anyways, i am now 23 years old

feb 11. in case anyone missed it, don't feel bad. my mom missed it and i haven't told her yet. my brother never remembers because he is a shit. to those who did remember, let's see... casey was first, thank you. raj i didn't check my gmail account until today, and i haven't responded yet. possibly you were first, although i'm not sure. gabi expressed her birthday wishes as a comment on my blog, so it is possible she was actually first, although i don't remember the time on the comment. and thank you jaydip. and thank you ani for changing the message of the day in wow.

that's kind of funny, on my birthday i received happy birthdays via IM, email, blog commenting, and world of warcraft messages. actually, that's really funny. nothing by phone, and nothing in person! how odd.

i've been letting it all sink in for a while, how i feel about teaching and all. i had planned different ways of writing all about it in here. but it's such a monumental task that i'm going to leave off (of course).

the prospect of a steady paycheck has burst the dam on my consumerism. since i have come back i bought a leather task chair (which has turned out to be perfect in every way so far) for $40, a floor lamp from target for $8.50 (the shade is far too flimsy though and the lamp is a tad too bright. possibly i can replace the light bulb with a lower wattage one), a hutch from target for $15 (i was led to believe that it was the desk and hutch combination for $40, which would have led to the problem of removing my old desk from my room, but as it turns out it was only the top half of the combination, hence it ringing up as only $15 at the register), and yet _another_ dvd shelf for my room, most assuredly the last bookshelf i will ever possibly cram into this increasingly tiny space. that brings the total number of bookshelves and media shelves (if there is such a thing) to eight. wow. no more wallspace. i've also got two sets of those plastic drawers, if they count for anything, and actually three, since one set is in fact one stacked on top of another. also, i can't remember the last time i actually paid for something in cash. hooray for credit and credit cards. hmm, i have to pay my visa bill. it's due tomorrow, i think.

ok, from my computer, the floor lamp is entirely too bright. it won't stop jabbing into the corner of my eye. when i am lying in bed reading (my favorite reading position) there will be problems. curse you, oh damnably cheap target floor lamp.

between all the old clothes i no longer wear but can't throw away, all the books (including the ones i read as a child and will never read again but can't throw away), all the old magazines that i will never touch but can't throw away, all the gaming systems, and all the video games (including the NES and SNES games that, you know, i won't play again but can't throw away), my room is like some sort of museum. about myself. with me still in it. it's a strange feeling.

that newest shelf only solved the problem of relocating my dvds to make space for the horrendous amount of new video games i purchased while at jillian's. i don't know what i can do about the books i acquired, as well.

oh, books. i've read a couple since the last time i blogged. a wizard of earthsea. good. read it in one night. out of the silent planet. amazing considering how long it took me to get past the first 4 pages or 20 or so. the beginning is so mundane that it's hard to get past. but wow, once i did. goodness. i got out of the silent planet, and that hideous strength (that title alone is reason enough to start c. s. lewis' space trilogy. what an incredible title. i own something wicked this way comes for the same reason, and i haven't opened it yet, but i am in no way dissatisfied with that purchase) from sidewalk stands in new york. i had to shell out 12 or 14 dollars for the pretty edition of perelandra, the 2nd book in the trilogy. i just started it now but i'm saving it, in a way. i think i'll go to barnes and noble and read the rest of earthsea there, since each book costs 8 dollars for the small edition or 14 for the nicer one, and that's a bit much. especially considering the books themselves are rather short.

does anyone have the earthsea sci-fi television event on their computer in some format? can i get it from that anyone?

i reread raise high the roofbeam, carpenters, and i'm working my way through seymour: an introduction yet again. i bring it with me to school to read during duty periods and the like. i still have no idea what it's about, if it can be about anything at all. am i seeking god by reading a book about someone seeking god? is that what franny was trying to accomplish? is that what seymour was able to do? yeah, over my head.

world of warcraft is hard to keep up with. stoops has stopped playing, as has mike and jon. tao barely plays anymore since he hit 60. i feel bad for mark and carl, as the guild is not doing much to catch up. i wouldn't hold it against them if they left for a bigger guild with more lvl 60s to raid with. i myself am falling way behind with my main character, kaziganthi. all his gear is antiquated and noob. eh, what can you do. raid more, is the answer, but i honestly don't have the time or inclination anymore. i've still got banger, lvl 46, and kakarot, lvl 34, but what would i do with them once they hit the instance raiding levels? i'd probably stop playing them just like i did with kaz.