So I went from "looking forward to Autumn quarter" to "Autumn quarter is rough" and now here we are at "fuck a duck I am so GLAD this quarter is almost over."

After this weekend I feel like a can be something like a normal human being for a few weeks. Then it'll be back to the cave and grunting from behind a large pile of books and printouts.

Autumn quarter is rough. I changed jobs, I'm preparing to move in with my sweetie, and I have one class this quarter that is very boring and hard to sit through.

Wah wah. It's my journal.

So summer is going well.

GenCon is fast a'comin' and I'm really looking forward to it.

I'm looking forward to autumn quarter, and fall in Columbus in general. Except for when it rains, I love Columbus in the fall.

First post on the new format!

I'm indifferent to it, I know a lot of other people hate it.

So I'm back at school, took one midterm, got another one on Tuesday. I've had a few revelations/epiphanies:

1) My self-consciousness was really holding me back the first time around. Now that I know I'm a dorky old guy who is back at school, I don't worry about hot girls thinking I'm a brown-noser or anything like that. It's easier to do well when you sit at the front of the class and ask any and all questions that occur to you.

2) School is fun! It is now an enjoyable aspect of my life, which is largely unchanged from before. This was one part of school that worried me before it started. I was afraid my life would have all the fun sucked out of it, but that's really not the case. There has only been one thing I've "missed" because of class, and while free Dresden Dolls tickets were hard to pass up, I felt good being able to say "No, I think I really need to go to class tonight."

3) Young teachers rule. My first pass through college, once I had gotten to 300 and 400 level classes, I was running into a lot of tired old men that just really didn't give a shit anymore. Going summer quarter and taking core classes that I had avoided before (I don't think I would have enjoyed basic Civ in 1992, but now I love it!) gives me young teachers that still care and are still excited about the class AND THAT WILL ADMIT WHEN THEY DON'T KNOW SOMETHING.

So, yeah. School rules.

Had sea scallops for the first time in years. At a hibachi restaurant, so they had that nice, decadently rich, amazingly heat-resistant cream sauce on them. And my li'l Sweet Puddin' had a little Geisha drink in one of those souvenir mugs that looks like a Geisha (appropriate, sure) and it had her tipsy all the way through dinner. So cute, she is. I'm so very lucky... Man oh man.

So anyhow! We are now in Year 2, and she is at home doing sewing, I was here gaming with the fellas. heh heh heh.

So, close enough to a year since I've updated the journal to just say "a year."

What a year, though. It has, in fact, been very close to a year since I started seeing Lauren. She is wonderful in a way I only ever used to think was imaginary. Man, is she great. (She likes the site, too, heh heh)

Well, here's to a killer year two for us. LACHAIM!

So, I'm some weeks into Kotei season. That's probably meaningless to you, if you're even reading this, ha ha ha...

But it means FUN and FRIVOLITY and being with my friends from all across this country, and even some friends from around the WORLD! (WOW)

If you know (vaguely) what I look like, slide your eyes left and check out the new look. What started as a lark for the trip to Toronto turned out to be something I actually kind of like, so it's probably "permanent" until Marcon.

Speaking of Marcon! Should be a blast, and that sort of segues me into my other grand news: the lady-friend. Man, she is wonderful. I really can't imagine wanting more than what she gives me, and the happiness level is roof-shattering. So, that's nice...

Anyhow, I hope everybody/anybody checking this out is doing well, too! Give a holler!

HOW AWESOME IS THIS?

I posted an update about winter being better if there is snuggling. Well, just this past weekend there was a WHOLE LOT of snuggling goin' on. WAHOO.

It was great. Pretended to be a vampire, too. (dork dork)

All told, best weekend I've had in a long loooooooong while...

Another fine weekend almost at a close. Why was this one so good?

I DID ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. Sometimes it's nice to just, y'know, actually not do anything. There's always next weekend, or, hell, Tuesday night, to do "stuff."

I'm now hanging my hopes on Spring. I'm done with winter, with snow, with the annoying draft that comes through the big window in the living room...

Unless there's snuggling. Lots and lots of snuggling makes winter okay. And snuggling works better in the winter than it does in the summer.

I've had a great weekend so far.

Partied down with some good friends Friday night, and learned a lot about my hostess.

Last night, played Risk 2210 with a different bunch of friends and attempted world conquest while high off my ass...

I lost, but the level of nuclear devastation represented in that game more than made up for it. Hilarious.

And today I'm going to relax, try to figure out my iPod, and eventually watch a new Simpsons and American Dad. Then Venture Bros.

YAY! Hope everybody else had a good weekend, too.