There will be a "girls' night" potluck dinner here this evening. People will start showing up in a little less than two hours. My mom is upstairs fluffing the sofa cushions. There's a reed diffuser loaded with something that smells like Christmas without the cloves. Everything has been cleaned.
I think my mother is crazy.
While I was watching this all out of rhe corner of my eye, I was reading the May issue of Real Simple magazine. There's an "article" in there of eight women's accounts of what they learned from their mothers. As is always the case with things like this, I found myself flabbergasted at some people's ideas of good parenting.
If you would, allow me an anecdote.
Some years ago, my mom tore a page out of some magazine. I'm not sure if it was an advertisement or not. At the top of the page, it said "I am..." and the rest of the page was covered in positive adjectives, like "dynamic" and "authentic," all written in different colours and fonts that looked hand-painted. I came across this page and my mom was enthusiastic. I was confused, and so she clarified by giving a thumbs-ups/fist pumping motion and shouting "Yeah!" I didn't know what to say. The notion that somebody--a grown woman--would feel good about herself because a magazine gave her a pretty list of very select adjectives that she should have known applied in any case was bizarre. How could somebody realize that they're an alive person and not realize that there are many, many adjectives that describe them?
I don't mean to sound like some new age hippy or some condescending holier-than-thou type. It's just that... that magazine page might as well have said "You have a liver, so your body can neutralize toxins you ingest!" Yay for being able to drink alcohol and whatnot, but duh...
I wonder if self-concept has anything to do with why my mom feels it's necessary to clean and fluff stuff in preparation for a casual girls' night. Maybe she's only tidy if her kitchen tells her so.
4/30/2008
4/29/2008
Random Things
Yesterday, I had stuff planned of the productive variety, but then I accidentally brushed against another car in a parking lot, causing minimal damage in scratched paint and more paperwork than you can shake a stick at. I also felt horrible.
Last week, I bought a mood ring because they're fun and it cost $3.50. It is actually turning my finger green. What chemical does that, anyway?
LSE couples' student housing with access to a kitchen is not as cheap as I'd hoped--cheapest is about 140 pounds per week. Still cheaper than anything else in London proper, though. It's a random draw for who gets in, though.
Peter leaves for three weeks in Spain and Italy on Friday. I will miss him, but, while he's gone, I will complete nearly an entire Spanish course. I look forward to buying my Arriba! textbook. ^_^
Everything smelled like summer yesterday, and today it rained. On my way home this evening, when I stepped outside, I said "It is raining," and I was wearing rainbow flipflops.
Last week, I bought a mood ring because they're fun and it cost $3.50. It is actually turning my finger green. What chemical does that, anyway?
LSE couples' student housing with access to a kitchen is not as cheap as I'd hoped--cheapest is about 140 pounds per week. Still cheaper than anything else in London proper, though. It's a random draw for who gets in, though.
Peter leaves for three weeks in Spain and Italy on Friday. I will miss him, but, while he's gone, I will complete nearly an entire Spanish course. I look forward to buying my Arriba! textbook. ^_^
Everything smelled like summer yesterday, and today it rained. On my way home this evening, when I stepped outside, I said "It is raining," and I was wearing rainbow flipflops.
4/27/2008
Technology Stuff
My dad is upstairs trying to choose a ring tone for his new phone. My dog, who is sitting beside me, is somewhat confused by the noises. ^_^
He got a Razr, which he chose because it has big screens for easy visibility and big buttons for easy dialing. When he got home with it a couple of days ago, he yelled at me because he didn't know what the memory card was for.
I am somewhat worried that my dad will blow the phone up. See, my father suffers from the unfortunate combination of being both technologically inept and a button pusher. He doesn't know what anything on the phone does, so, to find out, he pushes every button until something happens. He often doesn't know what that something is, or how to reverse it (or if he should). That said, it also took him several hours (literally) and a lot of complaining about the uselessness of the instruction booklet in order for him to figure out that you push the button in the middle to access the main menu. He didn't actually say that that's what he was having trouble with, though--why would he do that?
Actually, now that I think about it, it took my mother well over a year to figure out the same thing about her phone, but she at least was able to access most parts of the menu by pressing the directional buttons, so she didn't really need to access the main menu. I think it was when I told her that her phone should have a calculator and she was like "Where?" that I showed her and she was surprised that a main menu (and many other functions) existed on her phone.
My parents are such baby boomers...
My new computer is spiffy. I still have a couple of things I need to tweak, but, for the most part, it is more or less perfect. This will mean nothing to most everybody who reads this blog, but, on this computer, when playing World of Warcraft, I can wander around Shattrath at 60fps. 60fps!!!! I set my sepll detail to high. ^_^
I remember, when I was looking at buying my last computer, my brother told me that 1GB of RAM was probably much more than I needed. For three years, I cursed him for that advice. This computer has 4GB of RAM. That probably *is* much more than I need, but upgrading to max RAM was remarkably cheap, so I decided to err on the side of too much. I doubt I will regret that choice.
One thing, though: The pictures/slideshow "gadget" on the Windows Vista sidebar thing is vaguely horrifying. I told each gadget that it wasn't allowed to do anything before closing all of them and then closing the sidebar. Shoo!
He got a Razr, which he chose because it has big screens for easy visibility and big buttons for easy dialing. When he got home with it a couple of days ago, he yelled at me because he didn't know what the memory card was for.
I am somewhat worried that my dad will blow the phone up. See, my father suffers from the unfortunate combination of being both technologically inept and a button pusher. He doesn't know what anything on the phone does, so, to find out, he pushes every button until something happens. He often doesn't know what that something is, or how to reverse it (or if he should). That said, it also took him several hours (literally) and a lot of complaining about the uselessness of the instruction booklet in order for him to figure out that you push the button in the middle to access the main menu. He didn't actually say that that's what he was having trouble with, though--why would he do that?
Actually, now that I think about it, it took my mother well over a year to figure out the same thing about her phone, but she at least was able to access most parts of the menu by pressing the directional buttons, so she didn't really need to access the main menu. I think it was when I told her that her phone should have a calculator and she was like "Where?" that I showed her and she was surprised that a main menu (and many other functions) existed on her phone.
My parents are such baby boomers...
My new computer is spiffy. I still have a couple of things I need to tweak, but, for the most part, it is more or less perfect. This will mean nothing to most everybody who reads this blog, but, on this computer, when playing World of Warcraft, I can wander around Shattrath at 60fps. 60fps!!!! I set my sepll detail to high. ^_^
I remember, when I was looking at buying my last computer, my brother told me that 1GB of RAM was probably much more than I needed. For three years, I cursed him for that advice. This computer has 4GB of RAM. That probably *is* much more than I need, but upgrading to max RAM was remarkably cheap, so I decided to err on the side of too much. I doubt I will regret that choice.
One thing, though: The pictures/slideshow "gadget" on the Windows Vista sidebar thing is vaguely horrifying. I told each gadget that it wasn't allowed to do anything before closing all of them and then closing the sidebar. Shoo!
4/22/2008
White Earth, Murder
So I was reading the paper this morning and I discovered that the guy charged with that random stabbing last week is a guy I went to elementary and junior high school with. Bloody hell. It's bad enough that people tend to die; I really don't want anyone going around and killing others.
In happier news, my new computer has shipped. It should be here within a week or two. I'm annoyed that I lost some of my files that were on my old computer, but I had most backed up, so it's not worth having the hard drive extracted to get the five or so files off of it. Though not having my mp3s backed up is vaguely annoying--at least I can just take those off of my iPod.
It's Earth Day. If the foot of snow the three Western-most provinces got over the weekend isn't indication of climate change, then I don't know what is. I know it's still only April, but the wind chill out there is nearly -30! *cold* I had a discussion with my mom about the Kyoto accord the other day. I was unsure who exactly came up with it (was it some governing body, for instance?), and my mom replied that she thought it was a bunch of people who got together on a Sunday morning after drinking too much the night before. Ignoring the obvious derogatory sense in which she meant that, it reminded me of the story my mom loves to tell about how, when my dad was acting on behalf of the city or the province in making some kind of deal, he would go out and get drunk the night before so that he'd be hungover and pissed off during the negotiations and would get what he wanted more easily.
In other news, school is over and everything is handed in for the term, though I did have to rewrite my Statement of Reflections for my Directing class, since my computer ate it when it died. My Spanish class starts on the fifth of May. I need to pay tuition for that, come to think of it. I also need to pay my second parking ticket in a month. *annoyance* Nearly six years at that school, much time spent parking in places I wasn't supposed to, and I only got one parking ticket. Then, in the last month of classes, I get two. Stupid Parking Services people, suddenly being vigilant...
In happier news, my new computer has shipped. It should be here within a week or two. I'm annoyed that I lost some of my files that were on my old computer, but I had most backed up, so it's not worth having the hard drive extracted to get the five or so files off of it. Though not having my mp3s backed up is vaguely annoying--at least I can just take those off of my iPod.
It's Earth Day. If the foot of snow the three Western-most provinces got over the weekend isn't indication of climate change, then I don't know what is. I know it's still only April, but the wind chill out there is nearly -30! *cold* I had a discussion with my mom about the Kyoto accord the other day. I was unsure who exactly came up with it (was it some governing body, for instance?), and my mom replied that she thought it was a bunch of people who got together on a Sunday morning after drinking too much the night before. Ignoring the obvious derogatory sense in which she meant that, it reminded me of the story my mom loves to tell about how, when my dad was acting on behalf of the city or the province in making some kind of deal, he would go out and get drunk the night before so that he'd be hungover and pissed off during the negotiations and would get what he wanted more easily.
In other news, school is over and everything is handed in for the term, though I did have to rewrite my Statement of Reflections for my Directing class, since my computer ate it when it died. My Spanish class starts on the fifth of May. I need to pay tuition for that, come to think of it. I also need to pay my second parking ticket in a month. *annoyance* Nearly six years at that school, much time spent parking in places I wasn't supposed to, and I only got one parking ticket. Then, in the last month of classes, I get two. Stupid Parking Services people, suddenly being vigilant...
4/09/2008
Four More Days
Hello, fine people! I have coffee, and, even though I've just started drinking it, so the caffeine hasn't kicked in, it makes me happy. It's warm, sweet and comforting. *love*
It is the third last day of classes, though I don't actually have class today. My Directing class was canceled this morning because there were no performances scheduled for today, so our prof is giving us the time off because we need either the extra sleep or the extra time to work (or both). I do have rehearsal today at three, though, so I do have to go into school. Rehearsals are going well, though, yesterday, one of my actors had to bail, and it was the last rehearsal we had in the performance space with the set pieces we'll actually be using. I worked with my other actor to choreograph how she was going to get out of bed, since I'd brought a quilt with me. It took 20 minutes and then I went home. ^_^
My Bartok paper is due tomorrow. I'm still waiting to have an epiphany about the piece. I've taken to writing out the note letter names bar by bar. I'm actually starting to get a bit worried. Overall point, show thyself!
So, yeah, today I work on my paper, go to rehearsal, then work on my paper some more. Tomorrow, I finish my paper, hand it in, bullshit my way through the listening exam, take a nap, and go to rehearsal. Friday, I go watch two performances, transfer everything from my draft script to the good copy of my script, and then go to rehearsal. Saturday, I watch 10 performances, then mine goes up, then there's one more, then I go drink with my class. Sunday, I sleep.
My coffee mug is empty. I think that's my cue to go fill it up again.
It is the third last day of classes, though I don't actually have class today. My Directing class was canceled this morning because there were no performances scheduled for today, so our prof is giving us the time off because we need either the extra sleep or the extra time to work (or both). I do have rehearsal today at three, though, so I do have to go into school. Rehearsals are going well, though, yesterday, one of my actors had to bail, and it was the last rehearsal we had in the performance space with the set pieces we'll actually be using. I worked with my other actor to choreograph how she was going to get out of bed, since I'd brought a quilt with me. It took 20 minutes and then I went home. ^_^
My Bartok paper is due tomorrow. I'm still waiting to have an epiphany about the piece. I've taken to writing out the note letter names bar by bar. I'm actually starting to get a bit worried. Overall point, show thyself!
So, yeah, today I work on my paper, go to rehearsal, then work on my paper some more. Tomorrow, I finish my paper, hand it in, bullshit my way through the listening exam, take a nap, and go to rehearsal. Friday, I go watch two performances, transfer everything from my draft script to the good copy of my script, and then go to rehearsal. Saturday, I watch 10 performances, then mine goes up, then there's one more, then I go drink with my class. Sunday, I sleep.
My coffee mug is empty. I think that's my cue to go fill it up again.
4/01/2008
LOL and Other Acronyms
I'm attempting to eat lunch, but it's kind of yucky. I tried to make the Mr. Noodles mac and cheese, but the water boiled off before the noodles cooked (yes, I had the power on medium), so I added more water until the noodles were tender, at which point it tasted like water. I tried to fix it by adding "Taco and Nacho" shredded cheese blend, but I don't know... Then again, I'm hungry, and it's either this, eggs, or canned salmon, and the last two would take more effort. I should go buy bagels. And more cereal. And microwaveable food of the non-yucky variety. And fruit. I should make a list somewhere other than my blog...
So, the GBlog has been announced, eh? I guess they did the gmail thing, so this is kind of the next step. I wonder if the blogs will be by invite only. And how simple will they be? Blogger is the simplest of the major blog services, and I love it for that.
My dog seems to like what was left of the mac and cheese, though he left most of the bits of jalapeno alone. That "jah-lah-pen-oh" woman from the commercial annoys me. I want to grab her nicely done hair and pull off the mask, revealing the toothless Alabama hick beneath. Have I ever mentioned that stupid people bother me? I know, it's not really something I talk about a lot, especially on my blog... What?
In other news, I forgot today was April Fool's Day, and I was all WTF? at the Blizzard website. Conductor!Bard FTW! Emo!Bard FTL!
*ahem*
I blame the Mr. Noodle.
So, the GBlog has been announced, eh? I guess they did the gmail thing, so this is kind of the next step. I wonder if the blogs will be by invite only. And how simple will they be? Blogger is the simplest of the major blog services, and I love it for that.
My dog seems to like what was left of the mac and cheese, though he left most of the bits of jalapeno alone. That "jah-lah-pen-oh" woman from the commercial annoys me. I want to grab her nicely done hair and pull off the mask, revealing the toothless Alabama hick beneath. Have I ever mentioned that stupid people bother me? I know, it's not really something I talk about a lot, especially on my blog... What?
In other news, I forgot today was April Fool's Day, and I was all WTF? at the Blizzard website. Conductor!Bard FTW! Emo!Bard FTL!
*ahem*
I blame the Mr. Noodle.
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