The Madness That You Feel Will Soon Subside

It’s nice to finish. I don’t mean that in a dirty way, either. This time of year is, traditionally, when I finish things. For example, I have always ended any long term, as well as short term, relationships in the winter. Highlights include: two days before Christmas in 2000; middle of January 2002; right after finals, December 2002; day after Christmas 2004. Not a huge body count, certainly, but one does see patterns emerge. And I’m not cheap, ladies, if that’s what you’re thinking. I always give presents (usually pretty thoughtful ones) even though I know that things are over. And yes, I’ve always been the dumper, though not always without regrets and post-breakup hookups. I’ve gotten better about not doing that, though. Unimportant information. You can disregard.

Today, on the other hand, I ended something in a positive way. This morning we presented the findings from that study I’ve been working on. You know the one: some days I love it, some days I hate it, blah blah blah. Video conference with the Board of Governor’s from [institutional name redacted] and the dude who started Westwood One (if you’re in radio, that’s a neat deal). We told them what we did, what we found, and what it means. Turns out they’re doing what they’re supposed to be doing, and they’re doing it pretty well. Not so surprisingly, they didn’t exactly pick apart our methodology. People like good news, right? They’re already making plans to publicize the report. And I’ve been made aware of some upcoming studies that I may or may not be invited to participate in executing. Exciting stuff, right?

Even more exciting is that I am now fully caught up on Lost. Four episodes in a row last night. And they were so good! Unfortunately I will now have to wait until January (I think) before any more come out. On the other hand, I can re-watch the first part of the season and see if I missed anything. I usually do. There is a certain level of on-the-fly discussion and analysis the first time around, and it’s easy to miss subtle bits of dialog or brief flashes of images, but those discussions make watching the program so much more enjoyable.

Tonight will be substantially less enjoyable, as I will be preparing for a final in my PoliSci class. That test is scaring me a little bit. Okay, it's scaring me a lot. I’ve got plenty of material to use to prepare, but I find myself unable to start. It probably doesn’t help that I know my weekend will be consumed by a paper I have to turn in Monday for said PoliSci class. Then I have a presentation on the 15th and another paper due on the 16th for my other class. I’m not really prepared at all for any of it. But I will be, and soon it will be finished, one way or another. And finishing seems to be one thing I’m good at.

That's all, but you may want to go back and take note of the efficient transitions in this piece.

[read it in different colors at myspace.com and on xanga.com/moontos]