Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

Aaaaaand...because I don't HAVE a Valentine, I'm thoroughly enjoying the treats I'm getting from family and friends.  My parents sent me heart-shaped Peeps (because they know I LOVE Peeps of any size or shape...I'm not picky) and a whole bunch of those candy hearts.  My aunt and uncle sent me cookies and a card.  My Little Sam sent me a little bag of candy.  And I got a cute little Valentine and some candy from the wonderful AXD Sweetheart (and, suddenly, why Webber wanted the sister list is clear).

Anywho, Dead Week is winding down, thank GOD and I'm stressing out a little bit less.  This weekend will be spent studying for my two finals next week and writing my Lit Crit paper, which I'm so super excited about it's kind of ridiculous.  And since the whole concept of the paper is finally formatted in my head, I'm going to let you all know what it is...finally.  I apologize if I use Literary Criticism lingo that isn't easy to understand...

Basically, I'm taking Althusser's theories on antihumanism and (mostly) Ideological State Apparatuses (ISAs) and applying them to the novel Wicked ('cause I'm a geek).  I'm going to look at what causes Elphaba to resist the socially accepted ideologies and what makes Galinda conform to them (even though she has mini rebellions throughout her time at Shiz).  I'm going to be focusing a lot on two particular events, in which both girls were present, but came away with very different attitudes--their confrontation with Morrible and their first visit to the Wizard.  And then I'm going to look at what all causes Elphaba to act the way she does throughout the rest of the novel (which, in case you're wondering, is a LOT of things all crammed into one), and leading up to her confrontation with Dorothy and what happens there in her final fight against Oz and the Wizard.

Anyway, yeah, that's pretty much what I'm doing...in a nutshell.  Last night I talked to Mom on the phone, and when we were saying our farewells, she was like, "Don't think about Wicked until your finals are over."  And I said, "Okay...but I have to think about Wicked a little, because that's what my paper's about."  It's nice being able to use that as an excuse.  :)

In other news...9 days until Wonderful Wicked Weekend.  My AIM is freaking out on me, which is why I haven't been online for the past couple days.  I think I may have to uninstall it and then install it again, which I really don't want to do because then I'll lose all my profile information and away messages, but I've tried almost everything else.  So we'll see.