Words...

... are so much fun.

My, my...

I can't believe it's already exam week. I feel like spring break only just ended, I feel like I have so much time, so much opportunity-- but, I don't. I'm done. My cards are on the table, and if my hand sucks, then, well, I'm just out of luck. My mind cannot comprehend the fact that in less that one week, I will be a junior in college. A junior. Was it really that long ago when I was a junior in high school, when we were having pool parties in my backyard, when my car still had only twenty thousand miles on it?

...how the time simply flies.

Lost my voice.

After trying to convince everyone I know up here in the Midwest/Chicagoland that Nashville and Franklin are the greatest places on earth-- after defending them against those who think Nashville is nothing but a conglomeration of rednecks-- it pains me to see the most beautiful place on earth become God's mud puddle. I know this isn't Katrina, this isn't Haiti, this isn't a giant oil spill that threatens the marine life of the Gulf Coast, but it is my home, and I will forever wish the best for it. I spent some of the greatest times of my life making memories in many of the places that now find themselves submerged under dirty water (LP Field, the Opryland Hotel, even the Sonic on 96). My prayers don't feel sufficient right now; I want to be there to help. I want a magical Sham-wow to soak everything up and put things right.

I love you Nashvegas, and I hope to see you back to your old self real soon.

UMich and Mr. President.

There are times when my Illinois Loyalty sneaks up on me. For instance, UMich has Barack Obama as their Commencement speaker, and the first thing I thought was: "We better outdo that."

Now, one cannot really "outdo" something like a Commencement address; it's a speech, after all. (And more than that, it's a speech with a predetermined message/goal: to inspire graduates, kick-off the rest of their lives, etc.) But that didn't stop my orange and blue blood from leaping in my veins.

I'm one more step toward total indoctrination. And I'm enjoying it.