as i'm sitting here preparing my business homework on microsoft's xbox so i can go to a "scotch drinking" club meeting tonight, a fleeting moment of "this shit is actually fun" has swept over me.

no doubt this brief contentment will dissipate when i realize that the strategy i've developed for xbox is completely wrong. and when i admit that i don't actually like scotch.

when my sister called me this morning to vent about life frustrations, i listened and immediately began recommending action steps. "debb daniela, i don't want you to solve my problems, i just need you to listen."

oh.

over the last seven months, i've been coached to diagnose a situation quickly. taught to recommend a concrete action plan. and trained to have an attention span of exactly 80 minutes.

i've also been thrown from my high horse, trampled on by stallions, and deprived of a libido in exchange for a decent night's sleep. i've also learned to become seriously annoyed when i'm required to pay attention for any longer than 82 minutes.

as my fabulous four-day weekend draws to a close, i realize i haven't left my apartment in two days, haven't applied make-up in three, and haven't worn anything besides sweatpants in four. there is something incredibly rejuvenating about alternating between movies, law & order reruns, cooking, showering, and sleeping.

in my self-imposed solitude, i've been thinking lately a lot about my transformation from committed professional to flippant student. i've also been deeply worried about who dannielynn's real father is and britney's serious need for rehab. these, my friends, are the true concerns of the twenty-something generation. the latter obviously far more important than the former.

in considering how i have changed over the last year, i fear for moments of stark realizations when i head to washington, dc this coming weekend for a career trek (read: excuse to see friends, network with former colleagues, and drink margaritas at lauriol plaza). when i left there last july, i was a self-confident twenty-four year old in a serious relationship and headed to some prestigious graduate program at an unheard of university in boston. my biggest concern at the time was what i was going to eat on my upcoming trip to europe.

when i land at reagan national airport on saturday, i'll be a self-conscious twenty-five year old, still carrying the weight of eating spaghetti bolognese for the eleven nights i was in italy -- whose biggest concern is the next time i'm going to get some action.

so what i think i'm most looking forward to is interacting with people who knew me at a time in my life when i was grounded and sensible. no pressure to be impressive. no pressure to perform. and absolutely no pressure to be anything more than just a walking sexual innuendo.

and so the only solace i can find in having to go back to class tomorrow is eagerly anticipating returning to the politically-inclined atmosphere and fast-moving pace that was such an integral part of my former life.

well, that and i've seen almost every movie that is currently on HBO's february rotation and watched the food network's chocolate runway competition four times. in fact, i am banking on xbox's strategy involving drew barrymore and cocoa powder.