I haven’t posted in a while as I’ve been fighting off some nasty illness I believe I picked up in New York. The symptoms have just rotated around so that every time I think I’m better, I’m just entering a new phase. I really do think I’m finally on the mend, however. I still have some congestion and sore throat but the intensity is way down now.

The really lame part of all this is that my school attendance has suffered. Typically, I have been pretty relaxed about going to school every day. This quarter, I’d decided to change that habit. I’m 100% mentally prepared to fully participate this time, but with this illness I haven’t been able to stick with the plan. I don’t think it’s had a negative effect on my schoolwork, but it really does suck because I like all my professors this time. That doesn’t happen too often.

Anyway, I am alive and getting better. I’ve been plenty busy despite feeling lame. Hopefully I get back into the blogging habit. It’s much more interesting to visit a site when there’s at least daily updates. And with me, plenty of stuff is going on that I have things to write about.

Actually, I don’t think I heard any saxophones in New York. This is just the first time I’ve ever been able to use the title of a song by FEAR in a meaningful way.
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I planned to post entries from each leg of our vacation but it was harder to get an internet connection than I expected. No one in my family has access, and we just didn’t have time to hunt for free Wi-Fi. Instead of posting one long entry, I’ll just post shorter entries about the trip (or whatever) over the next day or so.

Aside from being in the cyber-boonies, I had a great time in VA with my family. Things were typically crazy and harried as my mom attempted to orchastrate about a million activities at once. I found myself thinking how nice it would be to return to the peace and quiet of the big city.

My sisters are doing well, but they too are surrounded by general craziness. I can’t imagine how they all keep it together, especially when it seems they have to simultaneously defend their personal choices against the onslaught of criticism from friends, family, and neighbors while at the same time disapproving of the choices made by everyone else. It’s as if everyone is standing in circle, pointing fingers and shaking heads and then complaining that no one will leave them alone. Definitely not the lifestyle for me.

I inadvertently had “the religion discussion” with my parents that I’d avoided for years. I managed to tell them that I did not share their religious views and that Penny and I will not subject our (future) children to religious indoctrination. They were surprisingly calm about it, my mom stating “I guess God just made you to doubt everything. You’ll come around” or something like that. I didn’t bother to argue. Truth is I have come around - to an understanding of life and the universe that does not require arbitrary power of supernatural beings to explain anything or give me peace of mind and satisfaction.

Anyway, I’ll post more about the trip later. For now, I must focus on school.