ok, well, as soon as i went to view what i just posted, i could see it in the new window. and now i have a comment. Peter Stanley McAvoy, if this is supposed to be a hippie paradise, what in God's name is that white po-lice car doing parked right in the fromt of the square? i can even see a siren!

i don't know about other people, but i can't see Pete's snapshot. is that just me?

Rachel, I have never had a doubt in my mind, nor do I entertain one now, that you will succeed in whatever you put your mind to. You are brilliant and if your teachers don't recognize that by now then they are blind as well as deaf. I know it seems hard now, I'm facing finals next week and I am scared just like everyone else. But there's one thing I always remember, there is nothing in this life worth doing that's not also worth doing well. As long as we all fight the good fight, I'm sure we will be happy wherever we land. Because in the end, if you have given every ounce of strength and energy into something that you believe in or want to make happen, no one can take that away from you. It's true of you Rachel, and everyone else on this list. We work hard for what we want, so we will make good. Take care, my friends, I wish you the best.

a snapshot of "Pete's Hippy Paradise," a city i have designed for class:

I take back everything positive I said a few days ago about my term papers. I am hating this and want to just quit school and go crawl under a rock. On the bright side, I heard funny stories today from my archaeo prof about term papers that he has failed in the past. Some people are totally ridiculous. (No, you can't get away with 10 pages of solid quotations in the middle of the paper followed by a "You aren't even reading this anymore, are you?" They are still reading.)

I had a wonderful thanksgiving... or rather three Thanksgivings: at Keith's farm, at my parents' house, and at the Prairies' house. Stuffed myself stupid at all three. Good times.
For those of you who asked, my new email is p.s.mcavoy@gmail.com. I have a uiuc address too, but it just gets forwarded to gmail. Don't send me stuff through that dumb knoxalumni forwarding thing because i can't get it to work. Speaking of knoxalumni, they sent me mail hitting me up for money awhile back, so i sent them a check for three dollars, and wrote on the memo line: "i love you but i'm poor." Yesterday, i got a thank you card in the mail where this lady hand-wrote me a personal note thanking me for giving up a roll of scotch-tape to instead donate the money to Knox. She also said "we love you too." This alone makes Knox 10 times cooler than U of I. Also, Knox had the sense to change thier ridiculous Indian mascot years ago. Fuckin' Chief.

Drew, I know what you mean about having so much hanging on finals. I will be getting back my first and only non-finals evaluation soon (hopefully tomorrow). It's the only thing I have turned in for a grade so far. Everything else will be riding on my term papers. But sir, your work ethic and intelligence lead me to believe that you will do fine in the end.

I'm starting to wish that I had chosen a field that relied more on exams ... or I at least wish that I would have had the foresight to get more done for my term papers before now. I have two 25-page beasts to write in the next week and a half, with perhaps 10% of that finished by now. I am not concerned with my ability to finish so much as concerned for my ability to stay bright-eyed and bushy-tailed in the meantime. I also will have to turn around and right a final paper after I finish those. But I will at least begin next quarter with more interesting classes and a better understanding for how to manage my time.

I hope that everyone had an enjoyable Thanksgiving. Matt and I cooked ourselves a feast, and if nothing else I will be going back to class tomorrow morning with a full stomach and plenty of rest. I suppose I will need it. I am thinking of all of you and wishing for you the best--and for those who have or will soon have some free time, make the most of it with love and fun! And feel free to come down to visit where the winter is warm. :)

It is good to have such friends as you. I got a jump on my studies with about six hours of work today. Now I can study for finals instead of doing homework, at least for the first half of the week. Thank you, Zach and Emily, for the kind words of encouragement. Remember that I may grow up to be a slimy snake lawyer, but I'll still bite and poison people for ya.

Oh my dearest Drewcifer,

I have no doubts that you shall easily (ok, not too easily) conquer the beast of finals with a single thrust of your pen. Your beliefs are too fanatical and your drive too strong to be halted by a mere final. My own finals are a few weeks away and I'm already working up more of a sweat than I care for.

Emily, I understand your plight. I can barely survive a mere week of aimless blah. Your search for direction is in truth a search for purpose/meaning. You must find some task or goal however small that you feel holds such meaning. Be it volunteering, writing a Novel'O Emily, or building a birdhouse. I personally hope that you choose the novel because I would love to read the early life memoirs of a dustspeck.

I hope everyone consumed a fair amount of turkey or imitation turkey vegetable products this holiday and I wish you all a better tomorrow.