come back here—if I was coming back to my alma mater to be honored like this. I could share with you all my happy memories that I spent here in...Galesburg, Illinois. Hanging out at the Seymour Hall, right? Seymour Hall? You know, all of us alumni, we remember being at Seymour Hall, playing those drinking games. We played a drinking game called Lincoln-Douglas. Great game. What you do is, you act out the Lincoln-Douglas debate and any time one of the guys mentions the Dred Scott decision you have to chug a beer. Well, technically 3/5 of a beer. [groans from audience]

You DO have a good education! I wasn’t sure if anybody was going to get that joke."

Regardless of whatever Colbert's political stripes are, he is one funny guy and I thought he gave a thoroughly enjoyable and appropriate graduation address. And apparently last year's commencement speaker Barack Obama had a witty retort to Colbert's shtick...use hand sanitizer after the Pumphandle... I wish I could say the same for the speaker that Knox hopes to land next year. (Insert snarky comment about next year's graduates carrying the Purell here)

And so it continues...

I'm having trouble keeping up with everything at the moment, but just wanted to check in. I've been so busy lately that National Review has redesigned their website, and I have no idea when. If you know me, that's somewhat uncharacteristic. But travel, finishing up my semester, overtime at work, some minor health problems...they can keep me away from the computer for extended periods of time. And don't even ask me how often I made it to the gym last month! But I do have opinions about certain things....immigration and the NCAA's ridiculous stance towards Chief Illiniwek are posts that I see coming in the near future.

My husband thought I was getting on here to complain about how Everwood has likely been cancelled for next year yet Seventh Heaven was renewed. Sadly, this is one of my more well-reasoned opinions at the moment. I'm still sort of sad the WB is going to be gone, as that network and its shows are so closely and fondly associated with my college years. On another note though, my guilty pleasure One Tree Hill was renewed and the promising What About Brian (yay for JJ Abrams dramas). Tradeoffs I suppose. My TV habit will likely continue.

Hope to be posting something thought-provoking soon.

Returning

I've just experienced a couple VERY busy weeks -- attending a conference the past six days and all the related crazy hours at work that normally precede such a trip. Couple this with the fact that it's almost the end of the semester. I'm wrapping up a research project this week, which hopefully will leave me with a bit of downtime to enjoy (and blog) before summer classes begin. Looking forward to the breather!

As someone who digested about four newspapers AND flew on United this afternoon, I spent a lot of time today mulling Flight 93. The movie opens nationwide today, and the overall reviews have been very positive. In fact, Rotten Tomatoes has it at 93% positive at the moment. I think part of why I dwelled on it today was I was up in the air and spent a lot of time with security. In some respect, every time I have travelled since September 11th, I have thought about it. But today it just seemed particularly poignant somehow.

The reviews I read today were Canada Globe and Mail (3 stars - registration required), USA Today (4 stars), Chicago Tribune (4 stars), National Review. I'm not particularly wanting people to go see this movie to get angry or remember what the troops are fighting for at the moment. Rather, I'd recommend seeing it as a tribute, a reflection on the day, and a reminder that the problem sect of militant, radical Islamists has has not ceased to exist.

Darfur, Iraq, London, Bali, Egypt, Afghanistan, Iran, Beslan -- this sort of intolerance continues to rear its ugly head all around the world. We have been fortunate that planned attacks on American soil have not been successful since 2001. But it's all too clear that the problem has not disappeared. Are we going to be ready when it comes for us again? What can we do to help those it's coming for now? That's the question that sprung into my mind this afternoon. The Flight 93 passengers did not just sit back and wait for the "inevitable" to happen. Is that what we're doing now?

I doubt I will make it to the film this weekend, but I will see it soon...no matter how painful and disconcerting it might be. It's not too soon for America to reflect on this again. We need to have movies that deal with the difficult issues and truly make us think. Instead of focusing all our attention on high gas prices and how 'rough' we have it, perhaps we need to step back a bit and remember what that day felt like...and think about what we can do to stop people from feeling this way again.