It's the time of year (school year, at least) where the way you spend your time is planned out for you. The last couple of days have been packed, and that's okay. Two week to go and things still won't really calm down.

Yesterday was the last official "student council activity" of the school year. It was okay. Nothing to write much about, really. Then, last night, was the first of two nights for Our Town, this year's school play. I went with a friend and had a good time. It's always fun seeing your students do different things. It's also fun sitting behind students who enjoy supporting their classmates and friends in their endeavors. After the play, which always gets me on some level or another, a group of us went to have a late dinner at Shabu Shabu. I'm thinking it was Japanese. You boil your meat and vegetables yourself (meat and udon only for me). It was a nice time, though a little weird because I don't hang out with many of them on any kind of regular basis.

This morning was church stuff. Breakfast with a friend. Two meetings, one always over my head. After that, I ran some errands. Ended up catching the 1:50 showing of Hot Fuzz, which has been on my "see" list for a good while. The buddy movie is by the same crew that did Shaun of the Dead, which I watched again tonight on DVD because I enjoyed Hot Fuzz so much. It's hard to peg, really. I enjoyed Spidey 3 a lot (and enjoyed it more that I talked about it). This movie, though, had me enthralled the whole way through. It was well-written, well-acted, and well-shot. Simon Pegg and friends simply do a great job: very few if any moments seem wasted. Definitely at least as good as Spidey 3.

So now it's Saturday night and I'm waiting for a load of laundry to dry. Hitting the bed as soon as that's over. Tomorrow is going to be a good but long day. Lots to do (including getting some grading done). Maybe a good night's sleep will help me get there.

One last thing: very excited. The hot tub is once again operational. Now if I can just swim consistently!

So I was at the comic shop yesterday getting my weekly reads when the lady at the counter asks if I've got my tickets yet. I say no, not knowing what she's talking about. She pulls out a card-sized paper good for two tickets to a 7:30 pm preview of Spider-Man 3. I was very grateful. I'd every plan to see the movie, but wasn't sure when or with who I'd get to see it with. Took the ticket, made some calls, and ended up with a friend down at Ward tonight for the show.

It's a good movie. Not sure what to say besides that, really. Don't want to give anything away. It does what any good Spider-Man movie does, goes from high to low and back again almost effortlessly. The acting is solid. The effects are great. The story works. I remember calling Spider-Man 2 "the best episode of Smallville ever." It had three great writers working on it. This one was pretty much Raimi all the way, and it remains solid. I'm not sure if there will ever be a fourth entry in the series, but that's okay. This one does things nicely.

Seems like I'm back into not finishing books again. I'm still going slowly through Peterson's The Jesus Way, which I started before Spring Break. Then there's Jonathan Franzen's Strong Motion, which I started a week or so ago but to no avail.

This afternoon (following faculty meeting) I made my way down to Ala Moana to stop at a couple of places. Blizzard from Dairy Queen. A shirt from Sears. And then Barnes and Noble. I was surprised that Chuck Palahniuk's new book had dropped. I knew he had one coming out, but didn't realize it was so soon. I didn't buy it, mind you. You have to be in the right frame of mind for him. I really wanted to see if Michael Chabon's new book, The Yiddish Policemen's Union had dropped yet. Came out today, actually. I've been a fan since Wonder Boys. When I finally got around to reading The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, I was totally bowled over by the immensity of it. So I kind of have strange high hopes for this 400-page adventure that involves Jews living in Alaska instead of in Israel. Reviews for the book (the one I've read) was mostly positive. Called it a good book but not a great one. I'll have to be the judge of that.
If you've got a free minute or two along with a speedy connection, check out this site. It's a video of Andrew Osenga singing his song "The Morning" at a very recent concert. I have to pass on good things to you all.

This morning I woke up with the thought that maybe I can stay around in Hawaii for a good while. . . Maybe it was the loss of blood from yesterday; I don't know. But the thought was there, and it's worth thinking about. I know life is about day by day, and there are lots of days to make it through. But the thought caught me off guard.

Not much to say tonight except that I gave blood today for the first time since my senior year of high school. It wasn't that bad. The blood-giving took all of five minutes. It was the before and after that took up the time. I need to do it more often. Guess I just dislike discomfort. Something about having a needle sticking in your arm for an extended period of time that's strange.

Still, I did it, and it was fine. So maybe I'll do it again some time.