.: Today is the longest day of my life...

We have been on a "24" kick the past couple of weeks. Our friends had told us it was a pretty good show so we rented the first DVD. One thing lead to another and *BOOM*... we just finished season 1 last night. It is really fun to watch and even more fun is watching the shows consecutively without commercials. The bad thing is that we know that some of the characters die since a few of them already have their own shows. That took away some of the surprise, so now my goal is to know as little about the show as I can so I don't ruin any of the future episodes.

We have had guests at our house for a couple of weeks. My parents came for a week about two weeks ago and then M's sister came 48 hours after my parents left. It has been fun having her around. I don't get to hang out with her very much since I am working, but we have shown her the riches of Richland. She even went to a concert last Friday. She said that she had fun so that is a good thing.

My daughter has learned a few jokes since grandpa came over last week. She told us one joke about a worm named Herman. The impressive thing was that the joke took about five minutes to tell and her delivery was perfect! I was pretty impressed that a four-year-old could remember the sequence of the joke and deliver it so well. I'll have to record her doing it and post it at some point.

My tuition for school is paid so it is really happening. I looked at a textbook about C++ programming a couple of weeks ago and felt very overwhelmed, but I need to take it one step at a time. My friend gave me a textbook about pre-calculus and it doesn't seem so bad. Another babysteps thing. I am excited to start school again. I have an 8:00 AM class and an online class. It should be interesting. I am used to school consuming my whole life like it was in Pullman, but two classes a semester shouldn't do that here. Plus, the whole town isn't run by the university like in Pullman.

So, I have been really tired lately... It could be because I have been watching too much "24." Instead of coming home for lunch today, I took a lunch and went to a lake by my work and had a picnic and a nap. It was pretty nice. I think I may take a lucnh more often for a picnic while the weather is still nice. It was nice to not be rushed and just have some quiet time to think. That is something I don't get to do very often.

So, my song fixation for the week comes from Rent. I doubt a lot of you saw the movie or the Broadway play. I really enjoy the movie soundtrack. I watched the bonus DVD and the story of writer is really interesting. His name is Johnathon Larson. He was a really talented actor, but gave it up to write music. He worked for a long time in New York to have some work produced, but nothing really took off. He finally had Rent produced and it was going to be a huge hit. On the night of the dress rehearsal, he had a great interview with the New York Times which is like the stamp of approval in theater. He then went home and his aorta burst and he died. Sad story and it seems almost as dramatic as the play he wrote. The most popular song from Rent is called Seasons of Love, but I have decided to put on a lesser-known song because I really like the harmony. The name of the song is "Will I." Enjoy!