Alphabet Soup

Howdy all. I'm going to write this letter as if it is tomorrow,
because I realize most of you won't get it until at least 8 hours
after I send it out to the world. All the information I give will be
pertaining to Tuesday, October 26.

Today is "Make A Difference Day" and "Mule Day." It is also my Dad's
Birthday!! Happy Birthday Dad!

There are now 22 days until I leave, and possibly 4 (at fewest) or 11
(at most) days until I quit my job. I really don't like the thought
of staying there any longer than I have to, but the money would
definitely come in handy too. I'll think on it some more.

I just drank the last of the root beer. It was a pretty cheap bottle
(79 cents for 2 liters!) but you kinda get what you pay for. It was
the regular Albertson's brand, and they don't use the right
flavorings, or at least they aren't as potent as I like them to be.
The Brick Oven in Provo serves some good root beer, it reminds me of
black licorice. But not too much. Just enough to add some kick.
Nothing is quite as icky as watery root beer. Oh, well ok, some
things are far, far worse, but I am only talking in terms of root
beer.

Well, now it is tomorrow, it was yesterday when I started. Midnight
is such a funky idea. Is it still yesterday, or is it today? Well,
obviously, it's today, because it's always today, but it feels like...
well, today. It doesn't really make any sense unless you witness the
change of date. Ahh, deixis!

That word, deixis, reminded me suddenly of Grice and his maxims. I
really liked reading about them, and I once went to a really cool
presentation by Dallin Oaks' daughter (not THE Dallin Oaks, but this
one's cool too). She explained how Shakespeare intentionally violated
each maxim repeatedly, and she explained why we react the way we do
when people do that kind of thing. It was really interesting. You
should read about Grice. I'll try to find a good article... Ah, here
it is: http://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=1880
Enjoy.

And I must be going now, I have to get up early... today.

Brian