I dragged Aimee and Coty out ice skating, and got us there with only minimal being lost. We skated for an hour or so, plus sat around for 15 minutes in the middle watching the zamboni clean the ice. Who came up with putting hot water on ice to smooth it out again? If I had to think of a way to smooth out ice, I would be agraid to put hot water on it in case it melted everything.

Hey, elections today--let's hope they go well.

Last night I was so bored I slept from 7:30-10:30, then read from midnight-5:30. I guess the good news is I'm halfway done with my 800 page book.

Aimee, a girl in my hall, woke me up at 10:30 yelling about how some asshole had left his laundry in the washing machine for 3 hours. I asked why she hadn't just moved it--it hadn't occured to her. My eyes were all red and I was groggy because I had just woken up, so she thought I was high.

Yesterday the girls forced me to watch White Chicks with them, which wasn't great but wasn't as bad as the movie Megan and I watched today, the Vampire Effect. I'd have to say it ranks in my top five worst movies ever.

Do goldfish never sleep?!?

Tonight, frustrated and exhausted by my communications essay, I got some sushi and watched "The Life Aquatic" (a fitting pair or not?). Now I'm up late and I have class at 8, but I'm not tired and I'm not done with the essay!

Well, I don't know how accurate this is, I'm too lazy to check, but it's interesting for comparison's sake anyway. I just wonder what numbers they're using to figure out how many scholarships etc. could be provided instead.

costofwar.com

I just got back from work, and I was sitting in my silent room, when suddenly I noticed a strange, soft sound. It reminded me of the noise a cat makes eating wet food.

Well, it turned out it was Megan's new goldfish, Mr. Bubbles, lapping at the air on the surface of its bowl. Stupid goldfish.

Wow sweet--my cellphone has speakerphone!

I went running today for the first time in probably 3 months--I made it to the top of the arboretum in 10 minutes, which I was surprised I could do, but I will admit the distance is rather short.

I read my own book, with no relation whatsoever to school aside from being from the library--it's such a nice feeling to just sit and read a book for pleasure. Then I fell asleep for three hours and had a strange dream that I was taking some millionaires and their servants off their land so it could be used for rebel training, but Brad Pitt, George Clooney, and someone who looked strangely like Crocodile Dundee were chasing us down the road by shooting the soles of their feet with bullets (don't ask how that made them able to keep up with a car; also don't ask why the bullets ricocheted off their feet instead of going through.)

"So when President Bush puts his hand on the Bible today and begins his second term, Republicans will not be the only ones thinking about how lucky they are. Democrats will surely remind one another that the dollar is down, the deficit is up, foreign relations are in disarray and the party that presides over this looming miasma may well have elected its last president for decades to come."
--Daniel Gilbert. 4 More Years of Happiness

I Have a Dream

Despite freezing rain all night long, I went skiing today. Thankfully, because the mountain's higher, it mostly snowed instead of rained there. After exhausting our muscles and making the most of our lift tickets, we headed home. On the way we stopped for pasta, which was good, and then when we got back, we went to the rec center and luxuriated in the hot tub for a long time. Eventually we overheated, so then we alternated between the pool and hot tub. Possible plan for rest of the evening: Return of the King Extended Version.

The snow has returned! Noooooooo... Kind of a problem for my plans to go skiing tomorrow.

Last night I turned off my last light at 6:30...am.

Am I the only one who has a hard time getting CD inserts out of the cases?

In other news, some Virginian missionaries wanted to find Christian foster parents for 300 Muslim orphans. Fortunately they decided it was a bad idea. Why can't they help the orphans without trying to convert them?

"We are not trying to rip them apart from any existing family members and change their culture and change their customs," Brewer, the president of the organization, said. "These children are going to be raised in a Christian environment. That's no guarantee they will choose to be Christians."

If you haven't already, check out some pictures from my Yucatan trip!

Wow, what's up with the crazy colors?

It's because my website is now
Kaeldra.com
and it's totally revamped! Check it out!

Megan dragged me to a party after dressing me up in her clothes and makeup. There were a few hundred people there, and not enough indoor estate to accomodate everyone, so we stood outside in the cold. People kept throwing snowballs and I expected it to escalate into a massive snowball fight.

Last night it snowed five inches, so school was cancelled. I dragged myself out of bed around 10:30 and accomplished very little. We took some cardboard and lunch trays over to a hill beside the parking lot and slid down a bunch of times. Generally I hate sledding, but today wasn't too bad.

Snow is swiftly falling in small clumps, covering the ground like fuzzy white moss. Everyone is already rooting for classes to be cancelled, but I'm sure it's no dice.

Amended Highlights of 2004:
Backpacking with Tristan in November
Playing duets with the girl across the hall
Getting a personal tour of Alcatraz
Jason Webley concert
Photographing things no one else notices, like spiderwebs and dewy dandelions
Day at the beach with family, Brian and Sally
Cleaning coins out of the creek at Muir Woods (including horrifying tourists by killing crawdads and walking up the creek in huge boots)
Taking Brian to the zoo for his first time and watching the lemurs chasing each other in circles
Brainstorming for Summer 05 with Brian at IHOP in the middle of the night
Grossing people out with banana slug facts

I'm back in northern Washington, where a breeze flutters my scarf, seizes at my hat, and whisks away my white breath in 30 degree weather. I super did not want to get out of bed this morning at 7, but I knew if it started today it would never stop. I read a weird story about Christmas with the Bushmen that had potential for humor for my Anthropology class, but the author couldn't pull it off--alas.

I wrote pathetic thank-you's today. "I was happy to see you. Thanks for ______. I like it a lot." Okay, so maybe not that bad. But I'm worn out on them.