Ah, Valentines Day. The most meaningless holiday of all. A stimulus to depression for those who are so inclined, and a source of cynical mockery to the ever-so-slightly more well-adjusted.
OW!
I have a blister on my finger (due to an unfortunate incident with a hot burner and an exploding plate and me being stupid) and it hurts to type, so unfortunately I have to sign off. I'll rant about Hallmark and the men (or lack thereof) these days another time.

Did You Really Think I Could Have the Kissing Disease?

For the record, I don't have mono. I had something with very similar symptoms, but it only lasted three days and didn't screw up my blood sample enough to be the kissing disease, so we're all good. I'm glad I don't have to drop out of school, my mom's glad she can breathe again, and everyone who's been kissing me is thankful that they don't have it (wait... oh, right... no one's been kissing me. What's up with that?!?). Just thought I'd let y'all know.

22

Hey! I am now officially old. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I am 22. No longer on the cusp of adulthood... no longer just barely old enough to make it into American bars... no longer absurdly young for my faculty (okay, still pretty young, but what can you do?)... I am, if not old, getting closer to the downhill slope. Birthdays no longer feel like special occasions and I've started to forget how old I am and miscalculate my age by a couple of years. I think that's a sure sign of encroaching senility. Anyway, I had a fantastic day yesterday - got cards and packages and had coffee and lunch at the Italian Market with my roommates and then had a bunch of our friends over for burgers, floats, and chocolate cake. It was raining and miserable and none of us wanted to go out, so we stayed in and played charades until our RA kicked us out (stupid quiet hours), at which point we headed to Scott's and continued the game. It was great - just a nice, happy night with my favourite people out here. Incidentally, they asked what was my wierdest birthday, not expecting to hear anything particularly special, and then got the story of last year, with the kidnapping and the Black Claw and the sword fight in the front yard, and were suitably impressed. I love these folks, but I miss you at home people a lot! Have a great February and thanks for the emails, the ecard (Kjersti, you rock!), and the calls. You girls are the best.

Snow Day!

It's my first snow day ever and I love it! They actually closed the university til noon! I'm so excited. The one drawback is that I have interviews today, so I'm hoping those are still on. Nevertheless, I don't have to go to class this morning! Yay!

Query

Is it wrong for me to laugh at a comedy sketch that's entirely based on the exploitation of Jesus in pop culture? On one level, it's very funny, because it skewers some of the mistaken concepts that we have about what Jesus is about and why he's involved in the world. On the other hand, I feel weird watching it and laughing at it when I'm with friends who aren't really well-versed in Christianity and what it's all about; I hope it doesn't look to them like I'm laughing at Jesus. Sometimes there's a fine line between truth and blasphemy.

I do wish that political parties and corporations and various other organizations wouldn't pretend to be the "Christian" choice. When they mess up and make a mockery of themselves, they also indirectly expose to ridicule everything to which they claimed to be linked. But then, of course, the same could be said of me. Everytime I laugh at the wrong joke or do the wrong thing or say something I shouldn't, people around me may take that as a characteristic not just of me but also of everything I stand for. It's unfortunate. It's funny how it all comes back to me having no right to judge anyone else.