Wasting away again in Vodkatiniville ...

I am so tired that I don't know if any of this will even make sense, but here are some random mumblings, brought to you by the letter J.

* Seeing the sun is highly overrated. Seriously, I hate getting up early. I also hate saying no to my boss. And thus a three-week stint in Editorial was born. (Couple that with the extra six hours I am working Friday night and we'll see if I am even alive by the weekend. I wanted to go up to U Village to buy cucumber oil at Kiehl's, and go to Crate and Barrel, but sleep sounds way more appealing.) Hours aside, I really like working there -- everyone is really friendly, people bow to me occasionally (ha) and I get to unleash my inner snark. Where else can I actually roll my eyes at Hillary Clinton and not be afraid I'm going to get lynched?

* It snowed today. Um, last time I checked, it was almost April, and oh yeah, this isn't Alaska. Rain = OK. Frosty the Snowman = Not OK.

* Jodi Picoult books are my new habit. I read "Harvesting the Heart," last summer, and it was OK, but I figured I'd give her another shot with "My Sister's Keeper," which got rave reviews, and I loved it. I followed that with the powerful "Nineteen Minutes," and now am reading "Plain Truth." I have read mostly "chick-lit" books in the last few years (to balance out all of the depressing news I read at work) but her books really raise ethical questions and get you thinking.

* I am BEYOND excited that the Cougars made the Sweet 16. I don't know if they'll be able to get past North Carolina today, but even if they aren't able to, WSU has never made it this far in March Madness. And, after what happened during football season in 2003 (losing in overtime to the whiny Irish), watching the basketball team kick the crap out of Notre Dame last weekend was sooo satisfying. And seriously, three words: Tony. Bennett. Swoon. Four more words: Huskies. Lost. To. Valpo. (In some fake tournament sponsored by some jock-itch cream company or something, no less.)

* I'm still kind of in a state of shock that I was nominated for four Kerth Awards, considering this is my first year of eligibility -- and I didn't write anything that qualified until more than halfway through the year. My debut piece was "Inside Out," on the N-side, and as soon as I was done with it, I started my G&L story (aka "Notes on a Scandal," Los Angeles County edition), so this is really a surprise -- and an honor. I started writing last spring as a form of stress relief (how else do you explain writing a 35-chapter story in less than two months?!) and I have to say that the best way to escape your own problems is to write about someone else's. And, as anyone who has read "This Ain't a Love Song," will agree, there are at least two people out there with more complex problems than me -- even if they are fictional. (In theory. Ha.) After what is coming up, I feel like I should send an apology note and a fifth of vodka to a certain couple.

Then again, if the Cougars lose, there won't be enough vodka left for the rest of the world once they're done numbing the pain on the Palouse. So, in that case, all that's left to say is ...

GO COUGS!