I went through a period in college where I dreamt, every night, that I killed my father or that I knew who killed my father and I got blamed for it. They were those types of dreams that are so long and involved that you feel like you’ve been sleeping for days when you wake up, and you’re still exhausted from it. I have no idea what it meant, other than I 1) had an overactive and strange subconscience or, 2) I had blame/guilt issues. Thank goodness they went away though. And if this week’s FTILFF sucks, you can blame it on the staff. Not me. Got it?

1. Chili - Random, yes. But cooler weather (cooler *and* rainy, nonetheless) demands comforting food. And you really can’t screw up chili. I don’t make it like true Texas red, but whatever. Gets me through a cold Fall evening. Bust out that crockpot and it’s done when you get home from work!
2. Perhaps the most inspiring story I’ve ever read - I don’t cry. I’ve been to 98 funerals in my life (not joking) and have cried at perhaps 2. But this, THIS, got me misty-eyed yesterday. Gracious.
3. Online streaming of The Black Parade, the new disc from My Chemical Romance - Most people over the age of 16 that I know hate these guys for co-headlining the alterna-teen/mall-emo movement (see also Fall Out Boy). But this album takes quite a drastic departure from their first album. Think Bowie + Queen squeezed through the emo strainer. It’s dramatic. It’s different. And it’s refreshing, at the very least because they didn’t adhere to the sophomore formula for just duplicating an acclaimed first disc.
4. Friday Night Lights - I’m not too sweet on TV. Or Football. Yet somehow the dark, moody direction that this drama series takes is absolutely enthralling. I’m sure it will be canceled midseason or something, though. That’s my luck. And hey, Adrianne Palicki is from Toledo!
5. Video games - Another thing I never indulge in. But babysitting the goddaughter and niece every Tuesday night does afford me an opportunity to play XBox on a 90” theater screen. Besides the fact that I suck at every game, and that my 3 month old gaming companion can’t even hold her dinner down, let alone a controller, it’s a rockin’ good time. Makes me feel young again.