Woke up this morning to a...I'm not going to quote songs I only know from Empire Records (which most of you probably haven't seen). I woke up to more dogs than normal, since we're pet-sitting for my sister, our craziest cat sprawled on my bed, and my parents hunting skags and bandits in Borderlands. After a breakfast of roast pork, mashed potatoes and gravy, my cousin called and asked to have lunch with me, so I got dressed, headed down the road and ate some chicken pot pie while catching up on things. Then I came home just in time to leave again with my parents to see the new Sherlock Holmes (so good!), and returned after that to settle down and play hours of Brutal Legend. In the middle of that somewhere I learned that chocolate covered peanuts are not in fact appropriate or healthy dinner, so I rehashed the pork and potatoes from before and added some green beans so I didn't feel as bad. Now I'm turning in before what zapf will neither confirm nor deny (which means it's confirmed) is the final boss battle. Tried it once and got my ass handed to me on a silver platter in less time than it takes to cook eggs (yes, I'm reusing that, but never after this), and now I'm headed to sleep.  All in all, a good day.

Every once in a while, I'll jostle out of whatever good mood I'm in long enough to worry about my thesis, or the fact that I'm more socially awkward around my family than I've ever been, or that I've recently set in motion a degree of preachy vengeance that's outside of my normal "forget, move on, don't make waves" comfort zone for reasons that are still unclear to me. But...it was a good day, and I think I'm gonna hold on to that bit.

Also, apparently my subconscious thinks that Dexter, Alpha and Sylar need to meet.  Maybe tonight it will vote that Holmes and L and Nero do, too.

It being Christmas Eve and all, I was thinking of this Christmas story and drew it up. I meant to draw it nicer, but didn't get time.  It's about family.

( under the cut, because it's big )


If it helps to understand it better, I am the second oldest of four girls.

Merry Christmas, everyone! To you and yours.

A Scottish cartoon, since I am back home for the holidays.

I'm well acquainted with the tune "Lord Lovat's Lament," since you hear it around these parts every time anyone has to pick up a fiddle and learn something. But you know, it's one of those tunes you know so well, you pay no attention to it, it's just there in the back of your head.

Then one day, I was looking up a bunch of works by Hogarth (the best) and came upon this portrait of 'Lord Lovat'. The lovely old tune and that devily face, they didn't match. So I wanted to learn more about him!

Lovat (Simon Fraser, born 1697 - there are about a million Simon Fraser Lord Lovats) really epitomizes how reading Scottish history can make you want to tear your eyeballs out, or laugh because it's nearly a farce it's so nutty. Either the people involved are disastrously loyal, or disastrously duplicitous. Everything is a disaster, but it's a hell of a ride.

Home again. Didn't get to trek through a blizzard to harass Citadel dwellers, but I've had far worse trips home for the holidays. (The time the dorms were closed, my flight was canceled, and I had to sleep on Bernie's floor comes to mind.)  Time continues to make certain things here worse, but everyone is mostly healthy and happy, including the adorable new Dachshund puppies my aunt adopted.  So life continues.

Meanwhile, I am again reminded that I'm related to these people. Currently baked, baking, or soon to be made/baked in our kitchen: 4.5 dozen chocolate chip cookies, 4 dozen mint chocolate chip m&m cookies, 1 pan of plain brownies, 1 pan of brownies with pecans, 3 dozen peanut butter cookies (with peanut butter chips and chocolate chips), 4 dozen oatmeal butterscotch cookies, 4 dozen chocolate chip pecan cookies, some number of boiled cookies (oatmeal, peanut butter and chocolate), chocolate and peanut butter covered peanuts, and possibly some batch of something involving M&Ms. We haven't figured out what yet. If we're too worn out by that point we'll probably just give them to Mom to eat. There are also plans for peanut brittle, but Cyndi's handling that at home. Fortunately Cyn's gifting almost all of this to people for the holidays or I'd return home spherical. Though if any of the recipes I don't already have turn out to be particularly delicious, I'll bring them back with me.

Other than that, gaps in logic, mocked stubbornness, and obsessive cleanliness have abounded, and we're already planning to see the new Sherlock Holmes movie after Christmas. It's good to be home.

Finals came and are gone. I believe I got 3 As and a B (in thermodynamics, the only class I have taken so far that is actually in my major...). I'm happy it is over.

It is strange, when the semester ends I always feel like I should still be working and feel slightly anxious when I am not. I have gotten so accustomed to having 10 things due the next day, and two tests the next week, etc, that my subconscious still thinks that is the case.

Anyway, I don't know if I want to continue majoring in biological engineering. While I think my ultimate career goal is to become a doctor, if I change my mind, I don't think I like bio lab work enough to actually do biological engineering for the rest of my life. Should I switch to Electrical Engineering or Comp. Science? Ugh, I will need to figure this out sometime..

Right now I'm in Ohio. I have friends here who I really missed!! I plan on seeing Jimmy today!

Some holiday comics! The Kiss Elves return.

Oh and I am posting journal type comics on twitter sometimes. If you are on twitter I am @beatonna