Something about Wikipedia just stimulates the mind. Whenever I see that puzzle-piece globe, I just feel like I'm ready to learn. It's a feeling that doesn't strike me, a second-semester senior, very often.

Wikipedia has been in the news lately because Middlebury College in Vermont has become one of the first colleges to take a stance against using Wikipedia as a legitimate source.

I am a huge aficionado of Apple, Inc. Some might go so far as to call me a "fanboy." I would protest and argue, but I know that deep down, it's probably true.

Indeed, I'm sporting Apple's white iPod earbuds, which have essentially become synonymous with all mp3 players because of the sheer domination of the iPod over its inferior counterparts. I'm typing these very words on my sleek, shiny Macbook Pro, which, if prompted, I'll readily proclaim as my best purchase ever.

I can still recall the pure, old-fashioned magic of the holiday season.

I remember in second grade, my entire family was at my house for Christmas, we had a sea of presents dwarfing our beautifully-decorated douglas fir, and the sheer anticipation and excitement of that time of year kept me from sleeping on Christmas Eve.

It's a completely different story now.

I have finals, college applications and Christmas shopping (gone are the days when I could just add my name to a present my parents already bought) to do. I am busy trying to decipher the hideously-designed Web site for the Common App (but that's a blog post for another time). It's less than a week until the climax of the (formerly) most wonderful time of the year.