An unlikely Spring Break destination, but in less than 12 hours I will be enjoying the company of my best friend up in good ole' South Bend, Indiana aka Notre Dame.

And then it's back to the good ole' Athens. I miss you, Athens.

As I struggle to decide on the classes I will take next semester, I come to the big question: What the hell do I want to do with the rest of my life. College is supposed to be a time of experimentation and indecision. Yet, at the rate I'm going, I will run out of core classes and must decide on a major. Do I pick a major which may not result in a career, or do I throw all caution to the wind and study something in which I am passionate? Perhaps "all caution" is a bit rash, though as I have learned in my German Literature class, caution can be the career-breaker of some, namely German boxers who do not assert their absolute decision-making skills.

I really need to narrow this down a bit.

( Books I'd like to read someday: )

01 Richard III by William Shakespeare (303 pages)
02 The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown (419 pages)
03 1984 by George Orwell (326 pages)
04 The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis (100 pages)
05 The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis (92 pages)
06 Fatal Equilibrium by Marshall Jevons (196 pages)
07 Lolita by Vladimir Nabakov (317 pages)
08 Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife by Linda Berdoll (465 pages)
09 The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold (328 pages)
10 A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare (190 pages)
11 The Constant Princess by Phillipa Gregory (390 pages)
12 The Wild Irish by Robin Maxwell (391 pages)
13 I, Elizabeth by Rosalind Miles (641 pages)
14 Hamlet by William Shakespeare (178 pages)
15 Paperback Writer: The Life and Times of the Beatles, the Spurious Chronicle of Their Rise to Stardom, Their Triumphs and Disasters, Plus the Amazing Story of Their Ultimate Reunion by Mark Shipper (252 pages)
16 Cannabis by Martin Booth (402 pages)
17 Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami (296 pages)
18 Sybil by Flora Rheta Schreiber (450 pages)
19 Ticket to Ride by Larry Kane (250 pages)
20 Paperback Original by Will Rhode (455 pages)
21 Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares (336 pages)
22 The Constant Gardener by John le Carré (669 pages)
23 The Diamond as Big as the Ritz by F. Scott Fitzgerald (58 pages)
24 The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger (432 pages)
25 America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction by Jon Stewart and The Writers of The Daily Show (220 pages)
26 One Hundred and One Days by Asne Seierstad (321 pages)
27 Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston (184 pages)
28 The Shakespeare Stealer by Gary Blackwood (216 pages)
29 The Awakening by Kate Chopin (116 pages)
30 My Mortal Enemy by Willa Cather (85 pages)
31 The City of Falling Angels by John Berendt (412 pages)
32 A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry (133 pages)
33 Isolde, Queen of the Western Isle (Tristan and Isolde Novels, Book 1) by Rosalind Miles (359 pages)
34 Marie Antoinette: The Journey by Antonia Fraser (458 pages)
35 Our Endangered Values by Jimmy Carter (202 pages)
36 The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams (68 pages)
37 Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson (204 pages)
38 Reduced Shakespeare: The Attention-Impaired Reader's Guide to the World's Best Playwright [Abridged] by Reed Martin, Austin Tichenor (235 pages)
39 I, Mona Lisa by Jeanne Kalogridis (527 pages)
40 Rick Steves' European Christmas by Rick Steves and Valerie Griffith (240 pages)
41 Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx (55 pages)
42 The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory (518 pages)
43 The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis (105 pages)
44 Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis (101 pages)
45 Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis (116 pages)
46 The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis (114 pages)
47 The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis (98 pages)

47/50 (94%)
13,064/15,000 (87.0933%)

My kitty has been missing for a week. I <3 Tom.

I cannot begin to explain how amazing yesterday was! I went river kayaking and it was one of the best experiences of my life! It's is amazing how the worst moments in our life, when we are so frustrated and down trodden, can become unifying experiences. These are the moments that restore my faith in humanity...man, isn't that a good feeling?

Let me tell you, I thought I was the worst kayak-er out there until I found out my boat had a hole and a guy I didn't even know traded with me and he fixed my old kayak. After that it was pretty much smooth-sailing, even that time I went over the huge rapid...backwards!

I think kayaking is actually something I'd love to do on a regular basis...who's with me? But right now I am debating whether or not to go to class, haha, the life and times of a college kid. I think I'll go, but after that I'm coming back here to sleep for hours. Weekends are great...until you realize you've spent all your time sleeping and partying and just hanging out without actually having accomplished any homework. It all works out in the end, except you wake up Monday morning, already behind in the sleep cycle. It's only bound to repeat itself next weekend, so it's best to catch up during the week, because who cares about Physics homework? At least for today anyway.

And once again, it's beautiful outside! I love my morning walks to North Campus. I'll need pictures.

It's hard to put into words how amazing I feel today. The sun is out but it's not sweltering. There's actually a nice breeze. For the first time today I actually heard the birds sing. Maybe they have been singing the whole time, but today was the first day I actually opened my ears and just listened.

Home does not feel like home. College feels like home.

I am back from Europe. What a story it is. Maybe someday I'll tell you about it.  Or better yet, show you.

World Cup 2006 game tomorrow.  Germany vs. Argentina.  I am super-pumped!!

This is my Honors essay and I am v. proud of it. So you can read. Actually, it's hard to read over it again and again because I keep criticizing it, so pardon the typos until I can bear to read it again. Keep in mind there are a lot of things I'd change about it now, but it doesn't matter, so I will keep it intact in its original form.


John Lennon: The Eternal Optimist 
Emily Caskey 


Immediately recognizble by those round, color-tinted spectacles, John Lennon has made a lasing impact on music and art, political expression and rock n' roll as we know it. Every year thousands of holiday-themed radio stations play his Christmas song, rejoicing in the spirit it incites. Little do they realize the political connotations held in a simple Christmas song. A believer in freedom, love, and peace, Lennon released the single "Happy Xmas (War is Over)", inserting within it a political message that would reverberate forever. Instead of releasing a single that would be played on the radio every once in a while, Lennon's genius released a song that is gauranteed airplay every year for the ever-extending holiday season between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day. Every year listeners are re-introduced to his message of peace and acceptance. 


Speaking out against war in 1969 might have seemed like a novel idea, but for a puiblic figure like John Lennon, it was career-suicide to advotate something as simple as peace. To him, his Bed-In for Peace was a means of sparking an advertising campaign extravaganza. And it worked. Who better for the youth of the day to rally behind? John had fame, popularity and a message: peace. After his weeklong Bed-In, he recored his peaceful protest song, "Give Peace a Chance", which still resonates peaceful protest. After John's 1969 summer of peace, The Beatles broke up, but John and Yoko were still committed to their Peace Campaign. 


John Lennon has always stood for peace and acceptance. The Beatles have been aluged for stopping commun ism with their music, so perhaps it just came naturally to Lennon. On the political stage now is Bono, but before him came John Lennon. What mesasures a musician's staying power? In Lennon's case it is his fans. Fans still associate his peaceful protest with the hope for the future. His spirit of peace, protest, and love continues into the future. Lennon's lyrics are still relevant to today's youth, peace advocates, and baby boomers alike. 


John Lennon was not all sex, drugs, and rock n' roll. For that matter, he was not only a peace advocate; he was a father. Five years before his assasination, he settled down with his son Sean. Recognizing his failure as a father to his first son, John took a break from the spotlight and in essence, became a family man. 


John Lennon: a communist, a corrupter, a drug user, a father, but always, the eternal optimist. He though peace would come within his lifetime, and if his life had not been cut short, peace may well have come. And even if peace does not come in this lifetime or the next, peaceful protest will never be a cause unwarranted. Above all, John Lennon was a man with a vision and the means to express it. Because in the end, love really is all you need.