letters never sent...

Dear Former Roommate,

I was thinking of you today, on many days really. You know those yankee candles you always used to light in the apartment - in the clean cotton variety? I always loved that smell... I loved that smell so much that I recently purchased a Glade spray of the same fragrance to freshen the air in my current abode.

Every time I spray it, I think of you. =)

Sadly, I keep it in the bathroom, and... really only spray it after I've... well... you know... "dropped the kids off at the pool."

Which means, I usually think of you when I... well... you know...

Maybe I should rethink sending this "hey I thought of you today" e-mail? It's not actually as nice as I would have hoped.

I wonder if Hallmark will hire me as a card writer someday?

snow excited...

Well, the weather outside is frightful, and the fire I'm attempting to build in my fireplace could be delightful - if I don't smoke out the house. Today, I am saying, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

It is a rarity that we get snow here in the Valley - there's always plenty of it on the mountains, but I've only seen it here about three times down here and even then, it's not much. Needless to say, as much as I complain about cold weather, there is something about seeing snow for the first time a season that makes me SO happy. I love it when it snows like this - big flakes that stick AND I don't have to go anywhere today.

Alright.. I'm off to enjoy the beauty!

Shhh... don't tell my friends in Minnesota how excited I am about the snow... they'll think that I'm going to reconsider my stance on winter and move there.

my last lecture...

Many universities have a program called the "last lecture" series. This is typically a monthly session in which a faculty or staff member will be asked to take an hour or so and give his/her "last lecture," or rather, a lecture on a topic of their choice. This is typically what he/she would choose if he/she knew if was going to be the final lecture of his/her life.

I was recently asked by the student planners to be the final speaker of the semester. Unfortunately, I didn't have a single evening free to a) plan it and b) actually give it. I have deferred this honor until next semester; however, it has really gotten me thinking. What would I speak about if I knew it was the last time I was going to speak to an audience? For nearly every speech/workshop/lecture I've ever given, I've always had a specific goal, topic or theme. This is utter and complete freedom and I'm really at a loss for what to focus on in this.

Do I pick a topic on which I'm very familiar and on which I have given many workshops? Do I speak about social injustices and use the time in front of a captive* audience to raise awareness? Do I get personal and talk about relationships/dating and other human social interactions? Do I practice my ever-evolving stand-up comedy routine? Do I talk about the benefits of travel and share stories from around the world?

Augh. It's somewhat overwhelming... but fun to think about. If you were asked to give your last lecture, what topic would you choose?

*I say "captive" because college students are never really captive, they are always multi-tasking. I would be competing for attention with facebook, instant/text messaging, email, web surfing etc.