I’m taking the morning off to write a paper for my Culture of the 1960s class. It’s going much quicker than I anticipated, but perhaps that’s because I’m doing a piss-poor job. It’s hard to say. I feel somewhat lost in this class, as if I’m falling behind despite turning my assignments in on time. It’s a dual-level course, which means I’m sharing the experience with undergraduate students in communication and English. That’s not to say the experience is negative because of this students; rather, the experience is confusing. Try as they might, I don’t see a correlation of subject matters among the two professors (one English, the other communication) in the course. But, this is the first semester for this new concept. We’ll see what happens.

This is my friend, Tony Dreibus. He’s 29 years old, Japanese and just landed an awesome job at DTN here in Omaha. Tony and I go WAY back. I gave him his first job in journalism in the winter of 1998, and we’ve been riding each other’s coattails ever since. He and his wife, Heather, just bought their first house, leaving behind a posh apartment in the Old Market.

What else can I say? He’s into fast cars, hot women, sushi and beer, but not necessarily in that order.

Tony’s been giving me shit about not saying anything about him in my journal…so here it is, you crazy Asian. Love you!

Tony Dreibus • Workplace Samurai

I should begin one of my papers, but I needed to warm up my writing skills first. What better way to do some cerebral stretches than in my journal?

Exactly.

I don’t have much time, though. My mom’s car is acting up, so I need to pick her up from work in about 90 minutes, which doesn’t leave me much time to get started on my paper. Grr. I crave the silence of a comfortable and creative workspace (my orange office at home) when it comes to writing. Perhaps I’ll get started here shortly, and finish up my paper tomorrow at work. Yes, I could see that happening quite easily.

No big plans on the horizon. A Bright Eyes show at the Joslyn next Thursday should be fantastic. Hooray for Bright Eyes!

(On a side note: Jason and I ate at Zio’s in the Old Market today, and we saw a Conor Oberst look-alike. He had the overall Conor “look,” but, as Jason put it, was a bit too beefy to be our beloved Oberst. Go figure.)

It would be impossible to encapsulate the fantastic performance put on by Pink Martini and the Omaha Symphony last night, so let me say this: Nothing beats a live performance with regard to an overflowing band such as Pink Martini. They did a little Latin inspired music, some wonderful songs with French and German lyrics. It was an audibly delicious experience. I highly recommend their first album; pick it up today.

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After work tonight, I spent a few hours at the library doing research and reading a few journal articles for a paper due Wednesday for my Intro to Literary Research class. I felt so damn scholarly! :-)

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I don’t believe I’ve mentioned my love for food as of late. I purchased a George Foreman grill a few weeks ago, and discovered the joy in making grilled cheese sandwiches (one of my FAVORITE foods) on this little piece of American ingenuity. Paired with a bowl of tomato soup, I can create the perfect meal on a cold winter night. Here’s proof of just how perfect my grilled cheese sandwiches turn out.

Despite the nasty weather we’ve experienced in the past two weeks, I learned how this snow brings out the best in people.

It’s Saturday. I’m on the cusp of another deadline day at the Bellevue Leader and at the beginning of two days getting paid to work on my homework at Nu-Trend. Ah, what a life. I’m learning that the best way to tackle the many projects, articles and assignments that reside on my proverbial plate is to take it one day at a time. I’m training myself not to gaze too far into the future, else I’ll go bloody mad.

Tonight should be fun. I’m going to see Pink Martini play with the Omaha Symphony as part of its SuperPops series. I’ve only heard Pink Martini’s album briefly, but it certainly sounds intriguing.

While shoveling my driveway this afternoon (a 40-foot, steeped bitch like I’ve never seen before), a duo of 20-something males pulled up in a truck fitted with a snow plow. They asked if I needed help clearing away the snow. (Did I ever!) I got out of the way and let them work their magic. They accomplished in less than five minutes what would have taken me all afternoon. To those anonymous strangers: Thank you!

Since I didn’t have to shovel too much, I grabbed my digital camera and took a few photos of the wintry path Mother Nature left behind in the past two weeks.

Remember how I mentioned earlier I needed a day off? I got it! Thanks to yet another snowstorm, UNO closed its doors tonight. Yea! Don’t get me wrong; I’m enjoying grad school immensely. It’s just nice to have the evening to myself.

It’s not even dark outside and I’m already in my PJs and slippers. Bring on “The Da Vinci Code,” magazines, TV and high-speed Internet on my Macintosh :-)

I have photos of the snow, which I’ll post later tonight.

Work today, then Culture of the 1960s class tonight. School is going rather well, and I do so enjoy spending hours in the UNO library working, writing and doing research. But with school, work and my part-time job on the weekend, I’m in desperate need of a day off. Sure, a vacation to some far-away local would be great: San Francisco, Los Angeles, Denver. Hell, even Iowa City :-)

What to do? What to do?