red pumps and cadillac blues

... I think everyone is losing sight of what's really going on here.

Why is Britney Spears' divorce such a huge deal?

Why are people deriving pleasure from it?

I know everyone has this mindset that Kevin Federline is a huge bum and he's just in it for Britney's money and all (I have to admit, myself included) but isn't divorce supposed to be something sad? The dissolution of a marriage isn't exactly a cause for celebration; two people that once loved each other and planned on making a life together have decided to start over at square one. Is that really so funny?

First Travis Barker and Shanna Moakler (?) attack each other on MySpace, between Travis sticking his tongue down Paris Hilton's throat while Shanna throws herself a "divorce party". Just as the dust is settling over Ryan Philippe and Reese Witherspoon splitting up, amid rumors of Ryan cheating on Reese with (who I think to be) a total Reese lookalike, the atom bomb of Britney Spears and Kevin Federline drops.

What's up with the divorce trend?

And why is everybody celebrating it?

I don't think a divorce is funny at all. It's a long, difficult legal battle, especially when children are involved, and you have to essentially rebuild your life. It's not easy, and it's not fun. It's certainly not something to joke about.

Think about Britney, who evidently has realized that something isn't right about her relationship with her husband, and the last two years have been lost. Think about Kevin Federline, who is being lambasted across the country, just because (like many men his age) he was never ready for a committed relationship. Think about Sean Preston and Jayden James, who are going to be shuttled between parents and miss out on having a stable family life. (Although I have nothing against divorced families, I have the feeling that having Britney and K-Fed as parents is anything but stable!!)

A divorce isn't meant to be a public spectacle. It's not meant to be a three-ring circus. It's not meant to ruin the reputation of your former spouse.

But I guess we've all blown it out of proportion; our obsession with all things Hollywood has brought everything to a head, and now the pain of losing one's spouse is public domain.

As for Britney and Kevin, and Ryan and Reese ... keep it civil, for the kids' sake.

On that note, I registered for my spring semester classes last night, and since I got stuck with the worst possible registration time (damn you, random lottery numbers!!) I ended up getting closed out of a required class. That is, it's a prerequisite for anything I want to take next year. I've emailed one of the professors, who I'm hoping will write me into her class, and my peer counselor, who I'm hoping will provide me with a Plan B if Plan A doesn't work out. Oh, bureaucracy.

Do you believe in ghosts?  Have you ever seen a ghost? 
Submitted by Nancy.

 I believe in them, I guess. But as for seeing them -- I don't think so.

I live in a really old house, though. The woman who lived there before my family was killed there -- her husband was an alcoholic, and one day, he shoved her down the front steps, and that was the end of her. So, in theory, if I were to see ghosts, I probably would have had at least one floating around my house. But my experiences with the supernatural are extremely limited, unless getting really creeped out in a cemetery counts.

I do believe in ghosts, though. Probably because I'm really gullible and I believe when other people say they've encountered ghosts.

I like how on Halloween, there was a Halloween-themed question.

I'm not really doing anything for Halloween, though. I know a lot of people are dressing up and going out, but the thought didn't even occur to me until last night. I haven't dressed up since 6th grade -- with the exception of last year, because it's a "senior tradition". I didn't realize that everyone else would be dressing up, and even now, I'm not really enthusiastic about it. I'd rather hang out at the dorm or whatever.

I used to be so amped about Halloween when I was little. I had this drag queen-esque Little Mermaid costume that I wore every year from when I was three until I was six, and then it wouldn't fit me anymore. Then, I started making my own costumes -- the year I blew up a plastic garbage bag and filled it with balloons and went as a gumball machine; the year I painted a curly mustache on my face, wore a beret, and called myself an artist; the year I filled two cardboard boxes with fake food and was a refrigerator -- those were great costumes. I'd trick-or-treat around my neighborhood with a pillowcase, and I wouldn't stop until the pillowcase was on the verge of breaking. Unlike my sisters, who preferred to ration their candy so it would last until Easter, I devoured mine like it was my job, and it was all gone by Thanksgiving (except for the Almond Joys, because I hated them).

I think part of the reason I'm not dressing up this year is because I don't like the "college kid" version of Halloween, which is basically an excuse to dress like a slut and get trashed. If I pulled out my Napoleon Dynamite wig from last year, would it be as fun as it was last year? Probably not.

But by no means am I boycotting Halloween -- my sister has promised to set aside some choice goodies for me this year. After all, isn't that what Halloween is all about -- getting free candy?

Add me. I'm friendly.

Kidding. It's not friends-only. But all else still applies!