It’s midnight, Saturday night. I’ve been at my desk studying for my civil procedure exam since 6:30, so long my posterior is complaining (inaudibly). I don’t mind, though, as I’ve got jurisdiction down cold. A few minutes ago a car went past slowly, sounding odd, muffled. Scout got nervous and ran to the door, the usual indication of either a needed pee or a stranger’s presence, so I went downstairs to let her out and it was so quiet and so completely white I walked outside in the absolutely silent snow, falling like thousands of tiny paper diamonds. So new nothing had disturbed its smooth blanket anywhere, only the one set of tire tracks through what was once the street in front of my house. Seriously, four inches in as many hours. This is Ada’s second snow, but this one is nicer, dry and cleaner than the deluge we got two weeks ago, where it got warm the day after and everything was soon just cold mud. Tonight it is well below freezing, and the snow stays frozen in your glove, on your jacket. It is perfect for snowballs, as Scout discovered much to her bewilderment, then dismay, then triumph. I am frequently reminded by my friends who are amused by the fact I am from Alabama that this is normal. Last year they got eighteen inches in two days, yada yada. But I don’t care. There is something so strange about snow that it’s like sunrises or fettuccini alfredo, cranking the music up when I drive. I hope it never gets old. I just wish there were some hills around here. Anyway, final exams are halfway over and sanity is with us, which is good. On campus the mood can go from jubilation to despair in about four seconds flat, then back again, although since we don’t know how we’ve done on our tests so far it’s hard to really relax. These are by far the hardest I’ve ever taken. But it’s the same for everybody, so all you can do, ironically, is hope your friends did worse than you did. I reckon we’ll see. The career services department has started cooking food every day after some students reported they had foregone cooking (and eating?) in order to study, which I thought was a bit ridiculous, but the free chili is nice. I would say as a general proposition that giving out free granola bars is the sort of behavior we should encourage. (Justices O'Connor, Rehnquist, Powell, Scalia, concurring. Justices Brennan, White, and Marshall dissenting on grounds of failure to prove intestinal jurisdiction.) I’ll be home on the 20th. I can’t wait to see yall.