Last night I took the third exam for my circuits class and left myself with a void. There are no little yellow post-it notes on my computer monitor telling me what homework assignments I need to finish. There are no incomplete bits of homework on my floor waiting for me to get around to them. There are no more tests in my classes until final exams! Yes my friends, I am experiencing that thing we like to call having nothing to do. Rarely does this phenomenon occur in the world of an engineering student and I am going to force myself to enjoy every moment (even if I get bored after awhile). The first thing I decided I needed to take care of was an update of my diary. It has been much neglected this semester and soon this site will no longer contain updates. I am moving my online diary to a new site as soon as the semester is over (in about two weeks) and I will post the new URL then, but that’s another story and shall be told another time. (Does anyone remember that line from The Neverending Story?)

I went home this weekend for the first time since Spring Break. I know I go home a lot, but I had a purpose this time other than just visiting my hometown. Besides having to unload a bit of my seemingly boundless possessions at my house (I am still a bit worried about getting everything in my car in two weeks when I have to move out) I also went to see the musical my high school was performing. Being an alumnus not only of the school, but of the choral program and the musicals as well, I am always excited to see what is happening with them every year. Being a part of the musicals (I was in “Singin’ in the Rain” in 1996 and “The Music Man” in 1997) was probably one of the best experiences I had in high school and I treasure those memories. Watching the actors on stage reminded me how thrilling it was to have an audience watch the performance you have been perfecting for the past two months. Not to mention the exhilaration I felt when we got a standing ovation as soon as we finished the finale. It was wonderful. Anyway, this year the Lincoln High School Choral Department was presenting “Oklahoma!” which happens to be one of my favorite shows. I could tell that the cast was hurting for male leads but the female lead was fabulous. She is the younger sister of an incredible male actor who was in shows with me in high school so I wasn’t surprised by her talent. She certainly outshone most of the cast. Taken all together the show was very good, but not of the same quality as past musicals. I still enjoyed being there and seeing some of my old teachers and friends there.

I got a new toy last weekend. My dad and I went laptop computer shopping because we realized that it would be silly for me to bring my enormous desktop with me to California this summer in my little car. After going to several different places we decided on a Sony 420 laptop from Best Buy (the prices are much cheaper there). I am excited about the 450 MHz processor since my current computer only has a 266 MHz one and it is starting to seem slow to me. I left my new toy in Tallahassee considering that I only have a couple of more weeks before I am moving back home and I don’t need anything else to take up space in my car. For those of you who think I am totally spoiled the laptop was supposed to be a gift for my graduation (whenever that will be), but I got it early in light of my cross-country adventure this summer. Now, when I graduate, I will probably have to upgrade my desktop (with a new processor and some RAM) rather than spend too much money on a new one.

My week hasn’t been too interesting. Last night after the circuits exam – which was much more difficult than I expected – Stuart and I went to the Waffle House for a quick meal. The waffles there are actually quite delicious if you can get past the greasy atmosphere and “questionable clientele” (as stated by Stu last night). Also they sell real cherry Coke there and I am always on the lookout for places like that, but maybe the Waffle House won’t be the first place I think to go when I have that craving. After dinner Stu and I watched “Star Wars: The Phantom Menace” at his apartment. I am torn between not wanting to spend the money to buy that movie and wanting to own it somehow. While we were watching we realized that there must have been someone off the set making sure that Jake Lloyd and Natalie Portman didn’t try too hard in their acting. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the movie because I am such a huge Star Wars fan and because of Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon, but I was amazed that the characters didn’t have very much depth. That was the quality of Luke Skywalker and Han Solo that got audiences interested in their plight. I am overanalyzing this movie so I guess I will stop now. I think I wrote a whole dissertation on this subject last May when I first saw the movie in case you are interested in my first opinion of the movie.

It’s time to get back to my life now. Woohoo!