In the Room

February required two playlists. One for the first part of February, and then one for Mock Trial competition.

February 2009 playlist:
You Will Be My Ain True Love - Alison Krauss and Sting
Electrical Storm - U2 (The William Orbit mix)
El Tango de Roxanne - Moulin Rouge soundtrack, Ewan MacGregor and some other people
February (live) - Dar Williams (cliche I know but terribly appropriate)
Ta Se In Am Domsa Eiri - Fine Friday
Breakin' Dishes - Rihanna
Erin - Solas
at one point Ruins by Melissa Etheridge was also on there, but at that point I only had 4 songs on the list and they were all in the same key, and I decided it was too much. The curses of having a ridiculous pitch memory. Also it was far too depressing a song to be listening to incessantly.

Mock Trial playlist: (keep in mind that many of these songs were added by my teammates, so don't judge just me, judge them too)
City of Blinding Lights - U2
Green Light (feat. Andre 3000) - John Legend
Don't Stop Believin' - Journey
Stronger - Kanye West
Breakin' Dishes - Rihanna
Pump It - Black Eyed Peas
Human - The Killers
Miss Independent - Ne-Yo
Ay Chico (Lengua Afuera) - Bulldog
Dead and Gone (feat. Justin Timberlake) - T.I.
What's Your Fantasy - Ludacris and Shawna
Live Your Life (feat. Rihanna) - T.I.
I'mma Shine - YoungBloodZ
Yeah! - Usher

if there was an option to have a censored version of any of those songs, we did not have the censored version.

What should have been included on that playlist, however, were the following:
I'm On A Boat - The Lonely Island
Jizz In My Pants - The Lonely Island
because we were all singing those two songs constantly all weekend.

Needless to say, it was quite the explicit weekend.


Now I'm doing laundry with my wonderful wonderful roommate, and I am drinking Boylan's ginger ale (made with real cane sugar!) and eating Kinder chocolate, and we are traipsing along struggling like hell through midterms.

Overheard on the Playground

Today was warm-ish, so when Kidlet #3 and I went to pick up Kidlet #1 from school, we got to sit around outside while big sister played on the playground.

There was a quite intense football game going on to my left, with a 2nd-grade-ish age girl clearly dominating the 4 boys she was playing with. I smiled at her as she was on the bottom of a dogpile, on top of the football, and later she decided to sit on the bench next to me. I said "You're kicking their butts, aren't you?" and she pointed and said "Well it's because he's a first grader" and then ran back into the game.

Of course, the inherent superiority that comes with being a second grader.

The first grade boy that she had pointed out ran by, saying "I'm too young to die!" and then immediately picked up his speed for a tackle.


Five boys, ranging in heights and ages it seems, were playing some fighting game, who knows. A very tow-headed, very small, and very indignant little girl stomped into the middle of them and screamed "I just wish everyone would get bloody noses!"


Kidlet #1 ran up to me with her friend, and kindly introduced me to said friend. I told her that her baby brother was getting sleepy, and I was getting cold, so she had five more minutes. She said "Ok five more minutes, that's all right" and then turned to her friend and said, in the exact same tone of voice, "Can we go back to the boat? I'm running out of air." and they ran away towards the monkey bars.

Sunday Morning Talk Shows

This is a really nice article about the extended First Family. I especially enjoy everything about Craig Robinson... I'm hoping to someday be on the same DC to Oregon plane or something.

It's weird to think that I could run into someone really famous, or someone related to someone really famous, just by walking down the street in this city. I'd likely have no idea, because who can identify all 441 voting and non-voting Representatives by face alone? I could only pick David Wu, Earl Blumenauer, and Eleanor Holmes Norton from a crowd.

I mentioned Representatives because I'm pretty sure I know people who could pick out all 100 Senators from a crowd.

Today was 61 degrees here in the District. we are supposed to get snow and ice on Tuesday. Silly East Coast!

Bed? What?

The Drop-In

Reasons why this is the best semester that could ever happen:

+ Maeg is my roommate. 'Nuf said

+ I get to read Latin American, and quite often magical realist, literature every day.

+ I get to dance 3-4 times a week, and eventually probably 5 times a week

+ I get to study my most favorite era of American Presidents, Teddy Roosevelt through Bill Clinton, and I get to do it with Adam in my class!

+ I get to golf.

+ I can basically teach CPR and first aid with my eyes closed and my hands tied behind me, and so even though the professor is a complete dickwad, I get to learn something easy! that I already know! and get 3 credits, and recertified!

+ I get to nanny 3 adorable children, and then at the end of the day I get paid for it! And also at the end of the day I get to go home from the 3 children!

+ Can I just say Chamber Singers?

+ Can I just say Chamber Singers tour to Hungary and Romania?

+ I have recently really discovered my intense love of tea, so I get to drink tea!

+ Three of my professors are grandmas, and one is even the Queen of England!

+ President Obama. mmmmmhm.

+ haha Maeg just did a funny Sarah Palin impression!

+ Mock trial will be over by the third weekend in February, which is soon.

+ it will be SPRING and WARM soon! not only does this mean I can wear less than 3 layers at all times, it also means I can wear cute things!

+ I freaking LOVE DC and because of my (mostly) easy classes this semester, I will actually be able to spend time in it???? maybe.

+ I am finally me.



Reasons why this semester will not be as good as it COULD be:

- I won't get to see my adviser very frequently, because her office hours are in the middle of my giant block of classes on Mondays and Thursdays!!

- My first aid/CPR professor is a complete dickwad.

- ....



that's it.


Dear Mrs. Maeg's Mom:
You make freaking delicious brownies.
Love,
me


I think I'm psychic about good days. Yesterday night I declared to my sister "yay tomorrow, it will be a good day"

And it was!! I got up on time, got to class on time, classes were all good, Chamber Singers was a crazy laughing-fest, I made delicious rice in my rice maker, and then mock trial was another crazy laughing-fest, which was completely not productive other than the fact that it was really good bonding.

I have done this sort of predicting before. I enjoy this skill that I have.

About tomorrow I have no feeling, other than I know I will be very tired and cranky at 8:15 when I need to leave for 8:30 class with Professor Dickwad.

The Leadership Breakfast

This is a long and non-Inauguration related post.

Someone once told me that Cameron Crowe would make a mixtape every month of all the songs he couldn't get enough of that month. Once you looked at all his mixtapes over the span of howeverlong, you could kind of see the stages in his life he was going through, depending on the types of songs.

I realized that I was already doing this, mostly with my On-The-Go playlists, so I decided to put a little structure to it. I went back in time to my old On-The-Gos and realized I had an October. I didn't do much in November, that entire playlist would probably consist of will.i.am's Obama election song anyway.

Here are my most recent playlists, with songs in no particular order.

October 2008
Take Me Out - Franz Ferdinand
Sweet Dreams Are Made of This - Eurythmics
The Weight - The Band
When You Were Young - The Killers
My Sharona - The Knack
Sweet Home Alabama - Lynyrd Skynyrd
Living On A Prayer - Bon Jovi
Don't Stop Believin' - Journey
Sahra - Khaled
What We Need More Of Is Science - John Benjamin Band
All These Things That I've Done - the Killers
How Sweet It Is - James Taylor
Hey Julie - Fountains of Wayne
Are You Ready for Love - Elton John
Sweet Escape - Gwen Stefani
Some Kind of Wonderful - Grand Funk Railroad
Chariot - Gavin DeGraw


December 2008
Ring the Alarm - Beyonce
Crazy in Love - Beyonce
Push Up On Me - Rihanna
Lose My Breath - Destiny's Child
U +Ur Hand - P!nk
Independence Day - Melanie C
Lemme Get That - Rihanna
Survivor - Destiny's Child
Piece of Me - Britney Spears
Live Your Life - T.I. and Rihanna
Single Ladies - Beyonce


January 2009 (so far)
Chasing Cars (Live) - Snow Patrol
Sitting, Waiting, Wishing - Jack Johnson
City of Blinding Lights - U2
I Will Possess Your Heart - Death Cab for Cutie
Slow Dancing In A Burning Room (Live) - John Mayer
The Crane Wife 3 - The Decemberists
Southside Revival - Blue Scholars
The Funeral - Band of Horses
Mr. Jones - Counting Crows
O Valencia! - The Decemberists
Light My Candle - Original cast of Rent
Pity and Fear - Death Cab for Cutie
You Sang to Me - Marc Anthony (obviously because this song was at the Ball)
Miss Independent - Ne-Yo

I'm particularly proud of January so far. Actually now that I think of it, October might actually be November anyway. whatever.

A Change is Gonna Come

I'm on a U2 kick right now, mostly because they rocked HARD at Sunday's concert, and obviously I have spent my entire life underestimating this band?

my two favorite parts are when Bono thinks and thinks and thinks, and decides to do it even though he'll probably get in trouble... and says "and also a Palestinian dream!"

and then also, "What a thrill for four Irish boys, from the North side of Dublin, to honor you, sir, the next President of the United States, Barack Obama, for choosing this song to be part of the soundtrack of your campaign, and more besides."

Ah, Bono. Now I see why the Hemmenator is so in love with you.

Oh, I also love it when the Edge jumps around a little bit.

Maeg is teaching me about U2
about Larry - "He's a really sick drummer, he's also in this sexy mermaid video"
about Adam - "he's like the cheeky one" then she did a really funny impression
about The Edge - "he and Bono are like brothers, kinda got some gay tension going on but not really"



Moving on.

Basically, the concert on Sunday was amazing. The Inauguration was amazing. The Western States Ball was amazing. Getting up on Wednesday morning was kind of amazing, kind of not amazing. I would have preferred not getting out of bed, of course, but the day was just so bright.

Some of my favorite pictures from the whole shebang, not taken by me:

I love this picture for two reasons.

1) He's talking to the coffee server. Who does that? He does that. Does anyone else think that this coffee server was likely not spoken to once by President Bush? He's talking to the coffee server!!

2) He's holding Michelle's gloves.


Source: Time.com




Another one of my favorites is this one, which I cannot directly rip off. You will have to go look at it.
Sasha!!! You are Too Freaking Cute! I can't handle it.








Look at how proud Malia is of her dad.

Also, the Lincoln Bible is so small!



Source: Time.com



Yes, this is Beyonce weeping as she sings Etta James' "At Last" to the President and First Lady.

Combination of three of my favorite things: the Obamas, bein' fancy, and Beyonce.

They still look awake here. By the time these two got to the Western States, they were practically holding each other up for their 30 seconds of exhausted swaying.


Source: Time.com


I'm still hoarse and slightly sick, and I feel like I'll be tired forever. I love DC. I love love love being here, and I love that I love my country and my President today.


More in the future.

Edited to add:

Maybe this isn't one of the best pictures, but mostly I just want to rub in the fact that I saw Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony sing a duet in Spanish at the Ball.


JLo obviously copied the First Lady when it came to the white one-shouldered gown. Marc Anthony was so cute about her.

There had been a cover band, which was good but obviously a cover band. Then there was a set change, and the new band on the other side of the room was playing "You Sang To Me." I had no idea what Marc Anthony looked like, so for 30 seconds or so, I was thinking "Man, that's a really good cover. Wait... that's a REALLY good cover" and then I decided that it was Marc Anthony.

Also, the brand new baby Senator from Colorado introduced himself to me as "Michael." It was a good night for famous people and me, and famous people and me together.

I may keep adding randomly to this post, I may make new posts. We'll see how spastic my memory is. At some point I'll try to write something that is coherent.

Inauguration

The text of the Right Reverend V. Eugene Robinson's invocation at yesterday's opening ceremony for the Inauguration. This wasn't broadcast on HBO or NPR. It was the first of many things yesterday, including the remarks from the O-Man himself (who will thankfully be dropping a few syllables from his title in a couple of brief hours), which brought tears to my eyes.


O God of our many understandings, we pray that you will bless us with tears – tears for a world in which over a billion people exist on less than a dollar a day, where young women in many lands are beaten and raped for wanting an education, and thousands die daily from malnutrition, malaria, and AIDS.

Bless this nation with anger – anger at discrimination, at home and abroad, against refugees and immigrants, women, people of color, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered people.

Bless us with discomfort at the easy, simplistic answers we've preferred to hear from our politicians, instead of the truth about ourselves and our world, which we need to face if we are going to rise to the challenges of the future.

Bless us with patience and the knowledge that none of what ails us will be fixed anytime soon, and the understanding that our new president is a human being, not a messiah.

Bless us with humility, open to understanding that our own needs as a nation must always be balanced with those of the world.

Bless us with freedom from mere tolerance, replacing it with a genuine respect and warm embrace of our differences.

Bless us with compassion and generosity, remembering that every religion's God judges us by the way we care for the most vulnerable.

And God, we give you thanks for your child, Barack, as he assumes the office of President of the United States.

Give him wisdom beyond his years, inspire him with President Lincoln's reconciling leadership style, President Kennedy's ability to enlist our best efforts, and Dr. King's dream of a nation for all people.

Give him a quiet heart, for our ship of state needs a steady, calm captain.

Give him stirring words; We will need to be inspired and motivated to make the personal and common sacrifices necessary to facing the challenges ahead.

Make him color-blind, reminding him of his own words that under his leadership, there will be neither red nor blue states, but the United States.

Help him remember his own oppression as a minority, drawing on that experience of discrimination, that he might seek to change the lives of those who are still its victims.

Give him strength to find family time and privacy, and help him remember that even though he is president, a father only gets one shot at his daughters' childhoods.

And please, God, keep him safe. We know we ask too much of our presidents, and we're asking far too much of this one. We implore you, O good and great God, to keep him safe. Hold him in the palm of your hand, that he might do the work we have called him to do, that he might find joy in this impossible calling, and that in the end, he might lead us as a nation to a place of integrity, prosperity, and peace.

Amen.

I am the biggest dork ever

I'm still a little bit weepy over THIS.

Five Votes Down

You should watch the whole 5 minutes, but this is the coolest part ---

from 4:17 to the end, this is the answer to the question from Thaddeus in Lansing, MI, "Is the new administration going to get rid of the 'don't ask don't tell policy[?]"...
Robert Gibbs, incoming press secretary in the Obama administration: "Thaddeus, you don't hear a politician give a one word answer much, but it's yes."

Like I needed more reason to be in love with the administration-elect?

I would be happier if they got the rest of their GLBT-agenda-ducks all in a row. I suppose that's something we can work on. Like Michelle Goldberg says, Gibbs doesn't elaborate on how long it will take, or what it will look like, and Rick Warren will still be giving the Invocation at the Inauguration, and President-Elect Obama still opposes same-sex marriage BUT it seems to be a step forward! I am being optimistic.

In that video, by the way, the No Child Left Behind/Education answer was totally campaign-y (hello? you won? now do stuff?), and the universal healthcare question was barely even worth that politicked answer. Overall I'm pretty pleased so far.

In Inauguration News, the Metro has shown definite signs of preparing for the 20th! They have added many many 8 car trains (as opposed to the standard 6), and there are Metro Police everywhere, and of course there was the incident with the Two Metro Dudes, and also there are announcements about the train schedules for Inauguration Weekend ALL the time.

It basically rocks.

Stirred

A funny thing happened today as I was riding home on the Metro. Very ... odd.

After the Grosvenor-Strathmore station, the train goes into the underground tunnel on its way towards downtown. It honked the horn, which is not abnormal, and honked a lot, which is a little abnormal but not terribly strange. I was reading made-up case law for mock trial and wasn't paying attention when the train came to a dead stop in the middle of the tunnel. Not terribly unusual.

I did pay attention when half of the door (only half) nearest me opened, and two Metro employees climbed in with flashlights and bright yellow vests and what looked like purple gas masks? One of the guys banged on the conductor's compartment and said "THANKS HAPPY NEW YEAR MAN" and then the train kept going. The two Metro dudes stood around reading newspapers that they picked up from the floor of the train.

Then, one of them said "we're in Bethesda," talked to the conductor for like 10 seconds, and went back to reading the paper. Between Bethesda and Friendship Heights, the train stopped again in the middle of nowhere, the shrimpy white pasty dude got out his keys, crouched down and opened the door, and the two Metro dudes jumped down and disappeared.

In Excelsis Deo

It's December 28, and there are three days left in 2008. The kittens are eating delicious kitten food, my tummy is full of barbecue Fritos and clementines, I've finally caught up on the current season of CSI (thanks to Netflix on demand), and so it is time for the year-end wrap up!!

Year: 2008

Age: 20

Idol: Tina Fey. and Martin Sheen.

Favorite Song: Of the entire year, that would probably be "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right," originally by Bobby D, but I enjoy the Peter Paul & Mary version, or Joan Baez with the Indigo Girls. Presently, "Live Your Life" by T.I. and Rihanna.

Prized Possession: my kittens. but if we're talking material goods, it is not a close second- my silk organza cocktail dress from BCBG. also, kittens.

Best Shoes: Oh frick, all of them. I got a pair of BCBGs that I really love but they don't fit because I haven't doctored them yet. I have a lot of shoes and I love them all. I have a new pair that I enjoy highly.

1. What did you do in 2008 that you'd never done before?
-Got kittens!
-took a break from school
-lived in my own apartment, for which I paid my own rent
-got to choose a roommate instead of having one assigned to me
-quit my job
-volunteered for a political purpose
-VOTED FOR PRESIDENT
-seen a counselor I liked on a regular basis
-played golf
-helped organize a charity golf tournament

2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I am pretty sure that my resolutions in 2008 were to "be a college student" and "get grades." so... I was halfway good on each of those.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Yes, well, in the family. there is Baby Cleo, and also Baby Beloved. Also, the mother of my kittens. Ok that doesn't count.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
Stella :(

5. What countries did you visit?
um. USofA.

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?
more energy, more focus (on small and big levels), and more organizational skill

7. What date(s) from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
May 2
August 1
October 3
November 4


8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Living on my own and not going crazy! being independent in like a million ways.

9. What was your biggest failure?
the Russian Revolution.

10. Did you suffer any illness or injury?
Yeah I had freaking Disease Of The Century that kept me in bed for a week and a half.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
Ok... obviously my kittens. $80, two for the price of one! other than that, hard to say. Love my Ikea furniture, and all the clothes I got, and all the music I bought, and the movies, and the shoes.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Gaby Fox. Tina Fey.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Jorja Fox. Sarah Palin.

14. Where did most of your money go?
rent, furniture, kittens, clothes, shoes. probably in that order.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, the West Wing, weekends, Obama rally at AU, Election Day. Not in that order.

16. What song(s!) will always remind you of 2008?
We Looked Like Giants - Death Cab for Cutie
Run - Snow Patrol
When You Were Young - The Killers
Sahra - Khaled
Don't Stop Believin' - Journey
All These Things That I've Done - The Killers
Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It) - Beyonce
Piece of Me - Britney Spears
Umbrella - Rihanna
Push Up On Me - Rihanna
Live Your Life - T.I. and Rihanna
Yes We Can - Wil.I.Am

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? hm. likely happier.
ii. thinner or fatter? probably about the same
iii. richer or poorer? richer?
iv. younger or older? I am exactly one year older.

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
going out into DC.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
sucking at life.

20. How will you be spending Christmas?
Well, I went to midnight mass (or as close to it, as Dean Lloyd said) at the National Cathedral, and sat across the aisle from Joe "Toolbag" Scarborough and his exceedingly attractive family. Then on Christmas day I slept pretty much all day, and cleaned my apartment.

22. Did you fall in love in 2008?
NO Thank God

23. How many one-night stands?
what?

24. What was your favorite TV program?
-30 Rock
-The West Wing
-Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
-Sports Night
-Scrubs
-The L Word
-CSI

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
Ugh. Yes.

26. What was the best book you read?
Um I didn't read that much, unfortunately. One Day of Life by Manlio Argueta was pretty powerful. that's all I can remember.

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Rihanna. Yeah, that's right. also, hip-hop/rap, and dancehall, and electronica. Vienna Teng, though with her I have more discovering to do. Scissor Sisters.

28. What did you want and get?
kittens. a job. a temporary boy toy.

29. What did you want and not get?
the ability to concentrate.

29.5. What did you get and not want?
well, the freaking virus I had. and cat barf on my bed.

30. What was your favorite film of this year?
I don't know that I have one favorite. Here's a short list.
-Monsoon Wedding
-Outsourced
-In America
-The Mission
-Bull Durham
-WallE

31. What did you do on your birthday?
Ate cake, went to a baseball game. But really my birthday was 3 weeks long, and in that time I did a lot of shopping for me.

32. What surprised you most this year?
that Americans are smarter than I thought.

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?
numerous.

34. What kept you sane?
My friendssssss, my kittens, sleep, my friends, Deanna, ballet, choir, my friends, Eileen freaking Findlay, Amanda, Oregon, the zoo, my friends, Dar Williams, my sister.

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Tina Fey. I... FANCY YOU. Martin Sheen. Bradley Whitford.

36. What political issue/news story stirred you the most?
oh maybe this little thing called the new President-Elect. fired up and ready to go!
also... Prop 8.

37. Who did you miss?
Gaby, Emily, Dinisha, Maddy, Lindsey, Paige, Natalie, Deanna, my sister and my mommy, Stella, more Stella, and more Stella

38. Who was the best new person you met?
Maeg and Niki. also, Zoe and Rhett. and Tara. and Robyn, and Martin, and Fed, and Nan and Jake, and I guess Bob is pretty cool. some of those were technically 2007.

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008:
It is perfectly acceptable to spend a year spoiling yourself (also known as putting yourself first for once).

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
I cried my tears
for three good years
you can't be mad at me

also

just live your life

but mostly

in the unlikely story that is America
there has never been anything false
about hope

Transition

Bad days suck.

Terrible days suck really badly.

Days where you start off with a splitting headache and come to work 2 hours late, get chastised not once or twice but three times for the fact that it's ridiculously hard and sometimes nearly impossible for you to do your job to your bosses' standards, and then you walk home at 8pm in the sheets of ice cold rain with no rain boots but just satin ballet flats from Old Navy and tears streaming down your face along with the rain and you get splashed by the cars zooming down the Rockville Pike which only makes you cry harder... those days suck really really badly.


On the other hand, those days make some little things seem really amazing.

Like when you get to the Rockville Metro station, you see that the up escalator is broken, but the Metro fixer dudes remembered to switch the down escalator to go up so you don't have to walk up all the stairs at normal speed.

Like when you press the elevator button in the Tenleytown Metro, you don't have to wait because the elevator is waiting there just behind the doors, ready to chime and open just for you.

Like when you get home and your kittens are warm and cuddly and very cute and so hungry and so happy to see you. purr meow chirp meow meow purrrrrrr

Like when you go over to your friends' apartment to see if they are up for hanging out and destressing, they are all sitting on the couch in your very own standard sitting position under a big blanket and watching the series finale of one of your very favorite TV shows. And then those friends help you start looking for a new job!!!

Also, like this.

Happiness: November 30

THING THIRTY:

Ok, today is the last day of Month of Happiness. Rough, right? so here we have a good one.

Stomping in puddles!!! wearing rain boots!!!

I was on my way to work today, and it was raining, and I was cranky a little bit mostly because I was going to work on the weekend. I stomped along the bridge over the Pike, which is the safer way for me to go to work albeit a little longer, because it doesn't involve me crossing 11 lanes of Death Traffic, but only 4 lanes of Death Traffic. there are big wide steps at the end of the bridge that lead down to the Rockville Town Centre (it's -re instead of -er, because the Rockvillains Rockvillians out there in 'burbtown are verrrry sophistique), which has a delicious California Tortilla, and also a movie theater, and some other stuff.

On the 7th step down, I could see that there was a puddle! and so I figured that it would be the perfect time to jump off the 6th onto the 7th. So I jumped with both feet/polka dotted boots.

Turns out the 7th Step Puddle was much deeper than I expected! Suddenly I was soaked up to my knees, and down inside my boots, and simultanously I remembered that I had experienced 7th Step Puddle previously, with a similar result... only at that time, I was in my Danskos and didn't splash, but did end up briefly standing in 2 inches of water.

I was dismayed for about 4 seconds, until I realized: I had just splashed in a big puddle! AWESOME.

Then I stomped in three or four more puddles on the way. None quite as deep, but still satisfactorily splashy.

I am incrimentally realizing how much I love it when it rains. It makes me cranky for a little while, until I realize how infrequently it does rain here. and really, that is what makes me cranky.

Washington DC, I command you to be more like Oregon!!!

Egg Nog Frappucino and Snowman Gingerbread Cookie (Day 29)

I offered to trade with my sister, who is doing NaPhoPoMo on her blog, so that she could post a happy thing today and I could post a photo, so here I have a photo for today that I took!

Ok this is a little bit more consumerist than I would like, but this is what made me happy today:

it is out of focus because it is my cell phone camera, and these things happen.

An egg nog frappucino and a gingerbread snowman cookie from Starbucks!! The key here is the egg nog and the gingerbread cookie, not the "frappucino" or "snowman" or "Starbucks." Actually the snowman bit was pretty cool, and I had a really hard time eating his face; he was just so happy!!

There was Christmas music playing, which was okay, even though it's only 2 days after Thanksgiving, because it was all pretty good. In fact, the second song that I heard after I arrived was by Alison Krauss, and Alison never ever gets old.

Anyone in DC want to go ice skating right now? The rink in the Sculpture Garden at the National Gallery of Art opened 2 weeks ago and I haven't been yet...

Happiness: November 26, 27, 28

Okay I have been lazy... or busy and sleeping and eating. So here are some happy things!!!

THING TWENTY-SIX: good dance music! This includes Single Ladies, and Piece of Me (I know, months later and I'm still obsessed with the song), as well as the MJ classic Beat It, and above all, any pajduska, or cocek. (you really just have to watch that video, of the weird Serbian dude...)

THING TWENTY-SEVEN: Stuffing. I just really love stuffing. with or without pinenuts. I hate celery in almost all forms, unless it's in stuffing. Apricots in my stuffing, great. Gravy on or off, great. freaking. love. stuffing. also, most of the rest of Thanksgiving food, but especially stuffing.

THING TWENTY-EIGHT: Etsy.com. Seriously! so great! you can find soooo much cool stuff (for example), and usually at pretty reasonable prices with super awesomely cheap shipping! I really want this, with the year 1859, but I could probably find similar/better for cheaper, so I am waiting.

Happiness: November 25

THING TWENTY-FIVE: Baloney Cat. You might find this lame, but the following picture, without fail, always makes me happy.

(from icanhascheezburger.com)

This cat sings the baloney song to me in a Cookie Monster voice. man it just looooves its lunchmeat.

and really, who doesn't?

So whenever I am feeling crappy, or someone else is feeling crappy, I open up this picture and then dance around my apartment singing Baloney Cat's baloney song. I mean, literally, 4 minutes ago, I was crying because I read a sad obituary, and then I thought "well there's nothing I can do about it, so I'm going to look at Baloney Cat" so I did, and now I feel much better. and my throat hurts a little from doing Baloney Cat/Cookie Monster's voice. so worth it.

Happiness: November 24

THING TWENTY-FOUR: what makes me happy today is combining multiple Happy Things!

Currently, I am working on Thing 18, Thing 22, and Thing 23, with a modified Thing 3 (I am reading ExpressNightOut, which is the online version of Thing 3's job, and it is this which is causing Thing 18).

I feel a little like an Oregon hippy transplanted to DC... oh wait!

Happiness: November 23

THING TWENTY-THREE: Well, today seems to be the right day for me to profess my love of salad.

salad salad salad.

A couple weeks ago, we were trying to decide what we were going to have for lunch (a life-or-death dilemma every.single.day), and all of a sudden one of my bosses goes "GIANT! SALAD! SALAD!??? GIANT!! SALAD!!!!" and I stared at him for about three seconds and broke out laughing. Then he looked at me as if I didn't know what he was talking about, which I obviously didn't. Apparently Giant Food has a crazytastic salad bar, a la Whole Foods, but cheaper? by about $1/lb. but still, that adds up when you get 4 pounds of salad.

That salad was mighty delicious. Especially since Giant Salad Boss bought! that is always nice.

I had another salad today! this time it was a post-mock trial breakdown from Whole Foods. 2 pounds of lettuce, beets, garbanzo beans, carrots, corn, peas, a chunk of char, some maple sweet potatoes, three whole wheat dumplings, some shrimps, grilled mango, and some dressing that was mislabeled as balsamic vinaigrette but tasted more sesame-ish, a shot of curry pumpkin soup, and then also some of my friend Lauren's rice and curry chicken. I especially love salad when it has 3 million random things included with it!

Happiness: November 22

THING TWENTY-TWO: I FREAKING LOVE NPR.

NATIONAL. PUBLIC. RADIO. I LOVE YOU.

Last night in the cab home from formal, I realized the radio was tuned to WAMU, and suddenly started professing my undying love for NPR. The cab driver giggled at me, and then I continued to explain all the programs I listen to... It was really dorky but you know what? I don't care. because NPR and me, we're like this:

Happiness: November 21

THING TWENTY-ONE: Ice cream sammiches!! I have had two in the past two days! it's 32 degrees out and has been snowing on and off, so I figure now is as good a time as any to have ice cream sammiches.

mmm, high fructose corn syrup.

Also another thing that makes me happy, the word sammich.

Happiness: November 20

THING TWENTY: Yes, I'm posting late and post-dating back to the 20th. But it's for a good reason. Because Thing That Makes Me Happy #20 is a clean apartment! and clean sheets! and a clean litterbox! and clean laundry (put away!!!)!

Clean fridge and clean dishes are coming up next.

also, I clean the litterbox every day, but I really just wanted to add something more to the clean theme. and it makes the kittens happy.

Happiness: November 19

THING NINETEEN: going to bed early!!

going to bed early with kittens!

Slow News Day

Except it's not really slow! the media just wants us to THINK it's slow because there's nothing outrageous that Amy Winehouse has done in the past 24 hours,

Three news stories which should be a huge deal for everyone, but you probably don't know much about. Here, I have done the first step in your research:

1. Somali Pirates! This shit is CRAZY. these pirates (far more Johnny Depp than Napster) have been taking over ships and holding them ransom. And then India blew up one of the pirate ships! It's very exciting and dramatic, but I'm also kind of worried that the Somali Pirates will take over the world. This is the Next Big Thing.
   
2. Cyber bullying is really shitty. This adult woman pretended to be a 16 year old boy online, and deceived a 13 (THIRTEEN!!) year old girl, ended up telling the girl that no one would ever want her and that she'd be better off dead. The girl hanged herself. Not ok, folks, not ok. Also, this is a huge deal because it's going to revolutionize Internet law, of which there is relatively little currently.
   
3. VP Cheney and former AG Gonzales were indicted yesterday in South Texas. I don't understand it other than that it involves federal prisons. We'll see more on this in the future, likely. Here is another article about the same story, but with a really funny picture.
   

I fully expect you to take this and run with it. Do research! Google News is your friend! Learn about what is happening! It's worth putting off your homework for. The world is more important than stats problems.

Also it was 20 degrees outside when I left for work today. augh!

Happiness: November 18

THING EIGHTEEN: Laughing. Ok, that's cliche. but it's more specific than that!

My enjoyment of laughter causes me to appreciate other things! Things such as:

• Wait Wait, Don't Tell Me! I know my momma says it's bad for me, but I like to listen to the podcast of Wait Wait before I go to sleep at night. She says it will give me weird dreams, but it doesn't seem to. I just really love laughing as I fall asleep. Nothing during the day can bother me, and stuff can't hang over my head, because I'm laughing at something Paula Poundstone said to Tom Brokaw. I like that. The side effect of this, of course, is that I repeat episodes because there is only one a week, and I have to fall asleep 7 days in every week. I think I am probably their most avid listener. I listen nearly every single day!
  

• 30 Rock Yay for Netflix! I have the 3rd disc of Season 1 right now. and I'm being surprisingly good about not watching it all at once!

• Tina Fey, in general

• funny things that my kittens do, such as beg me for piggyback rides, and knock things over and then look at me like "You can't do anything to me, because (a) you love me and (b) I'm really cute!" This is the kind of situation in which I look sternly at kitten on top of bookshelf, with glass on carpet (unbroken, thankfully) and 50 bottlecaps all over everywhere, and then I turn around and giggle, so he can't see me.
  

• RUBY JUNE!!!!!!!

Happiness: November 17

THING SEVENTEEN: The voicemail from my sister that I got on Saturday night! My phone died, and I just checked my messages today because I'm lame at checking voicemail.

"[robot woman voice] Next message, received Saturday November 15th at 5:17pm [end robot woman voice, begin sister woman voice] I put Ruby in my sweatshirt, and it's really funny. Your phone went dead; I hope that you're not being mugged. Ruby's wearing my sweatshirt. Okbye!"

For anyone who is not familiar, this is Ruby:

(She's the new puppy that's coming with us to the White House)

Yes. She is very silly. This is why she makes me happy! Both Ruby, and my sister!!

Happiness: November 16

THING SIXTEEN: Soup. Soup makes me really happy.

TOO BAD I DON'T HAVE ANY.

Happiness: November 15

THING FIFTEEN: Protests!!!!

Today a friend from high school, who is in DC, and I had lunch on Capitol Hill, and then headed over towards the Capitol reflecting pool to find the protest against California Proposition 8. or perhaps, the rally in support of overturning Prop 8, or maybe just the rally in support of gay rights. In any case, we were like 2 hours late, so by the time we got to the reflecting pool, after walking through five minutes of torrential downpour, the march was already at the Washington Monument.

We didn't know it was quite that far ahead of us, so we ended up getting sidetracked in a bunch of people with Tibetan flags, which I finally realized was the protest against China at the G20 summit today, here in Washington. The Chinese guys were across the street, with Chinese and American flags. Go Tibet!!




Further down, past the Monument, we finally caught up with the couple thousand people marching. we were going towards the White House when suddenly Marine One flew over and landed on the South Lawn! so that was pretty cool. Then we ended up in Lafayette Park, which is where we were on Election Night, only there were far less people, but the same general spirit of excitement that comes when you have a large group of people together excited about doing things.


And so that was the first two protests, and then of course there is the protest against nuclear warfare that has been in front of the White House since the late 1980s, I believe. So those were my three protests today!!

(I edited the colors and stuff on this so you could read the sign a little better--it just looked like "Marriage Bigotry," which is not the point at all)

Then I protested going to choir by accidentally sleeping until 5 minutes after call time, so I showed up 35 minutes late. However, this turned out to be fortuitous, because first! I was walking up Massachusetts Avenue and saw two flying squirrels on a tree! and then there were loud sirens, which is not out of the ordinary, but it was for the South Korean Presidential Motorcade! So I saw some flying squirrels and the South Korean President('s limo and other cars)!!!

kitten is protesting the flash on my camera.

this is what happens when you wear your most favorite cushy comfy socks in your Danskos in the torrential rain. They're so soaking you can see my toes through them, and these are thick socks. You're lucky I didnt take a picture of the bottom... it's pretty gross.

Also, because I have been slacking on on-time posting lately, here is a bonus happy thing:



it starts a little lame but it gets really good, so just wait for it.

Happiness: November 14

THING FOURTEEN: This is an abstract thing, but hopefully it makes sense. The thing that makes me happy today is things that are familiar.

For example, I was in the elevator coming up from the Metro yesterday and saw a dude with an old Nokia candy bar phone, which just happened to be very similar to my mom's first (or maybe second) cell phone. Something about his phone was very comforting. Like a blast from the past. Simpler times, when phones didn't take pictures or video or have the internet. Not that I don't love those things, because I do.

And then tonight I had a meeting with a professor that I had in Freshman year. We weren't meeting on anything in particular, we planned just to have s soda or whatever, and chat about the election. We didn't talk much about the election, but instead mostly about me, which made me uncomfortable a little bit. In any case, she's one of my favorite professors ever, and she reminds me that good, intelligent people always exist somewhere.

Happiness: November 13

THING THIRTEEN: Ethiopian food! I'm craving it. no time this weekend, unfortunately. :( also, expensive, and far. but it will make me sooo happy when I get it!!

Happiness: November 12

THING TWELVE: THIS makes me so. freaking. happy.

Woo Oregon!

Keith Olbermann on Proposition 8

However much I think that Keith Olbermann is a tool, he has some very poignant and emotional things to say.



Too bad the man didn't vote...

Happiness: November 11

THING ELEVEN: Maybe this is a cop-out for today, but I'm cranky because I have to go to work on Armistice Day/Veterans' Day, and my eyeballs hurt and my head hurts and my face hurts.

Anyway! Complaining is not the point of November posts! the point is happiness.

What makes me happy on November 11, 2008:

SLEEP!!!!

Enough said, I believe.

Happiness: November 10

THING TEN: THIS GIRL!!! she is right here also-->


Once upon a time... from Capucha on Vimeo.

Ten happy things already! and still 20 more to come! I'm very excited.

Happiness: November 9

THING NINE: Planning surprises for other people. I can't say more than that, because of, you know, it being the internet and all. I'm terrible at it, though, I always want to tell the person what I got her! or him! my mother and sister both have extensive experience with this.

I was going to try and find a clip of the crazy surprise lady on Saturday Night Live, but now I'm just distracted watching funny sketches, so I'm just going to go ahead and post.

Edit: I can't find the first one, so here's the second one Surprise Lady sketch.

Happiness: November 8

THING EIGHT: Random dance parties. I just got home from dinner and a movie with some girls from freshman year, who I barely ever see. I texted Maeg to see if my friends were still awake when I got home, and when she didn't respond I just decided to go over anyway. The music was really loud and so I knocked for like an hour, and then I heard Tim say "I hope that's Marika!" and hey! It was. Everyone was there, playing Apples to Apples, and it was so fun, even though we stopped playing when Niki got home because she hates the game.

Then we danced around to Prince and Queen (total coincidence on the names) and the Beatles and a little bit of everything else. we couldn't get Maeg to dance but it's ok, because she's going to be my roommate, and I forgive her. She was very floppy, and it was very funny.

PS! me and Maeg are moving in together!

Happiness: November 7

THING SEVEN: Yogurt-covered pretzels. Seriously. These things are the shit. It's like, two of my favorite things, yogurt, and pretzels, but combined!

When I was in grade school I had pretzels in my lunch almost every day, and frequently yogurt as well, and at some point I got the brilliant idea to dip my pretzels in the yogurt. so good. Turns out it's even better when the store has already made it for you, with delicious caked-on yogurt that I'm sure is full of chemical additives to give it its wonderful sweetened hardness.

White chocolate covered pretzels are also delicious.

Happiness: November 6

THING SIX: Gummy LifeSavers. Chock full of delicious corn syrup, that is what it's all about!

Ok I lied. Really my favorite thing is this: finding new places that were there all along! For example, today I went into the WVAU studio for the first time ever. I'm pretty sure the only other time I've been in a radio station is KMUN, in Astoria, but that doesn't really count because I don't really remember it. The only time I was there for a substantial amount of time was to read bedtime stories once with Margit, and I think I might have been 12.

In any case, this awesome studio is tiny but really cool. I was there while my friend Michal was DJing, and it just seemed so magical that she could be working two turntables and two CD players and a complex-looking board that adjusted levels and I don't know what and she could make it all look so easy. So I hung out there for a while and was mystified by the workings of this place that has been there all along, I've just never seen it!

The kittens got a new bag of food, so Thing One is back in action.

Also, I really do love gummy LifeSavers. I ate a whole bag of them today in about 7 minutes. It was awesome.

Omnes una manet nox

One night awaits us all. 

I didn't take my camera last night downtown, which is probably good because it would have broken, I know it. So you'll just have to believe my saga.

Niki and I drove with Meris, Dashy, Tanya, and Mark to Dashy's apartment in Dupont-ish area. as soon as we got out of the garage, we see hundreds of people running. Of course, we decide to run with them! Niki and I get separated from the other 4, and we just kept running and running down the middle of the street, screaming and shouting "I love you!" and "We did it!" and high-fiving and hugging people leaning out their car windows. 

We had no idea where we were, so Niki and I hailed a cab and told him to take us to the White House. He said "Still?" and we said "YES!" and then I made friends with him. He is from Iran! I told him that I would like to go there someday. We got out of the cab and gave him like a 70% tip, and then started running some random way, screaming and hugging the whole way. 

Somehow we realized we were going the wrong way, so we turned around and went back towards our goal, the White House. We had just hugged and high-fived a block full of people and we did covered the same folks all over again. A random guy with a snare drum appeared out of nowhere, so we started following him and screaming "O-BA-MA!" to his drum beat, and it turned into a little mini-parade through the park that's behind the White House (Liberty Park? something like that. It's supposedly haunted. very creepy).

We finally got to the front/back of the White House (the back is technically the Ellipse side, and you can get much closer to the back, but most people don't know that, so we were at the front but it seems like it's the back), and there were at least a couple thousand people there. Throngs and throngs of people. A giant cardboard cutout of President Elect Obama, people with signs, people with flags, people with drums. Everyone hugging everyone. High fives for all. conversations with people who had to be at work at nine, just like me, about how we changed the world tonight. Everyone screaming Congratulations we did it, Yes We Can, Yes We Did. 

At some point we met a man from Kenya, who gave Niki his email address because she's going to Kenya next term. He's going to hook her up with his cousins in Nairobi! Hugs all around. 

We finally caught a cab, split with some random guy from some small news network, but then we actually drove past Mark, Meris, Tanya, and Dashy, so we hopped out, tipped the driver 120% or so (he drove us maybe 1/2 a mile, and we were in love with everyone), and got in Mark's car to get home. We drove all the way home with the windows down, screaming out the window at every person we saw. 

Oh, and at some point on the street we made friends with a random French dude, and he was on the phone with the French radio, so we were on the radio?? I screamed in French "VIVE LA FRANCE JE VOUZ AIMEZ" which I'm not sure is right. I spoke some French to someone else from France, and he said I had a good accent even though I spoke the wrong words to him (I told him "bonne nuit, which I knew is wrong, but still. Oops.) And then I ran across some people from Spain, and I yelled at them "VIVA ESPANA" as they were sucked back into the crowd. And I missed Lindsey, and everyone who is abroad, and wished that you all had been there dancing in front of the White House on this wonderful night of victory

VICTORY

OBAMERICA!!!!

Happiness, November 5

THING FIVE. Drinking tea to soothe my sore throat, but this only qualifies as a Happy Thing because of the source of my sore throat. Standing in front of the White House at 3am on Election Night with at least 1,000 other people and hugging literally every person I come across and screaming "We did it!" and "Congratulations!" and "Can you believe it!" and "O-Ba-Ma!" at the top of my lungs is a good reason to have a sore throat. And a sore throat is a good reason to have tea.

So really, this is kind of like Victory Tea.

Election Day, Part III (THREE!!!)

Guys. I just got back from the White House. THE WHITE HOUSE.

Remind me to post about it in the morning. OH WAIT IT IS THE MORNING. AAAH!!!!!

Omnes una manet nox

Oregon: unsafe at any speed

Election Day, Part II

WE WOONNNNNNNNNNN

Cheers, Senator McCain. Great concession speech. Good campaign, minus the whole Governor Palin bit. You're a good man. Great Senator.

MSNBC is reporting 338-156 EV

No news yet on CA Propositions 4 and 8, but SD defeated their abortion ban bill, and marijuana has been decriminalized in MA and MI.

FLORIDA, OHIO, NEVADA, VIRGINIA, this shit ROCKSSSSS

Edit 1: Tim just said, "Our work starts tomorrow." How true.

Election Day, Part I

So, folks. It's Election Day. I'm already going insane.

From fivethirtyeight.com, here is a list of 10 reasons why I should be ignoring exit polls.

1. Exit polls have a much larger intrinsic margin for error than regular polls.
2. Exit polls have consistently overstated the Democratic share of the vote.
3. Exit polls were particularly bad in this year's primaries.
4. Exit polls challenge the definition of a random sample.
5. Democrats may be more likely to participate in exit polls.
6. Exit polls may have problems calibrating results from early voting.
7. Exit polls may also miss late voters.
8. "Leaked" exit poll results may not be the genuine article.
9. A high-turnout election may make demographic weighting difficult.
10. You'll know the actual results soon enough anyway.

Nevertheless, in Dixville Notch, New Hampshire, the first city to vote in primaries and general elections, there were 15 votes for Senator Obama, and 6 votes for Senator McCain. Of 21 voters. Woohoo Dixville Notch!

Earl Blumenauer has given me this lovely thing!! It is an Election Night Scorecard. Not sure how it works yet but I AM GOING TO FIND OUT. And update when I figure it out. I'm currently making predictions of states. I'm going to get SO much work done today. Just like the rest of America.

Edit 1: Read this article. It's beautiful, and reflects why I have my burning desire to get an "I Voted" sticker... which I will never get on my own so long as Oregon votes by mail. I'll just have to steal my coworkers'.

Happiness: November 4

THING FOUR. Ok judge all you want, but I really love instant oatmeal, Maple & Brown Sugar flavor. It's basically the highlight of my morning, when I get to work and have a ton of nervously exhausted energy, but my tummy is soooo empty. So then I dance around stand in front of the microwave for 2 minutes, and then ding! I have delicious warm globs of brown sugar to put into my mouth. My coworkers make fun of me for this, but I put in less water than you're "supposed" to, because if you put in the amount of water that it calls for, the sugar and maple gets all diluted! and that is not as delicious.

Month of Happiness, November 3

So, November is notoriously a month where one tries to do things. Such as:

1) Write a novel (see: NaNoWriMo)
2) Write a tune every day (see: my friend's crazy flute playing mom)
3) Post a picture every day (see: NaPhoPoMo, my sister)
4) One blog post every day (see: various)

I have decided to extrapolate on this theme, and post to my blog every day. Not only that! But the theme of the post will be something that makes me happy.

Today, since it's already November 3 and I have missed days 1 and 2, I will post THREE WHOLE THINGS that make me happy.


THING ONE. That my kitten will continually dig the old kitten food bag out of the trash and carry it around the apartment. He's a die hard kitten food fan. It's very cute.

THING TWO. Photos of friends. I recently printed many and got some of those frames that have many slots, and put them on my wall. Not only does it make my wall look less depressing, it is nice for my friends and family to tell me hello when I come home, or wake up in the morning.

THING THREE. The man who hands out Express at the Rockville Metro Station. He stands at the top of the stairs and hollers to everyone to have a great week. One of my roughest mornings was the first time he talked to me personally, probably a couple weeks ago, and he told me, "Stay strong, pretty eyes." I almost cried, because at that point I think I had no makeup on, I was probably about 30 minutes late to work, and I was starving and cranky. Several days since then he's told me the same thing, and I'm sure that he tells lots of people that, but I don't care.

This morning, he told me that I looked beautiful. I grinned all the way down the Pike to my office. I think I'm his biggest fan.

Game On

Ok, despite all the fun I've had watching Gov. Palin on SNL, and laughing at how ridiculous her silly Midwest+Alaska=Palin accent is, it's pretty apparent to me how terrifying she is as a politician. This morning on the train I was reading Washington Post's Express, to which I'm now nearly-certifiably addicted.

Page one: Picture of Tina Fey, and huge voter turnout in Florida! This page makes me happy.

Page two: Funny story about a cat show. I'm a crazy cat lady, this makes me happy.

Page three: Headline about how Sen. Obama keeps 9 point lead over Sen. McCain, and another story about how Sen. Biden's health records show he's in excellent shape. Needless to say, another happy page.

Page four: the following headline -- "PALIN: BAN GAY MARRIAGE"

Anger anger anger anger anger! I actually think I growled at the newspaper. I read the article with a scowl on my face, and it didn't ever quite leave me, even after Pearls Before Swine brought a killer whale onto their baseball team on the second-to-last page.

Here's a version of the full article from the Associated Press. It makes me sad and angry. Just like Sen. McCain said at the last debate. The American people are angry, I'm angry, the American people are angry, blah blah, something like that. I think we're supposedly angry about the economy?
If the American people are angry, it's for the wrong reasons. We should be angry because people like Gov. Palin are in contention for positions of very serious power. We should be angry that people who promote marriage between teenagers simply because they don't know how to use birth control, but believe that two happy, consenting adults shouldn't have the same right as those punk idiot teenagers have the power to influence any law anywhere, even if only in one state. But the whole country!!

We can't just sit back and let that happen. Game on.

Clearly, our current president is of the same persuasion. However, he hasn't done anything about it. I most certainly believe that it would be one of the first things on her agenda, no matter where she may be on Pennsylvania Avenue, whether it be in the White House or the EEOB next door.

To help soothe my angry angry brain right now, I have a delicious lunch. Grilled chicken with tomato, basil, and melted mozzarella. Baby carrots. Chicken noodle soup with veggies (including garbanzo beans!!). A piece of whole wheat bread. A cup of deliciously cold water. AND. Oregon Chai. yum yum.

Obviously this hearty lunch serves to nourish me for the next two weeks. It's going to be rough and it's going to be awesome.

Game. On.

Two Weeks Out

THIS IS PERHAPS THE MOST HILARIOUS THING I HAVE EVER SEEN IN MY ENTIRE LIFE




SUPER awesome. She just shouldn't be President, or even Veep. Gov. Palin, that is. On the other hand, OBAMA/FEY 2012!!!!

Update:

Here's the Weekend Update Palin Rap, which makes me love Amy Poehler just a little bit more. Oh wait, a lot more.





Gosh I sure do hope she doesn't become vice president. [/strange midwestern twang]

I'll update on the movie "W" later.

The Option Period

This is a post of schedules. Boring Boring Boring.

First, my potential spring 2009 class schedule!

Mondays/Thursdays
11:20-12:35 -- US Foreign Relations Since 1914
12:45-2:00 -- Ballet
2:10-3:25 -- Latin America: History, Art, Literature
3:35-5:15 -- Chamber Singers (100% definite)

Tuesdays/Fridays
8:30-9:45 -- First Aid/CPR/Medical Emergencies (with the worst professor ever but I'm obsessed with First Aid)
9:55-11:10 -- Beginning Golf!!!

I register on November 6, which is only a week after registration opens, so that should all be open. And full of seniors with the same goal as I have - to slack off as much as possible because your major and general education requirements are done or nearly done!
I'd be taking more that one history class except there are NONE THAT ARE GOOD. also, back to the lazy point.

My bosses are going to hate it! I can only work 25 hours a week (that is, if I'm working my ass off) and they have previously mentioned that they are under the impression that I'll be in the office 32 hours a week. Which is ridiculous. There is no way that someone can fulfill all these requirements:
a) go to school full time (15 credits in 6 classes)
b) work 80% of full time
c) have an HOUR long commute each way, with no car
d) dance 2 nights a week
e) be captain of Mock Trial, likely compete in the region
f) prepare for a European tour with choir
g) eat, breathe, relax, play with kittens, clean apartment every once in a while, have friends?
h) survive

I don't know if all those were in the correct tense, but Requirement F brings me to my next point!!

Tour Schedule!
May 15, 16 -- Budapest, Concert in St. Elizabeth's Church
May 17 -- Debrecen, Concert at Debrecen Univ.
May 18, 19 -- Sibiu, Concert at Philharmonic Hall (Tricked you, that's not the Hall, it's just a pretty panorama of Sibiu)
May 20 -- Brasov, Concert in the Black Church
May 21, 22 -- Bucharest, Concert in the Choral Temple

I love Europe. After all, that's where the history comes from.

ALSO EASTERN EUROPE HUNGARY AND ROMANIA I'M OBSESSED

The Disaster Show

Yes. It's Monday at 8:25am. Yes. I'm already late-ish for work, but it can still be salvaged. Yes. I'm a couple of weeks late in changing my contacts, so yes, I'll get new ones and my eyes will be happy. Yes. I don't have my glasses on so I can't quite see. Yes. There's a bottle of red nail polish there... falling... aaaah


NO! NO! NO!



Now I look like a murderer from trying to clean up the blood red nail polish from my bathroom floor. Oh, did I mention I don't own nail polish remover? No?

Undecideds

In the cab coming home I wrote a really great blog post in my head, and then when I got home I discovered I lost one of my favorite earrings, and so now I'm cranky. and calling Hawk and Dove first thing tomorrow morning. If I have to trek to Capital South just to retrieve it, it will be worth it. I just hope it's there.

I'm cranky.

Life on Mars

A couple people sent that to me today, and I had been looking for it since I saw it in someone's GMail Chat status last week.

Lindsey sent me the link to this, which is Wolf Blitzer laughing at Saturday Night Live's genius spoof sketch of Katie Couric interviewing Gov. Palin, which is really verbatim from the real interview. I suppose Blitzer's reaction is somewhat similar to mine when I saw that Tina Fey's jokes were actually Palin's real words, except that my face was plastered with a look of horror, more than amusement.



And here we have a picture of my kittens.

Ok Zoe looks a little wall-eyed but she really isn't.

Happy debate watching tomorrow!

The Dover Test

A few minutes ago I was on the phone with my mom and she was telling me about how she saw Miracle at St. Anna yesterday. She mentioned so casually that it's about the Buffalo Soldiers, as if that simple name drop wouldn't automatically cause Bob Marley to endlessly loop through my head!

The kittens are busy climbing in and out of my dresser and onto the window and all over me and on the table and over my dirty laundry and over me and on my desk and through my bookshelf and over me. Such is their life. It's most certainly a difficult one.

Natalie just sent me this, which I think is a super awesome story!! You should read it and worship Barack Obama's bones. Oh, I mean, vote for the esteemed junior Senator from Illinois in his bid for the American presidency.

The penultimate item for the evening: I have no idea how on Earth I found this, but it is freaking hilarious. It's a clip made by Pres. Clinton in his final days in the White House in 2000 (sigh... how I miss those wonderous times of a balanced budget and simple sex scandals). SO FUNNY. I guarantee, you need not care an inch for politics and you will find this funny.

And finally, Tina Fey again at her finest:

The Debate

Ok, first I have to get this out. I just read this article on CBS News. It's all about bad things that are happening as people are trying to vote and register to vote. This is a particularly horrifying segment:

In late August, a notice by a Montgomery County election official aimed at clarifying the voter registration process for Virginia Tech students actually mislead (sic) potential voters, creating a firestorm. It read in part,

“The Code of Virginia states that a student must declare a legal residence in order to register. A legal residence can be either a student’s permanent address from home or their current college residence. By making Montgomery County your permanent residence, you have declared your independence from your parents and can no longer be claimed as a dependent on their income tax filings.”

The statement also warned that students could lose their scholarships as the result of an address change.

The article says that VA elections officials clarified and told kids that it doesn't change their status as dependents, and it doesn't disqualify them for scholarships. Because DEAR SWEET BABY JESUS that would all be awful if true.

In other news, the VP debate on Thursday was not the train wreck so many of us expected, or rather, hoped for. She seems to have a talking switch with two positions: robotic, or silly. On the other hand, Sen. Biden made my heart hurt sometimes. I love him.

Overall, Gov. Palin "held her own," which means she met the very very low expectations that the American public set for her. I feel like for three solid weeks all she did was memorize-- oh, I mean, prepare. Well, in that three weeks she also had time to stumble her way through a couple of really abysmal(ly hilarious) interviews.



Dear Tina Fey,

I love you.

Love,
me