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!