NEWSWORTHY

Since I have no permanent address right now, my parents are getting my subscription to USA today. I've been missing getting a daily paper, feeling isolated, but I just realized that I can get the newspaper online, sort of - even the comics. Check out this link.

COUNTING DOWN

20 Days Until Narnia...YAY.

easterncoastcostume.com...

REALITY CHECK

I don't recognize myself. Where did my tan go? Where did these funky glasses come from, and where did I put my contacts? I can't remember the last time I tucked in my shirt. My belts are still in the suitcase. And when was my last haircut? I'm sitting here on a Friday night barefoot in my 3-year-old Gap t shirt and worn out AE shorts, (OK, they were worn out when I bought them) sporting a four-day beard. Working on eBay, I glanced over and saw a Tommy ad on TV with lots of well-dressed college-age kids looking happy & fulfilled. Being here in Ruston, a college town if there ever was one, is reminding me of what it was like to be in school full time - spending an hour on my hair every morning to get the curls just right or buying new clothes for that party on the weekend. I think about those days, a time when my biggest worry was which shirt I was going to wear. I had a wardrobe that probably cost what I make now in a year. I'd like to go back in time and visit those days.....and smack myself into reality. Isn't growing up fun?

I don't think any of my friends would label me socially retarded, but I'm questioning myself. Have you heard Jamie Cullum's song "Twentysomething"? How can I be a 30 year-old twentysomething?

GOOD GRADES

My nephew finished his finals. He earned a 4.0 this quarter. I'm a proud uncle. Ben's GPA made me think about getting report cards in college and high school. I always earned A's, but in the end, the grades didn't mean that much to me. They didn't seem to be accurate measures of my level of learning in the different classes. It's strange to think about being graded again, but I'll experience this phenomenon just the same when I return to school in the Fall. Were (are) grades important to you? What would be a better alternative?