Le Sigh (Cough-Hack-Wheeze).

Sinuses. Are. The Devil.

Period.

I've been having trouble with these stupid things for almost a month now with hardly any relief. Medicine works for a time--5 days at most--and then poof! my mouth is the only useful orifice in my head.

And it's ruining my focus. I wrote 3-32 as today's date in my notes.

Grr.

Someday, I'm going to live somewhere with a dry, stable climate.


--Insert segue here.--


Has anyone heard much about that new sagging bill in the state's House? How can you make a law about something like that?

Besides, at least in Memphis, that's totally unenforceable. 2/3 of the city would be fined. Daily.

And police officers should have more important things to do. Like eat doughnuts.* Or catch drug traffickers and rapists.

This country is nuts. Revolution starts tomorrow.


*Blogger does not like my spelling of this word. Blogger can deal.

I really hate watching the news.

Channel surfing last night, I stopped on CNN for a few moments. In the short course of those few moments, my blood pressure surged astronomically.

That is why I generally try to avoid watching the news.

The anchor--some self-important old man--was doing a story on the reaction in the House and Senate to the President's proposed budget.

Politicians--self-important old men--interviewed from both sides of the aisle were railing on and on about the need for more fiscal responsibility.

Well, yeah. Duh.

So what spiked my blood pressure?

Why, the parts of the budget they thought should be cut, of course: funding for healthcare reform and tax cuts for the middle class.

Hmm.

So apparently, our government does have enough money to merrily pass out billions (buh-buh-buh-billions) of tax dollars to those poor, hurting business execs on Wall Street--so, you know, they can get raises, new jets, and take corporate vacations to plushy resorts in Dubai--but, sadly, they do not have enough money to improve healthcare in a nation facing cancer and obesity pandemics and some of the worst health stats in the developed world.

Using public funds to pay the tycoons of private companies instead of helping the people you got the money from in the first place?

That makes perfect sense!

By George, Washington, I think you've solved the budget crisis.

And your plan even has a strong historical precedent!

It's kinda like that time Marie Antoinette spent tax money to throw lavish parties and buy hundreds of dresses.

Haha, or maybe that time Nicholas II spent public funds to buy his wife really pretty Easter eggs.

Wait a second . . . don't those examples have something else in common?

Nah.

Besides, this is America. Land of the free. Home of the brave. We don't have injustice here.

Our Establishment would never pad its own pockets and make the people foot the bill.

I really hate watching the news.

Update de vie II

First off, I have the pleasure to inform [all three of] my readers who have been following the toilet paper escapades with great concern that after a month or more of conflict, the blockade has finally succeeded:

My suitemate put his roll in the bathroom!

While unsure whether or not this will be a lasting peace, I am content enough--for now--with the fruits of my labor. As is my bottom.

Perfectly content with the outcome of my small-scale social movement, I sat down last night and began trying to figure out my schedule for next semester. So far, the way things are looking, I will have one Gen Ed class (Oral Comm), two anthropology courses, and a history course. I will also not have classes on Tuesday or Thursday and be done by 12:30 on Friday.

Positively glorious.

I may also be able to fit in a thesis which would--hopefully--give me three hours of history credit I need as well as allowing me to graduate "with Honors and Thesis" and possibly get published before I even graduate. As Mr. Koolaid would say, "Ooooh yeah!"

In addition to all of this, I've also been experiencing a spurt of creative energy recently that I've been able to pour into painting (which I haven't done in ages) as well as several story and game ideas. If I'm able to actually come up with anything in any of those fields worth showing off, I'll probably post on here.

Le contented sigh.

My friends, life is looking up. :)

The Case of the Mysterious Missing Toilet Paper

Oh, dorm life.

I would like to begin this post by complaining about The Man's stinginess with toilet paper.

Once upon a time--when I was but a wee freshman--each room was provided with one roll of toilet paper every week. You would open your door every Wednesday morning and there it would be, sitting politely outside in the hallway.

With two people per room and two rooms per bathroom, this gives us a ratio of 4 people for every 2 rolls of toilet paper every 1 week. Or, simplified, 2:1:1/2.


Life was good. Angels sang.

Fast-forward two years.

I return from a brief stint as an RA in another dorm to find that they have cut the frequency of toilet paper providence from a weekly to a biweekly drop-off.

This decreases the person:roll:week ratio to 2:1:1.

I realize most of my readers are girls, for whom this may not seem a grave change, but I can assure you that it is, especially in a guys' dorm.

So, in sum, supply is down and demand is up.

Now . . .

Enter my suitemate, the mysterious Mr. X.

Despite these dire economic straits, Mr. X has not been contributing his biweekly hand-out to the bathroom.

3:1:2.

Yes, that's right.

We are now at 3 people per 1 roll of toilet paper every 2 weeks.

But it gets worse.

For, you see, Mr. X is also one of those people who is--apparently--such a germophobe that he will not deign to seat his behind directly on the porcelain throne. Nay, he must completely cover it in a layer of our preciously scarce TP. Every time.

(Also, what really doesn't make any sense to me, if you are OCD enough to cover the toilet every time you sit on it, how are you not OCD enough to then make sure that paper ends up in the toilet when you are done? I don't want to pick all of that wasted paper off the floor. Anyway . . .)

3:1/2:2.

That, my friends, is the recipe for social unrest.

My roommate and I have already initiated a toilet paper blockade. No longer leaving our roll in the bathroom, only taking it in on a case-by-case basis, in an attempt to force his hand. But is that really enough?

What else can be done?

Must I resort to Toilet Paper Terrorism? Must I wake up early enough every other Wednesday to seize his roll directly from the hall before he can wake up?

Only time will tell. . . .

Paper for the people!

New Post

I feel like writing but I don't really have anything worthwhile to say.

Except maybe to inform you that my "T" key sticks, meaning I constantly have to go back and re-type things.

Maybe that's why I haven't been updating this thing enough.

Worthwhile post coming soon . . .

When Tractors Attack

A Palestinian man rammed a police car with a backhoe in Jerusalem earlier today.

Piecing together different accounts from four separate articles (including CNN and the Jerusalem Post), it sounds like he was shot repeatedly by around four different individuals, one of whom was an officer carrying an M-16 rifle, and one (two, according to one article) of whom was an armed taxi driver.

Yes, a taxi driver.

Be careful hailing a cab in the City of God.

The two officers who were in the car sustained "light injuries" and three girls who witnessed the event "suffered from shock."

The unarmed man was 26 and married with a young child.

He has been labeled a "terrorist" for having a copy of the Quran with him in the vehicle (not any more uncommon among Muslims than carrying a Bible is for Christians). So far, no evidence has been uncovered connecting him to any illegal organizations.

However, pictures of his family have been put up on the internet with the caption "Terrorist's relatives" and some are asking the Israeli government to knock his (former) residence down in retribution.

Whether or not the man actually was a terrorist, this sounds just a little like overkill.

Due process?

Not in Israel.

INSOMNIA

Okay, kids. I have a slight problem.

I haven't been able to get to sleep before 2-3 in the morning in about a week and a half now.

And it's not like I have to be up because I'm working on something important.

I just can't get to sleep.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to sleep? I really don't think I can do this much longer, especially with midterms.

Thanks.