May 2002 archive
(81 entries)
May 31, 2002
Oops, I'm at a convention
Oops, I'm at a convention
I just remembered that in a dream last night, I accidentally
went to some big sci-fi fan convention (I won some tickets and went so I
wouldn't waste them, but I wasn't really interested in being there) and met
someone incredibly important. I don't even remember who. I just remember
I was sitting on a display, bored, and this incredibly important sci-fi person
(maybe he wasn't important, because right now the only person coming to mind
is the Young Owen Lars) came and sat next to me. I remember the jealous
stares of the fans.
Where is that again?
I'm doing data-entry at work these days, putting the descriptions on photo negative envelopes into a database. The latest one, from 1958, mentions U-M's Geography Department. Do schools still have geography departments? Could you major in Geography? What kind of job opportunities were open to Geography majors? Mapmaking?
When was the last time you studied geography in school? The last time I remember was sixth grade, over ten years ago.
Prepare to be destroyed ...
Prepare to be destroyed
... by the most addictive website on Earth: What's Better?
Patrick Roy is in there somewhere. Pick whatever's up against him.
srah | 8:32 AM
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May 30, 2002
Yawn I went to bed
Yawn I went to bed at 9:00 last night. You would think that by going
to bed at such an outrageously early hour, I would get an outrageous amount
of sleep. But I got 9 hours, a perfectly normal night. Which means that
the rest of the time, I'm not getting enough. Sigh.
The Uncommunicative Haircutting Lady
I never know what to call the person who cuts my hair. Hairdresser sounds like something my grandma would say and stylist sounds a bit too la-di-da for someone like me, whose hair has no style whatsoever. So she ends up being "The Woman Who Cuts My Hair" or "My Haircutting Lady".
Anyway, my haircutting lady is out on maternity leave, so I made an appointment with someone else at the same place. When I was a teenager, I resented the fact that haircutting ladies always tried to talk to me. But now I've come to accept it as part of the process. So it was very disappointing that this woman was entirely uncommunicative. The only exchange we had was when she said, "So, when do you finish school?"
"I just graduated, actually. From college."
"When?"
"May 4."
"So you graduated from college then?"
"Yep."
"I'm sure people have told you this before, but you don't look old enough to be graduating from college..."
(and then the clincher)
"...but that'll work out well for you when you're older."
Zonk! I was so out
Zonk! I was so out of it at work yesterday. My eyes refused to focus
when I looked at the computer screen and I kept sort of leaning forward,
almost falling asleep. When I called to make a doctor's appointment, they
asked me what my regular doctor's office was and I almost said Ann Arbor
Animal Hospital.
May 29, 2002
Indecisive little me
One of the things I don't like about myself is that I'm wishy-washy. When I was in France, I was sure that I wanted to work in France when I grew up. When I came back and took my English Language class, I was sure I wanted to go into linguistics. The next semester, when I took Survey of Computing, I was sure I wanted to be a web designer.
I'm easily influenced, but I'm also adaptable and happy in many different kinds of jobs. I'm going to have to find a way to combine these or try each of them in turn... all the while hoping I don't hit on another one while I'm at it.
The Wednesday Whimsy
If you could breathe underwater (and assuming that water pressure and temperature no longer negatively affected you), what would you do?
I would visit the Gungan city. Oh sorry, Katie puts me in a Star Wars mood. This question makes me think of those funny artificial breathy things Qui-Gonn and Obi-Wan used in Episode I. I suppose I would use it to keep from drowning... I don't think it would make me go out on the water any more than I do.
You are an ocean spirit, and you can do whatever you wish with the mortals who cross over your part of the sea. What would you do with those unsuspecting travelers?
Reverse their genders, then turn them back once they float past my little part of the sea. I am a mischievous little ocean spirit.
You, a land faring person, have fallen in mutual love with a mermaid/merman. You could choose to become a mer-person, or he/she could choose to become human, but either choice would be permanent. Both of you have family, friends and lives in your homes. Do you stay together or not? Either way, how do you deal with the situation?
I think it would be quite difficult, as I know absolutely nothing of the merculture. But it would also be a learning experience. If my family could come visit me, I guess I'd be up for it.
Describe a recent dream.
I can't remember any recent ones.
srah | 8:43 AM
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Tags: memes, wednesday whimsy
I should adopt a dying
I should adopt a dying language...
For a while, when I was still thinking about doing a senior thesis, I considered doing it on dead and dying languages.
May 28, 2002
The Pea
I have an old velour (or some such material) blanket which has been christened "The Pea" in my family because it's sort of a pea-green color. This creates great homonym-related hilarity in my family. Okay, maybe I'm the only one who laughs.
My mom was sitting in the office the other day and shivering. I brought The Pea in and wrapped it around her. "Are you cold?" I asked her, "Maybe you will be warmer if I Pea on you."
I also Pead on the dog in the back seat of the van on the way back from Ohio this weekend. Heh heh.
That's my sister!
When it came time to fill out the roommate form at SOAR (Student Orientation and Registration) last week at Albion, Becky wrote that she'd like to have an international student as a roommate. Sometimes she's a pretty cool person.
Teatime My mom has 'Tea'
Teatime My mom has 'Tea' at work today, meaning that she brings in
the snacks for our teatime. I'm going to be serving so she can pick up my
sister. We have Tea at 3pm every Tuesday and Friday here and I always look
forward to it, playing the Tea Police if I suspect someone might have forgotten.
Do you have any fun work traditions?
Who can we offend? Why
Who can we offend?
Why did the Detroit Free Press pull this cartoon but run this one?
srah | 1:19 PM
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The Tuesday This-or-That?
1. Charcoal or gas BBQ grill? Don't think it matters much to me...
2. Beach or pool? I'd say beach, but I don't know... sand is so rough and coarse. It's not soft... and smoothglaaaaaaaaaaaagh...
3. Sneakers or sandals? Depends on the situation and the outfit - I like the opportunity to wear either.
4. Sunblock or suntan lotion? Sunblock. Otherwise I turn bright red. It sometimes fades into a tan, but I look ridiculous for a few days.
5. Iced tea or iced coffee? Iced tea. Or hot tea, if ya got it.
6. Touristy beach town or quiet camping trip? I hate camping, but I also hate tourists. I suppose the beach town would be the lesser of two evils, but then we get back to that sand, which is rough and coarse...
7. Theme park or baseball game? Yechh. Getting bored standing in line, or getting bored waiting for the game to be over. I suppose I'll pick the theme park, because there might at least be something good at the end.
8. One or two piece swimsuit? (ladies...which do you prefer to wear; guys, which would you prefer a woman to wear?) I have a very sensible two piece.
9. Bicycling or rollerblading? I've never been rollerblading, but I haven't been bicycling in years. I'll say rollerblading because you're closer to the ground.
10. It's 95 degrees outside. Do you prefer to go outside in the heat, or stay in and hide behind the air-conditioner? I hate air-conditioning, but if I can put it on a low setting, I'll stay indoors, away from the bugs and burny sunshine.
srah | 1:03 PM
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Tags: memes, tuesday this-or-that
Chile trip Less than two
Chile trip Less than two weeks till Chile! I haven't started packing
or shopping or anything... and I haven't quite gotten my mind around the
fact that I'll need to take a winter coat. Fancy that! What kind of present does one get
for people one wants to impress, who bought one Christmas presents, are going
to host one for three weeks, and created a lovely person for one to love?
The Monday Mission
1. What happened this weekend that made you smile? Echhh, grave-hopping trip to Ohio. So not too much. Tuna salad sandwiches and graphic novels, I guess.
2. Did you make someone smile today? If not, will you try? I told my mom to smile and she faked one, but then when I started being silly about the great horror film "It Came From the Carpet", she gave me a real one.
3. Have you any clothes or accessories you love to wear but just totally embarass the person you are being seen with? Alex and my mom hate my hawaiian shirts.
4. What was the catch phrase you said the most in High School? Hmmm. I remember doing a lot of laughing like Beavis and Butthead, but no particular catch phrase, other than "Heh heh heh. Cool."
5. Who are you remembering this Memorial Day? (or for those not celebrating it, tell me about someone worth remembering) I'll post more on my Memorial Day adventures later today... maybe during my lunch break.
6. Do you think you are a good friend? Most of the time, yes. I have a tendency to get out of touch because I think I'm too "busy" to keep up on correspondence. I also hate using the phone, so sometimes people will call me and I just won't call them back. Bad friend. Bad!
7. (continued from MM 2.20) That outing tonight was a blast ... but that was last call. I totally overdid it and shouldn't drive, anything we can do while I try to "dry out?" I'll drive home. I'm sure I had little or nothing to drink. Otherwise... we'll go see a movie. I have no life and don't like to do anything but watch movies.
BONUS: Do ya love me, now that I can dance? I'm sorry, but I only have eyes for Alf.
srah | 11:55 AM
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Tags: memes, monday mission
A widdle dwinky-poo I had
A widdle dwinky-poo
I had a Vanilla Coke (as opposed to a vanilla Coke, which I've had before at Steak & Shake) for the first time this weekend. I thought it was pretty tasty - sort of like a Coke float without the ice cream.
I also rediscovered Ceylon tea this weekend. We ran out of Earl Grey and there was a small packet of Twining's Ceylon Orange Pekoe there, so I tried that. Ceylon is very good with milk.
"So if I win, I
"So if I win, I can touch Yuu?"
Once again, I find myself getting addicted to Japanese cartoons. Alex has borrowed a whole new set of Marmalade Boy tapes
and we're watching our way through them. We're on episode #20, which made
me realize, last night, that I've spent about 10 hours of my life so far
watching Marmalade Boy. Eek. Alex also bought me, for our eight-monthiversary,
a little stuffed Totoro and two volumes of Maison Ikkoku, a graphic novel about an apartment building full of funny characters.
The Sunday Op-Ed
1. Painting What did I have a fun time doing to Robin's room with Robin and Cheryl during the summer between 9th and 10th grades, while being introduced to Dave Matthews Band as we listened to Andy Freeth (then known as Andy Freak)'s copy of "Under the Table and Dreaming"?
2. Canada Where do international students studying in the U.S. need to fill out a form to go to, presumably to ensure that they'll come back?
3. Pets What does the Chia brand produce?
srah | 9:54 AM
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Tags: memes, sunday op-ed
May 25, 2002
Eight from the Eighties
1) What's in your room? Waaaay too much junk. Instead of cleaning up, I just dumped it all in here and haven't put anything away in quite a while. I can't find anything. It's a black hole. The dog refuses to enter.
2) Do you have fame? No. Except online, where I have many faithful readers, both here and at the JH site. Mwah.
3) Are you on a road to nowhere? Nope. I hope not. But there seem to be many happy options open to me.
4) Ooh, are you a little runaway? No. More of a homebody. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to go to U-M and come back and live in my house. Sigh.
5) Have you ever felt the earth move, under your feet? Is that song from the 80s? I didn't know. Anyway... no. But according to Alex, they have tremors all the time in Chile, so maybe while I'm there...
6) I've been waiting, for a... coffee shake (coffee ice cream and milk - no coffee involved) for almost a year and I finally got one. Mmmmmmmmm.
7) If you love somebody... you cuddle and watch SNL with them. Those are my plans, anyway. Also... you should tell them that you love them. Both romantically loved people and family members. It's a good thing, as The Martha would say.
8) Tell me lies, tell me sweet little lies. I think Ted Nugent is cool. I eat squid for every meal of the day. I am a math whiz. I speak Japanese. Is that enough for you?
srah | 10:26 PM
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Tags: eight from the eighties, memes
I don't think this reflects me at all
... but it does have my favorite Simpsons character on it, so it must be posted.
[via Rien d'Importance]
Trials of a good hair
Trials of a good hair day Why is it that my hair gets worse and worse
until the point where I finally give in and make an appointment to get it
cut... then as soon as I make an appointment, it starts behaving itself and
I start wondering if maybe I shouldn't cut it after all? Stupid hair.
srah | 10:30 AM
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The Friday Five
1. What's the last vivid dream that you remember having? See Wednesday.
2. Do you have any recurring dreams? Sometimes I get deja vu in dreams - I realize that I've dreamt about a place or a situation before. But I don't really have any dreams that repeat themselves.
3. What's the scariest nightmare you've ever had? I once dreamt that I killed my family. I woke up and I didn't want to go back to sleep.
4. Have you ever written your dreams down or considered it? Why or why not? I record my dreams when I remember to. I find that if I write them down I'm more likely to remember my dreams the next night and so on. And sometimes my dreams are so ridiculous I just want to remember them for later.
5. Have you ever had a lucid dream? What did you do in it? I don't remember one.
srah | 8:40 AM
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Tags: friday five, memes
May 23, 2002
The Thursday Threesome
Onesome. Readin. Tell me about your favorite book you read as a kid. I had a lot of favorite books. I've been thinking about that over the last week, that I should blog a list of some of my favorites. Here are a few examples.
Twosome. 'Ritin. Everyone does a Senior Research paper. What was YOUR Senior Research Paper about? Oh, everyone does a Senior Research Paper, do they? Well I certainly didn't. And I am all the better for it. It would have been amusing to do it on dying or dead languages or the historical relationship between the French and English, but I never got cracking and I don't really mind. I studied abroad instead.
Threesome. 'Rithmatic. Using those 'rithmatic skills to balance the checkbook...so, what store seems to have the most entries in your register, and what the heck have you been buying there? Hmm. Perhaps Border's? They have books, CDs, and DVDs, so I suppose I shop there a lot. Must support the Ann Arbor economy. Heh.
srah | 8:43 AM
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Tags: books, memes, thursday threesome
May 22, 2002
I'm the cheese whiz
English is "cheese". German is "käse". Spanish is "queso". Portuguese is "queijo". All very similar words.
So where the heck does "fromage" come from?
The Wednesday Whimsy
Humanity is starting over, and you have been chosen to lead it. You must now choose only 20 people for New Humanity Colony. Who would you choose, and why?
I would choose teachers, but you still have to have people to do labor. Good luck getting teachers to do it. I guess I would have teachers and teenagers/young people to do the work and be educated.
You have succeeded in securing the basic necessities for your people. Now it is time to begin developing your society's infrastructure and culture. What are your first priorities?
Education education education. Why does it seem like that's all I ever talk about in a Wednesday Whimsy?
Humanity obviously started over because of existing problems. What do you see as Old Humanity's biggest problems, and how will you steer New Humanity in a different and better direction?
Old Humanity's biggest problems are ignorance and lack of education.
Describe a recent dream.
I dreamt I was in a fabric store that had those mechanical ponies where you put a penny in and it rocks back and forth. I stood in front of the pony and stopped it from moving, and I felt bad for the kid who was on it, so I set a penny on top of the box so that he could go again. Then this fat little kid came along and grabbed it off the top. I followed him and stopped him and asked what he thought he was doing. He didn't think he'd done anything wrong and had no problem with stealing. I got really frustrated with him because he kept saying he did nothing wrong and I kept telling him he stole the money and he should be ashamed of himself. I was following him around the store and lecturing him when his mom showed up. She was the owner of the fabric store, but she was also someone I've seen before in real life - maybe from church or from my elementary school. She started yelling at me for yelling at her kid. I told her what the kid did and she told me it wasn't my place to tell her kid how to act. She didn't seem to have a problem with stealing either, because she didn't discipline the kid herself. She went back to the long line of people who wanted fabric cut and I continued scolding the kid, until my mom was through the line and we went out on the street, speaking French and looking for a convenience store.
srah | 8:16 AM
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Tags: memes, wednesday whimsy
May 21, 2002
Dumb srah brought her CD player to work but no CDs
I have just discovered (I think I knew before but forgot) that my mom owns the 2-CD set of the soundtrack to A New Hope. I love the Binary Sunset part. Aw, I love the whole thing. I wonder how much of Star Wars' popularity is due to the music.
Speaking of A New Hope, I've been wondering since Sunday - is Princess Leia's title a hereditary one or an elected position? Was she elected Princess of Alderaan or did Bail Organa go from being a senator to being a king? How's that going to work?
srah | 9:03 AM
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Tags: movies, star wars, star wars: a new hope
Would you like to know how I feel about this computer?
I hate this computer. I hate this computer I hate this computer I hate this computer. The monitor is about eight feet above my eye level, so I have to tilt my head way back to look at it. By lunchtime, my neck kills me.
On top of that, the keyboard is sticky. Not jam-sticky, but sticky in that I have to pound on the keys to get them to register. I was hoping it was something that could be fixed - some dust lodged in there that was impeding the pressing, or something - but I shook it around a bit and sprayed compressed air all up in it and it didn't really do anything. May I share with you how tempting it is to unplug the keyboard and take it apart, to see if there's something I can do inside? I've never done that with a keyboard that was still in working order, so I'm not sure that it would be a good idea even if I felt comfortable doing it. And it probably wouldn't do any good - I think it's just a sticky keyboard.
So la la la, here I go suffering. I am now kneeling on the chair, which helps my neck but won't do much good for my knees. Yargh. I need a booster seat. Has no one heard of ergonomics?
srah | 8:49 AM
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Tags: technology
May 20, 2002
Episode II: Attack of the Musical Trivia
You did so well on the previous set, I've done another. I will give you a hint - one of them is a repeat from last time (a different song from the same musical). Have a guess!
1. What's that?/It's a candy bar wrapper [RENT]
2. Just one look and I can hear a bell ring [MAMMA MIA!]
3. With my razor and my basin I can always earn my pay [MAN OF LA MANCHA]
4. He loves to hear the little brook a-gurgling and listen to the merry village chime [PIRATES OF PENZANCE]
5. Husbands are a boring lot and only give you bother [KISS ME KATE]
6. What we need is a free-range consultant [BY JEEVES!]
7. They're drawing a red line around the biggest scoop of the decade [GYPSY]
8. It's got to be drummed in your dear little ear [SOUTH PACIFIC]
9. You dance with us; we dance with you, in molasses [1776]
10. I'd tremble with every clang-clang [THE MUSIC MAN]
For more musical quizzes, see Bob's or Roommate's. :)
What? I am listening to
What? I am listening to my multi-version single of Gigi D'Agostino's
"The Riddle". Track 4 is a strange techno thing, and I think the voices
in the background are saying "Automatic uses for remote control - synthetic,
genetic command your soul". Heh. That's alright - I didn't know what the
song was about in the first place - something about a hole in the ground.
The Monday Mission
1. When was the last time you went out with a true love of yours? What did you two do that made it so special? Last night I went with Alex (and my family) to see Attack of the Clones, to dinner, and home to watch Sir Ian McKellen's Saturday Night Live episode on tape. I am happy just to cuddle and be around him.
2. Which far-away friend would you most like to see again? I was just thinking a few minutes ago about Shannon West, from high school. I'm not sure where she is now. I'd also like to see the old gang from Grenoble - Juliette, Ioanna, Renate, or the Belgians.
3. Any high or low points about this past weekend? What went on? Hmmm. High points: Moby on SNL and Attack of the Clones. And Alex made me an omelette. Low points: It's hard to tell if the French intern likes us or not and I had to go shopping.
4. I've been thinking about getting a buzz-cut for the summer, a big change for me. Have you ever made any drastic changes to your appearance? I got contacts and I used to wear them all the time. Now I go back and forth and mostly wear my glasses when I'm going to work because it's very dry here.
5. How long do you think a couple should date before they get married? Or if you are married, do you think you should have waited longer to get hitched? I suppose it's up to them, but I would suggest at least a year. I know someone who just got married after knowing the other person about a month. Hmmmm...
6. I just found out my long-time friend does not like Star Wars (!) and has only seen the original 1977 movie! Have you ever discovered anything new or shocking about a long-time friend you thought you knew everything about? I found out a couple of weeks ago that Jillian has smoked cigarettes, cigars and a pipe. Who woulda thunk it?
7. Well we had a nice picnic and saw the sunset, but now it's dark and I think we should liven things up. Let's call some of your friends and go out. Who do you want to invite and where should we all go? Geez, do we have to go out? I am such a homebody. Can't we just have Alex, Robin, Cheryl, and Bob over and watch a video?
BONUS: Why can't ya be good to me? Alf gave me strict orders not to.
srah | 12:11 PM
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Tags: memes, monday mission
Attack of the Clones? More like... Attack of the Bong!
Heh heh. Title has nothing to do with anything, except Gobie on SNL.
Yup, so we went to see it this weekend. We took the French archives intern with us, so when they were making comments about the Jedi Archives and things like that, we were making archives-jokes and our row was laughing when no one else was. Heh heh. Family full of archives dorks.
I liked it! I agree with the Free Press that the romantic scenes were painfully bad, but there was a lot to enjoy in there, especially for the geeks. Plenty of references to future events and previews of things to come in Episode III. I actually have some hope that the Prequel Trilogy will be watchable. So my verdict is: excellent for the fans, okay for everyone else. As it should be. Nyah.
Here's the thing, though... I think that for all intents and purposes, they could have started here, or at least combined Episodes I and II. What did we really get out of Episode I that couldn't have been explained with a little dialogue? He was a slave? Whoopedy doo, doesn't seem very important, so far anyway. He's had a crush on Padme forever? Whoopedy doo. If they'd just started with them already together, we could have skipped over all of the embarassing romantic stuff, like Anakin molesting Padme's shoulder and spilling drool all over it. "Sand is so rough and coarse. Here, every thing is soft and smooooogllaaaaaaaaaghhhhh..." Seriously, if I were her, I would have run away a long time ago. Sure, he's pretty good-looking and very intense, but he's also obviously insane.
Oh, and my answer to #3 on last week's Wednesday Whimsy has changed. I have decided that the sexiest Star Wars character, much better than either Obi-Wan Kenobi or Han Solo is... Yoda. Mmmmmm, Yoda. Are you going to think less of me for having a crush on a Muppet/digital character? His toes are very cute.
srah | 8:25 AM
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Tags: movies, reviews, star wars, star wars: attack of the clones
May 17, 2002
Srah's Musical Trivia update
Correct answers to the ones that have already been guessed are posted and the only one that hasn't been guessed is #2. Any takers?
srah | 4:44 PM
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Tags: music
The Friday Five
1. What shampoo do you use? I usually use Suave, I think. Usually peach or chamomile. Lately I found this Jasmine something or other but I don't remember who makes it.
2. Do you use conditioner? What kind? Nope, not usually. My hair's too long at the moment and it gets weighed down by conditioner. If I do, it's usually the accompanying conditioner to my shampoo, or whatever Becky has lying around.
3. When was the last time you got your hair cut? Waaaaaaaaaaaay too long ago. My hair cutting lady went on maternity leave in January and I haven't bothered to get my hair cut since.
4. What styling products do you use? Sometimes I use mousse. I don't know what it's supposed to do or if it does, but sometimes my hair looks better if I use it.
5. What's your worst hair-related experience? I always had short hair when I was little, then my mom finally let me grow it out in fourth grade, so it was this awful growing thing with short bangs and the back long. Not nice. I also used to put my hair in braids when it was wet and it sort of crimped itself, except for the ends. I thought it looked cool. It didn't.
srah | 8:18 AM
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Tags: friday five, memes
May 16, 2002
Srah's Musical Trivia
I'm not boutsta do this every day, but here's a quick quiz, as I'm listening to musicals right now. You've got the quote, now name the song and the musical it's from.
1. You are the girl whose eyes met mine just as your boat sailed by [Flower Drum Song]
2. At last, all too well, I can see where we all soon will be [Jesus Christ Superstar]
3. There are shrines I should be sacking, ribs I should be cracking, eyes to gouge and booty to divide [A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum]
4. Would you fight my Bill?/What, fisticuffs? [Oliver!]
5. Mama, come find me before I do die [1776]
6. There's nothing to do but sell it all - the cow wouldn't take it back [Brigadoon]
7. Small house of Uncle Thomas... [The King and I]
8. Three bucks, two bags, one me [Annie]
9. Hello Mrs Garfine, is Charity home from school yet? [Bye Bye Birdie]
10. Chicks and ducks and geese better scurry [Oklahoma!]
That's enough for now. If you do very well, perhaps we shall play again.
May 15, 2002
How friggin' young do I look?
Last Sunday we went out to brunch at Weber's for Mothers' Day. The waitress looked us over and asked "Is anyone here under 12?" Argh. I am almost twice under twelve, if that makes any sense. Every time I start to think "Hey, no one's asked me in a while if I want a children's menu," along someone comes to shatter my dreams. The stupidest thing is that they try to give a vague look around the table to let you think that they aren't talking about anyone in particular - that they don't necessarily mean me, but maybe my grandpa or someone.
srah | 1:22 PM
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Tags: young-looking
How do you say "Down Under" in Spanish?
The question you're all asking yourselves: How many days is it now until srah goes to Chile?
The answer is: 26, I believe. And I know you'll be disappointed, but you're not getting a countdown. I don't have any memories yet. Heh.
It will be my first time in the southern hemisphere. It will be the beginning of winter down there. I'm trying to remember, but I can't quite get my mind around it. I will meet lots of people and try to speak Spanish to them and convince them that I am not a total moron and that I am worthy of their son/nephew/cousin/etc. I will see many interesting furry animals including the majestic moose. Crazy, different, new experiences. Woooooooo(t)!
Blogger partnership Blogger has a
Blogger partnership
Blogger has a big new secret partnership
coming up that says is "going to make a lot of Blogger users happy and drastically
increase the quality of the Blogger service." I'm praying that it's comments,
but it probably isn't. Maybe the ol' spellchecker's back. Tell us, Blogger!
John Hannah likes to avoid me
When I went to see Pandaemonium at the London Film Festival, John Hannah was in the U.S. When he was filming "Alias" in the U.S., I was in France. Ho hum.
Well, the announcement came yesterday that ABC has picked up John Hannah's pilot, "The Oath" (renamed "Meds" - I gotta make some time to fix that!) for next fall.
It's described as... "a one-hour drama featuring renegade doctors trying to undercut the frugal HMO that runs their San Francisco hospital. ABC compares its mix of comedy and drama to "M*A*S*H.""
Excellennnnnt, as Mr Burns would say. Which means I'll have to have someone back here in the U.S. taping it for me every week. Oh boy. We can hardly handle four Rebus films and the two episodes of "Alias"! But it will be quite entertaining to see new John Hannah stuff every week!
srah | 11:16 AM
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Tags: john hannah, mds
The Wednesday Whimsy
The life of a Jedi (light) offers strict discipline, complete control over passionate/selfish/hurtful emotions, no place for love or family, sacrifice of your own desires, constant duty to safety and justice for others, and deference to the wisdom of your elders. The life of a Sith (dark) is made up of complete indulgence in your desires, control over others, no responsability or deference to anyone, the ability to take whatever you want, and cool lightning-zappy fingers. Regardless of the intergalactic political situation, which side of the Force would you choose?
I like to be a good girl. I think I would choose the light side. If I were on the dark side, I think I would feel too guilty. Or I might just leave the Order altogether. But I suppose part of the training is learning how to give up things like family and love. And you can always be a rebellious Jedi like Qui-Gon and not trust your elders too much...
Have you ever dreamed up your own Star Wars character? If yes, tell us about him/her and how he/she fits into the existing Star Wars world. If not, then which Star Wars character would you choose to be, and why?
I would like to be Wedge Antilles. He survives the whole IV-VI trilogy without bringing too much attention to himself. Plus, through the magic of time travel, that yummy Obi-Wan Kenobi is his nephew. Heh.
If you could get stranded with any Star Wars species, group, or character on any Star Wars planet, who/where/why?
Ewoks are cuddly, but they also like to eat people. So maybe not them. Obi-Wan Kenobi is cuddly, too. No, wait, he's a Jedi and can't give in to his desires or fall in love with me. So I guess I'll have to be stranded with Han Solo. Mmmmmmmmmmmm.
Describe a recent dream.
I had a dream last week where I was in the parking lot behind our family's church with a Brita pitcher, filtering water. The water I was filtering had these clear centipedes in it and they kept growing and multiplying... echh!
srah | 10:26 AM
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Tags: memes, wednesday whimsy
May 14, 2002
Not Eminem in underpants...
...but that would be a good Disturbing Search Request.
The second picture on this page is such a lovely combination of bad things. Please tell me that this is really Eminem.
I'm glad I'm not a celebrity. People would be dragging out all kinds of awful pictures of me. My sister would be selling them on Ebay.
Why do I like this picture? It's an embarassing photo of Eminem, we hope. Also, it's a photo of Eminem in an Alf t-shirt. Echhhh. It is also a pink Alf t-shirt. And to top it all off, Alf is saying "Hey, nice underwear!".
Ah, childhood memories.
In our house, I was never threatened that Santa would bring me coal for Christmas. Instead, I was threatened that I would get nothing for Christmas but underpants. The ultimate punishment was the threat of "Alf underpants". I don't know if anyone in my family ever saw any Alf underpants in the store, or if it was just an empty threat, based on the fact that the only thing worse than underpants was underpants with my least favorite television character on them.
May 13, 2002
The maid-of-all-work filling in at the receptionist's desk
I just used the phrase "the line is engaged". What century am I from, again?
Harry up!
If I were an author, I think I would be pretty jealous of J.K. Rowling. Everyone else's editor/publishing house is on their backs, pushing them to put out another book. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was, I believe, originally supposed to come out last summer. Then they pushed it to the fall. Then to spring/summer of 2002. Then September. Now the vague "fall 2002", which is what the clerk at Border's told me on Saturday. I've heard rumors that she hasn't even started it yet. And is the publisher going to complain? No. "Oh, you're not going to have it done till fall? Oh, that's all right. Just don't take it anywhere else. Finish it when you can." Grrrrrrrr. C'mon, J.K.!
srah | 1:03 PM
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Tags: books, harry potter, harry potter and the order of the phoenix, j.k. rowling
I am an evil person
I broke the law the other day. I resisted for as long as I could but I finally gave in and did it. Later I discovered a way I could have gotten around it without breaking the law. I am a naughty person.
I was at a red light at about 1am, waiting to turn left. And waiting. And waiting. Something was wrong or the sensors weren't picking me up... I don't know. I tried backing up and going forward again to see if I could trip a sensor... nothing. So finally, after much suggestion from the Pato, I looked both ways and zoomed through. Naughty naughty srah. I watched the light as I drove away and it never changed. It was still the same hours later when I went by again. Argh.
The Sunday Op-Ed
Mom
Who doesn't get shown enough appreciation?
Flowers
What did the Patito inundate me with when we first started going out?
Children
What does future teacher Erin Lewis call "germ factories"?
srah | 7:44 AM
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Tags: memes, sunday op-ed
Eight from the 80s
1) Have you been working for the weekend? I've been cleaning my room. Mmm, fun. I brought home all of my junk from school and now I have to find a place to put all of it. I'm going through and throwing out all of the things I didn't throw away last time I did a major cleaning, because "I might need it later". Yeah. Three bags of balloons? Not going to need them.
2) Can you do magic? No. I had a professional magician in my graduating class at Albion. Ooh ahh.
3) Are you like a rock? I am not at all muscular. Neither am I flabby. And I don't drink a lot of milk, so I probably don't have strong bones. I am jelly incarnate.
4) Who keeps you hangin' on? Eh? Uh... me. Everyone. I don't know how to interpret this so I shan't.
5) Are you runnin' down a dream? Eh? I'm so confused. Sure. Sure, I am.
6) When's the last time you just got lucky? I won enough to earn one raffle ticket at Casino Night. I didn't win a digital camera from that ticket, but on the other hand, I didn't win free tanning either, so that's pretty lucky.
7) Do you go crazy 'bout a sharp dressed man/woman? Sure! It's nice to see someone in something different. That's why it's nice to see college boys in suits and Fox Mulder in a t-shirt. Fox Mulder in a t-shirt. Fox Mulder in a-- sorry, got a bit lost there.
8) Hit me with your best shot. WHAM! And GEORGE MICHAEL!
srah | 7:43 AM
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Tags: eight from the eighties, memes
May 10, 2002
Yet another Michigander to be proud of...
Eminem has a new song out that I have to listen to every time it comes on the radio, because he talks about my beloved Moby and it shows how stupid Eminem is. Plenty of people listen to techno - just not Americans. And I don't know if what Moby does is really techno anyway.
I remarked to my mom that Eminem is Americentric and she replied that he's more Eminemcentric than Americentric. This is true. If you listen to the refrain of his new little ditty, the last word of the four lines are "me", "me", "controversy" and "me". Which I think pretty much sums up the themes of Eminem's entire oeuvre.
Here's Moby's response...
Ah, America After he gave
Ah, America
After he gave a lecture at one university, a student came up to him and
said, "Thank you for your talk, Mr. McCullough. I didn't know the 13 colonies
were all on the East Coast," the historian said.
Dream
I dreamt last night that Robin, Cheryl, and Harini were freshmen at Albion and lived in a suite in Wesley. Then I made a big group of my friends (I think them, but also Antoine, Christianna, CKane, etc) go to see "Panic Room" with me even though it was midnight already. There were so many ads and previews that the movie didn't start until after 1am. When we got out of the movie, I had no idea where we were. I thought it might be Spain, but I saw a sign in French and German. I recognized a landmark (something I'd seen before in the dream but not in real life) and decided it was either Geneva, Switzerland or Vienna, Austria. Since I've never been to Vienna, I decided we were in Geneva. We came to a roundabout and there were two traffic police directing traffic around the roundabout. Each one had a card that had one symbol on one side and another symbol on the other. Neither symbol made any sense in the situation, so I didn't know whether to go or stop when she kept waving at me as I crept towards the roundabout.
May 8, 2002
The Wednesday Whimsy
You can mold any type of government you would like for the nation you are about to rule. Describe the form of your government, and your style of ruling.
In high school Government class, we had to come up with an ideal form of government. Ours was something like a "rotating democratic oligarchy". Heh heh. Plus, we had super-weapons.
You have just been given control of a small nation with a stable economy, friendly international relations, internal peace and prosperity, no homelessness or illiteracy, a hardworking yet relaxed people, and a culture which is studious, developed and leisurely. All in all, your country and people want for nothing. What are your first three official actions?
I would encourage the exchange of business between our country and other countries. Sure. I don't know. I think I would do nothing until something happened. So my first three actions... make someone get me a sandwich, take a nap, and go on some "diplomatic" trips.
Now your nation has the opposite problem - everything is going wrong. Industry, agricultural and international economy have all ground to a halt. The country is in imminant danger of brutal invasion by its neighbors. The people are labouring beyond their breaking points, all for nothing. Your cultural heritage is in critical danger of being lost and forgotten forever. Crime is everywhere, and there is a severe deficiency of food and shelter. Sickness and illiteracy abound. Your people are unhappy and angry. Assuming you don't slip out of the country quietly, what are your top three priorities?
Sheesh. I might hide under the bed. Then... I would start paying teachers more. Education is good for a lot. Educate doctors, educate people about cultural heritage, educate businessmen, eliminate illiteracy... Then I would encourage students to go study abroad and bring back some ideas.
Describe a recent dream.
Last week I dreamt that Andrew W.K. had put up all of these posters announcing how glad he was to celebrate the college graduation of a fellow Ann Arborite. Then last night I dreamt that I was pooping and pooping and pooping all over the place. Andrew W.K.... poop... I see a pattern.
srah | 9:21 AM
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Tags: memes, wednesday whimsy
The Tuesday This-or-That?
This or that? This. It’s closer.
Could or should? Should. I like the sound of the word better.
Want or need? Want.
Right or left? Right. I’m right-handed. Sometimes I wish I was left-handed, just to be different.
Up or down? Up.
Do or don't? Do.
Talk or listen? Listen.
Sleep or play? Sleep!
Highlight or underline? Highlight.
Marry or merry? Merry, but I’d prefer Pippin.
srah | 8:51 AM
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Punaise, je parle pas français
Why am I so shy about speaking French to Francophones in the U.S.? I barely ever talked to Antoine in French, unless it was French Table and I was forced to. Argh, I always feel like they're judging me, even though I know that French-speaking foreigners are often more judgmental about people's French skills than the French are. I don’t feel like that with Hispanophones, but maybe it has something to do with the fact that I'm a French major and I'm afraid people will tell me I've been wasting my time because I suck. With Spanish I know I’m a beginner and everyone else knows I'm a beginner, so I just try.
Anyway, all of this brought on by the library's French intern who, in addition to being French, has about a million surnames and is aristocratic or some such nonsense. Eek. His "family home" (egad) is in Auvergne, so I really should be talking to him, but I can’t bring myself to do it...
Away so long...
Sigh. Working 40 hours a week and having a slow connection at home (and I finally got my computer set up last night), I'm going to have to blog during my afternoon breaks or something...
Well anyway, here I am. Summer is here, although you couldn’t tell it from the weather. I’ve barely started unpacking. I haven’t been keeping up with my daily blogs, but maybe I’ll catch up later.
May 6, 2002
The Monday Mission
1. Do you have any tattoos? If no, why not and what would you get if you did get one. If you do have one or more, tell us how you came to get it, and why you chose the design you got inked with. I don't have any. If forced (who forces you to get a tattoo?), I would get a tattoo of a potato right under my knee, just like the kid in one of the Sideways Stories from Wayside School books.
2. Has anything ever happened that caused you to believe, or disbelieve, in a Higher Power. Nothing's really happened to cause me to disbelieve, it's more that nothing's caused me to believe. I've known that I didn't believe in Jesus' divinity since a very young age. It just didn't make any sense to me. I remember learning that the Jewish tradition generally accepted him as a prophet but not as the Son of God, so I decided when I was nine or ten that I was Jewish. I liked that better, because Jesus was still a cool guy, just not divine.
I was confirmed into the United Methodist church around age eleven or twelve, but we did it in a group and I just mouthed the parts about Jesus. I'm not sure if I've ever told anyone that before. In terms of the rest of Christianity, I've gone through several stages. I went through a while when I was young where I prayed even though I wasn't sure if I believed in God or not. I figured I might as well hedge my bets. But then I started wondering about that more in late high school and early college. I think that it wasn't until I got to high school or college that I realized that you were supposed to take the stories they taught you in church seriously and accept them as fact. Without being conscious of it, I always took them in like any other myth and thought they were sort of like parables to live by. I didn't know I was actually supposed to believe in the Big Bearded Dude in the Sky. I've never really gotten the concept of faith and that's okay with me.
3. Have you ever seriously considered, or even attempted, suicide? No. When I was younger and my parents were mad at me I would go to my room and think Wouldn't you be upset if I died?! but I think I'm too self-centered for it. I think that the world would greatly suffer if I were lost. ;p
4. Has anyone you have known committed suicide? Not that I can think of. There were some suspicious circumstances revolving around the kid in our class who died in sixth grade, but it probably wasn't suicide and I didn't know him.
5. This weekend you and I are going to the nature park for a picnic. I'll bring the blanket and make all the arrangements. You pack the picnic basket. What's inside? Why is Promoguy always hitting on me? El Patito's going to kick your butt, Promo. Anyway, we're having my mom's tuna salad sandwiches (tuna, mayonnaise, carrots and peas), lots of different kinds of fruit, salt and vinegar potato chips, chocolate cookies with peanut butter chips and peach iced tea.
6. Have you ever been mad at God for something that happened (or didn't happen)? Way back in the day I used to pray at really close hockey games. But I always thought it was my fault if they lost, because I didn't pray hard enough or I hadn't been good enough to get my prayer granted (God was sort of like Santa in that way) or there were more important things for him to do at that moment.
7. Post (or describe) an image of someone that is no longer with us. Tell us about that person.
Third from the left, looking up at my grandpa, is my paternal grandmother, who died last year while I was in France. It was hard for me because I wanted to comfort my dad but I was so far away from home. She had been suffering for a while, but it seemed like she was improving.
My grandma grew up in Andover, England. During World War II, she worked in the Land Army (women who worked to keep up production when the men left to fight in the war), then became a civilian employee of the Royal Air Force, and later was transferred by the RAF (against her wishes) to work for the U.S. Army. She met my grandpa just after the end of the war while he was in France serving in the U.S. Army. What we (including my dad) didn't know until a few years ago was that my grandpa was already married when they met. Oops! Well, he got divorced and they got married in New York when she came over in 1947, then they went to live in Holland, Michigan.
This picture is from the wedding reception in Grand Rapids. They were supposed to go back to England when they retired, but they lived in South Carolina instead. I imagine that was difficult for my grandmother, who was very proud of being English and missed her home. She never became a US citizen and liked to meet with other English "war brides" to share stories.
BONUS: Who are you? I am Alf, destroyer of cats.
srah | 10:20 AM
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Tags: memes, monday mission
Maybe I will be able
Maybe I will be able to go to a wedding after all... My aunt and
her feller are getting married in September, just before I leave for France.
Well, how about that? Congratulations, Aunt Pat and (Uncle!) Scott!
Cheat? Who, me?
Yes, I went back and changed answers, but only because this didn't sound anything like me.
Which of the Disney Princesses are you?
May 5, 2002
Sunday Op-Ed
1) Mexico
Where is Fanny going to be until December, when she moves to...
2) France
Where will I be from mid-September 2002 to May 2003? Where will I be when The Chamber of Secrets and The Two Towers come out? Where will Alex hopefully come to visit me? Where will I hopefully reunite with at least three of my old Native Speaker pals? In what country will I have to learn about grown-up and independent things like finding an apartment, paying rent, and cooking for myself? Where will I be molding young minds about American life and the English language? Where will I probably once again be mistaken for a high school student rather than teaching assistant?
3) Tequila
What song always makes me think of Pee-Wee Herman dancing on a bar?
srah | 12:58 PM
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Tags: memes, sunday op-ed
Eight from the Eighties
1) Do you want candy? Always. Chocolate-covered cherries (the kind with the clearish-red filling, not the creme kind) would be nice, as would those Ferrero Rocher hazelnut things or, really, anything with hazelnuts or almonds in it. Yum.
2) I wish they all could be ________ girls/boys. I dunno. I was going to say sweet and cuddly, but if they were all sweet and cuddly they'd be tougher to sift through. I dunno, I've got my wee Chilean.
3) What dreams go on when you close your eyes? Strange strange strange ones. The other day I dreamt that my mom started yelling at me because my pants were too long.
4) What takes your breath away? Any kind of athletic activity. I ran from Vulgamore to the I-House (about... what, 30 yards? I'm horrible at estimating) and couldn't talk to Christianna when I got there for all of my panting.
5) I was born in the... hospital. In Superior Township, MI. When I went to get a passport once the lady was very impressed with me for writing Superior Twp. because most people who were born at St. Joe's say "Ann Arbor" and she has to make them redo their forms.
6) Who drives you crazy? People who don't think for themselves.
7) I don't know much, but I know... what language they speak in Chile.
8) (thanks Melanie and happy birthday!) Where you going, what you looking for? I'm going to France and I'm looking for somewhere to live.
srah | 12:52 PM
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Tags: eight from the eighties, memes
Welcome to summer I probably
Welcome to summer
I probably won't be able to read blogs as frequently, but I hope to keep blogging thru the summer.
After graduation, we went to "lunner" (lunch/dinner) at Schuler's in Marshall. There were obviously a lot of Albion
graduates there and the waitress asked if we had anyone at our table who
was graduating. We all said yes and they pointed at me. She looked at me
and made the worst face of disgust and disbelief I've ever seen in
this situation. No one expects me to be the age I am, but do you have to
make that face? I hated her almost as much as the waitress the night
before at the Round Robin (Red Robin?), who was about 19 years old and kept
calling me "hon". We got back to the dorm and discovered that the RAbid
Bitch had decided that although check-out had been posted as 6:00, she wanted
to leave at 5:00. Luckily that meant that she did
leave early and I never have to see her again. We zoomed around and carried
armfuls of loose stuff out to the car. We drove home and Alex, Seven Dwarf
that he is, happily sang "Hi-Ho" (not the one you're thinking of) and tried
to keep the morale up as he coordinated the unloading. We saw Spider-man again last
night (because we had promised to take Alfie) and I was wearing my hair in
pigtails and had changed from the skirt I wore to graduation into some random
clothes that were sitting around my house (because I still hadn't unpacked
most of my stuff from school). I looked like a very badly dressed middle
schooler and was struck by the idea that I am a college graduate. When I'm
filling out online profiles, I'm no longer automatically "college student".
I'm not going to see my friends at Albion again next fall. It's only starting
to hit me.
May 4, 2002
Graduation countdown (from yesterday): 1 day
1 day.
Okie dokie, today's the big day. Thank you (and in some cases, goodbye) to Alex, Roommate, Bob, Cheryl, Dively, Jillian, Erin, Kelly, Stephanie, Carl, Bo, Theron, Kurt, Paul, Todd, James, Keven, Lewis, Denny, Larry, Andy, Meredith, Chris, Jaclyn, Juliette, Freddie, Sophie, Denis, Françoise, Jean-Pierre, Pierre, Noémie, Joachim, Marie, Cheryl, Harini, Robin, Darcy, Christianna, Antoine, Fanny, Mariana, Pénélope, Vivi, Shunkers, Sarah W., Lindsey, Mommy, Daddy, Alfie, Grandma and Grandpa Munsell, Grandma and Grandpa McNitt, Aunt Pat, Scott, Uncle Reg, Auntie Averill and Dennis, John, Michael, Ellen, Krista, Nancy, Diane, Fred, Geir, Karen, Amy, Molly, Lisa Lew, Dan, Joh, Tara, Ayako, Samata, Ligia, Yen, Alexandra, Nasko, Marián, Satoko, Chev, Marie, Vera, Dr Wyss, Dr Raj, Dr Bollman, Dianne, Emmanuel, Dr. Bartels, Dr Cocks, Dominique, Danièle, M. Terrone, Zulema, Duane, Dave, Sheila, Haley, Gareth, Dory, and Vickie, as well as anyone else I may have forgotten.
srah | 9:01 AM
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Tags: graduation countdown
Spider-man
Yen, Samata, Alex and I saw Spider-man tonight at the Bohm. I didn't want to see it because I can't stand the cartoon, but it was free at the Bohm so I went. I was pleasantly surprised. It's a Cinderella/coming of age story, a Jekyll and Hyde story, a nice love story, and an action film all in one. It played off well on the fact that it's based on a comic book and the characters were, for the most part, pretty developed.
Who can help but cheer for the dorky kid who gets super powers? We all want to be Spider-man, don't we?
srah | 12:39 AM
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Tags: movies, spider-man
Busy
Have been packing and preparing for graduation and the return home. No blogging, unfortunately. We bought tickets for Chile on June 10th. My oh my!
May 3, 2002
Whoopedy doo
I get a purple cord to wear at graduation. I am Magna Cum Laude. Sounds a lot better than it is, I think. Final grades will be online by 4pm so I can discover my final GPA.
srah | 12:29 PM
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Next year, I will be...
Somewhere in the school district of Clermont-Ferrand.
Hooray for me!
srah | 12:15 AM
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Tags: assistantship
May 2, 2002
Hey! Seniors! Do you own
Hey! Seniors! Do you own walkie-talkies (or talkie-walkies, as they
are known in France for some reason)? Bring them along to graduation! I'll
be poking around in my basement for a while, looking for ours, which are
very elegant and look like yellow telephones. If you have no walkie-talkies,
bring a pen and a pad of paper and we'll pass notes!
Happy Burfday! Why don't you
Happy Burfday!
Why don't you wander over to Closer Proximity and holler some birthday greetings at Cleo?
I just wanted to outrank Katie
This is a silly quiz. I don't see what the answers have to do with the results. But I beat Katie and I like the pictures - because they look like they belong on a romance novel cover - so I am posting my results. I am hopelessly superficial.
Which Royalty Are You?
You demand a lot from yourself and others, and dislike incompetence. You are business-motivated and/or interested in politics. You seek positions of power and authority. You are intelligent and career oriented. You also may like to argue and debate. Overall, an amazing woman who is a force to be reckoned with! I'm not sure if this is true for me, much less for a countess.
[via Rien d'Importance]
The Thursday Threesome
Onesome. Lions! Can a lion tame its mane? What about you? Tell us your worst hair memory...
When I was young I always had very short hair with short little bangs - almost like a female version of the bowl haircut. Then around third grade, my mom finally allowed me to grow my hair out. So there was a long period around fourth grade where I still had the little bangs and the rest of my hair was growing out... I think it looked sort of like a mullet.
Twosome. Tigers! Can a tiger change its stripes? Can people really change?
Yeah, if they're motivated enough, they can make big changes. But people change in little ways every day.
Threesome. Bears! Who's a grumpy bear? 'Fess up - what makes you grumpy?
Doughnuts make my roommate grumpy. I love that. It's such a funny thing to make you grumpy. I get grumpy when I don't have enough sleep and sometimes when I have too much.
srah | 9:40 AM
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Tags: memes, thursday threesome
Naked
I took down our flags (France, Scotland and the Union Jack). The walls look so bare and unfriendly. I don't like it. :( It almost makes me want to put them back up. I don't like to pack and take things home. I think I need to learn to deal with change better.
Packing is easier if you have boxes. I think I'm going to end up carrying armfuls of nonsense out to the car.
What has he done lately, anyway?
An old episode of Saturday Night Live is on my TV right now. The host, Patrick Swayze, looks insane and is laughing like an idiot. I don't know why I felt it necessary to share. How do you feel about Patrick Swayze? My boss is a big fan. I don't get it.
srah | 1:37 AM
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Graduation countdown: 2 days
2 days. I hope you're not expecting these to get progressively better.
Freshman year, we had a night where we had three fire drills in the pouring rain the night before a final exam, beginning around 3am. By the last one, people were refusing to go outside. Jillian even slept through one of them.
I just thought of that because I've been through four fire drills and a potential one (it was all smoky but we left before anything went off) in the past month.
srah | 1:34 AM
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Home Alone
I think I'm so independent. The idea of living simply and on my own appeals to me. I think I could handle all that. But now I realize one thing that didn't occur to me.
I'm afraid of being home alone at night.
It makes me go all paranoid and I start running around the house, turning lights on everywhere. My roommate's gone to Ann Arbor for Open Mic Night at The Ark. Pato's taken all of his stuff and gone home to Saline. Evil Suitemate has gone back to her little corner of Hades and Good Suitemate is reuniting with her boyfriend in Chicago. Bob and Gator are moving into their new apartment in Chicago. All of the underclassmen have been sent home. This isn't like any other night when my roommate isn't here. If Sheila has gone somewhere, I am the only person in French House. I'm all alone and paranoid. I got scared of a shadow when I was coming out of the bathroom and thought it was a person. I jumped. Now I feel like I should sit on the couch and watch TV because having my back to the window is creeping me out. This is horrible. It's the idea that if you screamed, no one could hear.
I do the same when I'm at home alone and I did the same during the week I was home alone in Grenoble. I don't like to be alone at night. I'm going to have to get a roommate or a cat or something when I'm in France.
May 1, 2002
We loooove our prezzzzident
The Place: Senior horse-meat fest end of the year dinner at Bellemont Manor
Conversation with the college president (right after his wife had praised Jillian's Senior Art Show painting, which was actually one done by Sabrine Friedline):
(Jillian is talking about how she's going to come back next semester to get a BFA)
PTM: So, you'll always have somewhere to stay if you come back next year.
Jillian: Yeah, unless she's in France.
PTM: So, are you and this young man serious?
srah: (Having expected him to say "So, are you going to France next year, then?" or at least something related to Jillian's statement) Wha? Uh, yeah, I guess...
Jillian: (catching on) He's not French, he's from Chile. You'd think that after studying French and going to France she'd fall for a French guy, but no, he's from Chile.
PTM: Oh, and what language do they speak in Chile?
srah: Dutch. Oh, I'm sorry, I just stabbed you in the head with a fork.
Sadly enough, the last part was fantasy.
You are supposed to be this hands-on, get-to-know-the-students kind of president and you don't even know what languages your students speak. Or is being ignorant about other countries just something that comes with the title of "president"?
Argh. Altogether now, folks, what language do they speak in Chile?
Buying Moby's boxers
Moby
has people buy him socks and underwear. That's creepy, Mobes, but I love you anyway. Check out what other artists ask to be provided with when they're doing a show, at The Smoking Gun.
[via mechanically separated chicken]
srah | 4:47 PM
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Tags: discovered
My beloved Shirley
My beloved Shirley has come back! She was hiding in Samata and Ligia's room and has finally returned. I missed you, my sweet.
Baccalaureate Schmaccalaureate
Argh. The mystery of the Baccalaureate is solved: it's an "interfaith worship service". Great. Just what this school needs, more religion.
I am not my own true love
Sigh, not Dougie. Instead I am a giant egg.
Which Travis Member Are You?
[via Le Petit Livre Noir]
Happy May Day! C'est un
Happy May Day!
C'est un jour ferié en France and it will be a day off for me too, once I get this paper done. Hurrah! May is here and I still haven't heard about the assistanat!
The Wednesday Whimsy
(I'm so lost. I have no idea what day of the week it is anymore - I had to check and see which daily i did yesterday.)
We've all wanted to be in a movie at some point. If you could be any existing or added character in any movie, what would it be?
Lina Lamont, I suppose, but Jean Hagen did quite well. See the second question. And um... let's see... adding myself? I would like to be an extra. I would love go around being an extra in movies and not telling anyone and seeing if anyone would catch me in the background. Hint hint, John... The only problem is that I get very self-conscious on camera. But I suppose if it wasn't pointed at me, I'd be okay.
Have you ever dreamed of being a star of the stage? Tell us about it.
I have always dreamt of playing Lina Lamont in Singin' in the Rain. It is my dream role.
I also want to put on a Very Awful One-Woman Show of 1776 where I play "all the parts, including Mabel" (family joke). 1776 only has two female parts, plus about a million male ones. I think it has the potential to be disastrous. Excellent!
Other dream roles include Eulalie MacKechnie Shinn and any other non-starring comedic role that doesn't require me to sing well.
I have great theatrical dreams but very little talent and a tendency to sweat and stammer when I get nervous. Plus, I never hear about auditions, I only hear about the production when it's being performed and have to go and say "I could've been a better Lina than her."
No one can convince me that they didn't act up to get attention as a child. Tell us a story about your childhood theatrics.
Hmmm. I'm sure my mom or sister could come up with some, but they aren't coming to me. How about it, you two?
Describe a recent dream.
I dreamt that it was the last day of a class in high school. I hadn't been all semester because I didn't care. Then they announced that there was going to be a final over things discussed in class and I got really worried. I left the classroom and discovered I was on a cruise ship. Then Oscar, a friend from high school, was chasing me around the ship and trying to kiss me.
srah | 9:36 AM
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Tags: 1776, acting, dream, memes, singin' in the rain, the music man, wednesday whimsy
Graduation countdown: 4 days
4 days.
When I went from Grenoble to visit my roommate in Aberdeen last year, we had quite an adventure. We had a train to catch at 6am. I was up and ready at 6am, but I hadn't considered the thought that the first bus goes by around 6:03. For some reason I couldn't get the phone to work properly and couldn't call a cab to the train station, so I went to the nearby phone box, and I couldn't get my phone card to work. What was I going to do? I was going to let Cheryl down and ruin all of our plans. Ahhh, the waterworks. The butcher's shop on the corner began to come to life - lights turning on, doors opening, so I ran down there and begged for a telephone call. The lady very nicely called me a cab, which came, sped me to the station when he found out I had to be there by 6, and I was just in time.
Wow, what a story, huh? Ah, it's just beginning.
We got on the train, which took us to Geneva, Switzerland. From there we had plane tickets to Liverpool, England, and would take an evening train from Liverpool to Aberdeen. We got to Geneva with time to spare so we went and had a leisurely breakfast before going to the airport. Unfortunately... we got a bit lost on our way back to the airport and check-in had closed by the time we got there. We had no bags to check but they still wouldn't let us on. But they found us a flight to London instead.
We finally got into London around 9pm and after being sent to every train station in town (Houston? Did she say Houston? It sounded like she said Houston. Ah, Euston!), we found the one that would take us to Scotland. We asked for tickets to Aberdeen and all they had was Edinburgh. On the sleeper. At midnight. Sitting up. Ahem.
So we had a couple of hours to kill and we didn't want to sit around the train station so we went out into London. At night, in the dark, in seriously pouring rain. We got to see a lot of cool stuff but didn't get to take pictures of many because we didn't want to get our cameras wet. Meanwhile, they were getting wet (along with the rest of our overpacked stuff) in our bags.
We got back to the train station, got on our train and pulled out of the station. No. No wait, we didn't, did we? No. We sat there for at least another hour while some insane Scot argued about his ticket and the train company waited to see if anyone else would come along so we could fill up the train. Seriously.
We tried to sleep (rather unsuccessfully) on the train and pulled into Edinburgh at some unholy hour of the morning like 8am. We called my roommate and let her know what was going on then quickly hopped on the next train to Aberdeen. We finally pulled into Aberdeen at 11am, 29 hours after we had left from Grenoble.
Then we romped around and looked at castles and drank a bit of liquor and danced and had an all-around good time.
srah | 9:35 AM
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Tags: ckane, england, graduation countdown, roommate, scotland, travel
