Still Nothing to Say

I know it's been forever since I posted, but I still can't think of anything to say. I was going to write about the crazy things people in my spanish class have said, but somehow they don't seem so funny anymore.

The past four days have been spent staring at the computer screen and trying to write my philosophy journal, which is now up to 18 pages with no end in sight.

I could complain about my roommate's treatment of me, but not all of it is appropriate. And I don't feel like going into it again. But I am counting down the days...18.

There are a few events to go to this weekend. Maybe I will. Or maybe I will lock myself in my room and write.

Lo siento for the lack of communication. I am still here, on some level.

Can't wait to come home again...

Why Group Projects are Better When I'm Not in Them

1. I am not responsible for any information, I don't have to present in front of anybody, and I still get to put my two cents in when I show up to meetings.

2. I get my first video appearance as a crime scene photographer and arresting officer.

3. I get to witness really funny events, such as Ken (the barbie doll) stripping, Sun squirting coffee out her nose, and the reminder, "Don't forget the rubber!" During today's meeting, we were all laughing so hard we were crying and I bet the people in the study room next to us thought we were crazy. Casey has a poster of registered pedophiles in Reading, with pictures of all of them, which she proudly carried around campus.

The other fun events included in the presentation tomorrow are a test to put the steps in a rape kit in order, mutilation of Peeps, cookies with words such as 'Rape' and 'Pedophile', and other demonstrations with Barbies. If only they can make it through without laughing...This is one of the reasons I love college classes (even if they are not my own).

Not Cats, but Ducks (Or, Do We Really Belong in College?)

The tour groups that come through Science Hall while we are Child Development must think this school is pretty weird.
On Monday, our professor was standing near the door and eavesdropping to see what the guide was saying about the building, etc. Then she started yelling, "It's all a lie! See my intimate upper level class with 35 students" as the guide says how the classes get smaller as you attain higher years.
Then, on Wednesday, we were having a very interesting conversation about touching oneself versus another touching you, how one tickles and how one doesn't. Then somebody brought up the fact that you can tickle yourself by running your tongue over the roof of your mouth, and then somebody else said, "Yeah, but how often does somebody else do that to you?" And Dr.H says, "We're not going there." She tries to distract us from both that line of thought and the killer bees that were flying around over our heads by telling us about the Sock Man, who put striped knee socks on babies to torment them.
The week before we spent making funny faces at each other to discuss the development of emotions. We tried to talk without using our hands. And before that, we made up new words to use in the process of language aquisition. "Hoopledoople" and "blicket" were some of our favorites. Additionally, we got to make more faces as we tried out different sounds and why some are easier to make than others.

But even funnier than all the things that happened in CD was one incident in Sociology earlier this week. We were discussing urban legends and the one that says some Chinese restaurants were closed down for serving cats. CB asks if anyone thinks they actually were serving cats and this one kid gets really excited and waves his hand around until he is called on. Then he yells pretty loudly, "I don't know about cats, but I saw ducks hanging in the front of one restaurant!"
Ok, so maybe you had to be there...

Happy!

Happy, happy, happy... Why? Good question. Because the sun is shining. Because I got to talk with friends yesterday. Because I can taste and smell and enjoy things again. Because I get to see my family this weekend. Because life is great!

Please tell me you are having a good day, too, or else I will have to give you things to be happy about.

Adventures in the Little Orange Bug

Yet another first to add to my list -- Laser tagging.
Basically, I am pretty bad at it. I hit about 6 people and got hit who knows how many times. Ok, I know because I have a copy of the results, but I'd rather not mention how bad it was. It was better after the first five minutes, when I could breathe again. The mirrors and blinking lights were really distracting, but I guess that's the point. I stuck with Jess most of the time, till she got lost in the smoke.

The funny part was that we were there with Jess, her ex-, and her current "boyfriend". The we being M and I. We all squeezed into Jess's bug. It was interesting. Afterwards, we went to a coffee shop, but sadly they had run out of smoothie ingredients, so I had to settle for a kiwi Italian soda. Then we dropped the ex off back at school and went to the diner because Jess was hungry.

That's another story. We get to the diner at about quarter to one. The air outside smells disturbingly like the mushroom factory. It does that, quite often actually, over in that part of town, by the Walmart. We get seated and order and all that, and that is not the interesting part. Well, first, M, the smart one, thinks there is a mirror next to her and flips out when she thinks she has somehow transformed into an old, wrinkled, and white-haired lady. Actually, it wasn't a mirror.

But after that, after we get and eat our food, we are sitting there talking, or argueing over the last half of the pickle, and there is this large group of mostly older people at a couple of tables in the adjoining room. They are starting to get a little loud. Remember, this is at 1 am. Just as we decided it is about time to leave because the person who did not have any coffee is falling asleep, this other party starts to sing, rather badly and perhaps drunkenly, "My Girl". And random people from other tables start to clap along. We had to walk away rather quickly. The air outside smelled a little bit fresher.

Then I fell into the car backwards and got stuck on the floor in the backseat. Oops.

Jess persuaded us to come back to her room and watch a movie. It ended up being Mummy 2, but I missed most of it, as I fell asleep once I hit the bed. I watched a little bit cuz there was a cute kid and cool accents, but even that was not enough to keep me awake. I drifted back to my room several hours later.

Overall, I'd have to say that Jess is pretty good at keeping us entertained, when she doesn't have to work on the weekends, which doesn't happen very often. Not sure if that is a good or bad thing...

It was fun, though. Much better than sitting around here yet again. She is supposed to take me shopping this afternoon. I hope she got some sleep first...

Indignance and disbelief

Since when has the starting wage for pages at WPL been $6.00? This is so unfair. I worked there for 2.5 years and never made that much. Now I have to start over at $5.15 and I wasn't even told if or when I could possibly get a raise. And I'm applying for a summer job where I'll probably make less than that. What is wrong with this picture?

My soc quiz and Spanish test were cancelled today, which means everything I did last night was for naught. Not that I did that much, but it's the thought that counts, right? It's a good thing today is Friday. I need a weekend...

Must stay awake until my laundry is done...

The washer took a bite out of my finger, which is now puffy and red. I didn't think it tasted that good.

I got to use the elevator at work today for the first time. It is really quite scary. It is a tiny little box and it makes funny noises and lurches and I wasn't sure where I was going to end up. Where I did end up was a little locked room with a fridge and a couch. To get out, you need a key, and to get back in, you need another key. I got to play with old wrinkled art books for almost an hour, then had to venture back down the elevator.

Tonight I am planning on going to an a capella group known as the Sons of Pitches. Should be good...

More psych studies tomorrrow afternoon to at least partially make up for the horrible grade I will no doubt receive from Monday's test.

Enjoy the nice weather if you have some, and be envious of those that do if you don't...

Management

Another headache. I was planning on taking a nap when I returned this afternoon, but there is a movie playing far too loudly and I doubt she is considerate enough to turn it down.

In celebration of National Library Week, the library had an open house today, which involved playing a loud and eclectic collection of music outside the front door, cake served by yours truly, and a raffle of bags containing back scratchers. I was proud to be a part of it, with my terribly important position. I gave away about 12 pieces of cake and received one compliment on my superior cake-serving skills. Guess she didn't see me drop a few pieces...

I managed not to sound like a complete idiot in Philosophy by refusing to say anything at all. I managed not to fall asleep in sociology, but I have no idea how. I managed to enjoy myself in Child Development, as we discussed the different communication styles of men and women, and had to sit on our hands while we talked to see how much we actually use them. I managed to eat something at lunch, but not to enjoy it.

Overall, I guess I'd have to say I'm managing.

Untitled

Silver duct tape trees have sprung up all over campus overnight.

I am seriously losing my mind.

Can I come home yet?

Today; A Continuation

I was right. I did not know anything for the test and am pretty sure that I failed. This is why I need to participate in all those research studies, for extra credit. I did get the extra credit question on the test right. Why can't that be worth about 60%?

I'm not really sure why I am bothering to post again now, because there is nothing more to say, other than that my philosophy prof got so into what he was teaching that we had an extra ten minutes of class during which nobody thought to stop him, and since I didn't want to walk in late to the meeting that I am not technically invited to but get paid for going to anyway, I didn't go and am now sitting in the library, waiting for them to finish. That was a nice long sentence.

I have a Spanish quiz on about 100 vocab words which qualify as characteristics, apparently based on the Chinese horiscope. I know 6 of them for sure, but am a bit shaky on the spelling of the rest. Am I going to study them tonight? Probably not.

Ok, now I am going to keep reading John Grisham's The Broker, even though I was half-asleep yesterday when I started it and am not sure what is going on, other than that the guy is learning italian, which is only a bit more confusing to my already confuzzled sense of foreign language aquistition. Which made no sense... Anyway, it is sad to say that this is the first book I have read in a long time, meaning more than about 3 weeks, which is an eternity in my life.

Ok, the guy who sat down next to me smells like smoke, so adios for now.

7:30am on a Monday

7:30- Leaving the dorm
7:40- Standing outside a building in the cool morning air
7:50- Standing inside the door of the building behind about 20 other people
8:00- Still standing in the line
8:05- My turn to register for classes. Yay! They are not full yet.
8:10- Buying strawberry milk
8:15- Going back to the dorm
8:20- Writing this so I don't fall back asleep because I have class in 30 minutes

Wow, look at all that excitement in only an hour. And I left out the parts about waking up at 5:55, listening to my roommate fall out of bed, and trying to decide which clothes to wear. Stop by later to see what other fun and exciting things are going to happen today, like the Child Development test for which I know nothing.

Ouch

Ok, so I didn't think that I could burn, but I guess I can, and did. It hurts. And I know nothing about sunburn, other than that I have nothing containing aloe to put on it. And I lost my ice pack. Ok, enough lamenting. Send advice...

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

Or, The Making of a Wave
Or, Waiting till the Drunk Guy Drops his Beer

A Saturday at the ballpark. Sunny, 65, a bit of a breeze. Perfect, right? Well, as far as that goes, it was. The seating in Yankee Stadium is really steep, and we were sitting in the middle of the row, so we had to climb past people and I almost fell off, twice, not being willing to grab onto any of the guys we were going past in order to catch myself. The game was good, although it took a while for the Yankees to catch up, and in that time, we had to listen to the very out-numbered Orioles fans make rude comments. And we got to watch them spend over $30 each on beer and almost spill it on various people as they tried to start the wave, unsuccessfully until they spread out to various places in the stadium and gained support. Then the Yankees started winning and they quieted down a little, resorting to using only one finger to "cheer". In the meantime, M and I spent $9.75 on a giant pretzel and a helmet of ice cream.

It was the ride back that was the bad part. It took more than half and hour to get out of our parking space and three blocks down the road, with numerous stops and starts that made me bus-sick. Not to mention having to listen to the drunken singing from the back and trying to ignore the couple sitting across from me that couldn't keep their hands...and mouths...off each other. I couldn't fall asleep because I couldn't get comfortable, and there was traffic, and it took forever. But that is all over now, so it is okay.

When we got back, we walked to Giant to get sandwich ingredients, which was completely uneventful. And now we are sitting in my room watching Office Space and eating sandwiches. Not bad for a Saturday around here...

What is the World Coming To? (or Got Milk?)

How can the cafeteria run out of milk? Is there some world shortage that I was unaware of? Have the prices gone up so much that we are no longer deserving of this particular product? It's crazy...

In other news, M and I participted in at least four more psych studies today. Not of them were terribly exciting or anything, but we did get leis out of one, although I abandoned mine somewhere on the third floor of Teel. I also got a carnation at lunch from Sarah, which I was trying to turn blue with blue juice, but then I spilled the juice on a table in the hallway on the second floor of Teel. Oops.

M and I wanted to eat dinner outside, since it was such a beautiful day and it was too hot inside and everyone else had already gone home for the weekend, but they do not provide for us to be able to eat outside, so we had to smuggle food out. Actually, M just took the plate with her. I put my veggie burger in my purse.

They aren't feeding us for lunch tomorrow anyway, so it is okay that we are going to be in NYC. I hope the baseball is fun, although it will be good just to have something to do. We want t-shirts...

My roommate is pumping air into one of those bouncy exercise balls and the pump is making a horrible squeaking noise. Save me from the insanity... Oh good. There she goes to pickup her take-out Chinese.

Ok, back to doing nothing much, such as playing games on the internet. Maybe I'll go watch some tv later or something equally exciting.

Why Can't Today Just Be Over?

Today is going by too slowly. Ok, so it is just not a very good day to begin with. I woke up to beloved roomie's light shining in my eyes after about 5.5 hours of sleep, probably a record amount in the past month. Work this morning was okay. I finished inputting the last big pile of orders, about 150 that took about a week. Then I helped the ILL people for a while. Lunch was tons of fun. Or not. Work this afternoon was more of the same. I got to color a picture to help the circ people, not that they wanted my help, but that's just too bad. Came back to the dorm, put laundry in, am lying aroung waiting for it to finish. Can't sleep because TV is on too loud. Not that I am in the right mood to sleep anyway. Not in the mood for anything really. Have to go put another water bottle in the fridge and clear room of empty ones. I just saw a preview for Hitchhiker's Guide, coming out April 29th. Didn't know it was so soon, not that they will do a good job with it. Who knows. I don't know anything, that's for sure. This whole "ignoring social life in order to sleep" is not working, cuz I screwed things up somehow. Now I can't even socialize when I am awake. Good news: I think I have enough money left on my card to get through laundry the rest of the semester w/o refilling. Guess I should go check on the laundry now...

Sleeping Habits

Apparently I can only sleep when it is light out, which doesn't fit in very nicely with my schedule. Socializing cannot occur when I must return to my room at 6 pm in order to sleep. Neither does going to classes work very well if I cannot keep my eyes open. Too bad they do not offer 2 am classes. I am, however, getting good at typing in my sleep at work. I don't do so good sleepwalking though, especially while carrying heavy journals and trying to navegate narrow aisles. But nobody was watching, right?

The funny thing is, when I returned at 6 to sleep this evening, my roommate had had the same idea and was, and still is, asleep. Weird. I hope my bad habits are not rubbing off on her. Although she was the one who slept until 3 pm on Sunday... I only came back to join her from 2-3. Today was such a nice day, too. It was a shame to miss part of it while sleeping. Tomorrow is going to be too warm, but it is a nice change. And we have air conditioning here...

It's the Weekend

We decided to do something different for a change today. Since there are no clubs in Reading, we had to drive to Philadelphia to find something. It started to rain just as we left school. Just lightly at first. I think we missed the really heavy stuff. We made it to the club in record time, found a parking space across the street, waited in line to get frisked, and paid our entry fee. Inside, it was dark, loud, and full of people, mostly dancing. It's a good thing it was cold outside, because it got warm awfully fast. We did our best to stay together and look like we knew how to dance. I guess some guy took pity on me and decided to show me what I was supposed to be doing. So I danced with him for a couple hours, but then the pounding music got to be too much, and it was time to kick people out. So we went back out in the rain and found our car and drove back to school. It was something different. Don't know if we'll do it again, but everybody has to start somewhere, right?