Having been recently informed just how long it's been since I posted, I thought I'd better. First off, congratulations to C & P, who recently had a brand new baby. I'm so excited for them -- they'll be wonderful parents!

Next, Happy End-of-the-Semester to you all, even those who aren't in school. You want my semester to be over, believe me. It's been rough this year, and I'm thrilled to be able to sleep in these days. Right now I'm in northern Utah at my sister's place, and last night I was so pooped that I fell asleep on the couch, fully clothed, and didn't bother to change them even when I woke up at 4:30 in the morning (to the sound of my cell phone alarm, which I hadn't changed from the night before) and realized where I was. And I look like death warmed over today. The good news, though, is that I found out that the shirt I was wearing (recently acquired from my former roommate as she was cleaning out her closet before moving) doesn't really wrinkle, so that's nice.

I'm getting really excited for Christmas. My sister and I watched "It's a Wonderful Life" this afternoon and I wrapped the presents for her and her family, and I'm starting to want to listen to Christmas music. The past few weeks I've been ignoring Christmas, since I was wrapped up in the end of the semester junk I had to do, in all the new music I've recently discovered that I love, and in the fact that it was frequently still into the 70s in Texas.

Last night I went to my niece's orchestra concert. She plays with the intermediate youth group associated with the Utah Festival Opera. The beginning group really wasn't great -- they had a lot of tempo problems -- but the intermediate and advanced groups were great. The advanced group played the first two movements (the only ones, actually) of Schubert's unfinished symphony, and I'd forgotten how much I love that piece.

In the vast configuration of things, I'd say you're nothing but a scurvy little spider! (18 points)

(Oh, and the last quote, from before Elizabeth Bennet, was from the Gershwin song "How Long Has This Been Going On?")