Likes, Not Dislikes

I like to pick my scabs, and poke my bruises, and in general complain about my hurts and aches. Unfortunately, I don't bruise easily, nor do I skateboard/ rock climb/ do any activity that might result in lots of scrapes.
Which is why I am really excited about the results from this weekend's party. Bruises on my legs and back, scabs on my left arm, and sore butt muscles from all that table dancing (oh yes, I'm now a hoochie mama). I just picked the arm scab here in the coffee house, then smeared the blood a little across my arm before wiping it away and letting it bead up again. SO SATISFYING.
Probably the best part is that I'm doing this while dressed in my fanciest of fancy digs for a presentation later this afternoon.

Keeping Busy

For the last two weeks or so, I've been trying to get my music compatibility with my roommate on last.fm up to Super. In order to do this, I've been listening to whatever shows up as a top artist on his profile. It hasn't paid off yet - we're still only High - but give me time. It's going to happen.

Too Sunny to Stay Inside

I guess my New Year's resolution to stop being mean and negative and bitter has paid off. I personally haven't felt a change (besides a sudden shying-away from that behavior in others). But yesterday, a friend of mine was having a particularly bad one. She called me up so we could go hang out at the beach, wading in the water and picking up dead crabs, all that sort of stuff. Before we left her house, though, she smiled and said that she was glad she'd called, because she needed someone cheerful and upbeat to be around her.
She was talking about me! Who knew!
Anyway, speaking of friends, the girl I'm talking about is Sharron. You might (or might not) remember how when I first met her two years ago I was convinced she and I would only be casual acquaintances. I'm really glad I was wrong.

Pardon Me, But...

I find that people who make sweeping comments about any one genre of music to be rather ignorant. There's good and bad to all of it, just because you didn't like what you were exposed to doesn't mean it applies to everything.
In general, can we please stop with all the negativity? Lately I've been trying to be more upbeat and positive, but it's hard to keep that in mind when everyone around you is trying to bring each other down. Now, I'm not talking about major girl-drama, or backstabbing, or anything really serious like that. Just in general, I'd like to see less criticism and more props.
Also, I'd like to let you all know that the treelet now has a name. Please welcome Spruce Springsteen to the family! Pictures will be up soon.

Chilly

It's late Saturday, early Sunday. I'll be getting up to run my first 5k in few hours, so I took it easy tonight. The roomies and I, we went to a house party. I danced on a table and made a few friends, but mostly I was hot, sticky, and sober. Now I'm curled on the couch, toes dug under the cushions to keep them warm, and texting some kids named Thor and Taylor who went bowling. I don't know them, but they got Nick's phone number from somewhere, and it's fun to pretend to be a 16 year old black girl.

Refusing to Run

It's mid-April and it's snowing.
This is ridiculous
I've been sympathizing with all those folks in Utah and the other flatland states, with their constant and never-ending blizzarding. But damn, I didn't think it would happen here too!
And I just know that when I drive the van to work later, that little rock chip that's been taunting me with it's nonrepaired-state is going to turn into a nasty crack.
Last night, for some reason that made perfect sense at the time but I cannot guess at now, I convinced one of my coworker's friends to give me his jacket. I gave him a smaller one and tried to sell it off as bigger and better. ... I should probably give it back and apologize, but it's too ridiculously funny right now. I woke myself up laughing about it this morning.

Yummy

11:30, I walk into Nick's room, keys in hand and coat on. "Get your shoes on, we're going to Haggen."
So began the midnight waffle adventure.
Nothing is quite as wonderful as standing around the kitchen late at night, waiting for your banana waffle to cook so you can cover it in chocolate syrup and whipped cream before digging in. Nothing except maybe the prospect of banana waffles for breakfast, too.

My Future

Today was Tiana's presentation on NGO's. First, it was lots of fun helping her cook the food and set up for the presentation. Second, wow. She did a great job. She went over all the administration details of setting up an NGO and keeping it going. It was excellent information, from the specifics about how to apply for a 501(c)3 to tips about fundraising.
I realize I have a long way to go before I can start thinking about setting up one of my own. But knowing the basic process is a first step. The next step, in the next year or two, will be to get a job with an already established NGO. As a student, I've always thought of my career in abstract terms. Now the reality is coming up, and I'm getting very excited about the prospects.

Double-Take

The Environmental Science building is notoriously ugly and stupid. Huge brightly colored tubes and vents run through the middle of the building while the hallways are treacherously crammed with fossils and models of Chuckanut Ridge. (Actually, I like these features, even if they are annoying.) They didn't even bother putting bathrooms on every floor.
That last reason is why I always stop off on the 2nd floor before going to my class on the 4th. Before, I've always noticed that there were some oddly placed chairs in the women's restroom. I realize that chairs and couches are typical of really nice restrooms, but they're usually placed in a small, quiet lounge outside the actual toilet area. Not so with the ES building. They're cheap chairs, the kind that can be found all over Western's campus, and they're right next to the sinks. Today, when I entered, there was a group of 4 girls chilling in the chairs and having a casual conversation about one of their friends.
I have to ask. Obviously Western was trying too hard to be sophisticated when they put the chairs in. But why would anyone hang out where they're constantly hearing other people peeing or (God forbid) taking a dump? Seriously guys. Ew.

Power Doesn't Run on Nothing - The Thermals

"they'll give us what we're asking for,
cause god is with us, and our god's the richest
our power doesn't run on nothing,
it runs on blood,
and blood is easy to obtain when you have no shame"

It seemed appropriate, considering it distracted me from my readings about international business and how to treat other cultures.

My endless search for the perfect combination of papers and folders to get me through classes is going in circles. I thought I had finally found the solution. A cardboard 3-ring binder, with folder inserts, and blank paper to take notes. The papers could easily be rearranged to fit in with the printout notes my professors seem so keen on this quarter. But it's not going to work. One, a 3-ring binder takes up way too much desk space compared to a spiral notebook, especially when you consider that so many of my classes are theater-style setups. Then, to my horror, after buying the binder, I realized that the damn thing barely even fits in my backpack.
But of course the spiral notebook plan isn't working out so well. Again, the printouts. Every quarter I struggle with too many papers for the small folders provided in the notebooks. They end up falling out, breaking the seems, and making the notebook bulge so much that the covers fall off.
I tried having individual folders for each class, and using those along with the notes in my spirals. But why would I keep two sets of notes for each class? I nixed that idea within two days.
I'll give the binder the benefit of the doubt and use it tomorrow. If it doesn't work, I'm shifting back to the familiar yet still pain in the ass bulging notebooks.

Such a Girl

Absolutely heartbreaking. I teared up while reading the parent's testimonial.

"We had a long/tough season last year. Saturday made up for everything. I want to sincerely thank you for making Saturday so unbelievable. It was like a birthday, Christmas, and New Years Eve captured in a few amazing hours. "

Tuey's 21st birthday today, so at midnight we drove to Haggen, bought some beers, and shotgunned them out on the balcony.



Cheers!

ISTJ

I just took the Keirsy Temperament Sorter for my management type. I am the Madame Pince librarian/ Freaks and Geeks PE teacher type. "Often this type seem to have ice in their veins."

And just like that my life has been proven worthless. Maybe I can convince Kenny to poison my portion of dinner tonight.

Mystery

How's this for odd? Earlier this afternoon Nick and I were hanging out in my room, him doing crosswords on my bed while I listened to an NPR podcast in my chair. (On that note, I've really got to make new friends. Nick's great, but I'm sure all my talk about organic lip balms and rose-scented salves is going to curtail our roommate hangout times.) So, after Kenny made dinner, I went out to run a few errands. When I came home, I found a lone Cadbury Cream Egg nestled in my bed covers.
Nick knows nothing about it.
I changed my sheets last weekend.
There is absolutely no explanation for it.
One thing is for sure. I'm not eating it. It's going into my box of wonderful things, where I can ponder its mysteries until my dying days (or the cream starts to turn and the smell becomes unbearable.)

I Bought It

And I loooove it. So nice. So sleek. So easy to use! Although sometimes it makes noises that I don't understand.
I also got lost in Portland today. I spent 2 hours wandering through downtown, to the edges, and back again. A very kind man in a Mercedes repair shop drew me a map, a trendy girl in an Anthropologie dress pointed me to the Apple Store, and a gay boy in a coffee shop coveted my seahorse necklace. Bicyclists of all kinds, with clipless pedals and spandex or Timbuktu bags and knee socks, were pedaling their hearts out all over the city. I suppose it would be easier in Portland - there's not half as many extreme hills as in Seattle. I only ran into one obscenity-shouting homeless man, although admittedly my headphones probably drowned out the ones I didn't see. Hands down, though, the award for greatest Portland individual goes to the Elvis impersonator singing on a scarcely populated street corner with his karaoke machine. You'd think he would at least go to a part of the city where a crowd might gather.

Debate

Question: Just because I have the money, should I spend it?
I'm thinking about buying a MacBook. I dearly love my current PC, but having Vista installed on it is a pain in the ass. It takes about 5 minutes to shut down, and lately it hardly knows how to run 3 programs at once before putting all of them into slowmo. Also, it is inconveniently large and heavy.
I've been thinking about this since New Orleans. Lying on a couch, hungover and throwing Jessica's laptop from one person to the next, I realized that I really liked the idea of a computer that doesn't require finicky handling. It would be nice to have something that fit into my backpack, and a battery life that could see me through the end of a class.
But do I really want to leave behind my PC? And Spider Solitaire?? (I have 84% wins!)
I'll be on the phone with el padre tomorrow.

Soco Amaretto Lime

Okay, okay, I'll be honest. I really was in love with Brand New. I listened to their CD's endlessly, Chanel and I sang and danced around her apartment to their punk pop chords, and when I turned 18 I really felt that I connected with the last track on their first album. You know the one. "Get the hell out of this town/ find some conversation."
So this afternoon the roommates and I did a liquor store run, and I went all out and sprang for some SoCo and Amaretto. After all, if Brand New turned out to be a liar, I could just spend the first half of Spring Break drinking Amaretto Sours and Comfortable Screws.
The result feels a bit iffy. They're not especially strong drinks individually, but mixed together, 2 parts liquor and 1 part lime juice, I've got a good glow going already. However, it tastes too Amaretto-y if there's not enough lime, and once you find the right level you find yourself making bitter beer face because of the sour taste on the sides of your tongue.
I'll give them tonight, but tomorrow it's one or the other. Brand New doesn't have the best taste in mixed drinks, it turns out.

Dork

So I log into Blackboard looking for some practice economics quizzes. Oddly enough, one of the documents available is Winter2008's Final and Answers. "What?" I ask myself. So I open it, of course. My professor is the world's biggest dork. In huge text, bolded and all caps, I see: JUST KIDDING!

I'm definitely not putting any effort into the essay now.

Levanta la mano

The most recent item of distraction is Muñeca Brava, a telenovela from Buenos Aires. It's a classic soap opera, with secret children and drunk housewives and an evil brother-in-law, but I just can't stop myself from watching it. Between classes I sneak away to the Language Lab and settle in with the Macs. At home I jump a mile when the roommates interrupt my focus.
On the upside, I'm getting better at understanding Spanish. And I could rewrite this whole entry without using Freetranslation.com or a dictionary. Actually, it feels kind of strange to leave my room and hear another language.
Cannot wait for Mexico.

What is she up to?

I have a plan for August.
I'll have to move home for two weeks, which will be sad. And awkward, because I imagine the bar scene in Fedtown isn't too kickin'.
So instead I'm going to repaint my room. The two-tone colors are simply awful - I can't believe my parents let me pick them out. It's going back to white, so I can visit home without cringing in my old bedroom.
Also, I'm going to drag all my old furniture into the driveway and paint them white. The IKEA bookshelf, once painted, will no longer look like I put it together wrong (which I did). The dresser as old as I am will finally get rid of all those crayon markings, and new knobs in the drawers will really give it a classy look.