Fine, I will admit it: I am a lousy person. I have not updated in nearly a month, and that is unacceptable. Scruffy as you all are, I am deeply touched that you all read my rantings and take the time to reply, even if it is insulting-espeically if it is insulting. Life as a university student is slowly congealing into a smooth routine. A smooth routine surrounded by sheer madness, of course, but that is typical.

My friends from Salem, wherever you are right now, I am going to let you in on a little secret: I MISS YOU!! Yes, you read correctly. Peter Licata, the one-man-freak-and-geek island unto himself actually feels emotionally saddened at our separation. I have a handful of good friends up here in the hinterlands, but I miss the unique dynamic we have back home. By ‘unique dynamic’ I mean me scaring the crap out of the ladies and having all-night gaming sessions with the guys. The essence of healthy relationships right there. Honestly, I should write a book, Peter’s Guide to Ninja Skills and Sticky Grenades: Making Friendships Stronger than Adamantium.

Alas, text books call, but I assure you all, more updates are on the way. If I can make my gaming-geek reclusive life an interesting read, the rest of my papers this year shall be ridiculously easy in comparison. Bring it on.

For those of you unaware of everything that goes on in the epic saga of grandeur that is my life, I have again left the fair shores of Salem, Oregon and returned to my place of study at Trinity Western University. I bear a new title now, for I am the exalted uppper-classman. Having two years of training under my belt, I have come to grace the halls of the elite third and fourth years. We are a jolly bunch, hailing each other with vocal, back-slapping greetings, smiling at the memory of shared jokes and mutual suffering. The campus is our playground now, and we intend to spin the proverbial merry-go-round with the proverbial motorcycle, if you know what I mean.

As for myself, I was able to snag a spot in the apartment housing on campus usually reserved for student leaders. In this I am fortunate, for the only area wherein I am a leader is in the Halo 2 scoreboards. The rent, all told, is less than that of the dormitories, while the size is nearly tripled. I have a bedroom the size of my bedroom back home, a living room as large as the dorm room I resided in last year, a bathroom with two sinks and a tub, and a small-yet fully stocked-kitchen. There is just one catch: I have to feed myself. With my own cooking. Queue the Jaws music of doom right about now.

This would not be so bad if 1) I was on a budget so tight even the producer of The Blair Witch Project would despair, and 2) Canadians are a bunch of rich maple syrup slurpers. I am basing #2 on the fact that when I visited several Canadian grocery stores, including (but not limited to) a Canadian Costco, the prices were so high I had to stand on my tippy-toes to read them. Actually, while I mean to say that the prices were ridiculously steep, stating that I had to strain to see something only implies it is slightly above ground level. I can only assume that the Canadians have been exporting their hand-crafted igloos overseas (what else are you going to do with them), and the revenue has shot the market into the rafters. Let me put it this way: I could have spent same amount of money and gotten either a block of cheese or a new video game. It was a horribly painful decision, let me tell you.

So here I am, relaxing in a lovely apartment without a care in the world. Unless you considered a continued consumption of food a care. Then I might have one. We will see whether my budding cooking skills, pounded into me by my parents, will suffice. Or I could put some talent points into ‘Conjure Food’. Whatever works.