MERRY CHRISTMAS AND ONE OF THOSE NEW YEARS! It is Dec.26th and I have let off the posting again for the same reasons I stated on the last post (sleeping, eating, etc.) Christmas was great but for the Chandlers it is not quite over. More siblings will be coming in over the next few days, starting with Will and Meghan in a few hours and ending with Liz and Josh on Saturday. That will be grand. I, of course, have gotten sick, because my body cannot go without some sort of catasrtophic breakdown every few weeks! We all know that! But this time I have jumped on it so that it won't win - I called my Doc. in Birmingham and he's calling in the infantry (i.e. anti-biotics)! Hooray! Nasty sickness, be gone! I shall have fun with my family, infection be damned! Yens. Oh, and Liebe Lou is coming with Will and Meghan. That will be fun to see the hyper-active ball of dog. Yens.
Not much else to say. I'm going to go back to sleep before folks get here so I will be more "spriteley."

Peace,
Joe

Whoa. So I have not posted here in many, many days. Here is why: I have been here at home, relaxing quite a bit and applying for the Grad school. (Translation: Nick and I have been sleeping all day and playing many video games and eating whatever gets within two feet of our faces.) The other day I saw the Two Towers. It was muy grand. I stood in line forever, even after being a Super Dork and buying my ticket early on Fandango. I went with a bunch of friends (ok, ok. I have no friends. But these nice people let me tag along... and none are pressing charges!) to a huge theater in B'ham and we waited in line with many other people and it was hot. There were these two people from South America in front of us and they kept saying: "Blah blah blah blah LORD OF THE RING-Os blah blah blah." They seemed to be very very excited. At one point one of them clapped his hands like he was playing some game with himself until a very pierced gentleman in front of him asked him to stop. He said, "Hey, stop." And the South American man did.
The next day we went Christmans shopping at Antique stores around Birmingham and a few thrift stores as well. It was wonderful. All old, polite people instead of the throngs of ugly-faced shoppers fighting over who will get to eat who's souls in the line at Best Buy. I am also poor, and there are many treasures (cheap treasures!) at such shops so that I can get folks some cool stuff for the holiday. I got Nick his presents (I drew his name in the sibling draw) and they are funny. I can't mention them in case he reads here (yes, so many people read my site!) but I can say what I got him for his birthday: "The Adventures of Grillo." It is a hardbound book from 1912 that I found at the thrift store. Its about a Hobo Grasshopper. It has a picture of him on the front. Thats really the whole reason I bought it. Because I thought Nick might want a book about a giant Hobo Grasshopper.
So Will's old school, WKU, won the National Championship in football yesterday. Will called and basically screamed into the phone for like two minutes and then told us. Nick and I did "The Big Red Dance" which consists of just wobbling for a moment. Because he is a big red blob and that is all. It was great fun.
Well Nick and I are off to do some hiking around Cheaha, specifically, "Nubbin Creek." And yes, we go there for more than just the name. A few friends are coming, too. It should be grand fun.
Hopefully it won't take me a gazillion years to post again, but when you are at home and there is free food and much sleepin, the computer is one of the last things you think about. Yens.

Hope all is well,

Peace,
Joe

Here's a fun story for you:

Once there was this guy named "Dr. Dontsleepsomuch." He was a master of all things except getting enough rest. And so one day, while watching "Breed All About It" he fell asleep and had a dream. It went a little something like this:
There was this white room with black curtains at the station. The good doctor was looking through a glass oninon when he decided to take a walk down Penny Lane to the station. When he got there, he met this little man named Pnutbu. And he said, "Heeeeeyee. I love peanut butter. And dogs. And peanut butter on dogs. And due to the nature of such things I cannot be myself for anyone but myself, becasue I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and gosh darnit, gum tastes good." Because he was a fiend before he became teen, Dr. Dontsleepsomcuh started melting microphones instead of cones of ice cream, and this scared Pnutbu off. Satisfied that he had rid himslef of that damn spot, the Dr. continued on his way. But before he could take twenty steps, this crazy girl who was walking like an Egyptian started screaming numbers at him, she screamed "867-5309." until she disappeared into the background like a karma chamelion. "I have to get away, I have to fly away, " the doctor said to himslef. "Perhaps an angel band will bear me away on their snow white wings to my immortal home soon enough." That thought comforted him, and he walked on, walked on, and stayed safe that night...

So there's part one of a truly horrible story that I just wrote becasue I've had no sleep and my brain is oozing out of my earz. I don' think there will be a part two, so let me tell you how the story ends: Pnutbu gets the girl.

Hope all is well,
Peace,
Joe

Here's a note... I wish that my blog had all the fervor of my little brother Nick's. He has renewed my love of the blogging, and this will soon be evident when the massive hand of EXAMS is not squashing all creative intent on my part. Ok. Read Nick's site. No, really. Read it. Please.

Hope all is well.

Peace,
Joe

Oh dear. The finals are upon me like a pack of ravenous starfish (nasty little creatures if you don't watch your back.) I just completed much written work and one final today, and I have another in-class final tomorrow, then a research talk on friday then... oh then the unspeakable joy will come on little padded feet and say "Joe! Come sleep and play in the world of cat hair and large blind dogs!" (home, that is.) This semester has been as we say in Alabama "a bad one." Fun yes, but also difficult. Nick, the cool guy that went to Nationals for the Rhodes, did not get one. He deserved one, though. Earlier today my mom laughed when I said I had an Abnormal final in the morning. She said "are all the others normal?" That was the funniest hing becasue when my mom thinks something is funny it really is. Daddy is off n a road trip tp see Will and Meghan and Peeg and Stacy. He's also doing work along the way.
Now only to wait until friday night....

Peace,
Joe

So after months of preparation and a huge application and a bunch of fun, I had my Rhodes State interview yesterday. It went very well. I wasn't nervous, they didn't ask me anything I couldn't answer, and the other candidates were fun to hang out with. In the end I didn't get a national interview, but a BSC brotha did. Nick Gaskill is one of the two Alabama reps for national tomorrow and saturday. All I have to say to Nick is good luck and SCHOLAR! (said in the form of "holla")
On other news Peeg got the coolest picture page up ever now on his site. A link to his site is over on the left column. Go to pictures and then "old skool." It has some purty funny stuff up there. Take a look see.
I had the oddest dream about Liebe Lou last night. I dreamt she was a ballarina, the first dog ever to do that. It was like one of those stupid Disney movies where the poor animal is the main character ala "MVP (Most Valuable Primate)" or "Air Bud." But instead of being all heart warming it was horrible like the real cut-throat world of dancing. She wouldn't eat and one day another dancer put glass shards in her pointe shoes. It was horrible. Luckily I wok up and did a some homework and came to update my site. Whew.
So classes are over, all it is now is finals. I'm out of school a week from tomorrow. Its weird to think that I only have one more term of undergraduate work. I'm old. Grad school, here comes Joe! No way I'm going out into the real world. Ha!
I hope everyone is well. For anyone that helped me with the Rhodes, thanks. It was fun.
Peace,
Joe

Wow. So this was the coolest break. Ever. I had so much fun its not even funny. I had no idea how much I had missed my family until I got to see them all. I have not spent this much time with Peeg in awhile, either. We had three huge meals and I stayed extra full with pie in between. I must have gained 10 pounds. No lie. The rest was much needed, now all I hope is that everyone returns to their respective homes safely. I did have one scare, though. Liebten was gone when Will got back to SC. He looked and looked and even had the Police out looking for her (ah, the connections of a great journalist) but she finally came home. Will details it on his site, and all I can say is that I have never been so close to tears in a long time. The thought of loosing her, even now that she is not directly my own, is devastating. I am glad she came home. And I'm glad Will let her know its not cool to take "sojourns" like that anymore. Stay at home, wiggle worm.
On a better note, the younger brothers won the annual football game by a touchdown. We were down by 14 at one point, but youth and raw dumb jockness eventually overcame strategy and raw speed. Nick picked off a pass in the last few seconds and tossed it to me, and I ran it in for the winning TD. It was a great game. Daddy was hitting everyone in the hands and we were trading great plays all game. Everyone was sore except Nick (Ranger kid) the next day.
Guess thats it. Hope everyone is well!

Peace,
Joe

NICK NOW HAS A WEBSITE!!!! Here is a link to the funniest crap ever! Read and enjoy all his links.

Peace,
Joe