Maybe life isn't so wretched...

To balance out all the whining and the belly-aching I've done about my oh-so-dramatic Hell Week, I present to you a list of things that haven't sucked so much. In fact, these things just downright made me smile. Or laugh. Sometimes both!

Things That Made Me Happy …

RE: Hell Week 2007

Dear Mr. The Season of Spring,

Just what exactly is your beef with me? You've been plaguing me since I was eight years old, and I have no clue what I did to deserve this sort of treatment.

You went relatively easy on me as a kid, cursing me only mildly with an …

I hope I have TiVo before next year's Olympics...

In 1996, my life became consumed by the Olympics, more specifically by women's gymnastics. I knew the name of every American competitor, the name of her coach, how old she was, how long she had been training, and her favorite color. I knew the strengths and weaknesses …

Google Reader

For people who like to keep an eye on numerous blogs at once, this is a pretty handy site. I've added all my favorite blogs, allowing me to close almost half the tabs I would normally have open in Opera. We all know that closing tabs helps the environment.

You might be a redneck college student...

It has recently come to my attention that there is a fine line between being a college student and being a redneck. All I'm missing are several rowdy, young children underfoot and another ten or twenty years of life. Seriously now, check this out...

• The other night, …

Also a handy feature to install on children and cats...

I wish there was a way to acknowledge a dying cell phone battery so that it would shut up and stop beeping incessantly. Motorola phones have that particularly annoying beep that doesn't seem to care what your volume setting is and will declare to anyone within a …

Don't try this one at home, kids.

For future reference, putting yogurt in one's sink to clear a clog will eventually work... but it is totally not worth the mess. Or the smell. Good heavens, the smell. My stomach is still churning at the thought of it.

Next time, I'll just call the campus …

On First Loves

A touching and beautiful piece on the various stages of falling in love, written by my very talented friend, Tyler. I'm still sighing sadly and dreamily about the story an hour after reading it.

The footsteps of doom...

As I went to adjust the spiral-bound notebook in my lap, the couch creaked quietly beneath me. Instantly, the entire upper portion of my torso was facing the back of the couch, twisting violently in an effort to see in every direction at once. Finding nothing out of …

Blent was the roar of flame with weeping...

I've been struggling for a few days now, trying to come up with a clever or humorous way to share the last few chapters in the saga of Herpes the Cockroach. (If you haven't already done so, be sure to read the introduction and the story of the capture.) Alas, my …

More adventures with Herpes the Cockroach...

Herpes the Cockroach has indeed been relocated and caught. After he initially disappeared yesterday, falling into a pile of Wal*mart bags, he teleported to the ceiling and was scuttling about with glee up there for a while. Given his history of falling from walls and …

One Impressive Mullet

If that mullet isn't enough to satisfy your craving for the week, check out the Mullet Hunters of Flickr. On a related note, this Cyanide & Happiness comic kinda sums up my feelings toward the whole "business in the front, party in the back" attitude.