I read about the Idol reveal this morning, and hooray for America for sending poor little Johnny home! Now he can get back to chorus or whatever, instead of crying himself to sleep.

The day would be too lovely if there weren't a kinda of gusty wind goin on.

Last night I went to the square, had dinner with the boys, and then we played all the courses on Mario Kart, which was good times. I placed 3rd 15 times, but I beat Clark once to finish second. He was so mad. We played at the fastest level, while last time M and I played at the middle level, so I had some trouble, but not so bad on most races. I did get lapped on a few races.

Then there was lots of reading, and I cracked the whip on boy a lot so he would keep working, mostly so I could keep working. :-)

I made it to the grocery store last night, which was good cuz I had no food. Now I can eat fruits and vegetables instead of so much crap. I also got to the gym today, woo.

As mentioned, I stayed home last night, leading to feeling tons better for our 9am meeting. Holy crap, usually I feel like I want to die, and this morning I felt great! Anyhoo, I did watch the Idol, which was truly terrible. Everyone sang like crap, and that poor little boy looked like he was going to cry. America, stop voting for him! He wants to go home! 24 was just like GAAAAHHHHHH you're killing me! It's been making me feel so down after watching it the last few eps. No victories at all.

I finished my paper draft yesterday!

Of course this means total lack of productiveness today.

The next couple of weeks are going to be a little crazy.

Wow, I thought it'd be two weeks since I went to the gym, but really it was three. April has fucking flown by.

Also, I have gained a few pounds, which means getting my ass to the gym seriously this time. I hope I don't get a goddamn cold.

I've opted out of karaoke tonight, for sanity, and partly because that directly contributed to my cold three weeks ago and to my insanity last week.

I'm feeling this big letdown, coming home on a Sunday afternoon. I already want to go back, want the whole weekend back again.

Friday night I had dinner with M and then headed over to the rich people's house that Ami housesits for girls night. We watched Don Juan de Marco, which was fun and Deppy, and then the new Chris Rock special on HBO. Mmmmmm On Demand. It was hilarious. Then back to the Square.

Saturday was busy, as the pre-frosh had descended, and there was lots to do before the open house. So I stuck around for all that, then to the Kong for dinner since Jamie is in town, then a movie night which didn't include any pre-frosh, but we did watch Empire Records. Back to Eliot, and M and I played Mario Kart, and he very politely allowed me to win half the races so that I could practice and get better at driving and throwing things so I can play with all of them and not be a total loser. :-) Also he gave me a lovely shot glass he got me in Chicago that he'd forgot all about. He's so sweet.

I fell asleep so perfectly comfortable and happy.

Today was Springfest, and the funk kids were up first, so we saw that and then wandered around before M had to go do more Open House and activities fair stuff, and I had to go copy some crap and then I got really suddenly tired and went home. Took a cab I was so beat. I still haven't done any damn work either. Fuck.

I wanna play some more Mario Kart.

Dear work computer. Stop making that horrible buzzing before I kill you.

Whoa, as I was writing that sentence, it stopped. My office is the frigging Twilight Zone.

I'm so glad I finished all my laundry. But I didn't quite finish my reading, so I'll have to do that at lunch and then write my response paper.

Heh, I was thinking yesterday that it's weird how the people I hang out with now are all totally different than when I was in college (cuz most of those peeps are gone, sure), and that's a little disorienting, but seriously, these kids rule.

That includes my dear boyfriend who left his phone ringer turned off after WE rehearsal last night, thereby missing my call. :-) Silly.

I called him cuz I left karaoke early and was waiting for the bus. I was dissatisfied and left. First of all, I sang "We Are Family" which is pretty lively and people know it, and it starts with the chorus meaning everyone can get into it and sing along right off the bat. But I dunno what the hell was wrong with my peeps, but I felt no background vocal support whatsoever, and when I looked over at one point, they all seemed to be concentrated on some conversation. Lame. Then there was this girl blocking my view of the singers because she wouldn't just sit with the people she was talking to, but would instead stand with her ass in my line of sight yapping at them. Then a couple of folks who were with us, who are friends with other people in the group, were sitting on either side of me, and started talking to each other. This is less annoying at a round table, but I still felt talked over and annoyed, so I went to the bathroom hoping one of them would move. Instead Loren took that seat, and when I got back, he gave it back to me, but then there were all these other new people there who I didn't know and they were crowding in, so as soon as I oculd get to my stuff, I grabbed it, paid and booked.

I mean, how annoying. I don't feel like trying to be all friendly to people I don't know, because seriously, I'm leaving in 3.5 months and I don't need new friends, thanks. There's barely enough time to hang out with the people I like.

So, I did nothing over my three-day weekend for the most part, and now I think I need to really focus on getting basic stuff done, like laundry and fixing my computer and crap like that. Fortunately, the weather won't be as nice for a while, so I won't be so prone to run around outside. It was a great weekend for that, but now it's time to focus.

I'm seriously disappointed with the new 24 recapper on TWoP. I mean, Gustave was clearly a god who can never be matched, but I was willing to give the new guy a chance, and his first recap was pretty good. But he goes and ends it by recapping THE FRIGGIN TEASER. Hello, I do not run out of the room for 24 commercials for nothing, dude. So I emailed him about this, and got a sort of terse reponse back that he considers it part of the show and I should not read anything after the end when he counts down the time. Well, Gustave didn't consider it part of the show, he considered the show end to be the final plinking of the numbers, and he was correct. Douchebag.

My roommate has friends over again to watch a movie, which would be fine if they weren't so damn loud and if I didn't have reading. If I wasn't also doing laundry, I'd escape to a coffee shop somewhere, but alas. But I'm doing like 6 loads. I swear in the future, I will keep up with laundry. Seriously.

Five years ago I dyed my hair black under the bad influence of Gwen. I know this because it was the same day as the Columbine shootings, and I felt a little awkward that I suddenly looked like some sort of goth.

Last night I had dinner with M, and then later was the house lottery, which was exciting. I love house lotteries. Eliot has a projector and a buzzer! Though I do love Lowell's bingo balls and chalkboard. Anyhoo, the boys were pretty much guaranteed to get one of the rooms they wanted, and they did.

After that I headed to Danny's for Sopranos on demand. Woo. Still, in bed too late, and I am tired today. I think if I won the lottery, I would never get up before 9, and my average would probably be 11. Even so, I think I will go try to donate blood today, because I am 8 weeks out, and they will have mint ice cream there today.

Maybe I will even try to write, since I brought my laptop today.

This is like the most goddamn popular corner in the fucken library. Hey jerkoffs, find some other place to sit! This one jerkoff by the window pulled down the shade annoyingly. I wanted to be like, stupid jerkface, there's another person using that window! Fucko.

This party is perdy chill, which is good. I was reluctant to return home, but boy made it all too clear he had work and wanted sleep, so I sucked it up and came home. Though I will probably be in bed by 1, even though I am taking tomorrow off. I'm lazy and tired.

More update in the day.

As expected, I went to bed like at 1:30. I heard the kids go off to the re-enactment of the Battle of Lexington, but I couldn't convince myself to get up and go. Thye returned around 9:30, and now there are boys in my living room sleeping. I wish they would go away so I can go shower. I think I will anyway, cuz it's too nice to be inside today!

I should do laundry, but fuck that. Maybe tonight.

Anyhoo, Thursday night we went and saw Streetcar, which was as depressing as usual, but good, and there were snacks after and Emily had on the best pink suit ever. Friday night we went to Felipe's for dinner, which was delicious, and there was a party, which was okay. After was better...

Saturday I went shopping with Courtenay downtown, and we went to every shoe store there, and I got pink sandals. Matty went off to Princeton for the Ivy Band Conference, so I went to the Jazz Band concert with the Dr. and crew. It was solid. After that was Mike's birthday at Chuck's, with beer-filled goodness.

Yesterday I met up with Q and Megan, his fiancee, at Starbucks in the square. She is super cool, and I approve lots. Sounds like he is really leaning toward Harvard. After that I wandered to Central Sq, and then returned to try to read but just kinda napped on the BR couch instead. There was a drill meeting and then 24, and then I went home.

The party was fun. My roommate has some cool friends, and it was nice to just even hang out with my roommates some since we're never around at the same time.

How fucking annoying. I shlep my laptop all the way here, transferring all my crap to that backpack, except the fucking work ID I need to get into Countway. And the security guard there is such a dick that he wouldn't let me leave my number, my drivers license, anything that would be useful. Piece of shit. Seriously, they barely even look at the badge if you do have one. I could have taken Holly's, but Heather got caught trying to use mine once and got turned away.

I fucken hate Harvard.

At least I got the joy of dropping off my rejection letter to them.

Anyway, now I'm in a foul mood and back stuck in my stupid office. Holly said I could go home to write, but I think I would be in a fouler mood if I shlepped all the way here just to be here for two fucking hours. I'm annoyed that her and Jeff just didn't say I could stay home and write in the first place. It's like they were concerned I wouldn't get anything done, like I get a whole lot done while I'm here. Grrr.

I think it's about time for me to go back to school, that's all.

I'm chugging along decently, thanks to my new salvation, Leif Inge's "9 Beet Stretch", a digital stretching of Beethoven's 9th to 24 hours, retaining the pitch. It's mesmerizing. Seriously, I want an iPod just so I can put this on there and walk around with this crazy trippy slow soundtrack in my head all day. It was really great last night when I was reading Frankenstein and happened to be in a minor part of the first movement, making for a very cool atmosphere.

Speaking of which, I dug up my old Frankenpaper from 9th grade, which I recall fondly for taking the whole weekend to write and being like 23 pages when I was done. Reading through the book a second time, I remembered a lot even though it's been 9 years, just because that paper was so consuming, I read it after finishing the book, and it was certainly not as polished as I would have written it now, but I had some damn fine analyses tucked in there. I also have too much stuff in there; I'd cut a few sections and flesh out the cooler stuff.

Back on this 9 Beet Stretch thing for a moment, I can't tell if there's an error that occasionally makes this weird relatively-quick death chord noise in the midst of fairly slow-moving chord changes, or if that's some actual feature in the music. But I think even the fastest note wouldn't be that fast in the music. Hell, I think I heard a trill in there somewhere that lasted five seconds. A drumbeat sounds like a continuous rumble for seconds. So I think it's just an error, but it's freaky!

Yesterday after work I went to dinner with Brett, Jeff and Katherine, to Uno's. Pepperoni pizza yum. Then we went back to the BR and yelled at the Prez... I don't think he answered a single question directly. I told the kids if they were sick of reality TV, they could see some fiction on the tube, and I wasn't wrong. He just spouted the same old debunked lies and crap. Once that was over, I went to karaoke, which was much more fun. I sang "The Sign," and I thought I was kinda mediocre, but people liked it. I imbibed much less than last week, which is good.

I couldn't explain to Jeff yesterday that the interruptions I experience at work aren't really for actual work, but mostly involve inane questions and conversation with other people. Okay, and the computer. But still, I swear my RA neighbor is the least concise person of all time.

I wished that I didn't have to be at work so early this morning, because I would have loved to have walked (of course, I wouldn't have been out the door that early if I didn't have to be, but anyway), because it was one of those glorious overcast mornings that is warm but humid and breezy.

But then I totally crashed and burned in the park. There's a path that leads down to some steps that go to the street, and right where they meet, there's a drainage grate. I usually avoid stepping on it, because it's often wet and slippery, but I just wasn't paying attention and my foot slid down and away. I thought I was gonna crash down the steps, but I caught myself and just landed all sprawled on the ground. A few scrapes, no rips in my pants. So it was kinda cool, actually.

So I decided to take a nap instead of doing anything productive for most of Saturday afternoon. But it was great. It's probably a good thing I don't win the lottery or something, cuz I'd probably sleep 12 hours a day if I didn't have to work.

Then I went down to Harvard for dinner with boy and some Frozen Four watching. Woo. Then attempts to read that largely failed. :-)

Yesterday after brunch was reading that succeeded. Poor boy has a midterm today, and I'm trying to get through Frankenstein for class. This is the book I wrote a 20-page paper on in 9th grade... I wonder if that's around somewhere, to peruse when I'm finished. Anyway, I had forgotten that Victor Frankenstein is kind of a whiny asshole, and he's the narrator for the majority of the book. So it's still as fun as ever to dig through the psychological aspects of the story, but after a while, I feel like, Vic, shut up you sick whiner! And would have to take a little break and sort of take a small not-quite nap.

M teased me late in the afternoon by pretending he was going to snuggle up with me and take a nap of decent length too, but instead he quickly abandoned me to read in the common room with the TV. he abandoned me for TV! And worse! Golf! He abandoned me to watch GOLF. I sullenly decided to join him in golf watching. It was kinda cool to watch the end of the Masters, and better than, say, soccer, but still far inferior to other sports where the uniform is not equivalent to "business casual." And then the part after was just the most narcolepsy-inducing thing ever, as they played muzak and droned on about past legends of the sport and future heroes. Seriously, there's a reason all other sports play heavy metal and hip hop during highlights. Then the awards ceremony was hideous; it was inside this dreadful smoking room looking thing, and there were only like 6 people total there for the donning of the green jacket. Man, do it on the green with hundreds of cheering fans! It makes the insipid questions seem so much less inane.

Anyway, after that I went to the Cube for another spectacular Kinnebrew holiday dinner. We always marvel at how such a lazy lazy man can cook so damn well when he wants to. Ham, scallops in saffron sauce, twice-baked potatoes with cheese and bacon, asparagus with parmesan, vegetables in mint sauce, and lots of wine. Delicious.

Is it wrong to hope that Fox doesn't care enough about the world to show Bush's press conference tomorrow night? I mean, I don't care so much if the Idol is missed, but I'll be damned if it cuts out 24. Dude, Bush, you've only had 12 press conferences ever, could you not schedule across from 24?

I finally got to talk to my mom tonight after like a billion years.

Ah, sleeep was sooo goood.

Now I feel pretty good today, though I'm clearly still sick. But I've accomplished several useful things today, and now I think I might go to Davis or to Target. Or take a nap. Hard to say.

Maybe the Bushies really know what they're doing in Iraq. The NY Times reports today that instead of the civil war we all feared might break out, Sunnis and Shiites are united to drive the Americans out. Aw, isn't that sweet.

How many days until the election?

I'm still sick today, feeling pretty crappy. Last night I went to class and then to a concert of the new funk band in Quincy cage. That was cool, although I don't think Clark heard me boo him when Julia asked who was there for Clark in her show opening shoutouts. Heh.

I am so sleepy.

Monday, I felt great, energetic, and I got things done, including going to the gym and grocery shopping. Tuesday I was sore from my workout, but still felt fairly good and productive. Yesterday I had the raging headache from hell, I did nothing useful at work, and then I went home and crashed, waking up long enough to do most but not all of my reading for class.

Today I woke up with a cold.

Despite this, I still feel better than yesterday, but I'm just really annoyed, because my last cold started exactly four weeks ago, and it took like two weeks to go away fully. I have no idea where it came from, but I'm sure my fabulous hangover immunity just let it right on in.

And I seriously have a billion things to do, mostly at home, though at work too. What I really need is an entire day when I feel good that I don't have other things to do, so I can just catch up on everything. Maybe tomorrow night I'll just go to bed early and then try to get up early-ish on Saturday and do things all day.

But in great news, I'm getting my $40 back from the grocery store! Dude called me today to say that an envelope with my name on it is waiting at the courtesy booth, whenever I get over there.

Ow my head it hurts so much! I've had a constant headache, unalleviated by drugs, food, or drink. What I need is more sleep. Of course, I have all my reading for class to do tonight, even though we haven't had class in three weeks. Gah.

I was in a pretty poor modd by the time I reached Harvard yesterday afternoon. I decided to walk, as it wasn't totally warm out, but it was pretty sunny and I was fine with my coat. Unfortunately hurricane-like winds blew in my face the entire time. Couldn't possibly be behind me, no. Then I stopped at Trader Joe's, and I realized when I went to pay that the day before, when I used my debit card at Market Basket and got cash back, that I never actually got the cash back. Fuckity fuck. I called, and the girl I talked to said that the register in question had ended up even at the end of the day, but that I should call today and talk to a manager. So I did, and to my very pleasant surprise, I may even get my money back! Turns out he can look at the security video to see if I was given the money or not. Cool. Here I expected him just to tell me I was screwed, sorry.

GAH! I didn't watch the second half of the Duke-UConn game! I figured Duke was well ahead, so when Jeremy wouldn't let me turn on the TV because he's a big butthead, I was like, okay whatever. Fuck fuck fuck!

Friday night I went to bed pretty early, and it was great. :-)

Yesterday I had TASP interviewing all afternoon. Fortunately I has two great SP '84s with me, which helped a lot as they were good at coming up with great questions and it was nice to have three opinions at the end for each kid. Woo. It was a long afternoon, though.

After that, I went out with Courtney and Courtenay to the place that used to be House of Blues. It was perty good, and we watched the game. Though the margaritas had waaay too much sour mix in them. Bleh. When we left, there were a million people waiting to get upstairs for the next game.

We went to the BR, and I watched the end of the first half and there were lots of kids there. We decided to go to Adams for poker, which I don't play, but I like to laugh at people losing money. Especially when the table got knocked over and everyone's chips got mixed together. But, as mentioned above, I didn't get to watch the rest of the game, which was my fault I guess for not being more insistent or just going to the BR to watch the rest and showing up later.

I slept until 2 today! It was great. :-)

I have also sent in my deposit for Hopkins. They win for letting me do it online. The only thing I have to mail in is my acceptance of funding. So, Baltimore, around August 1st or so, for the next 4-5 years.

So, TASP interviews tomorrow. I may actually have a helper or two, which is good.

I kinda want to get that stuff over with, though. I'm much more focused on this grad school stuff and getting other things done outside of work.

So I went over to HSPH today for their open house, and it was good because it gave me ideas of things to ask folks at Hopkins about. But not necessarily now, but eventually. I've decided it's going to be Hopkins for sure, and tomorrow I'll probably send in the deposit and get the forms ready for the schools.

Wassup fools?

I get so much junk mail on my fas account. Lately I keep getting email saying a friend has set me up with someone for a blind date and I have to go click on this link that probably gives me a virus and asks for my credit card info. Riiiight. Hey, spammer, all my friends know I have a boyfriend, der.

Beh, the weather makes me feel so crappy. I should go to the gym, but I just don't feel like it. I want to leave work as early as possible, put on my pajamas and curl up in bed. It's supposed to be rainy on and off through Wednesday.