Behold, the reluctant return of The Friday Five. I kind of feel guilty when the journal gets listy like it sometimes does. I took a break from these Friday entries for a little while as a result. But these questions were really good, so I felt like answering them for your reading pleasure. Apologies in advance for the sappy ending, but hey, it's better that what you were reading last week at this time.

1. List five things you'd like to accomplish by the end of the year.

I need to connect the final dots on my loan application, I guess, so I can get the money to pay for next semester. There's not too much paperwork involved. I just need to decide how much I absolutely need to ask for, because if I have any left over, I'm going to spend it on junk. I want to read six or seven books for the hell of it before the year is out. I'd like to make it out of geography class with a low B, but none of us think that will actually happen. I'd like to come out to my sister, and I'm going to give it a shot next weekend. And I'd like to spend a week or three catching up on my sleep. This five hours or less per night deal can start to suck after a while.

2. List five people you've lost contact with that you'd like to hear from again.

Shit. Five people? I don't even know five people. There's Mrs. B, a middle school teacher I've been sort of corresponding with off and on this fall, so I guess I should fire off another letter before the break. I have a cousin who scandalized one side of the family when she came out as a lesbian, and I'd like to touch base with her on strategy and that sort of thing. I guess I'd like to be better about corresponding with R from Illinois. I mean, we'll have good weeks where we get four or five emails going back and forth, and then there will be a month of just nothing. I guess I should make more of an effort. I haven't heard back from one of the boys from the Tennessee trip, and it'd be nice to see him again and determine for myself exactly how cracked out he's become. And I haven't had too much contact with the kids from last year's government team, but we hope to rectify that situation next week.

3. List five things you'd like to learn how to do.

I would really like to learn how to cook well. My culinary skills don't extend too far beyond the realm of pizza, which I have down pretty well. I can make an omelet in a pinch, but I'm no Julia Child. I want to learn how to drive a stick shift, and I think that's already in the works. I'd really like to learn how to keep all this godforsaken spam out of my inbox. I'm still trying to discover an effective technique by which to make myself write more often. And I guess I'd like to learn how better to communicate with people on a personal level as opposed to a vaguely professional one.

4. List five things you'd do if you won the lottery (no limit).

I would transfer to a different school, but I would definitely finish and get my degree. I'm not sure what school I'd run off to, which is part of the reason I ended up here. I'd invest a good chunk of it in the stock market, like the dumbass that I am. I would probably take a long, expensive trip and see some things I've not yet seen. I'd buy myself a car, since I could pay for it in cash up front. Yay, no interest! And I'd donate some of it to people who are in a better position than I to fight the good fight.

5. List five things you do that help you relax.

I sleep. Sleep is very relaxing, especially in long stretches after periods of little to no sleep. (See question one above.) I watch television, but if I'm trying to relax it has to be something safe and entertaining, not something potentially objectionable like JAG. God, I hate that show. I read, but not as much as I should. Books are better than movies because you can cast them yourself. Fuck Hollywood politics, you know? I drink every now and then. It tends to strip away my anal-retentive, nervous exterior and make me a shameless, entertaining fool, which at least is not stressful. But nothing is as relaxing as cuddling up with someone nice and slowly falling asleep.

Someone got here by searching for: "why make your bed" And: grocery store AND college AND shopped at Reading: Nothing in particular. I'm working on it, though. Listening to: Hootie and the Blowfish. Watching: The Food Network. It's Thanksgiving Week and they're making me way hungry. Eating: A 'spicy' chicken wrap from Ruby Tuesday.