This weekend, Joe and I were very social, and I got my homework done early. Clearly, we are in some sort of alternate dimension.

Yesterday, we got to see our friends and meet their new baby for the first time. The little guy is only 9 weeks old and super cute! All he did was eat and sleep. I guess that's what they're all about at that age, really. He did look strangely at me a few times while I was holding him and seemed to want to say, "Who the heck are you?"

Afterwards, we met up with more friends for dinner and ice cream. We ate at Macaroni Grill, which I haven't been to since I was a kid in San Antonio. It was very cool! And the food, of course, was amazing. It was a really fun weekend.

Tonight I already wrote my scene for Screenwriting class. I had to write an argument between two people and play Devil's Advocate by having the winner of the argument be the character who believes the opposite of what I personally believe (that is a mouthful!). The example he gave was that if you're Pro-Life (or Anti-Choice, as I prefer to call it), then have the Pro-Choice arguer win. It took forever to come up with a topic I could actually argue the other side of without feeling like I was going to lose my mind. I mean, come on. I can't argue that it's okay to promote the wearing of fur, or that gay marriage should be banned. That is craziness. So I wrote about whether or not it's okay to let little kids walk home from school, and since I believe that's too dangerous, I had one character convince another to let their child walk home from school. Yikes. Who knows how I'll feel once I'm actually a parent. In my head, I can say, maybe it is good to have kids feel independent and unafraid of the world, to go out there and walk home and run around the neighborhood without constant supervision. But it's hard, because I was raised that that's dangerous, and I still think it is. Well, regardless, the paper is written, and these kinds of worries won't legitimately be part of my life for many years now. Parenthood can certainly wait!

Right now, the biggest decision I'm trying to make is which Study Abroad opportunity I want to embark on this summer. I could study History in Greece, Shakespeare in London, Spanish in Spain, Marine Biology in Canada, Literature and Nature in Australia, or History and Nature in South Africa. And those are just the ones that interest me. There are plenty of others! I am TORN, I'm telling you. And it's first come, first served. Applications can be turned in beginning November 15. That is tomorrow. I'd better make some decisions!

I think I'm seriously leaning toward Australia first, South Africa second. The only reason I'm afraid of Marine Biology is that they're spending a lot of time on boats, and I get motion sickness easily. I don't want to risk hating the experience due to vomiting the whole time. The Australia and S. Africa ones both involve seeing animals up close and personal, which is why they're my top choices. Greece sounds awesome but part of it takes place on a formal cruise. So I'd have to wear a dress and be all formal, and that part doesn't sound fun. As for Spain, learning another language is hard work...

Okay, apparently I'm not that torn, after all. Well, my top two choices are through another UC school, so I have to sort out the details of that. I emailed them tonight, to find out if I'm eligible for the program. Hopefully I'll hear back soon!

I know I said I wanted to visit the Vervet Monkey Sanctuary this summer, but the more I think of that, the more it freaks me out. Being four hours from the nearest town is a little scary. What if I sprained an ankle or got bitten by a monkey? Four hours to the nearest hospital? Not cool.

So, studying abroad seems much more safe and exciting. I'll let you know what happens!