December 2003 archive

(69 entries)

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December 31, 2003

'Due to high demand, our site is currently busy and cannot process your request.'

Should it be my ambition to look for an internship in some great company that I will be proud to work for? Or shall I just shoot for a piece of crap that I won't feel bad accidentally destroying from the inside, or which is so bad I can't possibly make it any worse?

Because any dealings with the AT&T Wireless website make me think that they've got monkeys maintaining it... and I have to be better than monkeys, right? Right?

*crickets chirping*

Shut up!

The Mayfly Project

Sum up your 2003 in twenty words

Tried to teach. Came home. Tried to learn.

December 29, 2003

The question asked throughout the ages

Perhaps you would like to help my sister and me out in the eternal debate:

Which are cuter, Orcs or Uruk-hai?

Pathetically desperate for blog content

The Boyfriend has gone to Indiana and has left his stuffed bear, Gabriel, in my custody. So now I am the Urstodian!

Sigh. Only about three people who read this will find that funny.

read extended entry... »

I believe in a thing called... rock?

Dammit, Justin!

It's a good thing it's Winter Break, because I don't feel like going to class or going to work. I just want to sit at home and watch The Darkness videos.

December 28, 2003

Unconscious Mutterings

Read on, MacDuff.

read extended entry... »

Doot'n doo doo, feelin' girly

Wearing: pyjamas
Eating: ice cream
Watching: Pride and Prejudice

I somehow end up watching at least part of Pride and Prejudice every time I'm left home alone. I may be developing a sideburn fixation or something. Now I don't know whether to go for more Jane Austen or more Colin Firth or go a completely different route in my Big Girly Video Fest.

srah's plan for the day

The family's at a hockey game out of town. The boyfriend's left to visit family out of state. The friends are meeting up to exchange gifts tomorrow. Today... is Me Time. The first Me Time I've had in months. The Me Time that I've long dreamt of. The Me Time that represents all that is good about having a break. Time to sit around and do Absolutely Nothing. Or to do Important Projects. Time to...

I'm bored.

December 27, 2003

User Interface Redesign

Yeah, I'll probably get around to redecorating around here... some time. Any suggestions*?

* Note: I probably won't pay any attention, but you just go ahead and make your little suggestions. No, really. Your futile efforts will be so cute.

December 26, 2003

srah's tale of Christmastime woe

I have moved this post to the extension because, seriously? Who posted this? I am warning you right now that it's a vast puddle of Too Much Information...

read extended entry... »

December 25, 2003

Christmas dinner, revisited

"I have spent so much time shopping, wrapping and cleaning that I haven't had more than a cup of soup in over 24 hours. I was at the point where I was so hungry it made me nauseous to think of food."

Yeah, srah? That wasn't starvation; that was the flu.

Bleaaaaaaargh. You are all invited to my funeral.

Messy Kweznuz, y'all

I hope that you enjoy this day with friends and family and don't read this until the 26th.

'Our need for presents is really dire/ Oops I set myself on fire'

I like to remind my family every once in a while why they don't like to take me to church. It's because I am too endowed with the Spirit of Christmas! That is, of course, if the True Meaning of Christmas is to sing all of the foreign-language lyrics to the carols instead of the ones everyone else is singing.

Six verses of O Come All Ye Faithful? I'll just sing Adeste Fidelis six times! And Stille Nacht and Sainte Nuit instead of Silent Night!

Unfortunately, I didn't have with me the alternate lyrics to the Advent Song that Alfie and I invented years ago...

Verse #3:
Light the advent candle three,
But keep the flame away from me
Christmas socks upon our feet
Eighteen fruitcakes left to eat

Ah, family tradition.

Mooorry Christmoooos

Santa brought me a leather jacket, which I have been wearing ever since I opened it (it's cold in my house!). When we left to go to church, I put on my leather boots and stole Alfie's leather gloves. I have decided that for Halloween this year, I'm going to be a cow! Mooooo!

December 24, 2003

srah, making the world room safe for allergy-sufferers

Oh by god. Whed was the last tibe I dusted by roob? I tink I hab udleashed sobe kide of ebil id tryig to do so.

Yet another food-ku

I have spent so much time shopping, wrapping and cleaning that I haven't had more than a cup of soup in over 24 hours. I was at the point where I was so hungry it made me nauseous to think of food. I am now easing myself in with tea and am looking forward to a cheese sandwich.

O My Cheese Sandwich!
With Ossau and a bagel
come to my rescue!

The beginning (and end) of srah's illustrious directing career

When I was a senior in high school, I directed the church's Christmas pageant. This was not because of any interest in religion or religious displays or any love for the church, since all of this had been waning for years.

I volunteered to direct the Christmas pageant because I was tired of years without Christmas pageants and of years with strange, new updated versions of the Christmas pageant. I remembered Christmas pageants when I was young - the same script, the same songs and the same parts year after year. It was tradition and you always knew what to expect. You knew that you could work your way from Sheep to Angel to Mary or from Sheep to Shepherd to Wise Man (no one wanted to be Joseph, because he had to hang around with a girl). You knew the songs already because you had sung them the year before and because they were traditional Christmas carols. I can still, over twelve years after my last pageant, remember most of the dialo gue to the play.

I was sad that kids no longer got to do this, so when I heard that there was no one to direct, I volunteered. I revived the old Christmas pageant with the original dialogue and songs. I enlisted my whole family, my friend Becky and the church organist to help direct, make costumes and practice songs. The kids had to be retrained in the songs and dialogue, since we hadn't used this script or these songs in years. In the end, we pulled off something adorable and nice. Best of all, I got to share my Christmas experience with a new generation of children.

Christmas Eve is my favorite holiday. It's the one day of the year that I will go to church of my own will. Like the Christmas pageant, Christmas Eve has never had anything to do with religion for me, but is about the pageantry and singing and candles and happiness. To me, Christmas Eve is all about tradition.

December 22, 2003

How'dya figure?

Not bad, considering that I have adopted as my new mantra B is for Bubble Tea; that's good enough for me. 6.5? How do they calculate this stuff? And why don't I care?

December 21, 2003

You and your two dimensions... no, it's cute

Our society so often says, "You're not fat. It's much better to have a little meat on your bones than to be one of those disgusting skinny people."

Why are we allowed to make mean comments about skinny people? I know our society is implicitly disgusted by fat people, but why are they allowed to be explicitly disgusted by skinny ones? Some of us can't help it.

I felt I had to blog this because it came up in an AIM conversation with the Urstodian and she said I had a point. This is so rare, it had be preserved for posterity!

She's cheap and insane!

So, about time to get started on that Christmas shopping, I guess. Well, I'll have plenty of time to get everything done before-- WHAT? It's already December 21? Christmas is this Thursday? Who went and scheduled it on the 25th?! That's too early! I'm not ready!

Erm. You're all getting some lovely paper snowflakes that I'm going to go cut out right now.

Unless there isn't time, in which case you are getting a paper snowflake kit (a piece of white paper).

And to save on mailing, I have already put your kit in your house. Look in your printer. There it is! Happy holidays!

'He's just another scripture thumping hack from Galilee'

I saw Elf last night with the Pato. I know everyone on earth has already seen it and loved it, but I feel obliged to put my two cents in. It was terribly cute and very funny. I was surprised that a Will Ferrell movie would turn out to be so cute and innocent.

Later, I watched Jesus Christ Superstar* with Mr B------. Having heard so many different versions of the soundtrack, I had quite a different image of the production in my mind. It's now my mission to remake the movie in a style that isn't quite so... 70s.

–––––
* Because nothing says "Christmas" like a movie about Jesus' death!

Unconscious Mutterings

My answers are hidden so as not to influence you if you'd like to do the meme yourself...

read extended entry... »

srah | 2:52 AM | TrackBack | Tags: memes, unconscious mutterings |

December 20, 2003

Savouring flavourless moulded sweets

While generally I am all about clutching any British traditions to my bosom, I am gnawing at a sugar mouse and wondering who on earth came up with this idea. I like the idea of eating a mouse made out of sugar... I just wish it had a flavour. Other than... sugar.

Must be the lovely hat

Everyone likes a man in uniform. Don't they?

I don't. I got in an argument with my cousin a few months ago because I said that army fatigues look stupid on men and even stupider on women. Is there a reason that the US military can't get better uniforms? Is it to make them unattractive and keep them from fraternizing with the natives in foreign countries?

Probably not, because I think I'm the only one who has this opinion. Sigh...

Curse of the Information Professional

I started bitching about the user interface of the labeling computers at UPS yesterday because my sister had to go from using the keyboard to the mouse and back again. GOMS GOMS GOMS! The end of the semester has not released me from critiquing user interfaces everywhere I go. I fear it will be with me for the rest of my life. Curse you, Tom Brinck!

December 19, 2003

Mind you don't get your terry cloth sticky!

Monkey cooks a bit more with his feet than I care to, but he has a lot of good ideas and has fun while he's doing it.

[via The Pie in Paris]

Update on the $5 gift situation

Everyone should have some kind of restrictions in present-buying, because it turns out it fosters creativity. I think this is the only way to explain why I have actually found some interesting presents for my extended family and kind of... um... haven't gotten around to buying anything for anyone else. There's a whole world of presents out there, and I can't see the forest for the trees!

So the rest of you don't get anything at all. Sorry.

srah, 'content' does not consist of nicking other people's words

... but I already had the graphic saved to my server, so I might as well advertise. Meg and Anna are at it again, this time pointing out that it's the thought that counts:

Token is a magnolia bath gift set in a presentation straw basket from the Body Shop (Cost=�11.50).

Cheap is a DIY perfect bathtime kit in a shoebox, containing six nightlights (65p), a pack of sandalwood incense (95p), a bath bomb containing rose petals (�2), an indulgent face pack (80p), her favourite glossy magazine (�1.80), a cucumber eyemask (95p), bottle of semi-decent plonk (�4.35) and a home-made compilation CD, minidisc or tape containing specially selected soothing sounds (Free).Total cost = �11.50. Emotional Effect = Priceless.

Also, when people ask what you want for Christmas, they want an answer.

The only answer, when someone asks "What do you want for Christmas?" is

"You."

In a sultry tone of voice.
Who cares if it's your grandfather asking?

At least he'll not ask again.

The Friday Five

Need content. Am tired and depressed lately and have blogtopics but not the will to blog. Encourage me? In the meantime, it's memetime.

1. List your five favorite beverages.
Tea with milk and sugar, chai tea, bubble tea, peach iced tea and apricot juice.

2. List your five favorite websites.
SI webmail (when it works), IMDb, Technorati, The Onion and... uh... srah blah blah.

3. List your five favorite snack foods.
Junior Mints, my grandma's Nuts and Bolts (basically like Chex Mix), chips and salsa, gingersnaps and cheese.

4. List your five favorite board and/or card games.
Trivial Pursuit, Rummikub, cribbage, Upwords, Taboo

5. List your five favorite computer and/or game system games.
The Sims, Freecell, Minesweeper, Karaoke Revolution, uh... computer Jeopardy?

December 18, 2003

'Uncle! I'll nurse you back to health! With soup!'

Return of the King was The Book That Wouldn't End. The climax comes, then the book drags on forever, tying up millions of loose ends and telling you what everyone did for the rest of their lives.

Even after taking out an important end sequence, Return of the King was The Movie That Wouldn't End. It was great, but the end was so very long and so very filmed in slow-motion.

I also laughed inappropriately much too often, but that could be me. For example, I couldn't help but giggle every time Gondor's ridiculous helmets came onscreen. And seriously? They all ended up in bed together. What's up with that? I had a lot of other complaints, as a fan of the books and as a fan of watching movies, which is just stupid because it was a great movie and I enjoyed it. All I can think of was how much more I could have liked it. Maybe this will all be solved in the Extended Edition.

~~Orlando Bloom~~ Legolas was always the most masculine-looking of the elves (which really isn't saying much). Then they ruined him by putting him in some ice-blue getup and putting jewelry on his head. He was also ruined for me earlier in the day when Mr B------ pointed out that all of his lines just state the obvious. At least he got to climb an oliphant.

I'm glad my beloved elf turned out to be totally lame, because my affections were stolen by a Fool of a Took anyway.

December 17, 2003

Mom, Dad, Geoffrey... am I adopted?

My erstwhile fiancée sent me this link this morning, so I buried myself in tales of children raised by wolves and monkeys and sheep.

Why was I not a feral child? Why do I miss out on all of these great opportunities? Why did my parents have to go and love me so much? Didn't they know what they were depriving me of by not dropping me off in the middle of the woods somewhere?

I would like to have been raised by giraffes!

Ain't no party like an Information party

We went to an SI end-of-semester party at Leopold Brothers tonight. I had both a Hairy Navel and Sex on the Beach (thank you, Mah 501 Group Mate and myself) and proceeded to propose to Allison and the Urstodian. Alas, Allison turned me down because I was not rich enough and didn't have a nice car, and the Urstodian and I sadly broke up after a whirlwind two-minute engagement.

Ah, drunkenness and debauchery.

December 16, 2003

Things that I have learned after one semester at SI

No one else knows what they're doing, either.
The second semester will be easier, if only because I won't waste so much time wondering if I will ever make friends.
The point of Social Systems & Collections was to teach us vocabulary and introduce us to articles and authors we will have to reference for the rest of our lives as information professionals.
There actually was a point to Use of Information, and it wasn't necessarily just to teach us how to work in groups.
Grad school is haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaard. But I will survive, because I always do.

We're #2! We're #2!

Congratulations to Sweetness Follows... for winning our category!

December 15, 2003

One exam to rule them all

Less than six hours until I am free from the tyranny that is ~~the shopping cart~~ first semester. Vay-cay plans? Sleeping, cleaning my room, dreaded Christmas shopping, leisure reading and party-party-partying. Oh, and being a complete and utter nerd, of course.

Blush

I seem to have contracted a case of Boyfriend over the weekend. Symptoms include hugging, kissing, severe hand-holding and possible cookie-baking.

Given the amount of time we spend together, this will probably only come as a surprise to those who thought we were already dating.

srah catches up on current events

So, I hear they captured Saddam Hussein this weekend.

Whoopedy doo.

December 14, 2003

Unconscious Mutterings

The free associationses have been hidden somewhere where you'll never find them... because we wants them! They are precious to us...

read extended entry... »

srah | 3:29 AM | TrackBack | Tags: memes, unconscious mutterings |

December 13, 2003

Good tidings I bring to me and my kin

We're having a big extended-family Christmas celebration this year. One of the rules is that each person has to bring a $5 (maximum) gift for each other person at the party. So instead of having some kind of Secret Santa thing where you could get one worthwhile $25 gift, we get armloads of $5 crap. Deee-lightful.

Any suggestions on less-than-$5 gifts? Don't worry - I only see these people about once a year (if that), so you probably know them about as well as I do.

Zis webmail, she goes down more often zan ze 'ores at SI North

Mr B------ and I have imagined the inside of SI North, the building where all of our Graduate Student Instructors have their offices. We have speculated that it's full of French whores, lounging on giant mushrooms in old-fashioned lingerie, smoking hookahs and bitching about webmail being down (which comes to mind because it is right now, just as it is every weekend).

You would think that in a school so focused on technology and so full of people studying Human-Computer Interaction, there would be somebody here who could make it possible for humans to interact with computers once in a while. But maybe everyone here is a former French major like me and has no actual skillz.

What are they training us for?

December 12, 2003

Three hours in the life of srah

The beast that is Social Systems & Collections has been defeated! Since I couldn't blog during the exam but I kept getting hung up on things, I took some wee notes on my thoughts.

12:50 - I'm hungry. Ten minutes to go, so I'll just log into CourseTools and go get some soup-- HEY! The questions have been posted! Start exam? Eat? Start exam? Eat, I think. Located some cup-a-soup and tortilla chips to nibble on.

12:55 - Now on to the exam! ... but I'm cold. Put on a sweatshirt. Still cold. Put on slippers. Still cold. It occurs to me that most of your body heat escapes through your head. Pull up sweatshirt hood. Still cold. Went searching out a handkerchief and have fashioned some kind of do-rag thing on top of my head. Slightly warmer. Some exam conditions, these.

1:08 - Why do I feel the desire to talk about the Urstodian's personal experiences with information concepts in all of my answers?

1:12 - Three hours for three questions and we're already twelve minutes into the exam! Stop thinking! Start typing!

1:33 - 72 words out of 250 on the first question. Fingers are rather sticky. Stop eating chips and get writing!

1:48 - Stupid dog. As predicted by Mr B------, the Devil Dog disturbs my concentration by wanting to go out.

2:04 - Stupid maximum word counts. I am a concise writer, so when I start getting wordy, you should just be pleased with it instead of making me pare down.

2:08 - 286 words?! No!

2:13 - 247! That's less than 250. Good on me. Moving on to other questions...

2:17 - Distracted by music with lyrics and inspired by Katie, in goes the Jurassic Park soundtrack.

2:50 - Panic! I have bits of the second and third questions answered, but we're almost down to the one-hour mark and neither is finished. Focus! Panic! Focus!

3:43 - Done and done and DONE! 581 words on a maximum of 750 is fine, right? If I'd had days to do it, I could have gone on and on for each of them, but we must cut somewhere. Were my answers too simplistic? Probably. I have no predictions on how well I'll do.

Update: Why I love SI: Five entries on one topic

Give me something to read when I'm all examed out

Cleo says:

I know very little about some of the people on my friends' list. Some people I know relatively well. I read your fic, or we have something else in common and we chat occasionally. Some of you I hardly know at all. Perhaps you lurk, for whatever reason. But you friended me and I thank you.

But here's a thought: why not take this opportunity to tell me a little something about yourself. Any old thing at all. Just so the next time I see your name I can say: "Ah, there's so and so...she likes spinach."

I'd love it if every single person who friended me would do this. Yes, even you people who I know really well. Then post this in your own journal.

So c'mon, my little chickadees. How would you like me to remember you?

Proctor me! Proctor me now!

Bad idea: Scheduling a final exam.

Worse idea: Scheduling a final exam to be taken en ligne from your home. Yes, it's open book and open note and yes, we're bound by honor code* not to collaborate on answers.

It's not cheating that I'm concerned about... it's wandering off to find something to eat and forgetting that I'm in the middle of an exam. It's too comfortable at home! I need to be in a structured environment with someone threatening to slap me with a ruler if I get out of line! I need to be prevented from going to the bathroom until I have finished and turned in my test! I need to be in an uncomfortable chair-desk-thing, scribbling in a blue book until I scream in pain from the hand-cramps. I can't be wrapped in a blanket and sipping tea, or my whole world will fall apart!

Well anyway, back to my reading.

* and the ethics of the information professional (Hedstrom, 2002)

Walking in a Nelson & Winter wonderland

One of the things that makes me sad about graduate school is that it's made me into a complete dork who has no idea how to interact in normal society. Well okay, I was kind of that way to start with. But it really scared me at our Super King Kong Mega Mega Study Group last night that we could tell jokes with punchlines like, "Well I've got a structuration theory for you right here!"

Ha ha ha ha ha. Gives me a little giggle just thinking about it.

So I would like to thank my blog and my readers for keeping me somewhat grounded in the reality of everyday human life. I will try to repay you for organizing into a social system around the collection of my thoughts by targeting my product to the specific needs of my user group - needs which I will recognize through my own observations, since they couldn't tell me because so many of our habits are tacit...

Crap.

Well, since I have clearly failed in my mission, I'll just leave you with another humdinger of a punchline from last night's dorkbacle: "But we couldn't... because that would violate... the Open-Close Principle!"

December 11, 2003

Classes are over! Go home!

I am wandering around the Undergraduate Library in circles. What are all of these fecking undergraduates doing here? Get out! Get out! And give me your computer!

Cold I am in the ways of The Force

Today's temperature: 30�F
Wind: 17 to 23 mph
Feels Like: 18�F

Wind leads to windchill. Windchill leads to coldness. Coldness leads to suffering. I figure I have two options. I can:

a) dig a series of tunnels connecting every building I will have to go to all winter, the bus stop, and all of the residential areas where I have ever managed to find parking OR

b) run away, leaving Michigan altogether. Do they have a Human-Computer Interaction program at Florida State? How about the University of Bermuda? Fiji?

The problem is that my fingers are too cold to hold a shovel or a pen and application form. So I guess I'll have to tough it out. Never fear - you have at least three more months of whinging to go!

December 10, 2003

Collaboration haiku

End of group project.
At 3am, groupthinking
becomes nothinking.

December 9, 2003

Skirt +2

I wore a skirt for my presentation today. I was considered quite SEXXXY* by all who encountered me. But not S-E-X-X-Y, because that would be something altogether different.

Wearing a skirt gave me magical powers, apparently. It was my maaagic skirt, to paraphrase Forrest Gump. I felt like I was dressed up and therefore must know what I was talking about. Either that or I was so sick of rehearsing that I wanted it to be over with. A little bit of both.

I was perfectly ready to go for the first hour and 45 minutes of class, then I froze up when it was time for me to go. My palms were sweaty and there was vomit on my sweater: Mom's spaghetti.

Wait, no, that's Eminem. Ignore that vomit part, then. Just the sopping-wet palms. I spent the previous group's question-and-answer part trying to mop them off with my skirt and scarf, then Mah 501 Group Mate and I took our place up front.

I stammered and sped through the presentation, my voice wavering. I fixed on one person in the back of the room and presented the whole thing to him, forgetting to look at the teachers. And yet somehow, no one seemed to notice this! People kept telling me what a good job I'd done. At first, I thought they were humouring me because they'd heard my trembly voice and were afraid I was going to cry. But so many people have complimented me now, I'm beginning to think I might have actually done a good job.

Three cheers for srah, Public Speaker Extraordinaire!

–––––
* All caps and three Xs, Young Matthew and Mr B------!

December 8, 2003

Was it as good for you as it was for me?

I must have a lot of devoted readers with access to multiple computers, because I'm actually third Best Flippery Fish in the Weblog Awards. It has been suggested that what I need to compete with the current Number One in my category (the sex-blog Sweetness Follows) is sex, and lots of it.

So I bring you:

sex
sex
sex
and

read extended entry... »

Buhah hyeah

December 7, 2003

Stylesheeeeeet!

Blech. Will be fixed later.

Update: About as fixed as it's gonna be. Suffer with it for another couple of weeks!

We'll collect the moments one by one/ I guess that's how the future's done - Feist, 'Mushaboom'

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December 2003 archive

December 31, 2003

December 29, 2003

December 28, 2003

December 27, 2003

December 26, 2003

December 25, 2003

December 24, 2003

December 22, 2003

December 21, 2003

December 20, 2003

December 19, 2003

December 18, 2003

December 17, 2003

December 16, 2003

December 15, 2003

December 14, 2003

December 13, 2003

December 12, 2003

December 11, 2003

December 10, 2003

December 9, 2003

December 8, 2003

December 7, 2003

We'll collect the moments one by one/ I guess that's how the future's done
- Feist, 'Mushaboom'