The Chipper Orange Shoe

02:04 pm - Update!

Go click on this link and sign the letter here. Because Don't Ask Don't Tell is goddamned stupid.

...Okay, yeah, utterly failed and updating this. Whoops.

Fish camp was fun, except for the mosquitoes completely devouring my feet and ankles. Fortunately, allergy meds take the infuriating itchy away, yay! I also got to do some hammering and sawing, which was fun. The cabin on the property has apparently hit the point where they can't really do anything new to it because they're replacing all of the old boards and such that are slowly rotting. I kind of wonder how they're going to take care of the support beams, because those are definitely going to need it soon. Also, freshly gathered clams and oysters continue to be absolutely delicious; and the dog was unconvinced that my ear did not require her tongue. And I read a trashy romance novel.

A couple days later, Dana came home to visit. She's here until the fifth. We went to get her a new phone and the salesman for SOME unknown reason turned to me and started trying to sell me a new phone, which ultimately ended up in me having to run outside so that I wouldn't have my emotional freak out in front of various customers and sales people. Kind of dumb of me, but I wasn't expecting to have to deal with that, and I forgot that it's sales people's job to keep pushing after you've said "no thanks".

Saturday I played Princess Leia in Gavin's Star Wars game, which was fun. I have a slightly better idea of what I'm supposed to do now, yay!

Also, in the process of trying to come up with a journal name for Sensor from Legion of Superheroes. Why didn't someone tell me that there was a warrior-princess giant snake with the ability to hijack people's senses in comics sooner? I would have been READING those! Unfortunately, they turned her into a weird naga-thing in one of the last arcs. She continued to be badass, but isn't a giant snake anymore.

I will have to fix this in the game. Yessssss...

03:45 pm

Huh. My Firefox hates my Facebook. Weird. Fortunately, I still have the old browser for just this purpose.

Going to be out of town from tomorrow until Tuesday. Going to Fish Camp, yaaaaaaaaay! I need to grab a bunch of books to read. It's always kind of nice to have the internet taken away from me, as much as I love it. "No, you CAN'T goof off on the internet. Go sit on the rocks with a book."

Speaking of, now that I have free time again, book recommendations teim is now! YAAAAAAAAAAY!

Current Mood: relaxed

11:28 pm - Because this is terrifying

( The Information )

دنیارابگوییدچطورآنهاانتخاباتمان دزدیده اند
Tell the world how they have stolen our election

- original article by one_hoopy_frood on LJ

All of these people protesting and we're supposed to believe that they actually elected this guy? With the huge majority he's claiming?

Right. And I'm Batman.

It's kind of marvelous how hard it can be to block the flow of information now, isn't it?

03:07 pm - *wibble*

GivesMeHope.com

Real Life Crowning Moment of Heartwarming concentrate!

'scuse me, I need tissues and something cuddly to hug.

09:13 pm - I HAVE GRADUATED!

They gave me a blue folder-thing with a shiny gold embossment on it and everything. Not my actual diploma, that'll take four-to-six or six-to-eight weeks, I can't remember which. I guess in case classes get flunked and need to be taken over again?

Man, that would SUCK.

Anyway, it was nice. I put on my own make-up and didn't do too bad a job (go me), and Mom and Dad and Aunt Jill came up to see me. Aunt Jill got me new pearl earrings, which are very pretty and I love them. And I wore the Italian leather heels that I got out of Grandma's basement years ago. Heels still suck, but these are quite cute.

I brought a book with me to the graduation ceremony, because I was BORED OUT OF MY SKULL at high school graduation. Didn't need it this time, though. We got to sit with whoever we wanted to (well, sort of. We were broken up into groups, but Angela and I kidnapped Dani into the Humanities, Surnames A-C group anyway). Also they didn't have people talking for ever and ever this time -- an alumni spoke and another graduate spoke, and then they started handing out diploma folders.

I did not trip on my way up to get my folder, although I made Dani and Angela promise to applaud and cheer if I did.

And then I didn't drop my student ID into the "time capsule" for the Memory Walk. Partially because I left my wallet at home, even though I made a point of bringing my tinypurse. Way to go, me.

Current Mood: accomplished

02:02 am - For the record:

ANGELA AND MONICA ARE FUCKIN' FANTABULOUS AND I DON'T TELL THEM SO ENOUGH!

<3 you guys.

05:06 pm - ...Well, that was a bit anti-climactic

So yeah, I'm basically done with all of my stuff for finals week. I just have to

1) Go over my editing & publishing project to see if anything's off

2) Type up who did what pages for said project

3) Write up a personal reflection for the class

4) Edit up my Runaways paper.

Whacky fun.

Also, I'll be losing my internet some time on Friday when the Comcast human comes and disconnects it foreveeeeeeeeeeeeeer. But then I'm going home Saturday (maybe?) so it doesn't really matter.

Current Mood: hungry

03:12 pm - Going 2 Hell, brb

So, I'm writing up my paper for the proto-slasher movie "Blood Feast", right? And I come to the scene where the bad guy ( Cutting for spoilers and ew )

Yup. Handbasket. Just wanted to share. At least I know the prof likes my sense of humor.

Also included in this paper: inexplicable beach snakes, the usual making-shit-up.

Current Mood: busy

08:51 am - grrr

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATE

DEAD WEEK.

09:06 pm - Pretty dress day, whee!

I wore a pretty dress today! It was exciting, and I was cute. And it warmed up enough that I could take the sweater off and just wear the sundress.

We read each others' rough draft essays today in Gothic Lit. My group wasn't helpful, they wanted me to tie my essay into more of what the class read or do an overview of comics as a whole being tied into American gothic literature. No dammit, it's JUST RUNAWAYS! I am tying Runaways into the American gothic tradition! The guy in my group wrote about how Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown" wasn't actually particularly gothic, so I was irritated -- he can write about something NOT being gothic but I can't write about something being gothic? Just because we read "Young Goodman Brown" for the class and we didn't read Runaways? I got an "okay" from the professor to write this freaking essay, stop telling me I can't write it, classmates!

So I didn't really get much help out of the whole thing. I'll probably take it to the professor and get some one-on-one help from her instead. One of the girls suggested that I narrow my focus down to one character or one event instead of the first story (18 issues), but dammit, it IS American gothic! It's got caves and (potential) incest and the unveiling of secrets and kids who just can't get out of the goddamned house and violations of time and space and bodies and roles and all sorts of shit! IT'S GOTHIC, DAMMIT.

So that was less than pleasing. Then I came back to the apartment and failed to do homework, and then I left early so I could do my reading in the sun before watching Blood Feast. Which was really, really bad. MST3K bad. Me and several other people had a running commentary going throughout the whole thing, and not one person told us to "shut up, I'm trying to hear!" I don't how I can write a thousand-word essay on this movie without going into slasher movies. Or possibly the appearance of at least two Playboy Bunnies acting as victims. Ooh wait, the hysterical boyfriend! Dibs!

Current Mood: busy

01:09 am - Oogh.

In retrospect, I shouldn't have waited as long as I did to write my "Runaways Is Totally Part of American Gothic Literature You Guys!" essay. I should have known that the source material would be distracting.

Ah well, I haz a rough draft, with stuff that can be expanded on, and I'm already at the minimum limit. It's all good.

Also, turns out I need EIGHT fake books for my editing and publishing project, not two. Dang. Should have known it was too easy...

Watched the last couple episodes of "Dollhouse". They were fun. I <3 Alan Tudyk.

Current Mood: sleepy

06:20 pm - Further Note to Self:

Self,

In what universe does it make sense to make spaghetti with tomato sauce and ground hamburger the week when you're watching a movie called Cannibal Holocaust for class?

Not in this one, that's for sure.

Love,
Yourself

So I survived the movie. I spent a good portion of it with my fingers in my ears and watching my classmates instead of the screen. Watching the reactions was pretty interesting actually, and it didn't make me want to barf.

( Cut for mild spoilers, on the off-chance you want to see this film. Also, general ickiness. )

Auuuugh, I only have a couple of weeks of classes left before I'm done with my undergraduate career! It is both exciting and frantic-making.

...And I really don't want to pack up. That's going to suuuuuuuck.

Current Mood: indescribable

05:09 pm - link and trash cinema

Click here to DECLINE TO SIGN REFERENDUM 71 PETITIONS because y'all are awesome people who want to give domestic partners the same rights as married partners while we finish getting gay people the right to marry.

My group in Trash Cinema today spent about forty minutes attempting to come up with ideas for the Most Offensive Trash Film Ever. It was pretty spectacular. I giggled all the way through.

07:38 pm - And one more post for the day:

3rd Grader Organizes Gay Equality Rally

One word: Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww~!

06:35 pm - Don't Fire Dan!

My mother forwarded this to me, so I thought I'd pass it on:

http://www.couragecampaign.org/DontFireDan

It's a petition against the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" stupidity. As little as I want to be in the armed forces, I still think DADT is a stupid policy.

05:25 pm - Note to self:

DO NOT allow yourself to be distracted with 126 words left in your 1000 word essay by the fact that the little prong-y thing holding up the frosted glass in your lamp is crooked. You will lose an hour of your time trying to fix it, make it worse, stick it back together with twist-ties, and by the time that's all over, you will have NO IDEA what you were going to write to finish the damn essay off with.

Also, I saw a deer today. It was like seven feet away from me, it was awesome.

12:45 pm - Yet another backlog post

It really bugs me when two people team up and stand in the walkways at school and try to hand random crap out to everyone who passes by. There is no way to AVOID them, which is what I want to do, especially when my blood sugar is already low and I don't want to interact with people at all.

Aside from that, my week's been pretty busy. *checks date of last post*

Friday, me, Angela, Michelle, Robert, and Eric all went out for pizza, and then we went back to Robert and Eric's place and made delicious brownies. I fell asleep on their couch, which seemed to amuse people. Note to self: sleep is your friiiiiiend.

Saturday was spent recovering from the week, as usual.

Sssssssunday, or maybe Saturday, I can't remember when I did my laundry, but it was that day, a couple of guys came by with a package for me (yes, I know, I've been bitching about comma abuse in Gothic literature and here I am abusing it. Shame on me). Apparently, UPS delivered it to them instead of me, even though my name and address was on it. Inside was NEW SHEETS, and I love them. They're all comfy and wonderful, and the fitted sheet has elastic, which my old fitted sheet no longer does.

Definitely on Sunday, I read Charlotte Perkins Gilman's The Yellow Wallpaper. Have I mentioned how happy I am that I live in a place and time where I'm allowed to be an educated woman? Because I really, really am.

Monday, I took massive amounts of notes for my Gothic Lit paper. Also yay, delicious booksmell.

Tuesday, got my paper about the independent uterus back. I got an 'A' on it, and the teacher raved about it in the comments. Woo! Then Angela and I got my school email to transfer to my Gmail account, because really, the new email program is MADE OF FAIL. It's ugly and counter-intuitive, and it displeases me greatly. Thus, Gmail. Then I made chicken orzo soup for Dinner Night from the back of the orzo box. It was really good, surprisingly. I think I'll make it again sometime. And then Robert made Angela cake, and it was most delicious.

I was also deeply perplexed to learn that there are two women in my gothic lit class who are "not feminists". I don't think that means what they think it means, and I'm trying to come up with a way to articulate that while still staying on the topic of The Yellow Wallpaper, since that's technically the topic at hand in the discussion forums. But...jksdjfljfjdsk! "So...you don't believe that men and women should be equal? What?"

Today, HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANGELA! *gnaws with love*

I got all the way to campus and walked up four flights of stairs to find out my class was canceled. I really would have liked to know that earlier, I could have slept in! Or at least not walked all the way to the classroom! So I did my Trash Cinema readings and printed out my Editing and Publishing reading, and then hoofed it back to the apartment because I forgot to grab my lunch and I don't need to be on campus until 4PM to watch the movie Slaughter/Snuff/Americain Cannibale. I'm reassured that the professor says that it looks way fake, and that we're permitted to leave the viewing if we need to. Eurgh. Not really looking forward to next week's Cannibal Holocaust either. Then it's Bloodfeast, then The Tingler and then HOLY SHIT GRADUATING JKLDSFJA.

In other news, wiping stuff off my white board "To Do List" is very satisfying.

Current Mood: busy

04:00 pm - Busy Week in bullets:

-Read Lousia May Alcott's Behind a Mask on Sunday. I liked it a lot, surprisingly. Turns out that LMA preferred writing "blood and thunder" stories, it's just that sentimental Little Women-type stories sold better. We've been discussing Behind a Mask all week in Gothic Lit, and Wednesday's eighty-minutes of class was spent almost entirely on whether or not it was offensive to feminists. Basically, it was everyone in the class verses this one guy, who insisted that, because the character was manipulating people for her own ends, she was a villain. At least, that was my impression of his argument. I felt it was mitigated by the fact that, if she DIDN'T succeed, she was destined to wind up in the poorhouse, assuming life as a prostitute didn't kill her first. Also, in the end, the worst harm was that the Coventry family was embarrassed, and several of them were actually better off for it. I'm not saying that Jean Muir is a shining example of goodness and sparklies, but I don't think she's particularly villainous.

-Wrote an 1000 word paper on the symbolism of a uterus shown independent of a woman's body in a mental hygiene film made back in 1966. That was...interesting.

-Went to Rowan's place for drinks on Tuesday. Got a back massage from Josh. His girlfriend is soooooooo lucky :)

-Got a bunch of books for my Gothic Lit project on Runaways. Hopefully I'll find something helpful.

-Watched Eraserhead for Trash Cinema. I really, really did not like that movie. I'm not fond of the abstract-y stuff to begin with, and all of the background noises were magnified. I do not need an entire scene where the actors have to speak loudly to be heard over the sounds of puppies suckling and squeaking. Nor do I need five to ten minutes of steam-from-a-radiator noises. Also, there was imagery that made me want to upchuck my snack. So I wound up with my fingers in my ears and my eyes closed in a dark room, and thus nearly fell asleep in self-defense. Conclusion: Do not want. So glad I didn't have to write on this one.

-Got put in groups for my Editing and Publishing project. My group is me, two other girls, and a guy (who also reads Terry Pratchett), and our unifying theme is Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Playing With Gender. I think this is going to be fun :D

And now I'm going to do homework before CSI. Theoretically.

Current Mood: calm

03:05 pm - Girljeans suck

Seriously. What the hell kind of idiot makes pants with pockets that can't even carry a BUS PASS?! RAWR!

At least I just freshly wrote my phone number on said bus pass, so hopefully someone will pick it up and call me. If not, I get my bus pass through the school, so hopefully I won't have to pay for a new one for the last month and a half of the quarter.

Still: GRRR!

Current Mood: annoyed

01:00 am - Wheeeeee!

So, there's a bar downtown that does a drag show. Which several of my friends have attended, but alas, I had not.

We went tonight. We hit Boundary Bay first and had the sampler of six beers. I really liked the oatmeal stout. And the IPA wasn't bad either.

THEN we went to Rumors and saw the drag show. I also got a Sex on the Beach from Dani, and then I got one of those Chocolate Cake shots (it didn't taste like chocolate cake. I was disappointed). I also danced like a lunatic, and participated in one of the games, where I was sandwiched between a girl and a guy and we were passing Life Savers back and forth on toothpicks in our mouths. The girl danced with me later and complemented me on my shirt (it's the blue one with the gold hieroglyphic patterns and the princess sleeves. Thought I'd pass the complement along, Mom!)

Also, I watched Mental Hygiene films today for Trash Cinema. The makers of those films would not have approved of my other plans :D

Current Mood: tired