With all the strange things that are going on in this world, it is nice to see a piece of really good news for a change. I'm referring to the safe return of Elizabeth Smart, the girl who was kidnapped from her home in Utah last summer. Honestly, I can't believe it. When I first saw the headline on Yahoo yesterday, I was in a state of shock. It's weird because I really haven't even thought much about this case at all in the last nine months but as soon as I saw it, I was amazed and couldn't stop thinking about it. I really can't imagine what that must be like...to have a daughter kidnapped and, just when you've probably given up hope, one day you get a phone call and there she is. Amazing...absolutely amazing.

Anyway, it's a pretty nice day at the moment and I'm sitting here inside on my computer. Why, oh why am I not outside enjoying the sunshine? That's a good question, and I don't really know the answer. I've actually got quite a bit to do like for school and stuff. Not to mention that I am boarding a plane to Philadelphia tomorrow morning. The plane leaves from LAX at 6:01, which means I have to be there close to 4 am, probably. This is only my second time flying somewhere since September 11...I'm still a tad anxious about it. Not because I think the odds are in favor of something happening to me but more because I'm not convinced that airport security is any more competent than it was on September 10. Perhaps less so, since it's now a "federal agency." At any rate, I'm somewhat convinced that the reason there haven't been any more airline attacks is, quite simply, because nobody has tried. With the exception of Richard "Shoe Bomber" Reid, of course. However, I'm not really worried about it. It's just that I've always had somewhat of an anxiety toward flying.

So, if any of you are wondering why I'm not around this weekend, it's because I'm going to be in Philadelphia. Actually, to be precise, I'm going to be in King of Prussia, which I find to be an odd name for a city. So, you won't be seeing me around Los Angeles this weekend. And I definitely won't be seen at the laundromat in Pasadena.

This morning was our second weekly breakfast...I met Ryan Cox, John Lin, Shane Ross and Stephen Thrasher at Love Birds on Colorado Blvd. It was a good place, but they didn't have any real breakfast items, so I had to eat a turkey sandwich at 8:00 in the morning. I guess there are worse things I could have eaten for breakfast.

In other news, it would seem Starbucks needed somebody who could work Monday mornings and, since I have class Mondays, I am unable to do so. Oh well, no big loss really. There are a couple other options I'm looking into as well. More details to come later.

Speaking of Starbucks, on Tuesday on my way to school I stopped by the Starbucks in La Cañada-Flintridge where my best friend on earth, Amanda Chase, works. I call her my best friend because I was all ready and willing to pay for my Mocha Frappucino and she gave it to me for free. Is that swell or what? Not only did she give me the Frappucino for free, but she's also really hot. Too bad she has a boyfriend. Of course, his name is Matt, so I think that has some deep psychological meaning to it. After all, it's not like Matt is a common name.

(Yes, she does read this. I'm just trying to get her to leave a comment.)