I have to say, amazon.com is my new favorite website. Second only to iBZP.com, of course. Honestly though, I did almost all of my Christmas shopping through them... it's great. No tax. Free shipping. I don't have to leave the apartment to get it done. Wonderful. This is why Al Gore invented the internet.

Last night was some crazy driving conditions. Stef came over to my place a little before 8, and we both had a craving for Outback, so we jumped in the car and headed out there. The roads weren't too bad on the way out, but I was still nervous about the ride home. Our meals were great, like always, so it was definitely worth the drive. I mean, come on, who can resist the allure of a bloomin' onion. Quick side note. Stef and I started discussing the possibilities of other deep fried vegetables. I think broccoli could be an interesting experiment. Don't you think it could get little kids and picky college students to eat more veggies though? Anyway, I digress. After eating, we went outside and found that my car was already hiding under an inch of snow. For some dumb reason I guessed that I-96 would be more clear than Saginaw. I guessed wrong. It was white knuckle driving the whole way home. People are nuts though. Some of the morons out on the roads were just bookin' down the highway at break-neck speed. Like mom says, they'll be scraping them off the road some day.

Well, anyway, we made it home without a scratch. It was touch and go for a bit, but I pride myself on keeping my cool (no puns intended) during wintry driving conditions. This morning was a real bummer though. Walked out to my car, and all I saw was this big, curvy mound of snow. I was ankle deep in the stuff, trying to brush it off, and got some pretty wet shoes in the process. What a drag. I made it to work though. Just a pretty average day at the office today. I'll be home tonight attending to some secret business, and just putsing around the apartment. I'll miss my Stefy, but it should be a nice, quiet evening.

Classes are O-V-E-R. Ahhh. What's funny though is that today was probably my best day of both macroeconomics and screenwriting all semester. In EC 302 this morning, the prof went over the three biggest topics of the last 15 weeks systematically, and finally helped bring it all together. It was amazing. I mean, I haven't had that much trouble with this class, but it seems like all of my little nagging uncertainties faded away this morning. As I was sitting there though, I couldn't help wondering why she didn't do a lecture like this months ago. I dunno... it just would've made things go a lot easier.

Screenwriting was just one of those classes that I was sad to see come to an end. We had our final two readings today, and while I think they were maybe two of the weekest scripts we heard, it was still great. Part of what made things so funny today was that the last kid who read had a part in his script that called for a semi-Scottish accent. One of his partners ended up reading the part, and did his best to deliver a good Scottish brogue, I would have to say that it was a bit more Groundskeeper Willie from the Simpsons than, say, Scrooge McDuck. Still, the fact that he even tried to read with a Scottish accent for what was ultimately a pretty convoluted dialogue exchange, was funny enough. The whole class was in stitches, not the least of whom was Professor Wray. Everyone lost it at one point or another; it was pretty great. Once they finished the table read though, Wray gave a really nice closing speech to the class. It was just one of those moments that you want to bottle and remember forever. I don't know... sorry to be waxing nostalic about a class that's only four hours in the can, but still, it was a great class, and I'm going to miss it.

Work went by pretty fast this afternoon. Part of what made it so good was getting a surprise visit from my girl. Yep, Stefy showed up a little before 3 pm this afternoon with some homemade chocolate chip cookies and a fresh bottle of OJ for me. What a sweetie! It was perfect timing too, because I was already getting that mid-afternoon grumble in my tummy.

Well, tomorrow is the last work day of the week. Stef and her girlfriends are planning a nice little Christmas party, so that means I'll be batchin' it tomorrow. It's actually good timing though, because it'll give me a chance to do some last-minute revisions on my script, and attend to some other "secret business."

Political entry alert! Here's some food for thought from Salon:

It's my last day for microeconomics. About freakin' time. I mean, I've definitely learned a lot in this class, but the instructor will certainly go on my list of all-time most boring professors. He's a nice guy, but man... what drag. Ugh. So glad this is the last time I'll have to learn about Leontiff tastes, indifference curves, or game theory.

My trip to grandma's house with Brian was fun yesterday. I hadn't seen them in at least a couple months, so the trip was overdue. They seem to be doing well, and we had a lot of fun just sitting and chatting up a storm with them. Grandma made this huge feast like she always does. This time we had lasagna, and it was G-O-O-D. And I totally called it too... she sent me home with a huge tub of leftovers, so I'm good for dinners for the week.

Stefy has finally wrapped up her mountain of homework, so I think she and I might just take it easy with some TV watching tonight. That's about it for today though. Just meeting with my dad for lunch this afternoon. And more work.

I must say. This is by far the easiest pre-exam week I've ever experienced. Not to belittle the plight of all those college students scurrying around, and pullilng out their hair this week, but man... it's good to be me this semester.

Last night I did some cleanup work on my macro homework for today, but that didn't take more then five or ten minutes. After that I even *gasp* got an early start on studying for next week. I mean, I totally didn't need to do it, but since there's so little to do this week, I actually got ahead of the game for once.

A little after 8 pm last night I hopped in the car and headed over to Stef's, and picked up some dinner for her from Lou & Harry's. She was busy for about the umpteenth night in a row on homework, so I thought the least I could do was bring my girl some grub. Of course, I stole a few french fries for myself; they're just so good!

Last night was my cousin Brian's, a.k.a. "Bobby Octane," birthday bash at Dagwood's. For those who don't know, Mondays are karaoke nights at Dag's, and Brian is a huge hit there (hence the stage name). Stefy really wanted to join me, but since she was busy being a bookworm, I flew solo. Brian's, um... eccentric friend Kyoko was there, so I chatted with her for a while. Man, that lady is just too funny: "Zack... you still crazy 'bout MAC?" Kyoko was really sweet though, because she brought Brian a nice cake from Bake 'n Cakes, some balloons, and a really snazzy MSU neck tie. Too good.

Well, of course, the highlight of the night was getting to see "Bobby" get up there and throw it down like he always does. Now, I've seen Brian perform several times now, including his rendition of "Proud Mary" at my mom's wedding, but this was by far his best performance. He sang "Little Red Corvette," and blew through the song without even looking at the words on the monitor. He was up there doing all his Prince moves and everything. The whole place went nuts. It was hysterical. I had to sneak out of there shortly after Brian sang, but I was so glad that I didn't miss it. He is just TOO funny.

In fact, since today is Brian's actual birthday, he and I are going to drive down to my grandparent's house together after work. I haven't visited them since our last trip a couple months ago, so it's overdue. Now all I can do is sit back and wonder what sort of leftovers grandma will send home with me. I swear, when you leave her house you have groceries for a week. I think she gave me a loaf of bread once. It's crazy. Anyway, that's it for today.

Well, classes were a breeze today. I had my last COM 225 lecture this morning... thank GOD. My micro economics class was a real snoozer, but at least there's only one more left. That was pretty much it for school though.

A quick flashback to the weekend. Stefy and I went to see Walk The Line on Friday night. I'm man enough to admit... I was WRONG about this movie. After all my nay-saying, and dragging my feet about seeing it, I can honestly say that this is probably the best movie I've seen (so far) this year. While I certainly enjoyed The 40 Year Old Virgin a lot more, it's probably a safe bet that it won't be garnering much Oscar buzz. Anyway, I just really can't say enough about this movie. Joaquin Phoenix, and Reese Witherspoon were fantastic. Go see it. I don't care if you don't like Johnny Cash music. Just... go on!

Saturday was a pretty low key day for me. Stef was busy working on school stuff for most of the day, so I just sorta putsed around the apartment killing time. Once Stefy wrapped up her work for the day, we eventually went out to Celebration for another movie. This time we saw The Squid and the Whale, which was perhaps the most depressing film I've seen all year. I don't think you need to have lived through a divorce to realize what a downer it is. I mean, Jeff Daniels and Laura Linney act their asses off, but man, you just want to go bang your head against a wall after seeing this movie. I guess the tagline "joint custody blows" pretty much sums it up for this one.

Sunday was another kinda weird day. Stef still have a bunch of homework to deal with, and since I was otherwise unattached for the day, I headed out to my dad's house to watch the Lions lose with their NEW coach. Watching the Lions play made seeing The Squid and the Whale seem like an episode of the Care Bears. It never ceases to amaze me how our football team finds new and creative ways to lose. What a disaster. At this point, Michigan State's team could give the boys in Honolulu blue a run for their money. It's THAT bad.

I just heard thru the weather grapevine (a.k.a. Wanda) that we're supposed to get a whole mess of snow over the next 24 hours. Checked the weather... yep, she was right. They're calling for 3-5" tonight, and another 3-5" tomorrow. Hooray... not! Definitely counting the days until I'm here. Ahhhh.