But it's near New York, so that's cool

Yesterday I finally registered to take the 4-hour "drug and alcohol" course that you have to pass before you can get your learner's permit. This is actually the first step I've taken toward getting my permit. It's not a milestone; it's more like a footstone. There are 5,280 feet in a mile. Why? I don't know. Go metric. (By the way, I put "drug and alcohol" in quotation marks because everyone always talks about "drugs and alcohol" as if alcohol isn't a drug. It is a drug just the same as the illegal ones, as anyone who's been addicted to it or simply hung over can tell you.)

My friend Kevin's in Spain. I decided to call him the other day at a time that we had agreed on. I was prepared to ask for him in Spanish. His aunt picked up. "Yes?" she said in Spanish. "Can I talk to Kevin?" I said. "Who are you?" she asked. I said I was Kevin's friend, Jordon. Then she said something that I didn't understand. I didn't say anything; instead I got really nervous and just hung up. Kevin e-mailed us to say that his aunt told him about the situation. I asked him to apologize on my behalf. We'll have to call him again soon.

Ever since taking the PSAT and the SAT in the past months, I've been getting tons of mail from colleges. Most of them are little ones that I'd never heard of. None of the names really jumped out at me. Their letters come in all shapes and sizes, ranging from simple brochures to large packets of information. They do everything in their ability to stand out; a few have included informational CD-ROMs. (I don't remember which, though. I must have gotten hundreds of these things already.)

So you can imagine my surprise when, a few weeks ago, I got a tiny, black-and-white postcard from New Haven, CT. That's right: Yale University. What the heck, everybody? I didn't think Ivy League schools needed to advertise. The postcard says (in Comic Sans) that the Associate Director of Admissions is holding a "Program on Yale" in Miami tomorrow night. He's going to talk about "academic programs, campus life, admission, and financial aid." Interesting, I say. I might as well go because I'll kick myself if I end up not going. It's not like I'd have a chance at getting accepted to America's second most prestigious university (even if I wanted to live all up there), but I might as well get used to the idea that I'm going to have to go to some college.

Don't you just love sunsets? Since the sun is always setting somewhere, Eternal Sunset allows you to view a live sunset thanks to the miracle of webcams.

Do you chew on ice cubes? You're not alone. Apparently there's a whole bulletin board on the topic.

Two years ago: "I may spend a lot of time on the Internet, but I do not live in MyFlorida.com."