Back in the day, I was a pro at staying home from school "sick" or cutting 6th or 7th period due to a sudden plague just to get home in time to watch my soaps. The last months of Stone's life on GENERAL HOSPITAL were probably the sole cause of my giant case of senioritis in 1995! But like many weary soap fans these days, I feel like there's a dearth of good, school-skipping moments. Let's face it, the writers' strike sucked a lot of life and momentum out of our shows. Not to mention the fact that a lot of fan faves have been killed off and the death toll for beloved couples is pretty high, too. Fear not, though! I have given this at least ten minutes of thought, and here are 10 moments in 2008 that I would cut school for. (Yes, I know I'm employed at a soap magazine and have a TV in my office. Work with me here.)

(They're not in order of importance, I promise.)

So, I have crazy, depressing moral issues about THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL's Storm shooting himself and Katie getting his heart. But rather than frothing at the mouth about that (it's kind of like getting me on the subject of ATWT's Ameera), I'd like to touch upon LESS froth-inducing issues.

To set the scene, here's an excerpt from an e-mail exchange with my colleague Joe Dilberto from a few weeks back:

Did anyone ever watch the short-lived Fox show ROAR? It starred a young Heath Ledger (RIP, Heath, RIP), and if you liked HERCULES or XENA or currently watch the BBC's new ROBIN HOOD, it was in a similar vein. Lots of leather, swords, and people from New Zealand pretending to be British. There was a really cool villain cursed with immortality since he pierced Jesus with his spear back during the Crucifixion, but I didn't really pay much attention to him. (I was 19 years old and HI, HEATH.) Fast forward 11 years and that really cool villain is now one of my favorite actors on GENERAL HOSPITAL. Yes, I'm talking about Sebastian Roché, whose pitch-perfect portrayal of Mr. Craig/Jerry has made me forsake any young, floppy-haired hunks with a penchant for leather who may be wandering Port Charles.

I've been watching DAYS OF OUR LIVES every morning for the last two weeks, and I'm happy to report that the results are already visible: I'm happier, more cheerful, and generally ready to tackle the day. It's like a cross between crack and brain bleach! The former because the hilarity of Nicole antagonizing just about everybody (and giving off major sparks with Philip) just sets me rolling ... and the latter because after the past two weeks of "my" show, AS THE WORLD TURNS, I sorely need something to dissipate the steam building between my ears.

Hi, I'm Mala, Weekly's news, AS THE WORLD TURNS, and BOLD AND BEAUTIFUL editor (and unofficial GENERAL HOSPITAL aficionado). It’s my turn to join the bevy of bloggers here at Weekly/Digest HQ and I must kick it off with a confession: I have just started up a fling with DAYS OF OUR LIVES.

See, I'm something of a timeslot trollop. My finger is always on the "last channel recall" button (it's a channel surfer's best friend) and if I can manage it, I try to watch at least two soaps at a time. At the one o'clock hour, I basically watch YOUNG AND RESTLESS, ALL MY CHILDREN, and B&B simultaneously (Gasp! I'm such a hussy!). At 2, I mostly stay with WORLD TURNS but sometimes sneak over to ONE LIFE. However, here in New York, at 10 there's just GUIDING LIGHT to contend with...unless you want to catch the previous day's DAYS on SOAPnet.

Well, that's just what I've begun doing.

I rave about Y&R for a few reasons in the issue of Weekly that hits stands this week (you'll have to pick it up and find out why), but that doesn't necessarily mean the show is pitch perfect. In fact, I have some big ol' problems with the show at times.