the absence of the countdown chain

i love countdown chains. love. them. unfortunately, i have to exert some self control and save them for major events. because if you had a countdown chain for just every little thing, they'd lose their magic.

one of the first things i got excited about after taking this teaching job was the prospect of a glorious countdown chain. i figured that since the cruise was so close to the end of the quarter, i'd just make a chain to countdown to the trip. i was tempted to make it right away, but decided to hold off. my goal was to make it past the 'honeymoon' stage of the job, and bring in the chain when things started feeling dull. but all those silly snow days kept me from needing extra motivation and alas, i waited too long.