Under the Wire--Again

I think I have a unique ability to post on the last day of the month. Since school, and my current life, do not usually require any other skills that I would be interested in developing (sleep, movies, music, quiet drives, and piles of interesting books) then I guess I should cultivate the skills that I already have--namely, getting posts in on the last day of the month. See, I succeeded in that. Yay.

Speaking of under the wire, I wish the summer hadn't finished when it did. I had 10 more episodes--one season--and summer decided to be done. How unfair is that?

I wrote a paper about justice and fairness. I was surprised by how it went and by how much I enjoyed it. I got a 99. I hate Turabian.

I just heard that ottobib.com is the single best way to have the computer generate your bibliography. It's friends with "Library Thing." I should have known it would be good. Apparently you type in the ISBN number of the book, and it formats it for you. You don't even type in information. Seriously, why didn't I hear of this before that paper?

I heard yesterday that Hathaway and Franco are hosting the Oscars. I don't know about you, but I think that's pretty cool. I like them both. Hathaway has indisputable charm, and I once listened to Franco read some of his poetry on NPR.

Last week, I listened to people birdwatch on NPR. It was so fascinating I couldn't turn it off.
"What are we coming up on Sue?"
"I don't know Greg, I think we've definitely got one at a little to your left, yes that's right."
"That looks like a beautiful bird. We need to get a bit closer before we can identify it though."
"Well Greg, I'm pretty sure . . . wait . . . it's definitely gray . . . with a white . . ."
"A white beak? You're right, Sue. That's a insert-quickly-forgettable-name-of-bird-here. Wow. I've never seen one in this part of Wisconsin before. I wonder if its migrating habits have been thrown off by the weather fluctuation"
"Greg, you know that this type of bird has a higher amount of . . . "
I had arrived at my destination and, subsequently, shut off the car. Do they sit in a studio and birdwatch? Or, are they out in the field observing wildlife with microphones next to their binoculars? It's questions like these that keep me fascinated.

Why would "pretentious" be the number one searched word on Merriam-Webster online dictionary? Don't you think that had you been called pretentious that you would probably actually already know what that word meant? I mean, I might be wrong, but acting in a pretentious manner is not something that is usually picked up overnight--it takes years of practice.

My brother, in the past week, had his years of practice in witticisms/irony/fun/etc. pay off. He wrote this fantastic stalker note--complete with letters cut out of magazines (Good Housekeeping was the main magazine used with National Geographic taking a close second)--to Heloise. This letter, lovingly glued on orange construction paper with the words carefully framing a picture of Heloise, is a masterpiece in all I could have ever hoped to teach him. The high moments are when he talks about his love for her sweaters, her love for her chubby hubby, and, of course, their combined efforts for world domination. I loved him even more. Seriously, I hope you all can see it someday.

Someday, and it's growing closer, I have to look for a job. I had a long conversation today about how impossible it is going to be to find a job; that conversation wasn't needed. I've had a hard time focusing tonight on the literal piles of homework due next Monday because resumes, portfolios, references, job applications, grad school applications, and apartment options keep swirling around. I know this isn't the time to worry about this, and I know I don't have to worry about this, but still round and round it goes and where it stops, nobody knows.

"Mr. James Joyce, now where would you put him?" "Would you mind repeating that question?" "I said where would you put James Joyce. In what category?" (Points to everyone who understood that last line in connection with the entire post.)