the end is near

I know why laundromats have front loading washers. It makes them harder to load! Consider: if you have a top loading washer, you can add and remove things at your leisure, poke things around, easily see how much is in there. But with a front loading washer, you have to desperately throw the clothes in and keep packing them back to keep them spilling out the front or getting caught in the door. It's nearly impossible to pack it very full at all, and instead of a few full loads, you end up with half a dozen midget loads. And of course, paying for each load, they get more money. It's a very sneaky conspiracy.

I'm a little stressed with the end of the semester coming up so fast. I alternate between freaking out because there's absolutely no way I can get everything done in time, and relaxing because I realize I'm really just overreacting, and I'll make it all work. Of course, yesterday, during one of the I'm-feeling-alright moments, I suddenly realized I'd forgotten to take into account my English take home test, due Monday. For the last test I spent about 15 hours studying for and taking it. Mostly taking. Which means not only will it completely wipe out Saturday for any other homework, but I also won't be getting the social relaxation I was intending to plan. Conclusion: I'm going to die.

I need a topic for my linguistics paper. It's basically an analysis paper, 3-4 pages double spaced, the only requirement that it demonstrate I've actually learned something in my class this semester. I thought about finding some book where they spell out a persons dialect, but then of course, I'd have to try and figure out what palatalization is, and figure out how to write IPA on my computer. I'm pretty sure some of those characters don't actually exist outside of textbooks. The most amusing idea I've had is to take the slang my group used in high school and talk about how we only added words to open categories and we sort of had our own mini vowel shift. Actually... this is starting to show potential.

Easter is this Sunday. Anyone want to have a party? Anyone?

In 16 days, I will see my older brother again for the first time in over two years. We've always been pretty close, so I've been getting excited. Lately though, I was having some doubts. It occured to me that I've actually done okay only being able to email him once a week, and could probably continue doing so. When I realized that, I was shocked. This was my brother, my best friend, the one I'd looked forward to coming home since he left, who I'd faithfully stayed up every Wednesday night, sacrificing my precious sleep, to write an email to. And when I say every week, I'm not kidding. I haven't missed a single one. How could I possibly feel it would be okay not to see him at the first possible second? I thought perhaps it was only nervousness, that I was afraid maybe he'd changed (I know I have) and maybe that change would be too much. Maybe we wouldn't have that same closeness, wouldn't share brainwaves. Growing up together, we obviously had a lot of common history to drawn on, and so always knew what each other's obscure references were to. Perhaps, I thought, it is only the fear of a shattered dream.

Yesterday, I considered again. It finally hit me that my brother is coming home next Friday, and that I will see him that Friday after that. Do you have any idea how soon that is? I'm always shocked by how fast time goes. But realizing that I could actually hold in my head distinctly how long it would be, could imagine the feeling of going through each of those days, knew exactly how fast two and a half weeks could vanish, I realized I was dying to see my brother, and if I he's not the first person I see picking me up from the airport, I will actually hurt him. Continue emailing him once a week, never seeing him, not being able to call? Absolutely not. I bought my tickets home yesterday, and I'm freaking excited.