The End of Titles?

It turns out that I can only deliver on two of the three things I promised at the conclusion of Friday's entry--we didn't end up going to the new church because, well, we have a teething baby in the house, and that means routine is disrupted. In fact, things were so bad for him on Sunday morning that he just managed to get back to sleep when we would have had to get ready to leave, and we didn't want a big bear on our hands for the entire service, so we stayed home. Plus, it's honestly a little bit difficult to go to church at all out here, mainly for the same reasons it's tough to forge any new friendships--we're only here for another two-and-a-half months, and after that, we'll probably never see these people again. Seems like a lot of effort.

Cynical? No, not really; just pragmatic. It is difficult to foster new relationships without the boundaries that we have, and it all seems a little bit, well, artificial, I suppose. Ah well, I'm just antisocial.

In other news. We've been checking out another show that we've been wanting to watch for a while now but haven't had a chance to: "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip." Not only is it the show wih the longest name on TV, it's also probably the funniest. And not in a stupid-funny kind of way, but in a really smart, witty kind of way. It's (unmistakably) Aaron Sorkin, and it harkens back to the days when he was doing the writing for "The West Wing" (one of my favourite shows of all time that died an untimely death last season). Unfortunately, this show seems to be going the way of all smart TV shows: down the tank. Silly, when you think about it. What's wrong with us that we can't take a little thinking TV? Does everything really have to be about marrying your cousin (as they allude to in their first episode)? In fact, much of this show is a polemic against the current state of network TV. Worth watching, most definitely.

And hey, if nothing else, it's full of "that guy from that show" so you're bound to recognize someone. And heck, half the cast of The West Wing is on it, too (Bradley Whitford is one of the main characters, which is great because, in my opinion, he was one of the best of a good bunch on WW), but mostly the actors with smallish parts. And Matthew Perry is, as usual, worth watching (except for Friends, which I never watched because, well, everyone was watching it--I'm sure he was good on it, too), and his interplay with Bradley Whitford is priceless. Good writing, good acting, relevant stories--yup, it's doomed.

What else? Still stinkin' cold today. Minus 28 with the windchill. Haven't had a winter like this in 10 years, you know? Just our luck. If it makes us feel any better (it doesn't), the seasonal normal for February hovers right around the freezing mark, and by the end of this month, we should start to see the signs of spring arriving. I'll believe it when I see it, to be honest. I know I've made a lot of hay on this blog about the weather in the past, but I just can't get over it, which is why I still write about it. Cold. Sucky. Yeah, that about does it.

Oh, I realized I hadn't told you about the rest of our weekend yet. Went to Superstore in Red Deer on Saturday, which is always a fun experience. For the first time in, well, a year, we didn't buy a single item of baby food. Although Theo's still on formula, he's slowly weaning himself off it, so we're not going through it very fast (plus we had some stock), and he's totally off the mushed-up baby food of any kind now, and prefers to eat our food. It's really great to watch him eat full meals, and it's a lot easier because he's on our schedule now, too. Sure, it means we have to eat at very regular times throughout the day (breakfast is at 8:00-8:30; lunch from 12:30-1:00; dinner at 5:30), but that's not bad either. I'm happy with routine if it can be established, at least at home.

Our new bedtime bath routine is firmly established, too. In fact, Theo likes his bath so much that he goes to the tub at random times during the day and starts throwing his toys in it in the hope that I'll start filling the tub with water. It's really quite amusing to watch, except when I have to take him away from the tub and explain the concept of time. Not usually very successful, but he loves it when we actually get the bath going.

On Saturday night, one of the guys from school threw a big video gaming party at his place and invited a bunch of us over. Awesome. Any time you get 12 guys together in one room, all of whom have been raised on video games, and add two TV's and two systems, you're bound to get a good time out of it. Although it was a little awkward for me (I only knew about half the people there, while everyone else seemed to know everyone), it was good. Couldn't win at anything for the life of me, but that's alright. Munchies, video games, pop, the smell of too many guys in a confined space; ah, that's the life.

That brings me to now. Today was good; had some time at home with the family, then went to school for a bit to work on some homework. Feels good to get things accomplished, that's for sure. I have a group presentation this Friday, so that's that, I suppose. Things are pretty evenly-spaced this semester; I don't feel like there's going to be any time when I'm hugely stressed (except, of course, crunch time at the end of the semester, which is always crazy no matter what), and I feel like I'm staying well on top of things, which is nice. The only thing that throws a wrench into my plans is having to do a bunch of collateral reading for papers or presentations. It's very time-consuming to read and retain, especially when one is expected to put together a cogent critical review of said material and present it to a class of sharks who are just waiting to jump on you. Okay, we're not that bad, but it's difficult to BS it when you get up to the senior level. In lower division, nobody asks questions; in upper division, everyone's a scholar, and if you don't have good answers, you look stupid. Not that I necessarily mind looking stupid, it's just that in this case, stupid affects my grade.

Submitted the last of my grad paperwork today, so that's looking good. I'm getting my pictures taken tomorrow, which I'm not necessarily looking forward to, as you all know. What bugs me about grad pictures specifically is the campiness of them. First off, since grad is such a serious endeavour, you can't smile. Instead, you must look winsome and perhaps optimistic, and never look directly at the camera. And if you're holding roses or a scroll of paper, it's all the better. Gross. Just get it over with and let's move on.

It also bugs me that I have to pay a fee to graduate, for the "processing of my paperwork", as if that $100 somehow enabled the college to pay for the time of the person doing the processing. I'm sorry, but that person is making way too much money if that's an hourly total. Oh well, the president's got a big family, and big families are expensive to take on vacation, I guess. I think the grad fee probably goes up every time he has another kid.

Okay, are we at the limit for cyncism yet? Probably. That's enough for tonight. By the way, the title of this post alludes to something, so I'll get it out. I'm quickly running out of enough wit to make titles for these posts, so I think I'm going to go with generally untitled posts from here on in, except when I have a flash of brilliance (and perhaps whimsy). Then I'll put a title up. Those are the ones you should read, if you can't read 'em all. I'm not sure why that's important, but I thought I'd mention it.

Thanks for coming by, and I'll see you again tomorrow, but hopefully without the cynical worldview.