the presidential news conference: why do i feel like he never directly answered a single question?

i am glad that there is no way, in aol instant messenger, for people to tell how many times i’ve checked their away messages. if there were, i’m sure at least 10 would think i’m a stalker. really, it’s a little game i play called “hit the close button!”. here’s how it works: 1. right click on a buddy’s screen name 2. click the button labelled “close” on the away message that pops up ...

today, 1000 Splendour Hyaline CDs arrived at my suite. i didn’t realize it would be such an exciting thing for these things to arrive, but as it turns out, i’m still grinning happily after ripping through the shrink wrap on the first CD to be opened. the CDs more than met my expectations: chris’ fabulous design work came out in perfect detail, and there’s not a single thing wrong with the printing or the packaging. in fact i’m blown away by how clean it is. ...

today i went to church twice. today i actually had breakfast: 2 eggs and 2 pancakes, cooked to order in my eating club. today i drove my new car around, pretending that i rock at driving stick and really wanting to listen to cake’s ‘going the distance’, or whatever. today i sat in my shorts (and no shirt) outside our suite, skin staring at the sun, amazed at the gigantic differences in temperature that the wind makes, and wondering why josser’s nipples are so much bigger than mine. ...

it’s hard to describe what my heart has been craving recently. i suppose that’s why i ran without stopping for 75 minutes today–clarity. something about the wind and sun, the hills and the undulating path, the green crowned with blue and white, erases all confusion. and something about the steady pounding of feet on dirt and cement restores reason and perspective. i had hoped that these things would give me the clarity i needed to see what is driving my heart these days. ...

miraculously, i purchased my first car on saturday. it is a beautiful machine, and i love it. click here for pictures of a car of the same make, model, color, etc… my parents were in town friday and saturday helping me look for it, and my dad’s finely-honed negotiation skills, guided by the good grace of god, landed us a truly unthinkable deal on the car. i won’t go into it, but rest assured there was indeed evidence of the invisible hand at work. rock. ...

in answer to all of your questions: song b. (that’s a link, for those not prone to figuring stuff out)

i know it’s more fun to read about my adventures with girls (of which there are a lot, of course), but i have some more mundane announcements. 1. starting next quarter, i will officially be the new kitchen manager for beefeater’s dining society here at suites. what is that, you ask? i tell: all the people who live in suites eat at one of four eating clubs: beefeater’s, bollard, avanti, and middle-earth. which club you eat at is determined by where you live in suites. for instance, this year i live on the third floor of griffin, so i eat at bollard. anyway, these eating clubs have a club manager, a kitchen manager, and a financial manager, who together are responsible for running and managing all aspects of the club. i applied for one of these positions, and was assigned kitchen manager, as i said. what that means is that i will be living in suites next year, will get free board, and will have to work a certain number of hours per week making sure my club (beef, as they call it), runs smoothly. as i was looking at a sucky year going unpreferred in the draw, this is a blessing and a step-up. the job starts in april and goes through the end of my senior year! ...

for the first time in my life, i took a girl on a date on valentine’s day. the first 12 or 15 years i was either oblivious to the option of doing so, didn’t care, or would have been denied the opportunity by parents. in fact, during those years i don’t think i ever even gave a girl a serious valentine card. i received my share, of course, and some from girls i liked, but it always seemed dumb. then again, i was young. ...

it’s final: daniel urban, joseph carucci, and i will be traveling to the united kingdom for spring break. we leave on march 20th, return on the 27th, and have spent $330 each on transportation from san francisco to london and back. quite a good deal. now it’s all about finding in-country transportation and lodgings at a bargain. plans for what to do while in the uk are not firm (or even existent), but ideas include visiting such places as london, oxford, bath, edinburgh, cambridge, and dublin. ...