5/18/2002:

There you go: a secret peek into the mind of Sil. For a more panoramic view, my personal webpage is debatably presentable enough for public display, although I'm far from finished with it. Just cut me some slack on the parts of the site that are still under construction, k?

Anyway, today's strip illustrates the first thought that materialized in my head upon seeing this sign in a campus building. It took me a moment to realize that it wasn't warning that the door was emotionally alarmed, but rather literally so. I'm serious. Even now, I can't eradicate that silly initial image from my head every time I walk through that exit...which is quite often, due to the digital media lab that's just down the hall.

It's amazing how much my favorite haunts have drastically changed since freshman year. Back when my goals were a lot more defined, and my attention span a lot longer, I was frequently seen devouring textbooks in the library study lounge, Barnes & Noble, and Tech Express. Now, for the most part, I divide my time between working on the university literary magazine at the computer lab, attending rehearsals (for a performance art piece that involves onstage drawing, fun fun), meeting up with friends at random places around town, and marathon training at the gym and beyond. Note that sleep does not figure very much at all in the above list. Kip and a whole slew of others can attest to that.

The thing is, the clock is ticking, and I'm trying to wrap everything up as my last collegiate career winds down to an end. This requires a lot of dashing around and some hardcore prioritizing. First on the list is spending as much time with people I care about as possible, which seems to be the only thing that I perceive to be of any real value in my life at the moment. This explains my pervasive apathy regarding my job hunt, and pretty much insures my ultimate demise come my post-undergraduate existence. Yesterday, for instance, I was blessed with a rare chunk of free time, which I promptly spent avoiding the search for gainful employment in every possible way. Once class let out, I chatted with a fellow fiction major over tea at the Unicorn Cafe, which, for all you Scrubs aficionados, has modeled for the nameless background for pretty much all of the coffeeshop strips. Afterwards, I grabbed a bite to eat with a good friend and comicbook fan from my study abroad in Spain. Then I ambled over to Mike's apartment to tackle a crossword puzzle and the ER season finale, among other things. I was planning on seeing Star Wars with Kip later that night, but then I found out that one of my old roommates was having a surprise birthday party thrown for her at midnight (Happy B-day Sarah..., you old fogey). So although I felt really bad about it, I had to bail on Kip, in addition to swallowing the cost of a non-refundable ticket. This constitutes the second movie cancellation I've had to make with Kipster this week. Bad, bad Sil. ^_^;;

I'm sorry about missing last Saturday's update, by the way. To make up for it, I had two strips made out by Wednesday, ensuring the timely release of this weekend's strip. That's a pretty uncommon feat, for your information. The only justification that I have for my negligience is another high-maintenance priority that's been eating up a lot of my time: getting the final issue of the university lit mag printed and distributed before finals week, and passing along all the technical know-how and advice to the next Chief Editor. It feels strange to know that very soon all that ultimate responsibility I wield now will amount to nothing once my successor steps up...the exchange of power hasn't even happened yet, and I'm already struck by hints of nostalgia...but that might also just be the spirit of my waning senior year.

Wow, what's with all this talk of endings, huh? I guess that means I should wrap this blurb up before it breaks a world record.

So, on a final random note, I'd like to pose a question. Kip told me that one of his friends thought that Sil came off as a bitch in the strips. WAAAAAAAAAHHHH!! That's not true is it??

-Sil the Effervescent