My roommate put her tree up for the holidays. The glow is beautiful.

It inspired me to get my own tree. Multicolored lights. Gold and silver ornaments.

One of the classes I’m taking this semester is an independent study in advanced web design. The draft for our creative brief for a non-profit website was due yesterday. My proposal was for the (fictional) “Educational Center for Borderline Personality Disorder,” a non-profit resource center for people affected by BPD. The more I fleshed out this idea after I submitted my draft, the more I realized just how much work was going to be necessary to make this happen successfully. I’ve been told that we can latch onto one of our projects and expand on it for senior thesis, which I’ll be taking next semester. Branding my own non-profit organization from head to toe seems like it would be an interesting senior thesis project. To be honest, I haven’t had any other ideas for senior thesis, so I’m relieved that I have at least one solid concept to consider.

I had the urge to write in my journal last night (or, more accurately, transfer my online journal entries from the past few months to my Moleskine), but my fancy ink pen seems to be missing.

I ordered an EF 50mm f/1.8 lens on Amazon yesterday. I’ve been eyeing it for a while, and it’s going to be in my hands (or, you know, on my camera) on Tuesday. A shiny new lens is so exciting.

For my 21st birthday this year, I ended up gifting myself with a rat companion I named Clementine.

I was really craving some kind of non-human unconditional companionship. Now I’m going through the experience of getting to know her. Discovering her personality and learning her quirks. I’m watching her become more and more affectionate as I give her more and more love.

Her trust is growing. When I first got her, she would retreat and hide every time she ate. Now, unless she’s stashing her food, she retreats to me. When she’s in an unfamiliar spot, she stands up on her back legs and reaches out for me. She cuddles up inside of my clothes while I’m still wearing them. She gets sleepy eyes when I kiss her head.

I feel lucky that I get to experience her life with her. I’m really looking forward to it.