Where did fall go? It was summer one day and then winter just came without warning. There was no transition, and that really grinds my gears. Maybe winter is a bit of an exaggeration, but the fall that I know and love did not come this year, or it has yet to show its lovely face. Temperatures dropped to the 40s and low 50s, the north wind came blowing and hasn't stopped for days. On top of all that, it's been cloudy for 3-4 days. I'm hoping we get an Indian summer sometime after this cold weather blows away. Where's the fall that stays in the high 50s and low 60s, and has a gentle breeze that blows around the crunchy leaves on the ground? A breeze that doesn't cause the crickets and caterpillars to move sluggishly, searching for some place warm. Breezes that don't cause humans to put on stocking caps and pull up their hoods over their heads, and put on gloves! At least it hasn't sno... no, I won't even begin to jinx myself.

In other news, I had my first kiss with my girlfriend on Friday night. It was magical. It happened after a group outing at a movie. Once everyone went their separate ways, she and I were standing outside of her apartment building, hugging and snuggling in the cold weather, drizzle overhead. I whispered in her ear, "Can I kiss you?" (She had told me at the beginning of the relationship that she wanted me to ask to kiss her before I made a move, which I liked.) She said yes, and we kissed, and time stopped for a minute, the coldness went away, it stopped raining, birds began singing, and fireworks shot off in the sky... okay, well, it seemed like all of that stuff happened anyway... I love her.

Yesterday I went to a career fair at my alma mater. Sucked. Or let me rephrase that: I sucked. Blaaaarggghh! I hate how introverted I am sometimes.

I got there with most of my confidence in tact, but when I finally walked into the building I almost crapped my pants. Crowds upon crowds, crowding the halls, trying to get their turn to talk with the hundreds of representatives at each career booth. I had printed out 12 resumes, just in case. Well, I ended up passing out only 3 or 4 because at one point I just had to get out of there. Too many people, too much body heat, not enough oxygen. I had written down only 5 or 6 places that seemed interesting, so maybe 12 resumes was a bit overkill anyway... I've already gotten an e-mail from one place, asking for writing samples. I'm gonna have to send some college papers her way as I'm lazy and really haven't written anything submittable since I graduated.

It's kind of sad when I put down "communication skills" on my resume when I could hardly get my words out in the impromptu interviews. And yeah, it's been a week since my 2nd interview with the hospital so I'm pretty sure they've already chosen their 2 candidates. *a large and heavy-burdened sigh*

It's Number Nine day! The next time this will happen will be in 2099, and who knows if The Beatles will still be relevant then. So, to mark the occasion here's a creepy homemade video from YouTube synced to "Revolution 9." The Beatles' Rock Band also comes out today. And, uhhhh, that's all.

Hooray! Interview went great! I have to attend an open house/orientation thingy on the 15th to get familiar with the place and see what they do at that part of the hospital and I think I'll have another interview there. Ohhhhh yes! My first full time job might be upon me really soon. Here's to hoping that my competition isn't too intimidating. In other news, the girl I've been hanging out with is pretty awesome and I think she digs me so I'm pretty excited about that. On Labor Day she and I and some others are going on a bike ride and a picnic. Let the good times roll!

Oh, and hooray for getting my lime green DS Lite back from being repaired at Nintendo! Yay!

Remember the cricket I was telling you about? Well, much to my chagrin, he was still chirping up a storm when I got home tonight. I turned on some music to help me fall asleep, but it didn't drown out the insufferable noise of the lowly insect. I did manage to fall asleep, only for about 10-15 minutes, and I was awoken by the loudest, shrillest noise I've ever encountered. It was the noise I've grown to hate these past few days. The sound of a cricket. I thought, "How the hell was I awoken by that damn bug?" And, folks, I couldn't have scripted it better: I peer to my left, on my shirt sleeve, and there's that damned bug, sitting still, acting like I'm a T. Rex, thinking that if it doesn't move I won't be able to sense it. Well, guess what little cricket; I'm not a T. Rex and I can see you even if you don't move. So I grabbed the little bastard before he could hop away and because I was so infuriated with him waking me up after finally falling asleep, I didn't have the time or patience to rip off its legs one by one; instead, I threw him in the toilet immediately and flushed it before he ever had the chance to hop out of the water.

I felt so good after that. I think I may have even made the most accomplished smile I had ever produced. But I'll tell you one thing about silence. Yes, it's golden, but it also causes you to sense even the faintest of noises, this being one of my clocks, the one I made in high school art class. It's nowhere near my bed, but it was keeping me up so after putting up with it for 5 minutes I finally got up and instead of smashing the daylights out of my homemade clock, I simply took out the AA battery and lied back down. Silence once more, only this time I couldn't pick out any noise. It was absolutely silent. I could swear that I could even hear the dust particles hit the soft carpet. So I tossed and turned, and then I thought about Poe's "Tell Tale Heart" and thought maybe I was hearing the sound of a heart beating beneath that soft carpet. I didn't bludgeon and hack up an old dude, did I? No, but I did drown a cricket. Was it his little heartbeat I was hearing? I don't know. Was I even hearing a heart beating? I'll never know for sure, but now you know why I'm on Xanga, at 3:04 am, typing up this little story.

But, before I go, I'll let you know how the "date" went tonight. Er, last night. It was at a coffee house/theatre (for plays) which was holding a back-to-college bash with outdoor games and a bonfire. Before I left I got a text from the girl I was meeting, who was already there, saying that I should bring some extra sweatshirts because it was cold, so I did. I arrived when a bunch of people were already there, but I saw that she was playing volleyball with a group, so I joined in. The game eventually came to a halt because everyone was getting cold and the bonfire was heating up, so we all flitted over to the light like a bunch of moths. I didn't see where the girl and her gal friend went off to, but I sat down at the bonfire to warm up a bit. She eventually spotted me and said "Are you going to just sit here or do you want to come swing with me and C? And I could sure use one of those sweatshirts." So she put on one of my jackets and I got up and we walked over to the swing. They were sitting on the 'swing made for two' and I had to opt for the 'tiny swing made for barely one unless you weigh 100 lbs.'

Fast forward a few conversations later, C got up to go over to the fire, leaving me and L alone, to which she said "Is that thing even comfortable? You can sit here. I'm not going to bite." So I did, and we talked and swung for a good hour, until our butts got numb, and then we got up to go to the fire. C hadn't eaten yet (it was about 9:30) so she mentioned something about food and I hadn't eaten supper either so I was all for it, and L was too since she rode with C although had already eaten, so we went to a restaurant that serves breakfast at all hours, and that's exactly what I got, plus pancakes. After the meal she gave me back my jacket. She also invited me to come to her church later today to which I'll head after my church's service (which is in 5.5 hours? crap). And you won't even believe it, but, she's friends with my old neighbor I mentioned sometime last week, the one I had a crush on, and she is going to the church service with her today. Is that not bizarre? I couldn't make this stuff up even if I tried! Well, I could, but I'm not.

I guess you could say that I dig this girl and enjoyed my time with her, and will at the very least take her friendship. I'm not totally sure in what way she thinks about me, but I'll take things slowly. I'm not sure if I want to be in a relationship now, but, time will tell.