And a Happy New Year!

Thank you to all with whom I spent time this holiday season! I truly am blessed to have such amazing friends and family to fill the void carved by finals week and the stresses of college. It's nice to see you all! At the same time, I miss my friends in Springfield, too. Never fear, we'll be together before you know it!

I haven't seen Robert Plant in weeks. I forgot to bring him with me. I imagine Will has watered him, because will is an All-star caretaker when I neglect Robert.

In particular, I had a chance to spend an amazingly intense but short period of time with my favorite person on this earth, whom I rarely see. She inspires me to no end, and this proved to be the case in my life inside and outside of the studio. You will all meet her when the next record comes out at the end of the semester.

And now, the lists. I never actually make resolutions, let alone a single resolution. If I do, it's just something like "stay in shape" or "get good grades." Bologna, that's what I think. I've recently been excited about the intensity that is to be found within every situation in our lives, however good or bad. I'm starting 2K6 regret-free, and I plan to continue embracing the adventure and mystery and opportunity entailed in my life. This is not to say that I haven't made mistakes, but that I will not allow them to destroy my confidence or security. In doing so, regrets are gone!

So, enjoy this holiday with the understanding that no matter what choices you make, please search for the meaning behind said choices and learn how to incorporate them into your life, regret free. My challenge for you all is to let something go that you have been withholding in 2K5.

This is the sappiest post ever. What a bummer! I'm all smitten now, so subsequent posts may carry such tone in the future.
xoxo,
nathaniel

Merry Christmas!

I will be assembling a very special Christmas CD tomorrow to be mailed across the country to anyone who wants a copy.
I recorded the 9-song disc over the past week with some of my favorite friends and family as a gift to you.

Merry Christmas. xoxo, Nathaniel
1. White Christmas
2. Little Drummer Boy
3. Jingle Bells
4. Silent Night
5. It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
6. O Holy Night
7. Until Christmas (N.C. original!)
8. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
9. Auld Lang Syne

They will be festively packaged and carefully shipped to the address of your choice. Just email me at nathaniel.carroll@gmail.com with your address and a holiday greeting, and I will send it as soon as I can. Note: They will NOT arrive by Christmas, but it's a great belated holiday gift.

For those who do not celebrate Christmas, please send me songs from other faith traditions or holidays, and I will do my best to diversify next holiday season.

Happy Holidays to all of my friends!
xoxo,
nathaniel

Sleepless in Seattle

This should be my last sleepless night...unless I somehow discover more things to finish tomorrow night.

Then, it's Christmas break, and then off to Seattle, WA! Maybe Tom Hanks will be there! Or Meg Ryan; either way, I'll be excited.

xoxo,
nc

A Blooming Mess!

I need to stop staying up all night wasting time.
I need to stop checking my email and myspace over and over!
I need to find a quiet place to sleep.
I need to be less needy.

xoxo,
nathaniel

Roommate Profile: December Edition

	Jessica Jean Schneider This month, the roommate of the month is Jessica. She is a radical feminist who hails from the OC, California. She is very active in the political world, and fancies herself a fine orator. I don't know what she thinks about Robert Plant; I doubt she thinks about Robert Plant at all.
Jessica was neck-and-neck with Will for the title of Roommate of the Month. After hosting two horribly offensive girlz nights (much to my chagrin), Jessica cleaned the living room and kitchen up, and even removed the dish towel from the toilet. Her long-awaited display of personal responsibility made her a prime canidate for this months' Roommate of the Month! Job well done!

xoxo,
nathaniel

Dish Towel in the Toilet

Status: Removed.
Conflict: Resolved.

Robert Plant: Slumber Party Spy

I got home last night to discover that it was apparently "girls night" at our house, so I promptly vacated my home. After running on 3 hours of sleep for nearly 2.5 days, I was ready to go to bed (note: we're talking 11pm!). However, because of my oppressive masculinity, I had to find a better place to dwell. Of course, I chose the school, because I'm a nerd, but felt too tired to do homework and hoped to find respite at Jandyn and Staci's house. While I did not get too much more sleep, I did see so many wonderful friends, which allowed me to weild super human strength and make it all the way to 3:30am before people started winding down.

At this point, I knew that returning home would be risky, because I might encounter loud girls who would then frustrate me. I didn't have time or energy to be wasting on frustration, so I fell asleep on the floor. When everyone left, Jandyn woke me up and told me I could move to the couch, where I got 4 more hours of sleep. By the time I go to bed tonight (probably 1am), I will have been operating on 7 combined hours of sleep spread out over 65 hours. Ugh.

But here's the punchline. I made a wise decision by not going home last night, because the evidence I found in the bathroom was enough to deduce that I would have lost my mind. Someone had thrown up in the toilet and attempted to flush a dishtowel down the toilet. On top of that, it was MY DISHTOWEL, which I specifically reserved for the washing of dishes, not for clogging toilets. The girls were still at my house this morning, but snuck out while I was taking my first shower in 3 days. I'm about to return home, and I have a hunch that the towel will still be there. Gross!

Of course, when I asked Robert how this could've happened, he remained completely vegetative, offering no leads whatsoever. Some plant indeed.

xoxo,
nathaniel

Yule be Sorry

I yelled at Will and Jessica last night. I'm sorry.

xoxo,
nathaniel

Carpet: Found

After an intense interrogation by yours truly, I was able to draw an answer from Will as to the whereabouts of the illusive carpet. As I suspected, he had taken it captive outside, and planned to beat it! Will claimed that the carpet was dirty, and that it needed a good beating. Hitler said the same thing about the Jews, Will. Shame on you. I arrested him immediately as he had admitted his crime, and charged him with kidnapping (1 count of), burglary (1 count of), malicious persuasion of plant-life (who knows how many counts of), and violent/malicious intent (1 count of).
As I am a forgiving and just ruler, I agreed upon Mr. Andree's request to allow him a lesser sentence if he led me to the missing carpet. Apparently, he put it on the back porch in a frazzled pile, exposed to the elements, creatures of the night, and so forth. He assisted me in removing the carpet from the scene and cleaning it. He has agreed to apologize to the carpet and immediate family of the carpet in a press conference yet to be held. Stay tuned for more details.

Once again, Detective Carroll has solved the case!
xoxo,
nathaniel

Cutting a Rug...OR...How I Discovered that Robert Plant is a Carpet-Eater.

That's right. The area rug in the living room is gone! I stayed at the school all night with the intention of working on homework (much to my chagrin), and, upon returning home for a shower and change of clothes this morning, found something amiss: The rug in the living room had vanished. Not even a small sample of carpet remained. I searched high and low for the carpet-at-large, and my investigation was fruitless. Realizing that Robert Plant was the only other member of the household present at the time, I inferred that it was indeed Robert who ate the living room carpet!

Now, the only way he could possibly move from the kitchen table to the floor in the next room is with the help of an aptly-abled accomplice (how about that illiteration, eh?). Naturally, I retrieved my list of usual suspects and reduced said list from 37 shady characters to two specific housemates, who, for the sake of preserving their identity, shall be called W and J. I will have to dust for prints and conduct an intense interrogation, I'm sure. Whomever aided Robert in his glutonous heist must not only have known Robert's dastardly plot, but also have harbored a severe hatred for the currently digesting rug.

I will keep you informed as to the whereabouts of the rug and the overall progress of the case. For now, I need to go pick up a hot lamp, 1 super-sonic ear kit, a long overcoat (with matching flap-hat), bubble pipe, basset hound, and 1 former rapper-turned-actor to back me up. We're getting the SVU on this one, baby!

Tune in next week for the gripping conclusion to... Cutting a Rug...OR...How I Discovered that Robert Plant is a Carpet-Eater

xoxo,
nathaniel