I turn 21 on Wednesday and I don't really know how I plan on celebrating, although I plan to enjoy a little vacation in my summer vacation and take the rest of the week off work. Then this weekend will be Warped Tour for my third time attending (after skipping last year). This year's line-up worries me, though. For every band that I'm excited about seeing (Anberlin, Angels and Airwaves, Relient K, Reel Big Fish, The Classic Crime) there are acts that make me want to avoid going altogether out of fear that I would be spotted by them (Katy Perry, Everytime I Die, Katy Perry, Family Force 5, Katy Perry) and in general it seems that the line-up slips a little more downhill every year. For a while, Warped Tour was just a cool way to see your favorite bands and other bands that had similar sounds/ideals. And even then, it was at best a thinly-veiled moneymaker. Now, it's largely made up of either bands who wanted to get in on the tour to increase their fanbase (not altogether a bad thing) or bands that have a big enough fanbase that they will draw crowds (Angels and Airwaves) regardless of how they fit in the the others (Katy Perry).

More disappointing? Our group doesn't have the time to dedicate more than a day to the trip, which means no Chicago lakehouse. We're going to Minneapolis instead.

Still, it remains one of the best festivals around for the price. It's just too bad it will never really regain its former glory.

Did I mention it's my birthday? Wednesday? And that I spent all my money on an iPod Touch and that cash is always a good gift?

Just making sure.

The Dark Knight is a great movie. It's unpredictable, there are lots of explosions, and it raises more questions than it answers. In short, it's everything a movie about the dark and gritty Gotham City should be. But if you're in the mood to see a movie that'll make you feel good, stay away. Go watch Wall-E, which I also enjoyed, but for vastly different reasons. Otherwise, the second movie in Batman's latest incarnation manages to live up to the hype, even if you never saw the first movie [or if, like me, you were unable to see the second half of the first movie due to a useless DVD]. There are a lot of subtle things that go on in this movie, and when you leave the theater, instead of being overwhelmed by the sudden brightness after being in a dark theatre--you're just glad to see the sun.

At Least It's Not Philosophy

So I ended up caving in and buying an iPod Touch. I even have some of those white Apple stickers now. Curse you, Apple, for making reliable products that do what they're supposed to do. And for making them so damn cool.

Anyway. I guess I might be becoming an English major now? Through two years of having no declared major, my focus touched on Music, Computer Science, Broadcasting, Creative Writing, Journalism, and even a little Psychology. Last year I officially declared as a CS major. And now I might be switching over to English. Here's why.

A couple weeks ago I was hanging out with a bunch of friends and we were all talking about books. That's when the realization came to me that after less than a year working in IT, I'm already sick of computers, but after a lifetime of reading, I'm still not sick of books. In fact, since discovering BookMooch, I've started to get back into reading again.

And before you even mention it, yes, I have in the past spoken out against going to school for any kind of creative endeavor because you don't need a degree to create something. However. For those of you keeping track at home, it should also have become abundantly clear that I'm useless when it comes to setting and keeping personal deadlines. You know, deadlines? Those pre-determined dates a person is supposed to finish something by? The ones that make that pleasant wooshing noise as they soar past?

The point is, taking courses in writing not only forces me to get more practice in, it forces me to set and complete things by certain deadlines, which is a very relavent skill for anyone who ever wants to be published. Plus, I'm already three years into college, and it'll be another two before I graduate one way or another, so I might as well get a degree in something I like.

Another possibility is that it's just karma for all the times I've made fun of English majors.

But worry not, career-seekers. If I switch, I'll still be minoring in computer science (since I'm only two classes shy of that goal already) which means that I won't qualify for the 6-digit salary computer jobs, but I'll still have a pretty good shot at job placement straight outta college. Plus I'll still have two years experience as lead technician, and that couldn't hurt.

Regardless of what I decide major-wise, I still want to start to seriously pursue writing. And it's something I've said a lot on this blog--you can go back as far as three years into the archives and find that I've pretty much been saying the same thing over and over. So I'm done saying it. From here on out, either I write, or I don't. No more talking about it.

As always, I welcome any opinions/advice/criticism. So far, the people I've told have responded with everything between "That's a great idea!" and "That's a terrible idea!" but people have still been mostly supportive, if skeptical. And I'm a little skeptical, too, but with any luck, maybe I can evey surprise myself.