A copy is just an identical image.

12:38am: Acen 2k8
So it was pretty much the best convention ever.

I met a great gal. We spent all Saturday night and Sunday together (until I had to leave). I'm off to visit her on June 13 actually.

My cosplay this year:

Friday-
Casual Ichigo (just for fun for the Bleach photoshoot)
Ash Ketchum (ended up being a whole lot more fun than I thought it would be... plus I had Alicia with me as Dawn)
Alexander Anderson (my favorite costume to wear of all time... nice and breezy in the sweaty, hot con)

Saturday-
Ayame Sohma (our Fruba group ROCKED the house, hands down)
Kazuma Kuwabara (epic FAIL YuYu Hakusho costume... only 5 ppl at the photoshoot... threw most of this costume in the trash... didn't take a single pic for myself in it... HATED it)
Anderson again (for the awesome Hellsing photo shoot)
Ash Ketchum again (so Alicia and I could go to the bar in Pokemon costumes!)

Highlights of the weekend:

Thurs- Room party pretty much rocked. Got settled in and got our badges very quickly (hurray for group registration!).

Fri- AWESOME Hellsing group...

Sat- Best day of the con! AWESOME Fruba cosplay, hanging with Jennifer, dinner at the Hyatt buffet. Just a great day.

Sun- SHOPPING! Finally remembered to actually bring my wallet to the convention center (no room for it in my cosplay!)

Low points of the weekend:

Thurs- Room party also kinda sucked... two guys rolling a joint on my bed in plain view of everyone? Not cool (kicked them out).

Fri- Too much stuffed into one day... Joe and I literally passed out.

Sat- YuYu Hakusho photoshoot was awful... everything else was great. :)

Sun- Had to leave :(

So unfortunately Flickr is kinda lame and has a space limitation. This means that all my photos aren't uploaded yet. But if you know me on Facebook, then you can check out my albums there!

Here's a link for you all:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/18356738@N04/

7:53am: Been quite the busy month (and it's not over)
I have had to deal three deaths this October. My parent's neighbor and longtime family friend, Lo Truchon, had a sudden heart attack at the age of 71. I never expected him to just up and die, but I guess that's the way it works. He passed away on Oct. 14th alone at him. This was a bit disturbing for me because I had just talked to him the previous week, and he had told me that he was not feeling very well recently. Looking back, this was very cryptic.

My great aunt passed away at the relatively young age of 64 (my grandfather was 19 years older than her). She was diagnosed with liver cancer less than a year ago. It's funny the way cancer just eats you up and then you die and there's very little you can do about it. This is a personal death for me, not just because she was my aunt, but also because I was her paperboy when I was a kid. She was a very nice person. When my grandfather died in 1998, she stopped me on my route and gave me an old photograph she had of him. I then gave it to my grandmother as I thought she would appreciate it more.

The last death I had to deal with is one I just found out about yesterday. A childhood friend committed suicide after a situation with his girlfriend. Now, this is a person who I haven't thought about in a few years, but I still consider him a friend. I can remember spending time with him as kids, and then we worked together in high school and while I was in community college. This death also touches me, because it shows me the effects that relationships can have on people. It's just sad to think about this kind of thing happening.

Yeah, it's been a long month.

4:22pm: Well, actually...
I've been having a problem lately. I've been running into a lot of "Well, actually..." people. Who are these people? They are the ones that reply, whether they were addressed or not, with a smug, know-it-all "Well, actually..." and then launch into a speech of some sort. Like I said, they reply with this whether or anyone was even talking to them in the first place. I'd bet nine times out of ten, they just stick their noses in where they don't belong and start blabbing. Well I have news for you people: If I wanted your opinion, I'd ask for it.

Lately it's even been bothering me even when it hasn't been happening *to* me. And I think it's indicative of a larger problem: minding one's own business. I see this a lot in my classroom. Kid 1 raises his/her and and asks a question, and then Kid 2 immediately blurts out something, which may or may not have anything to do with the situation at hand. From my perspective, this is not only extremely annoying, it's also very rude. Kids are just like this; when they're not whining, they're interrupting. And when they're not interrupting, they're going off on some extreme tangent which makes little sense. I once had a girl claim, with a straight face, that "To Kill a Mockingbird" cured racism in America. Again, she said this *with a straight face.*

From my recollection the conversation went something like this:

Me: "'To Kill a Mockingbird' showed the public that there was much to do with the issue of racism, especially so in the old south."

Interrupting asshat student: "Well actually, Mr. Lowe, 'To Kill a Mockingbird' pretty much cured racism in the south."

Why and how are kids getting away with this type of stuff? I really believe that these kids have been programmed to think that anything they churn out on a piece of paper is worth value. Well, I'm going to be the one who staunchly says "NO, you cannot make outrageous claims. And don't be so pretentious."

In other news, it's less than one month 'til Reactor, which is great. I'm looking forward to that weekend to relax a bit and *finally* see my friends. I miss you guys.

-Z-

9:51pm: Deciding on my Master's
I've finally found the Master's program for me. After careful deliberation, I've decided on the Museum Studies program offered at Northern Illinois University. I'm hoping to apply by the end of October and I'm crossing my fingers that I get in.

I've ultimately decided against going back to EIU. It's a super-long haul down there (3 hours) compared to the relatively short drive to NIU (1 hour and 15 mins). Also, the place has assuredly changed since I've been down there. My friends will all be graduating and I'll be alone again. I've got a few friends at NIU to pal around with, so I should be good.

At any rate, I have to get some recommendations from former teachers and then get 'em sent in. Wish me luck.

6:40pm: Getting it right
Updates:

I've decided to go all out and get my Masters degree next fall. I will leave my job and enter into the program full time. This let's me do a few things. One, it let's me get out of Streator for a bit. Two, it let's me back into school, which is where I want to be right now. I've decided to go into either the Counseling or the Library Sciences field. I think getting my Masters is the best possible thing for me right now.

I've also renewed my gym membership. I was a bit leery of doing this, but I went to the YMCA today and did some hardcore exercise for the first time in a long time. I'm surely going to pay for it tomorrow, but that's just one small obstacle on the way to getting back into shape. I ran a mile today, which nearly killed me.

I've also decided to start eating right again. I'm on a strict no junk food/no fast food diet. I'm eating a lot more vegetables and fruits. I'm going to do this right.

So things are going a bit better now. I've taken the initiative and I'm going to get my life back on track.

5:44pm: It's been a loooong time since my last update
I'm generally an apathetic person when it comes to Live Journal.

I thought maybe I should update this "blog" since summer is over and I'm back in school and I'm doing very, very little these days.

I may go for a run after this just because I'm getting increasingly bored being cooped up in the house. I feel guilty wasting these precious moments of "Indian summer" before it gets ass cheek frozen outside and I begin a 5 month hibernation until April at the very earliest.

I've been uber depressed lately. I've been thinking a lot about my old buddies from college in a "Where are they now?" kind of manner. So hello to anyone I attended EIU (sniffle) with from 2003 to 2005, otherwise known as the best years of my life.

I very much miss being the 2005 Zack, where I weighed a slim 174 lbs, wore a 34 waist, and looked hot in a medium tank top with a smooth tan. Hello 2007 Zack with a beer belly and a 225 lb frame (boo!). I'd be lying, however, if I said I didn't at least try to keep the weight off. I still exercise religiously, 45 mins a day. But it seems that's not enough. I've always been a huge guy, but this is just downright mean. I blame God. And popsicles.

I've often heard of women shedding a few tears when they heard that a boy they liked or a boy they maybe even dated a bit got married to his sweetheart and the wedding photos looked fabulous. Would you mock my sexuality if I said it had the same effect on me? There are a few people running through my mind who I would have absolutely jumped into the off-chance to get together with them forever (RIP Danette and Holly). But I've always either been A.) a coward or B.) very lazy or maybe even C.) an idiot (the most likely choice).

Anywho, I shouldn't complain because I have Christine... but she's so damn needy. I turn around, she's there. I sit down to relax, she's taking up half the cushion. I go to the movies, and she's effing tethered to me like a puppy dog or a misbehaving child. I honestly think that if I still lived in the city, she'd have gone the way of the dodo bird by now. But here in Bumsville, IL I have nothing to gain once I lose her. This is dangerous.

To top it off, teaching isn't really what I hoped it would be. I kinda... hate it. But what can I do? I live in a small town and there aren't exactly any other jobs in this area I can look into. Plus, if I do quit now it'd be a huge embarrassment. I'd be letting down everyone I know in the Illinois valley. I'm distressed.

So, my problems are thus: I miss college. I miss my friends from college. I'm pissed that a few girls I liked are getting married (and will probably have babies, cementing the marriages FOREVER). I'm afraid to break up with Christine. I feel alone. I have gained weight and need to get it off NOW. I'm starting to really hate my job.

So WTF do I do? Please help.

I'm not apologizing for the ranting and the EMO in this post. You're just going to have to live with it. I do. Every miserable, agonizing day.

-Z

6:27pm: Leather and Latex: An ACEN 2k7 Post
Last weekend was the tenth anniversary of Anime Central. I arrived Thursday evening with some friends at the hotel. After a brief period of getting our collective shit together, we went to check into the room. It turns out they did not have our specific room ready for us, so we were upgraded to an executive suite. This was great considering we had planned to have about 10 people in the room.

Thursday night we were supposed to go to dinner some VAs from Funimation, but do to some colossal registration/badge errors, we were unable to get them to come along. So we went out to an Italian eatery instead. The place was expensive, but the food was pretty good so whatever. I just had some mostaccioli and a vodka/cranberry.

After dinner, I spent most of Thursday hanging out with friends and relaxing. Some people I hadn't seen in two years, like my buddy Will Cole. So it was good to catch up on old times. I also got to hang out with Tom Ens and John Shevlin, another two guys I hadn't seen in quite some time.

Friday morning I cosplayed my classic Havoc uniform. I had at least two dozen girls run up to me, glomp me for being Havoc, and get my picture. I then cosplayed Greed and had roughly the same thing happen to me. My Greed costume looked fantastic thanks to Laura, Rachel, and Heather. We got some pretty great pics together as a group too.

I only did a few panels on Friday. I went to the FMA voice actors panel and watched Travis Willingham, Colleen Clinkenbeard, and Mike McFarland crack us up. These people are hilarious. I went to the late night Chris Patton panel and damn the guy is funny.

Saturday morning I started off in my "easy" Kyo cosplay. I wanted to relax and not worry about makeup and tight-fitting clothes. I still had a lot of people run up to me yelling "Kyoooo!" just like Kagura in Fruits Basket. I even found a few Tohru Hondas to get pictures with.

Saturday afternoon I was in my Greed-wear again and challenged Tom to a picture-off. I'm pretty sure he won for sheer bizarreness (He was cosplaying Bucket Head).

I tried to hit up the FMA fan panel on Saturday, but Bitch Winry was being a bitch so I ditched out with Brandon and got some pizza with friends. Saturday night was spent hanging out with Joe, his sister Alicia, and a cool new guy I met named Jason Croy. We just sat around talking and listening to the Spoony Bards play.

I hit the sack about 4 in the morning and woke up around 10 am Sunday morning. I got us all checked out and hit the dealer's floor. I usually like to try out a few blind buys on Sundays at the con. So I bought His and Her Circumstances (Kare Kano) and World of Narue (one on recommendation of Joe and Alica, the other someone else). I've watched the first 7 eps of Kare Kano and I like it a lot so far.

Over all, the con was decent. I didn't have as much fun this year as I did in previous years. It seems like the con was a lot smaller for some reason. It just felt kind of underwhelming for a 10 year anniversary con. The Hyatt looks a bit different from previous years due to some remodeling. This may have played into the fun factor a bit too.

Con highs:
-Sins cosplay
-Being recognized in all three costumes
-Meeting Chris, Colleen, Travis, Mike, and the members of High and Mighty Color/Spiral Spider
-Free breakfast buffet (what a spread!)
-SHS group picture meet up

Con lows:
-No truly outstanding panels
-No truly crazy antics or "con-defining" moments
-"Is the second room ready yet? Is the second room ready yet? Is the second room ready yet?" ad nauseum
-Bitch Winry ruining the FMA fan panel

Obligatory link to my Yahoo webshots community:

http://new.photos.yahoo.com/zackthesnack/album/576460762401661287

Check out the pics!

Final con grade: B-

-Z-

11:44pm: Acen 2k6 video
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=790110402

Look what a friend of mine happened to dig up...

Friggin awesome, all I have to say.

6:01pm: Keep on rocking in the free world
I haven't posted in about a month and a half! That may be the longest I've ever gone without an update. I can't do those fancy little html tricks that people do and I don't have the attention span to fill out those little quizzes people post. How the heck do I even make someone's name a hyper link? Like, if I wanted to link

8:26pm: Countdown to ACEN
Anime Central 2007 is fast approaching and I'm excited. Why? Because this year I have doubled my costuming. I'm doing my classic Havoc and I'm adding Greed to the repertoire. Who knows, next year I might have three costumes (one of which may not even be FMA-related!).

Havoc is definitely getting more huge. I've put on a lot of bulk in the winter months while maintaining my exercise regiment. But now I've upped the exercises so I can ditch the winter weight and come out looking like I've been carved from a marble block (ha).

Laura's gonna make me a Greed costume! (Call me: 18156741014 if you need to speak with me about this) I'm pretty excited.

A-Club at the school is going well. We're seeing consistent numbers of 22 each week. We've watched Castle of Cagliostro (which got a positive response), Death Note (overwhelmingly positive), Cowboy Bebop (Meh, it's Bebop everyone likes it), Samurai X (which got a negative response :(), Full Metal Alchemist (so-so... boys like it, girls not so much), and Fruits Basket (positive, yay!).

Next friday is Spirited Away, which is not one of my personal faves, but oh well.

-Z-

1:44pm: ACEN Reservations
I got my reservations for the Hyatt Regency for ACEN today. Anyone else get theirs? I'm staying Thursday through Sunday this year. If anyone else is gonna be there Thursday night, we should make plans to hang out. I'll be with Christine (who hasn't met any of you yet!) so we definitely need to get together.

3:14pm: The Longest Semester of my Life (over)
Friday marked the end of the longest semester of school I've ever had to face, as a teacher and as a student. We went from the end of August until the end of January, which if you discount the months is exactly the number of days you are supposed to spend in a semester. But when I say the "end" of August, I mean exactly that: School didn't start until literally August 29th or so.

Why the late start? Because the school I teach at has been under construction for the past two years and they were finishing up. It's pretty much complete now (except for very minor circumstances) but it lead to a late start and a late finish. Whereas most schools have been in their second semester for 2 weeks, we are starting ours on Monday.

I'm very happy to be out of this semester. It had its ups and downs, but I'm glad to have it over with. Wish me luck for second semester.

10:48pm: The long weekend
Friday night I headed out to Doc's so we could hang out and find trouble. After a few hours of some rather fun stuff, i.e. White Castle and video games, I took off to see Christine.

Christine and I spent the weekend together and had a very good time and ate lots of good food (I swear I need to lose some damn Christmas weight). When I had to drop her off today, we were teary-eyed and what not. Next weekend is her birthday and I'll be able to see her again.

This week I have to write finals for my classes. I'm about 90% complete with one and maybe 30% complete with the other.

Our anime club is starting soon, too. I'm hoping to get some student-officers elected and work out a rough schedule of what we'll watch for the second semester. Luckily, I followed in Rachel and Josh's footsteps at EIU so I kinda' know what I'm doing and what I'm up against.

Talk to ya soon,

-Z-

10:56pm: Think your job is bad?
Think again.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061219/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_mexico_sewers

10:31pm: So what's going on this weekend?
Last weekend I bought:

A new wool coat
A sportier Columbia brand coat

2 thermal tees
A sweater
A long-sleeved shirt

A belt for Christine
A coat for Christine
A pair of pajamas for Christine

Yeah, I bought a lot.

But what about this weekend? I am hearing a few different things from a few different friends. I need someone to clear this up! Maybe I should give Doc a call...

Anyone know what's going on this weekend?

-Z-

5:13pm: Good Game
I'm going to Chipotle this weekend and I can't wait. I swear I'm addicted to that place. I don't know what the put in the guacamole (besides the avocado XD) but it's fantastic.

I'm also going to do some XMAS shopping this weekend. I'm going to get a video game for the brother, a few things for the lady, and most importantly some stuff for *me*. :P

This has been a looooong week. I have been having trouble waking up in the morning. The problem is that my bed is just so nice and comfy that it's hard to get out of it and venture into the coooooold household to get ready for work. Any advice here?

I am planning on going to see Doc and the gang next weekend. Pray for good weather, because I've been dying to hang out and have a nice evening of conversation, coffee, and cigarettes.

I am also planning to head to New Boston, IL to see Court, Kimi, and Logan if possible. So let me know about your plans, Kimmi and Court. :)

Out for now,

-Z-

11:19pm: Apologizing for last weekend...
I was not around much last weekend and made a few promises that I ended up breaking. First of all, I thought I would go down and visit Andy for a day or so, but I just couldn't gather up the moxie for a 3 hour drive.

Then Doc gave me a call and I told him I'd head his way on Saturday. Well, I ended up taking my brother somewhere as I had obligation to. I said something about coming to see Doc on Sunday, but I ended up sleeping until 2 am because of a very late Saturday night.

This weekend is my birthday and I'm going away to spend it with someone special. I will not be available to see anyone this weekend. I again feel like I'm letting people down and I sincerely apologize for that.

Things at school are going very well this week (I know it's only Monday, but any day is a good day). We have started Lord of the Flies in my English II class and Romeo and Juliet in my English I class. Reading Lord of the Flies gives me an excuse to show several episodes of Lost for the next few weeks which I am psyched about.

Speaking of Lost, I finally decided to spend the $50 and buy season two. And I have to say, upon a second viewing I actually change my opinion of it. I used to severely dislike season two (I seem to hate most second seasons of TV shows at first, see: Arrested Development). After watching the second season again, I have a better feeling for the direction of the plot as a whole. I completely understand the negative critical and fan reception to season two, but for me the show really improved upon another viewing.

Take care guys, and again I am sorry,

-Z-

8:56pm: High School Anime Club?
So one of my students walks into my classroom and asks me if I'd like to sponsor an Anime Club. My response is, of course, yes. The wheels are in motion for a high school anime club and quite frankly, I couldn't be happier. For one, it gives me something to do at the school that's not coaching or directing the play. I'm awful at sports and I don't really want the responsibility of directing a huge production. So this gives me the excuse to steer clear from that kind of crap.

But I'm also excited because I haven't been watching much anime lately and I need a venue to be able to get into it. Sure, I pop in an FMA or Fruba disc now and then, but I know both of those series by heart. I'm fairly tired of the typical action anime genre. I'm looking for something more like Love Hina and less like Hellsing. I guess I'm weird like that.

Thanksgiving is coming up and I'm not looking forward to it. I'm feuding with my mom again over stupid bull-shit. Basically, she'll ask me a question and then get pissed off when I answer it. I hate how we live in a world where people would rather be lied to than have the truth told to their face. I'm moving out for good in January and it can't come fast enough. Tensions around here have been rising for 6 months and it's just time to end this nightmare.

Amazon.com is potentially offering Xbox 360s at a $100 price. Check this out for an explanation: http://www.techcrunch.com/2006/11/10/amazon-to-sell-xbox-for-100/

I haven't talked to Doc in a while, so Doc get ahold of me and let's plan something. :)

That's all I have for now,

-Z-

8:26pm: Lately...
Wow, I've been exhausted lately! Last week, I had to finish up final grades. I ended up failing 13 students. That's really not so bad considering I have about 130 students total. I spent hours all week preparing to turn in these first 9 weeks grades, but I was able to get done in time to head over to Mike's place last friday night.

I had a lot of fun hanging out with him, his gf, Izzy, and two other dudes I met that night. Hopefully, I'll have some more opportunities to hang out with Mike as it seems he and I have a lot in common and seem to have fun together.

I had another painting class last sunday. They're going well so far. I'm learning how to add ink layers on top of the water colors to give a unique, washed-out look. I don't really like sharing anything I've done, so I'm not gonna. :P I have another class this weekend but I'm not quite sure what we're learning.

I had parent/teacher conferences on Monday evening. I think I had about 40 different conferences. By the end of the night, I was wiped. Unforunately, only a few "problem" students' parents showed up. I'd honestly rather see them than the parents of the straight-A kids.

We're working on projects this week. One is a type of "my life" project for the sophomores. The freshman are working on a persuasive paper on what they want for Christmas this year and why the deserve it (and it's going to take a lot to convince me).

This weekend I'm going to spend some time with Christine and just relax.

-Z-

11:40pm: The Weekend
Had a great weekend!

After a looong day of work, I headed down to EIU to visit Andy for his birthday. I got there a little sooner than I expected, and Andy was working til 10:30, so I stopped by Anime Club and reunited with Jon Powley for old time's sake. He, his girlfriend Kari (who is awesome), and I relaxed and talked about good old times and whatnot for an hour or so.

I then met up with Andy for some fun. He had his friend Kevin come down as well. We grilled steaks at midnight (which was awesome) and relaxed and talked for a few hours. Andy's cool roommate Kyle was there too, except that he was eating *pork* chops for some reason! We ended up just fucking around with shit, talking, goofing off on the computer, and being generally entertaining until we passed out (about 4 am for me).

We hit the QQ buffet hard the next day. Then I had to take off, because I had some responsibilities to take care of back home. I hope to get back down to Andy's place sooner rather than later and this time there will involve serious drinking.

I unfortunately did not get to meet the fabled Julie... there is always next time.

Today I hit the mall with some friends before my painting class. Was fun and bought some random stuff.

Take care,

-Z-

10:46pm: A Mid-week Update? WTF!?
I'm heading down to Charleston, IL this weekend and I couldn't be more excited. This is the first time I've visited in like 8 months. I just couldn't seem to scrape up the cash to get down there last April like I had planned on. ACEN was around the corner and I really needed the money for that.

It's gonna be nice to be reunited with Andy, who I consider to be one of my best friends. It's his birthday, so I'm planning on taking him out to Cody's and having a decent meal and a few drinks. I also plan to see Rachel for the first time since ACEN and meet one of her friends too (who I hear thinks I'm cute, huzzah!).

I have to leave on Saturday, however, because I have my first painting class on Sunday. I signed up and paid the $50 in September, but I couldn't make the October classes. I'm pretty excited about this because I get to work with one of my favorite hobbies in the world. I haven't painted in *years* so I'm psyched to get back into it.

That's about all I've got for now. Drop me a comment if you wanna see me this weekend. Or just call me at 815-674-1014.

-Z-

7:54pm: This weekend shall be a relaxing weekend...
So I was going to go to Streatorette (the SHS dance team) Trivia Night tonight and mop the floor with the nerds, but I've decided to opt out and have a relaxing evening at home watching videos of old anime and relaxing. It's been a long and stress-filled week. I've written 4 referrals this week, kicked two kids out of class (one of the twice), and had to deal with an immature jack-ass in the lunch line (who I got put on restricted lunch due to his bad behavior yay!).

I also got caught up with grading this week, so all my online grades will (hopefully) be accurate when I post them to Edline (an online grade viewer) next week so the parents can see them. I'm actually very happy that parents are utilizing this tool. I do get angry emails from time to time, but over all it is heavily worth it. What kind of angry emails, you ask? How about stuff like "How dare you *give* my son/daughter a zero on that assignment!?!?" Then I have to give my heroic answer of "Ma'am, I do not *give* any grade at all... your son/daughter *earns* their own grade."

On Saturday I'm going to Fox Valley mall with Christine again. She's looking for a part-time job and will be starting school again some time in November. Unfortunately, she did not pass her third attempt at the HESI test so I'm hoping another semester of school will get her squared away. This weekend I'm shopping for a new hoodie. I might go to Hot Topic and try for an anime hoodie. An FMA one would be fantastic, but I'm not picky. In the very least, I can buy a regular old plain hoodie from Kohl's or something.

Sunday will be yet another glorious day to relax. Maybe I'll catch a movie this weekend. I don't know for sure. What I do know is that this weekend will involve copious amounts of sleeping and eating. Hooray for relaxing!

-Z-

6:53pm: Reactor 2k6
Update! Reactor 2k6 follows (be warned):

( Read more... )

PICS!


http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/zackthesnack/album?.dir=2f71re2&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//photos.yahoo.com/ph//my_photos

4:20am: A salute to a friend and other musings
Though he may never read this and though I have not seen him in the flesh in nearly 2 years, I'd like to express my deepest sympathy for a good man, Josh Gottemoller. Josh, a fellow EIU graduate and anime enthusiast (and founder of the EIU Animation Society), lost his wife to a car accident recently. I don't know much of the details, but I managed to get a hold of Josh and wish him my best. If you are Josh's friend and are looking for his phone number, I can provide you with it if you email me at zackthesnack@yahoo.com.

In other news, I have been on a roll teaching lately. We're working on short stories. We've done "The Gift of the Magi" in my freshman course and we're working on "Everyday Use" in my sophomore classes. Both are very nice opening pieces of literature and good examples of the short story. In my sophomore class, the students recently had to fill out a scantron "Personal Inventory" quiz. The information is supposed to be entered into a computer and then a machine tells you what you want to do with the rest of your life. Or something like that. These things never really work. I remember taking one back in 8th grade or so, and the machine said that I would be a "histographer or photographer" (lawl). I'm still not quite sure what a "histographer" is. Anyway, my point is that 10th graders don't know what they want to do with their lives. And if they do, then they've probably already had ulcers. Give these kids a break and let them figure out what they want to do on the last month of the second semester of their senior year of college, just like I did.

I've been fairly bored in my personal life lately, so I've been taking day-trips to different places. I recently went to the Brookfield Zoo. I hadn't been in over ten years and I just felt I had to get tehre. We had read "The Pigman" in my freshman classes, and that book always fascinated me. It's just so real. The zoo plays a big part so for some reason I just felt like I needed to go there. It's a rather nice place. Zoos have never depressed me the way they do to others. My favorite is still the monkey house. I spent a half hour just watching the monkeys swing from tree to tree. They're so graceful and beautiful, I don't care what anyone says.

Reactor = next week. I am so unbelievably psyched. I believe Rachel referred to me as a "bastard" for going to a con without her, but she's free to come to ACEN next spring. Man, I miss Anime Club at EIU.

That's about it for now (I know, two posts in less than a week's time *gasp*). I will try and check in soon. I miss the days when all my friends posted on their LJs. But I guess just like Junior year, they're gone and they're not coming back.

-Z

3:49pm: Nothing to honestly post about...
I've really got nothing to post about... except for Anime Reactor (which I am unbelievably excited over!).

I've been doing the usual teaching thing and doing a fairly nice job of that if I might say so myself. :P

I visited a few friends recently and spent some time at the mall and whatnot (bleh).

Other than that, I've been spending a lot of time with my brother. He's doing well with his problems, but he was recently laid off work. Surprisingly, he was *happy* to get laid off. Meh, he's an odd fellow.

I've looked at a few apartments recently, but I can't seem to find one that really suits me. I've got my eyes on a few complexes in Ottawa though. So hopefully good things will come.

So again, other than that, Anime Reactor is coming up and I am psyched. Can't wait to pull off a Havoc again (an even better one this time)!