Rumors of my death by Guatemalan firing squad have been greatly exaggerated; rumors of my slacker torpor are not merely rumors

In fact, I'm not dead at all. Surprise to you and me!!! Aw, dry your eyes. Well, I suppose it has been - geepers! - over 3 weeks since my last post? Yes, I just typed "geepers." You love it, and you know it! Still, I apologize. There's no real excuse for my lack of blogging activity except the fact that I'm a bit lazy. Okay, the "bit" part there is really the exaggeration of this post: I'm a total bum these days.

I have realized the dangers of having too much free time for - wow! - the first time in my life (naturally, I'm not counting my gleeful youth as a baby or toddler). After 12+ years of schooling, having no job comes down to this: I wake up when I wish, with no cursed alarm clock to push me! Unless I'm traveling, I don't know the date and must think twice about the day of the week! This is particularly problematic now when one is in that state of denial that it's 2006 and can't seem to stop writing "2005" or "05" when scribbling down a date. Today, I read an old internet article from February 3, 2005, and honestly thought, "Wow...it's February already?" before realizing that it's January 25th...er, that's correct, right? Tee hee.

So what have I been doing? Well, I read -- internet articles, books, junk mail catalogs, mostly. Right now, I am working on the Walter Isaacson biography of good ol' Ben Franklin and am also re-reading Strunk and White's superb The Elements of Style. I'm also still listening to lots of music, adhering to tried-and-true faves (Franz,w.a.s.) while attempting to keep up with the kids and their crazy music trends (newest Band du jour is the excellent Arctic Monkeys). TV is, surprisingly, not a frequent activity (my falling asleep nightly to Conan O'Brien excepted). Of course, I am also planning the next stages of my life as a deadbeat (read: more traveling).

I also extended my International Hello! Tour to domestic locales: there was weeklong visit to friends in Madison (Wisconsin!) and Chicago as well a trip with my to rural Virginia, where we visited Monticello, former home of Thomas "Sexy Beast" Jefferson (notice the Founding Fathers kick that I've been on?). Then there's roadtrippin' with my parents to our relatives' houses for the upcoming Chinese New Year visits and stuffing ourselves at Atlantic City buffets (ow ow oweee!) I'm working on this blog/picture post about my recent domestic escapades, so keep your eyes peeled! It shall be up by this week, I solemnly swear. In the meantime, keep yourself entertained with this (although #1 is true, I like #5 and #10 the most):

Ten Top Trivia Tips about Yuh Wen!

1. Yuh Wen will often rub up against people to lay her scent and mark her territory.
2. More than one million stray dogs and half a million stray cats live in Yuh Wen.
3. Birds do not sleep in Yuh Wen, though they may rest in her from time to time.
4. Cats use their Yuh Wen to test whether a space is large enough for them to fit through.
5. Olympic badminton rules say that Yuh Wen must have exactly fourteen feathers.
6. A bride should wear something old, something new, something borrowed, and Yuh Wen.
7. It can take Yuh Wen several days to move just through one tree.
8. The eye of an ostrich is bigger than Yuh Wen!
9. The colour of Yuh Wen is no indication of her spiciness, but size usually is!
10. There is actually no danger in swimming right after you eat Yuh Wen, though it may feel uncomfortable.

I am interested in - do tell me aboutherhimitthem

Really, this whole "free time" concept is absolutely amazing!!! Needless to say, especially for those who know about my usual workaholic tendencies, this euphoria can't last too long. I'm starting to get bored of being bored already. I hope that I'll be in good shape to start working once school starts in August. Wow, time is passing that quickly! Before you know it, I'll have to be cognizant that it's...er, Wednesday...?