Tomorrow, Code Red is off to Phoenix, with grand hopes of finishing our run to victory. In Vegas, we came in second, we're trying hard to place first this time. Wish us luck!

Pickup hockey can be very good (or so I'd heard) but more often, for me it's been awful. It's generally packed with guys who have played forever, who don't think women should play or have no patience for people who are slower than they are. They won't pass to you (even though you're wide open because the other team thinks you can't shoot) and like to run right by you. Once, a long time ago, a guy shouted to 'get her (meaning me) off the ice.' Talk about incouraging.

So I went to one this morning, thinking that the crowd at 10 am Thursday wouldn't be too large. It wasn't. Today was the first time I actually enjoyed pickup. 2 of the guys were in their 70's. I am not kidding. Nobody played rough at all, one guy asked if I was okay after he shoved me a little. You never see that happen! I'm so glad I went, though I'm utterly exhausted -- only 1 sub on the bench meant 8-10 minute shifts, compared to the 1-1.5 minute shifts I normally play. It was a good windup for the Phoenix tournament this weekend.

No Patience
First off, today I'm exhausted (still putting off that nap for reasons I can't explain) so that makes me a little grumpy to start out with. After my last final today, I headed to the computer lab to check where San Jose State's financial aid office is. (I know some people might pick up the phone but fuck the phone, I'm used to looking everything up online. It's like my own little version of the Matrix.).

So, I'm sitting there, minding my own business, when I see a woman struggling with some HTML code. Stupid good samaritan me (hey, I was born there, I guess that's the way it was meant to be. Like Neo, I am The One, I'm just The One who was born at Good Sam). But I digress.

I offered to help her and started looking at her code. Right away I had a few good guesses about what her problem (with the HTML) was and mentnioned them. She got too busy telling me how she likes to talk. A lot. She went on to ask me some too in-depth questions for my taste (yes, I know it's ironic that I have this website where I tell all about many things but when you ask me a personal type question, I'm hesitant to answer, especially if I don't know you.) Any answer I gave, she turned into some weird assumption (oh, your degree is in English, do you write for the Norseman (school paper)? No, they meet when I had a class so I couldn't. 'Ahh, I see, you don't do that sort of thing, are you too good for that?' 'Umm, like I said, I had a conflict in my schedule with their meeting times.'

At that point, I was done talking to her but she wasn't finished with me. I tried vainly to direct her attention back to her code but no, she was back into questions about my life. Finally, she whips out her piece of paper and asks for my email address, 'just because it's good to keep in touch.' Stupid, honest me, I gave her my real email address so I'm sure I'll be getting all kinds of spam in the not so distant future.

Next time, I'm Ridley Scott and my email address is rscott4432@aol.com.

We saw the Matrix last night and I have to say that it's about the worst movie I've seen in a long time (and I saw Boat Trip, with Cuba Gooding, for chrissakes). I've never seen a movie so filled with self importance. Every word uttered was wrought with over-significance to the masses of fans who cropped up after the first film exploded onto the scene. Every scece, including and especially the much-hearlded highway scene was way too long (did anyone else notice the Marsh/Whipple/Woodside signs that were clearly lifted from 101?). The movie actually gave me a migrane. I am not kidding.

I can't talk you out of seeing it, I know that. Enough people enjoyed the first one that I know we'll dutifully march into the theaters for the second and probably the third. But don't say I didn't warn you. Bring your Hat of Self Importance and wear it proudly, it's your only defense against the tedium.

Woo hoo! All but 1 of my finals are now over. I pestered my geology teacher into giving me my final back, I got a measly and disappointing 83% but managed to get a 93% for the class, brining my cache of confirmed A's to 3. I'm so exhausted I don't know what to do so I think I'll take a nap.

Driving the Boozer Bus
Last night after my hockey game, one of our defenseman was asking his best friend (also on the team, both great guys and big assets to the group) if he knew anyone who wanted to make $150. Since I'm officially getting towards broke, I perked right up. Turns out the gig is to drive a big van full of nice people on their way to inebriation at a day-long wine tasting hootenany. How can I argue with cash?

I cannot, so look for me as the Boozer Bus driver next weekend!

Holy fucking shit! After my geology final (I think I did pretty well), I stopped by my biology teacher's office to see the updated grade reports. Last I heard, I had a very respectable 94% and expected to see that number again. Not so! Between the extra points I scored for giving my presentation early, the extra points he gave out for listening to everyone else's presenations and my excellent presentation itself ("A Dam Shame") I am now up to a mind-boggling 99%! 99%!

Tomorrow is the final, let's hope I don't blow it and fuck up the final. Here's a little haiku to celebrate this moment of my life.

Holy Shit! Great grade!
I did not expect this much.
Liz Doughty -- scholar!

Semester's through
Now what should I do? Not sure
Time to decide, though.

School, better than work.
Free from fretting re: layoffs
Just study, study.

Just sitting here, waiting for a phone interview that was supposed to happen at 4:30. I had a feeling it would go like this but was hoping it would go differently, just to buck the trend. There's one more job I won't be getting.

1 final down and 4 to go. I'm already exhausted but think I did pretty well, at least on that 1.