Food for thought: http://www.ghchealth.com/forum/post-211.html
After reading White Noise... I'm not exactly surprised... but just one example of the growing problem of living in a for-profit world... why are we selling products to people that contain chemicals that are unsafe, and, as the author points out, have plenty of safer alternatives?
Thursday, February 17, 2005
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
Ahh had such a lovely Valentine's Day weekend, it was a bit difficult to get back into the swing of MHC things. Here's the update:
Thursday: It was raining all day, as it was too warm for the snow that had been predicted. Around a quarter of 4, it started snowing. I wasn't exactly thrilled -- I was supposed to be heading out for Boston with K. (not a strange literary allusion to Kafka, btw). I left class on time (we were going over time but Prof. Shaw was kind about letting me go early), and rushed back to the Delles in the quickly falling snow. Really beautiful when it piles up at least an inch in half an hour, but, come on, bad timing! I was in such a hurry, and then I sat out in front of the Delles for nearly 20 minutes waiting. In that time I did see a fender bender, which was eventful (no one hurt, of course). I was so glad when K. arrived, I'd been worried she decided not to go due to the weather. I rode shotgun, dozed... the weather was weird all the way. The Mass Pike was fine, nothing sticking to THOSE roads (it'd been really slippery around MHC). We saw snow, sleet, and rain in Boston. Andrew had a "snow day" after the media hype about the storm (that never came, it might be noted. It's all a conspiracy).
Anyway, K. dropped me off at the Shaw's and I walked for what, one minute? to the apartment. Relaxed with Andrew and ate dinner... watched the OC... SO GOOD. Then we got ready to go to the Brothers Past concert. Ok, so I had all intentions of enjoying myself, but when I hit the cold sidewalks in the wet drippy weather... and there was a huge ass line... I had my doubts. Very vocal doubts. Luckily Andrew was patient (and had the foresight to quickly procure an alcoholic beverage for me once we were in). Once we met up with Jon & Jen and I realized that this was not the smoky, drug laden, beer soaked atmosphere of the Hartford Disco Biscuits show, I was happy. Definitely enjoyed myself! (Thanks Shmoopy!)
Friday: Andrew was off work early for his dental appointment, and I spent the whole day getting a rough draft of a chapter for my independent project. I went to the supermarket for dessert, and holed up in the bedroom, while Andrew cooked a romantic dinner. Definitely one of those "aww!" moments...He'd turned on the lowest light, lit candles, bought wine, and cooked my favorite, string beans (with steak & potatoes of course, but I was so impressed that he remembered my string bean thing...) Admittedly, Andrew does a lot (cough, most) of the cooking, but I was still completely impressed.
I think we caught up on Desperate Housewives afterwards, Andrew gave me the most amazingly packaged gift ever (wow the colors! lots of purple!), and we had dessert. Stayed up pretty late.
Saturday was a sleep in day & a shopping day. Andrew was on a mission to find a wok. We eventually found one at Bed Bath & Beyond, and I found some destressing gifts. Back home, Andrew made a pretty good imitation of my favorite dish at 9 Tastes: Mango fried rice. Again, very impressed with the culinary stylings! SNL wasn't good.
Sunday: Woke up kinda late again. Had many fraught discussions with Mer about her math class situation. Did my reading for the Stoppard class. In the afternoon we found a used copy of a play I needed to buy, and had a huge ass sundae at Herrell's (the Boston one). The guy working there was totally apathetic and unenthusiastic. He put on a little fudge sauce, and then methodically placed the equivalent of an entire hardened snickers bar on top of the ice cream. We had trouble finding the ice cream under the whipped cream and candy bar. Andrew had to put half of the candy bar into his mouth in order to break it apart into manageable sized pieces. Began laughing uncontrollably as he tried to chew it and discretely put it back into our shared bowl. Rather bird-like, really.
OK, so I admit, this has been a very food oriented post so far. The next section will be less so, I promise!
Monday: Arrived home via the bus. Large boy sat next to me. I always hate it when really tall/ big people sit next to me. They tend to overflow into my space. I don't like that. Anyway, luckily it was soon over and I slept most of the way. Back here I wheeled my little suitcase all the way across campus (the bus stop couldn't be further from the delles), went to lunch, class, etc. Did my reading for Tues. in the evening.
Tuesday: Early morning class (drat I left a worksheet at home). A quick visit to the CDC, then SAW tabling over lunch. I have concluded that the CDC needs to find a way to raise awareness about various fellowship & research/ intern opportunities. Maybe a newsletter with dates to be aware of, etc, instead of personal info. on the people who work there?
Anyway, the rest of the day was dedicated to rereading A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man & writing a poem. Had a dinner meeting to discuss the future of the SAW table, too... Had a good talk with Anna about germs & being OCD & the viral perils of life at MHC.
Weds: Today's been rather crazy. All morning I finished A Portrait & planned for my MLA workshop tonight. Had lunch, went to the course I'm mentoring, read in the library, made copies for this evening, ran over to the arts committee meeting, ate dinner and planned further, led the MLA workshop, talked about Stephen's aesthetic theories in A Portrait with a student for an hour, returned to my room to find a message from a U Wisc. prof. I'd expressed interest in studying with on my voicemail, read for tomorrow, & now, I'm updating my blog! Thought I'd put that out there, mainly for the Andrew, who has trouble picturing me running about campus.
In further news, my eyes have been very tired looking lately and I seem to have little stamina. Karuna thinks it's all part of the cycle (she's probably right).
Oh, and Mum, thanks for the care package!!
Thursday: It was raining all day, as it was too warm for the snow that had been predicted. Around a quarter of 4, it started snowing. I wasn't exactly thrilled -- I was supposed to be heading out for Boston with K. (not a strange literary allusion to Kafka, btw). I left class on time (we were going over time but Prof. Shaw was kind about letting me go early), and rushed back to the Delles in the quickly falling snow. Really beautiful when it piles up at least an inch in half an hour, but, come on, bad timing! I was in such a hurry, and then I sat out in front of the Delles for nearly 20 minutes waiting. In that time I did see a fender bender, which was eventful (no one hurt, of course). I was so glad when K. arrived, I'd been worried she decided not to go due to the weather. I rode shotgun, dozed... the weather was weird all the way. The Mass Pike was fine, nothing sticking to THOSE roads (it'd been really slippery around MHC). We saw snow, sleet, and rain in Boston. Andrew had a "snow day" after the media hype about the storm (that never came, it might be noted. It's all a conspiracy).
Anyway, K. dropped me off at the Shaw's and I walked for what, one minute? to the apartment. Relaxed with Andrew and ate dinner... watched the OC... SO GOOD. Then we got ready to go to the Brothers Past concert. Ok, so I had all intentions of enjoying myself, but when I hit the cold sidewalks in the wet drippy weather... and there was a huge ass line... I had my doubts. Very vocal doubts. Luckily Andrew was patient (and had the foresight to quickly procure an alcoholic beverage for me once we were in). Once we met up with Jon & Jen and I realized that this was not the smoky, drug laden, beer soaked atmosphere of the Hartford Disco Biscuits show, I was happy. Definitely enjoyed myself! (Thanks Shmoopy!)
Friday: Andrew was off work early for his dental appointment, and I spent the whole day getting a rough draft of a chapter for my independent project. I went to the supermarket for dessert, and holed up in the bedroom, while Andrew cooked a romantic dinner. Definitely one of those "aww!" moments...He'd turned on the lowest light, lit candles, bought wine, and cooked my favorite, string beans (with steak & potatoes of course, but I was so impressed that he remembered my string bean thing...) Admittedly, Andrew does a lot (cough, most) of the cooking, but I was still completely impressed.
I think we caught up on Desperate Housewives afterwards, Andrew gave me the most amazingly packaged gift ever (wow the colors! lots of purple!), and we had dessert. Stayed up pretty late.
Saturday was a sleep in day & a shopping day. Andrew was on a mission to find a wok. We eventually found one at Bed Bath & Beyond, and I found some destressing gifts. Back home, Andrew made a pretty good imitation of my favorite dish at 9 Tastes: Mango fried rice. Again, very impressed with the culinary stylings! SNL wasn't good.
Sunday: Woke up kinda late again. Had many fraught discussions with Mer about her math class situation. Did my reading for the Stoppard class. In the afternoon we found a used copy of a play I needed to buy, and had a huge ass sundae at Herrell's (the Boston one). The guy working there was totally apathetic and unenthusiastic. He put on a little fudge sauce, and then methodically placed the equivalent of an entire hardened snickers bar on top of the ice cream. We had trouble finding the ice cream under the whipped cream and candy bar. Andrew had to put half of the candy bar into his mouth in order to break it apart into manageable sized pieces. Began laughing uncontrollably as he tried to chew it and discretely put it back into our shared bowl. Rather bird-like, really.
OK, so I admit, this has been a very food oriented post so far. The next section will be less so, I promise!
Monday: Arrived home via the bus. Large boy sat next to me. I always hate it when really tall/ big people sit next to me. They tend to overflow into my space. I don't like that. Anyway, luckily it was soon over and I slept most of the way. Back here I wheeled my little suitcase all the way across campus (the bus stop couldn't be further from the delles), went to lunch, class, etc. Did my reading for Tues. in the evening.
Tuesday: Early morning class (drat I left a worksheet at home). A quick visit to the CDC, then SAW tabling over lunch. I have concluded that the CDC needs to find a way to raise awareness about various fellowship & research/ intern opportunities. Maybe a newsletter with dates to be aware of, etc, instead of personal info. on the people who work there?
Anyway, the rest of the day was dedicated to rereading A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man & writing a poem. Had a dinner meeting to discuss the future of the SAW table, too... Had a good talk with Anna about germs & being OCD & the viral perils of life at MHC.
Weds: Today's been rather crazy. All morning I finished A Portrait & planned for my MLA workshop tonight. Had lunch, went to the course I'm mentoring, read in the library, made copies for this evening, ran over to the arts committee meeting, ate dinner and planned further, led the MLA workshop, talked about Stephen's aesthetic theories in A Portrait with a student for an hour, returned to my room to find a message from a U Wisc. prof. I'd expressed interest in studying with on my voicemail, read for tomorrow, & now, I'm updating my blog! Thought I'd put that out there, mainly for the Andrew, who has trouble picturing me running about campus.
In further news, my eyes have been very tired looking lately and I seem to have little stamina. Karuna thinks it's all part of the cycle (she's probably right).
Oh, and Mum, thanks for the care package!!
Tuesday, February 08, 2005
So this week started off with a bang --
Monday morning I was checking my email to see what happened regarding my emails to grad schools with updates. As I was sitting there I received a second email from U Wisconsin, saying that, really this information wouldn't do me any good after all, as they'd already made a decision! They're offering three years of guaranteed support as I pursue a PhD (probably through a TA position), and looking for a fellowship for my MA year. Wow! I was speechless. Andrew wasn't online and it was too early to call Mum, so I had a little I'm-so-overwhelmed-I'm-crying moment, wandered around my room, and got used to the realization that, really, I do have options now!
All day this news sunk in, particularly at the Student Achievement Event... What does one do when one is on stage? I awkwardly twisted my hands and shifted my eyes from Jojo to the floor to the windows... The alumnae were awesome... articulate speakers and the sort of women one hopes to become after being at a place like MHC. The U-Wisconsin materials were waiting for me in my mailbox (along with a nice letter from Mum). Back in my room I checked my voicemail... I'm SO glad I finally set that up last week. It was a professor from Wash. U, saying that I'm in & that I should call her. Their support doesn't look quite so appealing -- 2500$ stipend (I imagine per year). With any luck, however, either the Olin or Chancellor fellowships will pull through for me there... this is all so overwhelming and surprising!
Today was much calmer, as I went through my daily routine... time seems to have gone so slowly between yesterday morning and tonight. Crazy.
Monday morning I was checking my email to see what happened regarding my emails to grad schools with updates. As I was sitting there I received a second email from U Wisconsin, saying that, really this information wouldn't do me any good after all, as they'd already made a decision! They're offering three years of guaranteed support as I pursue a PhD (probably through a TA position), and looking for a fellowship for my MA year. Wow! I was speechless. Andrew wasn't online and it was too early to call Mum, so I had a little I'm-so-overwhelmed-I'm-crying moment, wandered around my room, and got used to the realization that, really, I do have options now!
All day this news sunk in, particularly at the Student Achievement Event... What does one do when one is on stage? I awkwardly twisted my hands and shifted my eyes from Jojo to the floor to the windows... The alumnae were awesome... articulate speakers and the sort of women one hopes to become after being at a place like MHC. The U-Wisconsin materials were waiting for me in my mailbox (along with a nice letter from Mum). Back in my room I checked my voicemail... I'm SO glad I finally set that up last week. It was a professor from Wash. U, saying that I'm in & that I should call her. Their support doesn't look quite so appealing -- 2500$ stipend (I imagine per year). With any luck, however, either the Olin or Chancellor fellowships will pull through for me there... this is all so overwhelming and surprising!
Today was much calmer, as I went through my daily routine... time seems to have gone so slowly between yesterday morning and tonight. Crazy.
Sunday, February 06, 2005
Ahh so the weekend is over. Last week was wonderful & busy, with the search committee for the English dept (they're going to hire a modernist), classes, Verbosity valentines, and time with friends. Thursday night Kathleen & I watched Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN, and I realized that I had totally forgotten the ending. Oops. Friday, my supposedly "free day," was spent at the SAW table in Blanchard, at a meeting with my independent advisor, at the English dept. lecture, and then at the Thirsty Mind with the candidate. Dinner at Wilder was good, and I caught up with Rabia on the English dept. & grad. school & life post-MHC till quite late! We had a funny moment when I realized that my contacts were starting to get all dry and icky, and Rabia immediately got her eye drops, sat me down, and somehow got them in my eyes in the middle of my blinks. Definitely must get those next time I'm at CVS! That would be a smart thing to carry in one's purse... During the Francis Bok lecture I def. would have used them.
Later in the evening I went by Sarah's room to see how The Prince & I was progressing. She & Karuna were pretty into it, but I kept getting sleepy. So I finally headed back to my room and slept a loooong time. Had lunch with Karuna, Kathleen, Laura, Claudia, & friends at Blanchard. The chicken sandwich really is about the only thing there that I feel semi-healthy eating, and actually fills me up. Strange. Anyway, in the afternoon we had a Delles reading of our Stoppard assignment: The Real Inspector Hound & After Magritte. SO much fun. We've definitely stumbled upon something. It's so much fun to do a reading with friends. I hope more people in our class start coming, and that we can keep up the energy. Of course, I suppose Stoppard would be fun regardless, but getting to laugh with everyone and be a little theatrical is cool.
Later I went to dinner with Karuna, and we had a long talk with Anna & Hannah. It was awesome... One of those "only at MHC" chats that went on for a couple of hours and involved realizing how intelligent and interesting people here are. After, Karuna & I headed to D Becky & Liz's birthday party. Yummy cupcakes, I kept eating M &M's and my candy necklace and reading conversation hearts for dirty innuendos to joke about with Kathleen & Becky. Of course, the best one was "LET'S READ." Nothing says I love you like a good book. We also played clue. Rachel was the murderer. But we forgave her. Karuna got it right on one of her first tries. SNL was pretty awful. Paris Hilton isn't even good at playing herself.
Sunday brunch continued the conversation from Prospect the night before. Our search committee meeting concluded in agreeing to disagree, and realizing that we're really glad we don't have the final say. In the afternoon I finally caught up on emailing grad schools with updates on my grades/ PBK. I feel kind of like the annoying student who's trying too hard and being a bother, but everyone kept saying I should get around to doing that. Ack. Also had a good chat with the Merrers, and a brief catch up with the 'Rew.
Karuna & I watched some more Desperate Housewives... I think the next episode I needed to see was on tonight as a repeat. Such a good show!! This too will be a new tradition!
Later in the evening I went by Sarah's room to see how The Prince & I was progressing. She & Karuna were pretty into it, but I kept getting sleepy. So I finally headed back to my room and slept a loooong time. Had lunch with Karuna, Kathleen, Laura, Claudia, & friends at Blanchard. The chicken sandwich really is about the only thing there that I feel semi-healthy eating, and actually fills me up. Strange. Anyway, in the afternoon we had a Delles reading of our Stoppard assignment: The Real Inspector Hound & After Magritte. SO much fun. We've definitely stumbled upon something. It's so much fun to do a reading with friends. I hope more people in our class start coming, and that we can keep up the energy. Of course, I suppose Stoppard would be fun regardless, but getting to laugh with everyone and be a little theatrical is cool.
Later I went to dinner with Karuna, and we had a long talk with Anna & Hannah. It was awesome... One of those "only at MHC" chats that went on for a couple of hours and involved realizing how intelligent and interesting people here are. After, Karuna & I headed to D Becky & Liz's birthday party. Yummy cupcakes, I kept eating M &M's and my candy necklace and reading conversation hearts for dirty innuendos to joke about with Kathleen & Becky. Of course, the best one was "LET'S READ." Nothing says I love you like a good book. We also played clue. Rachel was the murderer. But we forgave her. Karuna got it right on one of her first tries. SNL was pretty awful. Paris Hilton isn't even good at playing herself.
Sunday brunch continued the conversation from Prospect the night before. Our search committee meeting concluded in agreeing to disagree, and realizing that we're really glad we don't have the final say. In the afternoon I finally caught up on emailing grad schools with updates on my grades/ PBK. I feel kind of like the annoying student who's trying too hard and being a bother, but everyone kept saying I should get around to doing that. Ack. Also had a good chat with the Merrers, and a brief catch up with the 'Rew.
Karuna & I watched some more Desperate Housewives... I think the next episode I needed to see was on tonight as a repeat. Such a good show!! This too will be a new tradition!
Saturday, February 05, 2005
Because everyone wants to join in on the fun:
SITA3783: Hi Becky!Finally reading your blog, long time. Funny you talking about Andrew editing, can I? Did you mean to say you had seen "Meet the Fockers" instead of "Meet the Parents"???
speaking of which, I bought "meet the parents" on ebay so Tim & I may actually sit down together tonight and watch that!!
Rain here finally and a bit of snow in hills predicted. Heard you can get into Lost Lake and Cloud Cap at moment.
Is Andrew there this weekend?
Do you want a cake or large cookie compliments of MHC
[Just for the record, Mum DID send all this in just one IM!]
Will update tomorrow on actual activities & such!
SITA3783: Hi Becky!Finally reading your blog, long time. Funny you talking about Andrew editing, can I? Did you mean to say you had seen "Meet the Fockers" instead of "Meet the Parents"???
speaking of which, I bought "meet the parents" on ebay so Tim & I may actually sit down together tonight and watch that!!
Rain here finally and a bit of snow in hills predicted. Heard you can get into Lost Lake and Cloud Cap at moment.
Is Andrew there this weekend?
Do you want a cake or large cookie compliments of MHC
[Just for the record, Mum DID send all this in just one IM!]
Will update tomorrow on actual activities & such!
Tuesday, February 01, 2005
Some of you may have noticed that I sometimes "edit" my blog if I have a mistake. This is due partly to my own re-reading, but recently Andrew has taken to editing my blog (apparently editing my personal statement for grad school ten separate times just wasn't enough for him!) Of course, the irony in all this is that I was at my English language class when Andrew sent me these IMs. (But, as we talked about in said class, there are different discourse communities that we participate in, each with varying levels of formality... Obviously my blog is toward the "informal" side of that spectrum...) So if you were confused when reading my last post, no worries, I've made a few edits.
Andrew: honey! sudafed is used to make "speed", not "crack"!!! :-)
Auto response from Pink Poodledog: english language class, then back here...
Andrew: crack = bad street drug
Andrew: speed = conceptual artist drug of choice (according to sedaris)
Andrew: :-D
Andrew: also i think you wrote "i'm not sooo addicted to that show" instead of "i'm NOW soo..."
Andrew: sorry to have taken to editing your blog, but that sorta changes the meaning :-)
Andrew: honey! sudafed is used to make "speed", not "crack"!!! :-)
Auto response from Pink Poodledog: english language class, then back here...
Andrew: crack = bad street drug
Andrew: speed = conceptual artist drug of choice (according to sedaris)
Andrew: :-D
Andrew: also i think you wrote "i'm not sooo addicted to that show" instead of "i'm NOW soo..."
Andrew: sorry to have taken to editing your blog, but that sorta changes the meaning :-)
Monday, January 31, 2005
It feels like I've been at school for a long, long time.. but really, it's only been about a week and a half. Here's the rundown...
Weds. The first day of classes. Of course, I didn't have any of my own classes, just the course I'm mentoring for (English 101). I brought my little hand-outs, and had my little explanation prepared about what SAW is & what my role as a mentor is. We played the name game & I only forgot one name (and that doesn't count because everyone forgets the newest name). Felt pretty good about everything as I left... Prof. Davis seems to have much faith in me, & I'm realizing that I really do have something to help these first years with. My first task will be an MLA workshop, because I think most of them are going to have problems with that!
Thurs. Ok, so Thursday is my "busy" day. As in, I have all of two classes. History of English Language was awesome -- I love the people in the class, I love the professor, & I love the subject. Ahh!
Afterwards, I went over to the library since I have a huge break before lunch even opens on Thursdays. I went up to the Stimson Room & ran into Hollin, so that was cool. I sat and read my Eagleton & we complained that the radiator is really unnecessarily loud. Then I was alone in the room for awhile, and as I was getting all bundled up, I circled around looking at all the poems, pictures, & letters associated with the Glascock Competition over the years. Letters from W. C. Williams, pictures of Mary Jo Salter, poems by Sylvia Plath... I rushed to Blanchard & to my room, and felt vibrantly and lucidly excited about poetry & theory & politics. I think it had something to do with the sudafed I took that morning for my stuffy nose. [Note: I have since taken one tablet, half a dose, before bed, & I was up half the night. This is alarming because 1. it was half a dose, and 2. I never have trouble falling asleep when I'm tired (which I was), not even if I've had caffeine. I have concluded that sudafed, even before it's gone through whatever process to become speed, is very potent.]
Anyway, I was hyper-awake for Verse Writing. I love this class, too -- Miranda & Sarah are in it, which makes me very happy.
Friday I went on a campus-wide flyering patrol of all the academic buildlings. For SAW. It was exhausting & I got so hungry! Ran into Ashley Brown, dropped in on Quillian (who alluded to PBK very mysteriously!), joined forces with Kathleen (who was also putting up flyers for a different cause), and concluded that mass advertising on campus is very difficult!
In the evening I went to dinner with Karuna & Kathleen & Sarah & friends. I love those Friday Thanksgiving menus. We decided it must be really cheap to serve mashed potatoes & stuffing!! Afterwards, Andrew called to say he was here. So we had a little time here before going over to Audra's room to play Trivial Pursuit with her & Julia. So fun! I love that game, even though I just can't seem to get the yellow & blue wedges!! Went on rounds with Audra, it brought back memories. Julia had an awesome idea for an English dept. t-shirt that I can't remember... ack! Must ask her again.
Saturday. Got up a bit late. We made a run to Dunkin' Donuts & the hardware store for hooks for my room. Andrew installed the hooks & shelves in my room, & in combination with the yaffa blocks that we organized Friday night... my room is great! I'm using the shelves for sweaters, since I can barely reach the one dirty shelf in my closet... & for scarves & hats & mittens, since I didn't have a convenient place for such things. The yaffa blocks are to organize the top of my fridge & my bookcase. I'm really enjoying things!
Later we went to Target & BN (I used my gift certificate for our yummy desserts & a supply of Tazo chai. Yeah, I know I'm an English major, but I have a stomach, too! And we all know I have QUITE the supply of books over here!!) Back at MHC, we ate dinner (yums, Andrew made it) and watched some Real World (I love watching that show). Then we watched The Village finally... I'd been wanting to see that. Scary but more psychological & twisty that I had expected. Pretty good one! Also watched the first two episodes of Desperate Housewives, which were awesome.
Sunday: Went to brunch at the Lone Wolf. I got yummy challah french toast. We decided to have a bit of a marathon watching Desp. Housewives. I'm now sooo addicted to that show... after dinner and my Verbosity meeting, we watched another two shows. It's like a dark comedy about suburbia & the horribly normal surface of things. Looking forward to fully catching up next time I see Andrew...
Monday: Has been good... Verbosity table [Note: BUY VALENTINES FROM US!], Tom Stoppard (yay for all the cool people taking that course!), hanging out at Blanchard, going to the modern lit. lecture on printing presses in the modern era & women... dinner with Claudia, Sarah, & Miranda... and now I think I'm joining the English dept. search committee for a prof specializing in the same era that I'm interested in. cool =)
Weds. The first day of classes. Of course, I didn't have any of my own classes, just the course I'm mentoring for (English 101). I brought my little hand-outs, and had my little explanation prepared about what SAW is & what my role as a mentor is. We played the name game & I only forgot one name (and that doesn't count because everyone forgets the newest name). Felt pretty good about everything as I left... Prof. Davis seems to have much faith in me, & I'm realizing that I really do have something to help these first years with. My first task will be an MLA workshop, because I think most of them are going to have problems with that!
Thurs. Ok, so Thursday is my "busy" day. As in, I have all of two classes. History of English Language was awesome -- I love the people in the class, I love the professor, & I love the subject. Ahh!
Afterwards, I went over to the library since I have a huge break before lunch even opens on Thursdays. I went up to the Stimson Room & ran into Hollin, so that was cool. I sat and read my Eagleton & we complained that the radiator is really unnecessarily loud. Then I was alone in the room for awhile, and as I was getting all bundled up, I circled around looking at all the poems, pictures, & letters associated with the Glascock Competition over the years. Letters from W. C. Williams, pictures of Mary Jo Salter, poems by Sylvia Plath... I rushed to Blanchard & to my room, and felt vibrantly and lucidly excited about poetry & theory & politics. I think it had something to do with the sudafed I took that morning for my stuffy nose. [Note: I have since taken one tablet, half a dose, before bed, & I was up half the night. This is alarming because 1. it was half a dose, and 2. I never have trouble falling asleep when I'm tired (which I was), not even if I've had caffeine. I have concluded that sudafed, even before it's gone through whatever process to become speed, is very potent.]
Anyway, I was hyper-awake for Verse Writing. I love this class, too -- Miranda & Sarah are in it, which makes me very happy.
Friday I went on a campus-wide flyering patrol of all the academic buildlings. For SAW. It was exhausting & I got so hungry! Ran into Ashley Brown, dropped in on Quillian (who alluded to PBK very mysteriously!), joined forces with Kathleen (who was also putting up flyers for a different cause), and concluded that mass advertising on campus is very difficult!
In the evening I went to dinner with Karuna & Kathleen & Sarah & friends. I love those Friday Thanksgiving menus. We decided it must be really cheap to serve mashed potatoes & stuffing!! Afterwards, Andrew called to say he was here. So we had a little time here before going over to Audra's room to play Trivial Pursuit with her & Julia. So fun! I love that game, even though I just can't seem to get the yellow & blue wedges!! Went on rounds with Audra, it brought back memories. Julia had an awesome idea for an English dept. t-shirt that I can't remember... ack! Must ask her again.
Saturday. Got up a bit late. We made a run to Dunkin' Donuts & the hardware store for hooks for my room. Andrew installed the hooks & shelves in my room, & in combination with the yaffa blocks that we organized Friday night... my room is great! I'm using the shelves for sweaters, since I can barely reach the one dirty shelf in my closet... & for scarves & hats & mittens, since I didn't have a convenient place for such things. The yaffa blocks are to organize the top of my fridge & my bookcase. I'm really enjoying things!
Later we went to Target & BN (I used my gift certificate for our yummy desserts & a supply of Tazo chai. Yeah, I know I'm an English major, but I have a stomach, too! And we all know I have QUITE the supply of books over here!!) Back at MHC, we ate dinner (yums, Andrew made it) and watched some Real World (I love watching that show). Then we watched The Village finally... I'd been wanting to see that. Scary but more psychological & twisty that I had expected. Pretty good one! Also watched the first two episodes of Desperate Housewives, which were awesome.
Sunday: Went to brunch at the Lone Wolf. I got yummy challah french toast. We decided to have a bit of a marathon watching Desp. Housewives. I'm now sooo addicted to that show... after dinner and my Verbosity meeting, we watched another two shows. It's like a dark comedy about suburbia & the horribly normal surface of things. Looking forward to fully catching up next time I see Andrew...
Monday: Has been good... Verbosity table [Note: BUY VALENTINES FROM US!], Tom Stoppard (yay for all the cool people taking that course!), hanging out at Blanchard, going to the modern lit. lecture on printing presses in the modern era & women... dinner with Claudia, Sarah, & Miranda... and now I think I'm joining the English dept. search committee for a prof specializing in the same era that I'm interested in. cool =)
Tuesday, January 25, 2005
Back at MHC!!
Had a great time in Boston with Andrew -- watched lots of movies: Saved, Dawn of the Dead, The Stepford Wives, etc. Very scary, that Dawn of the Dead remake. We got the director's cut, unedited... whew. Lots of blood, lots of biting. I was scared for the next twenty four hours -- trying to plan escape routes in case of a zombie attack, re-imagining various biting/ chainsaw scenes. Now we're planning to do an all out scary movie fest by renting the original Night of the Living Dead trilogy. (Let me know if you're interested in this venture! I think it'd be a cool movie night.)
Also took an evening to go used book hunting -- wasn't too successful. No one has used Tom Stoppard plays. Argh!
Weds. night we went to 9 Tastes in Harvard Square -- 15 month anniversary!!
Andrew started feeling sick Weds night, & stayed home from work Thurs. and Fri. with a yucky cold (which I think I now have). So we had an extended weekend, and left Boston for MHC on Saturday. Everyone was out in force with the snow storm warning, presumably stocking up on food. It was CRAZY. Traffic backed up & grocery store entrances jammed, entire lots completely full... Just goes to show you that, in case of a REAL emergency, we'd be woefully unprepared & disorganized. We can't even handle a couple feet of snow without getting worked up into a frenzy of buying and freaking out.
We didn't get to Amherst till around 3 pm, and the snow was starting. Places were closing up, so we got Fresh Side to go and made it back to MHC. Very pretty, the snow piled up fast! My room was pretty dusty, so Andrew & I set to work... I dusted and swept, he was in charge of rugs. Then I reorganized stuff & unpacked. Next weekend Andrew's going to live up to his "Handy Andy" middle school nickname (haha have I embarassed you yet?) by (we hope) putting up shelves & bringing yaffa blocks. Hoping to better organize sweaters & food (random, I know). So in the evening I unpacked my mailbox, and we watched The Shining & SNL. Andrew didn't think it was very scary, but at least now he knows where the "Heeeeere's Johnny!" expression came from.
And what's with the recurring character of Rachel Dratch as a single woman bringing her dates home to meet her "pets"? One week it was Jasper the parrot, this week it was Franklin the cat. Very strange, especially after Andrew ran across an ad about "furries" on Craig's list. Want to know more? Check out this link: http://pressedfur.coolfreepages.com/press/vanityfair/
Sunday was a bit sad... went to see Meet the Parents finally, very funny. Went used book shopping in Amherst, still couldn't find anything... Went to Pasta e Basta for dinner (my first time there, very good), and got more cheesecake from Rao's for dessert (the chocolate variety is sooo yummy). Played Trivial Pursuit in the evening -- Julia is amazing at that game. That cheered me up, I'd been getting sad about Andrew going.
In the morning, Andrew was all dressed and at the door with his work laptop in hand, when he got a phone call from Cheryl (who he works with). Apparently they were told to work from home, so we suddenly had an extra day together! We slept, got a parking pass, had some breakfast... I slept some more as I was starting to feel cold symptoms... then in the afternoon we had lunch, worked, ran some errands, and went into Noho. Very fun, going through used book stores. Found Eagleton's After Theory, which is great, it'll be my for fun reading. Then we went to the Haymarket, and I had lovely ginger lemon tea and started reading T.E. Afterwards, of course, we had to go to Herrell's... sundae!! My favorite food in the world... Burnt Sugar & Butter with hot fudge sauce. Yum.
Back at MHC we got some food from the Blanch & ate in the living room. I turned on a couple of chandeliers, it felt rather elegant. Watched Monster's Ball finally -- pretty good.
This morning 'Rew had to go back to Somerville for an eye appointment. As I was ordering my Tom Stoppard books online & signing up for their better-than-mine credit card, my internet suddenly blinked out and I had to re-request an IP address thingy. I was pissed... First of all, returning residents to the same rooms weren't supposed to have to do this. Secondly, why in the middle of the morning, when people are doing important stuff? Why not overnight so that you aren't in the middle of anything? Crazy. So I called up and complained, and then re-filled out the application on amazon. Bah!
It's awesome seeing everyone again... Kept running into people at Blanchard. Missing Dale though... & Andrew of course, but I'll get used to the whole weekend schedule. Cross your fingers that we get into at least one grad school together, with funding!!
Dinner time now, must go!
Had a great time in Boston with Andrew -- watched lots of movies: Saved, Dawn of the Dead, The Stepford Wives, etc. Very scary, that Dawn of the Dead remake. We got the director's cut, unedited... whew. Lots of blood, lots of biting. I was scared for the next twenty four hours -- trying to plan escape routes in case of a zombie attack, re-imagining various biting/ chainsaw scenes. Now we're planning to do an all out scary movie fest by renting the original Night of the Living Dead trilogy. (Let me know if you're interested in this venture! I think it'd be a cool movie night.)
Also took an evening to go used book hunting -- wasn't too successful. No one has used Tom Stoppard plays. Argh!
Weds. night we went to 9 Tastes in Harvard Square -- 15 month anniversary!!
Andrew started feeling sick Weds night, & stayed home from work Thurs. and Fri. with a yucky cold (which I think I now have). So we had an extended weekend, and left Boston for MHC on Saturday. Everyone was out in force with the snow storm warning, presumably stocking up on food. It was CRAZY. Traffic backed up & grocery store entrances jammed, entire lots completely full... Just goes to show you that, in case of a REAL emergency, we'd be woefully unprepared & disorganized. We can't even handle a couple feet of snow without getting worked up into a frenzy of buying and freaking out.
We didn't get to Amherst till around 3 pm, and the snow was starting. Places were closing up, so we got Fresh Side to go and made it back to MHC. Very pretty, the snow piled up fast! My room was pretty dusty, so Andrew & I set to work... I dusted and swept, he was in charge of rugs. Then I reorganized stuff & unpacked. Next weekend Andrew's going to live up to his "Handy Andy" middle school nickname (haha have I embarassed you yet?) by (we hope) putting up shelves & bringing yaffa blocks. Hoping to better organize sweaters & food (random, I know). So in the evening I unpacked my mailbox, and we watched The Shining & SNL. Andrew didn't think it was very scary, but at least now he knows where the "Heeeeere's Johnny!" expression came from.
And what's with the recurring character of Rachel Dratch as a single woman bringing her dates home to meet her "pets"? One week it was Jasper the parrot, this week it was Franklin the cat. Very strange, especially after Andrew ran across an ad about "furries" on Craig's list. Want to know more? Check out this link: http://pressedfur.coolfreepages.com/press/vanityfair/
Sunday was a bit sad... went to see Meet the Parents finally, very funny. Went used book shopping in Amherst, still couldn't find anything... Went to Pasta e Basta for dinner (my first time there, very good), and got more cheesecake from Rao's for dessert (the chocolate variety is sooo yummy). Played Trivial Pursuit in the evening -- Julia is amazing at that game. That cheered me up, I'd been getting sad about Andrew going.
In the morning, Andrew was all dressed and at the door with his work laptop in hand, when he got a phone call from Cheryl (who he works with). Apparently they were told to work from home, so we suddenly had an extra day together! We slept, got a parking pass, had some breakfast... I slept some more as I was starting to feel cold symptoms... then in the afternoon we had lunch, worked, ran some errands, and went into Noho. Very fun, going through used book stores. Found Eagleton's After Theory, which is great, it'll be my for fun reading. Then we went to the Haymarket, and I had lovely ginger lemon tea and started reading T.E. Afterwards, of course, we had to go to Herrell's... sundae!! My favorite food in the world... Burnt Sugar & Butter with hot fudge sauce. Yum.
Back at MHC we got some food from the Blanch & ate in the living room. I turned on a couple of chandeliers, it felt rather elegant. Watched Monster's Ball finally -- pretty good.
This morning 'Rew had to go back to Somerville for an eye appointment. As I was ordering my Tom Stoppard books online & signing up for their better-than-mine credit card, my internet suddenly blinked out and I had to re-request an IP address thingy. I was pissed... First of all, returning residents to the same rooms weren't supposed to have to do this. Secondly, why in the middle of the morning, when people are doing important stuff? Why not overnight so that you aren't in the middle of anything? Crazy. So I called up and complained, and then re-filled out the application on amazon. Bah!
It's awesome seeing everyone again... Kept running into people at Blanchard. Missing Dale though... & Andrew of course, but I'll get used to the whole weekend schedule. Cross your fingers that we get into at least one grad school together, with funding!!
Dinner time now, must go!
Tuesday, January 18, 2005
The reading by Sawyer-Laucanno on his new biography of E.E. Cummings was interesting, although I was wowed more by the content than his speaking... Appropriately, we focused on the early years, as Cummings grew up right here in Cambridge. I sneaked out afterwards, as I didn't want to buy the book there. In the evening I went over to Jen's for soup & talking & Carnivale. Great show -- some things became a bit more clear by the end. And it was fun just hanging out with Jen, usually it's with the boys in tow, but it seems like we have lots in common. They have the cutest apartment -- it makes me eager to be out on my own, too...
So Monday I was expecting that Andrew would get home around 9:30 in the evening. I got rather ambitious, & bought stuff to make fried rice... And I was sure to simulate "leftovers" with the rice -- combining some I'd made Sunday with a new batch, & keeping it all in the fridge. Somehow there is a huge difference between using fresh, warm rice, and leftover cold rice in fried rice. I think it has something to do with ridding the rice of excess liquid. Anyways, in the evening I realized that I had forgotten the frozen peas. Oops. Freezing trip out for said peas.
I figured I'd shower and then start dinner at around 8... everything in the kitchen takes me longer than normal because I'm OCD and have to wash all the time. [I'm only half-kidding.] It wasn't until 9:15 or so that dinner was sitting warm & waiting, and the dishes were done. I loved it, I so rarely cook, and I surprised Andrew by actually making something edible. We caught up over dinner, & Andrew showed me the fortune cookies he'd bought at a specialty shop (to which I said, cute, but not quite chocolate), and then the yummy cocoa mix he found for me =) He was very clever about not dropping any hints over dinner, even when I reminded him that LAST time he went to San Fran., he brought back a really good chocolate espresso bar. So of course we had to sample the hot chocolate, and it was yummy (you just can't recreate hot chocolate with "just add water" powders).
Today I've been reading, watching some MTV... and I saw something rather disturbing.
Has anyone else seen this commercial? The camera follows this young black man around school, playing sports, etc., and there's this little child in the background with a birthday hat on, and you're wondering, what's up with this child? Why is he stalking this guy? Then it flashes to a scene of the little boy at his birthday party, and you realize they're brothers, and their father is telling the older brother something about the little boy being disappointed if he (the older brother) doesn't stay at the party or something. And it closes with "Don't ever forget the people you hurt when you're high," and flashes "Regret, the anti-drug" up on the screen. So you might be like wow, profound. But it doesn't make any sense. First of all, no drug is named. And the most likely drug for teens to be using is pot, so you're trying to figure out how this fits together. It doesn't... Any number of things might make a teen miss his younger brother's birthday party -- prior plans, embarassment over spending time with the fam, being plain old inconsiderate, not caring, depression, hell even alcohol -- anything, basically. Seems that these people making commercials are scraping the bottom of the barrel.
I'd just like to say, for like the millionth time, that alcoholism is way, way, way worse than smoking pot. Especially if you're living with one or both as a child. Alcohol is addictive (pot isn't), it impairs judgment in a totally different way... and how many times have you heard about someone driving while high and killing a family? Compare that to drunk driving statistics. Makes you wonder why one is legal and the other isn't... I wish we'd just make pot legal and tax the hell out of it & fund education/ social security/ medicare with it.
I'll stop ranting now... but I hate those commercials!
So Monday I was expecting that Andrew would get home around 9:30 in the evening. I got rather ambitious, & bought stuff to make fried rice... And I was sure to simulate "leftovers" with the rice -- combining some I'd made Sunday with a new batch, & keeping it all in the fridge. Somehow there is a huge difference between using fresh, warm rice, and leftover cold rice in fried rice. I think it has something to do with ridding the rice of excess liquid. Anyways, in the evening I realized that I had forgotten the frozen peas. Oops. Freezing trip out for said peas.
I figured I'd shower and then start dinner at around 8... everything in the kitchen takes me longer than normal because I'm OCD and have to wash all the time. [I'm only half-kidding.] It wasn't until 9:15 or so that dinner was sitting warm & waiting, and the dishes were done. I loved it, I so rarely cook, and I surprised Andrew by actually making something edible. We caught up over dinner, & Andrew showed me the fortune cookies he'd bought at a specialty shop (to which I said, cute, but not quite chocolate), and then the yummy cocoa mix he found for me =) He was very clever about not dropping any hints over dinner, even when I reminded him that LAST time he went to San Fran., he brought back a really good chocolate espresso bar. So of course we had to sample the hot chocolate, and it was yummy (you just can't recreate hot chocolate with "just add water" powders).
Today I've been reading, watching some MTV... and I saw something rather disturbing.
Has anyone else seen this commercial? The camera follows this young black man around school, playing sports, etc., and there's this little child in the background with a birthday hat on, and you're wondering, what's up with this child? Why is he stalking this guy? Then it flashes to a scene of the little boy at his birthday party, and you realize they're brothers, and their father is telling the older brother something about the little boy being disappointed if he (the older brother) doesn't stay at the party or something. And it closes with "Don't ever forget the people you hurt when you're high," and flashes "Regret, the anti-drug" up on the screen. So you might be like wow, profound. But it doesn't make any sense. First of all, no drug is named. And the most likely drug for teens to be using is pot, so you're trying to figure out how this fits together. It doesn't... Any number of things might make a teen miss his younger brother's birthday party -- prior plans, embarassment over spending time with the fam, being plain old inconsiderate, not caring, depression, hell even alcohol -- anything, basically. Seems that these people making commercials are scraping the bottom of the barrel.
I'd just like to say, for like the millionth time, that alcoholism is way, way, way worse than smoking pot. Especially if you're living with one or both as a child. Alcohol is addictive (pot isn't), it impairs judgment in a totally different way... and how many times have you heard about someone driving while high and killing a family? Compare that to drunk driving statistics. Makes you wonder why one is legal and the other isn't... I wish we'd just make pot legal and tax the hell out of it & fund education/ social security/ medicare with it.
I'll stop ranting now... but I hate those commercials!
Saturday, January 15, 2005
Sooo...
Andrew's off in San Fran. for a cousin's wedding, & I'm here holding down the fort. Well, Kory's here too, but whatever. So yesterday was sad, seeing him off... Sad because I'm used to having him around, and because this was the only full weekend in January that we have here, and because he was going off to do something fun & I'm a brat & can't be happy for people. =)
Anywho, last night I decided to make something semi-healthy for dinner. I made pasta & a salad, and then discovered that I didn't know if we had any marinara sauce. Looking in the fridge produced one opened jar, and in the cupboard I found one full one... Luckily I didn't find the vodka sauce in the fridge till later (apparently it's old). The one in the cupboard was of the "roasted garlic," and upon a taste inspection I realized that there was no way in hell that I was eating anymore of that. So that left the one opened jar in the fridge that tasted better, but was of dubious background... I was pretty sure it was around a month old... Looking up online, could find nothing as to the durability (isn't that a funny word to use about pasta sauce?) of foodstuffs in the fridge after the initial opening. So... I decided that, since it tasted OK & there was no mold on the lid, I would eat it. Because I'm lazy and I didn't feel like going to the store.
Then... I realized that I had a full evening to do... what? in. Finally edited a story, watched episodes of the OC that I missed last month over ice cream, watched some Jay Leno, & slept... The OC is sooo good. I held out for awhile, with my attitude that it was just a dumb sitcom and that surely 4 years of college has taught me to appreciate more... well, more thought-provoking shows. Nope, can't deny it -- I love the soap opera drama elements.
This morning I woke up and knew that I had to do something interesting. This meant a trip to Harvard Square to locate White Noise, because the movie of the same title (but about something tooootally different) reminded me that I should read that sometime when I'm not bogged down with other work. And since I only read one other novel this break, it was about damn time I started a new one. Had a slow start, watched the news on TV & kids' Saturday morning 'toons. Trading Spaces Boys vs. Girls is actually really entertaining, I discovered.
I got directions online to Harvard Books, and set off for my little adventure. I passed Au Bon Pain & the Adidas store, and I was like, wow, so cool, I'm on the right track! I passed right by the store, thinking that it was just part of Harvard U.'s Coop & student bookstore, not realizing that it's the SAME THING as Harvard Books! Oops... So I walked... and walked... and saw another T stop off in the distance, a bit down Mass Ave. from the YMCA. So I turned around, and started walking back. Stepped into this old man's used bookstore (you know the type, totally deserted except for you and this bookish old man with white hair, so you HAVE to buy something or feel like a complete idiot suddenly walking out...) No White Noise. Did, however, find a Tom Stoppard play that I might possibly need for my course this semester. So I bought that and put back Waiting for Godot as the guy wanted 2.25$ for each old beat up play. Craazy. I was thinking maybe like, 1$... Guess I'm used to Oregon pricing still.
Back on my merry way up Mass Ave, I went up and down side streets, and examined every store front. Soon began to despair that I would not find Harvard Books. Finally saw the store, realized my mistake, and saw the Plymton St. sign that I had previously been searching for (as the directions told me to). How did I pass right by that sign without noticing?? Looked through used books, remainders... no White Noise. Went up to the new books section, resolving that if I had come this far, I had may as well just spend the money and get the damn thing...Couldn't find it among the D's... Then looked up into the highest shelves, realized that it was overflow or something, and saw one reddish spine with hard to see little letters... Saw that it was probably White Noise, dragged a footstool over, and grabbed it. Last one! Unfortunately it was $15.75 with tax (I'll figure I used Grammy's x-mas money on that one).
Felt good walking out of the store, and decided to find Peet's. Soon found it, but not before being harassed by a panhandler (is that an old-fashioned word?) This guy was right in front of me asking for change, and I made the mistake of looking right at him and thinking that, if my spare change wasn't in my wallet in my inner coat pocket, and if I wasn't planning to use it for T fare, that perhaps I could give him something... So, as always happens to me when I'm walking somewhere (esp. walking somewhere alone) in cities, he picked me out to yell at. Something like this: "Take me seriously! Don't just look at me with your big pretty eyes, I don't buy that lady..." As I walked as quickly as possible with the crowd across the street. Fled to Peet's... If I had money that felt like throwing away (which I don't, not with this wisdom tooth extraction coming up that will be expensive -- and I'm not going to launch into a defense of how I spend my money), I would rather give it to my parents & family than to some nameless guy bumming money and yelling at me in the street. Honestly, harassing me does NOT make me want to give you money! Do something nice if you want money. I have been known to drop change into collections when it's for people playing music that I like...
At Peet's I enjoyed the college student vibe, & got some not so special chai. Next time, the special teas are probably more worth the money. Then I realized that my plan to sit quietly and read in a coffeeshop would be difficult, since there was no where to sit. I pretended to look at the loose teas for sale, and then got up the guts to ask a girl sitting with her laptop if I might sit and read at her table. So I sat and read the first few chapters, and plotted how I might retrace my steps to the T station without encountering said panhandler again.
Upon arriving in Porter Square, I remembered that we have a relatively new bookstore right next to us in the shopping complex. I went in, to see if they had a cheaper copy of White Noise (and if I therefore should have gone there)... no copies! Saw a flyer for this Christopher Sawyer-Laucanno, who wrote a biography on Paul Bowles (a writer Quillian once assigned -- he wrote this cool story "A Distant Episode" that I wrote an essay on for Lit. Crit. & Theory). Apparently he's going to be at the store tomorrow, promoting his new biography of EE Cummings. I think I'll go -- hopefully he's going to actually read and not just sign books. If it sounds good, perhaps I'll use my gift certificates for that book & Terry Eagleton's new one...
I bought the most unhealthy thing for dinner ever -- Banquet fried chicken -- every once in awhile I feel the urge to eat really random/ unhealthy things. Like orange soda.
Also edited another story... wonder how many times I'll need to do that before it's "good enough"...
Last night I was getting really into revising & elaborating on some poetry fragments I'd written into my little purple notebook. Looking forward to having a verse writing class again this semester. Feel rather guilty about not taking a 5 college course yet, but there are always things here to take... no other college in the valley is offering a verse writing course this semester, except the intro/level one sorts, and I already had that so it seems silly to essentially retake it. I'm hoping for more freedom in the level 2, and less people in the course just to get rid of requirements.
I've become more addicted than ever to princetonreview.com's message boards for grad school. Keep hoping that I'll get an early acceptance letter so I don't keep worrying that I won't get in anywhere =(
That's all for now... Happy birthday to Merrers & Dale!
Andrew's off in San Fran. for a cousin's wedding, & I'm here holding down the fort. Well, Kory's here too, but whatever. So yesterday was sad, seeing him off... Sad because I'm used to having him around, and because this was the only full weekend in January that we have here, and because he was going off to do something fun & I'm a brat & can't be happy for people. =)
Anywho, last night I decided to make something semi-healthy for dinner. I made pasta & a salad, and then discovered that I didn't know if we had any marinara sauce. Looking in the fridge produced one opened jar, and in the cupboard I found one full one... Luckily I didn't find the vodka sauce in the fridge till later (apparently it's old). The one in the cupboard was of the "roasted garlic," and upon a taste inspection I realized that there was no way in hell that I was eating anymore of that. So that left the one opened jar in the fridge that tasted better, but was of dubious background... I was pretty sure it was around a month old... Looking up online, could find nothing as to the durability (isn't that a funny word to use about pasta sauce?) of foodstuffs in the fridge after the initial opening. So... I decided that, since it tasted OK & there was no mold on the lid, I would eat it. Because I'm lazy and I didn't feel like going to the store.
Then... I realized that I had a full evening to do... what? in. Finally edited a story, watched episodes of the OC that I missed last month over ice cream, watched some Jay Leno, & slept... The OC is sooo good. I held out for awhile, with my attitude that it was just a dumb sitcom and that surely 4 years of college has taught me to appreciate more... well, more thought-provoking shows. Nope, can't deny it -- I love the soap opera drama elements.
This morning I woke up and knew that I had to do something interesting. This meant a trip to Harvard Square to locate White Noise, because the movie of the same title (but about something tooootally different) reminded me that I should read that sometime when I'm not bogged down with other work. And since I only read one other novel this break, it was about damn time I started a new one. Had a slow start, watched the news on TV & kids' Saturday morning 'toons. Trading Spaces Boys vs. Girls is actually really entertaining, I discovered.
I got directions online to Harvard Books, and set off for my little adventure. I passed Au Bon Pain & the Adidas store, and I was like, wow, so cool, I'm on the right track! I passed right by the store, thinking that it was just part of Harvard U.'s Coop & student bookstore, not realizing that it's the SAME THING as Harvard Books! Oops... So I walked... and walked... and saw another T stop off in the distance, a bit down Mass Ave. from the YMCA. So I turned around, and started walking back. Stepped into this old man's used bookstore (you know the type, totally deserted except for you and this bookish old man with white hair, so you HAVE to buy something or feel like a complete idiot suddenly walking out...) No White Noise. Did, however, find a Tom Stoppard play that I might possibly need for my course this semester. So I bought that and put back Waiting for Godot as the guy wanted 2.25$ for each old beat up play. Craazy. I was thinking maybe like, 1$... Guess I'm used to Oregon pricing still.
Back on my merry way up Mass Ave, I went up and down side streets, and examined every store front. Soon began to despair that I would not find Harvard Books. Finally saw the store, realized my mistake, and saw the Plymton St. sign that I had previously been searching for (as the directions told me to). How did I pass right by that sign without noticing?? Looked through used books, remainders... no White Noise. Went up to the new books section, resolving that if I had come this far, I had may as well just spend the money and get the damn thing...Couldn't find it among the D's... Then looked up into the highest shelves, realized that it was overflow or something, and saw one reddish spine with hard to see little letters... Saw that it was probably White Noise, dragged a footstool over, and grabbed it. Last one! Unfortunately it was $15.75 with tax (I'll figure I used Grammy's x-mas money on that one).
Felt good walking out of the store, and decided to find Peet's. Soon found it, but not before being harassed by a panhandler (is that an old-fashioned word?) This guy was right in front of me asking for change, and I made the mistake of looking right at him and thinking that, if my spare change wasn't in my wallet in my inner coat pocket, and if I wasn't planning to use it for T fare, that perhaps I could give him something... So, as always happens to me when I'm walking somewhere (esp. walking somewhere alone) in cities, he picked me out to yell at. Something like this: "Take me seriously! Don't just look at me with your big pretty eyes, I don't buy that lady..." As I walked as quickly as possible with the crowd across the street. Fled to Peet's... If I had money that felt like throwing away (which I don't, not with this wisdom tooth extraction coming up that will be expensive -- and I'm not going to launch into a defense of how I spend my money), I would rather give it to my parents & family than to some nameless guy bumming money and yelling at me in the street. Honestly, harassing me does NOT make me want to give you money! Do something nice if you want money. I have been known to drop change into collections when it's for people playing music that I like...
At Peet's I enjoyed the college student vibe, & got some not so special chai. Next time, the special teas are probably more worth the money. Then I realized that my plan to sit quietly and read in a coffeeshop would be difficult, since there was no where to sit. I pretended to look at the loose teas for sale, and then got up the guts to ask a girl sitting with her laptop if I might sit and read at her table. So I sat and read the first few chapters, and plotted how I might retrace my steps to the T station without encountering said panhandler again.
Upon arriving in Porter Square, I remembered that we have a relatively new bookstore right next to us in the shopping complex. I went in, to see if they had a cheaper copy of White Noise (and if I therefore should have gone there)... no copies! Saw a flyer for this Christopher Sawyer-Laucanno, who wrote a biography on Paul Bowles (a writer Quillian once assigned -- he wrote this cool story "A Distant Episode" that I wrote an essay on for Lit. Crit. & Theory). Apparently he's going to be at the store tomorrow, promoting his new biography of EE Cummings. I think I'll go -- hopefully he's going to actually read and not just sign books. If it sounds good, perhaps I'll use my gift certificates for that book & Terry Eagleton's new one...
I bought the most unhealthy thing for dinner ever -- Banquet fried chicken -- every once in awhile I feel the urge to eat really random/ unhealthy things. Like orange soda.
Also edited another story... wonder how many times I'll need to do that before it's "good enough"...
Last night I was getting really into revising & elaborating on some poetry fragments I'd written into my little purple notebook. Looking forward to having a verse writing class again this semester. Feel rather guilty about not taking a 5 college course yet, but there are always things here to take... no other college in the valley is offering a verse writing course this semester, except the intro/level one sorts, and I already had that so it seems silly to essentially retake it. I'm hoping for more freedom in the level 2, and less people in the course just to get rid of requirements.
I've become more addicted than ever to princetonreview.com's message boards for grad school. Keep hoping that I'll get an early acceptance letter so I don't keep worrying that I won't get in anywhere =(
That's all for now... Happy birthday to Merrers & Dale!
Monday, January 10, 2005
Something funny I found through oddtodd.com for Mer:
Here's the story: http://www.sundaytimes.co.za/zones/sundaytimesNEW/basket6st/basket6st1105014896.aspx
Here's the picture:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/050106/photos_sc/mdf814516
Here's the story: http://www.sundaytimes.co.za/zones/sundaytimesNEW/basket6st/basket6st1105014896.aspx
Here's the picture:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/050106/photos_sc/mdf814516
I'm now in Boston, swimming in free time as Andrew is usually at work and will be gone this holiday weekend for a wedding in CA. I originally intended to work for Warm2Kids during the break, but they've been kind of unreliable with actually paying me, and I have plenty of my OWN volunteer work to do! (Because even though the grad school applications are done, you can imagine that fellowship applications are pretty damn similar.) So now I'm working on finding funding for grad school, catching up on sleep, and working on my thesis. I'd also like to read White Noise finally, as soon as I find a used copy. Oh, and there's no connection between the book and the movie, but seeing that movie title plastered on the TV everyday DID serve to remind me about needing to read the novel...
Here's what I've been doing...
Before leaving Oregon, I hung out with Mum, visited Dad once more (thanks to Tim driving me), went along on Mum's visit to her old piano teacher (Lois), visited Shannon at her apartment in Parkdale, & generally just enjoyed being at home. It was pretty sad leaving, and Tim was trying to get me to change my plane ticket and stay longer! Although I'll be in great pain, I'll enjoy being at home after my wisdom tooth removal ordeal in June. On that front, I've discovered a great food that I can eat even while my mouth is "laid up" -- cream of wheat!! Mum hates it, but after having some at a restaurant I told Andrew that we must try to recreate it for our own home use. Yesterday morning we made a yummy batch -- when it's made with milk and supplemented with sugar and cinnamon, it's SO GOOD.
Ok so the plane ride now. I had a short leg up into Seattle. This was on an airbus. It was literally the size of a bus with wings. I did not feel safe. In fact, I felt pretty damn UNsafe in that rickety little swaying contraption. I managed to eat lunch, however, and it was nice having the whole row to myself since the plane was not even half full. After walking freaking half a mile in the Seattle airport, and searching in vain for an AA worker to confirm that I was at the right terminal, I settled down to waiting for an hour till the plane started boarding. Boo!
The flight was OK, they even fed us (although it was gross pasta and marinara sauce, how do you screw up marinara sauce? worse than MHC's!!!). We were even half an hour early into Boston. I was happy. Then the bad news hit, because we all know that there is no such thing as an uncomplicated airplane ride. The pilot came on to say that we'd be stuck sitting on the runway for 20 minutes as they were waiting for a terminal to slip into. I was sitting there like, BS, it's 9:30 PM, the snow/rain was supposed to be done by early evening in Boston, they've had plenty of time to plan for this expected weather and clean up afterwards. I've flown in worse with no problems, what's going on? I accepted this, however, as there is nothing else for a passenger to do but protest and be thrown in jail (according to one obscure passage in the Patriot Act or another). So I sat there for twenty minutes, after being on the plane for over 5 hours while it was in flight. In "compensation," the pilot put on the radio. That did not make me happy. You know that loud underlying hiss noise of airplanes? Well the radio wasn't much louder, and just sounded fuzzy. I was getting a headache from all the noise and the canned air. Then the pilot came back on. His first word was "unfortunately." We all groaned. Another thirty minutes sitting on the f*&#ing runway.
Again, I sat there for the full time. Around 10:30 the pilot came on again. We'd been sitting there for an hour already. He said it'd be "five minutes, and we'll be in shortly." 15 to 20 minutes later the plane actually started moving. The air steward people were no where to be found, so I finally called one out for a cup of water. Hint for airlines: If you keep passengers sitting in an unmoving aircraft for over an hour, you need to AT LEAST offer them water or beverage service to keep them calm. To keep them happy, you should offer free alcohol. In fact, you should always offer free alcohol in case of mishaps. This is what I'm used to when flying, and I was sorely disappointed that I wasn't compensated for my wasted time by the chance to put myself into a fuzzy stupor.
By the time we got off the f*&%ing plane, everyone was practically running to the baggage claim. More bad news there! I could see piles of luggage in roped off areas. That is never a good sign. It means someone screwed up, because that luggage is not with its rightful owner! I waited 15 minutes as the same old luggage that wasn't our plane's floated by, round and round. Andrew magically appeared with Dunkin' Donuts and I whined loudly to him about the horrid state of affairs with AA. After waiting another 15 minutes, and sharing notes of the mishaps witnessed on both our sides, we were convinced that my luggage was not going to appear. Asking an attendant, we found that they already had a freaking form letter and hotline set up to deal with the luggage issue. The lady was uncertain about my using it, however, saying that I hadn't yet waited "30 minutes." I informed her that I had just waited an hour and a f*#$ing half out on the runway, and nearly 30 minutes in baggage claim, and that we needed to catch the T asap. She shut up and handed me the paper with the info. A few minutes later they announced that our luggage was actually coming out for flight 2270, so we headed back over and (miracle of miracles) my bags soon appeared.
Moving on from my American Airlines debaucle... We got home pretty late after all that hassle, and I ate chicken soup and advil to counteract my headache. Slept till about 1:30 the next day (but that'd be 10:30 am Oregon time). Watched Garden State with Andrew in the afternoon, and joined Jon & Jen for dinner, an impromptu viewing of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (to get us psyched up for the new one), and the first Carnivale of the new season.
Tonight we're going to Sugar & Spice for Thai, and doing some food shopping to get ready for the rest of the week. I need to get string cheese and TV dinners for while Andrew's gone this weekend.
Here's what I've been doing...
Before leaving Oregon, I hung out with Mum, visited Dad once more (thanks to Tim driving me), went along on Mum's visit to her old piano teacher (Lois), visited Shannon at her apartment in Parkdale, & generally just enjoyed being at home. It was pretty sad leaving, and Tim was trying to get me to change my plane ticket and stay longer! Although I'll be in great pain, I'll enjoy being at home after my wisdom tooth removal ordeal in June. On that front, I've discovered a great food that I can eat even while my mouth is "laid up" -- cream of wheat!! Mum hates it, but after having some at a restaurant I told Andrew that we must try to recreate it for our own home use. Yesterday morning we made a yummy batch -- when it's made with milk and supplemented with sugar and cinnamon, it's SO GOOD.
Ok so the plane ride now. I had a short leg up into Seattle. This was on an airbus. It was literally the size of a bus with wings. I did not feel safe. In fact, I felt pretty damn UNsafe in that rickety little swaying contraption. I managed to eat lunch, however, and it was nice having the whole row to myself since the plane was not even half full. After walking freaking half a mile in the Seattle airport, and searching in vain for an AA worker to confirm that I was at the right terminal, I settled down to waiting for an hour till the plane started boarding. Boo!
The flight was OK, they even fed us (although it was gross pasta and marinara sauce, how do you screw up marinara sauce? worse than MHC's!!!). We were even half an hour early into Boston. I was happy. Then the bad news hit, because we all know that there is no such thing as an uncomplicated airplane ride. The pilot came on to say that we'd be stuck sitting on the runway for 20 minutes as they were waiting for a terminal to slip into. I was sitting there like, BS, it's 9:30 PM, the snow/rain was supposed to be done by early evening in Boston, they've had plenty of time to plan for this expected weather and clean up afterwards. I've flown in worse with no problems, what's going on? I accepted this, however, as there is nothing else for a passenger to do but protest and be thrown in jail (according to one obscure passage in the Patriot Act or another). So I sat there for twenty minutes, after being on the plane for over 5 hours while it was in flight. In "compensation," the pilot put on the radio. That did not make me happy. You know that loud underlying hiss noise of airplanes? Well the radio wasn't much louder, and just sounded fuzzy. I was getting a headache from all the noise and the canned air. Then the pilot came back on. His first word was "unfortunately." We all groaned. Another thirty minutes sitting on the f*&#ing runway.
Again, I sat there for the full time. Around 10:30 the pilot came on again. We'd been sitting there for an hour already. He said it'd be "five minutes, and we'll be in shortly." 15 to 20 minutes later the plane actually started moving. The air steward people were no where to be found, so I finally called one out for a cup of water. Hint for airlines: If you keep passengers sitting in an unmoving aircraft for over an hour, you need to AT LEAST offer them water or beverage service to keep them calm. To keep them happy, you should offer free alcohol. In fact, you should always offer free alcohol in case of mishaps. This is what I'm used to when flying, and I was sorely disappointed that I wasn't compensated for my wasted time by the chance to put myself into a fuzzy stupor.
By the time we got off the f*&%ing plane, everyone was practically running to the baggage claim. More bad news there! I could see piles of luggage in roped off areas. That is never a good sign. It means someone screwed up, because that luggage is not with its rightful owner! I waited 15 minutes as the same old luggage that wasn't our plane's floated by, round and round. Andrew magically appeared with Dunkin' Donuts and I whined loudly to him about the horrid state of affairs with AA. After waiting another 15 minutes, and sharing notes of the mishaps witnessed on both our sides, we were convinced that my luggage was not going to appear. Asking an attendant, we found that they already had a freaking form letter and hotline set up to deal with the luggage issue. The lady was uncertain about my using it, however, saying that I hadn't yet waited "30 minutes." I informed her that I had just waited an hour and a f*#$ing half out on the runway, and nearly 30 minutes in baggage claim, and that we needed to catch the T asap. She shut up and handed me the paper with the info. A few minutes later they announced that our luggage was actually coming out for flight 2270, so we headed back over and (miracle of miracles) my bags soon appeared.
Moving on from my American Airlines debaucle... We got home pretty late after all that hassle, and I ate chicken soup and advil to counteract my headache. Slept till about 1:30 the next day (but that'd be 10:30 am Oregon time). Watched Garden State with Andrew in the afternoon, and joined Jon & Jen for dinner, an impromptu viewing of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (to get us psyched up for the new one), and the first Carnivale of the new season.
Tonight we're going to Sugar & Spice for Thai, and doing some food shopping to get ready for the rest of the week. I need to get string cheese and TV dinners for while Andrew's gone this weekend.
Tuesday, January 04, 2005
Today I slept in, read, about finished my grad school apps (must just read everything over, print, choose writing samples, and send off), took Bosun on a walk, and relaxed. Bosun ran away from me when I was trying to walk him. He barked at me when I called to him, encouraging him to hurry his ass up and catch up. He sniffed a moment longer and ran back down the trail to the house, so I ran after him. I tackled him halfway back, and he lost his balance and fell. Then I tried to herd him back up to the ditch, and resorted to walking him on his leash. He insisted on going down to the frozen ditch for a drink, so I tried to break the ice for him. Then he went out on the ice himself, and his back legs kind of splayed out like he was trying to do the splits. He looked mighty confused, and then got the hell off the ice. When we got home, I gave him one of those chewing ears that Mer bought for him, and he grunted and walked away from me. Crazy old basset.
Check this out Mer: http://postgazette.com/pg/04363/433410.stm
Check this out Mer: http://postgazette.com/pg/04363/433410.stm
Ahh I can't believe Andrew & Mer are gone already! Had such fun... Going to taco night with the girls (and Andrew), staying up late New Year's Eve playing Trivial Pursuit (Lindsey & I won!! yay us!!), watching the illegal fireworks, trying to make ice cream out of snow, going to dinner at the Crazy Pepper (thanks Mer for the gift certificate -- Andrew understood why I love that place after taking just one bite), watching cheesy 80s movies...
Saturday afternoon we were lazing around on our last unplanned day, watching videos of the house being built, and Mum suggested a hike. Luckily Andrew & I didn't wimp out -- Tamanawas was beautiful with the layer of snow over everything. We rushed to the falls, and it was sooo worth the 2 miles of slippery snow. I didn't remember what it looked like -- very impressive... a sheer drop off with water pouring over. Andrew took 70 pictures along that hike!!
Afterwards, at home, we warmed up by the fire and drank hot chocolate. Yums. I made mine from scratch (as in baker's chocolate, sugar, some of a chocolate bar, and milk). Helped Mum make scalloped potatoes, and Andrew & I made the sugary & marshmallowy sweet potatoes. Our efforts at a fancy dinner were thwarted by the sudden break down of the oven. The range top worked, so we finished dinner by frying up ham and microwaving potatoes. Ack!! [This problem is due to be fixed next Tuesday, so it looks like me and Mum won't be doing the twice-baked potatoes.] In the evening we watched Spaceballs (so cheesy).
Sunday was taking Mer back to Corvallis day. Saw her lilac room, hunted about for a certain pair of shoes, helped Mer change her sheets and make the bed while Andrew put her cushy chair together. We kept forgetting things for Mer in the car, so I made two trips up to her room after our goodbyes (and she still forgot her gum! But don't worry Mer, I won't chew it, I promise!) Then Mum started honking and we yelled at Mer's window from the street to get her attention, as a particularly cute basset was going by. Are we the most embarrassing family members a first year college student could get stuck with? Yes.
Coming back I slept, using Andrew as a pillow. Then in the middle of the night we brought him to the airport. Going back to bed in the half empty house was tres sad =( I miss you, Schmoopy! And me and the Dtub can't get used to Mer being gone! Luckily I worked with Mum today so I didn't mope around the house. I worked a bit on applications and read some more of my book... Tim's worried about the pipes freezing.
I found liquorice altoids today. SO GOOD!
Saturday afternoon we were lazing around on our last unplanned day, watching videos of the house being built, and Mum suggested a hike. Luckily Andrew & I didn't wimp out -- Tamanawas was beautiful with the layer of snow over everything. We rushed to the falls, and it was sooo worth the 2 miles of slippery snow. I didn't remember what it looked like -- very impressive... a sheer drop off with water pouring over. Andrew took 70 pictures along that hike!!
Afterwards, at home, we warmed up by the fire and drank hot chocolate. Yums. I made mine from scratch (as in baker's chocolate, sugar, some of a chocolate bar, and milk). Helped Mum make scalloped potatoes, and Andrew & I made the sugary & marshmallowy sweet potatoes. Our efforts at a fancy dinner were thwarted by the sudden break down of the oven. The range top worked, so we finished dinner by frying up ham and microwaving potatoes. Ack!! [This problem is due to be fixed next Tuesday, so it looks like me and Mum won't be doing the twice-baked potatoes.] In the evening we watched Spaceballs (so cheesy).
Sunday was taking Mer back to Corvallis day. Saw her lilac room, hunted about for a certain pair of shoes, helped Mer change her sheets and make the bed while Andrew put her cushy chair together. We kept forgetting things for Mer in the car, so I made two trips up to her room after our goodbyes (and she still forgot her gum! But don't worry Mer, I won't chew it, I promise!) Then Mum started honking and we yelled at Mer's window from the street to get her attention, as a particularly cute basset was going by. Are we the most embarrassing family members a first year college student could get stuck with? Yes.
Coming back I slept, using Andrew as a pillow. Then in the middle of the night we brought him to the airport. Going back to bed in the half empty house was tres sad =( I miss you, Schmoopy! And me and the Dtub can't get used to Mer being gone! Luckily I worked with Mum today so I didn't mope around the house. I worked a bit on applications and read some more of my book... Tim's worried about the pipes freezing.
I found liquorice altoids today. SO GOOD!
Thursday, December 30, 2004
| OK so I've avoided posting on here for awhile, but I have a good excuse! Here at home (in Oregon) the computer is in the laundry room, and when that washer goes on spin cycle it feels like a 5.5 earthquake! Here's what I've been up to:
At MHC: I did indeed finish all my work, and I didn't give up sleeping. The last English class was fun, and I turned in all my Spanish work. I started feeling sick I think on Tuesday, so Weds. I just met with Prof. Moran, slept, and got a little work done. I made a 2.5 page outline for a 5 page paper -- I think it went OK... Thursday I felt better, which was lucky, because the Winter Social was that evening. The ESB arrived early to decorate and set up the refreshments (which were yummy), and we hauled an old bookcase down into the Cassani Room to serve as a podium (we forgot to order one). It was so lovely... Jaime helped me introduce people (thank God), and Prof. Davis read from Sedaris and Louise Erdrich. Prof. Hill read something from Thomas Mann involving icesicles, and Prof. Stephens read selections of poetry. Prof. Berek talked to us later about a course he's teaching next semester, and Prof. Stephens's daughter was so so adorable while running about. Maryanne said the next day that things came together well, so I'm happy! I went back to my room and was a tad bit sad about that being my last winter social at MHC. Anyway, I wrote the criminology paper, and studied for the American Lit. exam. Friday I took the early test, turned everything in, wrote thank-you cards for my profs, endured a tense lunch at Wilder, and then packed that afternoon. D. Becky was able to bring me to the bus station, so we had a good chat and I realized I'm not very good at getting out of my routines and just traveling and living by the moment! This was prompted by talking about Becky's plans for travel, and of course the things she's already done which scare me (especially the mice in the tent part). Said goodbye to Becky and it finally sank in that I was done with the semester... ack. Hopped on the bus to Boston, dragged my luggage from the terminal to the T, and then met up with Andrew at the Porter T stop, where he patiently waited for me while my bus was late! That evening we ate a real dinner (yay no more dining hall food for awhile!) and relaxed. We watched Elf, which was awesome. Saturday Andrew's father arrived fairly early, and we went with Jon and Jen to the aquarium for the afternoon. Saw Myrtle the turtle again, and the puffer fish. Then we wandered around in Quincy Market, and searched the North End for this particular Italian restaurant that Jon had been to before. I had chicken and pasta and artichokes and veggies in some sort of chicken and wine sauce... yums. Very relaxing and wonderful, esp. after finals and turning in 5 grad school apps! Afterwards we went to Mike's for pastries, which we later devoured at Jon & Jen's apartment. Chocolate cake with cheesecake... sooo good. We were really tired that evening... The next morning we woke up fairly early to meet up with Andrew's dad at the Neighborhood for breakfast. It's this cool place that serves American/ Portuguese breakfast -- the cream of wheat was AMAZING. Creamy and with cinnamon... I could eat that every morning. Back home I napped and Andrew finished another application. Then I worked on my applications while he went off to buy sushi supplies to use with his new rice cooker (from his dad for Hanukkah). The first roll was a little sloppy, but the second was professional looking -- even Kory thought so. We tried to keep up the theme with miso soup and salad with rice vinegar. Some difficulty over the avocados -- we ended up with a "slimcado" which was huge and with like 40% less fat than a normal avocado. Yums =) That Monday was consumed with grad school applications and packing. Early Tuesday morning I dropped off three applications at the post office and we were on our merry way to the airport. Luckily we got a ride there, it was so much less stressful than taking the T would have been. We played travel scrabble, watched an episode of the OC, napped, watched some SNL, watched A Shark Tale, and relaxed... best plane ride ever! At the airport we met up with Mum & Mer, and stopped by at Grammy's on the way home. Arriving at the new house was amazing... And exploring it! Last time I was here it was just a framework. Everything was perfect...I love it! My room has a skylight, the living room windows capture a great view of Mt Hood... ahh! So since Andrew has been here, we've been trying to keep busy. That night I remember eating enchiladas and unpacking a bit after exploring the house. The next day I got the metal bar in my mouth removed (8 years I wore that after my braces were removed!) and Mer took Andrew on a hike while I had my teeth cleaned. Hmm. I think Mer's blog is probably more accurate at this point, but I remember we went shopping in the Dalles one day before Christmas, and I wrapped a bunch of stuff. We trimmed the tree to Amahl and the Night Visitors (see Mer's blog -- Licorice! Licorice!), went to Arlene's for Christmas Eve (MacKenzie was adorable dancing to her singing guitar), had a quiet Christmas here at home and dinner with Grammy, visited my Dad, went up to Timberline Lodge and had hot cider, etc... Two days ago we went on a hike up at Laurance Lake, watched Dodgeball... hmmm I hope I'm not mixing up my days... The day before yesterday Mer had friends over, and we all went on a walk, had bbq-ed hamburgers, played games, and roasted marshmallows over the bonfire... Yesterday was our big Portland trip... Andrew drove, which was funny... We went to the zoo in Portland which wasn't too crowded since it was a pretty dismal day, saw tigers, elk, jaguars, hippos, owls... Saw some of the "zoo lights" before we left. Then we stopped at Powell's where Mer had a rendezvous with Alex, and we sat in the cafe drinking odwallas and coffee. Next stop was Buffalo Exchange, where I found cool jeans and Mer found 3 pairs of pants in like ten minutes. Our parking time was running out, so we just ran into the same big dressing room and threw jeans at each other to try on while frantically looking in the mirror to see if the jeans made our butts look baggy or OK. Fastest shopping trip ever! Next we really really needed to eat something (we hadn't eaten since breakfast). Andrew & I flipped through the remnants of the restaurants section in the yellow pages at a pay phone booth, and saw half an ad for Thai Orchid. I really wanted mango fried rice and/or pad thai, and this place was just 12 blocks up. Luckily we squeezed into a parking spot, and the restaurant looked nice, so we settled on that place quickly. No mango fried rice, but everything was great, and we introduced Mer to Thai food (and tea!!) She liked it, yay =) After dinner we waddled down to a Goodwill that was right next door, and Mer found ANOTHER two pair of pants, one a retro style pair of Gap jeans that I wish I could squeeze into. On the ride home we got stuck at the same weird alley-looking area that points to I-84, and then I had the bright idea to stop at Multnomah Falls. Pretty even though it was dark out... Back in Hood River we split a PB cup blizzard and got high on sugar. Last night we played another game of Scrabble in which I lost (boo!) OK now must go eat! (I know, it's the common theme in my blogs.) |
Monday, December 13, 2004
It's been awhile... Short story of why: Grad school applications and the end of the semester.
Andrew and I have had two super productive weekends here at MHC, while still managing to have fun. Last weekend I think we worked Friday night, most of Saturday (until we went to dinner at a Korean restaurant & got ice cream at Herrell's), and most of Sunday (until we went to Vespers). I loved Vespers, and we sang Mum's favorite "O Come all Ye Faithful." When the lights were out and the choir walked up the aisle holding candles, Andrew turned to ask: "Are we getting inducted into a cult?" It was a funny moment. And I wasn't bored during the boring parts (ie, songs without words in English or Spanish). Handbells were great!
The past week was crazy with grad school applications. 5 down, 5 to go. Oh yeah, and between last Thursday and last Tuesday, I wrote 29 pages of my thesis!!
This weekend we had more fun -- Friday we played Balderdash (I'm never going to live down the Scottish landlord's infamous eviction notices) with Emily & Julia & Korisha, Saturday we did a little mall shopping (so many crying children and irritated parents) & went to Karuna's very fun birthday party, Sunday we slept in and did a little more shopping, had dinner at Judie's. It took me 20 minutes to decide what to order.
More on Karuna's birthday --
At one point, D Becky carried me back into the sun room. Andrew didn't know where Shakespeare was born. I was very loud (I hope not too annoying). Claudia & Kim will never again be on the same Trivial Pursuit team. Very fun! =)
OK now back to the essay for class tomorrow. Here's the countdown: this essay, memorize a poem, write a 5 pager for Criminology, take the English self-scheduled exam, turn in my 395 progress report, and write thank-you's for my recommenders. I'm hoping to make my grand exit on Friday night.
Andrew and I have had two super productive weekends here at MHC, while still managing to have fun. Last weekend I think we worked Friday night, most of Saturday (until we went to dinner at a Korean restaurant & got ice cream at Herrell's), and most of Sunday (until we went to Vespers). I loved Vespers, and we sang Mum's favorite "O Come all Ye Faithful." When the lights were out and the choir walked up the aisle holding candles, Andrew turned to ask: "Are we getting inducted into a cult?" It was a funny moment. And I wasn't bored during the boring parts (ie, songs without words in English or Spanish). Handbells were great!
The past week was crazy with grad school applications. 5 down, 5 to go. Oh yeah, and between last Thursday and last Tuesday, I wrote 29 pages of my thesis!!
This weekend we had more fun -- Friday we played Balderdash (I'm never going to live down the Scottish landlord's infamous eviction notices) with Emily & Julia & Korisha, Saturday we did a little mall shopping (so many crying children and irritated parents) & went to Karuna's very fun birthday party, Sunday we slept in and did a little more shopping, had dinner at Judie's. It took me 20 minutes to decide what to order.
More on Karuna's birthday --
At one point, D Becky carried me back into the sun room. Andrew didn't know where Shakespeare was born. I was very loud (I hope not too annoying). Claudia & Kim will never again be on the same Trivial Pursuit team. Very fun! =)
OK now back to the essay for class tomorrow. Here's the countdown: this essay, memorize a poem, write a 5 pager for Criminology, take the English self-scheduled exam, turn in my 395 progress report, and write thank-you's for my recommenders. I'm hoping to make my grand exit on Friday night.
Friday, November 26, 2004
First off: Happy Birthday, Mum!!
Secondly: Happy (belated) Thanksgiving!
The NYT again pointed out things that I am mad about. First, Maureen Dowd wrote a great op-ed piece on why airline security is getting out of hand, embarrassing, and even starting to look like sexual harrassment. And why we should be angry: It does sh*t. Yes, believe it or not, making women drink their own breast milk and feeling up 70 year old women's breasts is not, somehow, preventing terrorism. Hard to believe isn't it? I mean with a game plan like that, how could anything slip through? If you want to learn more, check out the NYT for Nov. 25th. It's worth it.
And most importantly, Republicans are trying to push through a bill that would entirely cut the Pell grant program. Because obviously education isn't important, nor is helping to level the playing field so that people like me can go to college, and not just the Bush family kids (who, if they are anything like W, are not very smart). Now I'm going to cite some of the editorial "Undermining the Pell Grants" in case you don't believe me:
"The pending cut could cause as many as 1.2 million low-income students to have their grants reduced - and as many as 100,000 could lose their grants altogether...The Pell program, which is meant to help students pay for tuition and other expenses, like books and housing, has been gravely underfinanced for a long time. Congress has tried to mask the problem by tricky bookkeeping. In particular, Congress failed to revise the maximum grant to keep pace with rising costs. Left untouched for a decade, the aid formula is still capped at around $4,000 a year - far less than what it takes to support a college student...the Republican leadership has advanced a proposal that could slash the program...by roughly $300 million. Eliminating the resources to help needy and qualified students go to college will not even put a dent in the nation's growing deficit, but it will greatly diminish opportunities for upward mobility for the nation's youth."
For the article, go to www.nytimes.com Definitely worth reading. I am completely shocked that first abortion rights are being threatened, and now Pell grants. And we're still in November of the first month of Bush's second term! Can't this administration do anything right? If we're going to dump billions of dollars into a waste of a war, can't we at least reserve a few million to educate our own bright youth? The program was designed to help students with the grades to do well in college to go, despite economic disadvantages. This cut would clearly hurt the working class and lower middle class by preventing their children from having the chance to make a better life for themselves. Wtf is wrong with this administration??
Sunday, November 21, 2004
Because it's funny and it's Brownlow and it's on our daily jolt page:
"If you take a porpentine [porcupine] and get it really mad, its hairs will separate like it had washed its hair with no conditioner, you know?"- Professor Brownlow, discussing Hamlet, Shakespeare
Also: went to Variasians for the first time Saturday. Good Thai iced tea, but that warm coconut drink I couldn't drink (it reminded me of soap or something that I didn't feel like I should be drinking). The food was good besides that though, and it was great fun to sit with Kathleen and Heather and watch the show. The Chinese ribbon dance was gorgeous. And the dance involving a brass plate. Made me wish I could dance. Watched SNL at D Becky's. I don't think people really got The Falconer. I don't like U2's new song. Becky's bunny was as cute as ever!
OK, back to the Spanish paper...
"If you take a porpentine [porcupine] and get it really mad, its hairs will separate like it had washed its hair with no conditioner, you know?"- Professor Brownlow, discussing Hamlet, Shakespeare
Also: went to Variasians for the first time Saturday. Good Thai iced tea, but that warm coconut drink I couldn't drink (it reminded me of soap or something that I didn't feel like I should be drinking). The food was good besides that though, and it was great fun to sit with Kathleen and Heather and watch the show. The Chinese ribbon dance was gorgeous. And the dance involving a brass plate. Made me wish I could dance. Watched SNL at D Becky's. I don't think people really got The Falconer. I don't like U2's new song. Becky's bunny was as cute as ever!
OK, back to the Spanish paper...
Friday, November 19, 2004
Last weekend: The GREs. Yes, the trivia and "fun facts" for English majors. A little under half is straight identification of passages (matching up authors and titles, authors and passages, you get the idea), and then there's the multiple choice literary analysis sections. So, yeah, it basically is totally useless. Despite this fact, while I was going through it I can honestly say I was rather enjoying myself. I did the best I could, although I guessed more than I should have. Definitely some familiar territory after all my own reading and my studying. Odd coincidence: Thomas Pynchon made an "appearance" on The Simpsons in a paper bag. Yes, in disguise, even as a cartoon.
After the test, I found Andrew in the library and we went to Amherst for some of the homecoming game. The main attraction was the reception afterwards, where there were cookies to be had. Also, went to a book signing for some Amherst profs and their new (very funny) book. At one point they had a joke about how profs. should retain a class's attention by hiring a work study student with a particularly loud or inviting laugh, and the prof. pointed at me right afterwards and said "you'd do well." Andrew laughed at me =)
Also had a celebratory (in my mind it was very much a celebration, anyways!) dinner in Noho, with sushi. And then I had a very large Herrell's ice cream (burnt sugar and butter with fudge on top. Sooo good. If there's a heaven it should involve eating Herrell's ice cream).
Sunday we worked quite a bit, moving from study area to study area. I finished one book, started another I think... Introduced Andrew to Pratt library (a new favorite).
On the application front, I have sent out my general GRE scores and transcripts.
I have a new and I think better idea for my final Spanish essay, involving Cabeza de Vaca (yes, you heard right, good ole Head of Cow himself) and Hans Staden. Andrew, with his vocabulary of maybe 200 Spanish words, was very worried about that name. Apparently, Cabeza de Vaca's father or grandfather or some male ancestor plopped a cow skeleton on a plot of land to claim it, and from then on, they were known as the Cabeza de Vacas. Profesora seemed interested, I believe her exact words were: "That could be interesting," so I'm plunging ahead.
This evening I went to Falling Bodies (Mary Jo Salter's play) with the Across The Lake crew, and I think we were rather evently split on who did/ didn't enjoy it. Jaime and I were laughing at some points, I remember specifically when we both were like "Comus!" when Milton mentioned the masque he wrote. And the Andrew Marvell and Donne allusions...And the nun in a box...
Yeah.
Further news: Merrie's on facebook, and she revealed a post-makeover photo to me.
Pink Poodledog: haha! mer!
Pink Poodledog: that's a cute picture there
Pink Poodledog: wow, it looks like mascara and eyeliner and shadow...
muskrateer86: yeah, the whole works
Pink Poodledog: and your hair! so cute --
muskrateer86: I decided to preserve the moment because it'll probably never happen again
Pink Poodledog: pretty eyes mer -- see, you should always wear that stuff when you dress up
Pink Poodledog: hahahahaha
After the test, I found Andrew in the library and we went to Amherst for some of the homecoming game. The main attraction was the reception afterwards, where there were cookies to be had. Also, went to a book signing for some Amherst profs and their new (very funny) book. At one point they had a joke about how profs. should retain a class's attention by hiring a work study student with a particularly loud or inviting laugh, and the prof. pointed at me right afterwards and said "you'd do well." Andrew laughed at me =)
Also had a celebratory (in my mind it was very much a celebration, anyways!) dinner in Noho, with sushi. And then I had a very large Herrell's ice cream (burnt sugar and butter with fudge on top. Sooo good. If there's a heaven it should involve eating Herrell's ice cream).
Sunday we worked quite a bit, moving from study area to study area. I finished one book, started another I think... Introduced Andrew to Pratt library (a new favorite).
On the application front, I have sent out my general GRE scores and transcripts.
I have a new and I think better idea for my final Spanish essay, involving Cabeza de Vaca (yes, you heard right, good ole Head of Cow himself) and Hans Staden. Andrew, with his vocabulary of maybe 200 Spanish words, was very worried about that name. Apparently, Cabeza de Vaca's father or grandfather or some male ancestor plopped a cow skeleton on a plot of land to claim it, and from then on, they were known as the Cabeza de Vacas. Profesora seemed interested, I believe her exact words were: "That could be interesting," so I'm plunging ahead.
This evening I went to Falling Bodies (Mary Jo Salter's play) with the Across The Lake crew, and I think we were rather evently split on who did/ didn't enjoy it. Jaime and I were laughing at some points, I remember specifically when we both were like "Comus!" when Milton mentioned the masque he wrote. And the Andrew Marvell and Donne allusions...And the nun in a box...
Yeah.
Further news: Merrie's on facebook, and she revealed a post-makeover photo to me.
Pink Poodledog: haha! mer!
Pink Poodledog: that's a cute picture there
Pink Poodledog: wow, it looks like mascara and eyeliner and shadow...
muskrateer86: yeah, the whole works
Pink Poodledog: and your hair! so cute --
muskrateer86: I decided to preserve the moment because it'll probably never happen again
Pink Poodledog: pretty eyes mer -- see, you should always wear that stuff when you dress up
Pink Poodledog: hahahahaha
Wednesday, November 10, 2004
Oh wow it's been a long, long time since my last post... OK, quick sum up!
Halloween weekend: dog-sitting. Phantom of the Opera = very cool, loved it, the music was amazing, and the singing... ahh. Dale's party was fun and I wish I could have stayed longer... but as it was I was seeing shadows all the way home after the scary movie!
The following weekend: Andrew came out, we studied at the Thirsty Mind, in the Stimson Room, etc. Breakfast at the cute Roadside Cafe was yummy. Taboo with Katie and Karuna and Jasmine very fun (and funny). I got my letter of rec materials together. We had dinner Sunday at Fresh Side (very good). We stayed up late editing my personal statement.
This week: Lots o' the busies. I got my GRE scores back, 5.5 on the writing... I guess that's OK, but I felt like I deserved a 6! I wrote so much, and I thought it was coherent (at least at the time). Prof. Moran scared the heck out of our whole class about our midterm, but me and Sheyda were sitting together and were like "what's going on? we did well..." And I think I should have gotten an A, but I believe my test was the first one he graded (ie, before he read all the other papers, which he called the "worst batch he's ever gotten"). Because the only things he didn't like were that I didn't explicitely use the term "scientific method," and that I repeated myself a bit in the conclusion (well, duh). Blah!
Lovely dinner with Dale, Nora, Liz, Erin, Jaime, & Laura tonight. Oh and the cookies at the Stimson Room tea today were amazing. And the berry tea. Yums. What else... Oh yes, it's bitterly cold out. And my heater is a beast, it's constantly pumping out heat. Everyone says my room feels like a sauna. YES! I love it. This is the first year I've had a room that was actually well heated. So I'm enjoying it to the fullest, delighting in the luxury of leaving my window wide open and still feeling comfortably warm. GO FM!! For one the inaccuracies in the heating system are working to my benefit...
OH YES. And the F*CKING FIRE DRILL last night at 3 in the MORNING! What the hell use is a fire drill at 3 am when no one takes roll, checks in people's rooms, etc.? Except for breeding apathy? THE BOY WHO CRIED WOLF, MHC, REMEMBER THE BOY!! Stop the insanity!! There is no EARTHLY reason why I need to be woken up at 3 in the morning to go up and down the freaking stairs. All it teaches me is that, when I hear the fire alarm, it is JUST A DRILL, so I may as well take my TIME and find my coat and put on socks and shoes before I go outside. PRETTY COUNTERPRODUCTIVE!!!!!! And to all those who say it's the law or some such nonsense: Some laws really need to be re-evaluated by semi-intelligent people, because these fire drills are not in the least little bit helpful. GROWL!!!! Add that to the list of things I definitely WON'T be missing next May!
And the other angry thing that has happened since I last posted: Bush. What the hell, America, were you thinking? Yes, it's a good idea to ignore the environment, with our high cancer rates, why should we worry about the environment we exist in? And I totally agree that we should spend 200 billion dollars in Iraq instead of educating our children, providing our citizens with affordable healthcare, or balancing the budget. Oh yeah, so there weren't WMD? And S.H. never threatened us or our liberties? Who cares! Let's just make even MORE people mad at us, because that will really help in lessening the number of people that hate America so much they start terrorizing us. ARGH! GROWL!!!!! And I won't even get started on gay marriage or abortion rights!
Life is so depressing sometimes!
OK, now back to work, no more ranting (till tomorrow).
Halloween weekend: dog-sitting. Phantom of the Opera = very cool, loved it, the music was amazing, and the singing... ahh. Dale's party was fun and I wish I could have stayed longer... but as it was I was seeing shadows all the way home after the scary movie!
The following weekend: Andrew came out, we studied at the Thirsty Mind, in the Stimson Room, etc. Breakfast at the cute Roadside Cafe was yummy. Taboo with Katie and Karuna and Jasmine very fun (and funny). I got my letter of rec materials together. We had dinner Sunday at Fresh Side (very good). We stayed up late editing my personal statement.
This week: Lots o' the busies. I got my GRE scores back, 5.5 on the writing... I guess that's OK, but I felt like I deserved a 6! I wrote so much, and I thought it was coherent (at least at the time). Prof. Moran scared the heck out of our whole class about our midterm, but me and Sheyda were sitting together and were like "what's going on? we did well..." And I think I should have gotten an A, but I believe my test was the first one he graded (ie, before he read all the other papers, which he called the "worst batch he's ever gotten"). Because the only things he didn't like were that I didn't explicitely use the term "scientific method," and that I repeated myself a bit in the conclusion (well, duh). Blah!
Lovely dinner with Dale, Nora, Liz, Erin, Jaime, & Laura tonight. Oh and the cookies at the Stimson Room tea today were amazing. And the berry tea. Yums. What else... Oh yes, it's bitterly cold out. And my heater is a beast, it's constantly pumping out heat. Everyone says my room feels like a sauna. YES! I love it. This is the first year I've had a room that was actually well heated. So I'm enjoying it to the fullest, delighting in the luxury of leaving my window wide open and still feeling comfortably warm. GO FM!! For one the inaccuracies in the heating system are working to my benefit...
OH YES. And the F*CKING FIRE DRILL last night at 3 in the MORNING! What the hell use is a fire drill at 3 am when no one takes roll, checks in people's rooms, etc.? Except for breeding apathy? THE BOY WHO CRIED WOLF, MHC, REMEMBER THE BOY!! Stop the insanity!! There is no EARTHLY reason why I need to be woken up at 3 in the morning to go up and down the freaking stairs. All it teaches me is that, when I hear the fire alarm, it is JUST A DRILL, so I may as well take my TIME and find my coat and put on socks and shoes before I go outside. PRETTY COUNTERPRODUCTIVE!!!!!! And to all those who say it's the law or some such nonsense: Some laws really need to be re-evaluated by semi-intelligent people, because these fire drills are not in the least little bit helpful. GROWL!!!! Add that to the list of things I definitely WON'T be missing next May!
And the other angry thing that has happened since I last posted: Bush. What the hell, America, were you thinking? Yes, it's a good idea to ignore the environment, with our high cancer rates, why should we worry about the environment we exist in? And I totally agree that we should spend 200 billion dollars in Iraq instead of educating our children, providing our citizens with affordable healthcare, or balancing the budget. Oh yeah, so there weren't WMD? And S.H. never threatened us or our liberties? Who cares! Let's just make even MORE people mad at us, because that will really help in lessening the number of people that hate America so much they start terrorizing us. ARGH! GROWL!!!!! And I won't even get started on gay marriage or abortion rights!
Life is so depressing sometimes!
OK, now back to work, no more ranting (till tomorrow).
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