As, everyone knows, we're at war. Despite what you see me write here, I'm not over September 11th. I'm depressed and worried. Riding the el makes me slightly nervous. Everyday I'm downtown, I look up at the Sears Tower, just to make sure. And, I'm worried about a whole slew of other stuff I don't even want to put into words.

But, the way I see it, we already have plenty of ways to make ourselves feel depressed and anxious over this. That's why I'm not going to write too much about any of that stuff here, unless I feel the need. Like just now. Otherwise, I'm going to do what I've always done with this little page: Have fun. Because that's what I need now more than anything.

What isn't fun: If you should light a cigarette with a match, be sure to drop the match before you put the hand holding it anywhere near your face. The blister on my lip can now attest to that. I have no idea how this happened. I hate having to tell everyone I meet that I don't have herpes. They always look at me funny.

Ah, the old college diarist standby. I speak of posting my homework. In this case, though, we had to write our biography for a class I like to refer to as "the-touchy-feely-you're-about-to-graduate-and-isnt-it-nice-to-be-a-senior?" class. So, read this, if you want to dig where I came from, where I am, and where I'm going.

Commence cheap entry now:

"Twenty-six years ago, I was born on the north side of Chicago. The apartment in which I currently live is directly across the street from the hospital in which I was born. Even though I haven�t traveled far geographically, I�ve come a long way in terms of what I want to do with my life.

My first love was performance. At age five, I entered a talent show at the family church. Dressed in a sailor suit, I went onstage and did a routine I had memorized from the Three Stooges. The response was positive, and whether the audience was laughing with me or at me, I didn�t know, and it didn�t matter. I was addicted to the applause.

Through grade school, I appeared in several productions, eventually winning the lead roles when I got to eighth grade. In high school, I began to work my way up again, eventually beating out more experienced upperclassmen for lead roles when I was only a Sophomore. I scored several commercials and industrial films. Chicago acting agencies were taking notice as my resume grew fatter. My future as a performer seemed assured.

I entered the acting conservatory at DePaul university. Unprepared for the intensity of the program, I dropped out before the end of the first year. Depressed, and my confidence in myself as a performer shaken, I took Gen. Eds. at DePaul for several more quarters, watching my GPA drop to a 1.4. I eventually quit school altogether.

For about a year or so I did nothing but manage a restaurant. Unable to put to rest my love of performance, I began to take improvisation classes at Player�s Workshop of the Second City and other training centers. Eventually, I decided I would again try my hand at acting, this time at Columbia College. Unable or unwilling to invest myself in my studies, my GPA stayed the same, and I was unhappy. I removed myself from Columbia�s acting program, deciding that while I loved acting, I apparently did not want to study it.

Nearly two more years pass in which I do nothing but work as a temp and take improv classes, this time at Second City. I knew I needed something more. My entry into television studies was something of a �mundane epiphany.� One day, I asked my neighbor what she did for a living. She told me she was a production assistant in local television. I thought to myself "If she can do it, so can I�"

Six semesters later, I�m set to graduate in January 2002. Combining my love of entertainment with my talent for writing, I�ve managed to raise my GPA to a 3.4, staying on the Dean�s List throughout my career as a television student. I�ve spearheaded the school�s new dramatic weekly series, and I�ve won notice and trust from the faculty, often being asked to take on extra writing projects. It would seem that, this time, my future really is assured.

I plan on moving away from the hospital as soon as possible."

Wow! That's it! Is that a 'Behind The Music' style joyride, or what? It had the initial success, the downfall, and then the slow climb back to the limelight! The highs, the lows, the in-betweens!

I wish I could promise that that was the only school assignment you'll ever see here. However, on days like today, when I have about ten minutes to catch up on four days of not showering, this is the inevitable result.

I hope that doesn't look all choppy, as I basically cut and pasted it, but as I inferred before, I stink and I'm not going to take the time to fix it.

God bless America. Especially my girlfriend and 'boy-cut' panties. Why was I not informed of the existence of this underwear before?