Today is the start of a two-day Jewish holiday, which I desperately need. Not only do I have tons of work that has fallen by the wayside in the rush of schoolwork, but I have been afflicted with the virus running rampant through the school. Seemingly every student and teacher has gotten sick the past week, but I am optimistic that two days of liquids, zinc, and rest, along with a positive attitude, will enable me to return to school Thursday considerably healthier than I feel right now.

Jean’s computer died about a month ago, so Sunday we bought a new eMachine which I plan to set up today. The problem will be installing all the software, especially the modem and wireless software, so hopefully that will not take more than a few hours’ work. If you never see me in these pages again, at least you’ll know why!

Currently Reading: short fiction entirely, since I do not have the time during school to read novels. I spent the entire month of September reading Best Short Novels: 2005, and I will start posting some of those reviews at my VoP blog shortly.

Currently Listening: I love progressive rock, so I bought the three-cd collection Ars Longa Vita Brevis, which contains some fabulous music by the likes of Nice, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Gryphon, and the Kinks. Highly-recommended!

I was excited this weekend by news that Bruce Springsteen is releasing a thirty-year anniversary cd of Born to Run, certainly his best album and perhaps the best rock album ever. It will include a two hour concert dvd from 1975, when Bruce was probably at his peak as a performer, as well as a “making of...” dvd. What a wonderful Christmas present this would make! ☺