yes, i know i haven't blogged in forever. i just haven't had much to say. i've been helping dude finish his finals (that was a party and a half), sleeping, and watching tv. and seriously, that's about it. i think blogging is going to be pretty splotchy until school starts again in august (we have dial-up internet at home). but, i will write all about my trip to texas (once i take it) to find a living place. i leave in a couple weeks, and i think it'll be fun. i'll be there for almost a week. but the rest of my summer looks basically like this: wake up at 5, take the dog for a walk, work in the garden, sleep, repeat. if you're thinking "this sounds like slave labor!" you're basically right. mom has plans to use me as a gardening peasant all summer long. so this is what i'll be doing instead of getting a job for the summer. i better get to take a lot of the produce with me to austin... i'm not getting paid until october, and if i want to eat, well, it looks like i'll have to grow my own food....
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
peppers
yes, i know i haven't blogged in forever. i just haven't had much to say. i've been helping dude finish his finals (that was a party and a half), sleeping, and watching tv. and seriously, that's about it. i think blogging is going to be pretty splotchy until school starts again in august (we have dial-up internet at home). but, i will write all about my trip to texas (once i take it) to find a living place. i leave in a couple weeks, and i think it'll be fun. i'll be there for almost a week. but the rest of my summer looks basically like this: wake up at 5, take the dog for a walk, work in the garden, sleep, repeat. if you're thinking "this sounds like slave labor!" you're basically right. mom has plans to use me as a gardening peasant all summer long. so this is what i'll be doing instead of getting a job for the summer. i better get to take a lot of the produce with me to austin... i'm not getting paid until october, and if i want to eat, well, it looks like i'll have to grow my own food....
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
boo
sitting here on the couch with blue. nice way to start the morning.
too bad i already woke up once (at 5) to drive depoe to the airport. that was sad. good thing i didn't cry. much.
seriously, what are you supposed to say when you say goodbye to someone and you know that you won't see them at all for months, and even then it won't be for very long and they're not going to be a daily part of your life anymore and you've really come to depend on them?
i have no idea. and i've had to do this twice. in one week.
as excited as i am about tejas, moving really sucks.
at least when i got back to kris's blue jumped on the bed with me and let me hug her for a long time.
too bad i already woke up once (at 5) to drive depoe to the airport. that was sad. good thing i didn't cry. much.
seriously, what are you supposed to say when you say goodbye to someone and you know that you won't see them at all for months, and even then it won't be for very long and they're not going to be a daily part of your life anymore and you've really come to depend on them?
i have no idea. and i've had to do this twice. in one week.
as excited as i am about tejas, moving really sucks.
at least when i got back to kris's blue jumped on the bed with me and let me hug her for a long time.
Sunday, May 07, 2006
turning in the keys...
so yesterday i finished with the old place. for real this time. everything is out of there now... i just have to go turn in the keys in a few minutes. i have to admit, it makes me sad. i almost cried yesterday when i locked it up for the last time. i really liked that place. and leaving it really means i'm done with kalamazoo. since basically everyone is gone, that's not as bad as it would have been a week or so ago. but i'll still miss this place. mainly because of the people, naturally. kalamazoo doesn't have a lot to reccommend it all by itself. all the same, its not a bad little town. i'm so glad i'll be in my next town for a whole five years. maybe six. it'll be nice to be settled finally. and everyone tells me austin is awesome. as dude said the other day, it sounds too good to be true... almost like heaven.
speaking of dude. here's a conversation i had with dude yesterday afternoon:
dude: i've decided something, and since it's about you, i thought i should let you know.
me: ok
dude: i've decided that you can never get married.
me: why?
dude: 'cause it would be weird. i was just thinking about it, and it weirded me out.
me: why?
dude: well, let's try a thought experiment. how about you imagine me being married.
me: i think that would be cute, dude.
dude: you're messing with the thought experiment. the correct answer is 'ew. no. that'd be weird. i'm weirded out.'
me: ok, dude. so you just want me to be alone? what about you?
dude: oh, i'm not getting married. i've already prohibited myself from that.
me; so you want us both to be single so we can live together and be happy?
dude: yes.
yep. that's my dude. silly brother.
speaking of dude. here's a conversation i had with dude yesterday afternoon:
dude: i've decided something, and since it's about you, i thought i should let you know.
me: ok
dude: i've decided that you can never get married.
me: why?
dude: 'cause it would be weird. i was just thinking about it, and it weirded me out.
me: why?
dude: well, let's try a thought experiment. how about you imagine me being married.
me: i think that would be cute, dude.
dude: you're messing with the thought experiment. the correct answer is 'ew. no. that'd be weird. i'm weirded out.'
me: ok, dude. so you just want me to be alone? what about you?
dude: oh, i'm not getting married. i've already prohibited myself from that.
me; so you want us both to be single so we can live together and be happy?
dude: yes.
yep. that's my dude. silly brother.
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
change change change
I remember my last day at notre dame, after graduation, sitting in the window sill of 707 PE, looking out at the volleyball court and the quad and thinking about how sad i was to go and how much i'd miss ND. i'm pretty certain that i looked on that moment as an end; not just an end of undergrad, but an end of having good friends around all the time that i loved.
my first morning at western, august 2004, i got to orientation early. so early that all i had to do was sit around. sit around and look around and be sad. i called a few people (they were all asleep still) and left sad, pathetic voicemails. i was alone, at an ugly school, in a dinky town, all alone. it was horrible.
so now its two years later, and i think to say that i have changed is maybe an understatment. i have grown up a lot these couple of years. and not grown up in the bad way - the 'i fit in with 40 year old soccer moms' way. and i'm not really worried about grown up things like money or insurance. so far, i've had faith that those things will just come to me. and that faith has been reworded. i've been able to live just fine. true, sometimes i'm kinda scraping by, but those are the best times actually... certainly the most formative times. but there's something fun about it, too, in a weird way. with grad-school poverty comes an odd type of freedom. i think i've become more independent - even though joey and paul have been close this whole time, i've still had to make my own way here, shift for myself a lot, and make my own successes. i'm more adaptive, too. things roll off me in a way they didn't use to. and i think i handle stuff better. all in all, i think i just feel different. i'm more my own self, if that makes any sense. and i feel like i'm finally beginning to realize my freedom.
but aside from me-things... i've made better friends in k-zoo than i ever thought possible. when i got here, i envisioned two years of lonely time. but now, not only am i not lonely, but i really regret leaving y'all, as much as i ever regretted leaving my ND friends. i really do love you guys. but you know that. senior year, small erin made us all buy blank books so we could write notes to each other. basically, she wanted proof that she'd had meaningful relationships in college. i need no such proof now. i don't know that i really needed it then, either, but i definitely don't need it now.
and i know these next years will be exciting and all. after all, i will be in the promised land. and i'll find my peeps. maybe i'll even become a good philosopher (stranger things have happened). but i am sad to leave here. i haven't cried or anything yet. and this isn't really my farewell to k-zoo. even after i pack things up on friday, i'm going to still bum around for a bit. eventually, i'll say goodbye... or maybe just avoid it alltogether.
my first morning at western, august 2004, i got to orientation early. so early that all i had to do was sit around. sit around and look around and be sad. i called a few people (they were all asleep still) and left sad, pathetic voicemails. i was alone, at an ugly school, in a dinky town, all alone. it was horrible.
so now its two years later, and i think to say that i have changed is maybe an understatment. i have grown up a lot these couple of years. and not grown up in the bad way - the 'i fit in with 40 year old soccer moms' way. and i'm not really worried about grown up things like money or insurance. so far, i've had faith that those things will just come to me. and that faith has been reworded. i've been able to live just fine. true, sometimes i'm kinda scraping by, but those are the best times actually... certainly the most formative times. but there's something fun about it, too, in a weird way. with grad-school poverty comes an odd type of freedom. i think i've become more independent - even though joey and paul have been close this whole time, i've still had to make my own way here, shift for myself a lot, and make my own successes. i'm more adaptive, too. things roll off me in a way they didn't use to. and i think i handle stuff better. all in all, i think i just feel different. i'm more my own self, if that makes any sense. and i feel like i'm finally beginning to realize my freedom.
but aside from me-things... i've made better friends in k-zoo than i ever thought possible. when i got here, i envisioned two years of lonely time. but now, not only am i not lonely, but i really regret leaving y'all, as much as i ever regretted leaving my ND friends. i really do love you guys. but you know that. senior year, small erin made us all buy blank books so we could write notes to each other. basically, she wanted proof that she'd had meaningful relationships in college. i need no such proof now. i don't know that i really needed it then, either, but i definitely don't need it now.
and i know these next years will be exciting and all. after all, i will be in the promised land. and i'll find my peeps. maybe i'll even become a good philosopher (stranger things have happened). but i am sad to leave here. i haven't cried or anything yet. and this isn't really my farewell to k-zoo. even after i pack things up on friday, i'm going to still bum around for a bit. eventually, i'll say goodbye... or maybe just avoid it alltogether.
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
musical blogs!
here's another cool game to play that i stole from garrett.
oh, and after 3.5 drinks tonight, i'm totally tipsy.
Instructions:
Put your music player on shuffle.
Press forward for each question.
Use the song title as the answer to the question, even if it doesn't make any sense.
1. How am I feeling today? Whole Lotta Love by Led Zepplin (this sounds about right)
2. Will I get far in life? I Wonder by Blind Melon (yes i do wonder... all the freakin' time... welcome to life as a grad student in a field that few people even recognize, much less find important or useful)
3. How do my friends see me? Find the River by REM (what would that even mean?)
4. Where will I get married? Vindicated by Dashboard Confessional (now this one is even more confusing)
5. What is my best friend? Passion by the Nixons (this one i can almost buy.... given my spontaneous nature... but we all know the real answer is puppies)
6. What is the story of my life? Myself by The Verve Pipe (ha)
7. What was high school like? Farewell and Goodnight by the Smashing Pumpkins (i think i agree)
8. How can I get ahead in life? Traumlicht as song by the ND Glee Club. (now, thats pretty funny. DreamLight, is what is translates to, whatever that means)
9. What is the best thing about me? The Impression that I Get by the Mighty Mighty Bosstones (this one i buy... i am good with first impressions)
10. What is today going to be like? Omaha by Counting Crows (so flat, boring, and in the middle of nowhere? i don't like the sound of that!)
11. What is in store for this weekend? 4am by Our Lady Peace (this sounds a bit more like it)
12. What song describes my parents? You May be Right by Billy Joel (may... but what does a may really mean....)
13. To describe my grandparents? Shameless by Billy Joel (this might work for grandma... but not for grandpa, at all)
14. How is my life going? I don't sleep, I dream by REM (yep)
15. What song will they play at my funeral? Your Body is Wonderland by John Mayer (i hope not, since i hate this song... how did it get on my playlist anyways?????)
16. How does the world see me? Impersonality by Goo Goo Dolls (impersonal??? boy, do i have them fooled....)
17. Will I have a happy life? The Sad Cafe by The Eagles (well, that doesn't sound very encouraging)
18. What do my friends really think of me? Up in the Sky by Oasis (well, i am flighty... and Carrie always used to call me a crackbird)
19. Do people secretly lust after me? All you Need is Love by The Beatles ( HA! I knew it. you all love me. and frankly, who can blame you??)
20. How can I make myself happy? Brain Stew by GreenDay (what? mix up my brains a bit more? isn't that what my next level of school is all about?)
21. What should I do with my life? Eight Days a Week by The Beatles (yeah, we all know i need to work more... but come on!)
22. Will I ever have children? Narcolempsy by Ben Folds Five (ummmmm..... yeah......)
23. What is some good advice for me? All in All by Toad the Wet Sprocket (and this means??)
24. How will I be remembered? more love by Victor Wooten (doesn't sound so bad)
25. What is my signature dancing song? Stairway to Heaven by Led Zepplin (haha)
26. What is my current theme song? Sleepyhouse by Blind Melon (suprisingly, despite the huge amounts of sleep lately, this is completely untrue)
27. What does everyone else think my current theme song is? Thirty-Three by Smashing Pumpkins (ha, sure they do)
ok, that's it for now. soren is insisting on snuggle and i'm tipsy, so typing time is over.
oh, and after 3.5 drinks tonight, i'm totally tipsy.
Instructions:
Put your music player on shuffle.
Press forward for each question.
Use the song title as the answer to the question, even if it doesn't make any sense.
1. How am I feeling today? Whole Lotta Love by Led Zepplin (this sounds about right)
2. Will I get far in life? I Wonder by Blind Melon (yes i do wonder... all the freakin' time... welcome to life as a grad student in a field that few people even recognize, much less find important or useful)
3. How do my friends see me? Find the River by REM (what would that even mean?)
4. Where will I get married? Vindicated by Dashboard Confessional (now this one is even more confusing)
5. What is my best friend? Passion by the Nixons (this one i can almost buy.... given my spontaneous nature... but we all know the real answer is puppies)
6. What is the story of my life? Myself by The Verve Pipe (ha)
7. What was high school like? Farewell and Goodnight by the Smashing Pumpkins (i think i agree)
8. How can I get ahead in life? Traumlicht as song by the ND Glee Club. (now, thats pretty funny. DreamLight, is what is translates to, whatever that means)
9. What is the best thing about me? The Impression that I Get by the Mighty Mighty Bosstones (this one i buy... i am good with first impressions)
10. What is today going to be like? Omaha by Counting Crows (so flat, boring, and in the middle of nowhere? i don't like the sound of that!)
11. What is in store for this weekend? 4am by Our Lady Peace (this sounds a bit more like it)
12. What song describes my parents? You May be Right by Billy Joel (may... but what does a may really mean....)
13. To describe my grandparents? Shameless by Billy Joel (this might work for grandma... but not for grandpa, at all)
14. How is my life going? I don't sleep, I dream by REM (yep)
15. What song will they play at my funeral? Your Body is Wonderland by John Mayer (i hope not, since i hate this song... how did it get on my playlist anyways?????)
16. How does the world see me? Impersonality by Goo Goo Dolls (impersonal??? boy, do i have them fooled....)
17. Will I have a happy life? The Sad Cafe by The Eagles (well, that doesn't sound very encouraging)
18. What do my friends really think of me? Up in the Sky by Oasis (well, i am flighty... and Carrie always used to call me a crackbird)
19. Do people secretly lust after me? All you Need is Love by The Beatles ( HA! I knew it. you all love me. and frankly, who can blame you??)
20. How can I make myself happy? Brain Stew by GreenDay (what? mix up my brains a bit more? isn't that what my next level of school is all about?)
21. What should I do with my life? Eight Days a Week by The Beatles (yeah, we all know i need to work more... but come on!)
22. Will I ever have children? Narcolempsy by Ben Folds Five (ummmmm..... yeah......)
23. What is some good advice for me? All in All by Toad the Wet Sprocket (and this means??)
24. How will I be remembered? more love by Victor Wooten (doesn't sound so bad)
25. What is my signature dancing song? Stairway to Heaven by Led Zepplin (haha)
26. What is my current theme song? Sleepyhouse by Blind Melon (suprisingly, despite the huge amounts of sleep lately, this is completely untrue)
27. What does everyone else think my current theme song is? Thirty-Three by Smashing Pumpkins (ha, sure they do)
ok, that's it for now. soren is insisting on snuggle and i'm tipsy, so typing time is over.
Sunday, April 23, 2006
almost there...
just a quick post today so i can return to the blogosphere. i am still alive. and i am going to tejas next year, officially. notre dame spent some quality time last weekend toying with my heart, but in the end, they couldn't deliver and texas won out. right now, i have a paper that needs finishing. i just spent a goodly time procrastinating by washing my car (she looks so shiny and new again!), but now it's time to work. boo. one more paper for arthur, one for mike, and then my time at western is done. crazy. it doesn't seem like it's been that long since i got there (and was dismayed over the ugliness). but look at the prettiness of tejas. (that's the building i'll be in next year.)
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
tejas??
ok, so a week after i return from my travels, its prolly a good time to do a serious post and let you in on my thoughts about where i'm going to be next year. now, before i do that, let me outline for you just what happened during my trip. this will be my itinerary plus a bit of commentary.
tuesday: leave k-zoo on the afternoon train. get into chicago. taxi to beaker's place of employment. chill out. eat dinner at the grand lux cafe (super cool). go back to muppet mansion. answer about a thousand emails. sleep.
wednesday: wake up and get down to UIC, leaving plenty of time to get lost. fail to get lost, so spend lots of time in the grad student lounge introducing myself to random grad students. meet meinwald and have semi-awkward lunch. afterwards, i hang out in the dept a bit more and then proceed to michigan ave. with another prospect. we get lost. walk to navy pier. turn around. buy emergency flipflops for my ouched feet. eventually, i try on manolos. meet beaker, get pizza at chicagos, chill out, sleep.
thursday: go back to UIC. this time to attend some classes and have lunch with some grad students. meet with abe so he can talk some more trash. eventually head out so i can pack things, check out of muppet mansion, and head to evanston. take the purple line up, check into my hotel, find a noodley place to eat, watch tv, pass out. final thoughts on UIC - its nice. meinwald is decently cool, albeit somewhat awkward. the profs are cool and the atmosphere is nice.
friday: wake up, get ready, head downstairs to meet with a prof for breakfast. he's weird and jittery. keeps complaining that everyone is late. eventually, get to campus, meet profs and grad students, eat lunch, talk with profs some more. by the time this portion of the day is done, i've already decided northwestern is not for me... but i still have a day and a half left. kraut (the ancient philo guy) is nice, but too ethics-y. the rest of the dept. is too continental. but, they take us out to thai. that's cool. after, i go back to the hotel, everyone else goes out drinking. i sleep.
saturday: lunch with kraut and some grad students. after, we head into chicago. everyone else is going to a museum, i skip out to go to this cool cat shelter with kyle. seriously, over a hundred cats in one place. amazing. meet up with the group again at a profs place and then go to indian food after. by this time, i'm thoroughly sick of the other prospects. one, a loud self-important german prick, especially. on the way home (i was put in charge of getting everyone back to the hotel since i was deemed 'practically a native' by the grad students taking care of us), i suggest putting him on the yellow line to skokie. unfortunately, it doesn't run that late.
sunday: get up, check out of the hotel, get to the airport. wait forever for my flight. it's late. eat a cinnamon roll. buy some gum. forget about my ever-present, always-bad motion sickness and get on the plane. an hour and a half later, i wake up sick. actually sick. i have to get up and throw up and everything. i am unhappy. finally touch ground again (where people are supposed to stay), get to my hotel. find out its skeevy. order chinese, watch grey's anatomy.
monday: i am now in tejas. after all this time. walk to school. once again, introduce myself to random grad students. meet with a prof. eat lunch with some students. go to a reading group. go to dancy's class. dancy's cool. he comes over to introduce himself and invites me to dinner afterwards with everyone. we go to trudy's, a local tex-mex kinda place. dancy hangs around for a while and tells stories. buys me dinner. he leaves, the rest of us go to a coffeeshop bar place. sit outside! and talk about the program/philo/whatever for a couple hours.
tuesday: wake up, get ready, pack, drag my stuff to the dept. meet with an ancient guy. run into dancy again, spend some time talking in his office. he tells me more stories about how icky northwestern is. wander around. spend some time looking for the perfect texas tee-shirt. meet tye, go to his undergrad class. he's a bit odd. got a bowie-esque air. hard to describe. collect my stuff, get to the airport shuttle, wait for my flight. this time its on time and i remembered to buy dramamine. paul picks me up in chicago. we go home. sleep. important things i learned in texas - if you're cool enough, you can get your way in academia by threatening to resign; if you're not quite cool enough, its important to have cool friends that will do it for you; philosophers are always willing to talk smack about each other and about other departments.
wednesday: paul takes me to the train station in niles. johndepoe picks me up in k-zoo. go to arthur's class. kris brings me home. we eat lunch with dave. i get to drive again (yay). come home. sit on futon with pillows and comforter. sleep.
and that's it folks. i got tired just typing it all out again... much less living it. it was an exhausting week, but i think a lot of good came out of it. i think i'm gonna go to texas. they've got the best program. biggest too. and they've got great resources in ancient. unfortunately, no one there really does late plato metaphysics, which is what i want to do... but given the resources and the placement record (and the freaking coolness of austin) i don't think i can turn it down. UIC has meinwald, but she's only one... and i don't think i would get the kind of training there (in ancient) that i would really need. however, i'm on the waitlist at ND... and i've promised to sayre that i'll wait till friday to make a final decision. he wants to see if i'll get pulled off the waitlist. i doubt it. but i promised i'd wait. if all goes as i think it will, though, next year i will be a citizen in the republic of tejas.
tuesday: leave k-zoo on the afternoon train. get into chicago. taxi to beaker's place of employment. chill out. eat dinner at the grand lux cafe (super cool). go back to muppet mansion. answer about a thousand emails. sleep.
wednesday: wake up and get down to UIC, leaving plenty of time to get lost. fail to get lost, so spend lots of time in the grad student lounge introducing myself to random grad students. meet meinwald and have semi-awkward lunch. afterwards, i hang out in the dept a bit more and then proceed to michigan ave. with another prospect. we get lost. walk to navy pier. turn around. buy emergency flipflops for my ouched feet. eventually, i try on manolos. meet beaker, get pizza at chicagos, chill out, sleep.
thursday: go back to UIC. this time to attend some classes and have lunch with some grad students. meet with abe so he can talk some more trash. eventually head out so i can pack things, check out of muppet mansion, and head to evanston. take the purple line up, check into my hotel, find a noodley place to eat, watch tv, pass out. final thoughts on UIC - its nice. meinwald is decently cool, albeit somewhat awkward. the profs are cool and the atmosphere is nice.
friday: wake up, get ready, head downstairs to meet with a prof for breakfast. he's weird and jittery. keeps complaining that everyone is late. eventually, get to campus, meet profs and grad students, eat lunch, talk with profs some more. by the time this portion of the day is done, i've already decided northwestern is not for me... but i still have a day and a half left. kraut (the ancient philo guy) is nice, but too ethics-y. the rest of the dept. is too continental. but, they take us out to thai. that's cool. after, i go back to the hotel, everyone else goes out drinking. i sleep.
saturday: lunch with kraut and some grad students. after, we head into chicago. everyone else is going to a museum, i skip out to go to this cool cat shelter with kyle. seriously, over a hundred cats in one place. amazing. meet up with the group again at a profs place and then go to indian food after. by this time, i'm thoroughly sick of the other prospects. one, a loud self-important german prick, especially. on the way home (i was put in charge of getting everyone back to the hotel since i was deemed 'practically a native' by the grad students taking care of us), i suggest putting him on the yellow line to skokie. unfortunately, it doesn't run that late.
sunday: get up, check out of the hotel, get to the airport. wait forever for my flight. it's late. eat a cinnamon roll. buy some gum. forget about my ever-present, always-bad motion sickness and get on the plane. an hour and a half later, i wake up sick. actually sick. i have to get up and throw up and everything. i am unhappy. finally touch ground again (where people are supposed to stay), get to my hotel. find out its skeevy. order chinese, watch grey's anatomy.
monday: i am now in tejas. after all this time. walk to school. once again, introduce myself to random grad students. meet with a prof. eat lunch with some students. go to a reading group. go to dancy's class. dancy's cool. he comes over to introduce himself and invites me to dinner afterwards with everyone. we go to trudy's, a local tex-mex kinda place. dancy hangs around for a while and tells stories. buys me dinner. he leaves, the rest of us go to a coffeeshop bar place. sit outside! and talk about the program/philo/whatever for a couple hours.
tuesday: wake up, get ready, pack, drag my stuff to the dept. meet with an ancient guy. run into dancy again, spend some time talking in his office. he tells me more stories about how icky northwestern is. wander around. spend some time looking for the perfect texas tee-shirt. meet tye, go to his undergrad class. he's a bit odd. got a bowie-esque air. hard to describe. collect my stuff, get to the airport shuttle, wait for my flight. this time its on time and i remembered to buy dramamine. paul picks me up in chicago. we go home. sleep. important things i learned in texas - if you're cool enough, you can get your way in academia by threatening to resign; if you're not quite cool enough, its important to have cool friends that will do it for you; philosophers are always willing to talk smack about each other and about other departments.
wednesday: paul takes me to the train station in niles. johndepoe picks me up in k-zoo. go to arthur's class. kris brings me home. we eat lunch with dave. i get to drive again (yay). come home. sit on futon with pillows and comforter. sleep.
and that's it folks. i got tired just typing it all out again... much less living it. it was an exhausting week, but i think a lot of good came out of it. i think i'm gonna go to texas. they've got the best program. biggest too. and they've got great resources in ancient. unfortunately, no one there really does late plato metaphysics, which is what i want to do... but given the resources and the placement record (and the freaking coolness of austin) i don't think i can turn it down. UIC has meinwald, but she's only one... and i don't think i would get the kind of training there (in ancient) that i would really need. however, i'm on the waitlist at ND... and i've promised to sayre that i'll wait till friday to make a final decision. he wants to see if i'll get pulled off the waitlist. i doubt it. but i promised i'd wait. if all goes as i think it will, though, next year i will be a citizen in the republic of tejas.
quizzes!
i found the links to these quizzes on johnny-dee's site... all i have to say is that my results are way cooler than his.
Saturday, April 08, 2006
i'm back!
but i'm not doing a real post yet... i do have tons to update y'all on.... but we'll get there eventually. one bit of news though, i've officially (as of yesterday) turned down northwestern. so at least that's out of the way.
now, a music game i stole from garrett... who stole it from someone else.
Favorite Artist name: R.E.M.
Choose a band or artist; and answer a bunch of questions using only titles of their songs.
1. Are you male or female? she just wants to be
2. Describe yourself: i dont sleep, i dream
3. How do some people feel about you: strange
4. How do you feel about yourself: i'll take the rain
5. Describe your ex boyfriend / girlfriend: suspicion
6. Describe your current significant other: the one i love
7. Describe where you want to be: high speed train
8. Describe how you live: at my most beautiful
9. Describe how you love: talk about the passion
10. What would you ask for if you had just one wish: make it all okay
11. Share a few words of wisdom: why not smile?
12. Now say goodbye: departure
now, a music game i stole from garrett... who stole it from someone else.
Favorite Artist name: R.E.M.
Choose a band or artist; and answer a bunch of questions using only titles of their songs.
1. Are you male or female? she just wants to be
2. Describe yourself: i dont sleep, i dream
3. How do some people feel about you: strange
4. How do you feel about yourself: i'll take the rain
5. Describe your ex boyfriend / girlfriend: suspicion
6. Describe your current significant other: the one i love
7. Describe where you want to be: high speed train
8. Describe how you live: at my most beautiful
9. Describe how you love: talk about the passion
10. What would you ask for if you had just one wish: make it all okay
11. Share a few words of wisdom: why not smile?
12. Now say goodbye: departure
Monday, March 27, 2006
i am such a slacker
remember when my guy was this tiny? i do. it was the cutest.i ought to have done so many things this weekend. i ought to have written a paper for mike. i ought to have worked on my next presentation for arthur. i ought to have caught up on my reading. instead, i've snuggled with these puppy-types. i did do some laundry. but not even all of my laundry. sigh. i'm getting burnt out on school. especially on teaching. four semesters of teaching have worn me down. i don't think i'm really cut out for it. (don't even ask why i'm working towards being a professor.)
on the flip side, i am really excited to be heading out of town on tuesday. i'll be traveling around (alone) for a week. i think i need the break. and it'll be a lot of fun. i even get to go to a warm place! yay! i look forward to packing a pair of flipflops.
peanut got sick today. she's one sad little pup. i feel so bad. there's not much i can really do for her though. hugs and water seem about all i can provide. but every now and again she looks up at me with this sad face.... poor little girl.
Saturday, March 25, 2006
puppies!
so this weekend i'm puppy-sitting for cheryl. right now, there are two chihuahuas running around the apartment like little insane things. sometimes they let out a battle cry and wrestle. if you're wondering what the battle cry of a chihuahua is like, it starts out as a little snort and then moves to a high pitched squeal. hilarious.
so aside from the puppies, not much is going on. i have tons of work to do this weekend that i am, predictably, having trouble doing. the goal for tonight is to write an exam for my kids. they take it on thursday. at least this time i won't be there to watch. so they can't bug me with all their dumb questions. (have fun john)
tuesday afternoon i leave for chicago and begin my whirlwind tour of grad schools. i'll start at UIC, move to NWern, and then to UT. ND i think, is basically completely out of the picture by now. they rejected the dude, and i think that now, if anything, i am on the waitlist for the waitlist - which i think translates into 'patty is just waiting until she can send me my rejection letter, too.' its too bad, i think it could've been fun. me and sayre have always got on well, and we all know my obsesion with ND. but, i think chicago or austin could be really cool... and more like a real adventure. k-zoo has only been an excursion, not an adventure. the town's too small and too much like places i've lived before and too close to ND to make this time a real adventure.
i'm hungry. i've already had two dinners. but i'm still hungry. i need to find a snack now. and put on lotion. my hands arent doing so well. stupid cold.
so aside from the puppies, not much is going on. i have tons of work to do this weekend that i am, predictably, having trouble doing. the goal for tonight is to write an exam for my kids. they take it on thursday. at least this time i won't be there to watch. so they can't bug me with all their dumb questions. (have fun john)
tuesday afternoon i leave for chicago and begin my whirlwind tour of grad schools. i'll start at UIC, move to NWern, and then to UT. ND i think, is basically completely out of the picture by now. they rejected the dude, and i think that now, if anything, i am on the waitlist for the waitlist - which i think translates into 'patty is just waiting until she can send me my rejection letter, too.' its too bad, i think it could've been fun. me and sayre have always got on well, and we all know my obsesion with ND. but, i think chicago or austin could be really cool... and more like a real adventure. k-zoo has only been an excursion, not an adventure. the town's too small and too much like places i've lived before and too close to ND to make this time a real adventure.
i'm hungry. i've already had two dinners. but i'm still hungry. i need to find a snack now. and put on lotion. my hands arent doing so well. stupid cold.
Sunday, March 19, 2006
tag!
ok, so southie tagged me, and i cannot ignore the rules of the blogosphere. so, here goes...
The rules:
List seven songs you’re into right now. No matter the genre, whether [or not] they have words, or even if they’re any good, they must be songs you’re really enjoying right now. Post these instructions in your blog along with your seven songs, then tag seven other people to see what they’re listening to.
The List:
R.E.M - The Outsiders
Cake - Commissioning a Symphony in C
Norah Jones - Lonestar
Gustav Holst - Jupiter (from the Planets)
Cake - Shadow Stabbing
Eiffel 65 - I'm Blue (the dabadee song)
The Caesars - Jerk it Out
The Tag:
I don't think i have seven blog friends to tag... but i do think paul and erin should do this, if for no other reason than that both of them seriously need to update.
The rules:
List seven songs you’re into right now. No matter the genre, whether [or not] they have words, or even if they’re any good, they must be songs you’re really enjoying right now. Post these instructions in your blog along with your seven songs, then tag seven other people to see what they’re listening to.
The List:
R.E.M - The Outsiders
Cake - Commissioning a Symphony in C
Norah Jones - Lonestar
Gustav Holst - Jupiter (from the Planets)
Cake - Shadow Stabbing
Eiffel 65 - I'm Blue (the dabadee song)
The Caesars - Jerk it Out
The Tag:
I don't think i have seven blog friends to tag... but i do think paul and erin should do this, if for no other reason than that both of them seriously need to update.
Friday, March 17, 2006
bored....
baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah.i got nothing. absolutely nothing. everyone's gone tonight. so i'm sitting here alone. with the cats.
yep. just me and the cats. yay.
blah.
and i slept in today so i'm too awake to go to bed.
i'm hungry, too. but there's no food in the place, and i don't want to go to the store right now.
i guess it's just one of those nights.
Monday, March 13, 2006
cosmo!
did any else have trouble seeing my blog in safari earlier today? or was that just me?
i know, i haven't blogged in about a million years. oops. i meant to while i was home (MO home) this weekend, but it never quite worked out. and now i'm home in k-zoo and i just got back from the bar where i had three cosmos, so let's see how many typos i don't catch.
so, i went to MO on friday. friday was nice. as was saturday. i spent some quality time walking outside with my doggy in the warm, thinking about how much i missed my farm. and how weirdly accustomed to city life i am now. its so strange for me to think that living in a suburb (which is what k-zoo essentially is) is now almost my standard. i don't think i like that change. i think it might help me adjust to chicago or austin... but i think i've lost something. i miss being out in the country, where things are quiet and i know all my neighbors and i can leave things unlocked (though i guess i can do that here too). point is, its different there. the pace of life is different. the focus of life is different. the air smells better. and there are cows. and let's face it, cows are cool (but not too eat!).
unfortunately, today (sunday) was not good at all. this morning mom and erika decided that right before i left home was a good time to gang up on me and be as mean as possible (about grad school next year, about paul, about not being married, about not having babies, basically anything and everything they could think of). it was horrible. i had the biggest knots in my stomach and i just wanted to cry. i held myself together though... i didn't want to get upset and make a scene and let them know they had gotten to me. so i just sat quietly, tried to reason with them. and when that failed, i washed my face and put on eyemakeup. it was the only thing to do. and then, to top it all off, mom needed a ride to walmart, so the last 15 minutes of my home experience were comprised of an exceedingly awkward drive to eureka. ugh.
and then roughly 7.5 hours driving home. joy.
but then john and darci convinced me to go to the bar. and i had three cosmos. and woah. i think i'm really starting to feel them. woah. i mean, i was silly before... but now i feel strange. it might be time for sleep.
Sunday, March 05, 2006
grits!
today is the sunday of my spring break. which means school starts again tomorrow. =(
i am sitting in paul's room now. not doing much. just sitting. trying to find some motivation to get out of bed and be productive. amazingly enough, the pile of grading sitting next to the bed just isn't doing it for me. but school starts tomorrow, and i have a paper due on wednesday that needs writing. so i should get up. i'll prolly just sit here and watch siflnolly or some other movie.
if you haven't noticed the new thing on the side bar... i put up all my responses/non-responses from grad schools there. so now you can keep track of them with me! and tell me where to go when the time comes! yay!
so on thursday, delaney took me out for a drink. it was great. i had two glasses of wine and was quite tipsy. but, i countered the tipsyness by trying to act really serious. in the end (so paul tells me) i just came out acting normal. but once we left delaney and i was free to be as ridiculous as possible, i may have been hopping around like an idiot. i also found i had very little control over how fast my feet would walk. paul had to grab onto my arm to slow me down. it was the only way.
i cleaned paul's room the other day. i should have done before and after shots so you could understand just how momentous a task this was... but for those of you that know paul (and knew his rooms in keough), you understand.
ok, now its time to go and wait for my grits. and yes, i love grits. they're quite yummy. and waaaaay better than oatmeal or cream of wheat. =)
i am sitting in paul's room now. not doing much. just sitting. trying to find some motivation to get out of bed and be productive. amazingly enough, the pile of grading sitting next to the bed just isn't doing it for me. but school starts tomorrow, and i have a paper due on wednesday that needs writing. so i should get up. i'll prolly just sit here and watch siflnolly or some other movie.
if you haven't noticed the new thing on the side bar... i put up all my responses/non-responses from grad schools there. so now you can keep track of them with me! and tell me where to go when the time comes! yay!
so on thursday, delaney took me out for a drink. it was great. i had two glasses of wine and was quite tipsy. but, i countered the tipsyness by trying to act really serious. in the end (so paul tells me) i just came out acting normal. but once we left delaney and i was free to be as ridiculous as possible, i may have been hopping around like an idiot. i also found i had very little control over how fast my feet would walk. paul had to grab onto my arm to slow me down. it was the only way.
i cleaned paul's room the other day. i should have done before and after shots so you could understand just how momentous a task this was... but for those of you that know paul (and knew his rooms in keough), you understand.
ok, now its time to go and wait for my grits. and yes, i love grits. they're quite yummy. and waaaaay better than oatmeal or cream of wheat. =)
Sunday, February 26, 2006
static in my attic
the air is so dry in here that everytime i touch soren he shocks me. he doesn't seem to mind, though. poor kitty is a bit attention starved since i've left him alone these past couple of days. well, alone with the other cats.the olympics effectively ended today. there's one more cross country race tomorrow, that i may or may not get to watch, but other than that, it's over. i feel weird. what will i do now? will i have to start doing actual work? how will i manage to slack off? these are important questions. questions that probably have uninteresting answers. but, i'm sure once find the answers i'll write them all down so you can read them.
this next week or so i should hear from the rest (or at least some) of my schools. it's a nervous sort of time. everyone is waiting. dude is waiting, paul is waiting, i am waiting. it sucks. and i can't decide until i know what's happening to them. not like i have anything to decide now anyways. right now, my only option is chicago. and while the adventurous side of me thinks that moving to chicago would rock (seattle would be even cooler) the realistic side of me (yes, it exists) knows that i would hate any big city if i had to be there for long. being surrounded by that many people, and using public transport all the time, and being scared all the time (yes, cities frighten me). it wouldn't be good. but, adventurous danielle really does want to pack up and move to seattle. the thought of it is so exciting!
murphy is trying to get his paws under my door. he wants to get to soren. but, i set up a murphy blockade so he can't reach. and he's too dumb to figure out that he could prolly push the blockade if he really tried. i will never live with three cats again. i don't think soren and i will even get another cat once we move. we'll prolly get a dog. that would be nice. once soren and i train it up to be cool.
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
addiction
well, my olympic addiction continues. i'm not really sure what i'll do once the games are over. i'm starting to get worried. i guess i'll have to go back to that life where i actually do some of my homework and prepare for my lectures. weird. luckily, i'll have 'spring' break to recuperate.
today was a rough class day, both for the class i teach and the class i take. my kids have trouble grasping (what i think are) the simplest concepts. i explain them over and over and over again, in a thousand different ways, but always to no avail. it really makes me wonder if i'm cut out for this teaching thing. i keep hoping that its just the kids, and that with better kids i'll despise it less. we can hope so. all i know is that, right now, i am so unbelievable glad that i get to go back to being a TA next year. to not have to actually teach a class will be a joy. in the class i take (mike's class) things are going sour quickly. i know there are a few out there that actually enjoy the class, but i am finding it more and more tiresome every day. today was especially hard. the uninformed (icky undergrads and belligerent nasty sortof gradstudents) were out in full force today. i'll spare you the full details, but it was enough to almost make me leave class. the last half hour was so painful and so hard to sit through. the only thing that kept me in there was my respect for mike. with (some) other profs i might not have a problem leaving, but with mike i think it would cross a line. and he's so nice as his. i wouldn't want to hurt his feelings.
other than that, i don't know that i really have any bloggable stories. lots of random little things have happened, but nothing really noteworthy. oh! paul and i did succcessfully make aloo gobi (indian food) the other night! it was super exciting, as it was the first indian food i've ever made that actually came out tasting like it ought too.
all right, i'm tired now. night night.
today was a rough class day, both for the class i teach and the class i take. my kids have trouble grasping (what i think are) the simplest concepts. i explain them over and over and over again, in a thousand different ways, but always to no avail. it really makes me wonder if i'm cut out for this teaching thing. i keep hoping that its just the kids, and that with better kids i'll despise it less. we can hope so. all i know is that, right now, i am so unbelievable glad that i get to go back to being a TA next year. to not have to actually teach a class will be a joy. in the class i take (mike's class) things are going sour quickly. i know there are a few out there that actually enjoy the class, but i am finding it more and more tiresome every day. today was especially hard. the uninformed (icky undergrads and belligerent nasty sortof gradstudents) were out in full force today. i'll spare you the full details, but it was enough to almost make me leave class. the last half hour was so painful and so hard to sit through. the only thing that kept me in there was my respect for mike. with (some) other profs i might not have a problem leaving, but with mike i think it would cross a line. and he's so nice as his. i wouldn't want to hurt his feelings.
other than that, i don't know that i really have any bloggable stories. lots of random little things have happened, but nothing really noteworthy. oh! paul and i did succcessfully make aloo gobi (indian food) the other night! it was super exciting, as it was the first indian food i've ever made that actually came out tasting like it ought too.
all right, i'm tired now. night night.
Saturday, February 18, 2006
'lympics
today was the last day of the schopenhauer reading group (a.k.a. the i'm-only-in-this-cuz-i'm-friends-with-dave reading group). can't say i'm sorry... i haven't been doing the reading lately. schopenhauer's fun to read in tiny doses, but after a while i get tired of all the name-calling. seriously. name-calling.
the wind continues today. but now its horribly cold. so, instead of making me restless, its making me want to hibernate. just what i need in the middle of winter.... another reason to hibernate.
tomorrow, i have to wake up at 6 in the morning. i'm driving to lansing (with dave and darci) to go to some value theory conference at state. i'm beginning to wonder why i agreed to this. it sounded like a good idea when dave asked me a couple weeks ago if i wanted to go. but now... that 6 a.m. wake up is sounding pretty shady.
tonight was the start of ice-danicing. quite possibly my least favorite olympic sport. i just can't get into it. curling is better than ice-dancing. but, there will be better things to come these next few days. i think bobsled starts next week. that ought to be cool.
i really ought to sleep. i think ima go find soren and lock him in here with me. i could use the cuddles.
the wind continues today. but now its horribly cold. so, instead of making me restless, its making me want to hibernate. just what i need in the middle of winter.... another reason to hibernate.
tomorrow, i have to wake up at 6 in the morning. i'm driving to lansing (with dave and darci) to go to some value theory conference at state. i'm beginning to wonder why i agreed to this. it sounded like a good idea when dave asked me a couple weeks ago if i wanted to go. but now... that 6 a.m. wake up is sounding pretty shady.
tonight was the start of ice-danicing. quite possibly my least favorite olympic sport. i just can't get into it. curling is better than ice-dancing. but, there will be better things to come these next few days. i think bobsled starts next week. that ought to be cool.
i really ought to sleep. i think ima go find soren and lock him in here with me. i could use the cuddles.
Friday, February 17, 2006
windy
its a windy day. and earlier it was warm, too. so, naturaally, i've been a bit restless today. i just want to run around outside and jump in circles and do all manner of silly things. too bad its gotten dreadfully cold these past few hours.
now, as most of you have noticed, my blogging pace has slackened considerably as of late. this is actually not due to blogging laziness on my part, but rather an intense (some might call it insane) devotion to the olympics. basiclaly, any time i can be watching the olympics, i am watching the olympics. like right now, even though i just spent four hours over at johnny-dee's watching the olympics, i've got my tv back on nbc and i'lll prolly fall asleep watching it all again. and in the morning, when i run, i'll be watching olympic hockey. i think i'm lucky the olympics come on so infrequently. if they came on more often, i'd be done for. i'd never get anything done, at all. oh! there's gonna be some stuff on tonight that wasn't on earlier. and some of it is speedskating. i love speedskating. i want to be a speedskater.
don't worry, my posts will become more frequent (and perhaps more sane) once the olympics are over. of course, that means we've still got another week to go!
and, i got into uic today. =)
ok, time to sleep. i actually have to wake up tomorrow =( i like that i'm working out these days, but i hate that it means that i have to wake up early. sadly, i know that if tried to switch to evenings i would just stop. oh well. i get to fall asleep to speedskating and a windy outside. sounds nice.
now, as most of you have noticed, my blogging pace has slackened considerably as of late. this is actually not due to blogging laziness on my part, but rather an intense (some might call it insane) devotion to the olympics. basiclaly, any time i can be watching the olympics, i am watching the olympics. like right now, even though i just spent four hours over at johnny-dee's watching the olympics, i've got my tv back on nbc and i'lll prolly fall asleep watching it all again. and in the morning, when i run, i'll be watching olympic hockey. i think i'm lucky the olympics come on so infrequently. if they came on more often, i'd be done for. i'd never get anything done, at all. oh! there's gonna be some stuff on tonight that wasn't on earlier. and some of it is speedskating. i love speedskating. i want to be a speedskater.
don't worry, my posts will become more frequent (and perhaps more sane) once the olympics are over. of course, that means we've still got another week to go!
and, i got into uic today. =)
ok, time to sleep. i actually have to wake up tomorrow =( i like that i'm working out these days, but i hate that it means that i have to wake up early. sadly, i know that if tried to switch to evenings i would just stop. oh well. i get to fall asleep to speedskating and a windy outside. sounds nice.
Monday, February 13, 2006
adjectives
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