Things continue much as they have the past several months. The end of this last semester saw me finally done in by my underachiever streak. After failing out of most of my classes due to not doing the homework (I learned the material and participated in discussions, of course), I received a friendly letter from the college's financial aid department after registering for classes this semester informing me they didn't care to keep giving money to someone who doesn't seem particularly keen on turning a profit on their investment. That being the case, I ended up being faced with the mutually exclusive possibilities of dropping my classes or paying for them out of my own pocket, and taking into account my paycheck-to-paycheck lifestyle over the past few months I opted for the former. I still work at the college part time as a lab aide, putting in 29 hours/week and making roughly $500 with each check. It's not a great living, but it's a bit more than enough to get by; and in the wake of the holidays things have finally calmed down enough I'll be able to start building up my savings again, starting with my upcoming check to be received on Friday.
As for whether I'll resume college at some point in the future, I'm not really sure. I love to learn, and the academic atmosphere sometimes found in a college setting is like my personal Shangri-La, but I'm afraid I make a terrible student. In addition, through I don't want to go into details until I know if/how things are going to work out, I've recently been offered a position of a sort in a business which could see me earning enough money to move and live outside the U.S. without the need for a degree. I'm a bit anxious about the whole deal, as the type of work involved isn't exactly within my area of expertise (inasmuch as I have one), but it is an interesting subject, and the person who made the offer is both convinced I could make it work and willing to help me accomplish that, which is encouraging. More to the point, though it wouldn't necessarily be an immediate thing, if I do take to it as this person believes I could it may well make possible the type of life I so fiercely wish to live. The value and "responsibility" of a college degree aside, I'd be a fool to pass up such an opportunity.
[Official News Anchor Voice*]
Finally, we come to the "feel good" portion of our show. For four years, your friend/brother/object of ridicule has searched in vain for the companionship virtually all humans crave. Finally, after nearly dispairing of ever meeting with success so long as he remained in the inhospitable land of Utah, woodsmoke has struck gold.
[/Official News Anchor Voice]
Put more plainly, I'm twitterpated. Seems Eros has finally seen fit to send some good fortune my way in the form of the cutest damn self-proclaimed hippy chick I've ever laid eyes on. Yes, that's right, we met online. For those of you who haven't noticed yet, my name is Woody, and I'm a geek.This means I don't do so well in the bar/club scene most people of a more extrovert persuasion use to meet others and make new friends. That aside, the important thing is we met and hit it off immediately, which quickly transitioned into getting along famously, and we've since kicked it up a notch to spending ridiculous amounts of time together and using each other as a pillow/comforter. Sleeping, as it turns out, has something in common with videogames, in that they're both similar to sex. Sure, it can be fun alone, but the full experience requires at least two people. The very best part is she likes kids the same way I do--no, not basted in honey barbeque sauce and slow-roasted over an open wood fire (though that is delicious), but when they belong to someone else. Well, that and the fact she's just as determined to travel the world as I am. If I were more the spiritual/religious type, I'd almost say it was fate.
Anyway, that's the news for now. I was hoping to have this all typed out and posted by midnight so I could get my ass to bed, but of course it never works out that way. Take care, folks. And remember, I'm pullin' for ya'. We're all in this together.