"I'm sorry, Fry, but astronomers renamed Uranus in 2620 to end that stupid joke once and for all."

I have to be up semi-early tomorrow to head back to my parents' house, so I may be brief.

I had a pretty on/off pool day, because I was missing some shots that I'm normally very consistent at, but I also managed to beat my dad once, and also win a couple of the bigger games, so that was cool. Sadly, none of you crazy Eugenians has accepted my pool table challenge yet! Come on, I *DARE* you to put me in my place! (It wouldn't take much, believe me ;p)

I'll do drinkdrano a favor and plug this:

If you have a few bucks to toss around once a month, and want to expand your musical horizons, then check out buy_this_album. Otherwise, it'll be pretty boring with just the same 3 people choosing the monthly album all the time. :)

My aunt and uncle came up for dinner this evening, so we had a bigger group for dinner, and there were a lot of funny stories going around the table. Everyone also tried the wine that I brought down and gave to Judy and my grandpa for Christmas, and apparently it was a big hit. I don't know a thing about wine, so all I really had to go on was that James and I had both tried this particular kind once, and liked it. Lucky me, it all worked out nicely in the end. We had steak, baked potatoes... and *more* artichokes for dinner! Glee!

I'm working on finding a good deal on a Playstation 2--so far, I may have a line on a refurbished one for $105, which saves me nearly $70. But hey, if anyone has a source for a better deal, let me know! I've been coveting one for years! (and no, don't tell me to wait and get a PS3. Like I'm going to have *that* kind of money. ;p)

Anyway, I'm off. My next post might even be from my home! Well, unless I get bored at my parents' house tomorrow night. :)

"Eat this. Say you like it."

So, we've been back at my parents' house for several hours, but we're now discovering that the furnace may be busted. Well, bugger all. But, I just learned my ma's uber-secret for making yummy shrimp, and she gave me a big bag of panko to take home with me, so all is not so bad.

I yanked several books from my dad's shelf: Uther, Searching for El Dorado, and The Count of Monte Cristo. Apparently, I have to start every year with a book relating somehow to Arthurian legend. But the other two should be nice diversions, too. :)

The Twilight Lords was pretty slow going--4 days after starting it, and I was only on page 29--so I put that one aside for some other time. It was probably due in part to this lingering head cold I've had, but space in my car is virtually nil, after all the miscellaneous food and supplies my ma is packing me off with. So, I guess I have to be picky.

I'm looking forward to going home, although right now it's mostly so I can just lay around and recover without having the thought that I'm wasting valuable family time on some stupid illness. I even took a short nap yesterday, and also today in my parents' car, because I wasn't feeling that great. Judging from how sick some of you were before I left, I should consider myself lucky that I've only been vaguely ill most of the time (just congestion and a bit of throat soreness--not even a cough), but it was still crappy timing to get sick during happy fambly time.

The drive is probably going to suck, though--as of this afternoon, there were snow flurries in the Siskiyous, so I'll likely have to take it slow around that part of the trip. Bleeehh. It was so much easier when I came down, and there was sun and bare pavement, or just some rain. ;p

Anyway, uh, I'm not sure what else I was going to mention. But, yeah, I'll be back in Eugene tomorrow night. Gwee! :)