good morning! i guess for some, that would be an oxymoron, kind of like jumbo shrimp. unfortunately, everything seems to still be a mess at va tech. as i said before, my heart goes out to all the victims and their families. what a scary incident. stricter gun laws may be on the horizon. and personally, THANK GOD. don't get me wrong, i'm not a no guns person, i have 3. but have you ever bought a gun or gone to get a pistol license. it is completely simple, far less of a hassle than something as mundane as getting a haircut. you know that i went to get my haircut the other day and 3 beauticians were standing around talking, not working on anybody and they told me they did not have time to shave my head! it must be because i was not female and over the age of 65.

anyway, back to the pistol permit. i went a month or so ago to get mine. there was a hispanic family in front of me and the dad new little, if any english. his daughter filled out his paperwork for him and the woman behind the counter gladly gave him the permit. i was shocked. however, i did not say anything and continued to fill out my lengthy 1 page 200 point font paperwork that asked brutally complicated questions like "why do you want a pistol?". i wonder what they would do if my response was to shoot somebody?

so, after i paid my dues, i went to buy my first gun. and do you know what? THEY DIDN'T EVEN ASK TO SEE MY PERMIT. what's the point!?!? not only that, but what happened to the 3 day waiting period and background check?? i asked what the waiting period was and the guy said, "we don't have one"; and the background check? "we have an instant background check." sure. i'm trying to do an internship with the state of alabama and the check took 2 months. the whole process of buying my first gun AND ammunition took about as much time to by a gallon of milk and a honeybun. i find these gun laws to be almost laughable. granted, some states are tougher than others, but in alabama, carrying a gun is not only a right but nearly a societal expectation; if you don't own a gun, something is wrong with you (you tree-hugging left-wingers). funny, i now understand why i have splinters in my biceps.

has anyone been paying attention to what the news has said about this guy. apparently some professors who had this student were scared to death of him. one even said that she thought that he was suicidal. DID ANYONE TRY TO GET HIM SOME HELP!?!?!?!? before you ask, no i am not blaming the powers that be for this incident. i am simply stating that if someone sees warning signs, TALK TO SOMEONE.

on a totally different n0te, jessie maxwell, one of my good friends, just got back from germany. she is a wonderful photographer and beautiful to boot (sorry for any single guy reading this, she is taken). she has her own website www.jessiemaxwell.com. here you will be able to see some of her photographs. her germany pics are on http://ua.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2137710&l=eab55&id=27403738. hey jessie, next time you go to germany, PLEASE TAKE ME!?!?!?