Today started very early for a Saturday morning. We had a field trip for our mechanical systems class (HVAC...yay...) that left campus at 8:30am so I had to wake up at 7. Amazingly, I woke up on time.
First, we went to Antiochian Village. It sounds like a retirement home, but is actually the national headquarters for some Christian religion or other. We toured the museum and auditorium, and then Jerry, the professor, took us to his favorite room of the building - the boiler room. I thought it was a little boring, personally. Looking around, I think a few people agreed. After that, we took the bus to the new dining hall. It was big. It was orange. It looked like a humongous log cabin. Jerry said the architect cried when they decided to put the faux log-cabin siding on. He also told us the architect said that was the ugliest building he ever designed. Poor architect. Again, we went to the boiler room and looked around. O yes, and the whole time, our bus driver (Mr. Chuck) walked around with us.
So then we all went to lunch. It was really amusing, because so far, when we moved from building to building, we've been taking the bus to just cross the street. I predicted to Waz that we would just drive 20 feet before we had to get off again, and lo and behold, we drove about 20 feet. I think there was a Mary Kay cosmetics convention because when we walked into the parking lot, there were an abnormal amount of pink cadillacs, and inside the entryway, there were a ton of pink things. It scared me. A lot. When we all picked drinks for lunch, I saw blue colored juice, and being that the more toxic it looked the more appealing it was to me, I picked it. Then everyone made fun of me. Meh, blue juice is more fun than red juice. The nice thing about archie field trips is that you're so familiar with all your classmates, that you could sit with just about anyone and still have a good time. It was a good lunch. I stole cookies and we ended with a debate about who was better, Matt Damon or Leonardo DiCaprio. Since I personally think that Leo looks like a very ugly woman, I went with Matt.
Next we went to Jerry's very own home. We approached what I thought was the driveway going up to his house. A very narrow little road that Jerry's own SUV just squeezed through somehow managed to accomodate our schoolbus. I feel like we drove a mile on that road before we reached his house, which seemed to be about the same size as Mount Vernon. Apparently my professor is quite affluent. We were greeted by an adorable three-legged german shepard mix that decided to run a circle around me while on his leash, nearly making me fall over.
The inside of Jerry's house was the most American looking house ever. The kitchen and gathering room were warm colors, the other rooms looked either very stately or very country craft-like. His wife told us she was starting to decorate and one of my classmates said, "Starting??" Then she clarified by saying she was starting to decorate for Christmas. They plan on having a total of 27 Christmas trees. 27! Jerry took us all into the basement to show us his pride and joy - a 3 ton geothermal heating system. Then we went upstairs and looked around his house. The study had a tiny little spiral staircase which led to a tiny tiny little room at the top. When I got up there, I don't know if it was the staircase or the size of the room, but I felt a little faint so I went back down. Claustrophobia, I think. All in all, a gorgeous house that a state politician would love. We finished our visit with a sampling of Mrs. Jerry's Christmas cookies. Very yummy.
The bus ride home was very quiet because everyone fell asleep. Well, almost quiet. Chang snored way too loudly for me to be able to sleep well. Fortunately, my trusty new earmuffs made it a little quieter.
Saturday, November 18, 2006
Halfie
I guess growing up in America has made me a little too white-washed. In the past week, I've been asked twice if I'm a halfie - by halfie I mean half asian, half white. I can't figure out why people think so, in fact, it's a little upsetting since I feel like, if anything, I seem a little more fobby after being in China all summer. My friends can't pinpoint what makes me look distinctly not-Chinese. It's not just here either. When I was in China, practically every talkative cab driver asked me if I was from Japan or Korea, or something along those lines.
I guess I shouldn't let it bother me. The guy who asked me today said, "It's a good thing." His reason for asking me was because my hair's really black. All of my cousins have really black hair, too, so I thought that was a little odd for a reason. Another friend said it's my eyes, but my mum tells me I have very nice, Chinese almond-shaped eyes. I guess I just have a wierd combination of features. Poo. Mom said that when she was in college in Texas, she was regularly mistakened for hispanic. In fact, if we go to Manhattan, very often some poor tourist will start speaking to her in fast Spanish and she won't even know what language they're speaking. Well, since people think Mom is hispanic, maybe I look half hispanic...?
Maybe I should just say, "Yes, yes I am," because, after all, with family history who knows?
I guess I shouldn't let it bother me. The guy who asked me today said, "It's a good thing." His reason for asking me was because my hair's really black. All of my cousins have really black hair, too, so I thought that was a little odd for a reason. Another friend said it's my eyes, but my mum tells me I have very nice, Chinese almond-shaped eyes. I guess I just have a wierd combination of features. Poo. Mom said that when she was in college in Texas, she was regularly mistakened for hispanic. In fact, if we go to Manhattan, very often some poor tourist will start speaking to her in fast Spanish and she won't even know what language they're speaking. Well, since people think Mom is hispanic, maybe I look half hispanic...?
Maybe I should just say, "Yes, yes I am," because, after all, with family history who knows?
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Me and My Stupid Mouth
Today I think I win the prize of saying inappropriate things. Well, I only recall two instances, one of which I noticed myself in hindsight which I very much regret, and the other one I noticed when Ben pointed it out, and it was actually quite funny. Just for entertainment's sake, I'll tell you the funny one.
So, my roomie has been receiving a million packages in the mail. Constantly. I don't know what she orders, but they always arrive in teeny little bags. In any case, I got home today and opened the mailbox and took out a few pieces of paper that notified me that we had received a package. While talking to Ben on the phone, the doorman brings out a big box and I said, "O my, that's a large package." Fortunately, the doorman, being about daddy's age, didn't notice either and said, "Yes, but it's quite light." Ben, on the phone, burst out laughing and in a very suggestive tone said, "Yes. Yes it is. A. Very. Large. Package." Yah, apparently I'm dating a pervy one.
Speaking of my pervy boy, we were watching "Sex and the City" Season 5 the other day - the season where Sarah Jessica Parker was pregnant so there were only eight episodes. About half way through episode six, Ben offhandedly mentioned that her boobs looked bigger. I never told him she got pregnant that season, so he must have come to that conclusion on his own. Is it just my boyfriend? Or is it all men? And how come, when I look at that show again, I still don't notice any change? Maybe it's just because I'm a girl and I don't really care...
Well, enough of that. I think that last paragraph can be added to my list of wildly inappropriate things. Speaking of which, to my friend, I feel very badly about what I said. If you noticed it and it upset you, I apologize.
So, my roomie has been receiving a million packages in the mail. Constantly. I don't know what she orders, but they always arrive in teeny little bags. In any case, I got home today and opened the mailbox and took out a few pieces of paper that notified me that we had received a package. While talking to Ben on the phone, the doorman brings out a big box and I said, "O my, that's a large package." Fortunately, the doorman, being about daddy's age, didn't notice either and said, "Yes, but it's quite light." Ben, on the phone, burst out laughing and in a very suggestive tone said, "Yes. Yes it is. A. Very. Large. Package." Yah, apparently I'm dating a pervy one.
Speaking of my pervy boy, we were watching "Sex and the City" Season 5 the other day - the season where Sarah Jessica Parker was pregnant so there were only eight episodes. About half way through episode six, Ben offhandedly mentioned that her boobs looked bigger. I never told him she got pregnant that season, so he must have come to that conclusion on his own. Is it just my boyfriend? Or is it all men? And how come, when I look at that show again, I still don't notice any change? Maybe it's just because I'm a girl and I don't really care...
Well, enough of that. I think that last paragraph can be added to my list of wildly inappropriate things. Speaking of which, to my friend, I feel very badly about what I said. If you noticed it and it upset you, I apologize.
Saturday, November 04, 2006
Facebook Group
I started a nifty little group on facebook a while back to keep track of friends who went to my Chinese School. I checked on it recently and there's three people from CUNY Brooklyn and Stuyvensant. My question is - did they actually go to my Chinese School (and if so, why on earth would anyone want to travel so far for a Saturday morning class?) or did they just randomly decide to join? (and if so, should I try to kick them out of the group...?)
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Glassed!
Today is halloween. In true halloween fashion, I put on a make-everyone-stare outfit. I'm quite proud of it. Think Jay McCarroll's final collection super long green scarf mixed with his 2055 outfit. Very cool, I think. I also put my hair in two buns on the top of my head. Whee! It only took 45 minutes to do....I really need to grow out my hair...or chop it all off again...
On a different note, I bought a bottle of snapple today and right when I was about to chug the last bit down, I noticed I could hear a tinkling noise in the bottle. What's this? I think, and look closer. Lo and behold, lying at the bottom of the bottle was a little piece of glass. I really hope I didn't swallow any, though I doubt I did. I called up Snapple after class and complained. I'm getting coupons...Well, I suppose that when I'm recovering from a tear in my stomach, they might come in handy...
On a different note, I bought a bottle of snapple today and right when I was about to chug the last bit down, I noticed I could hear a tinkling noise in the bottle. What's this? I think, and look closer. Lo and behold, lying at the bottom of the bottle was a little piece of glass. I really hope I didn't swallow any, though I doubt I did. I called up Snapple after class and complained. I'm getting coupons...Well, I suppose that when I'm recovering from a tear in my stomach, they might come in handy...
Fashion!
Waz and I are OFFICIALLY fasion designers in the school's biggest fashion show of the year! Rejoice at the opportunity! Lament the work that's coming...
Random note: Today I found out that my best friend Waz and my cousin Louise went to elementary school together. It's a small world...
Random note: Today I found out that my best friend Waz and my cousin Louise went to elementary school together. It's a small world...
Monday, October 30, 2006
Updates
There's a strange man in my apartment and all I know is that he wears odd high top sneakers. And sandals in cold weather. For the past month, my roomie has been inviting mystery asian man over for sleepovers and occasionally not coming home, so my only conclusions are that mystery man is her boyfriend and that he is abnormally unresponsive to cold.
In other news, my midsemester grades were pretty darned horrible, mostly due to the fact that I've been focusing more on studio and dance than usual so the enviro classes kind of suffer. O, and by horrible, I mean I only got two As, so don't panic.
Also, after working for about four weeks straight on gut-wrenching heart-stopping gotta-meet-the-deadline work, I finally had a relaxing weekend where I just focused on crocheting a scarf for the long winter ahead. It was most amusing actually, what's been happening with that. For most of the day, I walked around with a ball of yarn tucked under my arm, the scarf around my neck and the "active" part was expanding with every minute as I chatted with everyone. At one point, I was sitting with Ben in his room watching him play Dead Rising and I got called downstairs to help out with something, so I wandered down, not realizing I was leaving a long trail of yarn behind me. Ben ever so kindly picked all of it up off the ground before the cat realized it was there and put it in a pile. Also, right before he was going to bring me home, I was reviewing the state of the scarf, and, to my chagrin, it has shrunk a lot in width. I have no idea where I'm losing stitches. So, I was quite upset, and grumbled while rolling all of the around the current ball of yarn I was on. What resulted was a fuzzy big ball roughly the size of a watermelon. I kept grumbling while I packed stuff up to go, turned around and found Ben curled up around the ball, shielding it from "destructive mommy." I thought that was funny. Not many boyfriends would try to rescue their girlfriends' botched crocheting projects. Isn't he sweet? :)
In other news, my midsemester grades were pretty darned horrible, mostly due to the fact that I've been focusing more on studio and dance than usual so the enviro classes kind of suffer. O, and by horrible, I mean I only got two As, so don't panic.
Also, after working for about four weeks straight on gut-wrenching heart-stopping gotta-meet-the-deadline work, I finally had a relaxing weekend where I just focused on crocheting a scarf for the long winter ahead. It was most amusing actually, what's been happening with that. For most of the day, I walked around with a ball of yarn tucked under my arm, the scarf around my neck and the "active" part was expanding with every minute as I chatted with everyone. At one point, I was sitting with Ben in his room watching him play Dead Rising and I got called downstairs to help out with something, so I wandered down, not realizing I was leaving a long trail of yarn behind me. Ben ever so kindly picked all of it up off the ground before the cat realized it was there and put it in a pile. Also, right before he was going to bring me home, I was reviewing the state of the scarf, and, to my chagrin, it has shrunk a lot in width. I have no idea where I'm losing stitches. So, I was quite upset, and grumbled while rolling all of the around the current ball of yarn I was on. What resulted was a fuzzy big ball roughly the size of a watermelon. I kept grumbling while I packed stuff up to go, turned around and found Ben curled up around the ball, shielding it from "destructive mommy." I thought that was funny. Not many boyfriends would try to rescue their girlfriends' botched crocheting projects. Isn't he sweet? :)
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Exhausted
It's funny how I thought fourth year was such a breeze. I think part of it was the relief that we would be doing something more on the level of what I can understand. However, workload doesn't seem any less. For taking one less class than usual, I seem to still spend very little time at home.
Last Sunday, I had a big studio project due. At least, we all felt like it was a big studio deadline. Little did we know it, but on Wednesday, when the other studios had their presentations, what they pinned up was grease-pencil drawings on yellow trace. And here I spent $60 to make a book. That doesn't seem very fair. At least the review went well.
Immediately after that, I studied for a lighting exam, which I felt went well. Wednesday was my usual night off after discussing Lunar Gala with Waz. Thursday, whilst everyone partied and recuperated, Patrick and I sat in the computer lab putting together the beginnings of our lighting presentation. Friday, all day, I spent drawing the little people that went in our Lunar Gala design portfolio. They turned out fabulous. All of Saturday was spent grading homework and working out solutions for students to study off of. Sunday was all grading homework and Lunar Gala. The deadline was at 10 pm, but we were a little short on time when we found out that the printer didn't like 11x17 paper. But, in the end, we made it work - I even powerwalked between studio and the third floor computer lab. We got the deadline extended to 11 and exactly at 10:59, Waz and I grabbed our barely completed portfolio and sprinted full tilt over to the dropbox - and made it! Yay!
Then, of course, there was still Lighting to do, which is what I did last night until 4:00am. I think the presentation went will, though I feel that today, my thought process is significantly slower than normal because the exhaustion is setting in.
Dance at noon, right before the presentation - we had a substitute who had some interesting moves, many of which went too quickly for me to pick up. And, of course, it was very hip hop and if there's one thing that I really suck at...It should be fun though, a lot of my friends are in the class this time around so there's people to talk to.
1:30 was lighting, and then at 3:30, Waz and I had our Lunar Gala interview where we were solidly praised for the quality of our portfolios. I think we have a good chance, though they tell us that rehearsals are 6 hours a week, Tuesday and Thursday from 9:30 till god knows when. That will suck...and they start next week!
So now, here I am, with an hour and a half of free time before I teach recitation and then dance for three hours. Woe is me and my lack of rest. I'm really looking forward to tomorrow evening where I can just completely relax.
Last Sunday, I had a big studio project due. At least, we all felt like it was a big studio deadline. Little did we know it, but on Wednesday, when the other studios had their presentations, what they pinned up was grease-pencil drawings on yellow trace. And here I spent $60 to make a book. That doesn't seem very fair. At least the review went well.
Immediately after that, I studied for a lighting exam, which I felt went well. Wednesday was my usual night off after discussing Lunar Gala with Waz. Thursday, whilst everyone partied and recuperated, Patrick and I sat in the computer lab putting together the beginnings of our lighting presentation. Friday, all day, I spent drawing the little people that went in our Lunar Gala design portfolio. They turned out fabulous. All of Saturday was spent grading homework and working out solutions for students to study off of. Sunday was all grading homework and Lunar Gala. The deadline was at 10 pm, but we were a little short on time when we found out that the printer didn't like 11x17 paper. But, in the end, we made it work - I even powerwalked between studio and the third floor computer lab. We got the deadline extended to 11 and exactly at 10:59, Waz and I grabbed our barely completed portfolio and sprinted full tilt over to the dropbox - and made it! Yay!
Then, of course, there was still Lighting to do, which is what I did last night until 4:00am. I think the presentation went will, though I feel that today, my thought process is significantly slower than normal because the exhaustion is setting in.
Dance at noon, right before the presentation - we had a substitute who had some interesting moves, many of which went too quickly for me to pick up. And, of course, it was very hip hop and if there's one thing that I really suck at...It should be fun though, a lot of my friends are in the class this time around so there's people to talk to.
1:30 was lighting, and then at 3:30, Waz and I had our Lunar Gala interview where we were solidly praised for the quality of our portfolios. I think we have a good chance, though they tell us that rehearsals are 6 hours a week, Tuesday and Thursday from 9:30 till god knows when. That will suck...and they start next week!
So now, here I am, with an hour and a half of free time before I teach recitation and then dance for three hours. Woe is me and my lack of rest. I'm really looking forward to tomorrow evening where I can just completely relax.
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Sleep Walking
Have you ever woken up after a nap and gotten really confused on just what, exactly, happened? I pulled an all-nighter last night, and basically worried myself away all weekend long so I found myself in a state of zombieness today.
O and it just so happened, as well, that out of everyone in the entire studio, I had to stay the longest for my extra crit today, which, by the way, I really enjoyed because they had such nice things to say. After that, I went to dinner with Waz and then went home. Upon arriving home, I saw that it was around 7, and was a great time for me to take an hour's nap before doing some homework and then going to dance rehearsal - dance rehearsal that I lead, since I'm choreographing.
And then I woke up. About ten minutes ago, with the cell phone alarm clock thing on the nightstand next to me. How did it get there? I definitely set that thing on the other side of the room so I wouldn't turn it off in my sleep. And the funny thing is, usually, if I do that, I can vaguely recall myself turning the phone off, but this time...nothing...and I'm amazed I didn't trip over anything in my room because it looks like a typhoon came through here.
So all in all, I still have a lot of crap I need to do and let down a whole bunch of people who had to drag their butts to campus in the middle of the night just because of me. And I'm still sleepy. Crud...Sorry, guys...
O and it just so happened, as well, that out of everyone in the entire studio, I had to stay the longest for my extra crit today, which, by the way, I really enjoyed because they had such nice things to say. After that, I went to dinner with Waz and then went home. Upon arriving home, I saw that it was around 7, and was a great time for me to take an hour's nap before doing some homework and then going to dance rehearsal - dance rehearsal that I lead, since I'm choreographing.
And then I woke up. About ten minutes ago, with the cell phone alarm clock thing on the nightstand next to me. How did it get there? I definitely set that thing on the other side of the room so I wouldn't turn it off in my sleep. And the funny thing is, usually, if I do that, I can vaguely recall myself turning the phone off, but this time...nothing...and I'm amazed I didn't trip over anything in my room because it looks like a typhoon came through here.
So all in all, I still have a lot of crap I need to do and let down a whole bunch of people who had to drag their butts to campus in the middle of the night just because of me. And I'm still sleepy. Crud...Sorry, guys...
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
A Detriment to Studio Culture
Cheers to me! According to my best friend's ex, I am a detriment to studio culture. According to this guru of feelings, I make my best friend feel bad about herself and I badmouth him to the entire school of Architecture.
I wasn't mad at him before. In fact, I was willing to give him a chance. I didn't talk to him unless he talked to me; since my best friend is working things out I figured I wouldn't do anything that might botch things up for her. I thought, 'Lend support to my best friend, try to be positive.' That was what I was trying to do.
And now this. I don't think I did anything to deserve hearing f***, s*** and b***** flung at me several times each over the course of three minutes. I don't recall spreading any information about him. I don't think I even discussed it with anyone who wasn't already aware of the entire situation. In fact, and I probably already said this, I didn't even hate him or dislike him until he decided to call me up just now. Not only was he rudely yelling expletives at me, he was self-righteous, condescending, arrogant, and ever so unaware as usual that he's, yet again, trying to displace the blame. Frankly, I'm offended and hurt. And yet, I still try to give him the benefit of the doubt...
I wasn't mad at him before. In fact, I was willing to give him a chance. I didn't talk to him unless he talked to me; since my best friend is working things out I figured I wouldn't do anything that might botch things up for her. I thought, 'Lend support to my best friend, try to be positive.' That was what I was trying to do.
And now this. I don't think I did anything to deserve hearing f***, s*** and b***** flung at me several times each over the course of three minutes. I don't recall spreading any information about him. I don't think I even discussed it with anyone who wasn't already aware of the entire situation. In fact, and I probably already said this, I didn't even hate him or dislike him until he decided to call me up just now. Not only was he rudely yelling expletives at me, he was self-righteous, condescending, arrogant, and ever so unaware as usual that he's, yet again, trying to displace the blame. Frankly, I'm offended and hurt. And yet, I still try to give him the benefit of the doubt...
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Not Feeling the Love
There's something really depressing about standing at the front of an empty classroom. There's also something really depressing about going upstairs to remind people that there's recitation right now, at this moment, and no one's interested because they're too busy playing poker or eating dinner. Hey, let's add to the depression by having me haar my students joke and laugh about how I'd yell at them for not paying attention because they'll be too busy playing poker in the back of the classroom. Thanks guys. I'M STANDING RIGHT HERE! I'm not impressed. In fact, right now, I'm feeling more than a little resentful of these people.
So, I'm just standing here at the computer, waiting to see if anyone will show up for recitation. My guess is that no, no one is interested, and in approximately 10 minutes, I'll be walking out that door myself, fuming at the insolence of the little buggers. Loving TA I am not. Whawtever. At least I'm making $5 for just standing here and typing on my blog.
Edit: So, half an hour late, but three people managed to show up (they had to finish their poker game first). They were polite enough to sit through it all, and they had questions afterwards. How nice. Still, where's the other 55 people?
So, I'm just standing here at the computer, waiting to see if anyone will show up for recitation. My guess is that no, no one is interested, and in approximately 10 minutes, I'll be walking out that door myself, fuming at the insolence of the little buggers. Loving TA I am not. Whawtever. At least I'm making $5 for just standing here and typing on my blog.
Edit: So, half an hour late, but three people managed to show up (they had to finish their poker game first). They were polite enough to sit through it all, and they had questions afterwards. How nice. Still, where's the other 55 people?
Monday, September 25, 2006
No Heat
So today I planned on doing the laundry, since it's been about three weeks since I'd done any. However, the hot water in the building is down and no one knows when it will be up again. While I'm a cold water laundry person, I was warned that the hot water might back up and ruin my clothes. So, alas, no laundry for me. Whatever am I going to do with...all my free time?
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Fascinating
I had a good weekend. A few things happened of note, I suppose.
On Thursday, a little red-haired girl at the busstop decided I would be a good conversationalist and talked to me about bugs and dogs. She was very serious, and, for someone who looks like she must be about 7 or 8 years old (though I'm a bad judge of age when they're that young, she could be 10 for all I know) she was very well spoken. I think her mother is a professor or something at the school. That would proably explain things.
This weekend was quite relaxing. Ben and I enjoyed our post-anniversary by christening his brand new XBOX360. Well, rather, he played a LOT, and I watched. Sometimes. Mostly, I dozed in the chair next to him or graded homework nearby. Still, it was nice and relaxing.
Last night, I had the first rehearsal for my dance at 11pm. It went well, I suppose. I might have imagined it, but I kept feeling like everyone was staring at me thinking, "My god, why did I sign up for her dance. We're going to look terrible..." But maybe that was just nerves. I'm not good at leading when I actually know that I'm in charge. Hmm, now that's a revelation.
Today I got a wonderful package in the mail. I ordered two 1GB flash drives the size of trident gum online, and lo and behold, they came in a box that was 8x5x10. For two pieces of trident gum. What's more amazing is that the packaging material, styrofoam, was in larger pieces than the actual flash drives, making me have to dig and thereby torture myself with that horribly styrofoam noise.
Still, 2GB! YAY!
On Thursday, a little red-haired girl at the busstop decided I would be a good conversationalist and talked to me about bugs and dogs. She was very serious, and, for someone who looks like she must be about 7 or 8 years old (though I'm a bad judge of age when they're that young, she could be 10 for all I know) she was very well spoken. I think her mother is a professor or something at the school. That would proably explain things.
This weekend was quite relaxing. Ben and I enjoyed our post-anniversary by christening his brand new XBOX360. Well, rather, he played a LOT, and I watched. Sometimes. Mostly, I dozed in the chair next to him or graded homework nearby. Still, it was nice and relaxing.
Last night, I had the first rehearsal for my dance at 11pm. It went well, I suppose. I might have imagined it, but I kept feeling like everyone was staring at me thinking, "My god, why did I sign up for her dance. We're going to look terrible..." But maybe that was just nerves. I'm not good at leading when I actually know that I'm in charge. Hmm, now that's a revelation.
Today I got a wonderful package in the mail. I ordered two 1GB flash drives the size of trident gum online, and lo and behold, they came in a box that was 8x5x10. For two pieces of trident gum. What's more amazing is that the packaging material, styrofoam, was in larger pieces than the actual flash drives, making me have to dig and thereby torture myself with that horribly styrofoam noise.
Still, 2GB! YAY!
Friday, September 15, 2006
:(
Days like today I just don't feel good about myself. In fact, days like today, I don't even like myself. Life is unfair. No one gives a crap how hard you work, you still get screwed over in the end.
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Depressed
So I've got a few things that make me depressed.
1) It's raining and cold, that makes for a bad combination.
2) I have a huge blister on my toe from dance auditions on Saturday and it seems to get more painful with everyday.
3) The blister wasn't worth it - I still didn't get into the one dance I really wanted. Darnit.
On the upside:
1) I got a really good set of dancers in my dance (except one of them seems to have combined my existence with Alice W., which offends me to the core)
2) I made a new friend in the Afro/Caribbean dance class
3) I got a lot of sleep last night.
I'm not sure if it's all evened out. It might be even, but Depressed Reason 3 seems to tip the scale in its...favor?
1) It's raining and cold, that makes for a bad combination.
2) I have a huge blister on my toe from dance auditions on Saturday and it seems to get more painful with everyday.
3) The blister wasn't worth it - I still didn't get into the one dance I really wanted. Darnit.
On the upside:
1) I got a really good set of dancers in my dance (except one of them seems to have combined my existence with Alice W., which offends me to the core)
2) I made a new friend in the Afro/Caribbean dance class
3) I got a lot of sleep last night.
I'm not sure if it's all evened out. It might be even, but Depressed Reason 3 seems to tip the scale in its...favor?
Monday, September 11, 2006
Auditions and Food
Yesterday was Dancer's Symposium tryouts. I was most apprehensive because I'm choreographing and I hadn't actually ever practiced the dance that I had to show people. Needless to say, when I went on stage, it didn't go so well. O yes, and did I say I missed the choreographer meeting so I didn't know what to say when I went on stage? Well, I suppose as choreographing went, it wasn't too bad. It wasn't a good selection. Most of the girls who are really good weren't interested because it seemed too easy and the girls who did try out just aren't very good. So, I'm changing it. I think they'll all be mildly horrified when they find out that the nice slow song has turned into a moderately fast song and it's slightly more hip hop and a lot less lyrical. I think I'll teach them what I've got so far and if they screw up, well, I'll go back to the easy one. Most important is having girls who can do this.
As for auditioning itself, I think it went well. For once, my pirouettes were on the spot. I'm really hoping I get into this one lyrical jazz piece, but if not, at last I'll have a few others. And if I did far worse than I thought I did, well, at least I have my own to look cool in.
After dance, I ran home and cooked for Waz's housewarming potluck. From what I'd been hearing from Waz, it seemed like there weren't many people bringing food so I decided to bring two dishes, a dinner and a dessert. For dinner, a cod and mushroom casserole that many people enjoyed. For dessert, an almond tofu (not actually tofu, just looks like it) with fruit cocktail mix of deliciousness. That went over particularly well. Waz told me that at the end of the evening, there was only one bowl's worth of the dessert left. Similarly, according to my calculation, there was exactly one bowl's worth of fish casserole left over for my enjoyment.
Ironically, I didn't have to worry about people not having enough to eat, since most of the people Waz invited decided not to show up for some stupid reason or other. I'm most annoyed with them. I managed to bring Ben, and he lives 20 miles away. Ben, by the way, was afraid he would be torturously bored or antagonized and found that he was neither. Well, maybe he was a little bored. It wasn't a problem anyway, since we left around 9 so his dogs didn't have to be locked in the house with no where to pee for too long. I brought a bit of the almond dessert I had left over to his place and gave it to his parents. His mom seemed to like it.
So, to sum up my weeked, I danced relatively well and I know I could make a pretty good dessert chef. ^_^
As for auditioning itself, I think it went well. For once, my pirouettes were on the spot. I'm really hoping I get into this one lyrical jazz piece, but if not, at last I'll have a few others. And if I did far worse than I thought I did, well, at least I have my own to look cool in.
After dance, I ran home and cooked for Waz's housewarming potluck. From what I'd been hearing from Waz, it seemed like there weren't many people bringing food so I decided to bring two dishes, a dinner and a dessert. For dinner, a cod and mushroom casserole that many people enjoyed. For dessert, an almond tofu (not actually tofu, just looks like it) with fruit cocktail mix of deliciousness. That went over particularly well. Waz told me that at the end of the evening, there was only one bowl's worth of the dessert left. Similarly, according to my calculation, there was exactly one bowl's worth of fish casserole left over for my enjoyment.
Ironically, I didn't have to worry about people not having enough to eat, since most of the people Waz invited decided not to show up for some stupid reason or other. I'm most annoyed with them. I managed to bring Ben, and he lives 20 miles away. Ben, by the way, was afraid he would be torturously bored or antagonized and found that he was neither. Well, maybe he was a little bored. It wasn't a problem anyway, since we left around 9 so his dogs didn't have to be locked in the house with no where to pee for too long. I brought a bit of the almond dessert I had left over to his place and gave it to his parents. His mom seemed to like it.
So, to sum up my weeked, I danced relatively well and I know I could make a pretty good dessert chef. ^_^
Friday, September 08, 2006
Hamsters and Ballerinas
I came to a strange conclusion this morning after ballet. For the majority of the day, I'm like a hamster. I like to slump over and huddle in a little area and just eat and sleep. And if I'm out and about, I just kind of sit there and look. Well, maybe I'm not a hamster per se, just a lazy fat rodent, like a guinea pig...
However, it seems after ballet class, I seem much less guinea pig-like. I guess something about the stretching in the class just makes me stand straighter. I look so much thinner after dance, or it could just be something that bothers me when I'm not exercising, that I'm getting fatter because I'm getting lazy. Who knows, my brain is wonky apparently. You can thank Barthes for that.
However, it seems after ballet class, I seem much less guinea pig-like. I guess something about the stretching in the class just makes me stand straighter. I look so much thinner after dance, or it could just be something that bothers me when I'm not exercising, that I'm getting fatter because I'm getting lazy. Who knows, my brain is wonky apparently. You can thank Barthes for that.
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
By Dose is Clogged
Translation: My nose is clogged.
Ernesto seems to have caused me to get a bit of a head cold. Never fear, Sinus Decongestant is waiting for me upon my arrival home. Thank god.
Other than that, nothing of note has been happening lately. I had a nice Labor Day weekend with my benny-bean. He was very nice and drove me all the way to Ikea and suffered through the whole ordeal. To pay him back, I'm going to make a delicious spaghetti dinner for him. Hopefully I don't burn anything.
Right now, I wish I had a tissue...
Ernesto seems to have caused me to get a bit of a head cold. Never fear, Sinus Decongestant is waiting for me upon my arrival home. Thank god.
Other than that, nothing of note has been happening lately. I had a nice Labor Day weekend with my benny-bean. He was very nice and drove me all the way to Ikea and suffered through the whole ordeal. To pay him back, I'm going to make a delicious spaghetti dinner for him. Hopefully I don't burn anything.
Right now, I wish I had a tissue...
Thursday, August 31, 2006
First Week
Classes seem to be in full swing now. I actually find myself enjoying it so far. It possibly has something to do with the fact that I am only (only!) taking six classes this semester and most of them are fun, or at least, interesting. I think the only one I'm really not excited about is the Mechanical Systems one, but that's mostly because it's so early.
I had a most pleasing day yesterday. For studio, we had to make that occupancy poster. So I made mine. I might post it, but basically it's a big grey word (Occupancy) going diagonally across the page, and I altered a few letters and turned them into the phrase, "Occupancy - function of habitation." There was actually no hyphen, it's just implied. And then I made little red silhouettes sit on the words or around them.
I was quite worried in class when everyone hung up their posters and basically all of them were chock full of words or images. And then there was mine. Four words, four silhouettes. So I started to worry and then continued to worry as the studio progressed and went on for an hour where it seemed absolutely no one noticed my poster. Finally, my professor says he's been waiting and waiting and I guess he just didn't want to wait any longer, and he wants to know all about the Russian Constructivist poster. I felt like a bad student as I wondered what the heck that meant, and felt even dumber when I realized that he meant mine. And what's worse is when I started talking about it, he thought I was talking about the wrong poster because I didn't turn my head all the way to look at it. Yes, everyone, my eyeballs are quite flexible too. So I just muttered about the poster a little bit, basically saying that there's not much to say and then he says he really likes it. Then Stephanie chimes in and says she likes it too! Yay! So I guess I wasn't a complete idiot.
Then my day became especially pleasing at bookbinding. Passion-wise, I think I've found my calling. I love books. I love reading them, I love making them. I do think that I would willingly sit at a table for hours and work on a book until it was perfect. When the professor mentioned that one of his former students is in NY with her own firm specializing in letterpressing and bookbinding I got to thinking, maybe that's all I really want to do. Maybe when I'm all done with school and have worked for a few years, I'll just start a little business where I can make pretty books for gifts, cards and whatnot and even do custom binding and such for those who want fancier portfolios. It wold be like Kinko's except that the employees would actually have brains. Sounds like a credible business, maybe? I think it might work, though mom wouldn't approve because she would probably think that it wouldn't have much in the way of customers. Who knows?
I had a most pleasing day yesterday. For studio, we had to make that occupancy poster. So I made mine. I might post it, but basically it's a big grey word (Occupancy) going diagonally across the page, and I altered a few letters and turned them into the phrase, "Occupancy - function of habitation." There was actually no hyphen, it's just implied. And then I made little red silhouettes sit on the words or around them.
I was quite worried in class when everyone hung up their posters and basically all of them were chock full of words or images. And then there was mine. Four words, four silhouettes. So I started to worry and then continued to worry as the studio progressed and went on for an hour where it seemed absolutely no one noticed my poster. Finally, my professor says he's been waiting and waiting and I guess he just didn't want to wait any longer, and he wants to know all about the Russian Constructivist poster. I felt like a bad student as I wondered what the heck that meant, and felt even dumber when I realized that he meant mine. And what's worse is when I started talking about it, he thought I was talking about the wrong poster because I didn't turn my head all the way to look at it. Yes, everyone, my eyeballs are quite flexible too. So I just muttered about the poster a little bit, basically saying that there's not much to say and then he says he really likes it. Then Stephanie chimes in and says she likes it too! Yay! So I guess I wasn't a complete idiot.
Then my day became especially pleasing at bookbinding. Passion-wise, I think I've found my calling. I love books. I love reading them, I love making them. I do think that I would willingly sit at a table for hours and work on a book until it was perfect. When the professor mentioned that one of his former students is in NY with her own firm specializing in letterpressing and bookbinding I got to thinking, maybe that's all I really want to do. Maybe when I'm all done with school and have worked for a few years, I'll just start a little business where I can make pretty books for gifts, cards and whatnot and even do custom binding and such for those who want fancier portfolios. It wold be like Kinko's except that the employees would actually have brains. Sounds like a credible business, maybe? I think it might work, though mom wouldn't approve because she would probably think that it wouldn't have much in the way of customers. Who knows?
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
The Rising Tide of Doom
Every year on the first day of classes, I always feel waves of dread as the teachers, who act as if they were going easy on us, assign one assignment after another.
Still, the day went well.
I started out the day by going to my Mechanical Systems class where the teacher talked about how he intends to go easy on us. Then he gave us our homework. We have to go to a fast food restaurant and stare at the vents, and hold our cheeks against the cracks between doors. As silly as it sounds, there is a point to it. I'm going with a couple of people today so we don't look like complete idiots.
Then, I sat around with some people for three hours since we don't have any studio space.
Studio consisted of an hour long lecture by Laura Lee and various higher ups in the department. Apparently our school is hosting the AIAS northeastern quad conference. I wonder what that's going to entail. Then we went to our new studio and stood around for what felt like another hour until our professors decided to show up. They all gave really long course descriptions, but fortunately, all of them sound good (in comparison to last year, anyway). I'm looking forward to whichever Professor I end up with.
I ended up the day with a ballet class at the Pittsburgh Ballet Theater. The thing about dancing there is that most of the people there have been dancing there, with the same teachers, for years. Many are professional ballerinas. So, needless to say, with basically five years of spotty ballet lessons, I felt horribly ungraceful and fat. Still, I felt great walking out of class, so I'm going back for more torture on Thursday, hopefully with a classmate in tow.
Now I have to figure out how to define "Occupancy." I looked it up in the dictionary, but somehow I doubt that the teacher was going for the exact definition. I see a big word on my 11x17. A big diagonal "Occupancy" and probably a smaller "Habitation." We'll see where I go with that.
Still, the day went well.
I started out the day by going to my Mechanical Systems class where the teacher talked about how he intends to go easy on us. Then he gave us our homework. We have to go to a fast food restaurant and stare at the vents, and hold our cheeks against the cracks between doors. As silly as it sounds, there is a point to it. I'm going with a couple of people today so we don't look like complete idiots.
Then, I sat around with some people for three hours since we don't have any studio space.
Studio consisted of an hour long lecture by Laura Lee and various higher ups in the department. Apparently our school is hosting the AIAS northeastern quad conference. I wonder what that's going to entail. Then we went to our new studio and stood around for what felt like another hour until our professors decided to show up. They all gave really long course descriptions, but fortunately, all of them sound good (in comparison to last year, anyway). I'm looking forward to whichever Professor I end up with.
I ended up the day with a ballet class at the Pittsburgh Ballet Theater. The thing about dancing there is that most of the people there have been dancing there, with the same teachers, for years. Many are professional ballerinas. So, needless to say, with basically five years of spotty ballet lessons, I felt horribly ungraceful and fat. Still, I felt great walking out of class, so I'm going back for more torture on Thursday, hopefully with a classmate in tow.
Now I have to figure out how to define "Occupancy." I looked it up in the dictionary, but somehow I doubt that the teacher was going for the exact definition. I see a big word on my 11x17. A big diagonal "Occupancy" and probably a smaller "Habitation." We'll see where I go with that.
