My life has been boring and dull, with not much happening recently worth noting, but I'll note it anyway.

I finally (really this time) got my grad school application in.  One of my professors said the department had nearly doubled in size in the past couple years (largely due to the economy), and thought I should also apply elsewhere to increase my chances of getting in.  At this point, the funding simply is not there for me to go anywhere else (I didn't note it when doing my FAFSA), so I'll be figuring things out "eventually".  I don't think rotting here is doing me any good, and no matter how much I want to say I'm trying to keep up, I know I'm not going to stay sharp if I don't stay busy.

I've been playing DDO again with some friends.  It's been fun playing with them, and it's a bit different than I'd normally do.  We decided to "start over" with some level 1's in a party.  One decided to be a rogue and the other a mage, so I was left thinking "What the heck am I going to do".  I hate tanking, and I like support but already have a cleric on that server.  I decided that, since I already had a cleric at level 4, I'd take a chance on something a little off the wall and see if I liked it, since if I didn't I could go back to cleric later.  I thought Paladin fit the party best, since it's got some support to it, but is mostly a melee class.  I decided to try duel wielding, and it's been fun and good, but I'm left wondering if I'd have been better off going ranger instead.  Pallys can wear heavier armor, get better saves, and have different enhancements (unique to DDO).  I went elf for the extra dex to help me hit my two-weapon requirements, and let my con languish.  I'm using Toughness to make up the extra HP I'll wish I had, and Paladin has a lot anyway.  I'm not really a true "tank" character, so it doesn't make much sense to emphasize that role when I'm not convinced the party is going to stick with it "all the way".

My family seems to be going out shopping later.  I'm planning to tag along.

Vanquished an area in Guild Wars this morning.  It was just Minister Cho's Estate, but it was still nice to get it done and out of the way.  I used some consumables to make the area easier, and pump up my titles a little (it also helped me keep track of time -- I took over an hour).  

I really ought to follow up on that publication I was working on, but I haven't figured it out yet.  Academic publication is rather obtuse, and I think it's partly to keep crackpots from being able to get into it so easily.  I'm not a crackpot (I think), but I'm still frustrated by not even being sure where to send my work.