Dearest Forsaken

This is my *drumroll* 600th post to this blog. Sweet cracker sandwich, that is a lot of useless typing. I am starting to sour on the whole idea of this thing, partly because my life is boring, partly because only six people read this anymore, and partly because NONE OF YOU COMMENT ON ANYTHING. I am reaching Raedy-level frustration with this situation.

I type and type and type and tell you all sorts of boring trivia about my daily life, and no one makes a peep. Sigh. Only when I offer to send you presents does anyone comment. Boo.

Anyway, I ain't that mad atcha.

I went to a yoga class last night with a couple of my friends. Sweet cracker sandwich, the instructor was a drill sargeant. I am in so much pain today it's not even funny. So this quarter my workout schedule is going to be stepped up a notch, thanks to that ridiculously intense yoga class. I'm taking two diffferent ones with the girls, and then JD and I go cardio/lift three times a week. So we'll see how long that lasts. If I feel as totally sore and stiff after every workout as I do right now, I may have to crap out on one of the yogas. (yogis?)

Al Franken's show on the Sundance Channel is freaking hilarious. Peas and carrots, peas and carrots.

I've had all my classes now, they're going to be HARD. Hopefully I'll manage it. Yesterday I had a three hour stats class then I had to go to happy hour then to yoga, bam bam bam, so that blew. It's hot as fuck here, too, the Devil winds are back for fall. Everyone is gasping for air, it's so dry. Instant dehydration. It's really like being in an oven, I swear.

JD rented Danger Mouse from netflix. That's awesome.

We both got really into Sudoku in the last month, as it's in the LA times that we get on weekends, and I was at a bookstore looking for sudoku books (it's fucking addictive) and I finally found one, and was proud of myself, and then realized there was an entire display table chock full of them, with this sign about how it's the newest "gaming craze sweeping the nation." And now I don't want to like it anymore. I didn't buy the book. You can download them for free. JD is working on one right now and I'm itching to help him with it. I like reading over his shoulder, it pisses him off. His other biggest pet peeve? When you go to a fast food place and he drives and then you (I) start eating fries or nachos or whatever loose side item you ordered out of the bag on the way home. He flips out. It's totally weird.

What's going to make you people comment? Dick jokes? Just let me know, in the comments section, and I will get on it. For fuck's sake.

Tangled Too Tight And Too Long To Fight

I had a nice weekend. I went with my household to see a fab ballet called Raise the Red Lantern. Google it. It's a story by the people/guy who came up with Hero and House of Flying Daggers and it was probably the best infusion of classical ballet and authentic, culture-driven tradition that I've ever seen a company pull off (here). But then again, how hard are the Russians really trying to infuse ballet with Russian culture. Ballet is Russian culture. It was great. They destroyed a goodly portion of the set (tearing up paper lanterns, paper screeens, etc.), which impressed all of us. It ended with everyone dying (come on, you knew when I said it was like "hero" that everyone dies) and lots of snow falling, which is fucking awesome.

Also hung out with my neighbors/friends Cachel and Riss last night. We dragged them to a vegan restaurant and then we went to see Corpse Bride. If you were planning on wasting your money, don't. I'm a huge fan of that type of thing, but it's just not very good. It's maybe a six, six point five. If it moved to California for grad school it would probably be about a 5. ha.

So i had a good time. Roomie got herself a job at the mall with a fizzat discount at all the stores owned by whoever owns bathh and bohdy wirks. She will be doing my shopping from now on, as well as ya'll's Xmas present buying. I am glad she now has another job and that she's so excited about the free shit. and the discount.

I just got out of my First department-wide activity for the year. I don't remember thinking it was cute to go, "uhm, uhm, i'm like, whatever! I don't know! teehee" when asked to introduce myself as a fledgling. But fuck, my memory is so bad, I very well may have done just that. I have a twisted way of remembering things completely wrong.

There are new comps on the way to the vast majority of people I know. Pretty safe to say that everyone reading this is getting something in the mail. Woot. The shit thing (one) is that JD made me a comp the other day with the best song I've ever heard on it. And not in time for me to update your cds with this song. So go find it yourselves. It's off the Iron & Wine/Calexico spilt ep and it's called "He Lays In The Reins." Cant' stop listening to it. It's so damn good.

I'm glad to be back in the swing of things. I can talk in front of groups like a big girl. I can proactively approach my advisor about meeting to discuss a new idea I had before she can ask me what the fuck I've been doing with my time other than work. I can put enough effort into a first impression (for once) that two people whose hair I totally admire independently tell me my hair looks fantastic today. i cannot stop smiling the whole time we are introducing ourselves, the whole time my beloved faculty and older students are awkwardly scooting their chairs back to stand and espouse brilliance. I am shooting knowing smiles and winks at the people here who have become my surrogate family, the people I love to see and hang out with, the people who know every damn thing I feel because they have either felt it or are feeling it right along with me. There is such community here. I am so goddamn relieved to be done with the first two years. I am so goddamned relieved to feel like I'm coming home to these people and these buildings, instead of biding my time to escape it. I am a total dork. I love it here. I love what I'm doing. jenny said it best the other day, while insulting me and my delight in school-supply shopping: I love school. I admit it.

It's kind of a relief. I liked the freedom of summer, but there was also too much independence for me to stay on top of myself. I'm too lazy. I need structure. Sigh. i need things to keep me busy. I need reasons to drink whole pots of coffee.

Maybe, just maybe, I will start considering a more traditional academic career.

Another Tear In The Sea

My mom sent me photos of her two cats, jazzy and tinky. (I feel bad for them too). I just realized that she replaced her two daughters with two cats. I think she got tinky when I moved away, and she just got jazzy this summer. That is hysterical. She has also given both the cats eating disorders, and in the photos you can see that they look a weensie bit...terrified of everything. Nice.

There Are Power Lines In Our Bloodlines

Wow, it sure gets boring looking at that stupid pirate thing for more than one day, doesn't it? Sorry. The problem is that I'm just not very interesting. Classes started yesterday, i had a logistick regreshun lecture and lab afterward. I saw a bunch of people I haven't seen all summer, and two of my good friends, Jennifur and Edwhin, who also happen to be the rest of my year's developmint cohort (which means next summer we study together for two months solid for komps), are going to be in both the statz classes with me, which will be awesome. Especially because we already have a ton of homework for the one class, and math is hard. Double math is double hard, if you ask me.

Then I have my usual kolokwium on mondays, but since i am now a THIRD YEAR (SQUEEEE!!) I don't have to go every single time. I can miss it if I want or need to. And no one can fail me in the class now. Nothing feels better than knowing I am done with that stupid ordeal. Honestly, there should be caterers to worry about it, not second years. And it looks like i might have some lab meetings on Tuesday, which sucks because i wanted t/r to hang out with jd on his days off. Oh well. it's only a couple hours, and it forces me to get up at a decent hour. Which is important, because today I slept until noon. Yes, that's just a few minutes ago. And I can't imagine why I needed ten hours of sleep, but I was completely fucking exhausted last night, so whatever.

I am still a little sick, so I am not mad at myself for sleeping all damn morning. It's not that bad, but has prevented me from exercising for the most part, which is starting to make me itchy and annoyed. Because I like exercising. Because then random people comment that I look, "strong," as they shrink away from my guns in terror.

I am pretty pissed off on my sister's behalf. Not sure if you could guess it would work out like that. I can't decide if my blog is an appropriate place to be detailing that sort of thing. I'm leaning toward no. For once. But sis, I did research cat-shipping procedures. Someone responsible would pretty much have to go with him on a plane.

In other news, I am working on those cds for ya'll. I am sort of being lazy about that. But you will get them as soon as I can afford to ship them. because, oh! you just need to hear them. this cd is life-changingly awesome. Assuming all the songs play on it (sorry again, melissa).

I'm hungry. Jes called a little while ago and I thought it was my sister, and she asked if I wanted her to pick up food while she was out and I was totally confused about how it would get here from boston. then i figured it out, so I have a nice veggie burrito coming my way.

So clearly, there is nothing worthwhile about how I'm updating. I don't have funny stories. I hid from my advisor yesterday, but only Raedy will think that is funny, and really she and I have done that so often that I'm not sure it is funny anymore. i didn't manage to hide completely (I was sitting outside with my friends eating lunch and I tried to hide by holding my doritos in front of my face as she walked over and started talking to us), and linder managed to zing me with a pointed, "welcome back" that i took to mean, "get me the damn drafts by monday. all of them. you slacker."

I did feel pretty silly that one of my friends went ahead and did the paperwork for her master's. i need to do that. It was on my list for the summer, but instead of doing those things I just reveled in not having anyplace to be. Now I will have to fix that. I think i've already missed the deadline for fall, though! So my degree date will be later! that sucks, i am retarded. but oh well. it's just paperwork.

And I Updated My Fotoblog

My pirate name is:

Iron Bess Cash

A pirate's life isn't easy; it takes a tough person. That's okay with you, though, since you a tough person. You're musical, and you've got a certain style if not flair. You'll do just fine. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from fidius.org.

Fever, Yea I Burn Forsooth

So I'm in Bahstaaan. It's fucking awesome. Except I came down with this ridiculous cold the day before I left to come here. It can suck my nuts, I am so over it. This city rules rulez. I have been embarrassing Sis in her work context by looking like crap and dressing like crap, to the combined effect of presenting myself like crap. Sorry, sis. My hair hasn't had to wrastle with humidity in awhile, i forgot how to tame it in this sauna-like atmosphere. You see, in my town, no one needs styling products or hair thingys. All hair looks perfect all the time. It's magical. It's powdered sugar. It's delicious. It's probably the thing i like the best about socal. Ok, maybe it's fourth or so on that list. But my wavy hair is never the monstrous frizz demon it is today, oh no.

Worse for Jenny I'm sure are the "wow, you guys could really pass for twins, huh?" comments that can't be flattering to her. "Hey, Jenny, you could pass for the mirror image of this frizzed-out, sniveling, raw-nosed, limp-handshake-having spectre of just-warmed death." To be fair, one rational person had the balls to tell us we do NOT actually look like twins, said she wouldn't even have pegged us as sisters, then did the most diplomatic thing possible by telling us we were both so beautiful that our parents must both have been gorgeous. Indeed, our parents were unusally attractive. But to produce such lovely daughters of such different beauty, she continued, unsolicited, was such a feat! What a nice thing to say.

Which brings me to something disturbing about the eastern seaboard. The dudes here are trolls! I called them "trollops" yesterday, which is wrong (duh) and both Jenny and her roommate A (see below) corrected me within 2 seconds. People look like walking stereotypes. Yes, stereotypes that I myself hold.

I walked over to meet Jenny for this seminar today and it was gloomy and wet and puddly and two traffic cops separately were extraordinarily nice to me, so much so that in my haste to thank them for wishing me a lovely day and also wish them the same, I would be turned around continuing to talk at them and not watching where I was going and made a clutzy ass of myself. Is there a stereotype about friendly Bahstiiiin traffic cops? There is now. I started it.

Jenny needs a pair of wellies, dammit. I wished that one would appear yesterday and this morning, but they didn't, so i am going to research them online. I am also going to look into grocery delivery services, because no one living here has a goddamn scrap of food and they all three can't live on the leftover breakfast foods that jenny scrounges from work.

This house is fucking retardedly nice. Hardwood floors, old beautiful house just redone entirely this summer, huge kitchen, tons of counterspace, new paint and she has a little stained glass window in her bedroom. A-ma-zing location. Two roommates, both nice, one of whom is awesomely cool. The other, however, actually said the following last night while the "president" was making that ridiculous speech last night:

"I'm sorry, I just have no pity for people who choose to live in a flood-prone area. I mean, I used to live by a river, and we wouldn't have lived there if we couldn't afford the insurance."

Jenny and I reacted like two cawing vultures. Because the people who got stuck there were the ones who weren't paying their insurance premiums? Because the city flooded because the insurance bill was late? Oh and he also shat out the following verbatim quotes:

"I don't think the people of chicago appreciate having to pay for louisiana's hurricane. The state should deal with it, it's their mess."

"It was the local and state governments who fucked up. They didn't even issue a mandatory evacuation."

"You're going to hate me now, aren't you?" (walking out of the bathroom with something tucked under his arm as I was walking in to grab a tissue. I at first assumed he meant he had just stunk up the bathroom, but i was hoping he wouldn't call my attention to that, so i turn around to look quizzically (you might say "glare bitchily" but really what I'm trying for is a quizzical look of sheer confusion when I make that bitch face) at him and he's unfolding a BUSH/CHENEY 2000 campaign poster that he retrieved from...? I have no idea, there's no storage in the bathroom. and why he dug that shit out other than to rile me and jenny more, I cannot imagine).

"this is so stupid!!! this isn't science!! this isn't RESEARCH!!"

(IN RESPONSE TO A DISCOVERY CHANNEL SPECIAL ABOUT THE SPECIFIC THING I AM IN SCHOOL FOR AND STARRING THE VERY PEOPLE I WORK WITH AT THE VERY RESEARCH INSTITUTION I ATTEND AND AFTER I ACTUALLY SAID, "THIS IS THE EXACT THING I STUDY. I HAVE BEEN THERE. I HAVE MET WITH THAT WOMAN IN THAT OFFICE. THAT IS MY CAMPUS. THERE IS MY OFFICE BUILDING IN THE BACKGROUND. I LOVE THIS STUFF, IT IS SO INTERESTING TO ME, THIS RESEARCH THAT I DO THAT IS BEING PRESENTED SCIENTIFICALLY ON THE DISCOVERY CHANNEL BY FAMOUS SCIENTISTS WHO HAVE DOCTORATES IN RESEARCH.")

I think it's fair to guess that the last one probably offended me the most. I explained through my teeth that although the specific study was not, standing alone, necessarily hardcore PROOF of the effect in question (i think he wanted a magic trick), the fact that these people have made life-long careers of showing the same damn thing in every conceivable way and from every angle and with statistics supporting their assertions and that it is fully replicable and totally goddamn valid in the real world does indeed make it GODDAMN SCIENCE.

What I wanted to do was punch him in the face and then yell, "I AM STRONG! LIKE THE HULK!"

and he has a weak chin.

I am supposed to hang out with him until jenny is done with her schmoozefest gala tonight, but I think I am deliberately delaying working on my stuff until he's almost home so I can protest going anywhere. You people would not believe the ignorant things coming out of this boy's mouth last night. First while W was smirking through his vocab-addled speech, and then when jon stewart was on later. Then when asking me how Jenny and I "ended up so liberal." Like it's a disease. He's from illinois, so I said something to the effect of how nauseating it is to be from the midwest where most people don't think for themselves and just adopt their parents' views on things like politics, or they're worried about their hunting rifles, and it was a natural backlash against rampant, insistent hillbilly ignorance. Oh and I feel strongly about a few particular issues, but I didn't get into them. Btw I read an article about forced abortions in China in Time last week that made me cry. In case anyone is interested in crying.

Well, that is enough. i will get on those comp cds when I get home. For all the weddings that are happening this weekend, best wishes/congratulations to those involved. i want pictures and stories from the more entertaining one. you know who you are, people who are supposed to peel an eye for me.

If You Don't Love Me, Let Me Go

I just completed the Best. Comp. Ever. I'm taking orders now. Seriously, it is the absolute bestest comp I or anyone has ever produced. It's free. Even if I just mailed you one. I am floored by my awesomeness with this one. Seriously, I am really fucking thrilled with this bitch. Dear god. It's incredible.

Marco? Marco? Marco? Marco? Marco?

I love animation domination sunday nights. Except last night they added in the stupidest non-animated show I've ever seen. Well, I didn't really "see" it that much because it was too annoying to watch and there was a football game on (and with regular season football comes the eternal compromise of Fall) which was highly preferable. But dammit, Family Guy was hilarious last night.

Let's see...went to LA today, that was a quick trip. It's actually not so damn bad if I can leave at 9:30 instead of 6:45. Am back (obviously) and contemplating what delicious thing to eat for lunch. You know what I've been eating truckloads of lately? Oatmeal with raisins and flaxseeds stirred in. Your stomach will rejoice with happiness if you eat that. Also, your body will thank you for the nutritious selection.

I asked Nurse Ashleigh if Jes's symptoms sounded like diabetes. She concurred. And gave me a big old paragraph about all the bad shit that comes of diabetes. So now I am terrified to mention it to Jes. But I don't want her to step on a rusty nail and not notice and have foot lesions. So I will probably talk to her tonight. I am worried for her.

Speaking of, Jes made "scones" yesterday that I was excited about until i tried to eat them. Yeah, i didn't need all of my teeth. Hah, just kidding.

I dyed my hair a couple days ago. It's cool. It's purple black instead of red black. It's totally my natural hair color.

I am trying to decide if I am going to indulgently start packing for my trip tomorrow ( I love packing ) or maybe try to get some work done with this unexpectedly wide-open afternoon I have in my lap right now. First, though, i am eating some lunch. yum! yum! yum!

JD has been making me lift weights ("strength train") when we go to the gym now in addition to my totally sick cardio routine, and in the two weeks or so I've been doing that I have already started noticing really neat definition in random body areas. I will show you my guns next available opportunity. But try not to be scared. They are scary, but I'll protect you from them. With my calves of doom. Yes, my calves will protect you from my guns. Also I am cultivating abs. Just for funsies.

I can't wait to see my little sister! It's so weird having her as far away as possible. within the US, I mean. My mom sent me a brochure on the scotland whiskey trail this week, and I think it looks like fun. I would love to order a wee dram just because it sounds cute to say, and JD likes having whiskey-drinking contests with his friends, so it sounds perfect. He keeps talking about wanting to move there. But I think the teeny issue of me finishing school and also needing a work visa are going to stave that off a bit.

Oh, man, I am boring. Sorry. I am going to go eat lunch and putz around cleaning and packing. And then I might give myself a pedicure. Or, I might pay some bills. You may never know. God DAMMIT I am too boring to update. Quantity over quality, that's this blog's motto. If you don't like it, LUMP it!

We'll Feel Better When We Don't Have To Worry Anymore

I am working from my office today, which is a total novelty since I have avoided this place/tower/view like the plague since school let out. It is kind of nice. Nicer, though, is this real and not-invented "rap song" I was lucky enough to overhear whilst walking back here from dropping off some paperwork (I gots to gizzit PAID, bitches):


Holla! Holla! Holla!
I am the new JapANESE
saSHI!mi chef
I do what I PLEEZE!
And get on your KNEES!
And don't cut the CHEESE!

Sung by a "gang" of matching-tee-shirt-clad asian boys with identical hair. They took turns shouting out the lyrics. And the best part was that they were 1000% Americanized, but they pronounced the beginning "Holla"s like "Horra" on purpose. I had the distinct impression that the "get on your KNEES" was aimed at me as I ran past them, clutching my psyckological newsletter to my chest. I fucking hate the undergrads. I did not miss them one tiny shred. Poo.

Have You Passed Through This Night?

There are not enough hours in a day anymore. I am getting old. Oh! Trite, trite trite-isms. Come and get 'em. I have been working on a draft of something today, and four of five edits given to me on a single page involved hyphen abuse. I am sufficiently red-faced about that, I daresay.

I watched most of the movie "emma" last night, and three hours' worth of GG tonight. Your comp cds will be en route tomorrow. I have lazed on that for about a week. Sorry.

I'm going to visit Jenny next Wed. morning through Saturday. Then school starts. Then life goes back to normal. There's something so weird about summer. Maybe it's this particular summer.

My cat was so obnoxiously trying to get out of the bedroom last night while I was in the shower that I had to climb out and open the bedroom door and throw him out to shut him up. He still today has soap all in his fur from where I grabbed him that he hasn't managed to lick out, but I am unsympathetic to this, as I believe nothing sucks worse than having to step out of a shower covered in soap to pick up a fur-covered monster when it is kind of cold. Ok, there are plenty of things that suck worse. I am just trying not to think of any of those unpleasantries right now.

I think Jessica probably has diabetes. She has been complaining about her feet being numb for a couple of weeks. Since she ate nothing but candy and cake (not kidding) on her birthday. I have been reading about it online and I am worried. Not sure how to gently steer her toward looking into a doctor visit.

I started reading the Guardian's coverage of the hurricane a little while ago and they have links to a bunch of livejournals that people who are staying in N.O. are keeping. I read one that was talking about leaving four cats behind because armed bandits were driving a pitchfork into neighboring buildings and immediately regretting it and then I read one that just said all the fish in the aquarium are dead. And I read a whole time magazine about this today. There's a nice fat article criticizing W in there. JD is currently reading me something from the aquarium website that says the otters, penguins, leafy and weedy sea dragons, birds (macaws and raptors), and white alligator are fine. The leafy sea dragons are the reason JD stopped eating meat in the first place. I have photos of the white alligator. I think I'm going to throw up.

And She Met My Father, At A Fete, In Aix-En-Provence

I can't stop watching the news or trolling for CNN updates, like everyone else. I made the mistake of reading articles speculating about long-term environmental consequences when I couldn't take the humanitarian travesty anymore, and it made me more depressed than ever. At least supplies are getting there now. At least there's an end in sight to all those people's desperation. Right? Fuck.
Shirley Q. Liquor is ok, I read it on her website. But I can't stop thinking about the taxi driver who was JD's and my first encounter with a real New Orlean complete with Creole accent that was barely understandable. And the people at all the places we went, and the street musicians, and the weird guy who tied himself in chains and lit himself on fire and the really bizarre smattering of people that were reliably sitting in cafe du monde at ungodly hours when we'd go there and the aquarium and it's really really shit that there's no way to ever know if those people are ok. And probably, they're either not ok or they're at the evacuation points right now. I don't want to think about this anymore, I can't distract myself from it. I can't focus on anything else and I hate this. I fucking love that city and the idea that it's never going to be the same is breaking my heart. Who the fuck cares about gas prices? I am sick of hearing people complain and panic about that.

Jes is having bad money problems and I came home last night to a check for less than a third of what she owes for the month and a long note. So we three are having a House Meeting tonight to figure out what we can do for her, and what is going to help her, or what she needs to do or what kind of career she wants and basically we just need a plan. Because right now we're supporting a 23 year old child and I can't take it. I am also 23, for fuck's sake. It blows my mind. But I just want to get her sorted out and happy and if she wants to move home or stay but wants to use an entire roll of toilet paper every day or what, whatever, let's just figure it out. Wish us luck. Well, wish ME luck. Heh.