[Insert creative title here]

Once more, with feeling*

2010-07-21T17:15:00.000-07:00

I keep feeling like I should address the fact that I haven't written in while, sum up the past year, yada yada yada (which, strangely enough, I keep typing as "yadad" and after searching on the internets, I discovered its apparently an anti-drugs for kids program. Perhaps I was subconsciously channeling a DARE-esque vibe today? Anyhow. I digress.)

But instead all I want to write about is the weather. Because it is ridiculously cold! Today, as I walked to the pharmacy, I bundled up in jeans, sweater, long jacket and scarf. This is not the appropriate sartorial choice for July. Not at all!

I'm going to Southern California tomorrow to visit friends and family, and all I want is some warm weather. *sigh*

*fun fact! this is also the title of one the greatest episodes of one my favorite shows :)

Guess who has a deviated septum?!

2009-08-26T18:35:00.000-07:00

Yeah... went to the doctor today as per the ER doctor's orders last week (even though the swelling on the nose has gone down and the bruising has faded to the point where it just looks like I have a REALLY heavy hand at putting on makeup... and apparently I have bad aim as well? My left eye has some lovely shades of purple above and below). She checked me out, and then pronounced that she was referring me to a specialist so he could tell me about the surgery I'll need. So I guess I'm going to make an appointment with the specialist and see what he has to say. Utter ridiculousness.

All this because I thought it would be fun to join a kickball league. I'm going back to my safe sport of polo, I think.

Things that I dreamt about last night.

2009-08-16T08:20:00.000-07:00

Forgetting my syllabus.

Thinking of a different activity, only to discover there was no overhead projector in the classroom.

Not having my keys to my classroom.

Being transferred to a different school.

Not knowing which classes I was teaching. Asking the department chair (at the new school) which classes I was teaching, only to have him not know either.

Biking to school and almost being run over by cars and students.

Not being able to find my syllabus/worksheets in my classroom as the students arrived.

Not having any of my whiteboard markers work.

Not being able to write "Good Morning" legibly on the board.

Having my classroom be in a house at the top of a steep, gravel hill where there was lots of construction and I feared the jeep I was driving (I know, what?!) would fly backwards and end up in the lake at the bottom (yeah, I really don't know).

This time tomorrow, I'll be in the classroom, trying to convince a whole new group of teenagers that I really do know what I'm doing and that I really do have my shit together. Wish me luck!

Blogging as procrastinating (who knew?)

2009-08-11T11:19:00.000-07:00

Well, its official. Summer is just about over. As of next Monday I will once again be known primarily as Ms. Dove ("you don't look like an Alexandra, you just look like a Ms. Dove") and will once again shape and mold the youth of America (well, a few hundred of them at least).

So what am I doing with my final week? Preparing? Lesson planning? Organizing papers, etc.? Of course not! Instead I'm making a cell phone jail. Yes, that's right. A jail for cell phones. There are very few things that really get under my skin and bother me about my students. 1. homophobic slurs 2. disrespectful attitudes 3. texting in my class. I can't do too much about #1 & 2 (not that I don't dream of large pieces of duct tape and/or the Panopticon ), but I'm taking #3 into my own hands (damnit)! I'm not too certain of the success rate of this proposed cell jail (ha!), only time will tell I suppose. But at least I can procrastinate with slightly less guilt now.

In other unrelated news...
I joined a kickball team this morning. And then realized that Alexandra + sports = not always the best combination. But it should be interesting at least, and I'll probably acquire some more entertaining stories of how my lack of coordination led to me falling down in front of a large group of people as they gasped in horror. Good times.

Contemplating growing out my bangs and/or shaving my head. Thoughts?

This spring I'll be teaching a health class. While I'm not (at all!) stoked to be giving up a history class, I imagine the randomness of such a venture will be worth the extra planning, etc.

Okay, back to my jail construction.

I just don't get it...

2009-07-15T11:29:00.000-07:00

Why do people like running?

I'm sorry, but every time I force myself to run (and to be fair, these events are few and far between) I spend the entire time cursing the activity and generally hating life. Supposedly there is such a thing as a "runner's high" (which fyi, if you google, you come up with interesting images), but it's a mystery to me. *sigh*

2009-05-03T11:34:00.000-07:00

And this is why I haven't written in a while. Ugh.

here are some things I did today.

2008-11-14T15:17:00.000-08:00

1. Forgot my classroom keys at home. I had to have my coworker use her key to let me into my classroom. Awesome.

2. Tried to make copies of worksheets only to have a) the copier break and b) somehow punch in the wrong number and wrong copy formation so I had too many of one paper and too little of another. Great.

3. Wear my shirt inside out until I noticed in the middle of third period. Fantastic.

4. call several students by the wrong name. Wonderful.

5. Barely make it through the day. But at least its Friday, which means I can go home. Just as soon as my coworker comes to lock my door.

semi-indulgent post about grading.

2008-11-12T19:57:00.000-08:00

So here I am amidst a scene I am only too familiar with-- sitting atop my bed with papers and books strewn about every surface of my room. Furiously typing away on my computer, feeling slightly frenzied and desperately wishing for coffee.

But here's the difference. The papers, which were once solely mine, are now my students work. I'm no longer surrounded with books for my thesis or classes. Now I have the textbooks I teach from. Instead of drafts of papers that I've written, I have my students' papers. Essays, worksheets, quizzes, maps, homework, classwork. All of which needs to be accounted for. By midnight tonight. I'm down to my last stack--some random late work and one set of exams that need to be graded--so the end is somewhat in sight. I'll finish all this work, return the papers, deal with questions about grades and so on. And then it will happen all again. I'll assign more homework, more projects, more writing assignments, more maps, more bookwork. And it will all start over again. And again. And again.

*sigh*

politics makes me sad, but students make me happy

2008-10-16T18:19:00.001-07:00

I'm currently watching McCain speak at a charity event. I don't know what the charity is for, but Obama and Hillary, and I'm assuming lots of other important politicians are there. McCain is giving a rather silly, tongue in cheek speech. Obama is giggling, Hillary is nearly falling out of her chair. And I can't help but be sad. I'm sad for what McCain has become. Watching the debates last night (and talking about it with my students today) made me realize how much John McCain has changed during this election. I'm not talking about his politics and views, although I do have a lot of issues with those. But I miss the John McCain that I used to respect. And I get the sense that he does too. The one who didn't resort to gimmicky (dare I say Mavericky?) choices in order to spur his campaign along. The one who truly was an independent, and took pride in that. But mostly I miss actually liking the man. This campaign has made me actively dislike him. And yes, I get that this is politics, and politics is dirty. But I at least used to respect the man who really loved this country and was just power-hungry. Now I'm just sad for him. (and also fearful that he might win)

However, one thing that made me happy today was how into politics some of my students were. In every class we talked about the debate, and we probably could have kept talking about them the entire period. Not every student was into the conversation, but a fair amount were. A lot of them had questions and were actively engaged. In short, it was awesome. One of those teacherly moments that gets you all excited to work with youth. Of course then I had to send someone outside because she couldn;t contain her verbal outbursts and saw one of my students at lunch who was strangely absent during my third period class. But all in all, it was a good day.

2008-09-25T19:26:00.000-07:00

I should have been on Jeopardy tonight.

I would have ruled.

*sigh*

oooh, a teaching post

2008-08-13T21:42:00.000-07:00

Had another orientation where I was told such valuable tidbits as "don't give your keys to your students" and "don't sexually harass your students." So yes as you can imagine, it was a truly worthwhile experience. All in all though, the day did get me thinking about stuff I probably should be thinking about, what my first day being Monday(!) Also, I re-signed my contract (yay for full time! All benefits covered! Higher salary! More days off!)

I had my first nervous freak out tonight. I was wondering when that was going to start happening again. Oh yay, its starting now. Finally started writing my syllabus though, which has made me feel more settled. Tomorrow, I'll be spending the day at school getting some "professional development." I'm hoping this will somehow include coffee and muffins.

In other news, I got my keys to my first period classroom. And now I'm slightly afraid of the maintenance man at Burlingame. There were several threats as he handed the keys over, my favorite of which was "if you don't hand this key directly back to me at the end of the year, I will hunt you down over the summer." I'm pretty sure I don't want to find out if he was kidding or not.

wait, summer is over?!

2008-08-03T08:03:00.000-07:00

Its already August, and as such, my summer has about a week left in it. And what a summer its been. I moved to Davis just short of two months ago with no fall job prospects and no place to live in San Francisco. I was essentially resigned to subbing and living in a crappy apartment in Daly City. For the summer, I had a job I knew would be okay, but wasn't too excited about. Oh yeah, and I had a boyfriend.

Cut to a week after moving (and a few days before starting the job). Suddenly, I still had no job prospects/living arrangements, but I was also lacking the boyfriend as well. Lots of tears, lots of good friends.

Started working, discovered that I actually really liked my job. Kept me disturbingly busy and tired. Every weekend was spent having some random adventure or another (barely spent any weekend time in Davis in fact). Started to get over the ex, continued the (oftentimes futile feeling) job search. Still nothing.

A few weeks ago, I called one of the schools I had applied to (just to see if they needed any more documents, etc). They offered me an interview the next day. I said hell yeah! and almost quite literally jumped into my car and drove the bay. Had the interview, thought it wet horribly, and bought myself a vanilla cupcake for its consolation purposes. The school called not two hours later and offered me the job! (Of course, I accepted). So now I was healing from the lack of boyfriend, and had acquired gainful employment. Things were definitely looking up.

Went to San Francisco last weekend to look at a few places. Liked the first one I saw, visited some more, became convinced by my friends to take it, called the guy later in that day and signed the lease.

I am not an impulsive person. I am the person who waits to the absolute last minute to decide on just about anything. And yet this summer has been full of impulsive decisions. Drive to Eureka? Sure. Go to Grass Valley for a week of camp? Why not? It definitely has not been the summer I had planned for or had expected but it turned out to be pretty decent. And now its just about over. This will be the last week of my summer job, then next weekend I pack up my car and move back to SF. I have a week of meetings and orientations and then bam! my real life job will start. You know, the one that I've been talking about doing for the past several years while I did other things (see: grad school, moving to other states, etc.). But for this Sunday morning, I'm going to go outside and try to enjoy my last weekend in Davis.

today. now.

2008-05-07T19:48:00.000-07:00

I had my last class (potentially ever).

I have the possibility of never being a student again. There are no plans for me to apply to any programs, register for any classes, write any papers, give any presentations, or take any exams.

When I finished college, I knew I was going to grad school. When I finished grad school, I knew I would get my teaching credential.

I've always described myself as a student. My conversations have most often centered around academia and my experiences within in. I've never had a moment in my life when I wasn't a student or didn't have any plans to become one again in the near future.

Until now. This very moment.

I find myself completely unsettled by the notion.

I'm like the Anti-Midas

2008-04-16T20:01:00.000-07:00

You know how Midas had that rad power that everything he touched turned to gold? (although to be fair, it kind of bit him in the ass at the end, right?). I'm kind of like that these days. Except every electronic item I touch loses it's will to live.

For instance: my laptop, whose inexplicable desire to turn itself off was a problem I finally fixed (it was overheating mainly) and now can stay on for hours, but no longer has a bright screen. As in totally dim, almost black. In order to see anything on it, I have to shine a bright light and squint as I attempt to find the mouse. This, as one can imagine, makes using it somewhat problematic. Currently, I am typing on a keyboard and looking at a monitor screen, both of which are plugged into my sad, beleaguered laptop.

I borrowed a friend's laptop today, to do some work while I pretend to be a law student... but all it did was freeze every time I plugged my flash drive into it. Which really does not help with the productivity. So that's been fun.

Tomorrow I'm going to pretend to be a law student some more and use the computer lab. Hopefully, I won't set off some sort of campus-wide virus.

Oh, and just to add insult to injury, my cell phone (whose battery has also had some issues of late) has started this fun game in which people call me, and I can't hear them. I can pick up the phone call just fine, and apparently if you're on the other end you can hear me, but I have no idea if you're professing your undying love for me or just asking to borrow a pie tin (not that I ever really get phone calls like this, but for all I know I could have had a dozen in the past few days).

That's it. I'm getting off the grid.

*sigh*

Oy.

2008-02-24T17:32:00.000-08:00

Am I tired.

Had a wonderful time in Oregon. But now it's back to grading and lesson planning and dealing with my students and trying not to be driven mad by my classes at state.

Oy indeed.

"Scott was a jerk! And I was his best friend!"

2008-02-18T20:28:00.000-08:00

Today I was watching some "classic" episodes of Beverly Hills 90210-a drama, which in my opinion was and still is one of the greatest television shows ever created. It had everything; ridiculous plots, unbelievable characters, Shannon Doherty in her prime, and not to mention the amazing sideburns of Luke Perry (aka Dylan McKay). Anyhow, today's episode (well, really 1991's episode) was an especially awesome one (it was the one where David's friend Scott accidentally shoots himself and then everyone feels really sad and asks David how he is until Davis freaks out on his radio show* and yells at Brandon on air that people only care about Scott now because he's dead!) In a word-rad.

Okay, but here's where my own special brand of cool comes in. So in another (totally believable) subplot, the school is celebrating the opening of a fifty year time capsule, complete with a ginormous chorus that seems to sing all the time and huge banners and events. The fifty year old memorabilia (from 1941) is then displayed all around campus. And here's what gets me. In one of the display cases, there's a newspaper with the headline Pearl Harbor Attacked! Which is fine, except that happened December of 1941, and if this was a time capsule from the class of 1941, who presumably graduated in June, something just isn't right.

Now I know, I'm somewhat of a history geek, and teaching history to teenagers certainly isn't helping matters**. But, Aaron Spelling et. al., I expected more from you.

*okay, seriously. This is one of the more implausible plots of 90210 (and thus illustrating its genius) What high school has its own radio station? And what high school student has their own radio show in said high school? Which brings me to another point. a) the passing periods are utterly ridiculous at this school. There's enough time for several main characters to run into each other, have some sort of drama, and move along the story line... usually lasting for at least several minutes. And this happens all the time! I work at a high school, and let me tell you one barely has enough time to make it to their next class between all the dodging of other students, and quick trips to the locker or restroom. Never have I seen two students break up or have some sort of meaningful life-er, plot- changing dialog...

**Although sometimes their responses and reports can be quite amusing. For example, I had my students create a Russian Revolution comic strip, and for the first box they had to illustrate the autocracy of the czars. One student chose to draw a czar saying "Only Prussian allowed!" Which would be fine. Except we're talking about Russia, and Prussia at this point in history no longer exists. But it made me smile.

this is only a test

2008-02-05T15:11:00.001-08:00

Dear gentlemen sitting next to me at the coffee shop

2008-02-02T12:49:00.000-08:00

I'm sorry for eavesdropping so much on your conversation, it's just that everything you were talking about was interesting and relevant to me. The architecture in Spain and England, the visiting Eugene and Portland, your friend who is a teacher... all these are topics in which I wanted to share my own thoughts. So I apologize, I swear I'm not a crazy stalker-eqse girl. Your conversation was just so much more interesting than the grading that I am currently forcing myself to do. Anyhow, enjoy your afternoon-the bookstore across the street really is nice and I'm sure you'll find some great items there.

So here's the deal.

2008-01-30T21:38:00.000-08:00

I do not like being told what to think and how to think it. I imagine that is a common idea for most people. It makes sense, right? Individuality, the ability to think for yourself... those fundamentals that out nation was founded upon so many years ago?

And so, I must wonder what it is about my credentialing program that seems so enamored with the idea of telling us exactly what to do, say, think, feel, etc. Is teaching not an individual activity? Do we not all approach the subjects that we teach from a different perspective? Is that not what we encourage our students to do?

I've finished my first week of the second semester, and it only took three days (well, to be honest, I've been like this since the first three hours) for the feelings of annoyances and absurdity to come rushing back. Only now, I'm also stressed beyond imagination because I'm also planning lessons and grading and dealing with 60+ personalities.

On a happier note, my car (oh, poor beleaguered car of mine!) has a brand new tire and two working headlights! Which means I can drive above 50 and I no longer have to worry about police harassing me on my way home at night (apparently the combination of driving with one headlight in a car that has some nasty scratches-not all my fault though-and a sketchy area (the neighborhood I live in is fine, getting to it can be interesting) is all too tempting for police to pull me over and literally threaten to tow my car away). So huzzah to that!

And that is the end of that.

2008-01-28T14:32:00.000-08:00

NKOTB is back!

Okay, back to grading.

will you love me tomorrow?

2008-01-27T18:00:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow I will begin my fourth week of teaching. Tomorrow will also mark the day that I go back to school (perhaps for the last time? Quite possibly... although I've been known to make that remark before). Tomorrow I will call the dentist and discuss the dreaded hateful root canal (could there possibly two more horrifying words in the English language? Well. Obviously, yes. But as for tomorrow, those are it). Tomorrow I will deal with the excuses of my students, get gas, and lug my computer around with me. Tomorrow I will be gone from the early hours of the morning until the later hours of the night (damn you evening classes). Tomorrow I will see classmates who I have missed over the long (and yet not long enough) winter break.

But as for today, I am quietly sitting perched upon my bed, laptop in lap (oh how appropriate), textbooks and papers strewn out before me. Planning lessons, attempting to grade, trying not to freak out. Trying, trying, trying.

I wrote this the other day

2007-12-20T14:38:00.000-08:00

So I survived my first semester. However, I barely survived the last week of it, in which I hit a car backing out of my driveway(!) got ragingly sick for a day and a half, experienced extreme trauma at the hands of Comcast, and spent far too many hours in the Richmond train station.

But now I'm back in my beloved Davis, attempting to create exciting and exhilarating lesson plans for my students. I'm at one of my favorite coffee shops; Mishkas, home of good coffee, delicious pastries, and free internet. It is also the home of various law and grad students. I am currently sitting next to two law students (who I know are law students because they keep talking about contracts and other law-related terms that I am now familiar with after living with and dating law students for the past year... albeit not all at the same time. I'm a little disturbed by how much terminology I now know about the law. Who ever would have thought?). It's absolutely lovely being back in Davis. Every time I visit, I am filled with wonderful memories of the years I spent here.

Definitely looking forward to a few more days in town (the company doesn't hurt, either).

Can someone please tell me why

2007-12-16T16:57:00.000-08:00

... Rhiana's song "SOS" is playing incessantly in my head?

That'd be great, thanks.

some random thoughts

2007-12-13T12:17:00.000-08:00

So I'm supposed to write five random things about myself. (if you can't follow through in the blog-o-sphere, where can you?) So here goes.

1. I think I just made up that word, blog-o-sphere. And if not, too bad. I'm claiming it. It's mine.

2. In order to procrastinate today, I cleaned my bathroom. I bought rubber gloves for the event (because, let's face it, I live with a boy. And such precautions are necessary). It now sparkles and smells clean.

3. I'm supposed to bring a delicious food item for the potluck in my class tonight. I have no idea what to bring, no desire to make anything, and no money to buy anything more than a bag of chips. *heavy sigh*

4. I bought a really cute dress the other day. Now I own three dresses that I have never worn. Three! Clearly, people need to start inviting me to places where I'm supposed to wear a dress.

5. My last first semester (hopefully) will be over this Monday. All I have left to turn in is a paper on my theories of culturally sensitive pedagogy and two semester plans. My semester plans are looking good (so good in fact, that I color coded my units and important days). My paper however? Not so much. But that's what the weekend is for, procrastinating both days only to write in a frenzy Sunday night.

6. (I like to over-achieve when it comes to random lists) It's my birthday on Saturday. As with every year, I am looking forward to it, yet hoping that it doesn't suck (I don't have the best track record with birthdays... to date, I've experienced extreme windstorms which caused all the power to go out and all the water pipes to break, been forgotten, and had food poisoning... albeit all in different years. So I tend to approach the day with some hesitancy). However, this year we are having a game night/potluck. So that should be fun. And as long as there aren't any extreme storms or rancid food, I should be just fine.

Three weeks is just too long

2007-11-24T18:25:00.000-08:00

This semester should be over now. I'm tired of stressing about papers and projects and jumping through ridiculous hoops and having nightmares (yes, that is plural) about presentations.

Why, oh why did I think it would be fun to go back to school?

Apparently this post is all about food

2007-11-21T21:26:00.000-08:00

I am normally a person who enjoys the holidays. I love people getting together, eating lots of food, sharing conversations, eating food, making memories, consuming food... well, you get the idea. But I have to admit, Thanksgiving, while normally one of my favorite of holidays (heavy on the food, not so much on the soulless commercialism that infuses Christmas and other holidays*), has been giving me some issues as of late. And I hate that. I hate that horribly illogical thoughts that I know have no basis in reality are seeping into my brain. Silly events of the past are rearing their ugly heads and I want it to stop. Out out, damn thoughts!

Anyhow, tomorrow I will be heading out to my second Thanksgiving this year (and possibly my third the day after? My word, but I am a glutton this year). I flew down to my parents last week, after a brief layover in Claremont. It was a wonderful few days, filled with good people, and good food (there is definitly a theme afoot). I came back to the city yesterday, ostensibly to do some work and visit my school site. And, well I visited my school site, so that's something at least. And tomorrow, I will be gone again. Off to eat some more. And that's the last time that I'll mention food in this post. (I hope)

*unless, of course you think about the history of the holiday, which is basically a horrible reminder of all the wrongs the US government perpetrated against the indigenous peoples of this continent... However, I choose to focus on the food.

In the epic words of Ice Cube

2007-11-08T20:55:00.000-08:00

"Today was a good day."

And it was!

I began the day with a stomach full of knots and a serious case of the nerves. Why, you might wonder? I taught my class for the first time. Ever. And it was scary! But good! I gave a lesson on art movements in the nineteenth century, and while it wasn't the most exciting lesson ever created, I think most of the kids were engaged and somewhat interested in the lesson. I had them look at images of art, and we talked about what they saw in each, and then I led a guided note-taking activity. I actually had a few minutes at the end of class, so I asked if the kids had any questions. One asked if I was nervous. I replied, "are you kidding? I'm still nervous." At this point the class all told me that I had done good, and then they all clapped.

It was awesome.

I know, I know. I'm a total cheeseball, but still.

Later, I had my C&I course (Curriculum and Instruction... one of the few classes that I don't feel is pointless). We spent the first part of class at an exhibit on Ancient Rome in the Humanities Building, where we all ate yummy (yes, in my tummy) food, and drank free wine. My prof and I had a bonding moment about this profession, which was nice. It was also nice just talk with my classmates, and get to hang out a bit. Later, a few of us (prof included) got into a great discussion about inequity in education, and how we need to radicalize our students. Now I'm all fired up.

So that was the day, nervous and scary and great. And now I'm exhausted. So I'm going to finish preparing my lesson plans for tomorrow and then go to bed (yay).

interesting

2007-10-25T19:47:00.001-07:00

Thanks to Liz, I now know that I am this nerdy (although, this was mostly in terms of science-nerdiness... I think if it were academic-nerdiness test, I would score a lot higher)

Okay, back to paper writing. When will it end?!

oh and?

2007-10-21T22:51:00.000-07:00

Kid Rock currently has the number one album in America? I am both confused and extremely concerned about my country.

strangely familiar... but different

2007-10-21T12:33:00.000-07:00

I've been here before, haven't I?

Sitting on my bed, laptop on my (well) lap, books and papers spread out around me, the paper I'm writing nowhere near completion. The sun is shining outside. I know this because my window is open, allowing the crisp cool autumn breeze in, and I can see nothing but blue blue sky out above me.

And yet, I'm in my room. Struggling to write in a clear, cohesive manner that does justice to my thoughts and ideas. And mostly failing. As usual.

Although things are different. The blue sky is courtesy of Northern, not Southern California, and instead of at least writing about something that I'm moderately interested in, I'm now forced to write about education. And my philosophy of such.

I just want to teach students about history. And how wonderful it is. And how the past is still present today in strange and amazing ways.

That's all. Fin.

this is getting ridiculous.

2007-10-16T17:56:00.000-07:00

Unbelievably unbearably ridiculous.

I have two assignments due tomorrow, and both are, well, see above. I'm having trouble starting them, continuing them, and finishing either of them seems to be mostly a distant dream (well first I have to actually accomplish the other two before I can even start thinking about the third). Essentially, this is another example of the ridiculousness of this program, and my extreme irritation with it all.

Plus, my bangs are really annoying me.

things I love

2007-10-15T20:56:00.000-07:00

Radiohead and their new album. It's wonderful and it makes me happy.

The Teachers for Social Justice Conference I went to this past Saturday. Very inspiring and energizing. It basically reinforced my desire to be in this profession and hopefully do good things in it. The keynote speakers were amazing, and the workshops I went to had a lot of wonderful practical activities that I can see myself employing in the classroom. This has been one of the few times since I've started this semester that I feel really excited about everything (not that I'm not always excited, it's just the drudgery of the semester usually seems to overwhelm and take away any initial excitement that I would normally feel).

The music selection in "Chuck" No, seriously. The Shins, Spoon, Grizzly Bear... It's actually pretty impressive.

Oh, also Oktoberfest apparently. I went yesterday, and had a randomly awesome time. Drank a lot of beer, danced (horribly) to German music, and did I mention the beer drinking? On a related note, I also love living in this city. There is always something going on. It's a great location for someone who loves having random adventures as this city seems to thrive on it.

As for things I'm not so excited about... the reading that I have to do right now is probably pretty high on that list. Ugh.

a conundrum

2007-10-09T10:53:00.000-07:00

(Which, by the way, is a fun word say)

So the router in my house apparently doesn't like my computer. Or maybe my computer doesn't like th router. Either way, I can no longer access the sweet sweet wireless internet in my house. Which means I have to bring my compute rout into the living room and manually plug my ethernet cord into the router. In the grand scheme of things, this really isn't that big of a deal. I still have internet, I just have to work for it a little more. But still I'm annoyed. It's not really a conundrum (go on, say it out loud, it's fun!), aside from the fact that I either have my computer plugged in to the internet, but running on batteries, or I have the power cord plugged in, but no internet. And, yes, I realize that I can bring the power cord out with me to the living room... but its the principle damnit. It's the principle.

transportation thoughts

2007-09-26T19:32:00.000-07:00

Every morning when I arrive at school, I get off the Muni Light rail, walk off the platform, and across the street to campus... accompanied by a crossing guard.
Our crossing guard technically is dressed in fluorescent yellow. But you get the idea. Now my campus is for college students. There are no children anywhere. And yet we need help crossing the street? Am I the only person who is confused by this?

Speaking of public transportation, it's one thing to ride the bus and have your bus driver freak out (see myspace blog). It's another to never have your bus show up! And then you have to take a different line, which doesn't really come anywhere near your house, and then you have to hike up your hill for what seems like forever, until you finally get home huffing and puffing. That's entirely different.

Now I'm off to pack for a wonderful weekend (yay!)

here's some friendly advice

2007-09-17T14:23:00.000-07:00

When in the restroom in the school library, always turn the water on slowly. Otherwise, you might turn the water on, have blast it out of the faucet like the hounds of hell were after it, and subsequently ricochet off your hands all over the front of your pants.

And while we're on the subject of wet pants, it would also be advisable to check the wetness of the lawn before you sit fully down on it. Because when you lower your person to the grass without checking it first (even though it's well into the afternoon, and the sun should have dried off any extra residue at that late hour), sometimes you might totally soak your seat. And sometimes you might soak your seat so fully that it doesn't dry out during a three hour (slightly uncomfortable) seminar, in which you might have to stand in front of the class and act out a skit.

Not that I would know personally for any reason.

I'm just saying.

(now how's that for a first post after many months?)

wow

2007-06-13T22:31:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is my last day of work at the school. Coincidentally, it's also my last day of working legally in Oregon. As of 2:45pm, I will no longer be gainfully employed by the Springfield School district... wow. It's really strange and surreal to think of this year as ending.

More on all of this later. (perhaps when I've actually processed it all?)

ranting... with pictures!

2007-05-08T22:03:00.000-07:00

Eh, its Tueaday night. Tuesdays, are by far the least exciting day and night of the week. Especially when you've been studying US governement for the better part of the evening (and by better part of the evening, I mean during the commercial breaks... although, to be fair I did go to Starbucks* and studied for some time... until I could no longer stand the obnoxious smokers/really annoying loud girls) My desire to know about the Framers' intent when drafting the Articles of the Constitution can be summed up in one word. No. As in, no, I do not want to know this information. More importantly, no, I do not want be tested on this information. No, I do not want my future teaching career to depend on the tests that I am taking next weekend. And don't even get me started on my loathing of economics (which, by this point in time is legendary).

Anyway.

While my weekdays have left soemthing to be desired (see rant on Tuesday), my weekends have been pretty kick ass. Last weekend, I had many random adventures... including a trip to the coast- finally, I have seen and experiences the Oregon coast! And I can definitively and authoratativily say that it is truly beautiful!

The water wasn't as bad as I was expecting!

Jolene and I saw this Viking statue and had to stop to take pictures with him. Wouldn't you?

Aren't my mad sand castle building skills amazing?

I took this picture on the drive back.

Random adventures are by far the best. Jolene and I had a blast finding all sorts of trouble to get into. It really made me appreciate my time in Oregon. And this weekend is my 82nd time visiting California this year, so I know interesting and exciting times shall be had. And it will probably be random. And I'll take pictures.

Now, all I need to do is get through the next few days (and somehow make myself actually learn some econ.... ugh).

*It was the only coffee shop that I could find that had both free parking nearby and a patio so I could sit in the lovely sunshine. That's my reasoning. Go with it.

what would we be without wishful thinking

2007-04-26T07:58:00.000-07:00

Last night I saw a hardcore band cover "My Sharona." Later, the main band set up a flora and fauna scene on the stage, complete with stuffed animals and proceeded to play with man dressed as an egg on stage. The band utilized music from Nintendo games in their music and the egg-man (coo coo ka choo!) played the triangle. It was quite possibly one of the strangest concerts I have ever been to.

And perhaps the reason for the equally strange dreams I had last night. I don’t remember much, but at one point Sylar (from "Heroes"*) was one of my new students. Which probably says something about how my subconscious feels about my students. I'm not too surprised, however. This week has been one of the most intense that I've had at this job. Nothing major has happened, just a lot of me feeling totally insufficient and incapable of being an authority figure. I hate that feeling. And this job seems to reinforce it at times in spades. I don't know. I can't expect the students to feel compassion for me, and how their actions and words affect me, but still, I want them to be aware. Its too much to ask though. If I can get them to take some responsibility for their actions, that's sometimes enough. This is by far the most challenging job that I've ever had. And that feels like the pithiest (is that even a word?) statement ever. Sad, but true.

Anyhow. Happy thoughts. For every time I feel totally unprepared, insufficient, etc., there's twice as many times when I'm speechless because one of my students has said or done something completely random and unexpected. Sometimes its asking me if I like porn or some other extremely inappropriate question. Other times its answering all my questions in a robot voice (for the entire day!) or randomly squawking in the middle of a lesson. I feel like I’ve reached a certain comfort level with them, where they’re comfortable around me. So that’s good.

Other good things? Its Thursday. Its a beautiful day. Good music is playing on my computer (Wilco, yay!). I am totally alone in the classroom (which means I can play said music loud). The weekend is almost here! And another show! (this time its Minus the Bear and Chin Up Chin Up- two very good bands)

Okay, the students will be here soon. Maybe I should get my act together, as who knows what will happen in class today…

*Oh, and Heroes? A truly excellent show. Definitely recommended.

today was not meant to be

2007-04-20T08:02:00.000-07:00

I woke up at 6:30, completely disoriented and confused about what day it was (this is the second day in a row that I've woken up and have had no idea when and where I was...). After a harried shower and dressing, I proceeded downstairs to gather foodstuffs for the day and make the all too essential coffee. And that's what I was thinking about- sweet sweet caffienne- when my ankle buckled and I fell down the stairs. Apparently I fell so hard that I woke my roommate up, who rushed out of her room, a concerned and worried expression etched upon her face. I assured her that I was fine and went about making the coffee.

And that's how my morning has been thus far.

At least its Friday (I think).

*sigh*

Here are some random Sunday sentences

2007-04-01T11:39:00.000-07:00

Alliteration is such fun!

My spelling has become atrocious. I'm not even certain if that's the correct spelling. But I'm still going to use it. I am defiant this Sunday morning.

Here's my conundrum: My ipod died. It was swift, sudden, and took us all by surprise. I'm still reeling from the loss in my life. And yet, this is a familiar feeling, as this was my third ipod to die on me. (Seriously, wtf? what am I doing to these poor pieces of plastic and computer hardware to make them all die? Am I to be known as the scary ipod killer, she who brings ipod death to all around her?) Anyhow I am torn: I crave another ipod, and at the same time I'm repulsed by such a need. This must be how heroin addicts feel. I hate the thing I want. I hate the fact that I want it. And yet, I've been scoping online new ipods all morning.

Spring break will officially come to an end in less than 24 hours. This time tomorrow, I will again be with the children, telling them to stop doing lord knows what (but I'm sure it will probably be something bad and/or amusing). I am looking forward to going back, for all that its a draining, wrenching job, I do like it (should I be worried?)

I'm flying back to California on Thursday. Apparently, I like to go every few weeks now, which is awesome. Unless you're my bank account, who seems to disagree. Anyhow, I will once again be interviewing for yet another credential program (I make this seem so much more intense than it really is; this is actually my second interview of two... so really, I need to calm down). I am so ready for all this to be over! I want to be accepted. No more applications, interviews, tests, fingerprinting, driving, flying... on an on. I've gone to two well respected universities, applied to many more, applied for international study and an internship program, applied for numerous jobs... and yet all of those application processes together do not add up to pain and trauma of applying to these two credential programs. Soon, it'll be over, right?

and i thought i had a lot of quirky ideas

2007-03-27T21:47:00.000-07:00

Its official. German people have way too much time on their hands. Way, way too much time.

I'm not sure how I feel about working in the office in the morning...

2007-03-26T10:40:00.000-07:00

So the UPS guy just came into the office and told me he required an adult signature for the package he was dropping off. As in "Are you an adult, miss?"

Thanks for that sir. Nothing makes me feel great like mistaking me for a minor.

In other exciting work news, I changed my background to this picture. It makes me happy. Unlike the UPS guy. Oh, and people who are weird on the phone and/or come into the office in a scary group and make demands of me that I can't fulfil. And then get mad when I tell them that whatever they want can't happen. And then be generally creep and odd.

Anyhow, think good thoughts that the rain holds off so I can go hiking this afternoon.

That is all. (yay for Mondays)

verbal diarhhea of the worst sort.

2007-03-21T23:07:00.000-07:00

I should be in bed. Sleeping. Instead, I'm at my desk, with too many thoughts running around in my head. Way too many thoughts.

Tonight I hung out with some of my married friends (I'm getting to the age where this is a more frequent occurrence-I find this equally awesome and unsettling.. well, maybe a bit more of the latter). It was weird, all of a sudden, I felt engulfed inloneliness. And I'm not a person to dwell on such things, nor am I one to really
commit it to writing, but here I am. With nothing but pithy thoughts to not even commit to paper, but rather a sillyInternet blog. Writing, rather ineloquently I might add. I feel like my timing is off. I keep missing the good get togethers, the days and nights when everyone is together and I'm somewhere else. Yet, when I'm here, everyone else is somewhere else. I hate that feeling. Is this normal? I'm 25 years old, I shouldn't feel this way anymore. Maybe this is what working with teenagers has done to me. I'm reverting back to my awkward adolescent self (oh dear), complete with
silly insecurities. I'd like to think my fashion sense and general outlook on life has gotten better though. But still. I find myself unsettled. perhaps its because I'm not settled in my life. And yet, I don't want to be. And I do. And that, my friends is what it all comes down to.

This really wasn't my intention. I was going to write about my annoyance with itunes
and computers in general. I was going to make myself laugh with some silly turn of phrase. I was going to acknowledge my lack of decision making with an ironic note that tomorrow I will be a guinea pig in a decision making experiment (ah, the things we do for money). Oh, the things I was going to do..

a banana? really?

2007-03-14T08:21:00.000-07:00

This morning I found a banana peel in my desk.

I'm really not certain what to make of this.

Anyhow, I'm enjoying a few minutes of quiet solitude in the classroom before the kids start baning to be let in. Its the only time of day that I can listen to my music and actually enjoy it. Also, I can sit at my desk and not ask someone to stop punching someone else (in fun, so its okay, right? um, no.), or to stop climbing on the desk, or to stop running, yelling, swearing etc etc etc. Basically, I like this time of day. It alsmost makes getting up absurdly early worth it.

I'm pretty excited to drive to California tomorrow. Somewhat unexpected as I planning on flying in for a quick visit mainly to take the CSET on Saturday and then fly back out Sunday morning. Now I'm driving down tomorrow afternoon so I can have an interview at Sac State on Friday afternoon. Think good thoughts! (all three of you who might read this, heh)

Okay, time to let the demon children in...

I am blogging. Defiantly.

2007-03-07T16:43:00.000-08:00

There are two other people in the office with me right now. It's almost like there's been some sort of nuclear holocaust which has only affected our office, and we three are the survivors. Except, in reality, everyone is at a training in another town, and there was only a handful of us who didn't go. It's extremely surreal, however. And it makes my already dwindling work ethic diminish with increasing frequency.

Okay, so I'm not sure what happened, but suddenly work was over, and now I'm back at home with a foot that is currently smelling like an old man.

Perhaps I should clarify? (yes?)

My foot has been hurting something fierce for the past few days, so tonight I thought I would soak it in some Epsom salt and then slather (oh, what a fun fun word) on some Icy Hot. The result? My foot still aches, and now smells like an octogenarian.

In other (exciting) news I'm in the process of acquiring a new cell phone. This search has caused me no small amount of excitement and anxiety. Excitement because I'm always excited when I get to play with something new and shiny. Anxiety because I have way too many choices, and am therefore freaking out. This seems like a truly and purely American problem: too many choices leads to freak out. What other country has so much that it becomes a problem?

Anyhow. Today in class one of my students told me they were all going to go to Canada (spelled like "Candana" natch) but I wasn't allowed to come. Which, if you think about it, is still nicer than wishing for my imminent death.

So I like to take that as a sign that things are improving. Right?

just a thought

2007-03-05T22:23:00.000-08:00

Bathroom writers of Eugene (the likelihood of any of these people actually reading this blog is tiny... oh so tiny, but still. One never knows, eh?),

the proper spelling of "every" actually contains a "r"

Just thought you would like to know.

bitch bitch bitch! (thats what I do)

2007-02-06T22:06:00.000-08:00

My application to San Fransisco State in due in 9 days. It's in complete shambles. My personal statement isn't done, I have no letters of rec (admittedly, they are en route to me, I mean I have people writing them, I'm just waiting for them to magically appear), I haven't actually filled out the application. I haven't taken the requisite tests. I'm not even sure if I meet all the qualifications. And its almost too late to do anything drastic.

In short, I am freaking out. Big time.

But am I doing anything about this? Of course not. I'm writing a silly, trite blog about all the things I should be doing.

I hate myself for doing this. And I do this for everything. I am absolutely incapable of not procrastinating. Ugh. Ugh, I say!

Today in school a student told me that no one would want to see naked pictures of me. (I'm kind of okay with this however.) He used the same tone of voice that he used earlier in the day when he told me I had fish breath and that he wished I would be run over by a car. One of the kids who has given me nothing but trouble (ie yesterday he inadverdently hit me with a peach) was actually really good today. When I left, he told me to drive sober.

I know I'm not doing these kids justice when I write about them like this; they're so much more multifaceted than I probably give them credit for. In all honestly, so much happens in the four hours that I'm there, that oftentimes I'm on sensory overload. I always feel like I'm making them out to be one-dimensional, and they're not. They're not just bad kids. They're at this really weird stage in life, where they're grown up, but not. One day, a few of them were talking (instead of doing they're their science work, of course) and one said something about marijuana... and then in the next heartbeat immediately went toSponge Bob Squarepants. I think only this kids would seamlessly transition from something so adult (and illegal) to something so childish, and not see any continuity problems. Middle school is a tough enough age (Oh, how I remember those horrible years), and for these kids its so much weirder. Most of the time, I'm just struggling to find the right words to say to them. Its hard.

Oh, and half the letters on my laptop are not working. So that's fun.

oh, the youth of today...

2007-01-31T22:12:00.000-08:00

Today at lunch, I had a quarter thrown at my head.

It was at this point that I lost any cool points which I had racked up during the
morning and yelled at all the kids to take a seat. I mean, really yelled. So loud, it actually got most of the kids to take a seat. One girl told me, "Oh, I know youdidn't just tell me what to do. No one does that." So I apologized, and asked her nicely. Later, I was apparently forgiven for my gross error as the afternoon passed in relative stability. The only really notable moment was when student in the middle of a math lesson burst out with "you know what my favorite word is?Guacamole. I hate it as a food though" and then went back to work.

I also picked up a nickel that was flying around the classroom during lunch. I pocketed it.

That don't know nothing about my soul oh they don't know

2007-01-30T16:36:00.000-08:00

So apparently, all I need to post consistently is more hours at my boring desk job. The kids were off today and yesterday, so I came into my other job early, which has subsequently led to more random blogging drivel from yours truly.

I don't know what it is about Wilco's "Theologians." I love this song: it never ceases to make me happy. If you've never listened to it (or any Wilco, for that matter), I strongly recommend it. However, I find myself thoroughly annoyed at the musical presence of Daughtry. Granted, I haven't actually listened to any of his songs, but I find the fact that he goes by his last name utterly lame. Who does that? And for he record, I have nothing against singular named artists, I freely admit my love of Madonna and bands like Owen. But Daughtry? Come on.

Yesterday, I had a meeting with the teachers at my school. We discussed new schedules, and some new incentive programs to try to get the kids more motivated about their schooling. I think I'm going to try to bring some snacks for them to give out for good behavior (weirdest thing- I brought snow peas and some fruit leathers last week, and the kids went crazy for them). It was a really good meeting, nice to feel like we're all on the same page. And, and, they're giving me more hours! The teachers totally advocated for us to work more, as its better for us (hello more money) and way better for the kids- more structure and consistency in their day. I'm pretty excited about the whole deal. Of course, I'm in the midst of my four day vacation from them, so we'll see if this cheery optimism lasts. The only downside is that I'll have to quit my morning pilates class, but I imagine an extra two hours or so of chasing children down the hallways everyday should at least make up for it in come capacity.

walking out of stride

2007-01-29T09:43:00.000-08:00

You can't really tell, but I swear that says "2007"

Now that its almost February, I thought this would be an ideal time to reflect on the New Year. So far, its been a good, interesting time. I've been trying to put myself out there more, and really take advantage of the fact that I live in a cool city with interesting people.

Its not much, but its a goal.

Another goal is to actually be on time to work. Its weird, because I absolutely abhor lateness... and yet I'm constantly finding myself struggling to get to work on time. What is the deal? So to that end, perhaps I should stop this blathering and actually get to it, eh?

This is not interesting.

2007-01-04T22:48:00.000-08:00

For the second time today, I've had a thought, been distracted, and have completely lost said thought. It's utterly and absolutely gone. Lost to somewhere in the ether of my mind. Never to be heard from again. *sigh*

I really feel like I went through a war today. Not in the sense that my day was extremely violent, more just draining. I think every emotion that one can think of was experienced by either me, another teacher or half of my students. It was utter madness. And yet, I will return tomorrow. And possibly the day after that (although to be fair, that won't actually happen, as it will be Saturday... but you get the point).

Perhaps my inability to hold a thought is somewhat related to the insanity that is working with middle schoolers?

Addendum: Why is is that I can't remember the things I want, and yet the things I don't want to or need to remember never seem to leave my mind?
See: infortmation about exes, academy award winners of the eighties and other assorted random facts.

time for a crossword puzzle (compliments of my new york times page a day calendar!) hey, never once did I say I was actually cool.

2006-12-19T21:09:00.000-08:00

Baskin Robbins in Springfield- you're officially dead to me.

You know why.

Completely unrelated, but am I horrible person because it irks me soooo much that my roommates eat my food? Grrr....

maybe all i need is a shot in the arm

2006-12-13T21:29:00.000-08:00

Today, as I was reaching new heights of being a bad employee, I stumbled onto an internet discussion about "ghetto lattes." Apparently, the ethics of ordering an iced americano and then adding some amount of half and half to make it latte-like has various members of the legal community up in arms. No, seriously. There are blogs and discussion forums devoted to this topic. Wikipedia has a "ghetto latte" entry. What I want to know is how exactly did this come about? Was it one person, who told his friends, and word just spread? Did multiple people come up with the idea until it became a national phenomenon*? And furthermore (and perhaps most baffling), was the University of Chicago Law professor serious when he said he didn't drink coffee and only ordered hot chocolate. Of all the various issues that a ghetto latte has raised, I find the professor who eschews caffeine by far the most baffling.

Tonight,
I was craving brownies, so I headed to my local Safeway. As I waited in
the check out line, a foreign man came up to the checker and asked
where the brandy was. The check out guy answered that Safeway doesn't sell
liquor, and that the man would have to go to a liquor store (seriously,
Oregon- and for that matter, most other states in the nation- what is
that all about?). As he began to explain where the nearest liquor store
was, theforeign man interrupted and asked if there was a liquor store
on I-5, as he was travelling north, and didn't want to stray too far
from the freeway. Is it just me, or is there something off in this
story? Generally when I'm driving long distances, I don't find myself
needing to stop in the middle for booze. But hey, maybe that's just me.

Recently,
I stumbled onto this website. This woman takes romance novel covers and changes
the titles for instant hilarity.
For example:

It's wrong, but it makes me giggle:

Okay, so that's enough randomness for one night.

Or is it???

* apparently, for me a national phenomenon constitutes internet discussions on multiple websites

sartorial sunday

2006-12-06T18:27:00.000-08:00

My friend Kris showed me this shirt, and I basically thought it was the coolest design ever. Its called "The Communist Party" and was found at threadless.com

And now its sold out. *sigh* My hipster visions have now died a quiet death.

As I was nursing my sadness, I stumbled onto this shirt and found quite possibly the best bit of advertising that I've seen as of late. The dude who made it also made a short video where the cardboard robot jumps out and chases the dude in the shirt. And yes, the special effects are awesome!

Completely unrelated, but I'm loving on tv on the radio's "return to cookie mountain"

its definitely recommended listening.

To Live and Die in Eugene

2006-11-30T20:16:00.000-08:00

Dear Eugene,

So I've lived in your fair city for over two months now* and I have some issues I'd like to voice... er, write.

1. Radio stations.
Now, I appreciate the availability of KWVA- the local college station- anytime I feel like listening to random undiscovered music and other assorted randomness, you are most often there for me. And NPR, how can one live without NPR? The country stations are decent, as is the oldies/classic rock. But your rock stations suck. Could we possibly listen to something other than Mudvayne? Maybe some Radiohead, some Wilco, some Sufjan Stevens, some anything? Portland has 94.7, it broadcasts all the way past Salem, why can't they just go a bit further? Or perhaps you, Eugene, could take the iniative and start playing decent music.

That would be great, thanks.

2. Drivers
Now okay, I admit, I'm from California, and am therefore biased to a let's say, speedier point of view. And, honestly, I'm fine with the drivers who prefer to take things slow. (Even if driving 5+ miles under the speed limit does seem a little obscene) But if you're going to be slow and annoying, could perhaps try not to kill me?! I don't think this is asking too much. Maybe everyone could stay in their lanes, look before they merge, oh and even, I don't know, use their blinkers?!

Seriously.

3. The rain/weather
Ohmygod. Anytime you want to stop, that would be wonderful. Oh, and then when its blessedly not pouring down apocolyptically on my head, maybe it could be... warm? And by warm, I mean perhaps more than 35 degrees? Also (and this just might be me), but my hair has been super staticky... so if you could do something about that too, it would be great, thanks.

Brr....

4. Darimarts.

Is there something about Darimarts that just screams "meth heads! homeless men wearing quilts! grandmothers who buy steel reserve with their young impressionable grandchildren in tow! come one, come all!" I only wish I made this up, and hadn't, on several different occasions seen all of the aforementioned people at one Darimart or another.

On second though, maybe I'll just stop going to the Darimarts...

Okay, so that's all can I think of for now. But Eugene, you should now know that you're On Notice for these infractions. I expect to see some changes soon.

your pal, Alexandra

*so to be fair, technically I live in Springfield, which is basically Eugene, just with more meth heads.

My old post is new again (its so postmodern)

2006-11-13T20:55:00.000-08:00

Um, I meant to post this two weeks ago and... Apparently didn't. Yay me.

I went to Claremont and I all I got was this Cat o' nine tails..

... and a cowboy hat... and a gumby dreidel... and a whole lot of random memories (with pictures!)

Last Saturday I flew down to Southern California to visit family, friends, and In-n-Out (possibly the most important of all). After a fog-laden drive up to Portland (I literally did not see the sun until I was in the plane, flying into the sky) and an excellent adventure with airport security (where the twa man told me to get new shoes... thanks), I was once again in the balmy land of Claremont.

Er, actually I was at the Ontario Airport, where my wonderful friend Tina picked me up, only to drop me off at the mall. Yes, the mall. I was there to meet up with other friends, not because I missed the Montclair Plaza. We decided it was quite the '909' thing to do though. After being thoroughly frightened by the state of today's youth, I found my other friends and all was right with the world. Actually, all became truly right when I got myself (courtesy of Michael and Seth) to that all holy site of goodness and wonderfulness: In-n-Out. And it never tasted better.

We also went to Trader Joes, where I found two buck chuck at its normal and right price, two dollars! (Oregon, you're still on notice for that one)

We found this at the Halloween store. And were probably way too amused.

After that, I headed back to Claremont, saw some more friends, wandered the streets with Chris and a beer and got myself prepared for the evening's festivities. This preparation included an emergency visit to Tara's as I tried to make a boy's haircut out of a women's wig. Oh, then we had to take pictures on campus. So for all those whom drove up College Ave around 6:30 that Saturday, yes that was me on the statue. And yes, I actually was dressed up for Halloween.

(My costume was Mark from Rent, so basically I looked like a guy who liked to wear flannel and had a really, supremely bad blond haircut, who also liked to take pictures on the CGU wall)

I met up with everyone at Elaine's house for pizza and wine before the main event (part one); Terence's annual kick ass Halloween party.

Good times were had by all. Especially Jesus.

never trust the sun

2006-11-08T16:26:00.000-08:00

This morning when I woke up the sun was shining. It was brilliant. I began to feel bad for all the negative thoughts I had recently been having about Eugene.

More importantly, I put on cute shoes.

Oh, if only I had known.

After an exciting morning signing papers and getting fingerprinted (for my teaching, yes, teaching! In a classroom at a school! Granted it's with potentially at-risk middle schoolers who might stab me... but still, teaching-yay!) I went to kill time at Barnes & Noble* and when I re-emerged, the sun had completely disappeared! And once again it was raining. And my adorable shoes were getting soaked.

*sigh*

Later, my day got even more exciting as I went to the county courthouse to get fingerprinted for my other job (seriously, what is with employers in Oregon? Do I not look trustworthy enough to deal with your mentally disabled and/or children?) only to arrive in the middle of a fire drill. I got to stand outside in the cold (but thankfully not rainy at the moment) with all the other county employees for a while before a mass herding began back into the building. After wandering the many (and confusing) halls, I finally found where I was supposed to go and was once again recorded in the state of Oregon. When I left the building, it was raining again.

My poor shoes.

*B&N was playing the latest Decemberists album, which if anyone wanted to purchase for me, they are as always, more than welcome.

random thoughts on a random tuesday

2006-11-07T10:52:00.000-08:00

Its raining. A lot. And apparently it won't ever stop. Until April that is.

So I was supposed to go workout with Lindsey, but bailed. Now I'm sitting in my house, contemplating the never-ending rain and eating mini melty mints. Or whatever they're called. They should be called heaven. Because that's what they are.

This morning I learned that when I get the desire to give myself side-swept bangs, I should in no circumstances ever actually pick up the scissors. Thank god for scarves and bobby pins.

Actually I'm being a little overly melodramatic here. They're not that bad. But the aforementioned thanks still stand.

So I bought these beautiful brown pants from a thrift store a few weeks ago. I love them. They fit wonderfully, and I recently learned that they're actually a size smaller than I had previously thought. (Even though we all know numbers are arbitrary and are all part of the knowledge-power complex that is created by society... I don't care, it's a smaller number, yay!) But they have these random slits up the side. For about six inches on each pant leg. It makes no sense. So I safety-pinned them. Johnny Rotten, eat your heart out.

Have I mentioned the rain? Ugh.

most parents send care packages. mine send hemingway quotes.

2006-11-06T17:12:00.000-08:00

I got an email from my mother the other day. There was no greeting, wondering how I was, not even a "love mom."

No, instead there was this quote from Hemingway.

"The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong in the broken places. But those that will not break it kills. It kills the very good and the very gentle and the very brave impartially. If you are none of these you can be sure it will kill you too but there will be no special hurry. ~ Ernest Hemingway"

I'm not entirely certain what it means (although I have some ideas). I do know that when I was home last weekend, my mother and I talked about Hemingway, so I'm assuming that's why she sent this to me. But I think its pretty indicative of my family and our quirks.

The rain is melting away my sanity

2006-11-02T11:58:00.000-08:00

So I'm currently writing a grant proposal to the Safeway Foundation for a film festival in Bend (one of the fastest growing cities in the US- interesting tid bit).

I have absolutely no idea how to write a grant, however. Instead I am writing pithy, nonsensical sentences that make me giggle.

Oh, and it's for our director (ie. the most important person in the office, and the person who could most easily fire my ass).

This can only end badly.

Unrelated, but if any one wanted to buy me the latest Mars Volta album, it would be greatly appreciated.

4pm now means good morning

2006-10-23T23:22:00.000-07:00

Today I learned that if you're in a bad a mood and/or do not want to be around people, being a glorified receptionist is probably not the wisest career choice.

Especially if you choose to work in the non-profit sector.

It does help the pay the bills, though.*

On a completely unrelated, yet happier note, In-n-Out is 882.7 miles and less than five days away!

*joy*

*Apparently its recommended that one does this on a monthly basis, thus preventing one's subsequent incarceration and other related unpleasantries.

2006-10-20T15:55:00.000-07:00

My nose is slowly being rubbed raw.

And there's blueberry cream pie that is taunting me from the kitchen.

*sigh*

Fridays.

Fridays in the ofiice to be exact.

I am not a fan. And apparently my ennui (is that even the right word? Do I care?) is presenting itself in this very strange literary fashion.

What is that all about?

Today I read about a Californian congressional candidate (from the OC) who has been kicked out of the midterm race, bercause -get this- he was caught sending threatening letters to Hispanic voters. Apparently, he wanted them to stay away from the polls come November 6th.

Nice. I'm reminded of Reconstruction (only this time; much less lynching, much more public outrage... so that's a good thing at least)'

Can I go home yet?

my amazing work ethic strikes again

2006-10-17T17:24:00.000-07:00

So this is what happens when I feel crappy (ie. sickness in my throat = not good), my bosses leave early, and I have no worth ethic (although to be fair that last condition is basically me everyday). I end up finding random sites on the internet and subsequently come across fun stories. For example:

Drunk Norwegian breaks into prison

OSLO, Norway - In a different kind of jail break, a very drunk young man surprised prison guards by breaking into their northern Norway jail. "You might say we were a bit perturbed to find this person on our turf," prison warden Geir Broen said on the state radio network NRK on Monday.
Broen said the district prison in the Arctic town of Bodoe is rebuilding its outer fence, and that the man broke through a section of temporary fencing.

The weak fence is of no help to real prisoners seeking a way out, since they are confined within the walls of the jail compound.

The Norwegian, identified only as being in his 20s, was apparently was trying to find his way home after a Friday night party.

"I don't think this guy knew where he was, and he was pretty well under the influence," Broen said on the radio.

When police came to pick up the man to take him home, he told them he thought he was in Moerkved, a neighborhood about 6 miles east of the prison.

"I guess you could say this was notable day in the history of the Bodoe Jail," Broen said. "But I hope we don't have many similar incidents in the future."

(giving credit where credit is due, I found the story at: http://fuknus.chrisdamitio.com/)

On an unrelated note, today I got yelled at on the phone (when the person they were trying to reach was unavailable, the person on the phone decided it would be nice to freak out on me) and also had an interesting conversation with a man who told me it was both 9am and 7pm. What exactly am I supposed to say in these occurrences?

2006-10-13T15:05:00.000-07:00

radiohead - nobody does it better

I *heart* Dwight

eyeballs and other life issues

2006-10-11T14:57:00.000-07:00

Is it possible for an eye to hurt? As in the actual eyeball? I swear my left one is having some serious issues. And we all know how I already have some serious issues with all things optical, this does not a good day make.

Apparently this is also a day for not making sense.

But alas, I shall strive to struggle on.

So last week, being the over-achiever that I am, I decided to have a quarter-life crisis and basically question everything I was doing with said life. At one point, while talking to my mom, I thought it would be a good idea to confide in her. She was actually (surprisingly) supportive of my life as I know it and confidant that I was doing the right things, etc etc.

But now, I swear, she and my father have been calling me everyday with ideas for what I could do with my life; both short term and long. So far they've come up with ides like:
I should create an art exhibit here in Oregon, and then "shop it" to our governator.
Or I should contact the History Channel and develop a series for them based on my thesis.
Apparently I could also create an Oregonian Art Ark program (never mind the confidentiality clauses I signed at the Crocker) and travel to local schools with it.

Now, I love my parents, and think their ideas are actually kind of cool. But the actuality of me implementing them is slightly far-fetched, right? Like I'm going to just call up Arnold and say "hi, I have cool arts program, want to give me some money for it?"

Than again, crazier things have happened. Congress recently passed a bill that allocates 20 million dollars for a giant victory party for when we win the war in Iraq.

So there you go. Maybe when we have that giant party, I'll have figured out what to do with my life.

2006-10-08T18:37:00.000-07:00

So how do you start a post on a blog that you haven't written in for months? I have absolutely no idea. So here's a random image. It makes me laugh. And you should too.

So anyway, these past few months have been good despite the lack of documenting them. I got to ride everyday, and while there were definite moments of aggravation (mostly from horses who thought it would be more fun to do their own thing rather than listen to their rider) I really can't complain. I mean how can you, when you're doing something that you love, and getting paid (albeit not as much as I would have liked) to boot? Of course now the conviction that this is exactly what I want to do with the rest of my life is stronger than ever. How I'm going to pull this off is still undecided however. *sigh*

La Grande was a good place to spend the summer. I'm glad it wasn't longer though. While it was beautiful, and many of the people very nice, it can be a tough place to live. Especially if you want to go to an art museum, or a bookstore, or a coffee shop. Or perhaps meet someone your age who doesn't a) live with his parents still or b) have children of his own or c) have a mullet. But like I said, I got to play polo, so I guess you win some, you lose some, right?

I did quite a bit of traveling as well this summer. Some for polo, some for random adventures. Visiting Claremont is always wonderful (as is spending time with my good friends) and also sad at the same time (because everytime I go, I know its only for a short bit of time and that soon I'll be leaving). There's a German word for this feeling, right? I just can't think of it right now.

Which also reminds me, I am doing okay not being in school! This is my first class-free fall, and it is not good. Which makes me even more certain that I want to go back to school. Now if I can just convince myself to be alright with making a definite decision... *sigh*

So now I'm in Eugene, working at a non-profit, living in a duplex, meeting interesting people. The summer is definitely over, and fall has brought some changed. Mostly good, which is nice. I'm excited to be an urban area once again. Of course I miss riding everyday- a lot. But all in all its good.

This is from my new favorite artist-Banksy. He's a British graffiti artist in the vein of Shepard Farley and basically gives me hope for the artworld of today. He went to Palestine, and under the cover of police protection (a definite irony) worked on the (horrible) wall Israel erected. Very cool stuff.

some math for you

2006-07-17T17:02:00.000-07:00

nose + horse* = pain

however,

ice + nose = goodness

*today i got smacked in the face by a horse who was lunging away from another horse. Definitly an unpleasant feeling.

I have to go to court for a traffic fine (remember when I got pulled over last decemebr liz?) next Monday. I can't decide if the puffy nose and black eyes will work in my favor (they take pity on me) or against me (they decide that I look like a felon and therefore judge me accordingly)... I suppose only time will tell.

Time and ice that is...

yay!

2006-06-29T08:35:00.000-07:00

I leave for my first tournament (in three years!) in a few hours!!!

Can we say excited?

Oregonian Al

2006-06-05T14:42:00.000-07:00

What happened to the last few weeks?

Well, I finished (short of a language test) my master's degree. Best sentence ever: "Your thesis was a joy to read and I am fully approving it." Woo hoo! Makes the 88 pages (112 if you include bibliography and pictures) worth it. And yes, I'm bagging about its length, because let's face it. That was one long thesis!

I then returned all my (102) library books, packed up my house, sent all my (other) books and assorted furniture to live at my parents, packed up my car and headed up to La Grande, OR where I now live (for now).

I've already played some polo and while my swing is nowhere where it should be, and I'm massively out of shape, I've been having one kick ass time!

I'm not sure how often I'll be able to update, still working out the internet situation, etc etc., but I wanted to check in with my new status: Almost a master, according to the government unemployed, playing polo, and generally relaxing before I have to return to the real world (where I will hopefully have acquired a job). So that's the buzz from Oregon (yay!)

surprise?

2006-05-19T11:52:00.000-07:00

I'm going to my surprise going away party tonight. Wanna come?

My wonderful wonderful friends in Claremont are throwing me one. I don't know any of the details, and I wouldn't even know about it, except I recieved a mass email mentioning it.

No one has ever thrown me a surprise party before. I'm very excited :)

I'm not talking about ethics, I'm talking about morals

2006-05-17T11:17:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, in the middle of the my three hour work shift, I visited my friend Brad (who also works on campus) who made me breakfast. I told my coworkers, " I have to go to campus" and then came back an hour later with absolutely no explanation of where I was. No one asked.

Oh, and here's some words that I love:

acquiesce

collude/collusion

obfuscate

ameliorate

aforementioned

plethora

et al.

abstruse

aesthetic

logos

There's a lot more, these are just the ones that I can think of right now.

I was supposed to post this on Friday

2006-05-12T10:59:00.000-07:00

So the past few weeks have been pretty insane. I finished up with classes, finished my thesis, took a language exam, went to Coachella, went to a Renaissance Faire, slept very little, spent many hours in the library, more at coffee shops and even more at my computer.

Whew.

So technically, I'm not really done, as I have revisions to make on a seminar paper, possible revisions on the thesis, and I'm waiting to hear back from my language exam.

But I don't care!

As soon as I get off work today (in an hour) I'm going to a pool party at my friend Chris' house. I'm going to lie in the sun (wearing sunblock of course) and read something mindless.

And it was good.

So anyway, enough about grad school. I'm going to write about my time at Coachella, which pretty much kicked ass.

I went the week before my final week of classes, which probably wasn't the best idea as I had papers and a presentation that following week, but it was still worth it.

We got to Palm Springs in the early evening on Saturday, where I promptly dropped off some people and Tara and I went to the polo club. I stick and balled one of Sue Sal's ponies (one who I helped break years ago!) and even got Tara on the horse hitting a ball! It was soooo nice and got me really excited for the summer.

Its always a little sad when I go down there, because I remember Sal and my childhood, but mostly I feel really honored to have had those memories. I hope I can continue to make Sal proud.

After I finished riding, Tara and I met up our friends, had some good Mexican food, and then hung out at Shana's totally sweet condo. Seriously, it was way nice, and all we had to pay was the cleaning service fee. Major score. We had a good time hanging out, playing card games in the condo, and then I had to crash so I would have energy for the day ahead.

*actually had to do work, and then had more crazy days, so now its Tuesday night and I'm finally finishing this post*

Sunday I attempted (and failed) to study before we headed out to Coachella. After a pit stop at Big Lots (for sun glasses) and Denny's (for fatty yet filling food) and an hour long slow procession into parking we were there!

And ohmygosh, was it hot! Seriously. I forget how hot it can get in the desert. And insane! There were people everywhere, music playing, smoke billowing.

Here's who I saw:
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists. very fun indie rock band. The drummer was insane, and all were impressed with how much the band rocked out inspite of the heat.
Minus the Bear. sooo good! They played all my favorite songs and everyone got to rock out.
Wolf Parade. had a lot of technical difficulties, so I only got to see four songs, but it was nice to get into the tent for a bit and have a repsite from the ungodly heat.
Bloc Party. freakin' awesome! Everyone was dancing, and totally enjoying themselves. They sound really good live. I was impressed :)
Yeah Yeah Yeahs. quite possibly my favorite group of the night. I had heard some of their music, but wasn't too into them, but man did they give a good show. Karen O is my new hero as she kicked some major musical ass. Soooo good!
Madonna. that's right, freakin' Madonna! Tara and I ended up sneaking behind a couple who consisted of a small woman and a very large man who cut a path through the thousands deep crowd outside of the tent and got us into the tent. They were so nice, and after they noticed what we were doing, would grab us to keep up with them. I told them if I hadn't had been so gross, I totally would have hugged them. I think they appreciated the sentiment. Once we got into the tent, we lost our friends, but the madness of the tent pushed us forward into the front third of the tent. I have never had so many gay men press against me in my life (and I lived in DC!). Worth every sweaty push. Because I freakin' saw Madonna in concert. And say what you will about her, she totally brought it. The woman is amazing.
Mogwai. caught the end, lots of lights, good music. Its Mogawi, how could it not be awesome. Tara and I laid in the grass and chilled.
The Go Team! another kick ass band with a frontwoman. Sooo much fun, I danced non-stop. Totally spastic uncaring free dancing. If you've never listened to their music, do yourself a favor- totally unique and awesome band.
Tool. Maynard came out and called us all hippies who he was going to "paper, scissor, rock and roll." And yeah, he pretty much did. Didn't get nearly close enough as I would have liked, but it was unbelievable. Definitly a kick ass show.
I also caught a bit of Digible Planets, Massive Attack, Coheed and Cambria, Los Amigos Invisibles, and while I did not personally see him, James Blunt and his creepy creepy eyes was felt. That dude is weird.

It took us almost two hours to get out of Indio and onto the freeway, and then just as long to get back to Claremont, but fortunately Michael drove. I was hot, smelly and gross. I probably inhaled more than oxygen. I saw some amazing bands, and a whole bunch of crazy people. All in all, a good time.

need a book?

2006-04-29T10:23:00.000-07:00

So I literally have a small walkway carved out in my room which leads from my bed to the door. The rest of my floor space is covered with books, papers, more books, sometimes my computer, oh yeah, and some books.

Apparently in the madness that was writing a thesis, I forgot that I also had two seminar papers due. Oh yay.

Sadly, I have very little in the way of exciting things to report from my life. I've seen more of my friends in the library than out of it. Its like the new social scene in Claremont. All the cool kids are there. Seriously, though. I actually had to leave the other day because I was running into too many friends and wasn't getting any work done. Who ever said grad school isn't cool?

Oh, but this afternoon, I'm going to Indio (the poor man's Palm Springs) to go riding.. and then tomorrow the Coachella music festival! Which, yes, is exciting!

So that's about it for the day. Back to writing about fascism.

2006-04-24T11:24:00.000-07:00

"I'm not dead yet! I'm feeling much better!"

Yes, I know, I've been excessivly lame about writing lately. My theory is that my thesis took all my words- I literally used them all up. But its coming to a close- think good thoughts that I'll finish my revisions this week and it will be accepted and I'll turn it in and turn in my books and not think about women and art and the fin-de-siecle, except to reminisce about those crazy months where I went a little insane writing and editing and writitng, oh my.

As you can tell, I'm still a little loopy. I have about three weeks left of grad school, which is swiftly becoming a mightily fearful entity in my mind. But also an exciting one. This summer should be interesting (although also sad, as I'll be leaving my Claremont friends and life behind). Of course first I have to finish my course work (yes, I still have two more papers to write, ugh!), so we'll see how that goes.

But I promise I'm going to be better about writing, because lord knows, my life is still full of randomness and strange occurances. :)

walden: claremont style

2006-03-29T22:47:00.000-08:00

So I just had a random adventure in Claremont, which resulted in discovering that one of my friends is currently living on campus in a tent on four twin mattresses.

Not quite what I was expecting from my Wednesday night.

Initially the night was to contain some coffee and female bonding/bitching about roommates, boys, life in general. But then the Starbucks* closed early, so we decided to relocate to the humanities house. After a discussion of on campus housing, we decided to investigate. Which brought us to the aforementioned tent dweller.

Oh grad school-these are the memories I'll cherish.

*I know, I know. But I had no choice. I didn't order anything, and the only other coffee shop that's open at night in Claremont is where male escorts** apparently hang out.

**how do I know this? I was studying there over the weekend, and heard quite an interesting discussion about the plights and perils of such a lifestyle from an actual male escort. I only wish I made that up.

boys and turtles and other things I don't understand

2006-03-18T13:48:00.000-08:00

I just unexpectedly spent the past 2.5 hours in the library. I was going to get some more (more?! am I serious?! sadly, yes) books for my thesis (almost done with the rough draft! I'm needing the free printing that I can only get from the CMC-undergrad campus where I illegally print from- computer lab, which sadly is closed until Monday... of course if I was a CMC student, I would be able to use my id card, but alas, I'm a poor cheating grad student, who has to wait until the doors are open to everyone... wow, can we say off topic?)

So anyway, I was getting books for my thesis, when the urge to read came over me, and that's what I've been doing for the past few hours. Hence the spasticness, and the lack of academic productivity at the moment.

This weekend, I'm taking care of my friend Chris' turtle. The same turtle that I took home with me for Christmas, and the same turtle that my mother continues to ask about. However, for this weekend, Chris gave me a key to his house, so I head over twice a day for turtle ministrations. Last night, I went over around 11:30 (after having delicious home-made chocolate mousse with raspberries at Emily's house, so good!) expecting to find a house empty of people (his roommates were to be out of town/living at his girlfriend's respectively). I was slightly confused when I saw all the lights on, but the door as locked, so I made my way in thinking that boys have no conception of energy conservation.

No, actually the roommate who is never there (I've seen him once in the entire I've known Chris/hung out at his house) was in the backroom. Which isn't that weird, no. What was weird was that he didn't even bat an eye or ask what I was doing in his house, or how I got in (remember the locked door?). I hastily explained that I was there to take care of the turtle, his response? "Oh, is Chris gone?" Now I know guys as a rule are not so big on the telling roommates spatial information, but on top of the non-plussed attitude to my appearing in his house, the entire exchange was a little strange.

I mean, if someone who I didn't know showed up inside my locked house in the middle of the night, I would at least wonder how they got in.

Earlier that day, I went to Jiffy Lube to get my car's oil changed, etc etc. As I was standing up at the counter, I left my bookbag in my chair. When I turned around to sit back down, I found a young man sitting in my chair, smooshed up against my bag. Oh, and yes, there were other empty (completely without bags or other assorted items in them) chairs in the room. Again, that's a little strange.

spring break part 1

2006-03-14T22:15:00.000-08:00

So maybe its the fact that it's technically Spring Break and I have yet to leave Claremont.

Maybe its this thesis that is slowly draining me of my sanity (but I'm over half way done with the rough draft, so that's something, right?!).

Maybe I'm just tired of life as the status quo.

-wow, could I be more dramatic right now?-

Anyhow, I apparently decided to chop off my hair. Again. It's not Natalie Portman short, but its short enough that I can't pull it into a ponytail. This, for me, is a very big deal. My roommate says it makes me look sophisticated. I'm not sure I'm sophisticated enough to look sophisticated. *sigh* I'm thinking that this is just some weird type of buyer's remorse* coupled with sleep deprivation which leads to extreme tiredness, and soon I'll grow to love this look. It is really cute. I'm just not sure it's me. But that's partly what life is about, right?

But really, that's not even what I intended to write about tonight. I was going to write about the random (mis)adventures I've been having as of late. As I said, Spring Break officially began last Thursday (with my last day of class, woo hoo!) and while I still technically had work and thesis writing, and presentation preparing, I was ready to celebrate. It just so happened to be Tara's birthday that night (well, okay, it was her birthday that entire day, if you want to get technical), so we planned a girl's night accordingly. And yes, there are pictures.

The seven of us foxy ladies got gussied up (seriously, how hot are these women?) and started the nigh off right: with cake at Tina's.

First we went to a tapa's bar in Pasadena. It was a pretty chill place, with good 80s songs being played. The bar also played really random Latin-esque music videos (that were in no way related to the music being played) on large screens in the main room. This provided a great amount of entertainment, as we watched women clad in thigh-high white boots (and other assorted, yet equally disturbing outfits) and matching shorts dance across the desert and other exact locales. Briita also really liked rocking out. We all also liked the Sangria.

Apparently everytime we go to Pasadena we have to go to bar where there's a mechanical bull. And apparently everytime we go, I have to ride it. I'm thinking here "please god, don't look like a fool, stay on." Unbeknownst to me, Kari had pointed out me, Tara and Elaine to the bull controller guy (there has got to be a term for that, any suggestions?) as exeperienced riders and that he shouldn't go easy on us. Which he didn't. But we still prevailed. Why? Because we're awesome. (I even got strangers clapping for me when I was done with my second ride, heh)

We are totally sober here. Shut up.

We ended to night at Denny's (because that's where classy girls like us go), where after nearly getting into a fight with a fascist and telling the infamous panther knock knock joke, we decided to call the evening quits. All in a all, a sucessful birthday.

So that was Tara's birthday. As you can tell, we had a pretty good time. Friday was spent chilling out, something I definitely recommend! Tara and I studied at Borders (read gossip magazines) for a bit and then decided to rent a movie. Which was an adventure, as I'm sure the guys who worked there must have thought we were drunk or stoned, or some combination of the two. Then again, we giggled throughout the store, and could barely contain ourselves as we paid. In our defense, if someone told you that you had a remaining balance of $1.33, you would think you has $1.33 left too, right?

Friday night was spent consuming an obscene amount of meat, as my work had a Texan bbq- which thanks to JR's kick ass smoking skills was awesome! After learning about the wonders of fish eye soup, meteor hunting and why you can't buy bear on ebay (I am not making this up, I work with people who have extremely strange interests), I headed out to everyone's favorite bar (okay, the only bar in Claremont) for Emily's "Emily Quit Her Job Party." Lots of random people, lots of silliness ensued. Sadly no hardcore reggae covers, but there was a pretty decent Irish band playing, so that was fun.

The weekend madness continued with a bbq (yes, more food!) at Elaine's on Saturday. The best part was when Elaine called me and asked if I would break into her house to let people in, as she wasn't going to be back in time for her own bbq! Being the good person, I am, I obliged. Good times spent in her backyard with a flashlight. I'm still somewhat surprised her neighbors didn't call the cops on me. And after a while, she finally showed up. Texan dancing (yeah, I have no idea why my weekend was so Texan-tastic either) in the living room fought against gangsta rap in the kitchen. Nothing says graduate school like Dr. Dre's The Chronic. I mean really.

So that's been my Spring so far: food, thesis writing, Texan related activities, hair cutting, bull riding, and now blogging. It's definitely had its moments.

*which is weird, because I didn't even buy anything- Elaine cut my hair for free, and despite my sleep-deprevived weirdness, I can honestly say she did a kick ass job, and I got salad to boot!

...

2006-03-11T11:17:00.000-08:00

I hate this thesis.

that's all.

the greatest sentence ever written

2006-03-06T23:31:00.000-08:00

And here's some proof that my insanity is not entirely my fault.

This is my new favorite sentence (its from Fasisct Modernism by Andrew Hewitt; a book I'm reading for class this week):

"It is only a decadent decadence that could possibly realize itself in practice--and yet, as a decadent decadence within the very category of the decadent itself, such a decadent decadence might indeed be the purest form of decadence."

good night!

It's raining

2006-02-27T13:24:00.000-08:00

And that's all I will say about that.

My time in Claremont is swiftly coming to a close. Its infiltrating daily thoughts, conversations, dreams. That and my thesis are pretty much all I can think about. And they are inextricably linked, as once I finish one, I must immediately start on the other.

The restless traveler in me wants to run away to Europe, with my savings* cashed out, and all my possessions on my back, as I pick up odd jobs and bum around.

The polo-player in me wants to get a job as a groom and ride and travel on the circuit and be with the horses.

The responsible, extremely freaked out, soon-to-be-graduate with many debts and bills in me knows I should get a job- one which will lead to a career (of some sort) so I can payback said debts and be an active member of society.

Its the rain. It makes me maudlin and think too much.

*savings, hah! don't tell my parents, but I already cashed out this account during last year's holiday season.

don't try to hide your jealousy

2006-02-22T12:16:00.000-08:00

So technically I should be studying/preparing for my class in 40 minutes. But as I have no idea whats expected of me in this class and no desire to read anymore, I'm going to instead write about how I fell out of my chair today.

Yes, you read that correctly. Today, at work I fell out of my chair. I've reached new levels of gracelessness.

So this is what happened. I was sitting in a rather large desk chair (massive, like a throne on wheels), which was so huge it prevented me from being able sit fully back into the seat. Instead I had to perch on the edge in order to reach the desk. Below the chair was carpet with one of those plastic mat things, so as to enable rolling of the chair. At one point, I attempted to roll the chair closer to my desk, and that's when it happened.

The roller of the chair got caught at the edge of the platic mat thing, and as I was sitting on the edge of the seat, my forward momentum caused the chair not to move, but instead to tip. And out I spilled onto the floor, with the chair falling over me.

And that is why I am officially the coolest person I know.

Don't wake me, I plan on sleeping

2006-02-21T23:16:00.000-08:00

I am never donating blood on a college campus again.

For the past day and a half, I've felt like I've had a permanent hangover, minus the fun drinking before. And all I have to show for it are track-like marks on my arm.

No officer, I swear, I don't even know where to get smack.

Okay, enough drug talk. This weekened, I did not go to the beach, lay out in the park, or do much in the way of excitement. Unless you count reading hundreds of pages (yes, thats right, hundreds) about fascism, feminism and the like. Which, in a very sad way, I kind of do.

It actually rained in Claremont over the weekend, complete with cold cold temperatures and the need for fires in fireplaces and scarves on necks. It almost felt like a real winter. Almost. On Sunday, the rain cleared, and the sky and mountains were unbelievable. I attempted to get in touch with my artistic side:

The mountains with clouds

The sky was so beautiful as the sun was setting, so here's a blurry shot.

Sky with trees and power lines. Its so postmodern.

I couldn't do justice to how amazing the mountains looked.

This was taken in my backyard.

So that was probably the most exciting part of my weekend. I also saw an reggae band that covered "I just died in tyour arms tonight" and Pearl Jam's "Daughter." Yeah, I didn't know those songs could be done as reggae either. But the dancing frat guys and their assorted lady friends definitly enjoyed the versions being put out. If nothing else, the night provided much entertainment in the area of people watching. Oh, I was also told that I have a crew. I'm not sure how, or why, but there you have it. I imagine us as a gang, only instead of carrying guns and knives we pack highlighters and pens, and instead of rumbles, we have book clubs. Applications are now being accepted.

Okay, enough silliness. I need to go read and sleep. Hopefully in that order.

tagging on a monday

2006-02-13T10:40:00.000-08:00

Four jobs I've had:
1. after-school tutor
2. pizza maker
3. office assistant
4. barn manager

Four movies I can watch over and over:
1. American Beauty
2. Lord of the Rings
3. Napoleon Dynamite
4. Shakespeare in Love

Four places I've lived:
1. Moorpark, CA
2. Davis, CA
3. Washington, D.C.
4. Perugia, Italy

Four TV shows I love:
1. Jeopardy
2. the Daily Show
3. Colbert Report
4. Project Runway

Four places I've vacationed:
1. Madrid
2. Chicago
3. Lichenstein (not so much a vacation as a night spent sleeping in the bus station)
4. NYC

Four sites I visit daily:
1. yahoo
2. myspace (i'm totally addicted, I admit it)
3. cgumail
4. museum websites (looking for jobs)

Four places I would rather be right now:
1. the beach
2. London
3. Florence
4. The Met (yeah, that sounds good Liz, lets go!)

Four bloggers I am tagging:
1. Nous Sommes Foutus
2. Michele, the godless Degenerate
all my other blogger friends have been tagged

tan lines!

2006-02-12T23:16:00.000-08:00

Yes, its February.

But its February in Southern California. So that means I went to the beach yesterday and laid out in the sunshine. And got some color! Of course as I'm paler than the moon, so it would be more correct to say that I got less pale than that I actually got color. But hey, you work with what you have, right? The point is, that despite the utter unnaturalness of this warm weather (and to my friends in much colder climes, don't hate me! I actually think its wrong for it to be this warm, and it probably says bad things about the state of our environment, and in all honesty I would not mind some actual winter-eqsue weather, as I have some very cute scarves and jackets...) I went to the beach! And got some color!

On a completely different note, our vice-president shot a man on Saturday just to watch him die. (and now the CIA is probably going to be after me, so if you here any clicking noises when you talk to me on the phone, you now know why) Okay, so actually it was while he was quail-hunting, and *technically* an accident, but I'm just sayin'. Coincidence? You make the call.*

*please, if there are any government employees, etc reading this**, please don't send the vice-president to my house with a shotgun.

**why there would be government employees reading this blog, I have no idea.

I lied

2006-02-02T09:52:00.000-08:00

I'm writing a letter to our members asking for more money. In one sentence I used contributions twice, and contribute once.

I need new words.

sigh

2006-02-01T23:10:00.000-08:00

Have you ever had one of those days when you're looking really cute, and your hair is actually behaving yourself, but you don't see anyone? And it's all wasted.

That's been my day.

My hair right now? It's awesome. Doing everything its supposed to. Unbelievably cute. And I never say that.

(and I know, I know that it shouldn't matter, and what's really important is that I noticed... but I notice myself all the time, isn't it someone else's turn?)

hence the *sigh*

(I promise that my next self-deprecating post will be funnier)

Shoot the Piano Player

2006-02-01T11:27:00.000-08:00

Last night I had a dream about Kevin Bacon's brother. He was wearing a Member's Only jacket.

It's been a weird week.

I heart Jon Stewart

2006-01-30T23:02:00.000-08:00

Oh man, I just watched the best Daily Show tonight. My love of Jon Stewart grows by leaps and bounds. It almost makes my headache less painfully annoying. Almost. *sigh*

So last night* my bed broke. Yes, that's right- it broke. And no, not for any exciting reasons. Although I do blame my friend Lawrence for the breakage. But that's because he's the one who put my crappy bedframe together. I've had this bed since my sophomore year of college, and pretty much since day one, I've cursed said bed frame. Because its one of those really crappy metal ones that somehow magically fit together in some fashion that I have never been able to figure out. Everyonce in a while, the frame comes apart and there is bed breakage. Which is really fun to be woken up in the middle of the night by suddenly slanting headfirst towards the floor. Of course I can think of better ways to be woken up in the middle of the night.

I found a new coffee shop tonight. Its in a strip mall, next to a Vons and a Gamestop. But its totally local, with free wireless internet, and live music on the weekends. And they played the best music tonight. That's pretty much what sold me. While I was there I heard; Sufjan Stevens, Nina Simone, Elliot Smith, Radiohead, Death Cab for Cutie, some random covers, and lots of other good stuff. I am completely for any place that follows Sufjan Stevens with Nina Simone. That speaks well, eh?

Okay, the headache is taking its toll. Tomorrow is a long day.

*actually the bed breaking happened last week, but we live in a postmodern society where time is arbitrary, so go with it, okay?

miss me?

2006-01-22T23:17:00.000-08:00

aaannndddd i'm back!

Currently, I'm working on about three hours of sleep (the oh so lovely consequence of tasty beverages + bedtime at 3:30 + waking up for some godforsaken reason at 6:30), and am feeling rather giddy and awake. Granted, this feeling could pass at any time, so let's take advantage, shall we?

Where have I been for the past month, you might be wondering? Mostly in Claremont, with some adventures in Northern California and Moorpark thrown in. A short list of my activities:

•Went up north the day after my birthday. Drove up with Tara, spent many good hours in the car, listening to our varied collection of tapes and generally being the silly people we are. She actually took me to the oh-so-lovely train station in Fremont (which sadly, was not the sketchiest train station I had the luck to visit up north- more on that later), where I hopped on the Capitol Corridor, and hopped off in Davis and literally into the waiting arms of Paige and Patty. Who, I might add, also met me with chocolate, cheese and crackers. Do my friends know me, or what?

• The rest of my time in Davis was spent with old roommates and friends, and many silly adventures were undertaken. My favorite memory, however, was of introducing Speed Scrabble to my friends and of all the subsequent silliness which followed.

• As vacations go, this one was too short, and before I knew it, I was back on my way down south, and back to Claremont. Spent a few days there, worked a bit, read and slept a lot.

• The holidays were spent at my parent’s house in the ever-exciting Moorpark. Christmas was a family affair complete with yummy food, presents, menorah lighting (it was also the first night of Chanukah, for my gentile friends), movie watching, and of course my father beating down the inflatable Santa that he bought this year. No, that’s not a typo; we really have one, and he really did. I have pictures and everything. If you’re ever wondering why I’m so strange and act so oddly, look at my parents! Its not my fault, its my genes!

• Once again, I returned to Claremont, where I thought I would be for the rest of break. But, as it turned out, I found myself, a few days later heading back up north yet again. A very last minute trip was put together for New Years in Tahoe, with Paige, Patty, Andy, Tara, and some of Paige’s business school friends. I have to say, this was one of the best New Year’s that I’ve celebrated, and even better for all the haphazard planning which went into it.
It turned out that Tracey, Kat, and Susan (Davis friends and sister) were driving up north, so once again I hopped in a car for a quality drive up the I-5 and a drop off at yet another lovely train station. Except this train station was literally in the ghetto (Hayward) and was more of a bench next to some train tracks than a station. But I made it onto the Capitol Corridor, and once again alighted in Davis.
This time, a very inebriated Joe and company picked me up, and once again hugs were involved. Had some lovely dim-sum and lots of laughter before I headed over to Paige’s and the next morning departure for Tahoe. After some setbacks (friends who oversleep/don’t pick up their phones) we were on our way to the cabin in the snow. The drive was harrowing, but Paige got us there in one piece, where we proceeded to hang out, nap (okay, so I read as everyone else napped), and get ready for the night to come. Oh, oh! And we played in the snow, because it started an hour after we got there! Tara and I wandered about outside for a while, and had some good times with snow angels and beautiful scenery. After an unorganized game of Scattergories (all I will say is that Jesus can be a role model no matter what letter you’re technically on) and an even worse game of Balderdash (four people, two of which have never played + missing pieces and directions = quite possibly the worst game ever played) we were ready to start ringing in the new year.
And ring in we did. Speaking of ringing, Tara and I also happened to call a goodly number of people, so if you were one of them, sorry. I think my favorite part of the night, however, was after midnight, Tara, Sam and I took a walk outside, and it was quite possibly one of the most beautiful nights I can remember. I wish I was able to capture in on camera, because the sky and scenery was out of the world. The rest of the night was spent on the sofa bed from hell, or as we aptly named it, the “death taco of sleep” because that was what is felt like; a taco that wanted to kill you with its uncomfortableness. The next day was spent sledding and playing in the snow, and then heading back to Davis, where I hung out with some other Davis friends and basically chilled. All in all, it was a wonderful New Year’s, and I’m so glad that circumstances worked out which allowed me to travel up north again, and see some good friends.

Okay, so remember how I said, er typed, that I could get tired at any minute. Well that time is now. So I promise to continue with my adventures… just not right now, as right now I want to curl up in my warm bed- the only place where its warm at all in my house- and try to make up some of the sleep that I’ve lost.

last post of '05

2005-12-29T23:47:00.000-08:00

And what a lame post its going to be, as its nearing midnight, and I need to go to bed soon as I'm getting picked up for my trek up north tomorrow morning. (my very spur of the moment, slightly unplanned, but will hopefully provide many good memories trip up north) I have of course packed too much, and I won't use half of the stuff I brought, and will be mad at myself for forgetting something else. But so it goes, right?

What am ambivalous way to end the year.

I have to admit, I'm a total sucker for that train of thought; this is the last time I did this this year, that's the last time I did that. I actually noted to myself that yesterday was the last time that I would take out the trash in 2005. Like I said, I'm a sucker. Admission is the first step... I think.

I think I'll be postmodernly ironic and comment on the year that was when I get back in 2006. Time is, after arbitrary. Baudrillard would be so proud.

Happy New Year my friends!

Increase da peace

2005-12-15T00:52:00.000-08:00

Finished!
Finito!
Terminado!
Acabado!
Fini!
Beendet!
Avsluttet!
законченный!

This picture has nothing to do with me finishing papers... I just came across it during the countless hours spent with my laptop lately and thought it was funny. Bceause its the perfect picture- two lovely ladies sharing my (roommate's bed), a beer, and brownie mix. Heaven. Honestly, what else do you need in life?

my favorite chords

2005-12-12T09:29:00.000-08:00

my mommy just called to say she knew how hard this week was going to be and that she loved me.

aaawwwwwwwwwww....

i love it when parents surprise you by treating you like you're still their baby, but its on one of the rare occasions that you were actually loooking for that kind of support.

this week is going to be hell, but my mother cares

"I like your nose."

2005-12-04T23:55:00.000-08:00

Okay, seriously. Where did the weekend go? Wasn't it just Friday, oh I don't know, twenty minutes ago? My Mondays are really poor (although this will be the last bad one, because its the last week of classes, woo hoo!), so my Sunday nights are always a little depressing, because I know that I have them directly ahead of me. Ugh. Next semester will be better, I think.

Wow, getting a little ahead of myself now.

Backing up (a wee bit): So Friday I went to a goth club. Oh, and that's not even the weirdest bit. My friend Paul is a DJ, and sometimes DJs at goth clubs (as well as at our campus events, he's really good!), so a couple friends and I got gussied up in our finest black apparel (sadly, I didn't take pictures, so I'll try to paint one with words... I was rocking the tall boots, some sparkly tights, a black lacy skirt and an extremely tight-so tight I know now the pain that Victorian women had to go through with their corsets- strappy velvet top... my hair was up in messy buns and dark eyeshadow was upon my eyelids...) and supported his mad skills at a club in Pomona (in the Arts Colony, which unlike the rest of Pomona, is not super sketchy). The goth club is in the back part of this restaurant/bar?/club? called Yesteryears, which as the name implies, was a stomping ground for those friendly with the AARP. It was super fun walking past the stage, in front of all the tables in our black apparel. It was even more fun to walk out later, when the band was playing and the one lone elderly couple was dancing. I love freaking people out sometimes :) Anyway, I was telling (er, typing) about the weirdest part of the night, which occurred when a couple friends of my friends showed up. The girl was complimenting my friend Tara on her hair, Tara traded a compliment back towards her bag, when the guy busted out to me, "I like your nose." I don't think anyone has ever said that too me, but hey a compliment is a compliment, right? I'll take what I can get.

After that exchange, friends and I danced to Paul's music, and generally had a good time, despite the potentially creepy bartender. Tara, Terence and I ended the night at the quality Denny's where much fried goodness was consumed. mmm, fried goodness-so bad, and yet soooo good!

Saturday and Sunday were paper writing days, always a good time... or not. Although I did have an entertaining Saturday night (an Sunday night too, for that matter). I decided to get my Betty Crocker on and make some cookies. Tara helped me decorate... and I must say, we did an excellent job!

So here are Tara and I candidly frosting cookies:

This was an homage to my confusion regarding the holidays:

Pirates love decorating cookies too!

Bunny attacks Candycornhenge. Yes I made a cookie version of Stonehenge. Yes I am that large of a nerd. Deal with it.

After the cookie extravaganza, I brought some awesomely decorated cookies to Chris' where we played Trivial Pursuit (the 80s edition, yes!) and watched Saturday Night Live, which normally would not be a monumental activity worth mentioning, except that the musical guest was James Blunt, and he was quite possibly the creepiest singer ever! It was awesomly strange, but very memorable.

Okay, I've written way too much, time for bed and the hell that is the week ahead.. and on that rhyming note, I'll bid you adieu.

losing my mind, slowly but surely....

2005-12-02T17:28:00.000-08:00

Well now that is December, I'm thinking of writing about November. If you're surprised at all by this, you probably haven't met me. So its the Friday of an incredibly long week/month. During this week, I read When Ladies Go A-Theivin' (historical work on Victorian middle class women shoplifters), Regeneration (novel about Siegfried Sassoon, the British anti-war poet from WWI), Gender Trouble (everyone's favorite "sex is determined" text), The Female Cyborg, and some articles. I also quasi- finished a paper and started another one. And that was this week alone! So you can see why my posts have been spare/slightly incoherent/just not there.

However.

Its 5:30 on Friday night, and I don't feel like writing any more on Kant, or Schiller, or aesthetics in general. Okay, I've on written an intro paragraph and one sentence beyond that, but I am no mood to deal with semantics, okay? So instead, I'm thinking of writing some random stuff (hah! I never do that!) about this past month. Because lots of things happened, although to be fairly honest, I'm not too certain where to begin. And my mind is so tired/frazzled, that I'm not if I even remember half the madness.

Another thing I can't seem to remember? Where I put my wrist pad for my laptop (my wrists are weak, and I like to rest them, but alas, it is nowhere in sight). This is not the first time that I've lost something this week. A few days ago, I lost the book that I was supposed to read for class. It was in my backpack. In a folder. I looked all day for that book, and the fucker was on my back the entire day. *sigh* I'd like to think I'm going for that absent-minded genius look, but I think I'm a little too thick on the former, and pretty light on the latter.

I can't believe how dark it is outside. Seriously, its really really dark. Which always makes me think of snuggling up with a sweetheart near a fire. But while I'm lacking the sweetheart (blah, blech, bleg is how I feel about that), I have a fireplace... however, my roommate and I are unsure if the flue (is that even the correct term?) is open, and its a weird gas fire, and we have fears of asphyxiating ourselves... so I think I'm 0 for 2 on that front.

Oh! I was writing about Thanksgiving, et al, right? It was a really good day. I drove to Moorpark, where my parents and I then drove to my grandmothers. Not ten minutes into said drive did I realize why my parents drive me insane and was instilled with an even greater desire to secure a means of employment after graduation. But it was a good (and filling!) meal or tryptophan laced goodness. After this first meal, I went back to my hometown and hung our with Michele for a bit. Had the normal girl talk, etc. etc. good times. On my way back to Claremont, I stopped in at a family friend's house, who I hadn't seen in years. And I ended up eating another full meal and spending numerous hours with said family. All in all, it was quite a good day. The rest of the weekend was, well, not so much fun. As I wrote a paper, and tried to get some prepatory research done for other papers. Oh baby, do I know how to celebrate the holidays!

So yeah, that was this past week or so. I know I said I was going to write about the rest of the month too... but instead I'm going to make myself dinner. Sorry. But I'm hungry, and we all know how I love food. Okay, I can't really end on this note, because that's slightly pathetic. So instead I will end with a quote:

"The bottom line is that (a) people are never perfect, but love can be, (b) that is the one and only way that the mediocre and vile can be transformed, and (c) doing that makes it that. We waste time looking for the perfect lover, instead of creating"

The quote is from Tom Robbins. If you don't know who he is, do yourself a favor and go find out! And the picture I think I found on NPR. Happy Friday my friends.
love alexandra :)

I lost my head in the sun

2005-11-29T00:17:00.000-08:00

I have come to the realization that reading Judith Butler's Gender Trouble in a day and a half was probably not my best idea. But its done now. And that's all I can focus on at the moment. I promise to write a more coherent, decent post soon. Just as soon as I wrest my life back from the abyss that is the end of the semester in grad school.

Oh, and I'm in love with tomato soup. The one from Trader Joes? Delicious. And I should know, as I seem to have it at least once a day, everyday.

You know its sad when the flower delivery man pities you.

2005-11-16T12:18:00.000-08:00

So I was walking home after registering for my classes (awesome because a) I live around the corner from campus and can walk there anytime in a minute- a fact that I love! and b) I signed up for classes that I really want to take! "Nineteenth century Social and Cultural European History" and the "Cultural Turn of interwar Fascism") and I espied (love that word too) a flower delivery man leaving a bouquet on my doorstep.

"Are you Sarah?" he asked.

"No, thats my roommate" I replied (ohmygosh, I should totally become a fiction writer, what do you think Vanessa? Do I have it?)

And that's when I saw look of pity on his face.

*sigh*

what's up, matador?

2005-11-15T19:07:00.000-08:00

I'm getting a zit on my nose.

So I made a cake.

If that doesn't sound logical to you, you're either not female or you have no soul.

Last night, I went to "coffee talk with the Jewish Student Union" at Pitzer College. A mass email had been sent, there was the offering of coffee and Tara wanted to go. Seemed like a no brainer, right? A nice easy study break.

Um, no. Such was not the case. Tara (who I should mention is about the furthest thing from being a Jew, what with the blue eyes and Irish heritage) and showed up to a rabbi lecturing to a dozen students about why the Jews have been kept down. There was also great mentioning of how we were all Jewish, and could tell each other's inherent Jewishness, just by looking across the room. of course everytime he said this, I would look at Tara and start laughing. I don't think the rabbi appreciated the humour. Oh, the best part, though, was the one other male who showed up, who felt the need to challenge the rabbi on everything. It was seriously beyond awkward. So awkward it was awesome. Needless to say, Tara and I couldn't get out of there fast enough. It was a pretty good study break though.

Other random stories and adventures? I played beruit the other night (beer pong for you non Eastern folk) and totally kicked ass. Yes, the girl who lacks the hand-eye-coordination of a toddler totally won. My teammate Michael is a mathematician (Seriously. Ask him about water volume sometime) and he was nothing without me.

Okay, enough bragging. But can you tell that I'm excited? Its so rare that I actually excel in things not related to reading massive amounts of books or falling down in public places, that I just have to get what gloating in that I can.

"guitars and rockets have surprising similarities"

2005-11-09T17:30:00.000-08:00

If anyone asks, I'm in the library. Thats where I told everyone (including myself) that I was going after work. But, ah those best laid plans, right? Instead I'm sitting on my bed, wearing a plaid skirt, not reading about the Irish. But hey, what else is new? I really was going to go to the library, I walked my poor feet and ankles all the way down, got near the doors and realized that I couldn't do it. I've already been up since the 7 o'clock hour, finishing and preparing for a class. After said class I went to work, where I was until about half an hour ago. And I really was going to the library. But like I said, my feet hurt. And my phone battery is nearly dead. How pathetic is that? I can't be somewhere because my phone abttery is dying, and I need to have my phone with me, fully charged at all times. Although in my defense, I do need it, because I'm supposed to meet up with people later at an English department party that I'm crashing. See? These are all viable reasons as to why I coudn't be in the library tonight. Right?

But I promise- I'm going to do my reading, I swear. Any minute now.

Let the Sunshine In

2005-11-06T18:05:00.000-08:00

Here's some random thoughts from the past week:

My itunes just finished playing Rancid's "Ivory Coast" in which the refrain is "who is the killer?" The next song that played? Thursday's "I am the Killer." This is why I think that a) my computer is alive and b) its totally trying to mess with me.

I was reading the back of my toothpaste the other day (what, like you don't do weird stuff too?) and apparently for best results, one should "use with a soft bristle brush." Are there hard bristle toothbrushes available to the general public? That makes me think of hard wire brushes, like the ones used to clean barbeques. I don't imagine that would be a pleasant sensation for one's teeth.

I have a large bruise on my inner thigh. Why? I rode a mechanical bull last night. If I hadn't been wearing a skirt (albeit a longer one, so I was not in any way indecent) and patterned stockings (so cute! but not ideal for bull riding), I definitely would have stayed on longer (although I think I had the longest run of anyone there).

The other night when I was preparing for bed, I found in my bed: a book, a pen, some tissues (unused of course), two scarves and a notebook admist my pillows.

A few nights ago, I was riding my bike and almost fell over on a street in front of a car full of people. They had stopped to let me cross the street on said bike, and as I biked past them I tried to me nice and thank them by waving. This apparently got me so off balance that I nearly fell over and had brace myself with my foot on the ground to avoid completely eating it.

Sunday, sleepy Sunday...

2005-10-30T14:36:00.000-08:00

So I just fell asleep. Yes, me. The girl who cannot nap to save her own life was pleasantly unconscious in the middle of the day. Granted, it was only for ten minutes, but still, the point is I was asleep. Personally I blame Charles Dickens. I'm currently reading Hard Times (which despite the observations of half of my oh-so-mature friends who know who they are) is not an exciting porn. Instead its a novel about the effects of modernity on the individual in 19th century England. Its actually pretty good- the bad thing is that I need to have it read by tomorrow, along with all my other reading for other classes (which include no less than a 400 page book about the Civil War and my favorite philosopher Walter Benjamin's writings), etc etc. On the plus side, I managed to get my papers done (and by done, I mean I met the page requirements, if not the academic ones) and turned in on time. So that's out of my hair for a bit-until I get them back and have to rewrite them into a state of coherency. Can you write things into states of coherency? I have no idea. I think I'll ponder that and post some pictures of the Halloween adventures of this weekend:

So here's me and Tina, I think I thought this would be funny picture.

This is my favorite picture, ever!

This is the pumpkin I carved! How much ass does it kick? Its the CGU Flame, because we're flamers at this school.

That's my bathrobe Chris is wearing.

Oh, and here's me, Michael and a dinosaur.