Fake Tans

...are not a desirable thing. Ever. So just don't do it, okay? And I say this as someone who loves tan skin -- just one of the many gifts that Summer bestows on me/us. But the fake tan is a disgrace to the real thing. Besides, it's just a tad bit creepy to consider stuffing oneself into a casket-like tanning bed all in the name of a few deeper pigment shades.

I need to get to work on a book report, but I'm using the blog as a welcome distraction. You who are keen readers and/or pay attention to detail may have just noted that I said, "I need to get to work on a book report..." Surely, he can't be serious. A book report? Are you in graduate school or elementary school? Hey, these are fair questions, I'll admit. But, much to the surprise of my elementary/high school teachers, I have indeed made it to graduate school and, much to my own surprise, I have been assigned a book report for a class on leadership. Ironically, this class has been one of the most enjoyable and relevant ones I've yet taken. The issue, then, is to remember how to write a book report. I have grown so accustomed to the 15 page paper, full of literature reviewing and analyzing and what not, that I am not sure how to approach this assignment. I am thinking it would behoove me to create an outline of some kind, but that level of organization isn't my forté...or preference...

Meanwhile, I would post more pictures, but I am running out of ones that are different than the others. You know how it goes -- you go on vacation and take a bunch of pictures of you and your friends, and they end up looking quite similar, save for differing backgrounds. Nevertheless, in my ceaseless attempt to bridge the 2,000 mile expanse between Athens and Phoenix, I'll continue posting.

Work with me now, from left to right: Gabe, the author, Phil, unidentifiable face, and Emily.

Rusty (left) and Gabe speak from some hallowed piece of public administration text.

Ms. Bell, the author of these lovely pictures, and Mr. Mertz, the author of this indulgent blog.