Kinda feels like Christmas, with all the Order of the Phoenix news, photos, and clips released in the past couple days. From what I’ve seen I think that I may be in love with Bellatrix Lestrange, crazy sexy bitch that she is. And the Occlumency scene with Snape and Harry will be brilliant, as I absolutely adore angst!Harry. Damn you Warner Bros. for making me wait another - *counts on fingers* - eight months for the new Potter movie! Damn you!! *throws self to the ground and pounds floor in a fit a rage somewhat akin to that of 6-year-old child*

I do love working for the government at the end of any given year, as it seems like every two weeks there is a paid federal holiday. I’m quite excited for Thanksgiving on Thursday, because I’ve been randomly craving turkey and mashed taters like mad for the past couple weeks. And pumpkin pie with loads of whipped cream. Oh, yes. I am quite thankful for you, Mr. Pumpkin Pie. And my most favorite part of Thanksgiving - hanging out in my pj’s and eating leftovers while watching the Colorado/Nebraska football game the day after. It’s Turkey Day tradition, it is.

I’ve been feeling quite guilty lately since I haven’t been doing much studying for the GRE. I think that I’d be far more motivated to do it if I didn’t have to work so much overtime - when I get home from working 10-hour days for an entire week, the last thing I really want to do is study, y’know? I’ll probably have to push the test back until after the new year… I’m hoping for a bit less craziness by then. But then, I can always think of another excuse to push it back even further, as procrastination has always been one of my greatest strengths.

Somehow I racked up a $48 tab at The Watering Hole last Friday night, most likely owing to the insane amount of shots that I drank. I haven’t been that drunk0rz in quite a while. It felt… good? Maybe? I dunno, really, as I do believe my brain shut off with the first couple Long Islands. After that, everything went sort of hazy and became difficult to remember. o_O

I’ve been finding it increasingly difficult to concentrate on The New Plan. I did pretty well for a few weeks, but lately I’ve become far too complacent. Too many days have gone by where I’ve done absolutely zero studying, and I’m quite a ways behind where I wanted to be at this point. I discussed the matter with my father last week, as my father has this amazing gift of putting everything in perspective, and I’ve decided to go ahead with the GRE next month but wait until NEXT fall to apply to grad schools. Yes, I’ll be forced to stay in my current (shitty) postition for one more year, but it will give me far more time to prepare for the next step. Trying to complete this entire process at once has proven to be too stressful. I feel like it would be more beneficial for me to take the GRE this fall, then spend next year studying Russian with the aid of my former university profs, which hopefully would help me get the three recommendations that I need, plus give me time to gather writing samples and write my purpose statement, etc. More time to prepare = submitting a far superior application packet = more funding for my education in the form of a graduate assistantship. I hope that’s how the equation goes, anyway.

All this pressure as of late has been making me long for Home. This happens every time I start getting stressed out - for some reason, going Home to visit my family always feels like the right thing to do. My dad says it’s because at Home I can sit and do absolutely nothing and clear my brain and not think about anything, which is exactly why I love Home. It’s my escape. Luckily for me, I’ll be going Home on Friday to celebrate my gran’s birthday, as well as partake in Deer Season festivities. Deer Season has always been pretty important in my family; it’s almost like a holiday, really, as traditionally it’s been one of three or so times out of the year that my entire family comes together. Most families bond over the birth of Christ or the generosity of the Native Americans - mine bonds over the carcasses of dead deer. Go figure.

Abby and I went to see Borat on Sunday, and I almost pissed my pants laughing. Seriously - I giggled so much that I think I broke my face. It. Was. Amazing.