My writing muscles are atrophied a bit. Not the story writing ones, although they’re a might cramped, I’d say. But I mean the ones that let me write things every day in that nonspecific Cryptospeek way. I have no muse, dear me, for she hath left me holding my own frail form in the night.

‘Tis not true, I have a muse, and she still sings, though her songs are oft of shadow nowadays. Not to say the song is any less beautiful, simply to say that it is not as cheery as it may once have been. Ah, but ’tis my folly that I have forgotten something quite dear.

Mayhaps tomorrow I shall once again speak and sing the song of the muse.

Negotiations was awesome. It looks like it’s shaping out to be a pretty fun class overall.

I am feeling much better from my cold.

This Thursday I’m going looking for a set of dumbells. For, you know, the obvious purpose. (Paperweights, of course. Big papers.)

After grilling up a large steak and making a beautiful pan sauce to go with it, I have to say: I missed cooking. Damn!

Classes have started, and they so far seem good. Bioethics appears to be more interesting than I thought it was – and I had already thought it interesting to begin with. Lots of philosophy, the Kant vs. Mills kind, of which I approve.

Other than that, everything is peachy. Actually, kind of orangey, as I’m having an orange & Passoa with dinner. You know, I’m really not in the mood to write right now, so I’m just gonna post this as is and enjoy my dinner.

Heading back to Boston tomorrow. I really didn’t manage to get any of the writing or planning that I was planning on getting while on vacation. In fact, it’s been one of the busiest vacations I’ve had so far, going out with the family nearly every day. I have, however, done the following:

* Casino Royale: The next generation James Bond is actually a lot more like an old generation James Bond. He reminds me a bit of Sean Connery Bond, except rougher around the edges and far more… thuggish. He lacks all of Pierce Brosnan’s stylish pretty boyesquitude, preferring more a heavy hand. Previously, M’s insults at Bond being a “Blunt instrument” seemed petty. Now they seem entirely to the point: this Bond is the bluntest of instruments, but he strikes with a frightening surgical precision. All in all, damn good show.

* Gears of War: Great game. It’s like… well, it’s hard to say what it’s like. It’s a squad based third person shooter with incredibly fun co-op and very challenging combat. The controls are a bit hard to get used to, but flow pretty naturally once you get the hang of them.

* Prison Break: Saw the first few episodes of this with my brother. It’s a damn fine show, as far as these things go. Far better than I thougt it would be.

* The Stand: Stephen King’s vision of an apocalypse-cum-superflu. It’s a damn fine book (some say it’s King’s best, but I don’t know if I agree.) The characters are all very well written and the plot is well paced. I keep seeing Ed Norton as Lloyd Hendricks, however, which makes it all very interesting. Randall Flagg as the antichrist is hillarious, and King does know how to write a chilling kind of evil. Not as frightening as a Lovecraft, but definitely good.

* Babel: What a waste of time. Well, let me rephrase. This movie is between 2 and 2.5 hours long. An easy 1 hour of that time is an utter pointless waste. (If you’ve seen it, I’m talking about the Japanese girl here. Yes, she fits in thematically. But theme only takes you so far. The rest was just an excuse to show some Japanese girl naked. Heck, it might have been an interesting movie on its own. As it is it’s just distracting and discordant.) The remaining 1 – 1.5 hours aren’t bad. As far as movies go, it’s fairly interesting. (Yes, not “riveting”, not “captivating”, not “beautiful”, just “fairly interesting.” In fact, punch it down to “mildly interesting.”)

Have returned to Puerto Rico, and I feel like I’m a guest in a guest room. It just feels so strange to be in this place again. I haven’t been here in over six months, and walking through the house just feels odd. Familiar, yes, but it seems that my room isn’t my room anymore – it has my books, my sword, my keyboard, but it lacks the familiarity of my place.

The family does well. We are currently being visited by a pair of my parent’s friends – they’re a hoot. Good folks. Meanwhile, I’m simply waiting until the time passes.

I have forgotten my eyeglasses, and only have my contact lenses here. It’s not terrible – it means that I can only not see in the period after I wake up, and then just when I’m going to bed. But I’m not supposed to wear contacts on all day. Ah well. We’ll see how it develops. For now, I have nothing else to write.