I spent the entirety of today watching back-to-back episodes of Doctor Who, never even bothering to shower or to change out of my pajamas. Because of where I am in the series and because I refuse to skip episodes or view them out of order, I had to re-watch "Blink" (a particularly amazing but creepy episode) by myself, which has resulted in a permanent tingling sensation in my lower back. (Yay! I am a scaredy-cat!) No amount of walking around, dancing, or stretching will make it go away. I will most certainly be filing this under "super annoying."

But even if I suddenly started growing an eleventh toe as a side-effect of watching this show, I don't think I would stop. Not now. As winter settles in with its grey and dreary days, I grow melancholy and start to remember the sad things I've hidden away. I remember that there is a hole in my heart left by my favorite friends, who are so far away. I remember that I'm alone. I remember that, while I'm unable to recall what it is I really want to do with life or even where I want to go next, I'm too paralyzed with fear to do it anyway.

Now half of that is a seasonal semi-depression making itself at home in my brain, but the other half is me waking up from a sunshine-induced coma of summery daydreams and autumnal fantasies to face an imperfect reality. (Yeah, this perfectionism stuff, it runs deep. Some lucky therapist is going to make a killing off me.) Anyway, this wasn't meant to wander into a "woe is me" type post. I'm just enjoying my time with the sad and lonely Doctor. Our mutual escape from the doldrums of everyday life will soon be over, but that's okay. I suppose I have to start looking at the marred face of reality eventually. I just hope that face offers me a cupcake and a spot of tea and maybe a back massage.

I didn't intend to catch myself in the mirror with this shot, nor did I plan for the "Ahoy, matey! It's hurricane season!" effect. But once again, the imperfections of this picture are what make it one of my favorites. Plus, my brother and I were lost in a sea of giggles while trying to capture all these goofy pictures in a really fancy hotel, and thinking about it still makes me smile.

Being happy sure is nice.

Tigers are my favorite animals in the whole wide world, and the white ones are my extra favorite animals. (Is it possible to talk about one's favorite animal without sounding like a five-year-old?) I've been hearing some rumblings about tigers going extinct, which is just plain stupid. Pandas have been going extinct for like decades now, but tigers just whoosh in out of nowhere with a surprise extinction to beat them out? That is total crap. Also, what about those whales?

I've decided that I'm going to ask my parents to adopt a tiger cub in my name through a foundation called Save China's Tigers as my Christmas present this year. I don't even know if the foundation is legit yet or not, so I won't post a link, but if you have a few spare dollars and want to find your own tiger-related charity to donate to this season, I will love you forever. And maybe even kiss you, if you're pretty or if you smell good or if you quote Lord of the Rings in a low voice in my ear.

So go forth and save my favorite animal, if not for me then for the kids of the future who need to have tigers in the world in order to fully appreciate the greatness of Calvin and Hobbes.