I should probably be yelling at myself because I haven't updated in so long. I've run out of words, I think, or am too caught up in the epic, nightly whirlwinds of hanging out to have much time to think. With few exceptions, my routine has settled into waking up every day around noon, give or take an hour or so (wow, that's three, count 'em, three markers of vagueness that I've just employed), muddling my way through food and a shower, having dinner at home, and then going out til two... or four... or eight. (Shhh, that last one was only once, and after New Year's. More later. Maybe.)

And yet, somewhere in the very dustiest corners of my consciousness, The Big Picture is whispering into my very guilty ear. Every single conversation over 3 minutes long that I've had with anybody this break has turned to marriage, or majors, or both. Let me hereby whine and complain that I'm not ready for either yet. The former is a scary though, thankfully, still distant prospect which we mention mostly facetiously or in relation to other people's siblings. The latter, however, is definitely shouting to be addressed. Right. This. Minute. While Stanford's official declaration timeline is sophomore spring, a combination of sequenced courses, prerequisites, and a desire to go abroad for a quarter or two is pressing me to pick a track really, really soon.

Sometime today, I'm supposed to find out whether or not I've been admitted into a seminar on computers and human language. It's a 16-person sophomore seminar for which frosh are considered only after all of the sophomores, so my chances for this year are really rather slim. If I do get into it, I'll have to switch my winter-spring IHUM because of conflicting class times, from the current Democratic Society (a polisci course taught by David Kennedy, co-author of the infamous Bailey text, and another really great lecturer) to Reason, Passion, and Reality (a philosophy course taught by three eccentric but mostly excellent lecturers). I'd be sad to miss out on the oppotunity to take a class with Kennedy and Sheehan, who are supposed to be absolutely amazing lecturers, but RPR should be entertaining as well, and would be good background for the Mind, Matter, and Meaning class I ought to take for Sym Sys in the spring. Blah blah blah academics. I'll deal with it when I find out about the seminar.