If someone is smoking near you, and you kill them, it’s not illegal, it’s self-defense. They were trying to kill you first.

Fall semester begins.  So far it’s been pretty hectic and crazy, but fun.

The moving-back-to-school process began last Saturday.  Or at least, that was the plan.  But it turned out that the house wasn’t quite ready... which ended up being a good thing, because it stormed really bad all day Saturday.  It literally didn’t rain all summer in my area; we are in one of the worst droughts we’ve had.  But Saturday, the day I was scheduled to move to school, it rained 2 inches.  Isn’t it ironic?  Isn’t it?  But it felt so good to experience rain for the first time in months.

So, we ended up moving in on Sunday instead.  My friend Konstantin (well, his dad) bought a townhouse near school, and with his dad and his brother Dmitri, he re-carpeted and painted the whole house.  In a week or two the basement will be my bedroom -- it’s giant, it has a door to the giant backyard, and it’s going to have a full bathroom once the drywalling and painting is finished.  In the meantime I’m in one of the upstairs bedrooms.

Living with Konstantin and Dmitri is so fun.  They are very Russian -- they speak it all the time around the house -- and since they were born and raised in Ukraine, they have a rich culture about them that you don’t often see in America.  So hopefully I can learn some Russian so that I know what they’re saying when they talk about me.

Once again, Moms (and I guess Dads, too) all across the nation are experiencing seperation anxiety after helping to ’plant’ their precious kids at college and I’m no exception. I will never get used to saying goodbye and sending any of my children away, even if it is only for a short while.  I ’d better not get into too much emotional stuff or I’ll just embarrass you in front of the entire WWW (YIKES!!!)  I pray that God blesses you and your friends with much comfort, safety and fun, too, in your new dwelling place this year at PSU.  I’m so very proud of you and the effort and time you put into your education.  Keep working hard;  I know He is blessing all those efforts, too.  lvuNmsu

I’m hoping those monsters eventually catch that cat. Every once in a while it looks like they are gaining on him.

hey there...i kind of stumbled upon your site and was glad to read of a fellow Christian who is REALLY a Christian. i attend Messiah College here in PA, and it’s upsetting to see so many people here, at a Christian college, who claim to be Christian but don’t really live it, or don’t fully understand what it means to live it. i used to be the same way, i guess, but i’ve definitely seen the error of my ways. it’s also interesting that you go to Penn State. I have a cousin and a few friends who go there, and i only live about 45 minutes from there. well, i just wanted to let you know that i like your site and that you have great taste in music. and keep living the faith...the world needs more Christians like you! God Bless!

p.s. I absolutely L O V E your little kitty in the letterhead!  Sooo adorable!  I’ll have to send a picture of my "Toni".  She’s an adorable calico, but a HUGE, mancoon breed...just 1 yr. old :)

trying to understand their style. Drumming is dull & ho-hum.  But I like the sound @ the 2nd half of this piece a lot :)  Very cool.  I need an upgrade from my Benwin 18W to understand their lyrics though :(  Too far behind the accoustics.  Any suggestions for nice speakers?  Well,  back to DaveMatthewsBand for now  :)    Have a great day!

Today was a perfect day, surely the nicest day we’ve had all summer. It was cool and breezy instead of nauseatingly hot, and it reminded me that fall is soon here and the earth will be pretty again. That makes me happy, and yet there’s always a strong melancholy mood that falls over me when the weather changes sharply.  I can’t explain it exactly.  It’s not depressed or hopeless -- nothing like that.  It’s just strongly somber, sadly thoughtful... rather, thoughtfully sad.  Now I’m sure I’ve lost you.  The strange part is, it’s very comforting; I am quite content to be so melancholy.