The Round Up

I was going to go to a club to ring in the new year. But I'm not really the club kind of person, so now I have a stomach bug. No need to dwell on that though, let's sum up the year in a pithy fashion. As one does you know.

• Favourite Album: Mark Ronson, Record Collection. Possibly one of the best albums I've heard in a long time, Mr. Ronson proves with Record Collection that he can in fact write and produce original music without it sounding crap. Save for a couple of tracks I'm not particularly fond of Record Collection really is a brilliant album.
• What I Actually Listened to For Most of the Year: Glee. The thing about Glee is that they pick songs that are basically comfort food for ears. They aren't terribly adventurous and for the most part very well known. So when you want something simply to listen to Glee is an excellent option because the artists are talented and songs are comfortable. So that's mostly what I've actually been listening to.
• Favourite Film: Tie between The Social Network and Inception. The odd thing about this years is that I've seen a lot of great movies. It started in London when going to see a movie was a cheaper way to spend a couple of hours in central London than say, seeing a play or something of that sort. And while I could go to a museum might seem even cheaper, a movie is far more entertaining. In any event I became accustomed to going to a movie by myself, so I decided to do that. Multiple times. So I got to see a number of really great movies. But of all the movies I saw, my favourites were definitely Inception and The Social Network. Both were brilliantly devised, directed, and acted. However I can't really pick just one, so I suggest you go see both. Or you know, rent them when they come out on DVD.
• Best Book I Read This Year (That Really Wasn't Published This Year): Amongst the Thugs. Not only did it cover a topic I'm interested in (football hooligans) it also held within its covers the most disgusting scene I've ever read (which I won't commit to electronic paper for my more sensitive readers.) Thugs is an elegantly written book about a very inelegant topic that gives the reader an insiders prospective on a culture that is very hard to get involved in. Do yourself a favor and read it. And look out for descriptions of eyes.
• Thing I Hope Will Happen in 2011: That I get into law school. I may not be sure that I actually want to practice law, but I do know that I want to at least get into law school. Everything else is just frosting on the cake. Though I would like one of the following bands to start working on an album: Franz Ferdinand, Kaiser Chiefs, or Arctic Monkeys. That would be very nice.

So that's the round up. I haven't done the best job of writing this year, but I think making resolutions is stupid so I won't do that. However I can promise that I'll be updating more, simply because I'm going to be taking a class that involves blogging. So whatever I write for that class will be posted in this blog (as well as the one I keep for school which gets update even less than this one.) So here's to 2011, may it go more smoothly than this year.

The Bi-Monthly Update

All bullet points. Such is life.

• I miss London. I suspect that I will say that from now until I get back there, when I will immediately stop missing London and start missing DC. Right now though I miss London and I miss it with every fibre of my being.
• The situation with my roommates is just below civil. There haven't been any out right confrontations, largely because I hate confrontations but also because it's a week until we all go home. My hope remains to be that when we get back things will settle into a civil living arrangement that I'll be able to stand and that the ill-will which currently exists will have dissipated. A month away from each other should help, or at least I hope it will help. And if not then I'll do what I did second semester freshmen year which is stay away from the apartment as much as humanely possible. Which will be made easier by the fact that...
• I'm going to be doing a credit overload next semester. My adviser (and the school really) have failed me again and so I will be taking 20 credits next semester. One of these credits (quite literally 1) will be weight lifting. And here I thought I had finished with PE junior year of high school. Still I'm only taking 3 upper level classes and none of them are history. So it shouldn't be too bad right? Right. Optimism, always optimism.

Did I mention it's finals? Yes, I've got exams Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. I leave on Saturday in the morning and then a month off. So until next time, don't panic.

True Facts

I don't like flutes. Or, more specifically, I don't like flutes outside of the orchestra or orchestral pieces. I find their sound far to airy to be taken seriously and it's incredibly easy to play a flute out of tune which is equally troubling. The people who play flutes tend to annoy me as well as they're either far too perky or far too self absorbed for their own good. Generally speaking there is nothing I like about the flute or the people who play flutes that I like. And yet I room with a flutist. Ironic, no?
I want to be acknowledged for the things I do. I don't do spectacular things, in fact most of the time I do my best to stay below the radar. But that doesn't mean I don't do things. I do important things, behind the scene things that if they weren't done people would suddenly notice. For those things I wish to be acknowledged, those things that I do behind the scenes. It's an utterly selfish motive, but I'm tired of people who don't deserve to acknowledged (at least in my opinion) being acknowledged before me. I'm tired of standing in the shadows waiting for a round of applause that will never come. I'm not asking to applauded every time I do band set-up or make it through the day without screaming at the top of my lungs, but just once I would like my efforts to be appreciated. Just once.
I want a job. I'm tired of school, I want a job. I don't care if it's menial, I don't care if I have to work as a temp, I just want a job. I want to make money, my own money just for me. That's all, I just want a job. I want to live on my own, in a city and work. Unfortunately I probably have another three years of putting off the inevitable before I can do that. Hopefully having those three years will mean that when I do face the inevitable I'll be able to make more money. Because what I really want is a job.

Piecemeal

11/12/10: So I'm writing this paper. I've been dreading it since the beginning of the semester because I pulled the prospectus out of my ass and I was sure that there was no way I could write anywhere close to 15 pages on anything. I finished page nine tonight and by the end of business on Saturday I'll probably have another nine written.
11/13/10: Or not. More like 2 and half. But I'll have it done by Monday which is the point right? Anyway, I'm currently having flashbacks to London. And not the warm fuzzy kind I get when I think about tea and the tube. The unfuzzy kind when I think about my flatmates and having to move apartments. At least I'm two floors up and therefore can't tell what song it is they're playing down in the basement, but my instinct to knock loudly on their doors and call security is screaming quite loudly at the moment. However it's Saturday night so as much as I would like to go to sleep right now (so I can wake up early so I can't work on this damn paper), I probably won't get to. Of course I could always open my window and let the sound of traffic lull me to sleep. But then there are the drunken revelers returning home at odd times, so opening my window isn't really an option. Where are my earplugs when I need them?
11/15/10: The paper turned into a nearly 6,000 word opus on a topic that has been flitting around my head for ages. What annoys me more than anything though is that I still have ideas about that paper flitting around my head. Ideas about songs or bands or artists that I could have looked at. I thought that by writing this paper I would finally be done with this topic and would be able to move on with my life. But no, now I'm thinking about former British colonials and the music they brought with them when they immigrated to Britain. Taking a more in depth look at the punk/post-punk movements in the 80's in relation to the politics. And on and on. I need a new obsession because this one is getting annoying.

Quickie

I got my LSAT score by and I've applied to all the schools I'm planning applying to. Pace is being a buttface (I know, mature) and not realizing that I have 12 transfer credits and won't process my application until I have at least 90 credits. 12 plus 79 from fall last year equals 91. Hence my frustration. However, I'm supposedly going to be hearing from DePaul in about two weeks, which is terrifying. Otherwise I probably won't hear anything until the end of the semester. Which is one of the many reasons I can't wait for this semester to be over.
My other reason for wanting this semester to be over is that I won't have to write any papers for a month. Right now I'm working on my British history term paper which, while fascinating, is 15 to 20 pages long. As I've mentioned before I've never written that much in my life and I'm not a history major. I should never have to write that much in a non-major class. Still, I will slog through it this week and will hopefully come out the other side with most of my sanity still in place. But we shall see.
That's it really. I just wanted to prove I'm alive and haven't gone off the deep end entirely.

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.

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.

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.

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

This is My Life at the Moment

There's a blog I follow, a fellow student, though she's in law school and lives in Singapore. She almost never updates I've always wondered what the point of having a blog if you never update. Now I understand. School has literally swamped me in reading. I had my first paper due today, but mostly I've been reading. And cursing my computer for being pooey. But mostly I've been reading and procrastinating on reading. Also cooking, but we'll get to that.
I always thought it would be fun to be a history major. I love history (a well documented fact) and so assumed that as with music, history would be easy. I was wrong. Once you hit a certain level (300) there's more reading than you shack a stick at and most of it is due all on the same day. I'm going to end up reading six books for British history, three books (plus a shit ton of articles) for French history, and about four books for ancient Greek history (also plus a shit ton of articles). That's in addition to papers for each class, eating, sleeping, and geology reading and labs. I'm only taking 15 credits, but it feels like 18. God only knows what 18 credits would feel like. I've never worked this hard in my life. Sure I've had to wait 22 years to get to this point, but a fact remains a fact. However I will get through this and come out the other side sane. I've been through worse right?
Now cooking. Having a real kitchen and being a grown up and all I decided this would be the year I would finally cook for myself. I have three cookbooks and CD of receipes that aren't in cook books. I've made mac and cheese, pork, and chicken risotto. Tonight I made pancetta and pasta. And set of the smoke detector in my building. After today (presentation, paper, class, radio station training, grocery shopping) the last thing I needed was being singled out for cooking. The dish, however, turned out beautifully, though I do miss high quality ingredients. No metallicy after taste with high quality ingredients. Still I'm very pleased with myself that I can cook this well and haven't actually burned down any houses (or apartment buildings.)
There's more reading in my future. A hell of a lot more reading. Which means infrequent updating. I will leave you with this last tidbit though, something to ponder while I'm away: The ex has a new beau and I made it patently clear that while I can be civil with him, I don't have to be nice. Also, rum makes awkward social situations slightly better.

Things I Did This Week

Here is not at all comprehensive list of things I have done thus far this week. Enjoy.

• Went home and wrote most of a personal statement with my sister's tutor. Enjoyed not having to cook for myself.
• Cut the side of my feet by walking 48,000 inches.* This is quite painful and will be the reason for another item on this list.
• Filled out law school applications. I also passed out letter of recommendation forms and transcript request forms to the correct people.
• Spelled Dr. Bartam's name incorrectly. There two A's.
• Cooked pork.
• Was highly amused by my fellow radio DJs.
• Learned how to "read" a topographic map. Kind of. Not really.
• Filled out more law school applications.
• Bought a dry erase board calendar and plotted out everything I have to read over the next month. It's quite a lot.
• Put up all of my tickets. They take up quite a lot of wall space.
• Avoided doing homework. Which is what I'm doing right now.
• Gave myself massive blisters on the bottom of my feet by walking on extremely hot pavement barefoot. This is seemed like a good idea before the massive blisters appeared.
• Went to the clinic and dumbfounded both the nurse and the doctor.

I'm going to study geology now. Tomorrow is the first sci-fi club meeting where I will get to give Ana a huge hug and moan a bit more about how much my feet hurt. There's a lesson to be learned in this small children: Do not walk barefoot on pavement when it's 96 degrees outside. Blisters will happen.

*48,000 inches = 4,000 feet = 0.768 miles = walking the length of my campus

Sheep

I'm currently trying to minimize the amount of battery I use because I don't want to move back to my desk. Yes, I am that lazy.
In other news it's almost the end of my first week and, as always, my first week has been insane. Picking up disability letters, trying to decide whether to take 18 credits or drop a class, passing out disability letters, talking to various offices, filling out paper work, and finding out that my old job as band aid was back on the market and I was the number one candidate for it. Per usual, this has left me feeling like a chicken with no head. And tomorrow is not going to be any better. I have more letter to pass out, pick up one last book, work the media lab (because that job never went away), and meet up with Mom so she can give me a rug and various kitchen utensils. This weekend I will be working with a tutor (my sister's tutor to be exact) on my personal statement. The only upside to all of this is that next week won't be insane and this weekend I get to consult with my Mom about cooking. That's the one nice thing about living in the apartments is that I can really cook for myself, which is much better than frozen diet meals.
So let's talk classes. I started out with Ancient Greek history, French history, anthropology, and geology. I will end the week with Ancient Greek history, French history, British history, and geology. Why the change? A) I don't tolerate egotists very well and b) as much as I don't love the working class people of Britain, I do love Britain and I would really like to know what happened after William the Orange landed with Mary. So instead of taking the relatively easy A (anthro) I went with the 15-20 page paper class (British history.) Thankfully my other two classes aren't requiring papers that long and I already have a topic in mind for said paper (the Kinks and depictions of the working class in the late 1960's.) My other non-science classes are equally interesting. Dr. O'Brien (Greek history) has a quirky sense of humor but is really enthusiastic about the topic so the fact that he went on a minor tangent about name origins, it works well. Dr. Harris, who I had for Western Civ. II, is his same dorky, enthusiastic self so I'm not worried about French history. I also have a friend in French history and that always helps. Actually, I have friends in each of my history classes, which is a plus since I feel really strange being in all of these upper level history class (300, 331, and 354, just for reference) and not being a history major. I keep having to remind myself that I do in fact belong in these classes and am capable of doing well in them. As I told a friend, if the school had history minors available to me, I would be one.
Of course what I'm not mentioning are my music classes. I'm only taking two this semester, chorus and band, and...nothing has changed. Prof. Tavenier has lost a lot of weight (kind of scary amount actually) and Dr. Bartrum hasn't changed an iota (except for losing a non-scary amount of weight.) The one change I dislike the most though is I had to audition for my position as first of the third clarinets. I dislike this greatly because I hate auditioning, especially for things where I already know the outcome. However, as I mentioned, I got my band aid job back, which is nice in it's own annoying way. I was kind of hoping to not have to deal with that particular stress this semester, but I'm good at setting up chairs, what can I say? While some things change a whole hell of a lot, some things never change.
Other updates:

• I had a civil conversation with Hunter without giving death glare the whole time. Trust me, this is an improvement.
• I will most likely be having my radio shows on Thursday nights because that is the most convenient time for me. And as much as I could plan my life around what's on TV, some things are more important.
• Yogurt and chocolate chips is the best dessert that won't make me feel guilty about having dessert. Actual best desserts include pie, cake, and ice cream.

That's it my friends. There's a slim hope that I will have most of a first draft of my personal statement done by the time I get back to school from sojourn home. And now that I'm down to 15% battery power remaining, I think I'll call it a night. Don't panic.

Have a Great Senior Year

Alright, so it's been a while. Longer than a week in fact. But I'll have you know that I was on vacation last week and therefore I didn't have time to update. This was largely because it was the best beach vacation I've ever been on and therefore was spending my time having a great time. So yeah, that's my excuse for not updating for two week. But I'm updating now and that's what's important.
It's my senior year. Of college. Unsurprisingly I'm freaking the frak out. And then I miss the reason I was suppose to move back early and then I see Hunter. So right now I want a TARDIS so I can go back home and be there for a little while longer. I'm very ambivalent about this whole situation and I'm tired from moving today. So as much as I would like to write more about this situation, I'm just going to say this: I wish I didn't have to be a responsible adult anymore. And I would like to stay in my room and watch TV forever.
I will try and have a more coherent entry after my first week of classes. If not then...well yeah. Stuff.

Something Over Nothing/LSAT Is Dead Long Live LSAT

August already? Really? Good lord...
In other news I've gotten my third comment on an entry I wrote 3 years ago. First of all, the people who've commented on this entry (and yes I deleted one of the comments because it was just beyond dumb) obviously have only ever read that one entry and so don't realize that I've moved beyond high school. Second of all, it was 3 years ago. Who gives a fuck what I wrote three years ago when I was in a really bad mood. Which leads to my third point: I was in a horrible mood when I wrote that entry. I had actually written an entry two days previously apologizing for any behaviour that offended. If these people had actually read more than one entry of my blog, they'd probably realize that, that really old entry is not typical. I've gained control of my faculties and no longer write that kind of thing in this or any other blog. So now that I've gotten that off my chest, shall we move on? Yes, let us move on.
My LSAT class is over, but the agony and stress of applying to law school and taking the real LSAT have not gone away. I'm in my last week at WPFW and then the fam and I are off to the beach for what will hopefully be a fun vacation. My dad's older brother, wife, daughter and possibly her boyfriend will be joining us this year which means that the normal crazy that occurs when will be less. It won't go away, but it won't be prominent. And I've got LSAT studying to do, so there's always that excuse. After the beach I have three days at home which will involve all of the following things: packing, getting my hair dyed, packing, getting my eyes checked, my last clarinet lesson, packing, packing, and more packing. Then, after those three days, I'll be going back to school. It's kind of freaky to think about, especially given how close I am to graduating, but I'm more focused on the whole LSAT/law school thing, so the fact that I'm a senior is less in focus. I can focus on being a senior once my life after UMW is figured out.
One last thing. I have a new ultra shiny green computer. My Mom has inherited my old computer and is working on making it not suck to which I say, bully for you crazy lady. I'm happy with my new lovely computer and hopefully it will last a little bit longer than my last one. Until next time, don't panic.

It's the Little Things

It's been ten days. I guess an update is in order.
After some minor/major stresses over the past ten days, I'm reaching a calm place within myself which is a welcome change from being stressed all the time (damn you LSAT!). That doesn't mean the stress has exited entirely (damn you LSAT!), but at least some of the more minor stresses have been taken care of. Which leads me to my small list of nice things that have happened to me over the past 24 hours that have helped me to reach this calm space.

• Getting through an entire logic game without going "how the frak do the expect me to answer this?" Granted that was followed by a game that I couldn't figure out to save my life, but at least I got one without any problems. That's a huge improvement for me.
• Getting complemented on my new haircut by two different guys (one possibly gay, one old as the hills).

Yes, it's a very short list, but at least it's something.
Otherwise my life has been pretty much the same. LSAT, trying to get some clarinet practice in, LSAT, volunteering at WPFW, and LSAT. One other highlight from the past 48 hours is that I will get to move in early at school, thus completing my four year streak of getting to move in early. Which is always nice. And now that I've completely lost the thread of this entry I'll end it here. Until next time.

I Never Wanted to be a Lawyer

Now that it's officially been a "long time" since I last updated (which I warned all of you would happen) I suppose I should give some kind of update. I'm continuing to update my list of unspoken commuter rules (which includes walking up and down the correct side of the escalator and generally not being an idiot) and worrying constantly that I'm not going to get into law school and will be forced to become a hobo (or something along those lines). Mostly I'm worried about my personal statement because what do I say? I'm a music major who's decided to become a lawyer because...because? Yeah, that's really part of the problem. I have no idea what I want to do as a lawyer. I know I want to work in intellectual property and that I want to deal with entertainment (which means trademark and copyright, not patents really). I also I know I'm a music major which makes the whole process of writing this personal statement more complicated because I somehow have to explain how my major relates to being a lawyer. So, I want to be a lawyer because...and I'm a music major and that will help me be a lawyer because...
And then there's the gunner in my prep class. Who's constantly worried which makes me more worried because how am I (the music major) suppose to remain calm when the gunner (a pre-law student) isn't?
Mostly though I'm just trying to fit everything into 24 hours. Homework, class, WPFW, sleeping, eating, and practicing. It might not seem like a lot, but it is really. Especially the sleeping part. That takes up many, many hours. In any event I probably won't update again for awhile. You know how it is.

Whatever Let's You Sleep

There's is a thing I have learned about my mother, a thing that drives me insane, that makes me hate myself and makes me hate her even more. When she's gotten on her high horse, when she is just absolutely certain that she's right and everyone else is wrong, it's best not to argue or show any kind of emotion that might make her think you're arguing with her. It's pointless because the minute you try to disprove her, to point out the blindingly obvious flaws in her argument, she starts yelling even louder than before (and this is a woman who's inside voice is the same as most people's outside voice) and it will just make what is already a painful experience that much worse. Sure, I lie awake in bed not able to get to sleep because I want so badly to argue my point, or at least get the opportunity to argue my point. And yes, this aggravating habit makes me want to run away and never come back and never talk to her ever again. But this is how she has been my entire life. She won't change and I argued most of my childhood and it got me absolutely nowhere. I just have to get this final thing off my chest though: There is a difference between turning on a personal computer without any kind of permission and turning on a computer widely available to the entire family having been given blanket permission to use it. It's a huge difference and cannot be ignored because of the location of said personal computer. So fuck you bitch, it's my goddamn computer and I expect to be treated with respect. So leave my fucking computer alone and don't fucking turn it on without my goddamn permission. Just fucking call me and I'll say yes.
This, along with a number of other things, is why I want to go to law school out of state, even if that means living the rest of my life in debt. I can't live here for another three fucking years.

Too Busy, Can't Write

Told you I wouldn't be updating much. I've uber busy/dealing with the fact that my computer is as close to being useless as a computer can be. Honestly, I'm just writing this to prove that a) I'm alive and b) I haven't forgotten about my blog(s). Expect more silence over the coming weeks (at least until my LSAT class is over) unless something major happens. Like a meteorite crash or the US making it through the first round of the World Cup. Oh wait, one of those things actually happened. Anyway, just expect sporadic updates until August. And then expect sporadic updates after August because I'll still be studying for the LSAT and I'll be getting ready for my last year of college. :freaks out completely: And now back to writing questions for Gloria.

Busy Bee

I think my computer's dying. I've had it for many, many years (nearly as long as this blog actually) but I'm still attached this old thing and would be very sad if it is in fact dying. Either that or Symantec has f-ed it up entirely and therefore it's not dying, it's just very, very sick, which is still annoying. As I repeatedly told my Mom has she tried to make everything all better, all I want is for my computer to work and for it not to die. I have three babies (computer, clarinet, Zune) and I'm only happy when they all work and the fact that one of them isn't working properly makes me sad. Like right now, which is why I just want my computer to be better.
In other news I've decided to catch up on the fifth season of Lost. I watched the series finale and since Hulu is streaming the first five seasons until the end of the year (and I have nothing going on on Mondays and Tuesdays during the day) I figured, why not watch the fifth season? If I'm really bored I'll watch the whole thing from the beginning, but with my LSAT class giving me homework and a clarinet to practice I don't know if I'll have time to watch that much TV. Though we are talking about me, so you never know, I just might do it. We shall see.
So that's it. LSAT prep class on Tuesdays and Saturdays, clarinet lessons on Mondays, and work the rest of the non-Sundays (aka Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays.) It's good, I like keeping busy, at least when I'm at home. It keeps me away from the things that are wrong and can't be fixed in this house. So I'll keep busy, which probably means I won't be updating as much. But, as always, we shall see.

Back At Home

It's amazing how quickly you can slip back into a life. I've been home nearly a week and it feels like I never left. Granted the pile of winter clothing on my floor would beg to differ on that point, but the ease of which I've slipped back into the daily motions of my life here at home just seems ridiculous. I'm waiting to hear from Gloria and save for taking clarinet lessons and a LSAT prep course, this summer will be exactly like last summer. Despite spending five and a half months in a foreign country, it feels like nothing has changed. Except for the law school thing. Other than that, nothing's changed.
Obviously though, that's not true. Lots of things have changed, including my life plan and taste in music (kind of.) Everyone I know agrees that I'm more mature and more self reliant than I was before I left for London, though as with anything having to do with my own maturity I don't really believe that. I'm definitely more world weary and more prepared for life outside the comfortable life I lead with the help of my parents. I also know how to deal with airport security which is nothing to sniff at in my opinion.
And what about London? It wasn't what I expected. I think that largely had to do with the people I was roomed with for the first half of the semester and less to do with the actual city. I've often ruminated on this point and I honestly think that if I'd either been enrolled in a different program or had been housed differently to begin with, the way I experienced London would have been completely different. Despite what the British may want people to think the class system is alive and well and if you live in London that system gets shoved down your throat in a rather uncomfortable way every day, especially outside of central London. That isn't to say happiness can't be found in the city, you just have to be in the right place and around the right people (which entirely depends on your economic status or the what socioeconomic status you're use to mingling with.) A lot of what I did in London was amazing and hopefully that's what I'll remember in ten years time and for the rest of my life.
I'm glad to be home though. I like the life I have here and certainly appreciate it more than I use to (for the most part.) And maybe now that I'm home I'll start updating a bit more often. Maybe.