Mmkay, suppose I ought to start by saying that November is usually an awful month for me. I don't know what it is about it. I actually rather like the fall - the crisp, clean air and varicoloured leaves - and one would suppose that the prospect of Christmas, which is my absolute favorite time of year, ought to be sufficient to keep me content, and yet year after year I find myself growing horribly depressed. It's not SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder), by any means, because I get extremely excited in December, and I prefer the shorter, darker days - I'm a rather nocturnal creature, and they suit me. Yet every year I reach new nadirs of apathy in November, and do stupid things, and despair that the future will ever be worth experiencing, because I couldn't possibly end up anything other than a failure, could I? Never mind that I'm doing fine in all of my classes and despair seems to improve my writing - obviously, nothing will ever work out.

I will admit, my glee was dying down a bit as the end of October approached this year. Circumstances weren't really helping me out - I wasn't able to see dearest ~niedec for a week, nor was I able to talk to him much, because the internets were being cruel at the time; it seemed that everyone around me was depressed for completely legitimate reasons, and I couldn't properly help them, which always frustrates me; and midterms were being an absolute pain. And then, lo, there came the deus ex machina. All matters were swiftly and almost inexplicably resolved, and life became suddenly awesome again.

Would you believe me if I told you that, after watching V for Vendetta, my love and friends and I set out in a hearse at 100 mph on Guy Fawkes Day a little after midnight to play with black powder and a stump splitter on an abandoned portion of the road? I wouldn't believe me either. But, oh, trust me, we did.

And then some hours ago, I checked DA and found that my dear little story ("The Skull") has won me some wonderful prizes in 's All Hallow's Literature Contest. (Go check out the competition - there really were some wonderful entries: [link] ) And I just spent part of the night in a graveyard with deer running about.

Hellz yeah, life is awesome for once. I'm finally living, and I must say, I never expected it to feel quite this good.

Cheers!
~Tess

By the by, give some love to , for being both a poet and a badass, to , for being a sweetheart of a roommate, and to , because he's new here, and a friend.