Checking in

So, it's been almost a month since my last post.

What's new in Zombie Town?

Not much. Finals are rapidly approaching, and I have a paper due in about a week. It's a rather open-ended assignment, and could be anywhere from 6-20 pages. It is entirely possible that the assignment may run a bit longer than that, too. Last quarter, I had a final paper that was supposed to be 6-10 pages long. Even after reducing the font size, tweaking the line spacing, and blowing out the margins, I was still looking at a 14-page paper. When I get in the literary groove, I can seldom be stopped.

I checked my grade in Japanese, and found out I'm doing better than I thought I was. I thought I might have about an 80% grade. Turns out I'm sitting at 88% right now, with three big projects to come. This news relaxes me a bit. I'm also feeling better about taking Japanese, in general. Lately, I've wondered if I was in over my head. In class, things seem to go fine, but once I look at the assignments, nothing makes sense any more. This past week, things started clicking into place again. I tried out my language skills on a willing student from Japan (no, Weevil, there is no euphemism or innuendo there.), and she told me that my choices for individual words waer sometimes a bit strange, but that I did very well.

The nephew is out on his first-ever fishing trip with his grandfather-esque. I'm not entirely sure how to refer to the man. I've known him for almost five years, and he has been married to my mom for about two. When I talk about him to casual acquaintances, I call him my step-father. Simply for the sake of brevity. I don't look at him that way, though. I can't ascribe a fatherly tag to someone I didn't even meet until my late twenties. This is certainly not to disparage him in any way. He's a good guy. He and my mom seem good together. It just seems odd for one grown man to spontaneously call another "dad."

Back on topic. The nephew is ecstatic that he has already caught two fish--bluegill, I've been told--and wants me to help him cook them when he comes by this evening. Sounds like a hell of a plan. I'm thinking lemon -battered, deep fried fillets. I could also pan fry them, but I think a seven-year old would find something resembling a fish stick or fish patty more appealing.

Looks like I had a bit more to say than I thought I did. I'll leave it this way for now, and bid you good day.