My first order from BPAL arrived today, eee! But, uh, there's two extra imps, with names that I don't remember ordering, so. I'll have to double check my order, maybe I accidentally did something wrong.

Antiways! I now have one imp each of the following:
- The Hanging Gardens
- Tamora
- Cheshire Cat (!!!)
- Siren
- Kali
- Eos
- Le Serpent Qui Danse
- House of Night
- Sudha Segara

Those last two are the ones that I don't remember. But I think Sudha Segara was the one Nadia was talking about, so maybe I went to that to check it out and accidentally ordered it? Idk. [ETA] I went back and looked at the descriptions for those two, and they sound like something I'd want to try, so maybe I did order them.[/ETA]

Between those 9 and the 4 samples I got at work of Auric Blends (Lavender Dreams, Chinese Rain, Lovers Moon, and Patchouly), plus the fact that I bought my first ever bottle of perfume over the summer (this one, it smells really good and was on closeout sale, WIN) . . . I will not need to buy perfume again until I'm thirty. Especially seeing as how most days I can't even remember to put any on.

Also, I am going to take this one moment to say how FRUSTRATED I am with this whole gas thing. People have been running the stations dry, and now most of them in the area don't have any gas, and Ray might be stuck at work because we were thinking this madness would have ended by yesterday, and now we are nearly out of gas.

Yes, I'm in a gang.

I'm in need of some stress relief that doesn't require over-involvement, but I can choose my own time to put in. This looks like it could be it for me.

Sign-up here if you're interested -- plz put my name under "anything else?". More info to be found here.

I am . . . not a classical music lover. (Understatement.) However, for the purpose of a show, I am looking for a variety of Italian classical/instrumental music, of varying moods and tempos. Currently Wikipedia is winning my heart, with downloadable tracks that are licensed under creative commons. Vivaldi and Corelli are the two I've downloaded the most of. However, as previously stated, I am NOT a classical music lover, and the type I do enjoy tends more towards Tchaikovsky. Pandora is being somewhat helpful, but doesn't recognize why I keep booting the German composers it sticks on the playlist. Hence, if any of ya'll own or can recommend Italian classical music/composers for me to look into, I would much appreciate it.

(Technically speaking, it doesn't have to be classical, or instrumental. I just don't really want modern, and I don't want opera.)

Also, Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton as done by Tina Fey and . . . Amy Poehler, I think? HILARIOUS.

So Saturday Former Roommate Mary threw me and Ray an engagement party. A "Lesbient Engagbian" party, because she was a wee bit tipsy when she decided to do this. (Oh yeah, Ray and I got engaged a week ago. EEEK.)

Anyway, I played Rock Band for the first time then, and my whole band failed out on Thnks Fr the Mmrs! I was on bass! I failed out playing a Wentz bassline on easy! /o\ But I was trashed, and then we did it again and I was the lowest at 86% or something, so it was okay. Also, even though it wasn't real bass, I was totes channeling Mikey Way. Fun times.

"Love You Much Better" is the Hush Sound song I always forget about, but can't help singing along to every time it comes up.

ETA: It is so humid outside (I'm on our back porch) that the keys are sticking. Wtf.

Even the mightiest roach warriors have come to fear my name.

RAWR.



No seriously, I had a pan o' roaches last night from all over the house, at least thirty. SO GROSS. But now they dead from Ailly. (And bugspray.)

Drip coffee with a shot of espresso. At work, this is a shot in the dark. At Starbucks, it's a red eye. At JavaCity (the on-campus coffee shop), it is an eye opener. Wikipedia told me the name variation is a regional thing. I think Wikipedia lied.

What's it called at your local coffee shop?

I am going to :/ face at the next person who asks if I'm a freshman. Seriously.

Seriously.

----

Last night I had a dream that I was Brent Wilson, and a sooper-sekrit spy who'd gotten out of the game. But then 3/4 of The Used showed up in my kitchen with Patrick Stump and I had to kick their asses and escape. Strange times.

Amos' Southend would probably own my soul, if I could afford to buy tickets to even one or two of these upcoming shows:

- Sat. Aug. 30 -- Mindless Self Indulgence (OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG)
- Tues. Sept. 09 -- COWBOY MOUTH (EEEEEEE!!!)
- Thurs. Sept. 18 -- Drive By Truckers (I might drag former Roommate Mary out to see this one...)
- Weds. Oct. 01 -- The Academy Is... (opening show!)
- Fri. Oct. 24 -- Relient K (with Ludo and This Providence)

*whimper* Drive By Truckers and Relient K I could live without, and I'm pretty sure someone told me that the MSI show is already sold out, but I would DIE to see Cowboy Mouth (and finally be able to buy their CDs, maybe? Can't find the damn things anywhere!) and the TAI show would be, I'm sure, lolarious. Of course, I'd also have to find someone to go with me, because I am a pussy, but still. *wistful sigh*

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Right now I am trying to make fake chik'n cordon bleu thingies in the toaster oven. Just as a reference of my mad cooking skillz, earlier this summer Ray sent me to check on the frozen pizza in the oven. I said it wasn't done. And the next time she sent me. So she finally checks it, and the damn thing is SO BURNT. (But still pretty tasty.)

Ya'll, I can't even cook a frozen pizza. I can fry shit like nobody's business, and bake or frost like a demon! But cooking? Eeee. We'll see how this goes

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Earlier today, I wandered around the nearby blocks, and a little on campus, handing out coupons for booksthatmatter, a local family owned textbook store. (WU's tried to shut them down multiple times, because they provide so much competition to the bookstore.) I found it really easy to just walk up to total strangers and start talking, which is kinda weird for me! I probably couldn't have done that before India.

So tonight I went to the tech rehearsal for Cirque Depravite, which is a student-written show that was put together in Create Carolina this spring and they're bringing it back to scare the freshman or some shit. I have Thoughts on it, but it's highly unlikely any professor is going to ask for essays on performances this year (since I'm a SENIOR, holy shit how'd that happen?!), so those Thoughts are going here instead!

( hope you guessed my name )

Okay, well, I don't really care if anyone even reads that, it was nice just to get my thoughts in order about it. I'm such a Ravenclaw sometimes.

I'm browsing LJ (and now updating) via the sound booth computer at school. We're supposed to do an 8pm go for the Down Home Play Festival, and it is right now 7:51 and there is NO ONE IN THE AUDIENCE. Oh wait, just as I typed that, the chair of the theatre/dance department and his wife-mother walked in.

I was given the task of creating pre-show and intermission music for the festival, and since the shows are totally all over the place, so is my playlist. I got rid of "One and Only" after a director complained, but I have Metro Station, Tegan and Sara, "Cupid's Chokehold", "Get Ur Freak On", Billie Holiday, "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything", "You Know What They Do To Guys Like Us in Prison", "It's Not Easy Being Green", Lupe Fiasco, and a finale of "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life". It's awesome.

Ok, we just got a rush, and now have 8 people. Whoo-hoo. Not that I blame anyone for staying away, this show kinda sucks. But whatever, it's supporting local playwrights. And I get paid $10 an hour under the table (yessssssss).

My Ray left me today to go home to Ohio for a week. ;____; However, I can has a Kender to make up for it! Only for a few days, and I have to work like every day while she's here, but whatevs. We haven't hung out in aaaaaaaaages. Plus, last night Ray and I got two tiny Chinese dwarf hamsters! They are our bbs and soooo cute. I'm having great fun coming up with ridic names, for example: Butch and Dyke, Sparkle and Glitter, Thelma and Louise, Mork and Mindy, Coffee and Tea, India and China, etc. My current faves are FannyPak and Dub-dub, from America's Best Dance Crew and Middle Men respectively. :D

Usually I play solitaire on my phone while I'm not doing cues, but tonight I think I'll be reading LJ during the show. Muahaha~.

Well, I foresaw that my LJ would be nigh-on abandoned this summer, and I was right. Between living with my girlfriend, working at a newly-opened store, taking summer school, and doing theater stuffs, my computer time has dropped drastically. (Oh, and I also still have to steal wireless from Scary Dog Neighbors, haha.)

Watching the Olympics is amazing -- gymnastics! swimming! beach volleyball! -- and also really really makes me want to get back into competitive swimming. It's probably not feasible, but I might try to start using the school's pool in the 6-8am time. I've certainly got nothing better to do.

Speaking of swimming, did anyone else see Peter Vorkeraay (??? the other American in the top heat) totally whup Michael Phelps in the qualifying 200m free? Out of nowhere! So awesome.

ETA: My icon reminds me, Ray (who is adorable and asleep beside me) has yet to see Transformers. This girl, I swear. She got me a shiny new Palm Centro phone for my birfday though! It's fucking AMAZING, I love it. And today is 11 months for us, which is totally insane.

I have a warm girlfriend!hoodie and had yummy breakfast and now have coffee and chocolate and String Quartet tributes. And I don't have to go to work until 11, will probably only work for an hour or so, and get paid for working three hours (thank you union rules!). \o/

However, I was a total absent-minded spaz, and didn't buy plane tickets to Chicago, so now have to try to resell my Panic tickets. Because $300 for ONE WAY is very much NOT within my price range. /o\ Mom and Dad offered to help out since they know how much I was looking forward to this trip, but I also have 2 months back-rent I have to pay to my roommates, plus summer school tuition, plus regular tuition and regular rent, and on top of all of it I don't know for certain that I'm going to be hired at Earth Fare so I really don't need to go and spend $$$$ visiting mi Kender and doing awesome shit in Chicago. (And Bloomington, I guess? Is there awesome shit to do in Bloomington?)

So I'm really bummed about not buying transportation when it was still $150. I think I'll be going home this weekend instead, to get the other part of my bed and my bike and whatever else is left.

Ray's going to China tomorrow, and then she'll be back next weekend, just in time for me to head up to Durham and go to baby niece 2's b-day party. It'll be my first time seeing my brother and sister-i-l's new house, and also meeting baby niece 3! (My brothers need to work on some baby nephews next, methinks.)

"Peter Pan" was seriously awesome, but now it's over. I'm still working in the shop for now, and apparently the head of my department (who I didn't even think liked me) turned in applications for me to be a TA in both scene shop and house management, even though I purposefully didn't apply because I thought I'd be getting a real job! Julie told him that, and he just shook his head and said, "no, she won't." Um, ok! Weirdo.

Oh, and Julie! So Julie was my freshman roommate, and we'd gone to high school together, and we had this really awkward falling out where neither of us really remembers quite why we stopped talking and how we let it get so bad. But we're both theater majors, and were both TAs in the scene shop together, and it was really terribly awkward. But we both apologized while I was in India, and we're the only two TAs for the summer, and so far we've been getting along really well and joking around and stuff. It feels like a weight being lifted off my chest that I didn't even know was there.

This entry is just all over the place, sorry.

I am stealing wireless from the Scary Dog Neighbors, and using Ray's shiny new computer. Wassup?

In the life of Ailly:
- I am moved into the House of Gay! It's pretty awesome so far, but I've only been here a week and the room is a very not-unpacked mess.
- I'm working "Peter Pan" and I get to fly Peter and Tink and the Wendy-bird! It's so much fun, and I'm hoping tonight's audience will actually have little kids so we'll get to hear their reactions.
- Nowhere has Whipser War down here, so I have resorted to downloading. "I'll Run" sounds really cool all polished and fancylike!
- So May 23 is like next week? I was not expecting that. I still don't have tickets to get to BMI/Chicago, nor a hostel in Chicago for after the Panic show. Um, whoops? /o\
- "The Hills" is dreadfully addicting, no lie.
- It is so expensive to live in America, my god. I want to go back to being able to have a fancy dinner for under $10! *poutyface*
- I'm getting caught up on a full semester's worth of drama all at once, and it is fucking HILARIOUS.

And now it is already time to flee for dinner type stuffs!
xoxo

I am in Delhi! And I spent Rs 700 on a trilogy of fantasy YA books I'd never heard of before today, whoops, bookstores take away all my resolve.

Mom and I head to Agra tomorrow for the TAJ MAHAL ON SATURDAY, WHOO-HOO!!

Traveling with Mom has been remarkably nice and friendly. As in, we joke and talk like we're friends first, and mother/daughter second. That's awesome, as several previous years were dedicated to some of the most vicious kinds of mother/daughter fighting there is. But now we're joking about hookahs and went out for pizza and beer (Delhi's drinking age is 25, wtf????) and making fun of family members and it's going a lot better than I'd expected. \o/

Surreal experience of the day: having a very vivid dream about zombies, and waking up to blood all over my mouth. Creepy!

ONE WEEK UNTIL I MOVE INTO THE HOUSE OF GAY I AM SO GLEE-FACED!!! All of the mood icons I tried for this post contained Bill Beckett, I am that kind of excited! But not drunk. 25, seriously Delhi?

I has a mom in India! Tomorrow we head out to Mumbai, then on to Delhi, stopping by Agra to see the Taj, and then back home on May 6. The real excitement will be moving into the HOUSE (of GAY) on May 9 of course!

Packing up, I felt like bursting into tears all afternoon. I don't think it's just packing and saying goodbye to the amazing friends I have here, but I don't know. It's weird to have everything all packed up, but I'm not going home yet, I'm going traveling. For me this is a final short little trip, yet mom just got here! Strange.

Paid account expired. The only thing I'll miss is the many userpics: I never made any voiceposts, and I rarely did any polls. Oh, well, I'll miss the photo storage too, but that's what photobucket is for, n'est pas? (I'm really amused by the userpics I have left though! Keltie, Audrey Kitching, Jac Vanek, Greta, Megan Fox, and Tracie Thoms. Wtffffff. Those aren't the most used, the most recent, keywords all together, nothing! Strange.)

Okay. Peace. See you in the US.

So I saw, a few days back, someone talking about a big mush of all the bandom music video AUs all into one -- possibly it was ladysorka? -- and the only AU I couldn't place was the robots. And it bugged me, and it bugged me, and then last night I realized that the robots AU was only the song I had as my ringtone all last semester, jesus, it's Cupid's Chokehold. How am I such a blonde?

Whatever. That was your stupid!Ailly for the day.

You know what? Thank god for Firefox's "recently closed tabs" list. I have accidentally closed tabs SO OFTEN this week. I don't know, maybe there's something in the water. (Of course there's something in the water, that's why we don't drink it! Hahahahaha... no but really. Oh, India.)

So, besides that revelation that I felt like sharing with the world, this post is mostly about how I'm going to be seeing my Ray in about 2 weeks. And I'm seeing my Mama on Friday, and the Taj Mahal sometime in between those two peeps, so it's gonna be awesome. Also, Livejournal is an excellent way of pracrastinating, and since I have two papers and two exams tomorrow, I need some quality procrastination. And my paid account is expiring soon, so I'm using all my icons as much as possible.

Additionally, I'm avoiding my bedroom. Becka-roo's leaving tomorrow at 10am, so all her stuff is packed up and the room is very bare and prison-cell-ish and depressing. She really is the most awesome roommate I've had, and I really hope we stay in touch and see each other again.

PS, MANGOS are amazing. I'd never had one before a few weeks ago, and they are SO GOOD. (Isabel just walked in with one, which is what reminded me.) Especially in curd with a little honey ... mmmmm! ♥

So I finally got off my lazy bum and did something! (Not my essays, though, pshaw.)
in love and india: four months across the sea

A mixtape made for my Ray, but I like sharing music so free for the taking. Highlights include Flight of the Conchords, MIA, Jump Little Children (♥!), Metro Station, Tilly and the Wall, Panic at the Disco, The Beatles, and Rihanna. There was supposed to be "Almost Here" by The Academy Is... on there too, but it wasn't on my computer at the time and I knew if I delayed any longer then the damn thing would never get done, seriously, I meant to complete this by VALENTINES DAY. Sheesh, I'm lame!

I did not expect to be getting this much use out of my Jac icon. Huh.

----

Also, because I am vain in addition to being lame, this was me performing at the Cultural Show we had on campus April 10. I'm doing kuchipudi dance, a classical dance form from Andhra Pradesh, and that costume is very complex and damn uncomfortable (but looks damn good, and see above re: vanity). Amusingly enough, my costume also happens to be Ray's sorority colors!

( Seriously, my own father didn't recognize me. )

Kate just left for Goa and Kerala. She's coming back to Hyderabad on May 1/2, by which time I'll already be in Mumbai or Delhi, so that's really sad. Luckily, she lives closest to me -- NC and VA, represent! -- so we'll totally be making plans to catch up over the summer or during school breaks. Still sad though, really feels like the semester is ending. ;___;

I have to copy out my Hindi paper before 5pm. I was supposed to write about my favorite country, but since this is my first time out of the US and I didn't want to write about either the US or India, I wrote about Australia. It's hard to come up with 20 sentences about Australia, okay! The last sentence devolved into zombie preparation plans, idek.

On the note of zombies, I spent last night trying not to worry about Ray (she has ovarian cysts, and one burst on Thursday, but because the internet was dead here the past couple of days I had just found out about it), and so I started a zombie movie musical, using bandom music! It's a lot of creepy fun, but it's hard to decide who dies and who gets zombiefied and who survives. Cash has zombie!sex, the creeper. Maja and Ian make out, but I don't know if either of them are going to live yet. I have Excel spreadsheets and shit though, it's totally awesome. I suspect this is what will keep me occupied on the 16 hour train ride to Mumbai with my mom that I have next weekend.

Scary fact from today's English-version of The Hindu: over 20,000 people have been killed on the Mumbai railways in the past five years. An average of TEN PEOPLE A DAY do not survive their trainride in that city. How mindboggling is that?

So! Certain songs off of Pretty. Odd. have already become so embedded in my subconscious that I hum along before I even know what I'm listening to. Especially "When the Moon Met the Sun" or whatever they titled "Middle of Summer". I knew I'd love the album version of that song.

Speaking of music, I'd like to pimp out Caitlin Linney. We were at NCSA together in 2004, and she's since put out a CD! Check her out on MySpace, she's adorable and reminds me somewhat of Charlotte Sometimes!

Also, I have a Dresden Dolls picspam in the works, because it's creeping up to exam time and I need something to keep me occupied other than school. And I've got a dance performance on Thursday! AAHH! Earlier tonight Robin and Arletta and I went to Lingampally and got the bangles for our costumes (which we still haven't even seen, let alone practiced in). Afterwards I got salwar kameez material for my mom, and dropped it off at the tailor, and Robin got her first sari! It's really gorgeous, she found a good one. And on the way back to the University, the rickshaw Robin and I were in was delayed because there was a herd of cows on the road. Oh, India!

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LESS THAN A MONTH UNTIL I GET TO SEE MY RAY AGAIN YOU GUYS I AM SO EXCITED FOR THIS! My plan is to talk my parents into stopping by Panera on the way home from the airport, where she will (hopefully!) be at work. And since she's not expecting to see me until 4 days after that, it'll be awesomer than awesome. OH MY GOD MAY HURRY UP AND GET HERE!

HEY YOU GU~YS! (Oh man, I wanna see Goonies now.) My roomie is the bestest, she made us watch Boondock Saints after dinner tonight. GUH CONNOR AND MURPHY HOW SO FREAKING HOT. And THEN we watched the deleted Ma scene (BEST EVER. NAKED FRATERNAL TWINS WRESTLING. ON ICE.) and then the part right after the dream, where they STARE at each other and look like they're going to MAKE OUT in a POLICE STATION and Murphy MELTS MY PANTIES. Plus I had TWO cups of coffee after dinner guys, it's an AWESOME NIGHT.

Also, I am doing the Vagina Monologues this year! Thursday and then next Monday (as in, not the 17th). I will (most likely) be reading "The Little Coochie Snorcher That Could." I am going to have to read it carefully and practice a few times, because I am not too sure how I'll handle talking about certain aspects. I initially signed up for this year's highlight piece, on Katrina, but switched with Robin so she could do the Vibrator fact.

Speaking of vibrators, I have the most amazing girlfriend in the world. I spent a good while today with the vibe she sent me for Valentine's Day, which has probably (haha, no, make that definitely) contributed to my good mood. Yay TMI!

Now I'm gonna finish downloading some Torchwood season 2 and watch a little Farscape! Geek pride, represent.

May all of your Saturdays be just as awesome as mine was!