I’ve been accepted to Arcadia University’s Master of Arts in English program. I checked the “Yes” box, signed on the solid line, and will most likely enroll for the Spring 2009 semester. This permits me some adequate time to catch up on Tessa’s astronomical hospital bills (Rest in peace, baby girl - hope it’s better up there for you).

People continually ask me about the decision. English? Me?

My response: As one of my favorite t-shirts in the world so eloquently states, “Prose Before Hos.” Granted, the slogan really doesn’t explain anything. I have a girlfriend, never really embrace the typical “ho-inspired” social scene (or at least the scene that would make frequent use of such a term), and really could never imagine myself caught in a scenario where those two would serve as the only viable choices.

Alas, I will still use the slogan as my official explanation, as it perfectly emphasizes the importance of the written word - something greatly undervalued in many modern disciplines. There is nobody that I admire more than an eloquent writer able to string together thoughtful theories with a lucid flow (and convey ideas without using so many adjectives). I grew up modeling my word dumps after Roger Ebert, and although I have have come to despise the man (due to his baseless theories on the artlessness of video games), I still regularly monitor his reviews. It’s the flow and brevity, I suppose.

My flow - nonexistent; my word choice - poor; my thoughts - random; my length - painful. And I’m sure others would use similar adjectives for my efforts.

Is this merely an attempt to waste my time and catch up on Shakespeare? Never - my career is certainly still in mind. Much software documentation, in my opinion, sucks, and I’d like to fix it.