Mind reading, or how does my alumni association know me?

Penn State has one of the largest - if not the largest - alumni associations in the country. I know this because at each homecoming parade I attended at college, dozens of alumni chapters from around the country would march in the parade. And it would take forever.

I vowed never to join the alumni association and become one of those crazy alums who is PSU-obsessed forever, but the school's president thwarted me. At graduation, we were told we'd get a free one-year membership. How freaking generous of you, Graham Spanier. I already had received calls from Lion Line before I graduated. I told my fellow students very kindly that PSU wouldn't be receiving any money until I paid off my student loans, and that they could call me back in 15-20 years when that happened. I seriously think my already-expired alumni association card has a tracking chip in it - I've moved three times since graduation and they've found me each time.)

So, I'd still continue to be Stingy McClosedwallet, except I unknowingly gave money to PSU. After you graduate, you occasionally get some money back from the bursar. And I had signed a form in the past that said "upon graduation, any remaining funds can be entered into PSU's Annual Fund to benefit other students/university programs/etc. etc." So I became a $100+ donor without even knowing it.

The school apparently thinks I'm good for some money again, because the other day, I got a package in the mail from the alumni association complete with Nittany Lion Shrine address labels! Sheets of them. They are adorable. Oh yeah - and there was a little card asking for money, too - personalized with my name and address on it, and a section asking if I wished to designate my gift to the College of Communications or the Schreyer Honors College. It's like they can read my mind.

And the cuteness of the labels has me considering giving a gift. I mean, what's $25? A drop in the bucket to PSU, but ... if it goes to the honors college, well ...

DAMN YOU, Graham Spanier! And your washboard, too!

irony at its worst

I just can't shake this cold. When I finally crawled out of bed at 1:30, I could've slept another 12 hours in a row. I had no appetite, but forced myself to eat a sub - my favorite from Quizno's tasted like cardboard. Within an hour, I thought I might be sick. So, home I went from work. I spent the evening watching TV and drinking water - nice and low-key. I turned off "Deal or No Deal" about halfway through a re-run - doing that takes a lot, but I DVRed it. I thought I'd do a final e-mail check and head to bed. Gracie was already asleep on my freshly made bed, and I was really excited to pass out under my new quilt. I go to CNN.com and see a flashing yellow headline above everything else - President Ford has died. I check my computer's clock - 11:55 p.m. I could just see everyone at work making final checks of A1, and now ... most likely, all hell has broken loose.

For as crappy as I feel, I really wish I could have been at work when we heard about it. Clearly the proclamation of "GUYS!!! Britney filed for divorce from K-Fed!" is no. 1 in my book, but hearing someone blurt out "Ford died" would so have topped that.

sick ... but not so tired

I'm hoping tonight's dose of NyQuil doesn't have the same effect it did last night. I dreamed I was fighting zombies at a co-worker's house - the same co-worker who just hosted a lovely dessert party. I kept waking up, telling myself it was a dream and to fall back asleep thinking about the divine chocolate mousse from Sunday, but no. I'd fall asleep again and I was back to shooting zombies - they were the fast ones, too (more "28 Days Later" than "Land of the Dead" if you know your zombies), so I had to move really fast all the time. The most horrific sequence involved me hiding around the corner, and a zombie made a noise, so I jumped out and shot it - except it wasn't a zombie, it was a teenage girl I had never seen, and I saw her shocked reaction. I woke up in a cold sweat. It's been upsetting me all day.

Despite this, I still accomplished something: I watched no less than five hours of TV, including a tear-filled viewing of "The Notebook" with my roommate and three episodes of "Identity," which has my attention for at least a few weeks, until I get bored with it (or want to throw the remote at Penn Jillette's head. Whichever comes first.)

an Internetish revamping

It's that that time of year: my Internets clean-up!

1. I cleaned up my IM buddy list, deleting screen names I didn't know (and those of people I *do* know but haven't spoken with in more than a few years - sorry, many-a college newspaper buddy). I also ramped up security options - I've become a privacy freak as of late (and yet I've just started a blog. Go figure.)

2. I tightened MySpace security, making it a virtually impenetrable wall (or something).

Now, to answer your pressing questions:

Why start this? Sources say this InterWorld Wide Webs is gonna take off one of these days, so I'm getting in before it crashes. Plus, I've recently found out loads of people I know blog, so ... I'm feeling a bit more comfortable about it.

What to discuss? Yarn. Grammar. My adorable dog. See?

What not to discuss? Don't look for much controversy, except as it relates to why crocheters have no street cred.