What a week!

So I just spent about five minutes trying to name and then rename this post and it looks like it probably won't be titled. This post will be utterly random, and likely filled with tidbits of information from the past week. By the by, I am using a Mac, so I'd prefer to hurry and get this over with. ;)

I went and saw Slumdog Millionaire today. I was going to go by myself, but I was feeling lonely so I called a bunch of friends, and ultimately ended up going with Ashley M, one of my classics friends. It was probably one of the best movies I've ever seen. I'll leave the critique to the critics, but I know I'll be buying it on DVD (not blu-ray!).

After seeing the movie and eating delicious movie theater popcorn, I decided that I would continue copying files onto my external hard drive. I had to buy that last week because my computer has been lagging since November and I've tried everything I know to fix it. I still need to copy all of my game data and track down my Windows disc so that I don't lose all of the sweet terrains I made for AOE and AOM, or have to buy another copy of Windows. In no way should the poor performance of my computer reflect on PCs as a whole. I love my computer, and though (according to DoIT) the processor is running at half of it's normal speed, I am still more satisfied with it than I would be a Mac (sorry Ryan and Laura). Cait, who owns a PC, was reppin' Macs until she rented one from the library...lol I just truly prefer PCs and the ability to right-click normally.

On another note, I will be turning in an application on Monday to attend a field school in Pylos once the study abroad program in Athens (through the UW) has ended. I emailed the professor in charge, and once I turn in my application, I am good to go! I mean this literally, I am accepted once I turn in the paperwork. This means that I'll be in Greece from May 25th until about July 8th. I am extremely excited! Here's the link to the Pylos program: Iklaina Project

On Thursday night I went out for ice cream with the classics society and then we all went skating at the Shell. I forgot how awful I am when it comes to skating, and spent a majority of the time fixing my skates on the sidelines (which is better than on my butt on the ice!). I invited Antonia, who I met through Beth on Tuesday, and she really enjoyed getting ice cream with us. She is on exchange here from France, though she is orginally from Germany. She is extremely nice and easy to get along with, and reminds me a lot of my cousin, Liz. In fact, tonight Beth and I are meeting Antonia at the Saxony for a traditional German dinner. I'm not sure what I'll eat yet...but that's okay - I'm desperately in need of company :/

So on Tuesday (Mardi Gras) I decided that I wanted to go out, and convinced Beth to come out too. Blaise was supposed to come but was probably watching the X-Files, and didn't. Anyway, Beth invited Antonia, whom she has her Energy Economics class with, to come out too, and that is how we met. Dani came too which was wonderful since she is hilarious and I had not gotten to see her in a long time. I really enjoyed explaining American Mardi Gras to Antonia and seeing her face when I explained how beads were "earned."

Today has been kind of a weird day. I have been really bummed for a few days now. I feel like I've been mean to everyone, especially Cait. I'm not sure why, but I feel kind of lonely. I'm generally optimistic and happy, but I think that the situation with Ronnie is finally bearing down upon me. I realized today that he has not been treating me like the way I think he should be. This is not intended to be mean, so I appologize if it comes off that way. When he didn't get me anything for my birthday, I pretended not to care. When it came to Christmas and he again got me nothing, I acted like it was okay, and that I had expected nothing. I spent $40 making a sweet Valentine's Day gift that was orginal and heartfelt and walked away emptied-handed and broken-hearted once again. It's not material things that I care about, that's not the point. I guess that I wish to be appreciated and cared about and loved, and if I'm putting in but getting nothing out, then I'm done. I'm sick of hearing the excuse that he doesn't know what he wants in life, but still feels the need to string me along. I promised him several years ago that no matter what happened to us romantically, we would always remain friends. But even now, I call him looking for comfort and solace, and don't even get that. My friends here offer more support than he has lately. I am tired of being on the bottom of his priorities, and tired of him not wanting to come visit. I realize that the bus costs $44 round-trip, but when you truly want to see someone, you make the monetary sacrifice. It's clear to me that he has lost interest, and I think that I finally have too. He highly values material things as opposed to experiences, which has me confounded. I am completely the opposite and would much rather have a week long trip somewhere than a new gadget. I love doing things and going out, and he seems to be fine staying in more often than I like. I don't think he has put any effort into being together again, and I don't think he will.

I just want to be loved unconditionally, and I just don't think that's going to happen if we stay together. I have lost faith in love.

Shout-Out to being Shouted-Out

374. Thursday, Feb. 19, 2009 @ 2:09pm:

SO to the bunnies, reindeer and now elephants from JSM that have Bren giving out free food for the past few months. You have officially saved me from starvation. I hope your apartments stay empty so that you continue to feed me.

409. Thursday, Feb. 19, 2009 @ 5:44pm:

SO to upon seeing pink elephants on multiple street corners contemplating the probability of having accidentally dropped acid...

482. Friday, Feb. 20, 2009 @ 4:21pm:

SO to the person giant bunny on the corner of university and charter. how could i refuse you when you forced your bag of goodies into my hands?

And finally, this one might be about me and my unhealthy love of popcorn...

453. Friday, Feb. 20, 2009 @ 9:51am:

ASO to my roommate who uses a popcorn maker that is louder than the tv and vacuum cleaner combined! SO to her for being able to eat more popcorn than they produce at the movie theater.

Badger Herald - Madison, WI

APO Sectionals in Eau Claire

I feel like I've finally recovered from the drive back from Eau Claire! Not that it was especially long, but I'm tired from driving in general.

I kind of stayed low-key this time around with Sectionals simply because I had so much work to do (and I still have a lot to do!). I ended up driving A TON and I'm exhausted. Our chapter ended up winning a bunch of awards.



I'll add more to this post once I finish studying :)

My First Woot-Off

Well, today is the day I have been eagerly waiting for: my very first Woot-Off. I wanted very much to buy the Phillips Ipod Dock Speakers, alas my state was entered as "Alabama" rather than Wisconsin, so I missed out on that one. On the way to class I happened to miss out on headphones and a $5 HP webcam. Inevitably whenever I leave, an amazing new product that I could actually use goes up. Cait debated getting the $80 8gb IPod but missed out on it by the time she made up her mind. I really wanted the Digital Photo Frame for $50 but decided that I would do my best to hold out for a Bag of Crap. I have been patiently waiting for it. I can't really start my paper until another lame item shows up. So I will wait, hiding in the shadows until BOOM! I get what I want.

UPDATE: I managed to get a pair of Bluetooth headsets and an HP webcam. I got something else, too, but I can't say what it was since part of it is going to Liz when she gets back!

I am slightly depressed that Liz is not here to share this exciting event with me. On another note, Cait and I went out to Lake Mendota and took a picture with the giant Statue of Liberty.

$500 Facebook Gift

Just wondering if anyone else happened to espy the gifts facebook has decided to offer as of recent. Here is a screenshot of the elusive "Rare Rose" gift, available in a "limited" quantity (15,000) until Friday, and an explanation of the gift system by Facebook. I also highlighted the gift before it, a $50 "Gold Rose" gift.



For $500, or even $50, I'd better have some tangible gift or else something I will be able to appreciate. $500 would buy a nice necklace, a ton of chocolates. Nobody wants a crumby facebook gift that might even go unnoticed (recently I turned off my email notification for gifts).

R.I.P. Fish

My fish died yesterday. I'm not really upset at all. I mean, the fish were from Wal-Mart. However, Cait's fish died today. I feel worse for her fish dying because I think she loved hers more. So it goes.

I went to the Shell bright and early at 7 am and was turned away because I forgot my student ID. I was frustrated, so I went back home, grabbed my helmet and rode my bike to the Arboretum. I was gone for nearly 45 minutes and managed to see two deer! It began to rain, however, so I biked back as fast as I could.

I updated the Classics Society's blog. I need to give it a new logo (perhaps one without an empty banner? lol) and an exciting new name. Any ideas?

I miss Liz already! I already plugged her blog, but you can visit it using the blog links at the right. Apparently her flight was delayed for four hours yesterday so she was stranded in Dallas. Poor girl!

P.S. I am making the best Valentine's Day gift ever. Ever!

Change in punctuation marks new era in Britain

This article is ridiculous. My favorite quote:

"Apostrophes denote possessions that are no longer accurate, and are not needed," he said. "More importantly, they confuse people. If I want to go to a restaurant, I don't want to have an A-level (high school diploma) in English to find it."

The colors of the rainbow, so pretty in the sky...

I don't often admit it, but I'm not "color-blind." I'm not trying to say that I'm racist because I'm not at all. But I do see everything and everyone's name as a particular color. Here are some examples, and the alphabet in its "true" colors:

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

"I" and "O" are clear, not white, and often influenced by the colors of the letters directly proceeding and following them. "Z" is black, and thus probably won't show up on the black background. The "rules" which govern how a particular letter and word will look have only recently come to light for me. I love to read and it is through reading and spelling out nearly every word I see and hear on a daily basis that I have begun to understand why some words might look the way the do. Some words completely defy what I would expect them to look like. Certain words lack color completely, and I'm not sure why. Extremely long words have no color. Some letters are "stronger" than others and play a large part in determining what colors the other letters appear to have. Because reading is seeing familiar words, those words often appear as one color rather than individual letters. Numbers also have colors too (but not all numbers):

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 (10 is a dark gray because 1 seems to be black when next to 0, which in this case is white. In all other cases, ex: 12, 13, and 14. the reason why numbers are the colors they are seems to make little sense)

Below are some examples of words and the overall color they create. I've tried to make the individual colors above as accurate as possible (according to what I see) but regardless, they are subject to change when placed next to each other by lightening or darkening the letters near them. The first letter often defines what the overall color of the word will be. Some of the examples below will highlight this.

BETH (dark blue)

CAITLYN (yellow and pink)

LIZ (the "Z" is black) (purple)

RONNIE (purple)

ELIZABETH (playful green)

ALEX (medium red)

PUPPY (pink)

ICE (tealish blue)

CAMEL (yellow-orange)

COASTIE (light yellow)

MOM (soft yellow)

DAD (whatever color this is)

JUPITER (periwinkle)

NEPTUNE (greenish-blue)


Sorry if this makes me look crazy :P

A bittersweet cacophony

I have to vent. There are some songs on the radio that are just awful. I drive around the city for work and have a hard time not just giving up and switching to my Meteora CD. I really can't stand some of them, and here in Madison we have only a small variety of radio stations to choose from. In fact, to put it in perspective, here is a link just to prove how pitiful the stations offered here are. All I want is something comparable to FM 102.1 (which we have in Oak Creek). Yet there's nothing here that even comes close (don't let the website linked above fool you - the "alternative" stations are a mix of classic rock and metal and perhaps even classic metal).

Anyway, here are some songs that should be permanently removed from the radio, and why:

1. Single Ladies - Beyonce. Just a really annoying song that I've never enjoyed. If I were a boy (get it? lol) I would definitely not put a ring on it, nor would I allow a song this annoying to make it onto a CD.
   
2. I'm Yours - Jason Mraz. Overplayed - remember "Hey There Delilah?" yeah...exactly.
   
3. Just Dance - Lady GaGa. Kind of a trashy song. I've also never like this one.
4. If I were a Boy - Beyonce. Really? I can hardly imagine Sasha Fierce as a boy, and this song just seems fake and emotionless. Not to mention it's simply boring.
5. Womanizer - Britney Spears. I have to admit that this song used to be catchy, but then I realized how often she said "womanizer" and got tired of it. Quickly.
6. Gives You Hell - The All -American Rejects. I've been an AAR fan since before high school, but the poor grammar in this song and the fact that it's played ad nauseum puts this song on the list.

I don't mean to be picky, but I don't like country or gangsta rap and prefer alternative, pop, and embarrasingly, motown and disco. I really want to host a disco party. Or a Michael Jackson party. I wonder if anyone would come?

On another note: Jessica Simpson is not fat!

For fun, I signed up for a triathlon today! It's at UW-Whitewater, so if you go there let me know and I'll visit you! I'm going out there on Saturday, April 26th so that I don't have to drive out the morning of the event. So far it's April and Ben (perhaps a couple? who knows?), Kara, and probably Cait, Beth and Elyse Wojo. Here's the link: http://www.j-hawks.org/Tri/Tri.aspx. Let me know if you want to do it too!

If you don't have it, you're on the other side

Not ready for the "Digital Transition" from analog tv to digital? Neither am I. Or, I should say that Madison stations must not be. We, not having cable, went ahead and used our coupons to purchase our converter boxes and I went out and bought a digital/analog antenna so that our tv can better receive the digital signal. Several stations have decided that despite the June 12th movement of the required date to switch to digital, they will still be converting on February 17th. Honestly, the signal is so bad here, at night I hardly get any channels at all. This morning only three channels came in. I'm really hoping that when it comes time to switch, that we will eventually get all of the regular channels that we used to get (before we got converter boxes, et al).

Today after Ronnie left I decided that I would make the most out of this quiet afternoon alone. Cait is at Point, Beth work, and Liz home. I can hear that the guys upstairs are playing Halo again. I put "50 First Dates" in the PS2 and unfortunately, the movie froze halfway through. I tried to clean it off and replay it, but it looks like it's irreparable. So that means that sometime this week I need to go back to the $5.99 DVD store and return this movie. I hope that they have another copy, but who knows? Since I wanted to watch something light-hearted, I'm now enjoying Brother Bear.

I'm really happy for Liz that she's going to Costa Rica and is going to have a ton of fun! She left the apartment today for the last time before she leaves, and I completely forgot that we were going to go to Wendy's to celebrate a premature Valentine's Day. I hope that we do get to see each other when she gets back since I'll be leaving right around the same time she returns! Here's a link to her Costa Rica blog: http://costaricaliz.blogspot.com/

Well, I've spent enough time trying to get songs added to itunes and writing - time for homework!

You didn't want anyone to know? Really?

I came across this article and thought it seemed odd that the woman in it was trying to keep their names private, despite having CNN publish a story about her situation. It seems reminiscent of the woman who recently had octuplets and didn't want her name released. Kind of impossible if you have 14 kids from two pregnancies....

Things I Like

This is a brief list of things I like in no particular order, because I am unwilling to post a note about 25 things about myself on facebook. Also, I am procrastinating and waiting for Ronnie to call.

• Blueberries
• Playing video games
• Eating popcorn at the Rathskellar after APO with friends
• Lists
• Knowing that no matter where my life takes me, I will be able to find happiness; I am optimist.
• Writing, keeping a blog
• Asti
• Riding my bike - but not biking, because that implies vigorous exercise and sometimes I enjoy a leisurely ride.
• Snuggling, and being close to Ronnie
• Doing nerdy things
• Wearing high heels and looking sexy
• Yoga, as of recent
• Chicken nuggets, though I am trying to not eat so many at once :/
• Going to the Shell in the morning. It is a challenge going so often. I really hope that I can lose some of the weight I've put on since college since I don't feel like myself with this extra "love."
  
• Reading just about anything - magazines (so long as they are not about celebrities), newspapers, online news, readings for class, and of course fiction. I have read non-fiction and enjoyed it, though my preference is historical fiction.
• Laying outside in the sun
• Working at JSM. The people there are amazing and I love what I do!
• Swimming. Recreationally only, though.
• Shopping for gifts for other people
• Making things - I love building things, creating things, and designing things. I think that had a been better at calculus, engineering may have been the way to go.
  
• Learning about anything and everything
• Good surprises
• Getting texts and being surprised by Ronnie - I love when he does unexpected things for me, and when he's spontaneous
• Grammar, and those who can understand its quirks.
  

I can haz woot?

Liz has gotten me addicted to Woot! It's amazing. I am compulsively checking every day to see what their new product is. I even entered a woot contest to win $100/$50/$20. All you have to do to enter one of their contests is photoshop pictures according to their guidelines. The one I entered involved photoshopping a past or the current U.S. President with a product he would enjoy that was offered on Woot. Below is my entry, though the hand on the steering wheel is somewhat messed up. I chose Eisenhower since almost all of the other posts featured Barack, Bush, or Clinton.


Eisenhower questioned continuing to create the interstate system when his wife volunteered to be the voice of the Garmin StreetPilot c510.


Here are the source images: Eisenhower, car, gps

I'm a creep

Today, rather than beginning my reading for cultural anthro (Anthro 300) I ended up spending about an hour creeping on facebook. Why? I'm really not sure. All I know is that the semester is just beginning and I already feel busy. Last week I worked 26 hours. I also worked out for at least 7 hours last week. I've been really good about going to the shell every morning, except for one time last week. But, to make up for it, I ended up going to the SERF later and working out an hour before I went to Late Night Yoga with Cait. It's also nice knowing that I've inspired Cait and Beth to come work out! I even bought cute stretchy pants at Old Navy.

Because I like lists, and I just bought four new movies, here is a list of all the movies I own, color-coded by how I acquired each:

Amazon.com Gift 5.99 DVD Store on State
Target Blockbuster Wal-mart

• 1408
• 50 First Dates
• Alexander
• Along Came Polly
• Amityville Horror
• Anchorman
• Big Daddy
• Brother Bear
• Count of Monte Cristo
• The Day After Tomorrow
• Dirty Dancing Havana Nights
  
• Finding Nemo
• The Green Mile
• Gladiator
• Kingdom of Heaven
• Knocked Up
• Lord of the Rings (1-3)
  
• Mamma Mia!
• Pirates of the Carribean: Curse of the Black Pearl
• Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man's Chest
• Planet of the Apes
• Texas Chainsaw Massacre
• There's Something About Mary
• Troy

That was exciting. Anyway, for anyone who caught my name on the news or through online articles, yes, I was at the Monster Truck show here in Madison and yes, I did see that man get run over. It was awful to see and I'm going to leave it at that. I don't think I'll ever forget what I saw, or the reaction of the crowd and driver.

On a happier note, I've now visited Sonic three times successfully. I say successfully because of almost all of the times I've attempted to go there, there has been such a long line that it's almost not even worth it. Yeah, I said it. Though delicious, it is not worth it to be in line for more than 20 minutes for Sonic.

We hosted a fondue party last night for Liz's going away to Costa Rica complete with a homemade fondue recipe invented by Liz! She made a chocolaty peanut butter fondue in which we dipped angel food cake, pretzels, strawberries, oranges, apples, and marshmallows. Yummy! It was the four of us roommates plus Katie, Amy, April, Steph, Mitchy, Josh, Alex, Trent, Ashley, Dani, and Bri. I'm really going to miss her - she is amazing. Who else is going to enjoy FailBlog with me? Honestly though, we've gotten a lot closer this year and it's too bad that we might not see each other until August. Why August? I finally got my acceptance letter to Greece! That means I'll be in Athens, and possibly at a field school afterward, from late May until July or August. We'd end up missing each other by only a day or two.

My room is an absolute mess. If I had to pick an adjective to describe it, I would say that it's awful. The excuse I make is that the time I spend cleaning my room could be better spent working out. Though often I find that I work out best in the morning and end up not cleaning my room anyway.

I think that's it for now. I really should get around to studying since I have an Italian exam this week (thank goodness I'm taking it pass/fail) and I have a bunch of anthro reading to catch up on.