A STORY TO PONDER
(Author Unknown)

Young King Arthur was ambushed and imprisoned by the monarch of a
neighboring kingdom. The monarch could have killed him, but was moved by
Arthur's youth and ideals. So the monarch offered him freedom, as long as
he could answer a very difficult question. Arthur would have a year to
figure out the answer; if, after a year, he still had no answer, he would
be put to death. The question: What do women really want?

Such a question would perplex even the most knowledgeable man, and to Young
Arthur, it seemed an impossible query. But, since it was better than death,
he accepted the monarch's proposition to have an answer by year's end. He
returned to his kingdom and began to poll everybody: the princess, the
prostitutes, the priests, the wise men, the court jester. He spoke with
everyone, but no one could give him a satisfactory answer. Many people
advised him to consult the old witch--only she would know the answer. The
price would be high; the witch was famous throughout the kingdom for the
exorbitant prices she charged.

The last day of the year arrived and Arthur had no alternative but to talk
to the witch. She agreed to answer his question, but he'd have to accept
her price first: The old witch wanted to marry Gawain, the most noble of
the Knights of the Round Table and Arthur's closest friend. Young Arthur
was horrified: She was hunchbacked and hideous, had only one tooth, smelled
like sewage, made obscene noises... etc. He had never encountered such a
repugnant creature. He refused to force his friend to marry her and have to
endure such a burden.

Gawain, upon learning of the proposal, spoke with Arthur. He told him that
nothing was too big a sacrifice compared to Arthur's life and the
preservation of the Round Table. Hence, their wedding was proclaimed, and
the witch answered Arthur's question thus:

What a woman really wants is to be in charge of her own life.

Everyone instantly knew that the witch had uttered a great truth and That
Arthur's life would be spared. And so it was. The neighboring monarch
granted Arthur total freedom.

What a wedding Gawain and the witch had. Arthur was torn between relief and
anguish. Gawain was proper as always, gentle and courteous. The old witch
put her worst manners on display, and generally made everyone very
uncomfortable.

The honeymoon hour approached. Gawain, steeling himself for a horrific
experience, entered the bedroom. But what a sight awaited him. The most
beautiful woman he'd ever seen lay before him. The astounded Gawain asked
what had happened. The beauty replied that since he had been so kind to her
when she'd appeared as a witch, she would henceforth be her horrible,
deformed self half the time, and the other half, she would be her beautiful
maiden self. Which would he want her to be during the day, and which during
the night?

What a cruel question. Gawain pondered his predicament. During the day, a
beautiful woman to show off to his friends, but at night, in the privacy of
his home, an old witch. Or would he prefer having by day a hideous witch,
but by night a beautiful woman with whom to enjoy many intimate moments

What would you do?

What Gawain chose follows below, but don't read it until you've made your
own choice.

Noble Gawain replied that he would let her choose for herself.

Upon hearing this, she announced that she would be beautiful all the time,
because he had respected her enough to let her be in charge of her own life.

What is the moral of this story?

If a woman doesn't get her own way, things are going to get ugly.

I am done!! Well, mostly. My group paper is done and turned in, and the one final that I had to take is done! I have to attend finals tomorrow and Thursday, but no real studying or work needed. Tomorrow is the final for the class that I'm TAing for. I'll have to grade those finals, but I like grading. On Thursday, I have to go listen to presentations by other groups. But other than that, I'm done with this term! :-) Although now I have a ton of stuff to do at Applause, and I'm going to Chicago to visit my parents, and I'm off to a workshop for 5 days later this month. And then summer school! Which I'm hoping will be fun or at least interesting, since I'm taking Latin and a European History class that focuses on literature (we get to read Sherlock Holmes!) So despite the fact that I'm almost done, it doesn't really mean that I'm any less busy, just that I'm busy with stuff that I like more.

"Whatever you want to do, do it now. There are only so many tomorrows."
-Michael Landon

I just found out that girl in one of my UCSD classes was killed in a car accident last night. I didn't really know her, so it's not a huge blow to me, but whenever someone young dies, I always wonder how much time each of us has left. There are so many things that I want to do in my life: so many things that I want to learn, so many places I want to see, so many people I want to meet, so many books I want to read. I try to tell myself that I don't need to do it all now (I have a tendency to take on too many different activities), but at times like this, I also remember that I have to make sure that I don't waste time on things that keep me away from the things I really want to do in my life.

Don't take anyone else's definition of success as your own.
-Jacqueline Brisken