what's with the magnetic fields?
november 2nd, 2000

Hey, everyone. It's been awhile. And I'm falling asleep in class today, 
and I'm afraid of getting in the car and driving the Kroger, but I'm 
looking forward to my astronomy lab tonight nonetheless. I always look 
forward to astronomy lab, especially when it's at the observatory. And I'm 
contemplating why magnetic fields, caused by convection and the spin of a 
planet creating a current, vary so much from planet to planet. Why they 
are out of synch with the actual axises of the planets. Dr. Smith left us 
with that question right before class adjourned this afternoon, and now 
it's gnawing at me.

But in all honesty, I'm only writing because Alestar updated finally. 
Every single time she writes a little something, I feel inspired to add 
something of my own. We played around with my children's story idea for a 
while. At any rate, Dust is right. She makes a much better Dean Moriarty 
than I ever did.

I'm exhausted, and I don't know why. Ash is rearranging her schedule to 
wake up early in the mornings (around eight) and going to bed earlier at 
night. That might have something to do with it. My poor little mite has 
had a bit of a cold the last few days, but she seems to be getting over 
it. I dressed her up as a starfish, myself as the ocean, and we went 
prancing around main street on Halloween night. It was nice.

I'm considering getting involved in an environmental show that airs on 
WETS on sundays. My kick-ass modern/postmodern lit professor works with 
it, and is all about getting his students interested. And since I've been 
wanting to get involved with radio anyway, and I'm all about helping the 
environment, this would really be the perfect thing for me to get involved 
in. Especially since I could pick and choose my bits and pieces, so it 
wouldn't be trying to swallow a huge project that I simply could not 
handle.

It was one of the things that was bugging me recently, the fact that I've 
not done more in college to help the community. When I was in high school, 
I was involved in every organization imaginable. I worked with the 
Tennessee Tomorrow Club, which was entirely centered on volunteer work to 
help the community. I sold things to help save the rainforests, I helped 
plant trees, I gathered coats for needy families. I was the youngest 
member on the board of directors for Gifts for Kids. On my application for 
the Golden Key National Honor Society, they asked me what I had done in 
college. Well...nothing. And yes, I know now I don't have time for that 
sort of thing, I have a daughter to care after and school challenges me 
enough in itself, but that doesn't excuse the two years of college 
previous to Ash. The only thing I have to show is a little bit of 
knowledge in web design. Whoop-dee-doo. *That's* sure gonna change a whole 
lot.

Anyway, the point to all that is this radio show could let me have an 
outlet for my more community-service side, fighting for a cause I believe 
in. And in a year or so, Ash will be old enough to tag along while I fix 
and clean toys for poor children. (And, you know, eventually I'll be in 
Asheville, which I'm sure is just full of community-service and 
environmentally-sound projects. *grin*)

I also recently picked up an "assignment moose", as Alestar calls it. 
Except he doesn't really do a whole lot of assigning. And I only get 
twelve sessions. And he seemed to have a hard time understanding why I was 
seeking counseling. "So...what's your problem?" Sometimes I think my 
"problem" is that I'm nervous because I don't seem to have a "problem" 
anymore. To accept the fact that such a scatter-brained, flaky, chaotic, 
and nutzoid girl could so quickly evolve into a responsible, stable, calm, 
sound adult - well, I'd either have to say I was pretending to be crazy 
and choatic back when, or that I'm pretending to be sane and calm right 
now. ;)

At any rate, I have some Albrecht Durer material I need to research in the 
library, so I have to run. But if you get the chance, check out the 
musical countdown I concocted over the past week.