Finals are over.

I'm really not sure what just happened.

Need some post-semester reflection? I do. Here are some of the highlights from the past year of Syntax and Syllables:

I got locked in a gym.

Adolescent memories were revisited; I even revisited fifth-grade.

I wrote a list of all the things I hoped for in a husband ... then I found him.

I applied for law school and then I got accepted.

I worked for a newspaper and then I didn't.

Sam is pretty much my hero.

Dave turns out to be a sleeptalker and his family officially accepts me as part of the clan.

The Internet saves me from take-out.

The liberty of silence ...

"Liberty of speech and of writing is secured by the Constitution, and incident thereto is the correlative liberty of silence, not less important nor less sacred." -- Wallace v. Railway Co.





















*Hiatus continues until finals are over. I may reserve my right to silence, but you don't have to. Comment below.

Are you sure you want to delete this post?

Yes.

And now it is gone.

So you get this one instead ....






*Happy Holidays!

On housekeeping ...

Two days ago I spent 45 minutes cleaning out my e-mail inbox. For the first time in months I don't have unopened messages and lots of junk mail greeting me when I log in. Today I'm spending an hour, but only an hour -- finals start on Wednesday, people! -- doing as much laundry, dishes, and general straightening as I could in 60 minutes. Part of me thinks it's just a way to justify procrastination. It's taking all the discipline I have to keep staring at my Contracts outline. Another part of me is conviniced I'll study better now some of the junk in my life is gone.

I had the same neurotic tendencies at work. Even when I was pushing right up against deadline, I'd often take the time out from writing to clear off my desk, go through papers, and wipe off all the gross grime and dust that would invariably settle around my computer. I think it helped me write more clearly, but I rarely tried it the other way, so maybe I was just putting things off unnecessarily. Does anyone else have a hard time concentrating when they feel like their desk, e-mail inbox, kitchen sink, or laundry basket is about to swallow them whole?

Study break ...

A thought before I return to the books.

Time's cover article this week is titled "The Decade From Hell."

America was attacked. Hurricane Katrina. Two stock market crashes. Tsunami wipes out part of Asia. China is hit by an earthquake. The Middle East, well ... you know what's going on there. It's a good read, slightly depressing, but actually rather invigorating. (Click HERE if you missed the previous link. If you pick up a hard copy, be sure to check out the article "ABC's" which highlights some pretty amazing advances in health care and technology from recent times, too.)

Meanwhile, in my decade: My family moved. I got a driver's license. I danced on pointe, learned to play the cello, and pursued a love for singing. The Olympics came. I graduated. I went to college. I switched majors. I had my first kiss. I voted for the first time. I worked at a newspaper. I graduated again. I worked for another newspaper. I went on a mission. I came back to a newspaper and got my first full-time paycheck. I sang a solo in the Salt Lake Tabernacle. I had my last first kiss. I got married. I went back to school.

All the while the towers were falling, storms were brewing, and there were several moments of poltical upheaval. I was lucky enough to watch most of it on TV monitors standing with co-workers in a newsroom and the buzz of the scanner in the background. Decade from hell? Hard to say. But it has been one hell of a ride.

What are your decade highlights?

I am not Michelle Kwan. My 10-year-old self would be very disappointed in this revelation. Back then I was absolutely sure I would medal in the Olympics one day. But I'm willing to take responsibility for my lack of achievement. I'm not Michelle Kwan because of some judging scandal or because my parents forced me to take piano lessons instead. I am not an Olympian because after a couple years worth of lessons, I just didn't want to spend 5 hours a day in an ice rink. And tying ice skates is harder than it looks. Though the spins were really cool.

I quit journalism. It wasn't the fault of the failing newspaper model, the switch to Twitter, or pressure from editors that forced me out. No. I made that decision all on my own, and when it came right down to it, I just didn't want to do it anymore.

I will continue to take full credit for any non-achievements in life EXCEPT ...

... I have no guilt in justifying the heck out of why I am not a runner.

Dave dropped me off at campus this morning on his way to work. We had to stop multiple times for joggers to cross in front of us. These people are insane. I sat admiring them with their earbands and special running tights and red cheeks, watching as their breath turned into fog in front of them. If you can see your breath it is way too cold to be running. But I felt like a wimp admitting to myself the real reasons I will never be one of them. *cough*laziness, lack of dedication, love of all things comfortable and warm*cough*. No. I rose to much greater heights. By the time I'd walked in the law building I'd convinced myself the real reason I don't run is because I don't own, and can't currently afford, the special tights. Yup. It's definitely my limited income and lack of proper apparel that's keeping me back. If we could just afford those running tights, I'm sure Dave and I would both be running marathons by March.

No worries, I'll find a new excuse before summer.

A rose by any other name ...

would smell just as bad.

I don't really like the smell of roses.

I don't really like the smell of the Twilight series, either. But this post is not about the reasons I don't like Twilight.

It's about how today I was clearing out my e-mail inbox in an effort to clear my head while studying for finals. I found several conversations with the label "Edward, me." Who is Edward? I wondered. And then I realized they were correspondance with my former professor Ted Pease who wrote me a few letters of recommendation a few months ago. That makes sense, I thought. No one actually goes by Edward, right? Which led me to thinking ...

Wouldn't it be awesome if Bella called her vampire boyfriend Ted??

and

Why aren't teenage girls chanting the name Ted or Eddie?

Personally, I think it would be a huge improvement over the original version.