Black tulips and birthdays.

So in science writing, we're reading Michael Pollan's The Botany of Desire. I'm really loving it so far, and I want to read his other stuff; but the last chapter we read, on the tulip, has made me want to read something else too. He had a whole section on black tulips, and the mania in Holland during the 1600s (I think that was the century) where there were competitions for this, and tulip bulbs were more precious and valuable than anything else. I thought the idea of a black tulip was evocative, intoxicating and chilling at the same time; the symbolic significance of a black tulip is also impossible to ignore, especially with the greed that accompanied them in Holland. There is in fact one tulip, called the Queen of Night, that is almost black--Pollan described it as a deep purplish maroon, the darkest a flower can be without actually being black. He also mentioned Alexandre Dumas' book The Black Tulip, a book I'd never heard of, that centers on one of the competitions in Holland to cultivate a black tulip and the lives that are ruined in the process. I think I would like to read this book someday.

Something else I was thinking about recently is how far my interests have expanded as far as my reading list goes. Since my birthday is coming up, though I'm not sure how many people who read this are actually close enough to want to buy me a birthday present, I think I'd like those who do to get me a random book. Maybe one they think I'd enjoy, one that just looks good, something crazy from a section I've never really looked at before--just as long as it looks interesting. I don't know if this will actually happen, or how many presents I will actually get for my birthday, but I think it's a nice idea anyway.

Snippet of my life

Here's a quick update:

My parents and youngest brother came to visit me this weekend, and we had a grand ol' time. I haven't eaten so well in weeks.

I have recently noticed how much I snort when I laugh, and I don't know if it's because of the weather or if my septum has deviated at all in the past few months. I wouldn't know if I snore--but that would make an unfortunate addition to the ridiculous amount of sleep talking I do.

I have been drinking incredible amounts of tea lately. Like, at least three cups a day, which is a lot for me. I never used to drink tea. That is a lie, I actually drank it quite often in London, but not to this extent. Green tea is best and I am excited because I got a box of Tazo tea of the Zen variety at Target for a very good price.

I have not skipped any of the books I'm supposed to read this semester as of yet. I am quite proud of myself; plus I get to add books to Goodreads because of it. (And also rack up points for my 2009 school year challenge in which I am participating. Yes, we get points for reading certain types of books. I have 55 right now.)

The Oscars are on tonight, and so I will probably not do as much reading tonight as I would have hoped. So that will put a wrench in the previous tidbit I gave you all, but hopefully not a large one. I do need to read Vampire Academy by Tuesday... hmm. And the first half of A Long Way Gone. Perhaps I spoke too soon. I will prevail, I think, but let's all hope for my reading anyway.

Read my story!

Hooray, I'm a published author! BSG put my raccoon story on the site! Read it here: http://beta.beaconstreetgirls.com/club/critters-club

You need to scroll down a bit, but they actually used my full name and it's there! :) :)

Why is there pressure to be thin. Damn you society.

Man, diets suck hardcore. I'm hungry. And it's too late to eat anything because it will just sit in my tummy and make its merry fat way to my hips and bum. Life is so unfair.

If only I were Santa Claus. Then I could be fat and it would be totally acceptable; in fact, it would be expected. Santa's got it easy man. I bet he's on vacation on a beach somewhere, drinking Mai Tais and basking in the glory of a blazing sun. While I'm hungry and cold in Ithaca, NY, trying to write a paper that is pretty much 100% bull at the moment. Oh senior year, the things you do to me.

When you make plans with someone, is it so hard to call them to cancel instead of waiting for them to call you to let them know they're ready? Is it??? This seems to be a pattern in my life. What the hell.

Ah Christ this movie is so good. Love it.

It's the Halloween scene, and now I think the mom is drunk. What kind of mother doesn't notice that her only daughter has shrunken three inches and has grown a grotesquely large head? I don't care if he's covered by a sheet. E.T. does not look like Drew Barrymore, no matter how you look at it.

Oh gosh, E.T. looks like one of those guys on Cops. He's drunkenly stumbling around in a ratty bathrobe.

And now he's a cross-dresser.

Oh the joys of rewatching movies from childhood.

Ahaha Elliot is ca-raazzyyyyyy. "RUN FOR YOUR LIFE! BACK TO THE RIVER, BACK TO THE FOREST! I GOTTA SAVE THEM!!!!" Tons of frogs are jumping EVERYWHERE. Way more than there were originally. And then he kisses some girl (as the characters in the movie E.T. is watching do). And they all save the frogs by dumping them out the window.

And yes, Elliot is still drunk.

More thoughts on E.T.

There was a scene on a school bus. I want to know what crazy place they live where the children have all decided to incite mass chaos like what I saw. I don't remember standing up and throwing random pieces of paper and various other things around at my peers.

Also, dear character, there is no need to repeat "Where's he from? YOUR ANUS??" three times. Once is enough thank you, and no, it's still not funny.

And holy crap, I totally didn't get the first time around that E.T. got drunk by drinking an entire six-pack, and Elliot in turn got drunk as well. WHAT. YOU SHOULD NOT BE ENCOURAGING UNDERAGE DRINKING STEPHEN SPIELBERG.

I'll probably be posting more on this, so brace yourselves.

I'm sorry, what?

I don't know if it was because I never watched the uncensored version of E.T., if I didn't know what the word meant when I watched it, or if I just forgot (highly unlikely, but possible...), but I am watching it now and think that Elliot came up with possibly one of the greatest insults a 10-year-old boy can give: "penisbreath." I wasn't sure I heard correctly, and so thanks to the wonderful world of DV-R, I rewound it and watched it again. Yep. Penisbreath.

What?

Life as a social eater with no one to eat with.

I don't know why, but over the past few months (I guess you could say senior year), I've been yearning for the chance to eat with people. I do occasionally, like I'll go out to dinner with friends once in a while, but it doesn't seem to be enough. Not everyone will go out to eat, especially since we're all poor, and it's not very homey in my house--and ingredients cost money, too. It seems we're all just eating quick and easy meals with no time to spend talking and socializing, no time to savor what we're consuming (and, to be fair, a lot of what we're eating probably wouldn't be so great to savor).

I like sitting down and talking with friends for a while, maybe drinking a glass of wine, with good food on our plates and in a comforting atmosphere. I've rarely been able to find that here. The only time that really stands out in my memory, when I had a really good time out, was at the Sigma Tau Delta banquet at Pangaea restaurant. I believe they billed it as good food, fine wine, and great conversation, or something like that. And you know, that's exactly what it was--I loved talking to the people at my table and just enjoying all of the tastes, smells, sounds and sights around.

I don't know where this is all coming from, all I know is that I miss eating with other people. I think it should be a social thing. It is so incredibly lonely to sit on the couch with the TV as your only company and eat a bowl of pasta all by yourself.

JEOPARDY! has disappointed me.

This is the most boring episode of Jeopardy! I've ever seen. Or at least the most boring categories. One of them is "Delaware." I mean, come on. Unless you live there, I guarantee you don't know much about the state. Even if you do live there it's questionable. Oh, and another is "Fundraising."

Also, Alex Trebek is entering those "Bob Barker" years... He's still going, but he probably shouldn't be. He's starting to say things that don't make sense.

It's a good thing I'm bored. Now you get to read my exquisite prose, huzzah.

So I'm bored and I don't want to do the gross amount of homework I have to do for science writing. What shall I do instead?

Waste time on my blog, of course. Do I have anything to talk about? Of course not. But whatever.

Oh, here's something good: my computer works again. Though after I got it back the first time, I couldn't find how to get on wireless, so I had to bring it back today. But it was a quick fix.

Glory in my post, ladies and gentlemen. It is born out of much strife.

In other news, I have found a new obsession that is probably not good for me. It is called Goodreads.com and it is making me buy/read way more books than is healthy. Though there are support groups on it for book-buying addicts. Ha. It CAUSES these addictions. But at least I'm in a couple of book groups and can indulge in literary conversation that is not overpowered by 21 theater students at 8 in the morning. (Yes, that is what I am dealing with this semester, by the way. I'm pretty sure there were four people who were not some form of theater major, myself and my friend Bryan included. At least it's an alternative to coffee. Hey, I didn't say it was a good alternative.)

I'm starting a book group in a small circle of friends at IC too. I think the first choice is going to end up being The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, which just won the Newbery Award. And it's funny, because I was not the one to suggest it, though I've been wanting to read it; my friend Olivia did. I'll let you all know how big a failure this latest endeavor turns out to be. Hopefully it won't fail at all, but we'll see.

And in case any of you are wondering, I love country music, especially Rascall Flats. Whom I am listening to right now. "God bless the broken road / That led me straight to youuu." I know I'm annoying. What can I say. I enjoy their lyrics and melodies.

With these final words, I'll leave you with a final image as well. It's from Halloween. Guess who I am; bet you can't do it. And don't say anything if you knew already, that's CHEATING.

And no, I'm not the one on the right.