Looking up.

Everything's been good lately.

Even bad things have had a silver lining.

Brittany and Brad are done. For good. It'll be good for her in the long run. She still misses him, but it'll pass with time.

Last week was my Hell Week. I had 4 tests inside of three days, plus one funeral, minus all sleep. So that wasn't fun.

But I've got 2 of my test grades back so far: a 91 on my Bio lab test, and a 105 on my Trig test. I actually had the only perfect score in my Trig class. So that's cool.

Today in Chem, our professor put a 3-part problem on the board for us to work out, and none of the class (except me and one other) could do it. So the entire class time, the professor and I were going around showing different students how to do it. He seemed pretty impressed with what I was doing and told me he might be able to get me a job in the Academic Learning Center. This is a good thing. This might mean money.

On top of that, I'm getting some more hours at work, so that means I can actually afford to pay my rent and then buy food. And I like having that sort of financial flexibility.

We've had a couple days of good weather this week, so those have been good for walking. I actually walked about 12 miles on Monday, which was great, but my legs were killing me for a couple days.

Physics lab is tonight, so that'll be fun. It always is. I'm looking forward to making "your mom" jokes with Mark and Gary all night while we do all the work and let everyone else copy us. This is how our Physics labs normally go.

Semper Pax
Shea.

Smiling.

:)

Smiling today. Much better than yesterday.

Had a good day at school. Got a lot of compliments on my shirt. (Science: It works, bitches. You can buy it here: http://store.xkcd.com/)

Had a guitar club meeting. All of 3 people showed up. 3. Out of 50 members. So it was down to just me, Stephen, and Daniel jamming. It was all good, though. Mostly because of what happened before the meeting.

I was hanging out in the library talking to Brittany on the phone (who didn't get to meet up with Brad, and won't until Sunday) when I got distracted by a very attractive redhead who sat down next to me. So, when I got off the phone with Brittany, I started talking to said attractive redhead. I got her name, Lane, and immediately gave her the nickname "Penny," which I'm sure made me seem like about 30 different kinds of lame, but she giggled and said that nobody had ever come up with that nickname for her before. I didn't get her number or anything, but I know I'll see her again on campus. So that's fun.

After the meeting, I had nothing to do really, so I walked home. It was a great day for a walk, nice breeze and not a cloud in sight. And since I got home, I have played guitar and made this post.

Three cheers for productivity!

Semper Pax
Shea.

Frustration.

So, normally I don't like ranting about things.

In this case, it's seeming a bit necessary though.

This is not about the economy, or the state of the nation, or even the world.

This is not about anything but my best friend.

Brittany. I mentioned her in my last post.

She and Brad broke up over the weekend after she had found out that he had cheated on her. A few times.

On St. Patty's Day, she went to a party, got a bit tipsy, and drunk-dialed him, telling him all about how she still loved him and missed him and wanted to be with him. So they're meeting today. I fully expect them to get back together and I can't take that.

I can't take it because he's going to hurt her again. I know he will. Now he knows he can. And he can get away with it with nothing more than a slap in the face and a few days without getting any. From her, at least.

If she does get back together with him, then we are, as Mr. Bale would declare, "f***ing done professionally." Because I can't take this.

And when he does hurt her again, I'll be there for her. I truly mean that. But until it happens, I can't deal with this.

I don't think Brittany reads my blog.

But if she does...if you do, Brittany...I need you to know that I love you more than anyone else I know.

But I can't deal with this.

Semper Pax
Shea.

Late.

Sorry I'm late posting about the mushroom soup.

It turned out alright, although I think I'll use a bit more herbs and some more seasoning next time.

School started back this week. That's alright.

Brittany and Brad broke up. I'm doing my best to help her through that.

It's good getting to talk to her a lot. I like talking to her a lot.

I was hoping to visit her on Friday, but it looks like that won't be able to happen. I was looking forward to seeing her and meeting her friends and probably cooking and mostly seeing her.

Oh well.

Watched "Primer" yesterday. High-concept sci-fi flick Griffin let me borrow.

It was good. It was made on a $7,000 budget. It's about paradoxes inherent in time travel. One of the best sci-fi films I've seen in a long time.

Not sure when I'll be able to see Brittany again. Hopefully, it'll be soon.

Not sure when I'll be able to see UNCC kids either. Again, hopefully soon.

Semper Pax,
Shea.

Smiles.

So, I stayed up at UNCC all day today, just hanging out with everyone. Around 8 or so, Anna and Griffin called and asked if I wanted to come watch a movie at Griffin's place. So, I went, and we watched "Body of Lies."

It was good. I enjoyed Leonardo DiCaprio's performance, and the contrast between his character and Russell Crowe's was interesting to watch.

So, we left their place when the movie was over, and went back to Anna's place, and I said my goodbyes and started walking to the bus stop.

I was about 12 ft from the bus stop walking toward it when I noticed my bus coming and started waving at it. It passed me by.

So, I started waiting for the next one, that would come in about 25 minutes, and I got a call from Anna.

I told her my bus passed me by, and she told me she and Griffin were coming to pick me up.

They picked me up and gave me a ride home.

I love my friends.

:)

Semper Pax,
Shea.

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes.

I saw "Watchmen" last night. It was...meh.

I think it would have been better if I hadn't read the graphic novel. I think Zack Snyder tried to be too faithful to the graphic novel in certain places, and the tone didn't carry over too well.

Acting was good for the most part. Jackie Earle Haley was a phenomenal Rorschach, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan was a good Comedian. Billy Crudup was good as Dr. Manhattan, but I don't think this performance was his best. In my opinion, that honor will always go to "Almost Famous." Patrick Wilson was a bit impressive as Nite-Owl II. I hadn't seen him in anything before.

Music was good, for the most part. My Chemical Romance was playing over the closing credits, so I got out of that as fast as I could.

Mushroom soup will probably be Friday. I'll post about it when it happens.

Semper Pax,
Shea.

Shea > Italy.

Before you get started, take a good look at the title of this post again. Take your time, if you need to. I'll wait.

Did you catch that alright? Good. Now let's begin.

As you might have noticed, my previous post expressed my desire to make Avocado Pesto pizzas. Well, I ended up making these. One each for me and my roommate. And I've got one extra that I'm going to take to my friend Charlotte.

They were amazing. Seriously, that was about the best pizza I've ever had. I used my bread machine to make the dough, instead of making the sponge myself and then making the dough, but I think I'll go about it the old-fashioned way next time. Doing it all the traditional way takes 20+ hours; 12 hours to let the sponge rest, rise, ferment, etc.; 8 hours for the dough to rise after the sponge is done. Using my bread machine, I made the dough in about 2 hrs.

Here's how I made the pesto:
1 small bunch basil leaves
1 small bunch parsley leaves
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 tomato, diced
1 avocado, diced
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (USE A GOOD OIL! DON'T SKIMP OUT ON THIS!)
1 tsp lemon juice

Throw all of that into a food processor. Process it. Boom. There's your pesto.

Easy enough.

Semper Pax
Shea.