My old post is new again (its so postmodern)

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

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

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?

radiohead - nobody does it better

I *heart* Dwight

eyeballs and other life issues

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.

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

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!

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

Can we say excited?

Oregonian Al

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?

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

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

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?

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.

"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

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

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

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!

...

I hate this thesis.

that's all.

the greatest sentence ever written

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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*

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

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

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?

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

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

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

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."

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....

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

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.

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?

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"

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

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...

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.

I'm so over this paper.

fun with sleep deprivation

During the course of yesterday I had:
a cup of tea (English Breakfast, with some honey, yum!),
a Vanilla Latte,
two (yes, two!) cups of coffee, excessively sweetened with creamer and sugar.

Remember when I used to shun coffee and caffeine related items? Yeah, me neither.

This is the effects of having too many papers to write/books to read and too little motivation to get any of it done in a reasonable amount of time. I've known about all these projects for some time now, but did I prepare, like a good student? No, of course not. I procrastinated and procrastinated until I literally couldn't procrastinate any longer. It doesn't help that I currently loathe my topics (the dreaded Matthew Arnold is rearing his ugly head yet again) and therefore find just about anything more exciting and fun. I mean anything. On Friday night, for example, I went to Borders to study (quite the happening place, by the by- the entire store was crammed with people reading and studying), but was way more entertained by Tara's dancing feet and forcing Brett to climb the ladders expressly forbidden to non-store employees. Very little reading was done.
Saturday was spent trying to force myself to read, but instead cleaning my room, planning Halloween costumes, and going to a club in LA. (yes that's right, I willingly went to a Hollywood club freely of my own choice- along with the massive consumption of caffeine, I also apparently now like to dance) Which actually turned out to be quite fun. The sleep deprivation part really helped when we all ended up at IHOP at four in the morning, completely and obnoxiously amusing ourselves. I'm not exactly certain if it was the lack of sleep, or just to absurdity of it all, but I don't remember being that amused for some time... Of course the two hours of sleep that I ended up getting that night really didn't help matters in the academic fields- a fact I sadly became aware of in the library the next morning.
So now its Tuesday morning, I'm vaguely seeing the light at the end of the tunnel- the very long tunnel- of my paper writing, and have actually finished the book that one could beat a man to death with, so things are looking up. Well, until next week, that is.
Ah, graduate school- I never knew how much I appreciated sleep before you.

Stay Classy Inland Empire

Liz tagged me, so here you go:

List five things people may not know about you and tag five other people to do the same.

1. Sometimes I still eat ice cream for breakfast.
2. Everytime my roommate isn't home, I turn up music really loud and dance around like a spaz
3. I've read entire books at Borders (once in one sitting)
4. I watch really bad tv sometimes- like MTV bad.
5. The other night I drank beer and played darts.

Beer. Copious amounts of beer was had. Okay, so for me pretty much any amount of beer seems copious, so it wasn't really that much, but still- I was slightly shocked with myself. I rarely drink beer (usually beer consumption occurs in other states or countries- a true fact) In my continuing quest to find the classiest spots of the 909 I and some friends have found some interesting locales. Last night we ended up at Don Jose's (my favorite of the Dons- Francisco is a bastard, and nobody likes to talk about Rodrigo's drinking problems) for some quality karaoke. Don't worry, I didn't sing. But I did dance. Horribly. As I'm want to do. A few of my friends are all about the karaoke, so being the responsible grad students that we are, we had to go out and find a place to sing the night away. And that place was Don Jose's- Mexican restaurant by day, hopping bar scene by night. Or not so much. There was one other large group of people, and then just some couples etc. My friends and I were by far the largest and loudest people there. (I mean largest in number, not in size, by the way) I'm sure we were quite entertaining for the other patrons as we danced, sang, and generally made merry. Oh, and we drew on yours truly. Again. The night before, we also decided to make ourselves the leading entertainment at yet another excessively classy place- the Blackwatch Pub. I'm not sure why, but there's a boatload of "British Pubs" in the Inland Empire. It really makes very little sense- as far as I know, there's never been any sort of British historical significance in the area "My peeps" (as Lawrence would say) never got around the conquering, etc. this part of the continent. And yet, there's an ubiquitous amount of pub-like establishments. And they're not even that accurate. But I digress... well, not so much, as there really isn't any sense of narrative or direction to this post (honestly, is there ever?) But I think I was going to talk, er, write about our new favorite past-time, which is tattooing me. This morning, I woke up with Tina's name on my chest. Yesterday, I woke up with a dinosaur on my arm. I'm not sure why anybody thought that this was a good idea in any shape or form, but there you have it. And I meanwhile have ink remnants up and down my arms. I think we're regressing back to childlike states. Being an adult is just too much work and trouble. Being silly and immature is way more fun. Unfortunately, this strategy is not going to get me my degree. But how awesome would it be if I could?

I totally forgot the best part of the AIDS Walk experience.

David Hasselhoff, yes the David Hasselhoff of NightRider, Baywatch, and beloved by Germans everywhere was one of the celebrity well wishers. It was awesome!

Sadly, he did not sing.

the weekend, part deux

Okay, so the last time I posted, I was all about learning and getting my studying on. Um, that didn't happen. (seriously, though, are you surprised?) That night, I hung out at a friend's house and watched a documentary called "Inside Deep Throat." No, not the Watergate Deep Throat, the other one. It was pretty funny to watch people's reactions as they realized just what they were watching. Actually the documentary was pretty good; an interesting take on the seventies culture. After that cinematic experience, we headed down to the Press; everyone's (okay, no one's) favorite bar in Claremont. For those of you who don't know- Claremont has one bar. Its called the Press (it used to be a printing press- and that's how it got it's creative name... go Claremont!), and usually I try to stay as far away from it as possible. But Saturday night was pretty cool- they had an Irish band playing. The band was called Craic Haus, pronounced (yes, you guessed it) "crack house," and they did a lot of covers, especially of Flogging Molly. So a good time was had by all. The only downside was the fact that I stayed out til past 1 am, and had to get up at 6:30 the next morning, because I went to the AIDS Walk in LA. So much fun! My friends and I dressed up as pirates (we put the arrrr! in finding a cure). Want to see some pictures?

Okay, so here's me, Chris, Tara and Seth. We are so pirated out.


At the end of the walk, the Sister of Perpetual Indulgence greeted and cheered people. They were awesome, and they were also majorly loving on Chris.


This is me and Chris, rocking the fake tooth and pirate tat. We're so hardcore.


Tara's pirate flag ROCKED!


This was just a weird picture. It totally looks like that dude was dragging a wagon full of legs. Sadly, we saw even weirder things in West Hollywood.


Like this sign.


Final picture of our team. Seriously, how cute are we?


Okay, and this picture had nothing to do with AIDS Walk, but I told Vanessa that I'd put it up.

So there you have it. My weekend in its entirety. It was full of adventures, random experiences, and pictures! Now its back to the drudgery and reality of reading, writing, and learning. I liked being a pirate better.

Where in the world was Al?

Its been one hell of a week. Here's what happened. I went swimming, had a presentation, read a lot, hung out with friends, worked, saw my parents, went to an extremely ghetto nightclub, went to a wine tasting, went to a pilates class, carved a pumpkin, drank a lot of coffee, and did I mention that I did some reading? Hence my lack of posting.

Somehow on Saturday night, I wore a rubber ducky floaty-both in and out of a pool and did the running man. I didn't even know that I knew how to do the running man, but apparently its a hidden talent. Oh, and I might have consumed some wine. Just a smidge. You know how some things you find really funny one day, and the next you have no idea why? Yeah, that was all of Saturday night. Suffice to say, at one point, I thought it would be a good idea to trade pants with my friend Brad. No, actually, it wasn't the best idea, as Brad is like 6'5" and my pants aren't. But hey, I'm in school. I'm supposed to be learning. I learned that Brad and I shouldn't trade clothes. My hard earned (via loan applications) dollars at work.

The rest of the weekend was spent trying to finish the 400 page book I had to read for Tuesday's class (as well my other reading for other classes) as well as prepare for my presentation in the same class. Lots of stress was accrued. I'm not sure if you can accrue stress, but that's probably the least of my worries. Stress was had, and plenty of it. After class on Tuesday, I had a bit of a breather, as my Thursday class was cancelled (thank you Yom Kippur) and this upcoming Monday and Tuesday classes are also cancelled (because the undergrads get a fall break, and they had the balls to complain that it was only two days. Whatev! At Davis we got no such thing! Little bastards, don't know how good they have it. But I'm not bitter...) Of course I still have my CGU class, and research and writing to do, so its not like I'm going on vacation or anything. But still, I'll take whatever break I can get. Okay, so where was I? So Tuesday, and the day of extreme stress was over, which meant I could start de-stressifying.

I destressed at Tina's where I had an excellent dinner with a really good group of friends. So many random conversations were had- Lawrence asking about my "peeps" in England and arguments about what makes a city a city. I also tried my hand at some boy talk, ie. talked about sports. If there's one thing I take from my last relationship, its definitely a good appreciation for sports talk. Just not about baseball, which still sucks (and I'm still bitter I had to sit through 5 hours and 2 minutes of that damn Red Sox game last year).

The next night was infamous Twin's Nightclub experience. One I don't really recommend. On Friday, I was super tired, but went to John's for some wine tasting. The highlight of the evening would definitely have to be the wine I bought: Ted the Mule wine. Come on, how can you not buy wine called that? It kind of wasn't very good though. So I probably don't recommend it after all. Maybe there's something to be said for not buying wine based solely on its label after all.

Um, now its Saturday evening. I've been carving pumpkins for the past number of hours- I made a non-threatening cat. Later I plan on carving the CGU flame. Yes, that's right, at CGU we're the flamers. We have a flame of knowledge. They sent me a shirt once that said that. I didn't make it up.

This post has lost all sense of direction or motivation. I'm going to post some pictures now. Ready? Okay.


This is what happens when you leave your house unlocked on your birthday.


And this.


This is me and Tara at Seth's birthday dinner (the one he didn't attend) How cute are we? I'm wearing my mother's dress. Very low cut, but I like it :)


Tina really got into the tp action.


This was after we went swimming at Jon's house. Wine + pool = not my smartest idea. But look how happy I am.

There are more pictures from that night, but you're just going to have to visit me to see them. Or offer me some awesome presents. This week has been a total bust as studying is concerned, and its probably not going to get any better any time soon. But I'm operating in a state of disbelief about my studies. Its getting me through the day. Is that so bad?

a cautionary tale of muffins and the ghetto...

Okay, so I actually have a post that's in the middle of being written, all about why I haven't written in a week, etc etc... but as I'm at work, and sometimes work gets in the way of things, I had it saved while I went to lunch and attempted to be a productive employee actually earning my paycheck. But now I have to write about my lunch experiences as a moral cautionary tale. Because you guys need to learn (from my mistakes apparently). Oh, and I'll post that earlier post later- its my attempt at postmodern posting.

So anyway, I walked (illegally because there is no convenient crosswalk anywhere near my campus nor my place of employment, a constant frustration in the town of Claremont) across the street to Wolfe's- the local, fancy grocery store to get my usual Friday meal- a salad, some sort of desert and sometimes a drink. I picked out my purchases (and discovered the joy that is the lemon poppyseed muffin. Lemon poppyseed muffins mere yards away?! This has dangerous consequences), and made my way to counter to pay (as I'm a responsible person). Or attempt to pay, I should say. My credit card was declined. And (this is where the cautionary morals start to appear) I didn't have my debit card, nor any cash, because I had left them in the jeans I was wearing when I went out to Twins- a nightclub in Rancho Cucamonga. The jeans were not work appropriate (recall if you will, the Ed Norton and my ass story), so I'm obviously not wearing them at the moment. And as it was after 2 am (yes, 2 am!) when I got home last night, I wasn't thinking too straight about preparing for work later that morning. So my card was declined, and I had no other recourse to pay for my lunch items. I looked like a complete fool in front of the respectably citizens of Claremont, and a moron to the workers at Wolfe's. All because I went to a ghetto nightclub in the IE.

Oh, I did get my lunch though- I have to go back later to pay. And that's why its wonderful to live in a small town, where things like that can happen. And my card wasn't declined, just expired. I rarely use the card, so I hadn't noticed that it hasn't been good for over a month now. But I still felt very silly.

Let this be a warning...

If it's your birthday, and I am in the area, I am going to want to celebrate. Even if I don't specifically state my plans, something is probably going to happen. Sooo, you most likely don't want to leave your house unlocked, with all means of communication in said house, while you go to a lecture (who goes to a lecture on their birthday?!), because I will exact retribution. In the form of toilet paper.


Last night was my friend Seth's birthday (and my friend Paige, and 800 other people as well apparently... but I digress), so we concocted a plan to kidnap him and surprise him with dinner at a local restaurant with a bunch of our friends. We also wanted to confuse/scare him, so the plan included Tara and armed with "weapons" -my pirate sword, eye patch and a whip (why a whip? I dunno, but it seemed to work), and Tara had her lightsaber (which kicks ass!). So we walk up to Seth's place- he lives by himself behind a family in a converted garage (this is important information for later in the story), all prepared to accost him with said weapons, blindfold him, and surprise him. We knock on his door. Nothing. The lights are off, but the computer is on. We open the door (because, yes, its unlocked), and wander inside. Still no sign of Seth. We write notes to him. We call our friend Tina, who has put this evening together. She hasn't seen/heard from Seth. Seth has left his cell phone at his place, so there's no way of contacting him. Where could he be? Tara and I search the library for him (not, mind dressed in any fashion for the library, as we were heading to a fancy place, and therefore had on our fancy clothes). Finally, we decide to just meet our friends at the restaurant to curse Seth collectively for foiling our plans so thoroughly. We figure that someone got to him first to surprise him or something, hence the leaving of the phone, the unlocked door, the computer on... Dinner was nice and silliness abounded (as usual with these people).

Two hours later, Seth calls. He had been at a lecture this evening. Of course, a lecture! (I ask, is this how you would choose to spend your birthday? Okay, so maybe) So we hang out for a bit longer, merriment is made, etc etc. Good times people. Tina, Tara and I still want to do something to Seth, so we decide to tp his place. Like I said, Seth lives in a converted garage, so the exposed beams are just crying out for some sweet toilet paper action. One would think that after leaving Seth notes about how we obviously walked into his house, he might lock it the second time he goes out? No, of course not. Madness ensues as toilet paper is flung in every direction. We also moved things out of place and put random items all throughout his house. It looked amazing. Needless to say, we were incredibly proud and pleased with ourselves.


So, the moral of the story? If its your birthday, somethings going to happen. Whether you want it to or not :)

(and, yes, I will be posting pictures as soon as I upload them to my computer!)

I have no will power

Its 11:18, am I studying? No, of course not. I've talked to friends, written emails, messed around on the computer, but nowhere do I state that I've studied. Is it too early in the semester to be burnt out?
Okay, really, I'm going to read now.