So, I figured I'd write one final entry before finals kick into high gear - aw crap, who I am kidding, it's not like I'm a real student. Good joke though.

For me, finals are actually kind of neat. I get to do the same thing I've done for the rest of the year except I get the gratification of being "done" with a class the second I turn in the final paper or exam. Being the silly little English major that I am, I get the joy of only having one of my three English classes require a final exam, whereas the other two just ask for a final portfolio (Creative Writing) or paper (genre study on science fiction books)... Though the English class with the exam also asks for a final paper, so I don't know where they get off thinking they can throw some kind of combo package. Then there's my Spanish exam, but that's doesn't really even count.

Though, speaking of Spanish, it reminds of the mental anguish I'm going to be dealing with from May 2-June 23 with an "Intensive" Spanish course during the spring term. The spring term is, basically, a full semester workload crammed into eight weeks or so. "Intensive" Spanish is basically the full second year of Spanish crammed into a single term class. Combine the two forces and you have a full second year of Spanish combined into eight weeks. So, from 8:30am to 1:30pm (with a half-hour break at the two hour mark) every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. The real question I'm asking myself is why I'm planning to do this. Well, my only problem with classes is waking up early; since the non-intensive Spanish spring/summer courses begin at 9:00am anyway, I figured what the hell. Yeah, real solid logic on display here.

I would just like to point out now that I'm wearing a bright orange t-shirt and gym shorts. These are two highly unnatural occurrences for me by themselves. The combination is considered, by some (okay, just me), to be one of the last true signs of the coming apocalypse.

Generally when I write these entries, I leave Word open for about two hours and just add a new paragraph whenever anything comes to mind. That's part of the reason that they're categorized as "Ramblings" or "Just Hanging Out" (depending on the site you're reading this from) because these entries really are just that. Ramblings. My goal with each one is to make each paragraph a kind of standalone mini-entry so that when people peruse the entries they can find something of interest eventually. Also, as I've said before, it's pretty much my own personal way of relaxing while I attempt to get tired enough to fall asleep (something I have a bit of difficulty with).

Anyway, the reason that I brought that last bit up was because I was looking through some of my old site backup files and came across a few images I managed to snag a few months ago while I tried to remember what old versions of the site used to look like. Now, keep in mind that these images are all from the Internet Bastardization I Call Home (IBiCH; catchy, I know). That is, to say, that I have no images - other than one I found last minute) - of the numerous other sites I've had since the dawn of the millennium. Hell, most of the ones that I do have are incomplete memories pieces snagged from a certain Archive.org. Either way, I'm continually amazed at one thing every time I see the design evolution in these pictures: how horrible my taste in color schemes was three years ago. Anyhoo, enjoy:



I don't believe the third version is actually what the site design looked like then, but it's fairly close if you imagine the green as being blue. And there really isn't much of a difference between version five and the current, but I believe there was a fair amount of subtle and background stuff done. As it is I'm quite happy with the current look, though I do have to work on the size constraints of the site a bit so that it'll read comfortable at 1024x768, but that's a planned fix... Eventually.

Last night I was able to finish up Chapter 2 of my book (Paradise). I'm going to spend the next couple of days trimming it down, adding to it, and cleaning it up, but after that I'll post the first full rough draft of it. Currently, though, I've gone through so many changes just in my time writing this one chapter that I'm not doubt facing some real continuity issues. Given that I wrote it in about a fourth of the time as I did the first chapter (Yay deadlines!), I don't think it's quite as good as the first chapter, but I also haven't done any editing on it at all. I made about five of six passes on the first chapter before I really began to like it so, hopefully, I can say the same about this when I get it ready for the limelight. I will say that it's a far more readable and relatable chapter. There is a lot more dialogue between Adam and four new characters and some more information about the general state of things in the shelter. I'm still not quite sure what the main "problem" will be for the next few chapters, as I'm starting to have a change of heart about what I had originally planned, but I have no doubt this will iron itself out soon enough that it won't become an issue whatsoever. I'd say it mostly just depends on the kind of mood I'm in when I start up work on Chapter 3.

What's surprising for me is that I'm actually becoming more interested in this book the more I work on it, which is somewhat of an odd event. Between that and the very positive feedback I've been receiving about it I think that this is a project with some real potential. That just makes me all sorts of happy.

And I think the intense 5k I ran earlier is just now beginning to catch up with me. One of these days I'm going to wake up and my legs are going to be on strike. Ever had a body part hit the picketing lines? Let me tell you, it's not fun. You pretty much have to give in to whatever their demands are. And, let me clue you in a bit further, their demands aren't fun. Though, since we're dealing with legs here, their separation from the brain would severely hinder their attempt at bargaining strike resolution terms. So, hey, maybe it wouldn't be a total loss after all.

so what the hell now? we've already been forever damned