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[07 Oct 2008|06:44am] |
so i was out playing in the snow again tonight, which was fucking awesome,
when somewhere, somehow,
i managed to lose both my ID and key card.
getting them both replaced tomorrow. fuck. fuuuuck.
my lesson learned: always keep ID and key card in my bra.
and something funny:
i just realized it's already one day into a course I never got around to dropping since i couldn't online. So I'm registered for a one-credit aqua aerobics class that I'm never going to show up for. i don't know if this means i'm going to have an F or anything like that-- but even if i do, it doesn't even fucking matter. it's not like I have a GPA to mess up anyway. grades are for suckers!
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[06 Oct 2008|02:07pm] |
Americans and others, watch this video: you must watch it NOW and send it to everyone you know.
Naomi Wolf describes the coup President Bush has enacted on American democracy and the impeding police state we WILL be subjected to if ORDINARY PEOPLE do not stand up for themselves.
Watch this now and send it to everyone you know.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XgkeTanCGI&feature=related
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[05 Oct 2008|10:39pm] |
it's sno-wing, it's sno-wing, it's snoooooowwwwiiiiinnngggg
i went outside and had a janky snowball fight and made miniature snowpeople with my friends from hawaii and guam! i ate snowflakes! i used my gloves for the first time! they stay warm when they're wet!
this is so damn exciting. when i was walking back from using the stationary bike in the commons tonight it was snowing big, fat, fluffy, lazy snowflakes. it's so fucking beautiful! i have already learned how to walk on ice and stomp snow off my feet!
i just spent a while outside with chichi doing some hardcore snowball target practice with street signs. i am determined to get good.
i will definitely be needing some snow pants while i'm here. snowpants are my #1 objective at thrift stores starting now. i am thinking of getting some waterproof boots (sorels, my juneau friend tells me).
i helped one of my new friends prepare for her first night stripping tonight. she bought a purple outfit to wear and i taught her how to swing her hair around erotically. she says she could earn enough to buy a car in couple weeks, and we are both excited about that.
i saw a family of cats out living in a drain pipe recently-- a hissy mommy and four sweet little kittens. i asked a couple people from around here about it, and they say cats are hardy-- but i'm worried about the babies, and the fact they seem to live in a drainpipe. i'm going to try to find them homes.
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[04 Oct 2008|12:12am] |
i woke up depressed today, but i think it's just because i got my period. i woke up at like 1:00 and went to the library, went on the stationary bike, went to dinner, and got a call from my friend Sara about walking to a thrift store. it's about 1.5 miles away from the dorms, mostly on trails through the woods.
it was a lot of fun, we had a lot to talk about, and i got to look through snow pants (they didn't have any my size). i bought some black jeans. it was already getting dark when we left, but we tried walking back. it didn't work. it go dark almost immediately and we got lost. and my glasses were fogging. and i and then i rolled my ankle again! janky-ass ankles. it was stressful!
we made it out of the woods-- onto the same street we entered from. we walked up the street looking for a bus stop and found one, where we spoke to a woman from michigan (lots of michiganders in alaska) and florida (lots of michiganders in florida). i wiped down a wet bench for a man with a disability with my new used jeans, and the bus took us to providence hospital, which is practically on campus. i called the university police department and a student patrol picked us up and dropped us off at east hall.
afterwards we bought food and i went to a disney movie marathon-slash-slumber party. i couldn't resist adding commentary and i left before mufasa died. i'm happy to be in my room now.
all of the lifelong alaskans i have met have a real fear of moose.
i really need a better sleep schedule.
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[03 Oct 2008|03:41pm] |
ok, so the people americans picked to represent them in congress have recently decided to give $820,000,000,000 of taxypayer's money to failed banks and businesses. this is a big blow to my faith in the government and the future of the government. barack obama voted for it.
ANARCHYYYYY MOTHERFUCKERS
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[02 Oct 2008|11:00pm] |
i tried new things tonight!! another thing to check off my list:
i used the campus indoor pool for the first time tonight, changed butt nekkid in the locker room and all. i went swimming with two friends, and we all tried the diving boards together. it was FUCKING FUN. i worked on my dives and got pretty good. it's exhilirating! too bad they don't have that shit at new college.
they're saying it's going to snow a foot this weekend.
my sister is doing just fine. she was allowed to go home and my parents have been taking turns taking care of her. she can crutch around to the bathroom and stuff, but is still in a lot of pain. they say she should be able to leave the house and do simple tasks like go to class in just a week. so it's not nearly as bad as it could have been! but she will be going through a painful recovery.
i'm thinking of buying a portable DVD player. anybody have anything to say about portable DVD players?
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[29 Sep 2008|09:40pm] |
my sister got into a bad bike accident today. she was flying downhill and crashed into a light post. she has 11 stitches in her chin, her pelvis is broken in two places, and her teeth are all smashed up. she doesn't know when she'll be able to walk again. scary!
you should leave her get well soon facebook messages if you know her! i also have her address if you want to send a card.
i spoke to her on the phone today and she is in a lot of pain, but will get better. she doesn't know how much longer she'll have to stay in the hospital, or if she'll be able to finish her semester at school.
meanwhile i am very thankful for my health and that of all my loved ones (that's you!).
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[27 Sep 2008|10:21pm] |
my roommate often comments on how she doesn't know a lot of the words i use.
i went on a military base for the first time today! elmendorf air force base. a friend of mine took a couple people to go shopping at the base exchange and commissary. it was cheap.
i spent a lot of money today. when i added it all together i cringed. thank goodness i just got a sweet refund check from new college and am getting over $400 more from UAA. i don't even have a job right now. i really don't know how i'm getting through life so easily. i'm so financially privileged. thanks, state of florida!
i'm looking into jobs on cruise ships for the summer. i wonder how much money i could make. i could live in seward, where PUFFINS live in the summer.
hahaha. fuck. puffins! alaska is so great.
it is probably going to snow sometime this week.
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[27 Sep 2008|12:56am] |
i never knew both alexander graham bell and samuel morse had deaf wives. or that the founder of the girl scouts was an eccentric deaf woman.
i want to start knitting again.
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[24 Sep 2008|09:56pm] |
a girl i know, A, was one of the first people I met on campus. She was manning (humanning?) the Planned Parenthood table at the club fair and she was fat so I figured we'd be best friends. I found out she's an RA in my building and we ended up spending quite a bit of time together during the first month of the semester.
well i quickly realized something was a little off about her. she loved to talk about herself, offer her experiences, and often told people the same stories over and over. and when she invited me to events, instead of asking, she'd demand-- "you're coming to ___, you know". i quickly identified her as the type of person i get very uncomfortable around. something about pushy people brings out the passive personality from my past and i feel disempowered around them. so i have learned to avoid them.
well A invited me to go to the supermarket tonight and help her get snacks for an event. I made sure other people were going before I agreed, but I figured I could go and get some stuff for myself.
on the drive back, A cut someone off while changing lanes in the middle of an intersection. according to her, she was flicked off at this point. well, A gets fucking ROAD RAGE and gives them the finger, switches lanes behind them and fucking leans on the horn and flashing her brights.
i am immediately uncomfortable. I look away and have a mini panic attack. alaskans own guns as much as / more than texans, and like my parents always told me: you never know if there's a fucking maniac packing heat prone to impulsive violence. and what's the fucking point of insulting someone like that? A continues to tail gate them and flash them off. the other two girls in the car are laughing. everything about the scene just makes me feel sick.
after A calms down i tell her it made me uncomfortable. in classic abusive behavior she invalidated my feelings-- "come on. come onnnn. come on.", as if she was trying to convince me i wasn't upset by her anger. that was what really disgusted me, the fact that she downplayed my feelings when i expressed them.
FUCK THAT SHIT. seriously, fuck. that. shit. i shouldn't and won't submit myself to someone's whimsical bursts of anger. that reminds me too much of my fucking mother. i'm going to have to avoid A from now on, and I'm not afraid to let her know why.
also, i saw two beavers and some salmon today.
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[20 Sep 2008|12:29am] |
god dammit, i sprained my ankle and i got mild road rash on the left side of my body when i fell off my bike tonight. my left leg is out of order because the ankle is sore, the knee is sore, and somehow i pulled my hamstring. i'm limping hardcore. i keep forgetting my left palm is missing skin and irritating it, and it stings so fucking bad.
the front desk in my dorm didn't even have antibiotic creme in their shitty first aid kit. everything about this dorm is bullshit. shit shit shit.
i don't feel too bad besides physically. i had an eventful friday for once and i get to see my favorite new friend tomorrow afternoon. and she has a special present for me, something i have been looking for since i got here.
i went to the dog park dog party last night. there were some real personalities there, such as Harvey the miniature pinscher, maybe 6 pounds of dainty masculinity, who got really aggressive when the big boys followed him around in confusion. harvey's older sister is a doberman pinscher, his twin except 10 times larger. i asked their owner whether she had to get the set, pin and min pin, and she said she had the doberman for a year before she adopted little harvey from a friend of a friend. bizarre.
hanging out at the dog park always makes me feel good. especially since the color change is getting more and more spectacular every day. but fall here is rainy and everything is stinky mud. it will probably snow within a few weeks.
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[17 Sep 2008|04:54pm] |
i'm so fucking fed up with sexism-
i sat down yesterday to eat lunch with this guy who identified himself as a feminist (this is a dangerous species, apparently). throughout lunch he though it was appropriate to insult my decision to take a women's studies class, insult the area of study itself, and deny the existence of sexism, even specifically denying the existence of the pay gap.
WHAT?
i have to admit i laughed in his face, but once i was alone i had to cry. it's so frustrating to be faced with this every day, then feel pressure to educate ignorant assholes. i hate sexism.
then i managed to hear or overhear three sexist jokes today. you know what? "women in the kitchen" jokes stopped being funny the first time i heard one, in fucking high school. yes, men are privileged. yes, women are pressured into domestic roles. that's not funny, it's DEPRESSING
sometimes i just want to be back at new college, where all my friends are empowered bad asses, and nobody stomps on my face because i have tits. oh my god, the real world sucks ass. [yet i am still so privileged and so many other women have to go through MORE shit. i am flying into a rage!!!]
and my ex-favorite blog, reddit? where i get all the news i can't find elsewhere? apparently it's just a bunch of circle jerking assholes patting each other on the back for having penises. then i get mocked and silenced for my "humorless" responses. but what am i going to do? SOMEONE'S got to say something. jesus christ.
AHAHGHHGSGKHSAL;DHGAL;SDKJF.
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[14 Sep 2008|02:50pm] |
So I went to an anti-Palin rally yesterday in front of the public library in Anchorage. It ended up being the largest political rally in the history of Alaska. Way larger than the "welcome home Sarah" shit that was covered by national media.
http://mudflats.wordpress.com/2008/09/14/alaska-women-reject-palin-rally-is-huge/
Read that post, it's great. Watch the video (I'm in it at 0:24!). Look at the pictures and read the funny, intelligent signs. And spread the word!
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[06 Sep 2008|07:53am] |
this morning at 6:30 AM my out-of-town roommate's alarm clock went off and would. not. stop. i had to call an RA to bust in and switch it off. a very sad, droopy RA.
i've been watching a lot of daily show the past two days. i haven't been so into it after quitting television, but boy oh boy is that quality entertainment! if you haven't been watching it i must firmly encourage you (yes, YOU) to get your assto tv squad and watch the episodes from september 3 and 4. jaw-dropping stuff.
i love the national attention on alaska right now. boy it's weird to travel some obscure place that is, within a week, the subject of sudden and intense scrutiny. rob riggle's flannel jacket and lumberjack beard costume in front of a mountain backdrop made me laugh so hard-- "grizzlies tie these beards on as soon as you get off the plane-- it's like leis in hawaii". damn this place is weird, and nobody even knows the half of it. in a lot of ways it's the complete opposite of florida, while remaining 100% american. high-maintenance people vs. low-maintenance people, unbearable summers vs. unbearable winters. i continue to anticipate meeting some pseudo-expat from "the lower 48" who'll explain it all to me someday.
i'm happy to be in alaska during such an exciting time.
the only reason this affects me at all is because i've been spending a lot of time following current events. i read the bizarrely programmer-centric, sometimes offensively sexist reddit.com. a daily fix of liberal biased media. i'd say i'm fully indoctrinated, and happy about it, too.
i visited a two year-old with a broken femur in the hospital near campus two days ago. she's my friend's neice and the bone snapped clear in two, near the hip. she was in a large cast, mostly immobile, ready to go home the next day. i hadn't interacted with a child that young for a while/ever, and it was fucking awesome. she was finnicky and miserable being stuck in the cast in a bed in the hospital, but she was also just chilling out. shit, it was so easy and fun to act like a fool & make her smile. she pointed at me and asked "who dat?" and pronounced my name "ecky". cuuuute. CUUUUTE. and no, i still don't want kids.
last night some of my new friends and i stayed up watching Grease and painting each other's nails. my phalanges are like sparkling diamonds.
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| the most boring entry in the world (in the area) |
[03 Sep 2008|10:21pm] |
good news! i've settled down and am slowly making myself a life here. shit it is so awesome.
i've been exercising every day at this sweet-ass dog park across the street from my dorms. it's on a beautiful lake with a system of trails surrounding it and branching off all around it. the views are spectacular, and i can't even explain how much i enjoy watching other people's dogs go buck wild in the lake. people here love the dog toys called "chuck-its" which are big tennis ball ladles that help you launch balls super far. the dogs are all filthy and wet and smelly but whenever i can convince one to approach me i shower it with stranger love. ok i'm going to far here.
i've met so many people, most of them alaskans. everyone here takes this place for granted and it is very strange. i still haven't found some savvy newcomer to give me the dish, but i'm looking forward to it. i did meet one girl from hawaii who will be going through her first real winter with me.
i've already made some good friends. i met these girls eve and whitney at the student union on the first day of classes while having lunch and a two hour break between classes. i was scoping the scene for cool kids to sit with and i saw whitney's tattoos. 'they look alternative'.. "can i sit with you guys?". what a fortuitous meeting! they're totally my favorite people, they're really kind and inclusive and all that. they invited me to eve's house today and we rocked it and i met the boyfriend. i am so excited to be in on these girls lives i can't even explain it. they're really funny and smart. i don't even know what else to say.
i know enough people to never sit alone at meals. just a week ago i was freaking out about not having any friends. god, is that a relief.
also i haven't had my period in two months and it's freaking me out.
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[25 Aug 2008|10:03pm] |
i always love the first day of class. there's no pressure and i love making first impressions! the campus was all abuzz and the day was beautiful, and i spent some time sitting on the quad people watching and enjoying the perfect weather. spending time alone in a way that didn't make me feel lonely.
i had three classes today, and they all fucking rocked! Linguistics is taught by a pretty cool, on-the-ball kind of professor. he seems really passionate about his subject, which is a good sign. I'm one of only a few white students in Native Perspectives (the class were encouraged to tell everyone their 'native names') but the professor is a fucking badass activist type and i am excited and scared to learn about all the fucking shit indigenous alaskans have had to go through and how they've responded.
and then i had a gap between classes so i went to the student union to have lunch. and i did my customary scope-out-the-scene, ask-to-eat-lunch-with-random-people thing (because i am so good and conquering my fear of talking to strangers!). and i met these two really cool ladies, eve and whitney. they are both older than i am and really damn cool. i got along well with them and we exchanged phone numbers and said we'd hang out for the same gap on wednesday. man thank god i am making friends. i left that little exchange feeling much better about the loneliness thing.
American Sign Language was so awesome, too, my professor is a deaf woman of color and every class is going to be silent and holy shit i'm learning sign language!!! we learned finger spelling today and i already know that shit so i'm awesome.
it was weird going through grading rubrics in class. this probably sounds stupid to non-novo collegiates, but i really forget what it's like to get grades. i'm not really sure what to expect, and i have no clue how my GPA will turn out. hopefully perfect, but who knows?
anyway after classes i was picked up by a lady i met through the internet. weird, right? i was so fucking desperate to make friends. anyway it was great, we had dinner at a really good thai restaurant and then we went thrifting. it felt like home! i felt very comfortable with her, and she invited me to go to the state fair with her this weekend, so fuck yeah! another friend for the social life!
i've only got one class tomorrow so i'll probably spend all day "running errands" and doing homework and seeing if i can figure out the bus system. i am tired and happy.
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[24 Aug 2008|12:35am] |
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o and i ate meat intentionally for the first time in 4.5 years, i tried some of my sister's salmon at a restaurant the other day. it wasn't as good as i remember it being. however i also tried my dad's halibut and it was the most delicious thing ever. i don't know what this means for my diet. but cheese still disgusts me.
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[23 Aug 2008|11:27pm] |
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beck - one foot in the grave |
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holy shit! i'm in my new dorm room, alone, my dad and ka just left.
i feel kind of sad. i want to talk to somebody but the party scene i overheard seemed a little stupid and i'm not in the mood for chillin with fresh-from-high-schoolers right now. and unfortunately, being 4 hours behind everyone i know on the east coast makes it pretty impossible to internetchat with anyone late at night.
they've got this weird "college night at fred meyers" thing going on tonight, from midnight to 2 am (freddy's is a target-esque supermarket here). discounts and shuttles and crowds and shit. i am so not interested. and tired.
it's weird being an exchange student! in a way i feel more confident than ever, having been through this experience before and knowing i'll make good friends and have fun and all that, yet at the same time being transplanted in a totally new environment makes me feel very separate from everything going on. it's lonely.
most of the people i've met are alaskans, even during my "out-of-area" orientation (which i skipped out on after the lunch session, by the way, because it was totally geared toward new freshman and all about this "new and exciting journey" shit). i have nothing against making friends with first-years, but i'm really interested in making friends with people who already know what's going on around here. and i am into avoiding the weird awkward social exploration processes from first year. i'd rather get guidance from my elders.
i made a good decision and went to "campus kick-off" today, which was like a huge club fair with music and food and all sorts of shit. i signed up for the mailing lists for planned parenthood and bike club and all that shit, and i'm looking forward to making friends through those kinds of channels. i am going to go to crazy meetings and events all week.
i have a bike, by the way! it's a "wheeler 1800" mountain bike, which apparently retails new for about $284. i bought it for 25 bucks at a strange second-hand store. it's in perfect working condition, but i want to adjust the handlebars and saddle and the squeaky brakes and few other things before i take it long distances. seriously, it is fucking sweet, and even though i'll only be able to use it til mid october, it's so worth it. there are so many thrift stores on easy wooded trails and i can get downtown (aka anywhere) really easily, to the coast, and big parks and stuff. mmm!
i went on my 'flightseeing' tour today. sooo expensive, but it was mad good. i'm not even going to attempt to describe it. but you all (and i do mean everyone!) really need to come see alaska sometime, soon, because it is a magical magical place.
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[18 Aug 2008|09:57pm] |
anchorage! day one:
well we got in at 6, we rented a car, we fucked around trying to get to our hotel. the jet lag is fun, it's 10:00 but it's 2:00 and i seem to be feeling it less than my companions.
our hotel is bad ass. the guide book described it as "shabby" (i love the shabby shit) but it's fuckin great. the decoration is bizarre and hideous and the beds are incredibly comfortable (i believe the mattresses are high quality). we've got a shared bathroom yet we've got our own fucking kitchen and dinette. we've also got a bdorm-room-sized closet (?) with a secret compartment filled with what looks like large unwanted items that i hesitate to call trash (an aluminum sign saying Chu's Painting Company?).
anchorage seems like a very young city and i like that. it's very different from sarasota. except that there's a fucking beautiful sunset right now over a beautiful inlet. but sarasota has no snow-capped mountains. that's right motherfuckers.
well for dinner we were cruisin around trying to find a place to eat when we spotted "tofu house korean restaurant". sounded vegan friendly. well none of us had ever had a real korean meal so when they brought out all the fuckin banchan side dishes (including whole fishes?) we were awkwardly asking questions which our server was very reluctant to give good answers to. i could tell she didnt like us, :(. so my 'dumpling soft tofu' ended up being beef but it was okay because i, well, i tried to eat the dumplings but i just couldn't, so i ate around it (DELICIOUS) and ate all the banchan (DELICIOUS) and it ended up being a very nice meal. except all those awkward times i wasn't sure how i was supposed to eat shit, which plates to use, why there were raw eggs, etc etc etc it was basically awesome
anyway we are exploring campus tomorrow and maybe taking a glacier cruise (?) and hoooly shit this is an expensive trip. i hope i have enough money to pay for room and board on wednesday!
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[17 Aug 2008|08:09pm] |
i kind of wish i were in sarasota. i'll be in Atlanta before hurricane fay hits the west coast of florida!
i'm bring two big rolling bags, a backpack, and my purse. leaving tomorrow morning. i feel so unprepared.
i did get a fucking sweet free coat from my mom's lawn man, paul. he offered it to me when i was introducing him to chico. it's exactly what i needed, and it looks good too. it's way better quality than what i would have ended up buying. that's $200 i don't have to spend!
we're staying in a hotel for three nights and then crashing in my double sweet double-suite dorm room for three days. well, i'll be crashing there for four months. shoooot
to tide you over: pictures of my future campus. (one), (two), (three)
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