Thoroughly Distracted, Totally Confused

For those of you who didn't know, I am back in Grad school. I am pursuing a Master's degree in History. Since not everyone knows exactly how grad school works I will try to explain. Grad school is hell. I'm taking a class right now dedicated entirely to communicating in every way possible, including branding it on your forehead so you can find it easily, that grad school is hell. Now, some of you may be thinking that I'm exaggerating, may be, just a little. Let me tell you about the program I'm in and the classes I'm taking. The overall program demands 30 credit hours and a thesis paper in order to get my master's degree. Sure it's only 30 credit hours and if this were undergrad school I would be done in two semesters and wondering what the big deal was. Grad school works a little different. I am currently enrolled in 7 credit hours. This is considered full time for a Grad student. My first class is called Intro to Grad Studies and is the class I mention...

So a couple of weeks ago the AC in my car kicked it. It wasn't a sudden death either. It was actually a few days of me hoping that it was my imagination or that my car needed to get used to the idea of working against the summer heat. No such luck. My AC died on June 3, 2010. It was a terrible day, followed by two weeks of very heartfelt and moist mourning. This last Friday I broke down and did something I never thought I would do. I bought a pair of shorts. I know what you're thinking: " What's the big deal? " or " So what? " But understand that I haven't worn a pair of shorts in public in about fifteen years. Maybe even twenty. I don't think it was a conscious decision on my part to not wear shorts. It just never occurred to me. So, now I'm wearing shorts. Exposing my legs to the light of day for the first time in well over a decade. And an episode of Celebrity Deathmatch keeps coming to mind. In this particular episode we see Hugh Grant ...

There are very few television shows I enjoy watching. When I do find something it's usually got a healthy mixture of comedy and violence. Of late there have been only four shows that I have enjoyed thoroughly: Monk , Burn Notice , Chuck , and Castle . My favorite program has been Monk for the last eight years. I absolutely love the character Adrian Monk and find it easy to sympathize with him and the many, many problems that he overcomes. There are scenes in this show that have made me laughed 'til I cried. Unfortunately, Monk has come to an end, this last season being the final season. Just this last week the third season of Burn Notice was released on DVD. I love this show. I'm not saying there's nothing better out there, there definitely is, but this is still a very good program. It satisfies the comedy through sarcastic comments, strange situations and some over the top acting on the part of the characters. But the intriguing part, for me anyway, is the narrative...

I work in a bookstore. Not the most interesting job in the world, but it pays well and it can be fun, on occasion. My run-ins with the public run the whole gamut of genres: fantasy, horror, romance, thrillers, etc. Today’s encounter (it actually occurred about three or four days ago) would fall into the horror category. And like all good horror it takes place in the restroom in my bookstore. I had to make use of the facilities and entered the restroom innocently enough. I heard a voice coming from the back stall. I didn’t think much of it at first. Some father helping his son do his business, I thought. The realization of what was actually going on dawned on me slowly. I think mostly because the act being preformed was so unnatural to my mind. Some guy, in the back stall of the Barnes and Noble restroom, was talking on his cell phone. I could not believe it. Bile rose in my throat. This guy was just randomly talking to someone about his recent experience at the local theater. (He had ...