I've been reading one or two. . . kind of depressing books, lately (Dogs and Demons, Stupid White Men, to name some examples), and in order to balance it out, I've also been reading some of the books that my predecessor left in the apartment for me. Some of them are kind of silly (Towing Jehovah), some are thought-provoking (Learning to Bow), and some are just fun. Books like The House With a Clock In it's Walls, for example. You know. . . "Children's/Young Adult fiction." Good stuff for escaping reality for an hour or four. That, plus the occasional really really simple manga title helps me cope with things. And, perhaps a movie every now and then.

One of my friends keeps on badgering me about starting a band together. James is a pretty good guitar player, and with me on keyboard, he thinks we could have a lot of fun. I'd like to, but buying myself a decent keyboard is kind of out of the budget range right now. So, what did I do? I bought an inexpensive guitar, and he's going to give me some pointers (my guitar chops are actually worse than my piano chops right now). James envisions us doing coffee shop gigs and the like. I can see the reviews now: "They sounded good, but for some reason, all of their songs were in the key of G." Just kidding -- I've only had the thing for a day, and I'm already showing some improvement. I think. (^_^)

Before I forget, I should make note of the fact that I am an idiot, and I forgot that Cecil's Deli is actually in St. Paul, not Minneapolis. Either way, I still can't get a Loxburger, dang it!

Final tests start this week. I hope the kids aren't too stressed out.

Hell, I hope I'm not too stressed out!