It should be noted that my lovely girlfriend, Heather, left about two and a half weeks ago for school. She has been home the last two weekends and will be home this weekend, but it's still no fun not being able to pop right over to her house after work. However, I am proud of her and she seems to be doing well so far. I leave for Cal Poly on Saturday, and I can only hope that I like my classes as much as she likes hers (although she went through a considerable amount of trouble getting her schedule in place.) If you know her, wish her luck, and if you don't, go about your daily business as usual.

10:08 PM

Jason is right; the new Jimmy Eat World album, Bleed American, is excellent. What Jason didn't mention is that I made him go buy the album. (I advise you do the same before Sunday, while it's still $6.99 at Target.) That's okay, though. If I had to credit Jason with all of the bands that he's pointed me towards, I'd seem much less cool than I appear to be by pretending like I discovered them all on my own.

6:47 PM

To those of you who have not seen it, I must highly recommend the film Moulin Rouge. While my girlfriend Heather and many others had told me that it was an excellent movie, I was skeptical for several reasons. One of which was the simple fact that the movie is (*gasp*) a MUSICAL! And it doesn't even try to hide it or anything! In addition to being a musical, many of the songs in it are modern pop songs, even though the story takes place in Paris in 1900. Clearly a problem. Despite these reservations (at 6:30 in the Tuscany Room) I decided to see it anyway, partly because Heather really wanted to see it again and partly because my parents were paying. For the first 20 to 30 minutes, I was not very impressed. It was fast-paced and cheesy, giving it the feel of a TV commercial for a movie rather than an actual movie itself. However, I soon became entertained and eventually enthralled by the film. At points, I was so caught up in the plot that my heart started pounding as though I were one of the characters. And though I did not actually cry, my throat was definitely tied into several large knots, and my eyelashes were a little more moist than usual. My compliments to Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor for jobs very well done.

11:32 PM

Actual transcript of a phone conversation yesterday:

Me: Hello?
Telemarketer: Hi, is Mr. Shellen there?
Me: No, he's not. May I take a message?
Telemarketer: There is no message. I'll try back later.

If there is no message, why did she call? What is she going to tell my dad later?
"Hello Mr. Shellen. I'm just calling to irritate you and your family. Thanks."

P.S. Happy Birthday, Jason!

12:41 AM