It is becoming apparent that I need to give all of you an update on what I've got going on, since I'm getting a lot of mail asking me where in the heck the next .plan update is. So, I'm going to give you a quick rundown on what I've been up to lately so that you can understand why those .plan updates aren't just magically appearing.

1. Medical Problems

Hey, it's anyone's guess on this one. One morning I woke up and it felt like someone had decided to run over my lower back with a large train. Or, maybe just a lot of really small ones. Needless to say, it hurt like the dickens. Being the typical guy that I am, I sucked it up and hoped it would go away. And you know what? It DIDN'T. Not even close.

It turns out that all is not well within. I'm scheduled to see a specialist soon, but there's some major not-good mojo going on inside my internal slushy parts.

Doctor #1 gave me some medicine, which did absolutely nuttin'. Doctor #2 said to go see a specialist, and then gave me some medicine that has all sorts of wacky side-effects. I've found that no matter how much I scrub my tongue, it's going to stay black until I stop taking this stuff. It looks like I've been licking charcoal, which isn't going to go over really well with either my girlfriend or my dentist. The current medicine is merely there to tone down my symptoms and make it so I can keep on living normally until my appointment with the specialist rolls around.

The current educated guess is that my body is reacting to some sort of poisoning (!), but I doubt it's so exotic that a specialist would have a hard time with it. At least, I hope. I haven't seen any ninjas with blowguns in the area, so that's a good sign. I just wish there wasn't a week and a half wait to see this guy...

2. Higher Education

About a week ago, I went to an information session for an MBA program at a nearby college. I wasn't really expecting to get much out of the session aside from some basic information about their program (schedule, cost, etc.). I was very surprised to find out they still have spots open for the Fall 2002 academic quarter, and they're still taking applications.

I decided to hit the ground running and apply for the upcoming academic quarter, rather than wait another year. That doesn't leave me a lot of time, but I'm up for the challenge. You'd be surprised what you can do if you just cut out that whole "sleep" thing for a week. I've filled out pages and pages of grad school applications and have written several application essays detailing my "selection of management paradigms to encourage organizational coherence and synergy".

Yes, yes... feel free to boo and hiss. At least I'm not going to be becoming a lawyer.

Anyway, I'm taking the GMAT in a whopping three days, and I just finished filling out the Federal student loan paperwork. Tomorrow's agenda involves tracking down official transcripts from the four colleges that I have attended over the years. I also have to start pestering people about getting my letters of recommendation written, signed, and sealed so that I can submit those as well.

The GMAT test, by the way, costs $200. That alone should discourage you from entering the field of business.

3. Moving on Up

A few weeks ago, I've finally moved out of my over-priced Southern California apartment into a much more over-priced (but much nicer) Southern California apartment. I'm now about three miles closer to work, and right on the edge of the mountains. The upside is that I'm in a much quieter area that's very nice. The downside is that I have to dig through one of a dozen half-packed boxes whenever I need just about anything. Unpacking hasn't been a really big priority, but I'm getting there.

My internet access was a bit spotty, but I'm finally off my old ghetto connection of 56kbps and on a 400kbps uber-amazing cable modem. I must be the only person in the whole CITY on this cable network because this thing just plain COOKS.

So, to sum this whole thing up: