Birth of a Niece

     Amanda had her baby! So there's a new mischief-maker in the world now; named Maya DesireeLynn. That's not the right middle name, but it's close, I forget what she said they were going to pick. Anyway, I'm an excited uncle. As Cal would say, "Best. Day. Ever!"

    In other, less important news...
 
     This semester is almost over, and this insane work-loaded-week is halfway finished. (I have something written due every day this week.) Documentary script Monday, paper and presentation Tuesday, I can't remember what was Wednesday, another paper Thursday and last law-brief Friday. And a portfolio over the weekend. It's made for a lot of late-yet-productive nights. And apparently an overload of hyphens. And I've been both really hyper and barely able to keep my eyes open. Maybe that's why it's not usually a good idea to gulp down nine energy drinks in four days?

     A Full House sequel series was announced for Netflix next year, starring DJ, Kimmy, Steph and Jesse. "You got it, dude!" Probably no Michelle, though. And hopefully no Joey.

     Now halfway through season six of my Parks and Rec-watching project. I don't want Ann and Chris to move to Michigan...and why is Donna still living in Pawnee, if she has a condo in Seattle?

     Speaking of Cal, he's causing havoc at the Inhumans' base camp somewhere near China...and so Tuesday's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was seriously intense. It also reunited the original team, so that was extra awesome. But painful. Agents, Parks and Friday Night Lights are all extremely different shows, but their characters all pull you in so deeply...Firefly, too. Anyway, it led straight into Age of Ultron, because, y'know, #ItsAllConnected. Because of course it is. Which is why we love the Marvel Cinematic Universe so much. Another Olsen reference...their little sister Lizzie plays the Scarlet Witch in AoU. 

     It's been an eclectic mix of study-music here recently...tons of Relient K and Avril Lavigne, lots of FFH, with some Brad Paisley, DC Talk, Taylor Swift and Owl City thrown in there too.

     Had that terrifying cliched dream last night where you forget there's an extra class you haven't been attending all semester...had that a couple times recently, actually. The classroom looks like Coulson's office and Dr. Faulds was the teacher. The subject was something incredibly obscure but useful, and now I can't remember what it was...
    Also had a dream last Saturday that had Ben Wyatt coaching a flag-football team I was on for some reason, and Ash was in it somehow. There wasn't a notebook nearby when I woke up, so I can't tell y'all what it was about. Which is too bad, because it was really interesting.
   
     In other exciting family-related news, Courtney got an internship for the summer with Tim Challies! (I'm totally going to have to borrow some of those books once she's done...)

    Speaking of books, found this really interesting graphic novel called Marvels at the school library. It's a retelling of most of the major events from Marvel Comics history told through the perspective of an ordinary photojournalist. Also, I finally read Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 last night. In about three hours. (Most of that was also watching Agents, so slower than normal.) It was amazing. So amazing that I walked to the (cough - ack!) campus bookstore to buy a copy for myself. It will soon be highlighted within an inch of its life.

     Now to finish tomorrow's essay....

     Updates: That essay did get finished....at four a.m. Also, Maya's middle name is Rae-Lynn, she weighed 7 lbs, 11 ounces and was 19 inches long.

Another Semester Almost Over

     Tonight I saw PEOPLE! That I know! So, that was cool.

     Bennett's soccer team was playing in the state championship game, held at RSU's soccer field, and so I stopped by and watched as the Mingo Valley Eagles beat the Wright Christian Wildcats 3-0. And watching the game with Steven and Jamie made the win better.

     Also texted Dylan this morning, good to hear from him. And texted Ash, it's the end of the semester. So that meant swapping Avengers quotes for motivation.

     The NHL playoffs are wrapping up the first round, so lots more intense hockey action to follow. Anaheim swept Winnipeg, but the Ducks are a pretty good team to follow, too, along with the Jets, Blues and Flames.
     And I finally completed the latest run-through the Mighty Ducks trilogy last night. And my "obsessively watching all seven seasons of Parks and Rec in six-ish weeks" plan is coming along well; almost finished with season five.
     Daredevil is really....strange. And VIOLENT. And slow-paced. But it's part of the MCU, so.... But I don't think I'll rewatch those. Unless it's searching specifically for all the quotes about blindness. That's sort of neat. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. had another great episode Tuesday night, and Age of Ultron comes out next week. (Review to come on my writing-blog.)

     Reading over this post, it makes my life right now look a little pathetic. But there's just been a lot of studying and writing essays. My latest video got 220 out of 250 points, so that was good. Other than that, I still have no idea what my grades are.  

     
   

Thunder and Ice

     Well, first off, basketball season ended way too early. On the other hand, the season ended in the most Thunder-est way possible. And since the af2 Talons don't exist anymore, somebody else had to let fans down at the last second. (I suppose the Drillers could, if you cared about baseball. Or the new soccer team, the Roughnecks.)
     But anyway, it was a very challenging season to be an Oklahoma City Thunder fan. KD got hurt. Russ got hurt. We traded Perk and Serge got hurt. KD got hurt again. Russ got hurt again. Random guys we'd never heard of got hurt. But somehow, because they're the Thunder, they fought and clawed their way back through the Western Conference to put themselves with a chance to sneak into the playoffs despite everything. And they did everything they needed to, winning their last handful of games and winding up in a tie for the eighth spot with New Orleans. But the Pelicans owned the tiebreaker, so they got in and we were left out. So that was very disappointing. But the resilience and persistency of OKC kept them going this far. And yeah, it's a major bummer that we missed out. But this is the first time that's happened in years! Since the Sonics moved here! So it's a reminder of how much stronger our state's team has gotten over the years.

     Because of the lack-of-local-team-to-follow in the NBA playoffs, I'm pulling for our toughest rivals, Memphis and San Antonio. But the TV is tuned into playoff hockey each night because IT"S PLAYOFF HOCKEY. AKA "one of the world's best sports ramped up to even more excitement and tension". I stayed up watching the late game last night between Winnipeg and Anaheim because I couldn't sleep, and besides, it was a good one. (Final - Ducks 4, Jets 2. Ducks got lucky late in the third period.) I think the games on channels my TV gets tonight are Ottawa-Montreal and Calgary-Vancouver.

     Besides volleyball, hockey is probably the most team-focused team sport there is, and then when you add in the frenetic pace and sacrifices integral to key plays, it adds up to amazing. Really, almost everything involved in hockey is fairly boring and unimportant in itself; chasing down a loose puck, setting a screen on the goalie, receiving a pass. But when you add everything together, it allows for those handful of shining moments that result in a goal. So it's a lot like life that way. Most of the time, our lives are very boring and the daily or weekly tasks are very insignificant. But consistently doing those little things add up to a life well-spent. It's what makes the difference between Nano's funeral and NaNa's.

     I have like, three papers to write over the weekend, so if there's any time for other stuff, I'm thinking The Big Green or D3: The Mighty Ducks is in order.

     (4-22-15 Update). Oklahoma City just fired Scott Brooks. Not a fan of this decision....

Funeral of a Stranger

     So....I've missed classes twice this week. Missed Monday's Media Law because I woke up, flipped over my watch, and it read "11:04." Class is at 10. Needless to say, that started a miserable Monday with the Friends theme song stuck in my head. We were just listening to a lecture on the FCC anyway.

     Read through The Hunger Games again for research on an essay due next week; it didn't get much better the second time around. (The best was Mockingjay, because the series ended there. And also, it dove deeply into the role of the media during wartime, which was really interesting.) Also reading through The Book Thief right now, also as research. It's depressing, but a good read so far. Mainly just due to the WWII setting; the narration hopscotches all through time crazily.

     Missed today's Media Law because of being at a funeral. My dad's mom died Saturday night, so went home yesterday afternoon, the funeral was today, and now back in Claremore. It's been a long, tiring day. Which is really the rule this semester...
    It was, I think, the quickest funeral I've ever seen. And one of the emptiest, too. Not just because basically nobody showed up - maybe fifteen or twenty family members and maybe twenty-five other people - but in terms of content, too. There just wasn't much material to work with; it was almost like Bob Miles Sr's death in Philip Gulley's Signs and Wonders. At the end of the day, like you could just say, "Well....Bob sure did like Cheetos", there was only "Well...Judy loved shopping." Her husband Jim hung in there well during the service. Not sure anybody else felt anything. I felt bad for Dad; now both his parents are gone, and then he's got school and work and his inspections on top of getting all the arrangements ready. Mr. Steeley came to the funeral for him, which was good to see.

     Glory's and May's kittens are tiny fuzzballs of adorability; May's have their eyes open now, and are just barely getting the use of their leg muscles to wobble around in tentative exploration and the opening discovery of playtime. Glory's are still mostly sleeping and eating with their eyes shut. Anyway, Caleb and Trevor are enjoying having a set of kittens in their closets. (Incidentally, in the highly-developed imaginary world we made up around the property years ago, there was a tiny community called "Closet", and the school's mascot was the Kittens.) Captain gave me a hug as soon as I walked in the door, and right behind that was Banjo's enthusiastic slurps. Rags was happy to see me, too. Everybody wished I could've stayed longer, but there's a ton to get done before this semester's over. (Assuming it ends.) And then it'll be summer, so I'll be home then.        

     Talked to Amanda for a while once I got back, which was needed. It's weird...we never met until that second year of camp, and then because of Jessica, but it's like we're siblings. Completely unrelated as far as blood, but she counts as family. Why is that adoptive connection made so strongly when the biological strain of a grandmother is alien?
     Jessica's plowing through nursing school, hanging in there. We talk about once a week, kind of encouraging each other to keep going one more hour at a time. Courtney's planning on starting nursing school in January if everything falls right, so that'll probably be pretty tough. Maybe Sandi could give her advice or something.

Falls Creek Exploration

     All college students are basically dead now, which Grumpy Cat would be pretty happy about. Last weekend was full of video-production work, editing together a short comedy sketch that was due Monday. And also filming a documentary, which used every drop of power in about four camera batteries, filled roughly six memory cards and wore out a flash drive. But it's mostly finished shooting, so that's something. It was a little weird, though, to be filming a documentary about cheerleading... The cheer team is in Daytona right now at some big competition, so it's gonna be focused on the lead-up to that with a short tag at the end telling how they did, etc. They were pretty helpful, explaining the differences between competition-cheer and ballgame-cheer, that kind of thing.

     The family went to the gun museum last Friday, so we had dinner together and went to Wal-Mart. That was good to see them. And Robbie called the other day, so we talked for a bit, guess they're doing all right. It was good to hear from her.

     I'm now halfway through season four of Parks and Rec(super awesome), and Tuesday's episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. more than made up for last week's snoozefest. (Also, I've accurately called three fairly-major main plot points, so that's cool.) And the Netflix show Daredevil came out Friday, not sure if I'll watch the whole thing, but I'll give it a try for sure.

     Me and Ash speculated on Marvel theories and debated the new movies coming this summer, texting each other while waiting for classes Tuesday morning, that was fun. (Age of Ultron will be unbelievable. Unsure on Ant-Man, but we'll see... Curious about what happened in Budapest, and the Winter Soldier needs to be in more movies.) Also texted Daniel, it was good to hear from him.

    The people from RSU's BCM talked me into going with them on a retreat-type thing this weekend, so that was different. (I heard "volleyball tournament" and figured that was worth exploring somewhere I'd never been with pretty-much-strangers. Yes, I really love volleyball.)
    So we were at Falls Creek, which is a kind of small city in south-central Oklahoma. High up in the Arbuckle Mountains, it's enormous. There's really no good description for what it is, exactly. Somewhat a city, somewhat a campground, somewhat a school campus and somewhat a park, I guess. There's lots of good scenery to look at, though. I hiked around a lot with a lot on my mind, which really I might do in any of those settings. There's a really weird hodgepodge of nature and man-made construction, and also of grandeur and squalor.
     Had breakfast yesterday with the NSU gang, which felt instantly homelike, and then went exploring around with Daniel P., Bucky and James. Also had breakfast with them today. (The Thunder Curse of 2014-15 is so terrible it's not only taken out almost every player we've had on the roster, but even Thabo Sefalosha, who's in Atlanta now, and Bucky, one of the most diehard fans I know. She had a fracture of the kneecap.) Daniel is a terrible wheelchair driver. But it was entertaining to watch. And by "exploring", that means "getting lost", which is something we're kind of experts at... Finding anything around there is something like our Sallisaw SWAT road trip. Me and James listened to seminars on car-pushing and - well, not actually pushing cars, but some of the sermons felt like that. The first breakout session we went to was on proper management of time and money, and the other was on planning worship services.
     James asked how RSU was while we were eating, I say, after thinking a bit, "It's...y'know, just another school." He then stage-whispers in Amber's ear, "And by that he means 'hell'." She laughs and nods. Exaggeration, but they know me pretty well. It's just different. And it's still college, so...yeah. Said hi to Bob and Deb, they seemed about as glad to see me as I was to see them. After they both gave out hugs, Deb said, questioning, "There's no chance you can't come back?" I don't know.
     Back to sort-of being a Hillcat again after lunch during the 2015 BCM state sand volleyball tournament. We had a first-round bye, playing SWOSU after the team they were supposed to play forfeited by failing to show up. Final score was Hillcats 21, Bulldogs 9. So it was on to the semifinals against TU. Communication errors were rampant, and TU had a couple people who played for their NCAA-official volleyball team. Those two facts played about equal roles in the 21-7 Hurricane win. So after watching other games for a bit, we asked if the SWOSU people wanted to just swat it around for a while. That was how the next three hours were spent; probably about nine games' worth of play were crammed into that space. My nose got a bit sunburned, but my serving was fairly-enough accurate(it was very windy) and passing/setting went well. I think ECU won the championship, but I'm not sure. Did some actual exploring with some of the folks from the volleyball team last night.
     I've slept eight hours since Friday night, because of ice-cold indoor temperatures and guys running around and slamming doors. Pretty sure there was jungle pong that I heard going on there someplace, too. Anyway, it added up to 11:30 p.m. to 3 a.m. Friday night woken up six times, and five straight hours last night from one to six. So I'm a little tired. And there's a lot of stuff to get done this week....
     I'm not sure that I liked it, but now I know what people are talking about when they say "Falls Creek this or that". (One of my first thoughts once we got there was April Ludgate's attitude towards camping.) There was over 800 students from all across the state attending, so that's a lot of people. The cabin we stayed at was basically a garage; but I got a ton of exercise, so that's good.

     Also, Glory and May both had kittens, so there's lots of feline fuzziness in the house right now, and plenty of love and caring from both of them, Rags, Captain and everybody.

     I'm gonna take a shower now and go back to homework...

March On Out

     Another week down.
     It featured a tornado warning, drowning in an ocean of homework, no one having any idea of what's going on in Media Law, a classroom of white people analyzing a novel about Harlem blacks in the Great Depression, something like four fire alarms in three days, sleep schedule thrown all out of whack, and a lot of Netflixing Parks and Rec. 

     So the first storm of spring came to northeastern Oklahoma on Wednesday night. That wasn't exactly good, especially not for the folks with damaged property in Sand Springs, but it means spring is officially here. It's a weird part of the fabric of living here. If I ever live someplace without such varied weather, I'll probably miss it, for some reason. Anyway, everyone around RSU ran into the basement of the dining hall. It was a good time for people-watching. Some folks were studying, others playing cards or tracking the weather. Ran into Skylar; so that was one person I recognized. The NSU BCM storm crew had a blast tracking/chasing the storms.

     Jacob texted me on Monday afternoon to ask if I could film the SWAT show that night at Impact, which I totally would have done if I could have gotten to Tahlequah. It was good to catch up, though. And the show apparently went well.

     This week's novel-for-study was called Go Tell It On the Mountain, by a guy named James Baldwin, which didn't really feature the song itself at all. It was tiresome and confounding; more of a character study than anything else; there wasn't much plot. And it felt kind of wrong somehow for a classroom of white people try to dissect everything in the book, which is about blacks in 1935 New York City. And there was a lot of Pentecostalism in there, too; so that added to the difficulty in understanding it. And it didn't really improve much the second or third times through, either.

     Video production classes are a great example of Murphy's Law: If it can possibly by any wild stretch of the imagination go wrong, it pretty definitely will. So it's sort of a never-ending task of improvisation to whip something together to turn in by deadline. At the moment in the middle of patching together a short film due late next week.

     There's been way too many fire alarms this week. I was taking a shower when the first one went off Wednesday afternoon, so I grabbed a shirt and pajama pants from the dresser and flew down the stairs. And then there was the tornado warning a couple hours later once nerves had been slightly less jangled, and an hour after the storm left ANOTHER FIRE ALARM went off. And it was still raining. And then Friday morning AT 2 A.M. ANOTHER ALARM went off. So I got woken up out of a one-hour sleep by that to race out the door. And then I woke up at 9:50 this morning. And I have a class at 10. By 9:57 I was in my seat, and then a confusing pop-quiz on libel was being taken. There'll be a test in Media Law next week, and also a test for Interpersonal Communication on Thursday. Enrollment for fall is also sometime next week, maybe Tuesday.

     In SGYC news, it's now that much closer to July. Also, Derek got married. I've seriously lost track of the amount of people I know that's happened to... Amanda's baby is due just about any week; that's exciting.

     Parks and Rec is really addictive. And I kind of either hate or love almost every character. It's a very high-emotional-investment type of show. And if I was still at NSU, now I could totally jump into the BCM office debates over all things Parks-related.

     Kevin Durant's officially out for the rest of the season, so....there's that, too. It's been a ridiculous season; I think literally every single player on the roster has gotten hurt at least once. And yet still somehow we're three games ahead of Phoenix for the last playoff spot with ten to go. Bill Elliott's son Chase is racing this weekend for the first time in Sprint Cup, so that's kind of neat. Baseball season starts next week, so Josh and Mrs. Boyer are really excited for that. And the Drillers are sharing their new field with a soccer team, the Roughnecks, starting this year.

     Thursday was Dad's birthday. And it was also ten years ago that Mimi died. Which is almost half my life ago; I was eleven. That's a little odd.

     I really ought to try to find some new songs to learn to play. Out of ideas for good ones, though.

     It's been a very long week. And this weekend's full of more homework. Yay.

Spring Break 2015

     Spring break was last week, so there's about six or so weeks left of this semester.

     Other people went places or did cool things. I went to the urgent-care clinic with a bad ear infection. And did lots of homework(but not probably enough). And babysat Amy. And petted the cats and dogs.

     That's really about it. Watched a little basketball. It was nice to be at GBC two weeks in a row.

How To Pick Your Bracket

     The NCAA tournament is begins this week, which means there will likely be very little work done over the next couple weeks, a lot of pizza will be eaten due to constant exposure to Pizza Hut ads, and there will be a lot of basketball analysis delivered by people who know next to nothing about sports. Everyone is an expert. So all their opinions are important and likely accurate. Which, in reality, means this: Nobody knows anything. And because nobody knows anything, anyone can pick the winners right. That guy in marketing. Your clueless-about-sports aunt. The guy from that psychology class. Your sister's best friend's boyfriend. Your cat. ANYBODY.

     So there are plenty of ways to choose your bracket. You could take any of these options, or some that I haven't thought of.

     The Rational Approach - This person studies records, average point differential, compares head-to-head results, debates strength of the various conferences....basically everyone at ESPN. Most ordinary people hate these types of people.

     The Underdog - This person picks little tiny schools frequently and loves upsets. They probably grew up with a steady diet of Hoosiers, The Big Green, The Mighty Ducks, Air Bud and Rudy. Usually there are several double-digit-seeded teams winning in the first round of these people's brackets.

     The Alpha Dog - They might like upsets as much as the underdog(who doesn't?!), but they pick the big-name schools to win because they're the big schools - Duke, Kansas, North Carolina, Villanova, Arizona, UCLA.

     The Fashion Police - This person picks teams to win by school colors or jersey design. Basically everyone in the U.S. during weird Olympic sports like soccer or skeleton, or while watching horse racing. If you truly don't care, this is a pretty good measuring stick.

     "I've Been There!"  - If you went there, obviously you should pick that school. Or if you know someone who's went there, or it's the alma mater of your spouse/significant other. Or if you've been to that state sometime in your lifetime.

     The Eccentric Nicknamer - You know the ones, where you scratch your head and wonder, "How did that even...?" Names like Anteaters, Boilermakers, Colonials, Crimson, Friars, Hawkeyes, Hoyas, Hoosiers, Jayhawks, Lumberjacks and Tar Heels. Those named creatively get advanced, because imagination is awesome.

     The Audubon Society Member - Like the Eccentric Nicknamer, this person picks solely off of mascots. Birds always win. So, that's good news for the Cardinals, Chanticleers(a rooster from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales), Ducks, Eagles and Ospreys.

     The Cat Person - They probably love everything related to Grumpy Cat. And can seriously detail the pros and cons of every type of kitty litter. And know how many other ways it can be used. Anyway, if you aren't the Cougars, Leopards, Tigers, Panthers or Wildcats, too bad. "NO."

     The Dog Lover - You can be both a Cat Person and a Dog Lover at the same time, but it's unusual. Anyway, this year there are Bulldogs, Great Danes, Huskies and Terriers to cheer on.

    The Batman Villain - There's this Batman dude named Harvey Dent, also known as Two-Face. He flips a coin to decide whether to do something good or evil. That's the same kind of methodology used to fill out a bracket.

    "They went here? GO TEAM!" - A famous person went to school somewhere, which is a good enough reason to root for them. Plus, it helps on Jeopardy questions sometimes. Keep in mind that the schools Bing Crosby (Gonzaga), Steven Curtis Chapman and Brad Paisley (both Belmont), Woodrow Wilson (Davidson), and Dan Fouts( Oregon) went to are all in the tournament this year. Harvard has a huge list of famous people that were former students; a partial list includes John and John Quincy Adams, George W. Bush, Matt Damon, Teddy Roosevelt and Natalie Portman. Tommy Lee Jones and Al Gore were roommates there.

     The Single Guy in the Sports Bar - "Let's see....which team has the hotter cheerleaders?"

March Forward....Somehow

      Ugh.
      One of the hardest semesters yet is about halfway over, so....yay? I need to sleep now. And I think I'm both stress-sick and caught whatever's been going around.

     There's been an inhuman amount of homework and projects last week and this week; I guess they figured that the Skye's the limit. (Bad S.H.I.E.LD. puns twice in the same sentence...I don't really care. Too tired.) Anyway, Agents is back from the Carter break and is the usual nerve-wracking spectacular show we viewers expect. That can be really painful at times, though....it's weird, if you think about it, how it's almost like following the Thunder or something. Speaking of which, Russell Westbrook is pulling off stats literally not seen since Michael Jordan, so that's pretty cool. And the never-ending parade of injuries keeps on going, so that not so much. There's still a large amount of "Okay, we're playing Ibaka, Collison, and....who are all these other guys?!"

     That's all for now. Maybe I can write better in a couple hours after (more) homework and when I can't sleep.

Blog Post No. 300

     This is the 300th post on this blog...that's about twice a week, every week for three years. As a recap: there's been posts explaining the title, going through my senior year of high school and graduation. There's been posts on traveling, mission trips, getting lost with friends(more than one on that subject...), and loads of other things.

     I've reposted poems that I've enjoyed, talked about the importance of animals in our lives, reviewed a handful of CDs and movies, and there are quite a few relating to holidays.

     "Are there any sports in it?" - the Boy(that was probably me...) might ask. "Maybe not true love, revenge or pirates," the abridger might answer  "but there is baseball, basketball, football, ice skating, volleyball and lots of talking about sports-related topics.

     There's been posts examining blessings, honesty, and many other subjects. Lots of quotes featured throughout, both on their own and sprinkled throughout other posts. And also plenty of random lists detailing obscure trivia.

     And there's a whole series of camp-related posts. The struggles of trying to survive college. And lots more. There's been almost sixteen thousand pageviews. Which isn't that much, really, considering that this is the internet and all, but I hope that some of those people were encouraged. Or entertained. Or got to thinking about a subject they hadn't considered much before. Whether you're reading this for the first time or been following all along, hope you enjoy.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Quotes - Season One, Part III

     The last third of the quotable lines from season one of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Parts one and two there, follow the links.

     Episode Fifteen: "Yes Men".
     (A motorcycle starts up.) "What kind of a beast is that?" Lorelai wonders.
     "Not sure how I feel about Dr. Simmons. She's so strict. And poky." "Well, Patient Skye is unruly and stubborn."
     (Same scene, later. Skye complains about how Simmons won't even let her have a mirror.) "I've seen worse." Ward says. "Well, thanks." "I meant....you look a lot better than when you were dying."
     "For a quiet guy, you make a lot of noise." - Sitwell to Coulson.
     "What dark magic is this? Thor said you perished at the hand of Loki." - Sif. "And he was right. For a while, anyway. But Loki wasn't the only one with some tricks up his sleeve. Turns out S.H.I.E.L.D. had a few of their own." - Coulson.
     "Men have an inherent weakness we do not share." - Sif explains why Lorelai is such a dangerous enemy. May frowns understandingly. "I can't imagine what she's talking about," Fitz whispers to Ward, who also looks confused.
     "Who is this ugly woman?" - Lorelai. "Uh...that's Ben Franklin. He used to be the president. He ruled over all this land." - Rooster. "So women can rule in your country?" "Uh, well....you'd be the first."
     (Coulson tries to explain the touchscreen briefing table to Sif.) "I am familiar. It's an antiquated system that we in other realms had ages ago."
     "These all Night-Night guns?" - Ward. "Based on the same technology. But we're not calling them that anymore." - Fitz. "'Bout time." "They're ICERs: Incapacitating Cartridge Emitting-" "They're great! And you lost the ounce!"  May tries one out, too. "I thought you didn't like guns." - Ward. "I said when I need a gun, I'll take one. We'll need these."
     (In a gunfight.) "Your Ladyship: Can you give us some cover?"  Coulson asks. Sif then shoves an Airstream trailer between the attackers and our people. "That's a very literal interpretation..." Coulson shrugs. "Thank you!"
     (Simmons almost knocks Coulson out with a fire extinguisher.) "What the hell are you doing?!" "Sir....are you....you?" "Of course I am!"
     (Coulson punches Fitz unconscious.) "Poor thing...he's always getting knocked out, isn't he?" - Simmons.
     "Much like your S.H.I.E.L.D., we are bound by our code." - Sif.
     "I'm not saying you were weak! I'm saying all men are weak." - Simmons. "Sir, I understand why you had to punch me." - Fitz.
     "I know nothing fazes you, but this should faze you!" - Coulson scolding Skye.
     Really, how many TV shows do you know that make lust the enemy of the week?

     Episode Sixteen, "End of the Beginning".
     "So...you're saying that we should obey the rules." - Simmons says in disbelief. "Who are you and what have you done with Skye?" - Fitz wants to know.
     "You've had a big impact on him. He's different than I remember him." - Garrett. "Different...how?" - Skye. "Well, the tough thing about being a specialist is being alone. A team gives you a whole new perspective. Guess it's the difference between fighting against something or fighting for something. Or someone."
     "Stop worrying. You wear your heart on your sleeve. And your face." - Coulson to Skye.
     "You don't believe in the Clairvoyant, but you believe in astrology." - May to Blake.
     "Easy! I come in peace!" - Garrett snaps to Coulson after they nearly run into each other, both carrying machine guns, while tracking a suspect.
     "Did Ward just...?" - Simmons. "I think he did..." - Fitz. "Bet the Clairvoyant didn't see that coming." - Hand. "The whole reason I sent him to you was to knock off the rough edges," Garrett says to Coulson. "Maybe you did your job too well."

     Episode Seventeen, "Turn, Turn, Turn".
     (First episode back after The Winter Soldier. I hadn't seen it yet when I watched this one, so it was a huge shock.)
     "Wow. Coulson's team is awfully secretive, even for this organization." - Triplett.
     "But hey; if we get caught, let me do the talking. You're a surprisingly bad liar, Agent Simmons." - Triplett. "I know. But I'm getting better at it."
     "So we'll go in there and face the music," Coulson decides. "Even if it is the HYDRA theme song."
     "But it's suicide." -Skye protests Ward's Stark-like attack plan. "Not if I don't die."
     "You're not a friend. But I do believe you're an ally; and we need all the allies we can get." - Coulson. "What do we do next?" "Survive."

     Episode Eighteen, "Providence".
     "Skye, tell me something good." - Coulson pleads after a particularly demanding string of events during a particularly stressful time. "We...have internet!" "Yay! And boy, have I lowered my expectations..." He then tells her to erase all online traces of the team. "Okayyy....but...isn't that kind of the nuclear option?" "It's our only option." "You do realize that once that's done....that can't be undone." "We need to vanish." "But then...we'll be ghosts. We won't be agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. anymore. We'll be agents of...nothing."
     "You took that surprisingly well. Did you hear the part about you no longer existing?!" - Skye to Ward. (Later, same scene.) "So...when you come back, who you gonna be? You'll have a clean slate, you can be anyone you want to be." "I don't know...maybe Tom Brady? I've always wanted to play quarterback."
     "Nick Fury gave me this badge. When he did, I gave an oath. We all did. To serve when everything else fails, to be humanity's last line of defense, to be The Shield." - Coulson.
     Lots of really good lines about people, but they're all very spoilery, so they're classified.
     "What IS this place?" "I call it Providence, although technically it doesn't have a name, since it's, you know, a secret base and all." - security guard Koenig.

     Episode Nineteen, "The Only Light in the Darkness".
     "So...I assume the prisoners are no longer prisoners?" - Coulson.
     "This is really, really bad. Quinn is the least-scary of the bunch, and he shot me. Twice." - Skye.
     "Yeah, we're safe here. But what about everyone else? People who don't have access to a top-secret government shelter? What about them? I don't know if it's wise, but it's right." - Coulson explaining his decision to send the team out on a new mission.
     "What's the difference between an egg and a rock?" - Koenig. "Well, that's absurd. The differences are-" "innumerable. If you want, I could start listing them, but then-" "we'll be here all day." - FitzSimmons.
     "Marcus Daniels was an assistant at a lab that was working with something called 'DarkForce'. And nothing bad ever happens when you work with something called 'DarkForce'." - Coulson.
     "Daniels became obsessed with a woman in Portland, he called her his 'only light in the darkness'." - Coulson delivers mission info. "That's almost romantic." - Simmons. (Fitz frowns at her.) "I said almost. And anyway, it must have been years ago by now. Shouldn't he be better?" "Some people are hard to get over." - Coulson.
     "There police reported says the guy appeared out of nowhere, and then he was gone." - Skye. "Yeah. You just described every mugging ever." - Koenig. (Later, same scene.) "Can you help me convince Steve Rogers here that it's time to pick up his shield and go to battle?!" - An exasperated Skye, about Koenig. "Okayyy." Ward shrugs. "Who's he supposed to battle?"
     "You know me," Fitz shrugs. "I hate change."

      Episode Twenty, "Nothing Personal".
      "Yeah...I heard you twice the first time." - Skye.
     "I wish this bunker had a bunker..." - Simmons.
     "If I come out, will ya shoot me? Cause....then I won't come out." - Coulson.
     "We're not HYDRA. We're Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." - Triplett. "Well, right now, to the rest of the world, that's the same thing." - Col. Talbot.
     "They don't know you're pretending to be someone you're not." - Skye. "Who am I pretending to be?" "My impatient boyfriend." "I like that cover."
     "He's a murderer." "Yes, he is, Skye. Are you?" - Mike.
     (The team's at a cheaper hotel.) "Say hello to Stark for me - Oh, yeah. He thinks I'm dead." - Coulson to Hill.
     "I've never been homeless before." - Coulson. "It's not fun...At least we have a pool." - Skye. (He offers her half his candy bar.) "Thanks."
     (Coulson just has learned the biggest secret of his life; stunned) "...Huh."

     Episode Twenty-One, "Ragtag".
     "Just to be clear: we have no authority to be doing this," Coulson tells the team. "We're no longer S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. We're-" "Vigilantes." Ftiz mutters. "I was going to say, 'we're doing this because it's the right thing to do', but....yeah."
     (Fitz has just accidentally set the curtains on fire.) "Watch out HYDRA, here we come." - May.
     "We've seen this before. What did they call it?" "The Sleepy-Sleep gun, or something like that." - Cybertek scientists. "Yes, but this is an ICER. Triple the stopping power, and a much cooler....name." - Undercover Coulson playing Fitz.
     "Skye, Tripp, get ready for a large file transfer." "Um...okay...how large?" (File cabinet goes flying out window.)
     "Somethin' about that woman unnerves me." - Garrett about Raina. "It's those eyes."

     Episode Twenty-Two, "End of the Beginning".
     "Fury always said a man could accomplish anything when he realizes he's a part of something bigger. A team of people who share that conviction? They can change the world.  So, what do you say? Ready to change the world?" - Coulson to the team. "No. But I'm ready to kick some ass." - May. "That works, too."
     "Okay, well, now that we know that, there's a whole new set of problems! But where do we start?!" - Simmons says excitedly.
     "This is...our strategy consultant, John Garrett." - Quinn. Garrett, insane by now, proceeds to say something outlandish. "This is your strategy consultant?" - a general. "He's...part time."
     "This is a bomb," Skye announces dramatically. "You know what those do."
     "This," Fury indicates the Phase 2 prototype ray-gun Coulson fired at Loki just before dying in The Avengers, packs a pretty good punch." "I know what it does."
     "When was the last time anyone saw a tag-team wrestling match with four dead guys?!" - Garrett. He continues his mad monologue. (Fury gives Coulson a look.) "You didn't tell me he'd gone this crazy." "Yeah. He's really stepped it up a notch."
     "You get a chance to express all your feelings?" - Coulson to May. "Is he still breathing?" "I guess she kept some of it to herself." "He's having trouble speaking. I think I fractured his larynx."
     "Stupid, stupid, stupid! And cruel! And very stupid!" - Coulson. "I think you've made your point. It was a break glass in case of emergency situation." - Fury. "Yes, but that emergency was supposed to be the fall of an Avenger." "Exactly."
     "The principle S.H.I.E.L.D. was founded on was pure." - Fury. "Protection." - May. "Protection. One word. Sometimes protection meant protect one man against himself, other times to protect the planet against an alien invasion from another universe. It's a broad job description." "No need to tell me." - Coulson. "But the belief that drives us all is the same; whether it's one man or all mankind." "That's they're worth saving." "That truth lives inside you, Coulson. Before it was torn apart, S.H.I.E.L.D. was a lot of moving parts. But guys like you were the heart. Now, you'll be the Head." Fury then installs Coulson as the new director of S.H.I.E.L.D., tasked with a total rebuild from scratch.

     So, there's that. All the quotes worth speaking of during the first season of Agents. 

The Post About Driving (or Lack of It)

     So, the Hemingway quote goes that there's simply nothing to writing; all you do is sit down at the typewriter and bleed. (Stephen King agrees.) Now, content-wise, those two probably aren't the greatest folks to take advice from. But they sure know what they're talking about when it comes to writing. So, here goes.
   
     One of the things our society is based on, besides lies, is the ability to move places really quickly. Like, 500-mph-in-a-plane quickly. But more generally the idea that running somewhere from 40-75 mph isn't enough. And, it's generally assumed, this is pretty much a fundamental right.to get in the car/pickup/SUV and fly down the highway to wherever it is that we need to get to. At least around Oklahoma, anyway. So, towns are mapped out with vehicular traffic in mind, to get somewhere fast and fairly easily.
     You notice things by slowing down on the sidewalk; of course, that you miss sailing by on the road. Like how the remodeling of that new coffee shop is coming along since last Thursday, or that the squirrels are hiding somewhere from the construction noises, the department store or dress shop changed the clothes on the mannequins, or that another downtown fixture now has a "FOR SALE, RENT OR LEASE" sign on the window. And those are all good things to notice, especially when you're a writer. But generally speaking, your life doesn't work that well within the larger societal framework if you don't have wheels.

     Because, you know, you kind of have to be able to get to work in order to keep a job, and when you're already a college student with, well, not much in the way of job-experience(which is a different problem and large worry all by itself), not being able to drive really doesn't help much to ease the vast terrifyingly white blank space after this semester/graduation, whichever comes first. And most media jobs(or internships of any kind, seemingly) involves some form of going from one place to another, whether you're chasing down a story or picking up lunch orders for the office. And that kind of leads into another aspect of the downsides not driving includes: You're pretty much stuck wherever it is you find yourself. I mean, there's a certain amount of walkability that varies from place to place, but generally speaking, you're pretty much on an island.
      There's nothing exactly wrong with that, but it's meddlesome at best, deeply frustrating and humiliating the other times. Basic things like Wal-Mart, the bank or the post office, for example? Well, you manage your groceries right and use them frugally, timing running out of toothpaste/Diet Coke/shampoo to match somewhere near a time when you can get a ride from somebody heading there anyway. That, of course, means knowing people fairly well enough that on rare occasions you can ask that and it won't be awkward, which is really, really REALLY rare. (It helps if there's extended family living in town. Or your next-door neighbors remember to let you know when they're grocery shopping.) The bank or the post office, that's a bit tougher.
      That was why Tahlequah is such a great town. If necessary, I could just call Grandpa or Robbie or Harry or Louise, or the Galdamezes, and I'd feel terrible for asking a favor, but it probably wouldn't be that big a deal. And Stephen and Zach were really cool about things like that, too; if they were heading to Wal-Mart or BCM basketball/volleyball practice or whatever. The main gang of BCM folks, besides school, that's pretty much what life revolves around; the church in spirit if not in name. You take care of each other as necessary, in whatever ways that might manifest itself. Prayer, coffee runs, advice, snark wars, Nerf-gun battles, sports, eating meals together, spontaneous celebrations. All that and more. I know what Ecclesiastes 7:10 says, but sometimes you still find yourself asking those "what if" questions. I know there's a reason that I'm at RSU right now, but I sure don't know what it is.
     Anyway, back to the main subject, NSU is located on Grand Avenue, one of the main roads in town, so for about two miles in any direction there's a fairly-easily reachable way to get to most of whatever you needed. (Church, dessert, a park good for thinking in, the football stadium and track, a wonderfully wide-scope-for-imagination restaurant, the library, etc.) It's a very walkable town.
      Claremore really isn't. It's probably a fine town, but without being able to explore, there's no way really to know. And roadkill ain't pretty, and it usually doesn't end well.

     Sure, yeah, it saves tons of money, not having insurance or gas and all that, or frequent fast-food runs or tickets for ballgames or movies or concerts or all those things people spend money on and talk about when they do stuff together. But...that's kind of what people do when they hang out or whatever. Or hiking expeditions, large-scale garage-saling, those random road trips where you grab a map and spend a Saturday seeing where this road leads. I'm an introvert by nature. But this really amplifies it by necessity. It can be hard sometimes.
      If that makes it hard to get to know people, then it sort of makes dating basically impossible. This isn't the 1920's where it was simple like going through the park or walking down to the drugstore for Cokes. (But, back then, PEOPLE WALKED! And those rules were different, anyway. It's much muddier nowadays.) Besides, even if there was someone I was interested in, I wouldn't have the slightest idea how to tell her that or how those expectations would be sidestepped.

      You learn to compensate as much as possible; sticking around the apartment, reading or keeping a blog or watching Netflix, etc. And it gives you plenty of time to focus on school. I can only think of two people that I've ever met(Elizabeth and Justin) who have a walking-speed around mine. (The average human walks at three miles an hour. I've never been able to fully complete my speedometer tests due to time constraints, but I'd guess my average speed is five-six miles an hour, more if necessary. But I'm a cheetah, not a husky; a sprinter instead of long-distance.) People around NSU thought it was kind of funny, I heard on a regular basis folks mentioning how I'd be "flying" or "setting the pavement on fire" or "exceeding the speed limit" often.
   
       Maybe this wouldn't be that big a deal if I lived in a huge Northern city with millions of people(yikes.) and it was more culturally acceptable not to drive as much, where there was more public transportation typically used in daily transit, through buses and trains and stuff. Places like New York, Boston, Chicago or Minneapolis. (Why all those cold places?) Whenever I have been able to get past that white-space uncertainty into guessing where I might be in five-ten years, it's either in some crappy apartment in some way-too-huge city or being one of those statistics of "Boomerangs" out of college and still living with your parents.

      And forget about traveling for enjoyment - that's really out of the question. Which is disappointing, because that's fun. And informative. And for some reason, even before Cars, I've always wanted to explore in-depth down what's left of Route 66. But more small-scale practical things like visiting friends who might live in another town or state; not really.

     There's always been talk of self-driving cars being possible at some point in the future, and the first commercial versions are estimated somewhere between 2017-20. There would be all kinds of problems at the start(GOVERNMENT INTERFERENCE) and the whole figuring out how drivers licenses would be earned for visually-impaired people that couldn't otherwise qualify(like me), and then the insurance companies would have to determine how the rates and coverage, etc. worked; but they sure would help. In theory, there would be a lower amount of accidents; whether by not paying attention, drunk driving or too-slow reflexes.

     I know this probably just sounds like complaining, and I'm sorry. But it's one of those questions that most people don't really think about how much it affects their daily lives. Some weeks are harder to forget these things, and some weeks it's easier to pretend that they aren't part of life. As the Kenny Chesney song goes, sometimes you want "to drown out these embers/But I remember...."  Which could be why it's 3 a.m. and I'm writing this. Back to homework all day tomorrow, and every day this week....
      UPDATE LATER THIS MORNING - Though because of a personal choice and not due to disability, the couple running the blog Carless in OKC live without a car and document their experiences. It's an interesting insight that shows maybe it would be possible to live a fairly-normal life in that situation.

Halfway through the 400-Meter Month

      Last year I wrote up this post about Valentine's Day, so I don't need to say all that again. This post on honesty has been on my mind the last couple days, not sure why. February's an extremely short month; it's almost halfway over. Which is probably good, because work usually seems to be more numerous, things go wrong more often, and there isn't much pop-culture-wise to keep us from overthinking everything. And the weather's usually pretty bad. All of this adds up to: February is one of the least-liked months of the year.

     This week's gone better than last, but it's still been long and tiring. About two-thirds done with my latest blogcentric project(the S.H.I.E.L.D.-level exhaustive listing of season one Agents quotes). An in-depth look at being a college student and comparison of various Oklahoma colleges are in early stages of development. And there's lots of homework to do this weekend that I'm too tired to work on right now.
      Had a character-study essay of James Joyce due Thursday and two briefs of legal cases, a news package to edit and one to shoot and a poem and fifteen in-depth critiques all due this week, which all has been or is being completed.

     Hoping to be able to get back on track working on fiction; there's just been too much going on since school started to chip away at the ideas and stories that want to make themselves heard. But that's what breaks are for, right?

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Quotes - Season One, Part II

     Part two of recapping season one of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Part one is here.) 

     Episode Eight, "The Well".
     "...beings like Thor do exist, leaving us with more questions and an enormous mess to clean up!" - Simmons complains after the space-time continuum is nearly ripped to shreds in London during the events of Thor: The Dark World and Coulson's team is assigned janitorial duty.
    "You know, it'd be nice, just once, if Thor and his people sent the God of Cleaning Up After Yourself," Coulson complains. "They probably have a magic broom for this kind of thing..."
     "I can't think of a single time when something alien in human hands ended well." - Coulson. "Well, I wouldn't mind getting my human hands on Thor. He's so dreamy...." - Skye. "Well, sure, he's handsome, but-" May interrupt's Coulson's answer. "No, he's dreamy."
     "Just because we don't understand something yet doesn't mean we have to regress back to the Dark Ages, talking about magic and fairy tales..." - Simmons shoots down one of Skye's crazy ideas. "Actually, that's exactly what we're going to do." Coulson then announces calmly.
     "Skye, how 'bout you? You got anything?" "Well...I'm lucky that my S.O. volunteered to take the creepy hallway over the slightly less creepy dungeon....room...place. I've got nothing."
     Ward Hulks out on Skye and FitzSimmons, it's an unpleasant scene. After he storms out of the lab, Simmons tries to defuse the situation: "...That was just a biochemical reaction. He didn't mean all that."
     "I'm working it out," he snaps to May. "You're punching things. The last thing you need is to punch things."
     (Ward nearly stabs a guy in the holding cell, only to have him warp the blade on the way down. Then to Coulson) "You were right...he's Asgardian." "Good thing. Otherwise that would've been awfully embarrassing."
     (Coulson reeling off how he knew the prisoner was not of this Earth.) "...and lastly, when I tell people I've had an encounter with an alien, they tend to be a little curious."

     Episode Nine, "Repairs".
     "She's telekenetic? I thought they didn't exist." - Skye. "We've never verified one. That's why we're going to Batesville, to conduct an Index Asset Evaluation and Intake." - Coulson. "...Does that mean we talk to her and see if she has powers?" "Basically."
     "It's a delicate situation, so you're bringing along Warm and Fuzzy?" - Skye to Coulson, talking about Ward and May.
     "...you screamed like a girl." "I am a girl!" - FitzSimmons reminiscing over school memories.
     "I'm not scared of her! Well, I mean, I am, but just because she shot a hundred guys on horseback doesn't mean the Cavalry knows how people work." - Skye.
     "What happened?" - Ward. "We lost communication. And you were hit by a large plumber's wrench." - Simmons. "A wrench? The guy's traveling between worlds, and he's carrying a wrench?"
     "I don't mean to scare you, I just need to use you as bait." - May. "Well, that's comforting..."

     Episode Ten, "The Bridge".
     "So you'll take it off?" Skye asks, referring to her tracker-bracelet. "No," Coulson answers. "But I did ask May to look into the more restricted files." "I was kinda hoping to keep this private." "Agent May specializes in private."
     "So we were right! Chan's cells did solve the combustion problem! Now they can create super-soldiers whenever they want!" - Simmons. "Maybe don't get so excited about it..." Fitz tells her.
     (May turns her back and walks away from Mike's greeting.) "Last time she saw you, you kind of threw her into a brick wall." - Coulson.
     "I'm just saying, this thing could easily go sideways," Ward is arguing with Skye and FitzSimmons. "I mean, the last time we saw him he was a raging homicidal maniac." They all stare at nothing in the middle distance intently chewing their lips. "He's standing right behind me, isn't he?" Coulson speaks up then. "Mike, this is Agent Grant Ward. He's the guy that shot you."
     "'The Psychology of Women: Unraveling the Female Psyche'." Ward reads. "That's an actual book?" Coulson asks. "That's a whole course! Hayward's sister's in there now." Coulson marvels at how understanding women used to be a puzzle that had to be figured out, Ward asks him if he solved any. "A few. Some more rewarding than others." "What happened?" "I died."
     (Mike's testing his new suit. FitzSimmons is explaining everything about it.) "Having powers is cheating. But the suit's pretty cool." - Ward.

     Episode Eleven, "The Magical Place".
     "Agent Hand, I know Skye's methods are...unorthodox, but she's a member of this team. She can help." - Ward. "Agent May, your professional opinion.Will this girl be of any use to us on this plane?" "No." (Later) "It's clear May has an axe to grind with me, but that was way out of line!" - Skye. "No one knows what's in May's head except May." - Ward.
     "Don't touch Lola!" - Skye.
     "It seems you passed out. Now maybe you're ready to tell us what you've memories you're seeing?" - Kidnapper. "I saw....Jordan hitting that game-winner over Russell in the '98 Finals. So clutch." - Coulson.
     "And...if I don't?" - a businessman asks. (Skye's interrogating him, posing as May.) "If you don't, then you spend the next five years in The Fridge." "The fridge?" "It's worse than it sounds," solemnly.
     "I've been on the phone all day. Director Fury. Commander Hill. Everyone wants an update. I can't understand why. No single agent is that important." - Hand. "Coulson is." - Ward.
     "All I did was tell Hand the truth. Skye's of no use to us on this plane." - May. "How can you say that?" - Ward. "She isn't. Not with these agents here, over her shoulder, monitoring her every move." "You wanted her off the plane." "Out of the system. That's how Skye works best."
     "I trust the system. They keep secrets for a reason." - Coulson. Raina taunts him for a while. "Sacrifice is part of the job! I gave up my life!" he snaps back. "You didn't just give up your life. You gave up your chance of a normal one." More taunting follows: "Don't you want to know what happened in Tahiti?" "It's a magical pla -" He stops short. "I keep saying that." "Don't you wanna know why?"
     (Coulson gives out a scream of Ultimate Suffering. Skye follows the sound and find him.) "It's for his own good," Raina tells her. (Skye then knocks Raina out.)

     Episode Twelve, "Seeds".
     "The different academies don't interact?" - Skye. "Not much. The Academy of Communications does, but they're the biggest, and they're focused on data analysis." - Ward. "By far the easiest to get into." - Simmons. "That's where you'd be, Skye." - Fitz. "Thanks...picking up on the rivalry between Science and Operations." (To May) "You and Coulson past all that, or are you gonna help Ward steal their mascot?"
     "Is Science and Technology what you imagined, Ward?" - Fitz. "Yep. No uniforms, no rope course, no defined muscularity on anyone."
     "So, now what?" - Simmons. "Now, we blend in. Skye looks young enough to be a student." - Ward. "You're not exactly Old Man River yourself...And Fitz looks younger than both of us!" - Skye. "Time will come when you won't make fun of me for that. You'll be jealous. You'll be jealous, wrinkly old hags." - Fitz.
     "It's true what they say; you are the smartest person to come through here." - Donnie Gill to Fitz. "Is that what they say? Simmons is probably smarter, technically, but that's because she likes homework more than life itself."
     "That's not far from where I am. I can get there." (Ward opens an exterior door; a gigantic storm is in full force.) "Ah....yeah, I can't get there."
     "Must have destroyed her to hear all that." - May. "That's the thing about Skye....What I told her shattered her world. Her lifelong search led to stories of murder, and now it's too difficult to continue. Her search is over. Her story ends here. but you know what she said?" - Coulson. "Tell me." "She said no, her story started here....That's what she took away from the story; not the family she never had, but the one she's always had. Here I am, telling her something that could destroy her faith in humanity, and she somehow ends up repairing a little piece of mine."
     "But the world is of evil and lies and pain and death. And you can't run from it, you can only face it. The question is, when you do; how do you respond? Who do you become?" - Coulson.

     Episode Thirteen, "T.R.A.C.K.S.".
     "It's time to go undercover." - Coulson. "I hate undercover." - May.
     "You are the least supportive pretend girlfriend that I've ever had." - Fitz to Skye.
     "What are you doing?" - Coulson. "Oh, I'm getting into character. My American persona harbors residual resentment towards her absent American father," Simmons explains. "Blames him for not being there when her mum died. So I apologize in advance if I come off a little cold." "Do you think all that backstory's necessary?" "Past events, like that unfortunate incident at The Hub, have shown me that I'm not good at improvisation. However, I excel at preparation." (It's showtime.) "All Mom ever wanted was your love. To be with you at our two-story Victorian home in the Cotswolds! But could you even give her a moment?" (Simmons is in tears by now.) "What with your banking job requiring you to travel to the States from Tuesday to Saturday every other week? NO!" (Other passengers start to notice the commotion.) "I'm terribly sorry about your loss, dear," an Old Man(Stan Lee!) says to her. "As for you" (to Coulson) "now's your chance to do better. Why don't ya see that you take it!" (Old Man walks away, Simmons stands up and fires away again.) "He's right. You never had any time for her, but you made time for your work. And your prostitutes!" (She storms away, slamming accidentally on purpose into the guy the team's tracking. It makes a mess.) "Prostitues, plural?" Coulson hisses during the cleanup.
     (Later on, still on the train.) "Look at that..." Simmons marvels, still in character. "I haven't seen anything so beautiful since our family's scuba-diving trip to the island of Kotow in southeastern Thailand." "Okay, Simmons, I appreciate all your preparation-" Coulson starts to say before getting interrupted. "But don't you want to know which marine life we encountered?!"
     "That train. It just...." - Ward. "Yep, vanished. Which, might I add, is not easy." - Coulson. (They start back for the Bus, spot a small Italian pickup.) "Keys might be in it." - Coulson. Ward looks dubious. "It's the country! People are very trusting in the country." "It's been hot-wired," Ward notes. "That's suspicious." "I was gonna say fortuitous. Let's get out of here!" - Coulson. (Once they get onto the Bus, they try to figure out FitzSimmons' holotable. After about a minute of repeated failure) "Let's just upload the specs to HQ." Coulson suggests. "Good idea," Ward agrees.
   
     Episode Fourteen, "T.A.H.I.T.I."
     "I'm saying you need to call her family, get them here as soon as possible," a nurse says quietly. "We're her family," Coulson replies, the rest of the team anxiously looking on.
     "People like us....we need people like him." May to Ward, about Coulson.
     (The Bus has been boarded by Garrett and Triplett.) "No worries. I'll find Quinn myself. I'm sure he's tucked between the Jacuzzi and the squash court." -Triplett.
     "...It all sounds so diabolical!" - Simmons. "But it worked. He's walking around." - Fitz. "Yeah. But at what cost?"
     "She's your bride?" Lorelai asks a man named Jimmy. "Since yesterday morning." he answers proudly. "And do you prefer her to me?" "Well, yeah. I pretty much prefer Nicole over everyone, that's why I married her."

Enter February

     "February" is hard to spell.

     Kind of having trouble remembering my own name at the moment(it's been a long week, preceded by a long week, preceded by a long week, preceded by...), but I have gotten most of the Mount McKinley-sized mountain of homework finished. Wrote a recap of a Supreme Court case, a poem for Creative Writing and a news-package script(all due Monday), now to get an essay written(due Thursday) and plan next week's news story and get ready for tests in Media Law and Interpersonal Communication.

      Visited home for the weekend; the family was glad to have me back for a bit. Then church this morning and the DeSpains gave me a ride back to Claremore. So more homework this afternoon, and that's pretty much it... Cats are good to know. Rags and Licorice were both very glad to see me; and the rest didn't care much one way or the other.

      The Gundersens' Sheltie Teddy died Tuesday, which was incredibly sad for everybody who knew him. (And Tuesday wasn't the greatest day ever for me to start with, so for that to be the first thing that pops up once I check Facebook....)

      A Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man didn't get much better the second or third times I read it. But the next book is The Great Gatsby, so that's something to look forward to.