I’m sure everyone has struggled with this at least once (if not thousands of times) during their lives. I personally struggle with it quite often. It is a reminder of the impermanance of worldly pleasures and a sign that all good things eventually come to an end. This foe has no name, but it’s presence is widespread and devastating. The time has come to bring this evil to light.

You wake up from bed. There’s no real reason to get up so soon, so you decide to stay lying in bed. It is quiet, and you are feeling a peace that can only come from having lived through the pains of the modern world. The position you are lying in, it is not natural, but for some odd reason, it just works. In fact, it’s the most comfortable you’ve ever been. The blanket, bed, and pillow have molded around your body during the night, giving you a personal fit that is impossible to find anywhere else. You are warm, and you love your bed. It loves you back by holding you. You never want to leave this spot, and decide to stay right where you lie.

But then it strikes. You hear your alarm ring or some knocking at the door. Or maybe it’s a phone call or the need to go to the bathroom. Regardless of what it is, they all have the same motive. You must leave this spot, a place so blissful and warm, to deal with the world outside. You are reluctant, but you do slowly lift the covers off yourself. You lift yourself off very gently, lest the spot be disturbed. You run to whatever drew you away from your loving home. Task completed, you dash back to your bed. You reinsert yourself gently beneath the covers, taking care not to disturb the bed anymore than you need to. You fold your arms and legs in the exact same position as before, and shift the blanket into proper position, taking care to bring back any particular folds that were there. Your memory has never been this good before.

But regardless of what you do, something is wrong. The damage has been done. The same spot you place yourself in, is just not as comfortable anymore. Maybe it’s not comfort. Maybe it’s something else. However, something is missing. That something which made this position perfect before, is missing. The spot is no more. A cunning evil has robbed you of it. This evil preys on our worldly responsibilities, to bring us out in the world. It leaves our “home” vulnerable, and during this time, the evil robs it of it’s magic. Once we return to our ravaged spot, we are disgusted. It’s not the same; a poor copy of the bliss that came before. The damage has been done well.

In my history of having met this foe, I have yet to win a battle amongst our countless encounters. We can resist it, but eventually it always wins. No matter how quick or nimble you are, this evil always manages to do its damage before you can reclaim your prize. Maybe it’s a battle that you can’t ever win. Well that just sucks.

If anyone has managed to defeat this evil, tell me your ways!

I’m done with finals. rawr! In the end, I must say, this semester went by real quick, even quicker than the previous ones. I don’t even think it was as much fun as the previous one either. In fact, it was a bit angry.

Anyway, some news: I’ve upgraded to the latest version of Comicpress, which has tag support! You can see the tag cloud over in the sidebar menu. Now you can see related (or what I deem related) posts to all your favorite topics. Fancy, no? Feel free to bring up any suggestions for taggings.

Some other news: A comic of mine has been Digg’d Dugg!

I had my first taste of Eggnog a little over a week ago. Even though it sounds like a popular holiday drink, apparently not as many people have tried it as you would think. Anyway, for those of you who haven’t yet tried it, I recommend you do.

It is very rich and creamy, and the sweetness isn’t too overwhelming. I find the smell slightly odd, and it reminds me of cake frosting. I tried some organic eggnog and some regular cheap eggnog, and I found the taste of the organic one to be better. It also may have been the fact that the organic one was tried in Illinois, and the other in New York.

You prolly wouldn’t chug this stuff down, but it’s definitely worth a taste. Grab some before the season’s over!

By the way, merry belated Christmas, everyone.

Watched Sweeney Todd this past Friday. When I entered the theater and took my seat, I wasn’t expecting much from the film. (Johnny Depp sings? Laff.) Surprisingly, I found this movie much more entertaining than the intial credit I gave it. While as a musical, it was just okay, it was still a great movie overall. I’m pretty tone deaf, so I can’t judge the singing, but I know enough to say I wasn’t blown away by it. The look was very Burton-esque and fit the movie well, although there were times I wanted to see some blue or green in the midst of all that gray.

There is a lot of blood. The happy kind, not the guts in your face kind. (Unless that stuff gives you the jollies, you sick bastard!) It’s not a gorey movie, so you shouldn’t be worried about being grossed out. The movie definitely has it’s moments, and there were plenty of times the entire audience gave a laugh. The part where Mrs. Lovett imagines scenes of the future with Todd is win. Johnny Depp tends to play “odd” characters, and I guess he must have a knack for them, as he plays his role in this film quite well.

Anyway, it’s a fun movie. Go watch it, even if you don’t typically like musicals.

Side: I saw a trailer for Mamma Mia! (musical based off ABBA songs) before Sweeney Todd started. Saw the actual musical over in NYC and thought it was pretty good. Is it just me, or have movies adapted from musicals started to pop up more often? Seems like after Chicago, they are becoming more popular to film.

Picked up some books at the beginning of Winter break.

Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson. I don’t know about his other books, but this novel is a book filled to the brim with details and descriptions, easily producing vivid visuals in your mind. Much time is spent explaining lore, describing the scene, and developing the plot and the characters, but the end leaves something to be desired. There simply wasn’t enough “end” for all of it’s plot. Read it for yourself if you want to see what I mean.

The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. I still remember the boom it caused in the reading community, when everyone ferociously read their own copy. So what did I think? I liked it. It was a pretty good book. However, I enjoyed Angels and Demons (also by Dan Brown) more so than the Da Vinci Code. Both books are similar, and involve the same central protagonist, Robert Langdon. Angels and Demons win because everything the Da Vinci Code does, it does better. Read ‘em both.

Heir Apparent by Vivian Vande Velde. Kid repeats virtual reality game over and over again, til she wins. Or her brain explodes. Fun read.

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller. Many of you might have read this in one of your English classes. It’s a great book. Well, I think it’s a great book… so far. Okay, so I’m not done with this book yet. But I will finish it today if it kills me! Rawr! I wasn’t lying though. It is a good book. It’s a funny book laden with “Catch-22’s.” Don’t know what a Catch-22 is? Read the book. I’m taking quite a bit of time reading this and I can’t figure out why.

Edit: I finished the book in 2007 with still a few hours to spare.

Besides just plain books, I’ve been reading Keroro Gunsou or SGT Frog, a comedy manga about alien frog invaders. I like it.