Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Merry Christmas

I just wanted to wish you all a Merry Christmas. I also wanted to share this with you:

"I really like Christmas Eve. I think I like it even more than Christmas Day. On Christmas Day, you get to open your presents and see what you got, but you also know that Christmas is starting to be over for a year, and by nighttime some of the stuff you got is already broken. But on Christmas Eve, all the tree lights are on and carols are playing and people are saying 'Merry Christmas,' and everything is about to happen, but it didn't happen yet. That's the best time of the year."

That's from Dave Barry's book The Shepherd, the Angel, and Walter the Christmas Miracle Dog, which is a fantastic (and very short) book that literally made me both laugh (out loud!) and cry (real tears!). This perfectly captures how I feel about Christmas and Christmas Eve.

I hope you're all well, and that your day is wonderful and full of love. Or that you get your official Red Ryder carbine-action two-hundred-shot range-model air rifle.

Saturday, December 20, 2008

This is how I spent my first Saturday home.

This morning, the entire Ovian family piled into the Ford Freestyle and made the trek to the Lowell Showcase Cinemas. The purpose? To see Irving Berlin's White Christmas on the big screen, of course. After much bickering and yelling and bad feeling toward all, we entered the theater parking lot to celebrate the season of giving and love.

And what to our wondering eyes should appear, but a family SUV with an "Armenia" sticker on the rear? It was the only other car in the entire lot, as it was just shy of 10 in the morning the day after a terrible snow storm. Of course, we all figured we would know them, since really, we know practically every Armenian family in the New England area, let alone an hour's drive from our house. My mother was off like a shot to see who it was--and lo and behold, it was the Piligians, a family my family has known for YEARS. At least three of them: Uncle Stephan, Auntie Susan and Lauren.

Of course, when old family friends reunite, especially Armenians, it means there will be no peace for anyone in the vicinity. Throughout the movie, my dad made the usual comments he makes when we watch the film ("You see that guy? He was in West Side Story!" and "How do you feel now??"), and in addition we got the bonus comments of Auntie Susan and Uncle Stephan. It was a good time.

Afterward, we decided to go to lunch at the Chili's next door, after Lauren called her brother Andrew to join us. Now, I am not sure how we got onto the subject of gingers, or why Lauren staunchly calls them so, but we ended up explaining to my dad what they are, and I'm pretty sure trying to convince someone that gingers are not the result of incest (*coughLaurencough*). I think I also might have mentioned gingervitis.

Imagine my anticipation of the hilarity and hijinks that would ensue when I saw a redheaded server round the corner in the nearly empty Chili's. Did I mention that we were a large group of very loud Armenians?

I was the only one who saw him at first, so of course the only thing I could do was eagerly wait and see what the others' reactions would be. My mother was the first to notice: she just about spit out her food and her eyes bulged out of her head right before she poked Auntie Susan and pointed. Slowly the information spread. I waited until he was far enough away before I told Nishan what was going on--he actually did spit out some of his food in an effort to keep his laughter from being too loud. That's when I lost it myself. I couldn't help it! It was FUNNY.

Later the guy walked by us reeeeaaaaaalllll slow. I'm pretty sure he was trying to eavesdrop (not that he would have to try real hard since we were being loud enough for the entire restaurant to hear) and see if we were still talking about the gingers. We were not. At least not until he passed us again.

When my dad asked for the check, our waitress had it in her hands, already bringing it to us. I said she probably heard Nishan, who had rudely yelled out "Check!" Andrew suggested they were kicking us out due to our earlier conversation. I really hope that's the case; at least, I will brag in the future that I was kicked out of a Chili's because we exhibited anti-ginger behavior.

Monday, December 15, 2008

Out-of-context quote of the day.

daydreamerr87 (9:02:48 PM): YOU'RE A GIRL
Gallibomb05 (9:02:50 PM): I KNEW IT!

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Parenting fail.

I overheard possibly one of the greatest conversations ever between a mother and her young son today in Target.

Mom: Watch out, don't step in that.
Son: What is it? Is it dog...sit?
Mom: *grumble grumble stern low voice* Don't say that.
Son: But YOU say it!
Mom: Yes, well, I'm allowed to say it.

My theory: If you don't want your 4-year-old son to swear, it's probably not a good idea to swear in front of him. Especially when you are talking about dogshit. That's not even an expletive; it's just an unnecessarily dirty mouth in front of your young children. Nice job lady.

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Job advice?

I've been thinking tonight about my future. I know, I'm so responsible. Mostly I've been thinking about what the heck I'm going to do for a job after graduation. I mean there is always B&N. (And for those of you who work/have worked there, don't dump on me for it--I actually really like working at a bookstore and wouldn't mind working there full time. Not forever unless I became a manager and got paid well, but at least for a time). But I did a little research tonight on job sites and have come to the conclusion that I probably shouldn't look for a job until next semester. Every job looks like it needs to be filled soon, and I obviously can't go back home without completing my degree first. Plus I feel like I don't have the necessary experience to actually do anything professional. I mean, I've had a couple of internships, but I feel like I didn't really do anything that will land me a real job that I'm comfortable doing, or think I can do well. All I know is that I'm pretty good with customer service at B&N; I have a very good knowledge of books, especially children's books; I'm a decent writer; and I'm really good at proofreading. But who needs a proofreader nowadays? No one cares about that stuff anymore.

And then there's the whole grad school dilemma. Will I be able to afford going to a private institution for another couple of years full time? Am I willing to go part time and hope to find a job that will help pay for it but complete my programs in 3 or 4 years? It's all confusing for me right now.

So I guess what this whole self-doubt and insecurity thing boils down to is: what can I do? Will I be able to find something that I will at least like doing? What do you all think (all three of you that read this)?

Spending time looking for jobs and worrying about my future has led me to procrastinate horribly with this children's book I'm supposed to be writing. Ah, the paradox of schoolwork and job hunting.

Saturday, November 29, 2008

An apology to Bill Pullman.

Bill, I take it back. I had no idea you were still making movies, and I hope that your newest endeavor, Nobel Son, does very well in theaters. Perhaps all of this Bill Pullman talk, the time of year and a recent Sandra Bullock sighting in George Lopez (digest that one--apparently she's a producer) is a sign that I need to watch While You Were Sleeping. One of the greatest movies ever. Well, not really but still pretty awesome. Peter Gallagher in that movie is priceless.

Thursday, November 27, 2008

And it begins.

Happy Thanksgiving, and happy no-turning-back-Christmas-is-on-its-way-and-nobody-will-be-able-to-stop-it day. Go ahead, I DARE you to be the pre-epiphany Grinch whose heart was two sizes too small.

Finally I can freely express my holiday cheer and listen to Christmas songs without guilt.

Friday, November 21, 2008

Oh the places you'll go.

I'm flipping through the guide on the TV, seeing what's on tonight, and half listening to whatever commercial is on. Something about getting a good future or whatever. Then I hear a voice that is vaguely familiar. I look up and who do I see but...

"Bill Pullman??"

It turns out the commercial was for the University of Massachusetts, all of them I guess. I didn't even know Bill Pullman was from Massachusetts. At least he better be, otherwise it's kind of sad. Because this is what he has been reduced to. Local commercials -- and I do consider it local since I doubt it is showing anywhere outside of Massachusetts. Gone are his glory days of... Newsies. And While You Were Sleeping. Oh yeah, and Casper. It's funny, because really, what does Bill Pullman being a spokesman for UMass say about UMass? You can also become a once-semi-popular actor who is now so washed up he is doing commercials for a state college!

Monday, November 17, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hey, just an early celebratory message to wish you all a happy turkey day. I will be coming home on Friday, and it's about time. I can't wait to have a whole week to do NOTHING. Well, I will have to work on my children's book for class (and also my article and my story for the same class). And read children's and teen books for my witchcraft paper.

Damn.

Well, at least I'll have at least a day off. And food! And after that, I'll be free to celebrate the Christmas spirit as much as I want without guilt. My internal struggle is containing my excitement--and my Christmas carols.

Friday, November 14, 2008

I enjoy this site to no end.

I don't think I've ever laughed so hard browsing through a website. Do yourself a favor and go to failblog.com. Pretty much everything I saw on there made me laugh.

EDIT: Sorry, it's actually failblog.org. My bad.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Love reunited at last.

FINALLY!!!! My computer is back! I'm so extremely happy--I've been computer-less for three weeks, but now that dark period of my life is over. Unfortunately I have no Microsoft Office... but we'll see what happens with that. Daddy, call Microsoft for me? Thanks!

Friday, November 7, 2008

I'm a twitter-er.

I now Twitter. Join me.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Did I not say MERLOT????

I watched an hour and a half of Kathy Griffin's standup today, and she mentioned Martha Stewart. So I started thinking about dear Martha and, well, I just wanted to remind you all that this movie exists. They actually spent time to create this. Sorry it's not a link. Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqdzB8wGdc4&feature=related

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Hiatus done. I hope.

Hi guys. Sorry I haven't posted in a while. My computer is broken and it's taking forever to find everything we need to fix it. I had spyware, then my hard drive failed, so, yeah.

I can't think of anything to post right now that is more interesting. So I'll catch ya on the flip side.

Saturday, October 18, 2008

An actual conversation.

"What street were you on, Zav?"

"Um, I forget. It had a stop sign, and a street sign..."

...And did it have perhaps trees, and houses as well?

Thursday, October 16, 2008

My life is one big adventure.

Yesterday I drove back home from Ithaca and brought Andy with me, whom I had to drop off in Allston. For those of you who don't know, Allston is a part of Boston. And if you know me, you know the direction in which this is headed.

Of course, I got off the wrong exit when I was leaving the Pike. I had to turn around and go to exit 20, which was back the other way, so I needed to find a way back on the Pike. Imagine my horror when I realized I was headed for Copley Square. Oh by the way, I had never driven in Boston before.

I called my dad in a panic, but luckily it was pretty easy to find my way back on the highway. I ended up paying an extra toll, which led to my next problem.

After dropping Andy off and spending a little while at Bill's house (where he was staying), I remembered to ask for toll money because I didn't have enough to get home. Let it be known that I am never allowed to give money back to someone if they give it to me for tolls. I thought a dollar would be enough. Stupid me, forgetting I needed to pay two tolls and not one.

So I'm back on the Pike when I realize, hey, I bet there's going to be another toll coming up. I once again called my dad, who told me to pull off at Watertown since they wouldn't have a toll at that exit. I counted up my money, and had a dollar in change--we thought this would be enough.

Then as I'm back on the road, another brilliant realization hit me: the toll would probably be the same as the first FOUR tolls I paid, which was $1.25. Brilliant. What would I do?

I knew those pennies in my cupholder would come in handy one day. You should have seen the look on the toll collector's face when I handed them over. She was not pleased.

AND of course, I missed the exit into Burlington. But this wasn't as big a deal, since I was now on 128 and would come across at least two more exits into Burlington. I took the one at Winn Street.

And suddenly, I was on another on ramp. How did this happen? I'm an idiot who doesn't pay attention, of course.

Finally I got home after all of these crazy shenanigans. But my exciting life just got better when my housemate Nicki woke me up at 9:30 the next morning with this text message:

"Someone broke into our house last night."

Oh wonderful.

I called her to find out what happened. Apparently, someone on her side opened up a window and climbed through into their kitchen. She woke up when they tried to open her door, which was locked, thank God. She had watched Bones earlier and got freaked out, so she locked her bedroom door. And did I mention she was in the house all by herself, excepting the intruders? Yeah. She was.

After calling the police, the list of items missing was short: two bottles of alcohol, and--this is the best part--a single trash tag. This was all before we realized they had broken into my side of the house though--walking right through our open back door.

Erica realized afterward that $17 was missing from her wallet, and a couple of bottles of alcohol were missing from our side as well.

So let's review: four bottles of alcohol, $17, and a trash tag the night before trash day. I think it's pretty obvious what type of person it was--stupid, drunk college student perhaps?

Aaaand this is my life.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

What dreams are made of.

Just to make this clear, this is my second blog post that mentions the Food Network show Unwrapped.

He is telling me about a cereal bar near UPenn. No, not like a cereal bar you eat. A bar where people go to eat cereal. With comfy chairs and countertops in a kitchen-like room.

It's called Cereality. You start with a Chinese food-like carton, in which you can put whatever types of cereal and toppings you want. AND they have their own mixtures that you can follow for deliciousness.

To cap it all off, they play cartoons and '80s music. It's like the perfect place. All my dreams have just come true. Marc Summers, if you're listening, please tell them to bring one to Ithaca.

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Don't hate on the kid lit.

I'm rereading Holes by Louis Sachar for one of my classes (guess which one), and I asked both of my housemates if they'd read it. Neither have. I told them they should, but one answered with this: "If I was going to read books, I always thought I'd read adult books."

These books have so much to them, so much literary merit, that it's a damn shame that people won't read them simply because it's labeled as a children's book. People are missing such wonderful stories for the reason that they think it's beneath them.

Maybe this is just me talking as a person who wants to devote at least part of her life to children's literature, I don't know. I just think it's sad that people won't give books like Holes a chance.

Quick update.

Hi everyone, sorry I've been MIA lately. It's about that time: midterms. So I've been stressing hardcore. Anyway, I have two sets of essays plus a paper on witchcraft in Europe during the 1600s (which I didn't do much of the reading for) to do. A note for those of you in Burlington: I'll be home late Wednesday night. So if you're there, give me a call and we'll do something :)

Thursday, October 2, 2008

SNAKESSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!

Today was Snake Day in my naturalist class!

Zach brought in one of his black milk snakes, and our professor (Elizabeth Lawson) brought in her son's ball python.

I have always loved holding snakes. I love the way they feel; smooth, soft and cool scales, slightly squishy, and underneath extremely powerful muscle. I love it!!

Zach's snake was beautiful. It was black, with a purple irridescent sheen. So gorgeous. And it was a fiesty one, too. He was climbing ALL over the place. I got to hold it, and it was climbing all over me, it's tongue flicking out. I think it licked me a couple of times. It got close to my face once too.

Elizabeth's was much more reserved. He was coiled up in a ball the whole time, even when we were passing him around. He fit into our cupped hands pretty perfectly. This snake was green with a brown pattern, kind of like how you'd picture a python. His head poked out now and then, but we had to look down into the coil in order to see it otherwise.

I'm getting a snake for a pet, Mom.

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Zaven at his best. Enjoy.

I was asking for help in coming up with an idea for my incident story for children's lit. Here is a part of our conversation:

zlo9324: how about a kid who wants a cookie and tries a bunch of stuff but just cant seem to get one
zlo9324: then at the end his mom gets it for him
daydreamerr87: what do you mean tries a bunch of stuff
daydreamerr87: i dont understand what you're talking about
daydreamerr87: what stuff
zlo9324: i meant different ways of trying to get the cookie from the jar
zlo9324: you kno
zlo9324: like tries to stand on his dog but the dog sees a ball and runs away
daydreamerr87: well THAT sounds dangerous
zlo9324: oh its ok
zlo9324: its just a puppy
zlo9324: and also its a childrens book
daydreamerr87: but they might try it if they read it
zlo9324: well
zlo9324: i dont think a little kid is gonna be able to stand on a dog
zlo9324: and if they try its there god damn fault not yours
zlo9324: where the hell is the damn parent

It will be Halloween all year long!

I cemented my fantastic fate for next semester today. Well, technically, I guess I did that on Friday when I emailed Katharine about my idea, but today it was confirmed. I'll be doing an independent study next semester with Katharine that focuses on monsters (like vampires, werewolves, that sort of thing) in children's literature! :)

I'm so super excited about this, and so is Katharine. I think it will be really fun, especially because I'll actually get to read the books. Bailey School Kids! Goosebumps! Also let me know if you have suggestions. Unless they include Stephenie Meyer.

One step closer to what I want to do with my life! HOORAY!!

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

You can't go far in life with a soup can stuck on your head.

This morning I parked my car near the Terraces, farther up the hill and on the other side of the campus from the Park building. I was about to walk to my class when I hear something behind me:

"Excuse me, miss? Miss!"

I turned around, confused, thinking maybe I dropped something. But the girl approaching me was too far away to have seen me do something like that. I could see she was carrying something in her arms, something large enough that she had to use both arms. As she got closer, I realized the little bundle was moving.

She was carrying an animal that had a soup can stuck on its head.

"I was walking back from class to my Circle when I saw this poor thing," she told me. "Would you please give me a ride to CNS?" CNS is the Center for Natural Sciences. "Sure, of course," I told her. She jumped in with her squirming buddy.

I looked at the animal as I pulled out of the parking lot, trying to figure out what it was. It was fat, and had claws like a raccoon. So I asked her if that's what it was. "To be honest, I have no idea what it is," she told me. It wasn't a raccoon because the tail was wrong; we just couldn't tell without seeing its head. And speaking of that, I don't even know how it got its head so far into the can in the first place. Someone must have dropped or thrown the can outside and there was probably food still in it, so the little guy went after it. He really must have shoved because it looked like his head was too big for the can -- after all, it was stuck on pretty tight.

The girl's name is Kate, and I learned she is a bio major with a specialty in small mammals. So the critter couldn't have been found by a more perfect person. I brought her down to the CNS loading dock, where she said she would bring the animal inside to a lab. I wished her luck, made sure she got inside, and drove back to the Terraces.

So how was your morning?

(Kudos to Mom for the title of this post.)

Don't do drugs.

My very world has been turned upside down. They've killed off a major character in the comic strip Apartment 3G.

I don't think anyone, except Erica, truly understands my distress and confusion about this momentous event in the comics. I have always viewed this strip as a "drama" that never really did anything too dramatic. Sure, things happened, but in a wholesome way. Even the drug addicts were chipper, in fact they felt "super" from the high. But this all went downhill when Jones, the only drug dealer in the entire city (apparently), went on vacation.

Ray ran out of stuff. And so, he went to ask Alan, the druggie boyfriend of Luann, for some more stuff. And Alan didn't have any stuff. So Ray freakin SHOT him.

THEY KILLED HIM. I can't even believe they took it that far, unless they were just looking to find a way to get rid of him. After all, Luann would never actually leave him, no matter what he did, since she is naive and stupid and believes only nice things about people. My theory is they got rid of him so she could get with Jack, who does NOT do drugs and does NOT "borrow" thousands of dollars from her. For drugs.

And now Margo has to go down to the art gallery (where they all work and where Alan got SHOT) to identify his BODY. God.

So the point is, I guess, stay away from drugs because you will get shot by a desperate man when the only dealer around goes on vacation. The funny thing is, I don't think they ever specified which drug they all did. They only ever called it "dope" or "stuff." I'm really hoping it was all over pot, because I think that would be really funny. In a morbid way. OH ALAN I'M SORRY.

Saturday, September 20, 2008

And THEN...

This morning, the morning AFTER I had left B&N at 1 am because we uselessly stayed open to sell Brisingr to about 20 people, I went into work (AGAIN) at 10 am. And I was met with a lovely project to build a metal display in the biography bay. No directions -- I only knew where the fixture was. In pieces.

So I brought the metal shelves out to the section, and spent a few minutes trying to figure out how to put it together. For the life of me, I couldn't get it. So I called a manager, Frank, to help me out. He managed to find a few more pieces in the receiving room, so I told him I thought I could figure it out from there.

20 minutes later, I was surrounded by books and metal shelves -- in the humor section. I had to dismantle the same type of fixture there so I could see how to put it together. And I found my problem.

I was missing the most important piece. The shelf that attached to the bay. Right.

Apparently it was bent so badly when it arrived that it was unusable. And no one figured out it was important until I had wasted 40 minutes of my life trying to figure this all out.

Kind of NOT a big deal.

Last night has been in my mental calendar for a couple of weeks. It was the night B&N was having its Brisingr release party. You know, Brisingr? The Eragon book? ...No?

That's pretty much how I ended up explaining it to my friends that I told to come. Who didn't. Just like the rest of Ithaca. I mean I was expecting at least a decent turnout, not 20 people waiting around watching the movie (we put on the movie), half-heartedly coloring dragons and wandering around aimlessly looking for trivia questions hidden in obvious places throughout the store.

It was slow for a weeknight at a small store. We were searching for things to do. I ended walking around with a paper fortune teller I made out of a pattern they sent us (all you had to do was fold it) with a sign I made with crayons that said "Ask me your fortune." That was one of the bigger hits of the night as far as activities go.

At the end of the night it took us nine minutes to sell a copy of the book to everyone there who wanted one. After we had been hanging around behind the registers for a few minutes waiting for stragglers, Matt (our store manager) announced: "If you have not bought a book and you'd like too, come on up to the registers. If not, please make your way to the front of the store because we just want to go home. Thank you." We were like, you're awesome Matt.

When we finally made our way out into the night, Matt released the helium balloons we had bought for the occassion into the air (to the protestations of a few workers, but no one really cared). I'm hoping it will purge us of the bad karma accrued during the crap event. Screw Paolini and his regurgitation of the Lord of the Rings. Your books suck, man.

Friday, September 19, 2008

Behold: We are the children of the information age.

We were waiting for Stuprich, our professor, to get to class. He wasn't usually late, since he had a class in the same room right before ours. So we're wondering out loud, where is he? Did you get an email? I didn't get an email. People are checking their blackberries, whatever. I decide to go to the writing center next door to check if I got an email.

Nothing.

But as I walk back into the room, I stop short and do a double take. There is a CANCELLATION NOTICE next to the door. So we're just sitting in there like idiots. God forbid we get any form of communication that's not electronic.

Monday, September 15, 2008

Conversation typical in my house.

"What is B** McAree going to do about it?" (The noise on our street)

"I don't know, have a lame name."

"Wait, lame? ...You know he has trouble walking, right? Like, he uses a walker."

Just so you know I did that to his name because I'm paranoid these people will Google themselves and find my entry.

This is best out of context.

Erica: "I'm afraid I dropped the L-word."

Me: "...Lesbian?"

Apparently "love" was the correct answer.

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Janitors hate me.

On Thursday nights, both Andy and I work in a writing lab until 11, and I drive us home. This Thursday, I got out a little earlier than he did, so I decided to lock up and wait outside in the hallway, where I was reading The Ithacan. The janitor was driving his little floor-washer car thing around, going up and down the hallway. And I had a Diet Coke.

We all know how I am not the most graceful of women. Well. I eventually decided to go over to Smiddy, where Andy was working, because I was kind of tired of waiting. I closed the paper, picked up my sweatshirt, and watched in horror as my Coke spilled all over the floor and bench.

I tried to pick it up before the whole bottle was on the floor, and had to cap it immediately as foam was still pouring out the top. So here I am, covered in cola, and I can hear the janitor in his motorized mop coming my way. It took me less than a second to decide what to do.

As I was speedwalking down the hall, I looked for the nearest exit since I wanted to get out quickly. Of course I picked the one that was encased in glass and led to Emerald City (the new business building, if you'll recall). I was trapped -- could I make it out the door and down the hall before the janitor got there?

I booked it. I had to go up the stairs toward the bursar's office, out the door leading to the music school. I went the complete opposite way of my car just to avoid the janitor. Who probably hates me.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Where am I?

I use the elevator in Smiddy, a building on campus, because I literally have no idea where the staircase is past the second floor. So I guess sooner or later I was bound to get off on the wrong floor without realizing it.

I was looking at something, I think a receipt for the document on which I log my hours for TAing, as I walked off after the elevator stopped. Just as the doors closed, I looked up and around, wondering where the hell I was and why I heard a very loud man with a German accent, speaking to his class as it turns out. Oh, so this is what the third floor looks like, I thought.

I should really figure out where that staircase is.

Monday, September 8, 2008

VMA = vomit making alert.

I've only seen 35 minutes of the VMAs and I've never seen anything so poorly produced in my life. It's like they didn't even try.

Also, I was scared for the Jonas Brothers' lives after they raised the walls of their set and thousands of screaming tweenage girls started stampeding toward them. I really thought they were going to die. Those girls could have ripped them apart like mynaeds ripped apart bulls. Yes, I just made a reference to ancient Greece.

Friday, September 5, 2008

We're off to see the... new business building.

I've decided I'm going to call the new business building (which is technically called the Park Center for something having to do with being environmentally conscious) the Emerald City. It's a "green" building, and a lot of the funding for it came from one Dorothy Park. Dorothy! Green! Thus, Emerald City.

Not to mention it was dumb naming another building on campus "Park."

I love cable.

I just watched Marc Summers talk about chocolate. I am now sitting, mesmerized, watching fast-paced competitive cooking. I still have 65 pages to read in a textbook by 9 am.

I am now simultaneously using both the cable and the internet that we had hooked up today. My downfall? Perhaps.

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Procrastination and idiocy.

I should be doing my homework.

Just a little update: I started all three of my jobs (continuing them rather). The B&N here is super small compared to Burlington and things are really different. I don't like the eight hour shifts (there are no six hour ones), but at least it closes at 10 and 7 on Sundays. Also, I answered the phone with "Thank you for calling the Barnes and Noble in Burlington, my name is Tahleen, how can I he-- Oh. Wait. I mean Ithaca. I'm not in Burlington..."

Smooth.

Friday, August 29, 2008

What does this say about me?

Quick update on my witchcraft class yesterday:

There are only 3 guys in the course, and 14 girls.

I am friends with all three guys.

I am friends, in fact have met, only one of the girls.

Hmmm.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

War, drugs and llama fetuses.

Remember that job I forgot how to do? I'm not so worried about it anymore. That's because I've met Fred.

Fred is the professor I'm TAing for. We had arranged to meet at IC Square (or the snack bar, as he called it -- thank goodness I guessed right) after I had finished classes yesterday. I saw a man who resembled the picture I'd seen online and went up to introduce myself.

Fred seems to me to be a grizzled old war veteran, though I can't be sure that he's actually fought in a war. He's got this black Celtic-looking tattoo on his arm, not his forearm but the top part of that section of the arm. (Leave me alone -- I'm not a scientist or even remotely familiar with what various body parts are called.)

We start talking, and he asks me what classes I'm taking this semester. I tell him about the witchcraft class I'm taking. Ten seconds later the conversation turns to llama fetuses and how our experience with southest Asia are like witchcraft.

Okay.

It didn't take me long to figure out that every conversation with Fred will somehow turn into one about war, usually Vietnam or Iraq. The kids in our class soon learned this too, I'm pretty sure.

The first class began today as a discussion (one-sided since the kids were probably frightened a bit) about the history of war and what we're willing to kill or die for. Then we went around the room and said what we needed to work with in writing. A nice flip there for you. The weird thing is, it all seemed to flow together very nicely. I don't quite understand it.

He said that most of what the students mentioned they'd like to work on were bad habits, like drinking or smoking: wordiness, bad grammar, run-on sentences. One girl said she was bad at avoiding run-on sentences. He asked her if she liked writing them; she was confused.

His explanation: "Well, most people who have habits do them because they like them. Why do heroin addicts shoot herion? Because it's fun! You ask a herion addict why they do it, they say it's fun, I get off on it, it makes me feel good. Not that I'm condoning drugs. You shouldn't do them. But that's why people do drugs. They enjoy them."

"Oh God, please don't do herion..." I mumble from my place a little behind the circle. A girl, Kelly, looks back at me and starts laughing, which most of the class is already doing anyway. A kind of uncomfortable laughter, but still, I guess it's better than silence.

So these are my first impressions of Fred. I'm not writing his last name because I don't really want him to somehow find this and read it, but whatever. I like him. He's out there, but I like him. At any rate, I think this shall prove to be an interesting semester.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

What is this TA business? Oh, that's right, I forget.

So I spent today and yesterday going through training for a job I can't really remember how to do. Good luck, little writing students. I hope I don't screw up too badly and mar your experience at Ithaca College. In my defense, the last time I did this was about eight months ago.

At least I'll remember not to climb onto a table and accidentally almost flip it over onto some students this time around.

Monday, August 25, 2008

O Lord, give thy servant a horse.

This weekend, I accompanied my reporter housemate/good friend Erica on an excursion to Romulus, NY, to see the Sermon on the "Mount." Not mount as in mountain, but mount as in horse.

One Mr. Lew Sterrett from Pennsylvania goes around the country, giving sermons using the analogy of horse training. Walking on the site of the sermon was like being in some alternate dimension -- there was a corral that I can only assume Lew brought with him, lots of people surrounding it in lawn chairs, and the man himself riding around on a horse talking to those who wished to speak with him. A regular cowboy. Bluegrass served as a nice score for the evening.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQgTDQo7irc

The sermon took an hour and a half. At least I got a free hot dog.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Movin' in.

So I was wrong. We did have electricity and hot water. Thank goodness.

But all three of us moved in on Saturday, and since then our house has been in a state of constant messiness, and I love it. My room is great, and pretty clean considering, but the downstairs area needs to be picked up a bit. I wish I weren't so lazy. Despite this, we've hosted two dinners at our place, both of which I think were successful.

Unfortunately, we won't have internet until September 4. So if you email me, it might take a while for me to get back to you since I would need to be at the school in order to see it.

Other than that, not too much is going on. I'm being really lazy, and the only work I've done so far is monitoring for BSG. I've also spent a lot of time at the Ithacan office because of this, and also because I miss the people here. It's nice not to have any responsibility whatsoever and still be around.

Friday, August 15, 2008

O Pioneers!

Okay, so I messed up. Big time. Because I'm a greenhorn at this take-care-of-yourself type thing, I call our electric and gas company until Tuesday. Apparently this is too late to get electricity or gas (meaning hot water and a working stove) in our house by the time we move in. The earliest they can get there?

Wednesday.

So, because of my colossal goof-up, we're going to have a pioneer week. I just wish we could light a bonfire to roast hotdogs on a straightened-out wire hanger.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

My brother is one of the goofiest kids I know.

I walk into the family room after monitoring tonight, and see my brother Zaven sitting in an armchair with a bucket, a stick, and sandpaper. He is sanding the stick.

"What are you doing?" I ask.

"Whittling."

I look at my father, who just shrugs. "What happened to the triangle on top?" he asks.

"I sawed them off."

"But that made the stick!"

Let me just take the time to point out that my father sees nothing strange about this. I walked away, because I could think of nothing else to do in response. As I'm leaving, I hear Zaven say, "Peace pipe, Dad. Peace pipe."

Monday, August 11, 2008

Okay last one.

Didn't I tell you the title might change again? I like this one better. But let me know how you feel about this very important and life-changing event.

And I thought I was the one moving.

I guess I'm moving back to Ithaca this Saturday, instead of this Sunday. Apparently it's not necessary I know which day I'm moving.

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Ah, family.

I know that people think I'm crazy for doing this. But I figured, my dad has been doing this for the past, well, I guess my entire lifetime, so it couldn't be so bad, right?

What I'm talking about is this. With the rest of my family (both brothers and parents), I drove about 12 hours a week ago to Michigan to visit my uncle. Now, I have an internship, so I didn't want to miss another whole week (I had jury duty one day and it was July 4 the other day I was supposed to go in that same week), so I flew back home with my dad, who also had work, the next day. That week was pretty much business as usual, I went to my internship two days and B&N three days. Then we flew back to Michigan Thursday night.

Of course, our flight was delayed about two and a half hours, most of which we spent sitting on the plane. Too bad I was at the window seat next to Talky Guy Who Likes To Take Up All My Space.

So I spent a weekend with my family. All I have to say is it wasn't a vacation and I'm sort of looking forward to Ithaca next weekend.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Stop it.

I hate it when people dismiss something as being "emo." I hate that word. It makes a stereotype that degrades some people who might have a real problem, or a legitimate concern. It makes things sound ridiculous when they might not be, and that can be dangerous.

I thought of that because my friend recently described The Perks of Being a Wallflower as possibly too emo for him to reread. I really love that book and don't think it's "emo" in the sense that people now use it in. And it just got me thinking about all the times I had heard that word used to describe something that it shouldn't have been used to describe. People are getting too cavalier with their use of that word, and it makes me mad. Not everything is emo. Find another way to express your feelings for whatever it is you're describing.

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Undecided.

Man, naming a blog is hard.

I don't know if this one will stick, but we'll see how long it lasts. I'm pretty sure everyone will refer to it as "Tahleen's blog" anyway, all two of you.

This one might be a little long, but I came up with it with the help of Lena, who described me as being "delightfully sarcastic," which I must admit, I enjoyed. I've not quite settled with this yet, though. Let me know what you think. By the time you read this the name might have already changed to something else.

Monday, August 4, 2008

Sweet addiction.

I've decided I'm addicted to Dunkin Donuts iced tea. One good experience is all it takes.

Pff. I'll break YOUR dawn.

So Friday was the big day. My marathon day, and the epitome of teen girl excitement. Yes, the release party for Breaking Dawn.

So I won't bother describing the mob scene, since that's pretty much what it was. Just picture teen (and younger) girls dressed up, some inappropriately (think under-the-asscheeks short dresses). At one point when we were lining everybody up (poorly, I might add), I even got YELLED at by some fat girl who had a crazed look in her eye. Listen, buddy. I don't have to listen to you yelling at me. I've done enough as it is. I was in here at 6:30 am putting freakin' Christmas lights up on the ceiling using nothing but paper clips and a ladder. I carried my stupid fake Christmas tree in so I could make you a forest. BACK OFF. I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON EITHER.

Anyway. I looked good and that's all that matters. I'll post some pictures once I get them from Rob, whose camera I did not lose, despite my panic attack after I realized it wasn't around my wrist anymore.

So we ended up getting through the insane line that wove all through the store in about a half hour, miracle of miracles. Unfortunately we were there for an hour longer, not cleaning up but peeling some kind of tape from hell off of the carpet. A word of caution: Never use tape that looks and feels like tinfoil with sticky on one side. It took about seven of us to get about 20 feet of it off of the floor.

Other than those gripes, the evening wasn't so bad. It was busy, and some people took it a little too seriously (I'm counting employees on this one), but nothing we couldn't really handle.

I have to admit, these books are a guilty pleasure of mine. Mostly because I feel guilty reading them. But I did decide, at the last minute, to buy the new one. And oh my goodness it's SO BIZARRE.

I won't give anything away for those of you that read it, but it is SO not appropriate for most of the girls that read these books. I don't know what the heck Stephenie Meyer was thinking. It's so sexual and gory, considering how chaste the other three were. But oh, did she make ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN to promote abstinence until marriage. Which I guess is a good thing, considering that a lot of the girls that read the books shouldn't even be thinking of sex yet.

But this posed an interesting problem for me in particular, since the website I monitor for is for tween girls and I know that a lot of them read these books. I had to write a warning for other monitors today about the book because it's so graphic and it will certainly become a problem. What a loop she threw us all for. And she's supposed to be Mormon.

Friday, August 1, 2008

I have a large iced tea from Dunkin Donuts next to me. Let me tell you why.

This morning at 5:45, I got up to get ready to go to B&N. At 6:30. Why? I needed to help set up for the fantastic Breaking Dawn release tonight. So for two and a half hours, I moved fake Christmas trees to the second level and hung up white Christmas lights to the ceiling with bent paperclips and a ladder.

At nine I left, not to go home, but to come here, my internship at B*tween. Fabulous. I am amazed I lasted as long as I did without any kind of food or caffeine -- I had a piece of coffee cake that Kim so kindly brought the workers this morning at the store and that was about it until 1:15. Thank God Bobbie had me train this guy for monitoring -- I don't know if I could have done the task she had given me (it is SO BORING and now I know I never want to work in PR, as she told me it is a common task entry-level PR people do). Basically I'm collating coverage on a word document. It's great fun.

This is why I need the iced tea. My day isn't even half over, and I'm exhausted.

I get to go back to B&N later today to work the actual event, which I must say I'm looking forward to if only because girls are ABSOLUTELY INSANE about this whole series. There was a line of around 30 people this morning, waiting for the store to open just to get their wristbands (which will either determine their place in line if they reserved a book or will get them a book if they haven't reserved).

God bless Dunkies and FM radio.

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

I haven't done this since third grade.

Tonight I, along with three other lovely B&N ladies, paper mached a giant chess piece for the Breaking Dawn event on Friday. You know, the book release I've been telling pretty much everyone about. By the way, you should come. It will be amazing, if only for the absolutely RIDICULOUS outfits and anticipation that will completely take over the store. Edward Cullen is to teenage girls as the Jonas Brothers are to tween girls. Except followers of Cullen think about sex. Ugh, I just made myself uncomfortable. I'm sorry for putting you through that.

I'm just hoping our masterpiece doesn't A) get ripped apart by some animal that makes its way into Dee's garage, B) gets peed on by said hypothetical animal, C) ends up disintigrating because it is too muggy or something, or D) just looks like crap. Out of all four choices, D is the most likely. Though I still think it was a brilliant idea to use a Burger King crown for the top part of the chess piece, which is in fact a queen (kudos to Amy M on that one). Also kudos to Amy for volunteering to paint the thing by herself on Thursday as the rest of us will be at work, and for also painting the black squares on the chess board. I think we can all imagine the horrible atrocity that would be the result had I been left to do this job.

My most important job all night was taking pictures. And I plan on developing them, oh yes I do. You'll thank me when you see them, B&N employees.

Also on a side note, Stepbrothers is probably the most pointless and hilarious (ly inappropriate) movie I have ever seen. Zaven says it's the funniest movie he's ever seen, period. Especially if all the other audience members are riotous teenagers.

Monday, July 28, 2008

Get a rhyming dictionary.

Dear Kid Rock,

You cannot rhyme "things" with "things."

That is all.

Sincerely,
Tahleen

Back... again.

Gah, posting at work -- probably not the best idea. But it's been a while. For the one of you who knows this blog exists. I'll get the word out there sooner or later.

I am just searching for mom blogs at my internship (it's for the Beacon Street Girls company, check out the website at beaconstreetgirls.com to see what I deal with on a daily basis) so I can suggest the girls head on over to our website. And it made me sad because I want to blog again. I remember I had a neglected blog so I came on over.

For the one person who has seen this before, you may have noticed I changed my blog name. Again. And it may not be the last time since I'm having trouble feeling excited about the current name. We'll see what happens, but you know, either way it will be about my life and the crazy crap that goes on.

Side note: Why the hell do radio stations feel the need to have three singles by Daughtry on their play lists, and also overplay the HELL out of them? Does he even sell any CDs anymore?

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Back again, with CVS adventures.

Hello everyone. Yes, I have decided to start another blog, for those of you who miss my London blog more horribly than you imagined you would. Rejoice, for all is well.

I'll write my first entry on something not many people would bother to write any entry on: CVS. Why write about this standard drugstore? Because yesterday I entered the most beautiful CVS I've ever been into IN MY LIFE. It was the new one on the corner of Cambridge St. and Skilton Rd. which may mean nothing to you, dear reader. But I walked in and thought I had entered a magical wonderland -- it was so big and open, and CLEAN. I usually never associate cleanliness with CVS. There was no clutter anywhere. And there was a tile path that led you through the store to. A tile path! I felt like I was skipping down the yellow brick road, on my way to meet the freakin' wizard of Oz. It was amazing.

Wow, after having written that, I now see how sad my life has become.