I have about 583 fucking things I need to get done and haven't just yet...BUT...I just wanted to let everyone know that I got a new phone.

It is the SHIT!

Whee! I've never had a cool phone before (it the teal one).

Current Mood: dorky

I have been far too busy with...everything in my life as of late, but I wanted to pass these two things on:

SARAH YOU MUST SEE THIS:
Shakespeare sketch.

Rowan Atkinson. Hugh Laurie. Funniness. You may have already come across it, but it made me think of you.

This is moderately interesting:
The Blasphemy Collection

A list of the twenty "most" blasphemous events in recent history. I don't really think all of them should be on there, and the list has left many things out, but it was fun to look at anyway.

Current Mood: sleepy

YAY!

BY THE WAY: Check this out too

I wrote this in my personal (read: on paper) journal today, but I wanted to share it here as well:

"I rely on small treasures to make my life meaningful.

As I was walking across the MSU campus after jazz ensemble, I walked through a space between buildings where not many people go. The buildings there are not often used, and some are devoted to miscellanious activities, but it's quite old, and there is a nice walkway and lawn, and very large, and obviously old, trees which provide lots of wonderful shade. At the time I was feeling a bit depressed because I had felt physically 'off' since the morning, and had performed badly in jazz, but when I passed under one of the trees, I noticed it became incredibly peaceful. Fridays are quiet anyway, since most people like to sleep in instead of going to class, but here I couldn't hear anything except for the leaves and the low hum of an air conditioner close by. No talking, no cars in the background, no cell phones...nothing. Because of the cool from the shade, it seemed as if the tree had created a little haven for those few who actually walked by it. It was beautiful.

But unfortunately, I couldn't stand there forever. I have homework to do, and I'm sure someone would've come along eventually and asked what on Earth I was doing just standing and stupidly smiling at a tree. So before I left, noticing that it was a pecan tree, I bent down and picked up a few pecans it had dropped and munched on them on the way back to my car.

By the time I reached Sunwatcher Plaza, I had eaten all the pecans, so I stuffed my pockets full of the ones that had dropped over there (there are three pecan trees outside of the Liberal Arts Hall, for those who haven't noticed). One of the students who had been walking by stopped and looked up when he saw me. 'Is that a pecan tree?,' he asked. 'Yup,' I said, and he looked a bit surprised as he said 'Wow!' just before walking off.

It made me happy, because he sounded as if he had never stopped to notice the tree, and had never thought of picking up its fruits to munch on. I think a lot of people do that--there are a lot of things that even I don't notice, and we tend to be so distracted by school and work anyway--it made me smile that I had inadvertently caused someone to notice a simple thing that he otherwise never would have considered, and I know if it were me at least, I'd never be able to walk past that tree without noticing it again."

I do hope everyone is having a wonderful day, and enjoying the weather if you can (whatever it's like where you are). Don't forget to pick up a few pecans when you run into them, and think of my little story!

Current Mood: peaceful

So I had two girls approach me at the store yesterday with the sole purpose of complimenting my outfit...strange, no? Of course, they were about 12 or so, but still. I look like I'm twelve anyway; I think in some ways I'm allowed to dress like it (no Hello Kitty paraphernalia, though).
I didn't know whether to feel flattered or weirded out, until one woman who was standing next to me was like "Did they really come over here just to tell you that? Neat"

Interesting.

(It was my red plaid Hot Topic halter dress, by the way, with the straps pinned down and a white t-shirt underneath)

Current Mood: I have to pee

These make me happy! It took me a while to find them on YouTube--I knew they were there, but I was using the wrong search terms:

Justice League goes to the movies

Go Ask Cartoon Network

Now if only I could find a way to get them onto my iPod...

Current Mood: giggly

I have plants in my apartment now! I suppose it is strange how excited that should make me, but I used to have them everywhere else I've lived, and I was missing the greenery. I now have two little shrubs, in pots, a relative of the corn plant that's marketed as bamboo for novelty purposes, and I'm attempting to grow some flowers from seeds. The package said they'll take about a week and a half to two to germinate, though, so I've got a while. Hopefully soon I'll also be growing parsley, which means I won't have to worry about the stuff in my fridge going bad every time I want to use it.

Current Mood: accomplished

I'm still excited about the fact that I'm taking Botany this semester, even if it is an introductory science class. Botany has always been something of a pet study of mine (as evidenced by my HUGE wildflower collection, housed now in two ginormous 3" binders), so I'm glad I finally get to study it formally.
Jazz Ensemble is one of the classes I was dreading, for a variety of reasons, but it looks as if it'll be much more fun this semester than it was the last. We've got a LOT of songs that I like, some I've been familiar with for a while (which is always cool), and others that are just cool anyway (including a Thelonius Monk tune). Our bassist, Justin, bailed on us this semester (not totally surprising), so I'm not entirely sure what we'll do for our concerts, but it's not too bad during practice.
I'm enjoying all my Math classes--I am officially done with my basics, so I get to take the fun ones now. Differential Equations is one I can see I'll have trouble with, but it's immensely useful, and I don't hate the subject--when I know completely what's going on it's actually quite facinating. Math Stats, which I wasn't looking forward to, is neat. We're not even tacking statistics until the Spring, so for now all we're working on is probability--quite a relief. It's nice to ease back into the school year, rather than tackling it head on.
And of course Abstract Algebra, I think, will be a blast. I love the subject and knew I would ever since I got the textbook, and EVERYONE I know is in that class...I think like half the Math Club, or something, so we sit and chat before class starts each day.

Which reminds me of something else...I'm actually TALKING to people this year, which totally surprised me. With any luck, Jennifer won't be able to tease me about being antisocial anymore, nyah!!! Thus far I've started conversations with people I've seen around for years, and haven't done anything embarassing or akward! YAY!
'Course, if I make too much of a big deal about it I know I'll end up doing something horribly embarrassing and stupid like the last day of classes or something. Heh...

Current Mood: accomplished

Holy shit, you guys, this rocks

Chaaaaaarlie!!!

Why must all the creeps be out at exactly the same time?!?!

All of them! Blocking my way to the laundry room! Asking me wierd questions! GRAHHH!!!

Really, they all act as if they're mentally deficient or something. And that wouldn't be a problem, because I'm the last person to dislike a person for mental problems, but they give off this extraordinary vibe of being...on the verge of dangerous.

I am so glad Adrian made me carry pepper spray.

Current Mood: irritated

It is nice that my days off are all right next to each other, even if it means I don't get weekends free. Makes it much easier for me to relax. I have stubbornly decided to ignore the fact that school is starting soon (I have already registered, anyway), and so I have not yet visited the campus bookstore or gotten a new backpack/tote. Thub.

I finally made a ginormous batch of pinto beans today. About half of them have been mashed up into refried beans (yum!), and the rest I'll be eating by themeselves. They're really easy to make, but generally I have to spend about three hours on them, because after the soaking (1 hr), they have to simmer forever and make my mouth water with their cumin-and-onion smell. Oh well, I have strawberries!

I am becoming a mad crafter again. It hits me ever so often with a vengance, much like the full moon summoning madness in werewolves. Besides my paper mache hatstands, I'm planning on making a black and white stripped scarf for myself, and I found a spiffy pattern for grocery bag replacements, something I've been meaning to invest in for a while, but haven't gotten around to doing. Seriously, those damn things get all over the place and I hate wasting that much plastic!

Oh and by the way, I wonder if any of you have heard of what happened on MSNBC? Some people were saying it was staged, but I dunno...I have a feeling that a news channel would not stage a story in that way. If they were going for sensationalism, I don't think they would have chosen this way to do it. It would have been...more conventional. There is the fact that she didn't loose her job, though (I think).

Current Mood: accomplished

Happily, my purchase of Deathly Hallows coincided nicely with my two days and one afternoon off from work this week, so I have been able to finish the book rather rapidly. Of course, I would have done that anyway, but I didn't really want to go to work with Potter on my mind, since I'm only one of a few fans there, and I know I'd soon start sounding like a total and utter nerd.

( Cut for spoilers, of course )

Current Mood: cynical

Would you believe I'm still getting AIM member messages after I haven't even logged in after like...two years? Come on people! Does anybody even use AIM anymore? I mean, how many dead users must they send out annoying messages to on a regular basis? God, it's annoying.

And while I'm on the subject, I keep getting junk mail from Capitol One about how I should feel so special because I've been pre-approved, whatever that means. I suppose it's better than the ones I used to get before I moved out, when all the companies thought I was still on mommy and daddy's paycheck, telling "The Parents of Rebekah Jones" that the best way to teach me responsibility was to give me free reign with my own credit card (wtf?). Anyway I'm thinking about slapping the pre-paid postage envelope to a brick and sending it back to them--I hear that usually works as a pretty good deterrent.

Wish I could do that to AOL's email system.

Current Mood: annoyed

I finally found a place in my apartment that can pick up a wireless connection!!! YEAH!!!

I am so incredilby elated right now...

In other news, is it a sad thing that I get excited when I'm able to vaccuum my apartment twice in one week? I don't know, but it is so satisfying when I don't have to be surrounded by clutter and dirty floors. Generally I don't have time enough in the week to vaccuum more than once, but between my cat (she sheds a lot of fur) and myself (I shed a lot of hair), we generate a lot of stuff to get caught in my carpet. Plus, she's got a little flea problem, and my mother said the best way to fix it is to vaccuum frequently. (besides spraying, which requires some planning, because I have to remove her from the house for a while after I do it)

I have had new neighbors above me for a couple of months, and they still annoy the hell out of me. Thanks to the cooperation of my landlords, we've finally gotten rid of the music problem, but they just seem to be abnormally loud people. They walk loudly, talk loudly (I am easily able to keep track of their lives regardless of whether they're holding a conversation by my front door or in their bedroom), watch TV loudly, brush their teeth loudly, etc. etc... There are certain things of course I cannot complain about (how does one tell the owners of the complex that their bed is a bit squeaky?), but it still annoys me. I suppose I should just be glad that I can sleep through the night again.

Oh, and I am not, not, NOT ready to go back to school yet!

Current Mood: ecstatic

Bleed, bleed, poor country!
Great tyranny! lay thou thy basis sure
For goodness dare not check thee
-MacDuff, in Macbeth

I am reading Macbeth for the first time, and enjoying it immensely. Despite the "punishment" my dad considers it to be, I do not consider myself a masochist because I love Shakespeare. It is a wonderful way to get back into what was a generally regular habit of reading, which I lost somehow a while back.

My summer has ambled along nicely, without too many bumps or hiccups really. I did finally get into Diff Eq (yay!), which technically I think isn't supposed to happen, since I (ahem) failed Calc III. Most likely, however, nobody will notice, and I'm not inclined to say anything about it. It'll all work out in the end, I'm sure.

My dad and boyfriend and I went to see BodyWorlds earlier this summer. I believe it's already ended, but it was incredibly awesome, and of course Adrian just about had a heart attack from happiness, because he's awed by anatomy. I've always thought it was adorable how he would tell me about watching surgeries in the hospital and would call the surgeons artists.

Current Mood: good

Today marks the first time I have ever bought a song on iTunes. Never thought that'd happen...

I suppose I could have gotten it other ways, but my P2P apps no longer work without extensive updates, plus they're slow, and I'm not going to fish around town for an album that I only want one song off of, and is about eight years old.

Thub.

Current Mood: dorky

I woke up in a vile mood this morning. I'm at a total loss to explain why, as I did all the things I usually do to counter my terrible moods, and they don't seem to have worked. I no longer feel inclined to rip someone's head off, but I've been left with a vague, aimless sort of depression. I'm hoping Yoga class later today will bring me out of it.

( That VisualDNA thing was fun... )

Current Mood: depressed

I've been reading Brian Lumley's Beneath the Moors, and Darker Places book of short stories, and in the piece "Rising with Surtsey" came across the line:

"By God! They've named it after the wrong mythos!"

Which I think is possibly the greatest thing I've ever come across in Lovecraftian fiction. I don't know why it made me laugh so, but it did...not that anybody I know would probably get that also. I seem to be alone among my peer group in my intense love for wierd horror.

Despite the fact that money is what's been on my mind for several days now, I find myself strangely happy. Perhaps it's because my classes are finally going well again, or because I seem to be able to pull money out of my ass these days, I don't know. My uncle is back from Germany, out of the air force, and now that he's beginning to live on his own again (going to college and everything), we had a nice little discussion about bill paying and supporting oneself and what not. He came to the conclusion that he "had no idea of how I did it," working three days a week and still paying for school. I have no idea of how I do it either.

Which reminds me, have any of you heard about this thing First Baptist is doing this Sunday? I heard about it from him, but haven't read anything about it, and we were going to go together, because it sounds like a trip. Apparently some guy memorized the entire book of Revelation--an admirable feat, surely, but as if we absoloutely needed to prove to the rest of the world this city's total lack of good entertainment, the church is going to put on a show to accompany him that is akin to something seen only on pay-per-view WWC wrestling matches. I hear there are pyrotechnics and a hydraulic lift involved. Oh dear.

While we're on the subject of shows, I should probably let you all know that I'm not doing any more demonstrations of my amazing ability to pull money out of my ass. It's rather painful, so I only do it when it's absoloutely necessary. Plus, it involves using several mirrors and getting into wierd positions, and I have to make sure there's enough lighting to actually see what I'm doing. So I know it sounds really cool, but, you know...I'm sick of my butthole hurting.

Current Mood: calm

Why is it that a cat can spend an entire day quietly ignoring the fact that you exist, and the minute you sit down to take a crap, you've become the sexiest thing in the house. Pooping is not attractive. I mean sure, you're stuck in one place (cornered), and it's the perfect height for weaving in and out of the knees while purring and begging for attention, but it smells funny, is accompanied by strange noises, and kind of distracts me from petting her much.

Cats are odd little creatures.

Thus far, I've had about a week to study for the test I'm up at the library for right now. Naturally, I only began studying yesterday, and I'm here to finish today. Really, did I expect anything different? But I'm being uncharacteristically cool about both it and the fact that I have a six page draft on Thursday that I haven't chosen a topic for. Ah, well. Life goes on.

Sarah, Thuy wants to know how your spring break went, and I do too. I'm not sure if you're aware of it, but I've become something of a news carrier for her about your general state of being, since we now have Linear Algebra together. It's quite fun--we spend altogether way too much time ranting about the English department (both here and in high school).

Oooh, and I promise I will have pictures to prove to you, Jennifer, the existence of my boyfriend. Really I should have already had them, but I keep forgetting to bring my login information with me every time I grab my laptop out the door. Poo. They were really cute, but he didn't smile in any of them. I've told him this is a bit disturbing (I mentioned he looked like a serial killer in one), but he still refuses to do it. He gets silly ideas in his head sometimes.

Now, off to partial differentiation, tangent planes, and extrema of functions of two variables! Hoorah!

Current Mood: dorky