The Summer is Over . . .

...and classes have begun.



This is the pile of books sitting on my desk, awaiting my attention. I am taking four Philosophy courses -- Nature Mind and Science, Philosophy of Religion, Continental Philosophy, and Ancient Greek Philosophy. And I'm finishing up my major with one last Psychology course -- Sensation and Perception.

In other words, a whole buttload of reading and writing is ahead of me.

So far, it looks like a lot of my course material will either overlap or complement each other. For example, my Sensation and perception class will begin by covering the Ancient Greek philosophers' theories about matter and mind, looking at Aristotle and some other dead guys, who will also be covered in my Ancient Greek class. Nature Mind and Science will definitely overlap with Sensation and Perception. And several of the authors we are covering in my Continental Philosophy course will certainly be covered in Philosophy of Religion, like Soren Kierkegaard. So, that will be nice.

By the way, my Continental Philosophy professor is the cutest little lady ever! She is short and old and small, from London, with wispy gray hair and circular glasses perched on her nose. She has the sweetest accent ever, and is incredibly soft spoken. In class today, all i wanted her to do was say "crumpets" or "not at all" or "bloody hell" (thanks for the suggestion, Adrian!) or something equally cute and british.

Now, for a real Jackpot!, allow me to tell you the story of the Phone Of Doom. About a year ago, i purchased a new cell phone (because my old flip phone had BROKEN COMPLETELY IN HALF) and was greatly enjoying the conveniences of a functioning phone. I do not have a land line at home, so my cell phone is my only connection to the world. Well, last Thursday, my phone became possessed by an evil demon seeking to destroy me. Every single time I either recieved or made a phone call, the phone would immediately shut off. Not just drop the call, but actually power off. I would then have to turn the phone back on, only to watch it turn off again all by itself, that evil little demon doing its best to drive me nuts. I struggled with this Phone Of Doom for a full day, hoping the demon would excise itself, before I gave in and called the lovely (but slow) insurance people for a new phone. I got the same response from the three customer service reps to whom I told the sordid details of this phone havoc: "Oh, wow, that's really strange. Huh."

I waited and waited, and finally when I came home from my classes this afternoon, there it was! My new phone, waiting for me! This is the Phone of Freedom! I am now Free! Jackpot! The Phone of Doom will be returning to its maker tomorrow, and I can't wait to be rid of that evil. For tonight, I am just trying to keep the Phone of Freedom a good distance away from the corruptive evil spirits of the Phone of Doom. I hope demons aren't contagious, because if i have to go through this ordeal again ... someone will not make it out alive.