26.10.10

The Question of Living With People

I can say in all I honesty, I don't know whether I'm a good roommate or not. Given the myriad living situations I've had over the last four years, it's difficult to gauge. I'd like to think that overall I'm okay to live with. Sure, I'm not very socially, but on the flip side I make a huge effort not to bother the people I live with. I keep my things fairly clean and I make an effort to keep my room organized and not looking like a disaster zone (though that can be difficult at times let me tell you.) I'm conscientious about cleaning my dishes and I take out the garbage and the recycling a fair deal. I pretty much believe that as long as you can't see it, why bother, which can bother people who are a bit more anal, but the method works well for me. From that view point I'd say the first three years (even including the disastrous second semester of junior year*) have been a success. This year though, I'm starting to wonder.
They leave their dishes in the sink for days on end. Even if I don't clean my dishes the night I use them, I always take care of them before the end of business the next day**. As I said, I take out the garbage in the kitchen and I do the recycling nine times out of ten. No, I don't vacuum the living room, but on the other hand I don't spend any time in the living. I make sure my room looks mostly presentable most of the time and I close the door when it's not. I don't clean the bathroom that often, but when it needs to be cleaned, I will (if only to avoid doing homework). I keep myself to myself and while that may mean I come off as a bit of hermit, well...I am. Does this make me a bad roommate? Does wishing my fellow flatmates take care of their dishes in a timely manner make me a bad flatmate? Does not putting away their dishes for them when I empty the dishwasher (which I run nine times out of ten) make me a bad roommate? I don't know to be honest. But it's really starting to bug me.
Beyond that, things are going as they always do. I registered for classes yesterday and I got all of the classes I wanted/needed for next semester. I find out on Monday what my LSAT score is and if it's really good, I'll tell you lot. If it's not, you'll find out whenever I decide to next update.

*Disastrous when it came to the people I was living with. Overall the semester wasn't that bad at all.
**11pm for those of you wondering. Yes, I am an old woman.

20.10.10

It's Been A Long Time Hasn't It

I've been blogging for nine years across four different platforms (though two of those overlap starting seven/eight years ago). The first two years I updated fairly consistently and then lagged around the time I switched from private to public school. I started up again once I had settled in to my groove again and for the next five years I blogged fairly consistently. In an odd way my blogging patterns mimic my mood. The more I update the better I'm feeling and the less I blog the more depressed (or overwhelmed) I am. I started blogging less and less after the ex* broke up with me and never really got my momentum back. There was a brief period where I was updating more, when I first got to London, but then the roommates from hell came to life thus ending what little momentum I had. I never got that back. Now I'm dealing with more work than I've ever dealt with before (in my entire life) and am just feeling incredibly overwhelmed. One of the books I'm reading has chapters than can reach 100 pages. I have a 200 page book to read by Monday. Then of course there are the Ancient Greeks who've never heard of brevity. And of course the only way I know how to handle all of this is by watching more TV than I can afford and cramming in as much reading as I can. I'm just glad that I've mostly curbed by other "Good God I don't know what I'm doing anymore" tendencies for the most part. Anyway.
I haven't given up on blogging. I get ideas about things that I want to write about, but by the time I get to my computer I've forgotten the idea or have lost enthusiasm for writing about it. I don't really like doing the whole bullet point thing, but given how much has been missed, it seems like the only choice. Writing out complete paragraphs covering the last two weeks seems far too time consuming and to be perfectly honest not that much happened and what did happened wasn't memorable to stick in my poor over taxed brain. So I'm left with doing bullet points and feeling like I've cheated a non-existent audience out of a proper update. However I don't really see things changing. I haven't given up on blogging, at least not yet, but I'm not going to apologize for not updating often anymore. Eventually I will give up, but for now, whoever reads this just be pleased that I haven't. I figure I've been writing in this thing for seven years, might as well make it to ten right? By then I'll be most of the way through law school and if I'm still doing this then...well then I don't know. I'll be even more insane than I am now? Anyway.
  • Glee. That's all
  • The LSAT went surprisingly well. In two weeks I will find out if those good feelings translate into a good score. I hope to god they do or I'll be going to Tulsa University.
  • I saw The Social Network. I don't care if its accurate, all I know is that you should see it and all your friends should see it. It's just that awesome.
  • Oh God won't the reading ever stop? Why???
  • Wegmann's is a god among grocery stores. I still wish we had a Trader Joe's though. A girl can dream right?
  • I did my first study abroad panel and the best memory I could come up with on the spot was seeing The 39 Steps. Next time it will be the Comedy Store and seeing Phill Jupitus in the flesh.
  • At that same panel I described my living experience as "a unique British experience." Hopefully the audience didn't get the wrong idea.
  • Terry Pratchett and Psych are extremely addicting. Avoid when you have many assignments due.
  • Mark Ronson's new album is incredibly ace. I actually kind of wrote a review of it.
  • Registration starts next week and I have one class left to decide on. Digital Storytelling or Art History II? That is the question that will be answered next week.
So that's all for now. Enjoy the length and I will update when I feel guilty again.

*Yes, I've gone back to calling him the ex. I blame his current happiness. I'm a very bitter person and hate it when he's happy. I'm only happy when he's miserable. This is why I'm going to become a cat lady in my later life.

4.10.10

A New Beatles/Kinks Theory

I've become kind of sort of obsessed with the AV Club over the past six months or so. And when I say kind of sort of obsessed what I mean is that I use as way to put off doing the shit ton of reading I need to do. One of the features of the AV Club is a section called "Coming Distractions" which is a bunch of trailers for TV shows and upcoming films. I only ever watch the trailers for films which is why I know the Smurfs movie is real and not just a gigantic ploy by the internet to make me sad. Today, while I was suppose to be working the media lab, I watched the trailer for a movie about John Lennon (before the Beatles) called Nowhere Boy. While I have many nitpicky problems with the trailer (which I will get into in the footnotes*) after not noticing anything about Cynthia Lennon, John's put upon first wife, and mentions of Hamburg, I went to the film's page and discovered that there was no entry for Cynthia. This irks me to a considerable degree and is probably the biggest problem I could have with the film. It also made me think about why the Beatles are so damn popular** while the Kinks are left to rot in obscurity (in the US.)*** And, after putting a selection of each band's music on shuffle I came up with a hypothesis (which is heavily influenced by the works of others, but whom I can't credit because I can't really point to who exactly was the influence. This however is probably not wholly original.) The songs the Beatles produced were a) highly generalizable (anyone in the Western world can relate to these songs) and fairly sexualized (which is always appealing no matter where you live.) The Kinks on the other hand are culture specific (most of their songs are only relatable if you are of working/middle class background [or have an affinity for that class] and have lived in England) and largely asexual (with a few minor exceptions including "Lola" for obvious reasons.) Add that to the mythos that surrounds the Beatles and the outgoingness of the lead singer/songwriters of the Beatles (especially compared to Ray Davies) and you have a pretty good explanation for why the Beatles will still be mostly popular fifty years from now and why only anglophiles will even know of the Kinks fifty years from now.****
In another piece of news I didn't mention yesterday, I saw a live performance of the famous Beethoven's famous ninth symphony. It was sufficiently awesome.
And now, back to not updating. I've got a book of Thucydides to read.

*The actor portraying John Lennon is way too good looking to be John Lennon. The accents aren't accurate (and I'm an American who shouldn't be able to tell that). The actor portraying Paul McCartney doesn't have enough fat on his face and his face is the wrong shape. Also his accent is an incredibly bland version of the Liverpudlian accent (which makes sense since he's from London, but still.) However it seems to have been filmed on location which makes me happy. Also, welcome back to footnotes!
**Not that I begrudge them their popularity (too much.) I'm a huge fan of the Beatles, I just think the Kinks need to be properly acknowledged by the world at large.
***The Kinks are only slightly less obscure in the UK where they are at least kind of acknowledged for their importance in British rock. The Who seem to get more credit for creating a distinctly British rock which is bullshit, but I won't go there.
****This is an exaggeration. But it's my blog so suck it.

3.10.10

Lyrics to Fill the Gap

Okay, so it's been a long time since I've updated. I'm not going to even pretend to catch up with what's been going on because that would be insane. For the most part I've been swamped with reading and other things, so this blog has dropped to fiftieth in my list of priorities (right after shaving and keeping my room tidy). However, thanks to repeated watchings of Glee I've found a new anthem for when I have to deal with my ex. It's not in any way accurate, but it makes me feel shiny so I don't give a damn. I will continue to not update, though I will try to inform this blog as to how my LSAT went (six days >_<) and other things that might come up. Just imagine me being a hermit reading and watching Law and Order: SVU. That really is my life at the moment. So here are the lyrics to tide you over.

I wake up every evening
With a big smile on my face
And it never feels out of place
And you're still probably working
At a nine to five pace
I wonder how bad that tastes

When you see my face
Hope it gives you hell
Hope it gives you hell
When you walk my way
Hope it gives you hell
Hope it gives you hell

Now where's your picket fence love
And where's that shiny car
And did it ever get you far
You never seemed so tense love
I've never seen you fall so hard
Do you know where you are

And truth be told I miss you
And truth be told I'm lying

When you see my face
Hope it gives you hell
Hope it gives you hell
When you walk my way
Hope it gives you hell
Hope it gives you hell
If you find a man that's worth a damn and treats you well
Then he's a fool you're just as well
Hope it gives you hell
Hope it gives you hell

Tomorrow you'll be thinking to yourself
Where'd it all go wrong?
But the list goes on and on

And truth be told I miss you
And truth be told I'm lying

When you see my face
Hope it gives you hell
Hope it gives you hell
When you walk my way
Hope it gives you hell
Hope it gives you hell
When you find a man that's worth a damn and treats you well
Then he's a fool, you're just as well
Hope it gives you hell

Now you'll never see
What you've done to me
You can take back your memories
They're no good to me
And here's all your lies
You can't look me in the eyes
With the sad, sad look
That you wear so well

When you see my face
Hope it gives you hell
Hope it gives you hell
When you walk my way
Hope it gives you hell
Hope it gives you hell
When you find a man that's worth a damn and treats you well
Then he's a fool you're just as well
Hope it gives you hell

When you see my face
Hope it gives you hell
Hope it gives you hell
When you walk my way
Hope it gives you hell
Hope it gives you hell
When you hear this song and you sing along but you never tell
Then you're the fool, I'm just as well
Hope it gives you hell

When you hear this song
I hope that it will give you hell

You can sing along
I hope that it puts you through hell