Slacking Overachiever

Poking In

2009-05-23T14:46:00.002-04:00

Poking my head in to see what's up. I'm surprised the last post was not even a year ago. I thought I had been gone longer. It's so hard being a slacker and maintaining a blog. Considering giving it another go, but I really don't like this green thing we've got going on. Maybe that should change.

Brilliante Weblog Award

2008-08-26T10:21:00.003-04:00

Elaine was so sweet to think of me and nominate me for a 2008 Brilliante Weblog award! Thank you Elaine!

Here are the rules:
1) Add the logo of the award to your blog
2) Add a link to the person who awarded it to you
3) Nominate at least 7 other blogs
4) Add links to those blogs on your blog
5) Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs

Here are my nominees:
1) 3 Peanuts (everyone, please go give Kim some good wishes!)
2) A Journey To Our Daughter
3) Notes From Robinson Road
4) Adventures of a Southern Newlywed
5) Punk Rock Mommy
6) A Lighter Shade of Green
7) So Close

Ri-dic-u-lous

2008-07-20T02:49:00.002-04:00

That is how yesterday was.

We finally made it into the building 45 minutes after we arrived when the campaign manager (who we love) arrived. Boss got there a full hour and 20 minutes after we had planned, and did not give any explanation.

We had planned to have volunteers arrive and canvass. Things were disorganized and we were somewhat unprepared because we had been locked out all morning and could not get everything ready. So we were frantically printing things and finding pens and water bottles in front of all the volunteers (and some financial donors). We certainly could have made a stronger impression.

We then all split into pairs and left the office. I was the lucky one who paired off with the boss.

Oh my.

Things were fine at first. And by fine, I mean the usual annoying things that I tolerate with a clenched jaw. When we got to our location, we separated and went out to canvass. And that was quite good really.

Then I got a phone call. From the boss. To get back to the car.

Because he had forgotten that a new employee was arriving and he was supposed to pick this person up at the airport.

So off we go rather frantically. And the traffic is bad. And the boss doesn't know the airline of this person or have his phone number. So how are we going to find him at the airport?

Boss gives me his blackberry to search through all his emails and find the one with the phone number and flight info.

There are 2414 emails.

He does not know the name of this person.

He does not know what day he was emailed.

How do I find the email?

Have I mentioned that I get carsick quickly if I am not looking out the window? I can't read or really do much at all in a vehicle if it involves looking at something.

So I'm starting to get queasy while flipping through thousands of emails and the boss is switching lanes periodically to get there faster.

We get to the airport after an hour. I have found the email. Boss takes off into the airport with his blackberry attempting to contact the new guy while I stagger alongside clutching my water bottle and attempting to remain mostly vertical.

We find him without too much difficulty, and apologize for being 3 hours late. Boss fibs a bit, blaming our tardiness on some bs communication problem that deflects the blame from him. I recover.

As we're driving out of the parking lot, things are looking good. We found the new guy without incident, remembered where we parked, and I am feeling fine. And then Boss realizes he has lost the parking ticket.

So we pull up to the attendant's booth and Boss gives some story about being lost and pulling in just for a second to turn around.

Doesn't work.

So he frantically searches. Now, I will be the first to say I am disorganized. Open my purse and a whole mess of crap will explode on you. But this man is just BEYOND. Random crap in every corner of the car, and his pockets. He pulls everything out of his pockets and, instead of putting it in a tray or cup holder, just dumps everything onto the floor of the car.

Decides to confess he lost the ticket. I guess everything about airport security has gotten severely anal recently. She takes the license plate number, driver's license, airline, flight number, and arrival time. Then confirms the flight information with someone over her radio. She decides to charge just for the time from an hour before the flight landed. Which is much better than the maximum rate.

But now Boss has to pay, and this proves to be a challenge. He hands over a broken debit card. This thing has been snapped in half. And then duct taped back together. I think that was the breaking point of ridiculous for me. I wasn't annoyed anymore, I was chuckling on the inside of how stupid all this was. The parking attendant was very confused and frustrated.

Once we finally get out of there, his blackberry rings. Of course, he can't find his headset because he dumped it on the floor with everything else. So in the midst of groping around on the floor for this thing, he doesn't listen to the GPS and gets onto the wrong freeway.

Poor new guy. This must have been the worst first impression. Boss tried to make some joke about the new guy being bad luck. He really has no idea what he's in for.

A Seriously Slacking Boss

2008-07-19T12:30:00.007-04:00

My work situation is getting to a point of ridiculousness. I believe my boss is allergic to work. His office is absolutely disgusting. A few of us were helping clean up his office, and we found old cherry pits that he had just spit on the floor. Eeeewwww!

He just sits in there eating and gchatting and reading blogs. Now, I’m all for spending a good portion of your day being unproductive on the computer (well, I don’t consider getting out a full blog post to be unproductive).

But he really is the master.

When we need him to do something, we have to tell him hours before it’s needed, remind him, then he still doesn’t do it. It gets done an hour after we needed it done. Then, he often does a crappy job anyway and we have to fix it.

He truly is a master slacking overachiever, so I wonder why I hate him so much. He has a good position considering how young he is. When this post is over he will be in good shape to get a better gig. He came highly recommended, so he must be getting something done!

Lately, however, my primary colleague and I feel he is taking his employees (who are the ones doing all the work) for granted, and reaping the benefits (of OUR work) when he gets to report to his superiors.

What’s even more frustrating, is the rest of the office and staff are absolutely amazing and fun and awesome and great to work with. I don’t know how I got stuck in the bad department with the one rotten egg.

Then, there are tons of little things too. That all just pile up. For instance, right now I am sitting in a parking lot. I mean sitting on the curb with my laptop balanced on a "reserved parking" sign, using the wireless from our office. Why? Because the boss is not here to let me in. (Actually, let us in, one of my colleagues is set up with her laptop right next to me).

We were told to be here early on Saturday. Being the overachiever that I am, of course I will do this in order to satisfy my boss. Being a slacker however, I got here 10 minutes later than scheduled.

And no one is here.

And we never got a call that plans had changed.

And now it is 30 minutes after the time when he should be here to let us in so we can all start working.

And my colleague really has to go to the bathroom, and is whining to me about this as we sit on the curb in the parking lot with our laptops.

And now, as I type, two other colleagues have arrived. Along with the cable guy. So the four of us are standing out here stupidly, unable to let the cable guy in.

I suppose this is a good lesson in workplace relationships and such, but it sure is frustrating.

I just hope I get a great recommendation after all of this. Being an intern who hopes to continue moving up the ranks, I need a really good one.

p.s. This is a campaign I am working on, so it only lasts a few more months, fortunately, until Nov 4. By boss, I don’t mean the candidate who is awesome and perhaps the hardest working person I’ve ever met!

Thursday Thirteen #12

2008-07-17T01:56:00.009-04:00

Click photos to enlarge; some are better that way.

Thirteen of my favorite self-taken nature photographs

1. Yang Shuo, China
2. Halifax, Nova Scotia:3. Cape Cod, Massachusetts 4. Cape Cod, Massachusetts5. Cape Cod, Massachusetts 6. Cape Cod, Massachusetts7. Jilin, China (The other side of this lake is North Korea)8. Seattle, Washington9. Seattle, Washington10. Kenmore, Washington11. Kenmore, Washington12. Jilin, China13. Guilin, China (This is inside a cave)

Thursday Thirteen #11

2008-07-10T02:39:00.005-04:00

Thirteen Great Websites For Slacking

1. Facebook: You can get lost for hours on this thing. The following quote expresses it pretty well: "If AIM is a gateway drug, Facebook is internet crack."

2. YouTube: pretty much anything you want - it's there. Also, archived footage at thedailyshow.com

3. Overheard in New York: hilariously real!

4. Ebaums World: Ridiculous things (albinoblacksheep.com is good too).

5. Addicting Games: I'm a fan of the puzzles and the helicopter game.

6. Recovering Frat Boy: He publishes a bimonthly column.

7. Wikipedia: You can get severely sidetracked by clicking on links in the middle of articles. As a friend said, "Wikipedia is like alcohol. You start into it, wake up a few hours later, and can't remember how you got there." You can play the "Jesus Game." Either click "Random article" on the left hand column, or go to a random page yourself. See how few clicks it takes to get to Jesus.

8. College Humor: fairly ridiculous and sometimes funny articles.

9. LOL Catz: Sooo juvenile but sometimes hilarious.

10. The New York Times: If you want to do something a little more refined (or you want people to think you are sophisticated when they look over your shoulder), NYT has great articles, photo slideshows, and videos on tons of topics.

11. Memes: You're probably familiar ;)

12. Google: There are so many games and funny things to do with google. One option:
put in the searchbar:
Your Name needs
Your Name looks like
...does
...hates
...goes
...loves
...eats
...has
...will

13. prettymuchanything.blogspot.com: Like wiki, one can spend hours surfing blogs by following blogrolls.

Thursday Thirteen #10

2008-07-03T01:36:00.005-04:00

With the 4th of July tomorrow, here is my 10th TT. I'm sorry that it is a little bit more geared towards the second half of the century than the early years.

Thirteen Quotes From Important Moments in US Political History of the 20th Century

(In chronological order, feel free to disagree or add your own).


1. "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."
  Speaker: Franklin D. Roosevelt
  Date: March 4, 1933
  Chosen because: I give a lot of credit to FDR for promoting the welfare state
  and introducing the radical idea in this country that the government might
  actually take care of its citizens. For me, this quote shows his leadership in
  not only being an emotional "hand holder" for the country during this time, but
  for his leadership in creating new programs.

2. "December 7th, 1941, a date which will live in infamy."
  Speaker: Franklin D. Roosevelt
  Date: December 8, 1941
  Chosen because: Well, it's infamous. ;)

3. "The world will note that the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima."
  Speaker: Harry S. Truman
  Date: August 9, 1945
  Chosen because: Would forever change the way the world views conflict between major powers.

4. "Have you no sense of decency?"
  Speaker: Joseph Welch
  Date: June 9, 1954
  Chosen because: I think this sentence sums up how many of us often feel about government. Also, it came at a time when things were seriously out of control in our government and we saw how willing people are to go with the flow and believe certain things.

5. "I have a dream..."
  Speaker: Martin Luther King, Jr.
  Date: August 28, 1963
  Chosen because: I don't think this really needs an explanation of its importance.

6. "I'm about to sign into law the Civil Rights Act of 1964."
  Speaker: Lyndon B. Johnson
  Date: August (?) 1964
  Chosen because: A landmark piece of legislation that showed presidential courage. Also a defining moment in political history as, just as Johnson predicted, the south would be lost to the Democratic party.

7. "I have today ordered to Vietnam...additional forces will be needed later and they will be sent."
  Speaker: Lyndon B. Johnson
  Date: July 28, 1965
  Chosen because: Well, the Vietnam War was a pretty big part of history that will always be with us.

8. "I have some very sad news for all of you, Martin Luther King was shot and was killed tonight in Memphis, Tennessee."
  Speaker: Robert F. Kennedy
  Date: April 4, 1968
  Chosen because: Not only the death of an important figure, but a moment that showed the skills of another.

9. "...I shall resign the presidency effective at noon tomorrow."
  Speaker: Richard M. Nixon
  Date: August 8, 1974
  Chosen because: The most powerful man in the world stepped down without a single gun being fired.

10. "I don't think it was wrong...I think it was a neat idea."

Speaker: Oliver North

    Date: July 1987 (?)
  Chosen because: This casual reference towards the president and officials engaging in something inappropriate and unethical as "a neat idea" is quite disturbing.

11. "Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy."
  Speaker: Lloyd Bentsen
  Date: October 5, 1988
  Chosen because: I did not include a Kennedy quote in this list although there are a few that almost made the cut. I decided to instead include this one because it shows how strong of an impact Kennedy had. His influence can be seen in how eager politicians are to mention the late president and draw parallels.

12. "The skies over Baghdad have been illuminated. This is thunder, this is lightning, this is death - this is hell."
  Speaker: Bernard Shaw
  Date: 1991
  Chosen because of the foreshadowing it offers.

13. "The young killers of Columbine High School do not stand for the spirit of America. We can rise up and we can say 'No more.'"
  Speaker: Al Gore
  Date: April 25, 1999
  Chosen because: This one is much more powerful when heard than when read, but I think there are so many events and issues to which we want to say 'no more'.

Happy 4th! Since I am working for a political campaign, and the 4th of July is also National Politician Day, I will be hitting up three parades

Thursday Thirteen #9

2008-06-27T01:29:00.006-04:00

I have just embarked on a summer as a staffer on a political campaign, and what a year to be doing this. Here is a quick recap of the first 2 1/2 weeks:

Thirteen Things I have been doing this summer while working on a political campaign.

I...

1. ...flew to a city that I have never been to before. After one of the worst days of delays and flight cancellations I have ever experienced, I landed at 1AM, found my way to a hotel, and then worked that day 9AM-8:30PM, meeting the entire staff for the first time.

2. ...slept on a couch at the deputy finance director's apartment before moving in with the family of a supporter. I quickly got used to the family's habits and 20-year-old cat that yowls in the middle of the night.

3. ...began working 12 hour days, 6 days a week. This Sunday will be my last Sunday off. It will be 7days/week from July on out.

4. ...spent a little bit of time downtown exploring the city. Honestly, it is not quite as great as everyone told me it would be, but I am somewhat impressed, and I have plans to see even more of it this weekend.

5. ...went canoeing with friends. I so wish I had more time off to explore this great state!

6. ...went to a festival and a nursing home as a representative from the campaign. The nursing home was so fun - half the people thought I was the candidate and the other half wanted to tell me about WWII.

7. ...met the candidate who, by the way, is one of the most awesomest people I have ever met.

8. ...had lunch twice with the candidate and a few staffers. The candidate said this is something they try to do once a week in order to "maintain the illusion that campaigns are actually civilized."

9. ...went to a fundraiser at a beautiful house with great food. It kinda, no it really made me wish I worked in finance. They get to go to the events all the time.

10. ...had a truly deep conversation with the campaign manager about flavored tootsie rolls. (Office conversations are great in the evenings. Everyone is tired and lets loose a bit - the results can be pretty hilarious).

11. ...went to a chocolate factory and tasted the BEST chocolate I have EVER had. They make all kinds of flavors like one that tastes like wine, and one that has Chai flavoring. And of course, that chocolate tasting was all very serious official campaign business. Quality control for fundraisers, you know. ;)

12. ...made tons of fundraising calls! Yes, this week I am that annoying person who calls you. The end of the quarter is on Monday so we are in overdrive. Almost all other aspects of the campaign have shut down and everyone, even if they do not work in the finance department, is expected to make fundraising calls.

13. ...took a twenty minute call from a "colorful" voter who had thought through her own plan to deal with Iraq, decided an Indian member of our staff is actually Polish (???), and went on and on about something involving sabotaging oil fields in I guess the Middle East (this was where I kinda lost the conversation).

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It's been great so far and things are only going to get more active, more crazy, and more amazing as we get closer to E-day! I'm still crossing my fingers that the national party will send a celebrity of some sort our way to help out.

p.s. I also got to see the candidate dive stomach first onto an exercise ball when the candidate thought no one was looking!

Bone Marrow Drive

2008-06-05T13:33:00.003-04:00

15 minutes, 4 do-it-yourself cheek swabs,
3 page questionnaire, 1 envelope,
and the chance to save a life.

Thursday Thirteen #8

2008-06-05T13:04:00.006-04:00

Way Way WAY overdue

Thirteen Things that I'm using as an excuse to explain not having blogged for awhile (as always, with pictures)


1.I had a huge research paper due on international education policy (a month ago)

2.I had finals (again, a month ago)

3.My grandfather and cousin died during that time. My grandmother is now in the hospital.

4.I said a temporary goodbye to new friends and my new hometown

5.I moved out (fourth floor, no elevator)

6.I went to visit family in California

7.I visited friends in New York (more pics to come)

8.I finally made it home after a hellish day of foot, taxi, subway, bus, and plane travel from New York

9.I have been catching up with friends, packing, and organizing

10. I had an interview for a position for next fall that I applied for (I got it!)

11.I saw the Sex and the City movie (not a great excuse but...)

12.I went to an organizing meeting to talk about how the Democratic Primary went in this state and what we can do for the fall

13.I am getting ready to spend the entire summer on the west coast working on a political campaign, and I will also be attending the convention in Denver! Therefore, I have been spending money like crazy on plane tickets, train tickets, bus tickets, housing, and getting headaches dealing with all of these schedules!

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Movie photo from: http://pblosser.blogspot.com/2006/10/statism-post-modernism-and-death-of.html

Saturday Photo Hunters #1

2008-03-29T11:55:00.002-04:00

HIGH

Photo Hunters

Spring Break - Woohoo?

2008-03-29T11:41:00.005-04:00

There’s an episode of FRIENDS where Ross, a professor, is dating Elizabeth, a student. Elizabeth is going to Florida for spring break, and Chandler and Joey shout woohoo after they, or anyone else, mentions it. When Ross asks for an explanation, Monica clarifies saying, “During spring vacation, you do nice things with your grandparents. During spring break, you do frat guys.” (Woohoo). I’ve heard all about Spring Break Miami, Spring Break Cancun, MTV Spring Break, and wet T-shirt contests (woohoo). They’re played up as huge college initiations - the reason you go to college practically. Still, I have yet to (knowingly) meet someone who has participated in these activities.

It seems most people at University left for spring vacation. For example: I went to the beach (woohoo)...but to hang out with the Mother and the Grandmother and look at retirement communities for the Grandmother (no joke). Friend #1 went to Miami (woohoo)...but to hang out with his relatives...who don’t sound like a crazy bunch. Friend #2 went to Philly, and then drove through PA with his mom to see civil war battlefields. No disrespect to the Union and the Amish, but that’s not worthy of a woohoo. Across-the-Hall went camping in Arizona with her dad. Friend #3 went to Miami with the tennis team (woohoo)...but had to live with some team member’s grandparents. Living with 80-year-olds you’ve never met doesn’t exactly scream keg-stands. Friend #4 stayed on campus for hardcore crew practice. According to what we’ve heard, other schools take the rowers to Florida for practice over break. Friend #4 feels like she’s missing out on a pretty big woohoo.

Roommate went to NYC on her own so I guess that’s worthy of a mild woohoo, although knowing her, she’s probably going to spend the entire time in a theater or museum - not dancing on bars. I’m not the only one with a distorted image of college spring break. The little sister of Friend #1 thought we had a break of 3 weeks off to take this huge road trip to Florida for the aforementioned wet t-shirt contests and other woohoo type activities.

Not exactly.

So do I just know all the nerds? Is this what the rest of the American college population is doing right now and my bubble of friends and I are just in a totally different universe? And what do you do for spring break (woohoo) if you already live in FL?

Oh, the Agony

2008-03-27T18:13:00.003-04:00

Such is the life of a slacking overachiever.

I am an overachiever. Because of this, I signed up for an independent study policy internship downtown and convinced my Dean to let me take 6 classes during my first year. (I am receiving credit for the internship so it is considered 6 classes total).

I have to write a twenty page policy paper for this internship.

I am a slacker. I have left all of the work to the almost last minute and, during busy weeks, the absolute last minute. I must turn it in tomorrow morning in person. I am stuck in the computer lab writing until it is done. The lab closes at 4am, but I'd like to get out of here by 12:00. No dinner tonight. Just left over Easter chocolate. To achieve my midnight goal, I am posting on my blog, sending my friends bumperstickers on Facebook, and checking out Thursday Thirteens.

Why?

Because only a draft is due. There is certainly time to improve it for the final.

And the independent study is pass/fail.

That's my mantra right now.

"Don't freak out. The sun hasn't set yet. It's only a draft. It's only pass/fail."

Thursday Thirteen #7

2008-03-27T12:59:00.003-04:00

(She's actually a wonderful roommate and I'm very lucky to have gotten such a good situation...but these are just the things that irk me).

Thirteen Things I'd like to tell my roommate


1 - Your hair! The diagonal bangs make me crazy! You’ve got to straighten them or something.

2 - Your cough and laugh are awkward and annoying. But i guess you can’t change those.

3 - Please don’t hum or sing. It’s really distracting when you think your mouth is a snare drum and i’m trying to learn arabic.

4 - For the love of god, close the window! It is too cold out and we freeze during the night!

5 - The comments you make about your faith and other faiths really bother me. My faith could not be more different from yours. I’m trying to be open and learn about yours, but sometimes you sound really ignorant.

6 - Please stop leaving your keys in the door. It’s annoying and not safe.

7 - Please remember to turn your alarm off on weekends...really, please do this.

8 - Turn the volume on your alarm down! I don’t know how it takes you several minutes to hear it each morning. I’m across the room and it always blasts me out of bed.

9 - Stop closing the door! If I am in the room with the door open when you get back, please do not then close the door behind you when you leave a few minutes later. Obviously, I want the door open.

10 - Please stop taking my cable out of the internet jack. It’s very passive aggressive.

11 - I don’t want to hear you saying negative things about people you went to high school with. you sound very condescending and patronizing. It makes me feel bad for them, especially when I can identify with the problems they’re having that you’re telling me about. You don’t realize it, but sometimes you’re insulting me, too.

12 - Your boyfriend really needs to spend more time in his room. you may think he’s great, but the rest of the hall, myself included, thinks he’s really very extremely super annoying! I’m really tired of him hanging out in our room every evening. It’s also really awkward when you guys start making out and I am sitting right there.

13 - Please don’t support that presidential candidate.

That feels better.

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Wordless Wednesday - 1

2008-03-26T09:15:00.003-04:00

Photo Show It - Diffusion

2008-03-23T16:40:00.004-04:00

I'm really not sure what this means, but dictionary.com says it has something to do with a "soft focused effect." That doesn't really help, but here goes:

This is part of the Blue Mosque in Istanbul. Taken early October, 2006.

Photo Show It

Photo Show It - Depth of Field

2008-03-16T21:00:00.007-04:00

I am a very amateur photographer, but I'd like to give the Photo Show It meme a shot (pun intended). I'm not very artistic and I'm not quite sure what depth is or if this picture even qualifies. This was taken in a small port town in Maine during December 2007. Excuse the reflections from the window

A New Meme

2008-03-16T20:38:00.005-04:00

From Blog Talkers Talk: What does spring mean for you?

Spring means a mixture of activities for me. As a student, it means both crunch time as exams draw closer, slight panic as I make summer arrangements, and relief as the year will almost be over. The weather is wonderful, of course, although it's taking a bit longer to warm up at University than it did back home. I am so fortunate not to have allergies so I am always able to enjoy the weather. This slacker absolutely does not do a big spring cleaning. Throughout the year, I plug along, picking up, vaccuming, and doing laundry as needed. I think the worst part is the weather not being able to decide what to do. This is similar to that awkward period in the fall where it's too cold for half of your clothing, yet you feel stupid in the other half because it's just not cold enough.

I don't get spring fever so much as summer fever. Around this time I start thinking about the Cape where I've spent every summer of my life. I'm also anxious to get past exams an on to whatever fabulous un-paid internship I managed to land. As of right now, I have not yet received acceptances so I am anxiously awaiting those. Daylight Savings Time happens over the weekend where, at college that involves seriously screwing up your sleep cycle, so I don't feel the effects of DST until Sunday night when I'm frantically trying to finish a paper and wish I had another hour left to do it...such is the life of a SlackingOverachiever (well, actually this part is just about the slacking).

2008-02-11T18:58:00.002-05:00

HowManyOfMe.com

There are
91
people with my name
in the U.S.A.

How many have your name?

Wow

2008-01-27T17:24:00.001-05:00

I found this link and I'm quite surprised by the rating.

Movie Reviews

Thursday Thirteen #6

2008-01-16T20:39:00.004-05:00

Thirteen Things I did over break...a few hours early

Pictures included because I don't like to read posts without pictures to look at.

1. Visited floormate at her home in NYC and got really excited over the fact that she has a doorman and all those fancy New York amenities.

2. Rode the subway ALL BY MYSELF to get there and was completely horrified by the uncleanliness factor. I think I've become a public transportation snob.

3. Saw a show on Broadway (The Drowsy Chaperone) and waited outside the stage door for autographs.

(Bob Saget)

4. Did the obligatory holiday tour of the city

5. Got mad at BadBank once again (see post below) because using that card with a certain sports team glorified all over it really pissed off one cashier. It's just a game people!

6. Did not, unfortunately, overhear anything worthy of being sent to overheardinnewyork.com

7. Had a big family shindig (not in the city). It was nice because this may be the last one certain grandparents will be attending.

8. Visited various relatives and friends with incurable illnesses and/or cancer. It seems like there are so many people with cancer this year. This was definitely the "sick holiday." We've done a lot of reflecting and spending time together.

9. Went to New Hampshire to intern for a political campaign and held signs outside in below zero weather. Hey, we're freezing for our future. I also got yelled at A LOT on the phone by pissed off voters who just want the primary to be OVER AND WE KNOW WHO WE'RE VOTING FOR SO STOP BOTHERING US, OKAY?!?!.

10. Met the Candidate several times and Candidate's spouse once and was in a photo for a CNN article. (Although it wasn't a favorable article for the Candidate).

11. Met some really friendly volunteers working on different campaigns (as well as some totally crazy ones).

12. Came home briefly and in time for my mom to host a dinner party where the guests hadn't seen me since i was "just this tiny little girl hanging on to your mom and now you're all grown up and working in politics" etc. etc.

13. Made a donation to Locks of Love.

Happy 2008, everyone!

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I hate my bank

2007-11-04T09:44:00.002-05:00

Why are they so unorganized? You would think coming recommended by University and having a branch right down the street from University would make things easy, but no. When I signed up, they asked if I wanted to have a "themed" debit card. I had a choice of about 50 cards with images of trees or kitties or sports teams on them. Frankly, they were all ugly. I said no thanks and they said fine, here's the standard. Standard arrived in the mail and, after some textbook buying drama, was used for a month and worked fine. Then, they send me another card. What?! And not just a standard card, a sports themed one. I tried calling to find out why the hell I have two debit cards and got all tangled up in "If you have a customer service question, press 1. If you want to sign up for one of our special-but-it's-a-rip-off programs, press 2. If you want more options, press 3. If you think my voice is creepy, press 4. If you want to change your theme from ugly sports team to ugly dinosaurs press 5. If you don't give a shit about card themes and just want to know why the hell your bank is incompetent, press go to hell. Please hold."

So I hung up and threw the card in a drawer. I know, not the best choice but I'm new at this. Everything was fine for another month because I didn't use my card, I had too much cash left over from the summer and that covered my meager student expenses. Well, floormate and I go to BadBank's ATM down the street (because it is just a little bit closer than the branch of BadBank). And the card. doesn't. work. What?! Fine, go back to University and try to log-in to online banking using normal card to be told no by the website. Fine, rip that damn ugly sports team card out of the drawer. Try to log on again using ugly card number. Works, account is happy and fine. Call the number on ugly card to activate. Activated, put normal card into drawer and ugly card into wallet. Too late to go back to ATM (kinda sketch area at night).

You would think the debit card drama would be over. But no, I got my bank statement in the mail today. Even though their website keeps bragging to me that I am "going paperless." So why I still receive two statements a month probably has to do with whatever they did that caused above drama. One statement is normal and fine, exactly what it says online. Phew. Second statement, not so much. I signed up for some program that sounded very nice when I started, it is basically to help you save money. They transfer the extra change from your checking account to your savings account. You only make about $1.81 a month but whatever. Well, this statement has that $1.81 added and then says -$20.00 maintenance fee. Again, What?! Why would I be in a program where I am paying $20.00 a month for "maintenance" while only making $1.81?! So today, I am going to schlepp down to BadBank branch and find out what the hell is going on with this account.

A few quizzes to procrastinate away the afternoon:

2007-10-10T16:39:00.000-04:00

Awww, how perfect:

You Are Boston

Both modern and old school, you never forget your roots.
Well educated and a little snobby, you demand the best.
And quite frankly, you think you are the best.

Famous people from the Boston area: Conan O'Brien, Ben Affleck, New Kids on the Block

What American City Are You?

Maybe for Grad School:

You Belong in London

A little old fashioned, and a little modern.
A little traditional, and a little bit punk rock.
A unique soul like you needs a city that offers everything.
No wonder you and London will get along so well.

What City Do You Belong In?

What a shock:

You Are 0% Redneck

I'll slap you so hard, your clothes will be outta style.
You ain't no redneck - you're all Yankee!

How Redneck Are You?

It's that time again...

2007-10-10T16:37:00.003-04:00

Your Halloween Costume Should Be

Candy Corn

What Should You Be For Halloween?

Umm....no thanks. Anyway, I've known for several YEARS what I am going to be for this particular Halloween.

Guilty

2007-10-07T21:48:00.001-04:00

Ummmm, so yeah. About not posting since June......well, I don't have a very good excuse except that I was with only questionable internet access the entire summer and then got busy with travel and relocation. I've started many journals in my life and never had the discipline to maintain any of them. But I'm trying really hard this time...or at least I'm trying. I will resume TT this week (en shallah). I will also (hopefully) post pictures from my amazing trip to China!

This Week!

2007-06-03T10:52:00.001-04:00

I am graduating this week! The last week of school is always the best because we usually only have half days and it is all recognition ceremonies and picnics. Unfortunately, the week is dampened a bit by the 10 PAGE PAPER I have to write for my senior project. I also have to do a powerpoint presentation. I have had 2 weeks to do this. How much do you think I have done? Hint: look at the title of the blog. NONE. That's right, it is Sunday and I have not started either. But I'm not worried. This year, I became a pro at writing papers the night before/day they were due. I wrote my English Thesis and Final Paper for Anthropology the same Sunday night/Monday morning...and I got decent grades. The senior project isn't even graded so of course it is going to be a lot of BS to fill the 10 pages and of course I haven't started. Please. It should be an interesting paper, though. It is on microlending and my recent trip to Guatemala (see two posts down). I will probably bite the bullet and make myself start working on it sometime today.

Thursday Thirteen #5

2007-05-31T12:15:00.001-04:00

T-minus 7 days and counting! Only one week left until graduation. I have my dress (we are required to wear white), I have new shoes, a hair and pedi appointment, a mountain of party invitations, and today I received my first congratulatory card. My grandmother will be flying in next week and, due to a change in schedule, my brother will be able to be here. After four years, I am definitely ready and glad to be leaving this school. I tried to come up with a list of what I will miss but 13 is a lot and I couldn't do it so here are 13 things I am doing this summer.

1. Graduating

2. Going to China with my friend who was born there

3. Burning my uniform and books...well, maybe not burning them

4. Sleeping

5. Visiting lots of family like every summer

6. Seeing my dog who now lives with my grandmother

7. Packing up my life

8. Buying a laptop

9. Practicing violin (ha!)

10. Saying goodbye (maybe forever?) to friends

11. Moving a few states away

12. Flying the coop...

13. ...and going to college!

Thursday Thirteen #4

2007-05-17T14:41:00.001-04:00

Some things from my recent trip to Guatemala. Enjoy!

Thirteen Things I did in Guatemala
1. Traveled with a group called Friendship Bridge (Puente de Amistad) that gives microloans to poor women to start their own businesses to help their families. www.friendshipbridge.org

2. Brushed my teeth in the street!
3. Stayed in the very beautiful and very colorful Antigua.

4. Crossed the breathtaking Lake Atitlan

5. Drove part of the Pan-American Highway

6. Bought local crafts

7. Took local transportation

8. Saw "temporary" camps for people displaced due to a hurricane induced mudslide. They have been living in these camps for 2 years now.

9.Met with groups of women in the program

10. Made home visits to see the improvement in the quality of life the program provides...and gave gifts to their children

11. Got burned! The burn on my arm then turned into a lovely trucker's tan.

12. Played Mad-Libs in Spanish (that is hard to do!)

13. Heard these women's stories and realized microlending is how we are going to end poverty!
...and we did much more!

One of my favorites: 16-year-old Juana. She is such a brave entrepreneur.

Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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Thursday Thirteen #3

2007-04-26T16:53:00.001-04:00

Senior Prank Day for the Class of 2007 was on Wednesday, April 25. We stayed after school the day before until 7pm and some people came to school at 6:30 the next morning! (I didn't). Here are some of the things we did:

Thirteen Pranks
1. Facebook Theme: Prank Day is a serious tradition at my school complete with a theme and specially made t-shirt. The theme for this year was Facebook. We made profiles for each teacher and our shirt had a profile for the entire class. We also made fingers to poke people. We incorporated a little of a James Bond theme because we are the class of 007.
Front of the shirts:

Closeup:

There was a facebook profile for our class on the back.

Finger:
In the entrance to the school we posted the ten commandments of facebook:

2. Outside: We used the traditional waterballoons and squirt guns to throw from the senior balcony onto people arriving in the morning. Except that we got carried away and dumped silly string and full buckets of water on people and ruined someone's laptop and ipod. We also had a group outside on the street to get people to honk. Fortunately (for us, not the administration), our school is on a very busy main street and there were lots of people going to work. Being an all girls school, we had boys come as is tradition. They were kicked out at 10:00. We also brought our dogs to school which was tons of fun.
Yes, the administration got mad about that last sign.

We put many more of these "got tots?" signs outside the principal's office because, long story short, a few months ago one of the seniors was standing in the lunch line and ate her tater tots. The woman in charge of the cash register saw this and still charged her for the tots and the girl paid. The woman in charge of the cafeteria was watching and thought the girl didn't pay and ate the tots in line specifically so she wouldn't have to pay. Well, this snowballed into TONS of drama in which the disciplinary review board had to meet and there were all kinds of meetings and rivalries and gossip. It was crazy. I think they completely overreacted but I have many problems with our administration as it is...

3. Frosh Lounge:
The Freshmen really annoy us. We've been having a battle with them all year and used this day as an opportunity to really stick it to them. Someone in our class printed out the "glamor" and "emo" self-taken photos that the freshmen are so stupidly proud of and posted them in their locker area. We also printed out their insanely stupid wall to walls in which they brag about being WASPS and talk about how rich they are and how great and sexy their self taken photos are.
Yes, on her wall, a freshman actually wrote that

We also printed out many other things that I can't post here...

4. Sopho Lounge: The sophomores are our little sisters. (Juniors and Frosh are sister classes). We like our sisters much more than we like the juniors and freshmen so we gave them gifts and cute things.
Our two classes inside the "locket"...awww

5. Junior Lounge: Many of the Juniors are somewhat annoying, and some of the Juniors are very annoying. There is one girl in particular that our entire class has a major bone (or seven) to pick with her. In short, she is very "active" for causes she "supports" but she could not find Darfur on a map to save her life. She is soooooo ditzy and only "supports" these causes so she can beef her resume. We once had a newspaper photographer come because one of our clubs was having an event and she came and threw herself all over the photographer to try and get her picture in the paper even though she is not even a member of the club. There are many issues with her. The class is also pretty..."inappropriate" in their behavior outside school...
Activism girl drives to school and parks where you are NOT ALLOWED to park and it makes all of the seniors crazy and we almost have accidents every day because we can't see the cars coming. The above is from the real about me section of a junior's profile

6. Where's Amy?: This is one of our teachers who is very nice but was on maternity leave for part of this year and he kept getting sick so she would have to leave school to take him to the doctor and then she had to take a month off to take care of him (he's fine now). Basically, she was never around this year so we did a Where's Waldo? theme for her office and she liked it. I can't post pics of her office because they all have her name on the door and I don't feel like getting crafty with photoshop.

7. Jack: Our hilarious spanish teacher who just lends himself to jokes. We had no trouble coming up with ideas for his room. We used all of the jokes and quotes he has told us through the years. I'm not going to post pictures because then I would have to explain the jokes and that would make this very long (and you are already snoring). It was a really funny room, though.

8. Heaven & Hell: On the second floor, the Bio lab is right across the hall from a math room. We LOVE the bio teacher. She really is wonderful. So her AP Bio students did a "heaven" theme for her room that she loved...
...HOWEVER, I don't know the math teacher very well but her students say she is horrible and mean and the devil. SO...they did a "hell" theme for her room across the hall. They went WAY overboard and this caused lots of problems that you can read about below.

9. Shrines: Our anthropology teacher is an awesome archaeologist who travels about the world on digs. She has tons of amazing stories and is a great story teller. Basically, anthro class is one big laugh fest every day. We put shrines in her room and tons of quotes from her that, when taken out of the context of the story, can become, well, see below:

Highlights from her profile:
Activities: traveling to the most remote places on earth, flint-knapping
Interests: putting [her husband] in harm's way. (seriously, this guy has followed her to the ends of the earth and even fell down a Mayan pyramid)
favorite music: the sound of my rain-stick
about me: I'm a shaman. I make the rain come. I plan to take over the world with my husband at my side, but if he needs to be sacrificed...well, eh.
favorite quotes:
"I don't mean to seduce people, it just happens."
"So you see, girls, there's no telling what that tarantula would have done to me had I not been extremely drunk."
"Be careful out there, it's one big orgy"
"There's nothing anthropologically wrong with incest. If you have good genes and if your father has good genes, there's no reason you can't have a child with your father. The reason we don't do it is that it would cause cultural chaos. I mean, how do you think your mother would feel?"
"Incest was great for Egyptian pharaohs. If you're a god, you wanna keep those genes in the family."
"Let's make that the theme of this class: men are bad." (remember, all girls school)
That is just the tip of the iceberg...this woman is hilarious

10. Cleavage: Our Government teacher is quite an entertaining and awkward man. We make fun of him a lot and he returns the favor. One day, before learning about the cleavages in government, he said, "I hate that your book uses the word cleavage 'cause that makes me thing of Victoria's Secret catalogues. Tell me that wasn't what you were thinking when you read that." So we made his room cleavage themed. He thought it was funny even though the teacher who is supposed to check all of our plans beforehand to make sure they are appropriate started flipping out about sexual harassment. We moved all of the desks and chairs to make a fort because he is also the U.S. History teacher. His classes all had to sit on the floor and take notes and he said they didn't pay attention because they were all shopping for bathing suits with the pages on the floor. He thought the day was great but did say he was sorry he ever said the word cleavage in class.

11. Lunch and Moon Bounce: We had abundant food that we actually were still munching on during school today (thursday). We also rented a moon bounce that was uber fun.

Above: Winston hanging out on the 3rd floor.
Below: Toby at assembly

12. Pac-Man: This was my favorite part. Two boys played life-size pac-man in the morning during school. It was hilarious. Especially when they ran across the stage and through the auditorium during assembly while the principal was talking. (she thought it was funny)

13. Trouble: Well, we got into some trouble. Big trouble, actually. As our principle said, "Girls, this wasn't over the line. You jumped over the line and ran past it." First, there were a lot of little things. We put vasaline on the railings and apparently you aren't allowed to do that. Then, we had the "honk if you're horny" sign. Then we dumped water on someone AFTER being told not to use buckets and her laptop and ipod were ruined (i think, maybe they were salvaged). Then, we broke the huge rule of no personal attacks. We are allowed to post pictures of people (for example, freshmen) being stupid but are not allowed to single people out because that is mean. Well, we singled out too many freshmen and did make some personal attacks against individual girls. They were even more angry about what we did to the juniors and activism girl (she was upset).
We also have a teacher who is running for public office and some people in our class sorta stole signs from his opponent off people's lawns the night before. (I thought that was really stupid). He got VERY angry because that could totally screw up his campaign. We made profiles for every teacher and apparently some were really harsh and one teacher cried when she read hers and canceled class. The worst was the Hell themed room. The teacher is really not liked at all and her students went to town on her room to let her know they hate her. You can see all the work that went into the room by the pictures. They even unscrewed all of the bulbs from the lights to make the room dark. They also made some very harsh signs to put in her room that go into very bad territory including things about her unborn baby (she's pregnant). Basically, she saw the room when she got to school, cried, and went home before school started. She did not come to school today (thursday) either.
First period, all of the seniors were pulled out of our classes and we had a meeting with the principal and the 11/12 dean in the auditorium. They were VERY mad. The dean started crying. We ended up canceling some of our pizza orders for lunch and sending the teacher flowers and writing a note that came out a little impersonal. The meeting was supposed to be serious but it was hard to concentrate since all of the dogs were panting and sneezing very loudly and then one started wheezing and the principal asked who's dog was dying. We also lost our senior privileges which are coming in late if you have a 1st period free and leaving early if you have a last period free. We'll see what happens tomorrow.
A bunch of other stuff happened that I don't feel like going into. You can imagine the drama and fallout that happened today. Being a small school, everyone gossips and wants to know everything. We did many other things and decorated more rooms but this is already way over 13. I'm sorry this became so incredibly long.
The doors to our lounge:

Weekend Events

2007-03-17T12:09:00.001-04:00

After walking to Walnut Street and back with a brief rain shower (gotta love spring) we had to go pick up the TB from school. The students are currently in a war with the administration and Jessie, the security guard, over closing the gate to the driveway making us walk ALL THE WAY AROUND to our cars on K-Ave. Turns out their latest battle move has been to start closing the gate at 3:40 instead of 5:40 which is totally ridiculous because there are still people there at 3:40 but...enough about the evil administration. Here are some pics of attacking and beating the system.
TB running towards us:

Inspecting the fence:

Pushing her bags through in preparation:

Trying to squeeze through:

Trying to hop over:

Open the gate!(that is my arm in the lower right):

Jessie the security guard coming over:

Then KB freaked out because Jessie had yelled at her before so she ran away...

...and hid behind a bush:

Jessie did open the gate after yelling at us.

Thursday Thirteen #2

2007-03-08T07:41:00.001-05:00

Thirteen Things That Make Me Glad It's March

1. Spring Break is a little over a week away

2. The weather: we have had some delicious its-almost-really-spring days, a few surprise showers, and a freak snow storm that gave us another day off school yesterday. But for the most part, it is starting to get warm.

3. I am going to Guatemala soon! (see ticker at the bottom of the page)

4. Less than 3 months left until graduation

5. Summer is coming!

6. There are more holidays to look forward to

7. We are out of the February rut (although we got a whopping 4 snow days that month so it was actually pretty great)

8. It is not yet April and exam prep time

9. It is much lighter outside

10. It is easier to slack because of the good weather (more stuff to do), and teachers don't mind too much until April

11. My brother is on break and visiting

12. It's all a downhill ride from here (except the bump that is exams)

13. Flip Flops! I am very much a jeans and flip flops kind of girl so I am very happy it is *almost* warm enough to get out my 8 pairs of comfy flops!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Thursday Thirteen #1

2007-03-01T16:37:00.001-05:00

This seems to be a very popular meme so I am going to attempt to join it if I can figure out how to get the code on here.
My First Thursday Thirteen of 13 things that happen during the spring of senior year:

1. You think "because I forgot" is a perfectly good excuse for not doing your homework.

2. You don't even try to read the book for English class...

3. ...or you didn't even purchase it in the first place.

4. Brushing your hair every morning becomes too much of an effort.

5. Even showing up is just such a "why?" thing.

6. You spend all of your classes watching videos of The Ellen Degeneres Show on YouTube.

7. Your teachers don't even care if you're using your laptop for notes or not.

8. You voluntarily do math problems to figure out how low of a grade you can get on the next assignment without failing the class.

9. You become So. Incredibly. Addicted. To. Facebook.

10. You wish underclassmen would just SHUT UP.

11. You volunteer to be a prospective parent tour guide just to get free food and tell people not to come here.

12. You spend all of your frees sleeping...you can goof off during class.

13. Slacking Overachiever becomes just slacker.

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

A Little Bit Of Fun

2007-02-24T21:17:00.002-05:00

Your real name:

Lucy

2. Your Gangsta Name: (first 4 letters of real name plus izzle:}

Lucyizzle, sounds better as Lucizzle

3. Your Detective Name: (fav color and fav animal)

Pink Dog

4. Your Soap Opera Name: (middle name, and childhood street)

Forbes Barnsdale, sounds better as Forbesy Dale

5. Your Star Wars Name: (the last 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first name, first 3 letters of mom's maiden name)

Inslufor

6. Your Super Hero Name: (2nd favorite color, favorite drink)

Blue Chai

7. Your Iraqi Name: (2nd letter of your first name, 3rd letter of your last name, any letter of your middle name, 2nd letter of your mom's maiden name, 3rd letter of your dad's middle name, 1st letter of a sibling's first name, last letter of your mom's middle name)

Urfoaae, that's not very Iraqi

8. Your Witness Protection Program Name: (grandmother/grandfather's first name and Jones)

Ellen Jones, Cynthia Jones, or Zella Jones

9. Your Goth name: (black, and the name of one your pets).

Black Thomas, Black Casey, or Black Sassy

The Intermittent Stalker

2007-02-20T12:21:00.001-05:00

He's baaaaack...and wants pictures...really not sure how to respond.

Only 28%?

2007-02-11T13:46:00.002-05:00

You Are 28% Slacker

You have a few slacker tendencies, but overall you tend not to slack.
You know how to relax when the time is right, but you aren't lazy!

Are You a Slacker?

I thought I'd have a little more slacker in me than that. I'm posting instead of starting that Blake essay that's due in 19 hours (yes, I counted the hours). At least I have a thesis and decided to not even try the scholarship essay. Of course, all other homework will be done during frees tomorrow.

Nature works in mysterious ways...

2007-02-06T20:09:00.001-05:00

...but that's fine by me! We had yet another day off school because of the temps and will have a 2 hour delay tomorrow. SSA was one of the few schools in session and that makes me happy I switched. It seemed rather strange to have a day off because of cold weather since there is no way I would have died driving 2 minutes to school, hopping out of my car, and running into the building. I found a website on which you can make your own South Park character. Of course I started on the cast of Desperate Housewives.
Here is Bree. Then I made a slutty Gabby as santa with the "Heaven" background. Then I started working on an angry Carlos who just caught Gabby cheating but partway through I realized I created a Kim Jong Il. Then I made another Carlos and got a bit carried away. So here is maffia Carlos:

I got a call from AC to go on a facebook-organized sledding/snowball fight event. At first, I thought it was rather crazy to go sledding on a day when it was too cold to stand at the bus stop for 10 minutes. We went anyway but stopped at Uncle Sam's first to stuff ourselves, after which I proclaimed we would be rolling down the hill from being so full. We got there and couldn't find anyone else so we called MS who we thought organized it...but actually talked to LC who was the actual organizer. Let's just say things were unorganized and the event didn't happen. I'm not really surprised LC dropped the ball...maybe because her initials are the name of someone on Laguna Beach. Anywho, we met up with 1/2 the B family and managed to have some (albeit cold) fun sledding with my uber sexy outfit.

We then headed off to B&N and the movie theater where we decided (after MUCH) deliberation not to see Volver since we had missed about 10 minutes already and then 15 minutes from standing in the lobby talking about it while the workers there laughed.
We then ventured to Smoke Wizard with TB in a seriously skethcy getup to initiate the newly legal AK and ran into PyroFirePower.We then returned to the B household to marvel at lighters and watch a steamy a nd highly inappropriate film w ith R and the youngest B. All in all, a great way to waste a day.

P.S. I'm still trying to figure out Blogger so the pics are all over the place and I have no idea why some of the text just suddenly became a link.

2007-02-05T16:14:00.001-05:00

Extreme Makeover

2007-02-05T15:28:00.001-05:00

Okay, it wasn't all that extreme, but I thought it was time to rejuvenate this blog and, with the new year, make a REAL attempt at keeping it going...now if people would just comment! I'm not totally set on the new layout, I think it looks too pink. The big news of the day is that we had a COLD day.

Not quite as fun as a snow day, but still wonderful. The only problem is that I really have to do the homework I didn't do over the weekend because I was counting on a day off today anyway...and it really is too cold to go outside. But I have two frees tomorrow so I will probably watch DH dvds today instead.

2006-08-29T16:53:00.001-04:00

Put in bold the things you've done!

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said ‘I love you’ and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was shit faced
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Posed nude in front of strangers
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert”
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music.
87. Eaten shark
88. Had a one-night stand
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised children
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
98. Created and named your own constellation of stars
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Petted a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Petted a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions - I plan to
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146: Dyed your hair
147: Been a DJ
148: Shaved your head
149: Caused a car accident

Musings to avoid summer reading and that blue sheet

2006-08-27T16:35:00.002-04:00

You know you’re a Washington, D.C. intern when…

You look at a Dear Colleague with 20 or more signatures in awe
You have become disillusioned with parts of the legislative process
You “guess” what mail is important
You are amazed at how friendly everyone in DC is
You are ready to change planets at a moment’s notice
Riding the subway between government buildings is still fun
You still read all the names of representatives on the plaques outside their offices
Tourists, school groups, and ice cream annoy you
Some days, all you do is play sudoku
You are thankful your office has subscriptions to most major magazines
You live for Heard on the Hill
You and your colleagues are “running the world”
You think your official ID badge is the bomb
You religiously stick to the routes between buildings that you learned first
You are impressed by the amount of helpful signs
You really hope the mail has been screened well for anthrax
You are continuously making sure you know whether it is morning, afternoon, or evening so you don’t screw up on the phones
You can see how easliy egos are inflated
Your boss’s office is still a scary place
Your boss isn’t your “real boss”
You stood outside Senator Clinton’s office and worshipped her doors
You go to briefings for the free lunch
Being on C-Span still amazes you
Crazy constituents lighten your day
Getting to refill the water pitchers in the hearing rooms might be the highlight of your day
You think the person you work for is the coolest representative and you are totally excited about your office’s issues
You have forgotten how hard it is to check your party hat at the door
Your office is flooded with coca cola products
Stacks of newspaper clippings have suddenly become fascinating to you
You can give others directions…sorta
RSOB and C-204 are the bomb
You think you can exit RHOB on one side and “quickly” walk around to the other side
RHOB has a courtyard?
Security guards have become your best friends
You swear Dirksen and Hart are the same building
When sorting mail, you still have to check the issues assignment sheet in your office
You feel sorry for the staffers in the district office

You know you’re a WW intern when…

You’re dying for anyone to win the World Cup as long as they’re not French
You are thinking about calling Matt’s girlfriend
A half naked French guy asked you about your grandmother’s funeral while you were watching birth videos
A man in his underwear is not always appealing
You were almost arrested in the subway
You do not get along with DC police or taxi drivers
Who reserves part of the curb?
You beep every time you go through the metal detectors
You are still bitter about the congressional baseball game for several reasons…
Where do you sign up for the softball teams?
You don’t believe in dominant genes anymore because you swear Brigid’s sisters are not half asian
Going to Ballston (and getting a pedicure) is considered a night out on the town
You “know” what the next few presidential tickets will be, all the way up to Hurn-Maloney-Kennedy
You’re going to watch Wedding Crashers dammit!
Even though you are a liberal, you say freedom fries
Preppy pink hats are the shit
Photos with your congressperson are NOT emailed!

You know you’re a high school intern when…

You find yourself constantly explaining that you’re majoring in “high school”
Everyone keeps telling you how lucky you are
You are the lowest of the low and no one really cares about you but you are loving every minute of it
You’re not sure if you should friend your coworkers on facebook or not

The stalker revisited

2006-08-13T10:02:00.002-04:00

here is yet another email from "Saddam." funny how sporadic he is. i think AK would agree we wouldn't work out.

hey!!! how r u!!! i miss u so much, i miss PC's days....
how z everything going with u!!! and how z the SAT exam!!!when z ur school start!!! hope u r enjoying ur time
tc honey

2006-08-13T09:41:00.001-04:00

You Are 56% Lady

You're part lady, part modern woman.
Etiquette is important to you, but you brush aside rules that are outdated or silly.

Are You A Lady?

You Should Learn Spanish

For you, learning a language is about career advancement and communication.
Knowing Spanish will bring you tons of possiblities for jobs and travel. Bárbaro!

What Language Should You Learn?

damn, not the answer I wanted

Your Political Profile:

Overall: 30% Conservative, 70% Liberal

Social Issues: 0% Conservative, 100% Liberal

Personal Responsibility: 50% Conservative, 50% Liberal

Fiscal Issues: 75% Conservative, 25% Liberal

Ethics: 0% Conservative, 100% Liberal

Defense and Crime: 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal

How Liberal Or Conservative Are You?

Your Career Type: Conventional

You are orderly and good at following a set plan.
Your talents lie in working with written records and numbers in a systematic, orderly way.

You would make an excellent:

Bank Teller - Bookkeeper - Court Clerk
Mail Carrier - Post Office Clerk - Secretary
Timekeeper - Title Examiner - Typist

The worst career options for your are artistic careers, like comedian or dancer.

What's Your Ideal Career?

Your Summer Anthem is Behind These Hazel Eyes by Kelly Clarkson

"Broken up, deep inside

But you won't get to see the tears I cry

Behind these hazel eyes"

Your summer will be marked by heartache - but mostly happiness.

What's Your 2005 Summer Anthem?

Your Geek Profile:

Academic Geekiness: Highest
Music Geekiness: High
Movie Geekiness: Moderate
Fashion Geekiness: Low
Geekiness in Love: Low
General Geekiness: Low
Internet Geekiness: Low
SciFi Geekiness: Low
Gamer Geekiness: None

How Geeky Are You?

Your 1950s Name is:

Dorothy Frances

What's your 1950s Name?

2006-08-13T09:38:00.001-04:00

You Are a Bloody Mary

You're a fairly serious drinker, who's experimented a lot with different drinks.
You're a drunk, but a stable drunk. You don't ever let your drinking get out of control.

What Mixed Drink Are You?

2006-06-11T14:17:00.001-04:00

Your Style is 1950s

High heels, pretty dresses, classic makeup...
You're a feminine beauty who knows how to play up her assets!

What Decade Matches Your Style?

You Will Be a Traditional Bride!

You're the type of girl who is feminine, old fashioned, and totally traditional.
You've been dreaming of your wedding day since you were young
And you can't wait to be a princess in your big white gown.
It's likely that you'll have a big family wedding and take your husband's name
While a huge affair will be fun, just don't go all Bridezilla about the color of your napkins!

What Kind of Bride Will You Be?

Your Famous Movie Kiss is from Romeo + Juliet

"Has my heart loved 'till now? Forswear it, sight! For I never saw a true beauty 'till this night."

What Famous Movie Kiss Are You?

You Are a Golden Blonde

Men see you as flirty and fun, yet deep and thoughtful
You've got all the pizzazz of a blonde...
With the intensity of a brunette

How Blonde Are You?

You Should Date An Italian!

You love for old fashioned romance, with an old fashioned guy
An Italian guy is the perfect candidate to be your prince charming
If your head doesn't spin enough, just down another espresso with him
Invest in a motorcycle helmet - and some carb blocker for all that pasta!

Which Foreign Guy Should You Date?

You Are Uptown

You are classy, cultured, and well educated. You are an expert on the finer things in live.
Your city girl persona loves all of the opportunities a city offers. But only in the best neighborhoods.

Are You Uptown or Downtown?

You Are A Lily

You are a nurturer and all around natural therapist.
People see you as their rock. And they are able to depend on you.
You are a soothing influence. You can make people feel better with a few words.
Your caring has more of an impact than even you realize.

What Flower Are You?

Your Fashion Style is Classic

You like what's stood the test of time...
Simple, well styled clothes that don't scream trendy
You stay updated and modern, but your clothes stay in style for a while
You wouldn't be caught in animal prints, fake fur, or super bright colors

What's Your Fashion Style?

Your Nail Polish Color is Pink

How you're unique: You're girly without being high maintenance

Why your style rocks: You're the perfect blend of stylish, preppy, and cute

What this color says about you: "I am secure enough not to follow every trend"

What Color Nail Polish Best Fits You?

2006-06-11T14:14:00.001-04:00

You Belong in London

A little old fashioned, and a little modern.
A little traditional, and a little bit punk rock.
A unique woman like you needs a city that offers everything.
No wonder you and London will get along so well.

What City Do You Belong In?

Middle Eastern Stalker

2006-04-08T15:34:00.002-04:00

Here's the whole (illustrated) story:
Over spring break I did a program in Washington, D.C.The program was run by Presidential Classroom and was called Future World Leaders Summit. (Yes, we had fun calling ourselves future world leaders of America). It was awesome because there were students from all over the world there. I was part of the Jordanian delegation.
(By the way, don't google image Jordan, apparantly a lot of strippers have that name, too)

We really bonded as a group and were known as the closest delegation there. One of the best moments was our street dancing for money.
Then, we tried to give all the money away to strangers and found that they are much ruder when you are trying to give them money than asking them for it.

Long story short, the week passed with visits to all the great places of DC. We were lucky enough to be there the week the cherry trees blossomed.At one point, we went to the senate building and accidentally stumbled into the hearing chamber (where people like Justice Alito - who we saw - are interviewed by the senators before approval). The room was supposed to be locked. It was really dark so we saw some buttons on the wall but our counsellor said maybe we shouldn't start randomly pushing buttons in a room of a government building that the security guards had told us not to go into in the first place. So we stumbled around in the dark and used the flash on cameras to see the room.

One of my roomates goes to a therapy school because she started sleeping around a lot when she was fourteen (lovely). She had to stay there for the first two years and could not even go home for Christmas (her parents were allowed to send her one present). Her therapist reads the letters she sends to her parents and friends, there is no rap music allowed, bed time is 8:30 and, if you open your door after then, an alarm goes off. She will be graduating in two months. There was soooo much drama around her it was like rooming with an episode of Laguna Beach.

The stalker part: There was one boy in the Jordanian delegation who began to get....close....to me. I noticed he started following me around and would sit next to me whenever he could. He followed me all around the Georgetown bookstore and put his arm around me several times. Kinda clingy and protective. Once I got back, he sent me this email:

hey!! how are you!!!! hope that you are fine!!! how did you do in the SAT exam!!!!

you know something, i didn't dry for 6 years, but when i knew that you left without saying goodbye to tou i cried......

nahida told me that you came and you were searching for me am sooooooooo sorry about what happened i hope that we will meet again....

i want to tell you something, i really liked you, you are the most beatiful grl i ever seen in my life, you have an amazing eyes, i really liked you and i hope that we can stilll together for the rest of my life....

thank you for everything, am so happy because i met person like you, hope to see you

(He means he had not Cried in 6 years - he was the least good at English out of all of the Jordanians)

The next day, he sent me this:

marhaba "hi", how are you!!!

so you have to visit jordan :) am fine the plane ride was good we had fun together

i hope that we will meet again and i hope that you will get a high mark in the SAT exam, we will be friends forever i will try to mail you everyday even if i only say "hi" to you just to keep in touch

by the way, i really meant what i said and i will never forget your picture
see you, yella

(yella is an Arabic word we all had a lot of fun saying and became an inside joke for our delegation).

Then yesterday I got this email:

hey lucy, am fine, how are you!! i remember that it was so funny i will ever never forget it and i will not forget ur eyes while we were looking at each other at the dinner...

ya i saw the pictures and i havfe pictures i will send them to u soon

hope to c u

bbye
best wishes

So, when do we think he will lose interest? (I'm kinda glad he is so far away so he can't "drop by." Bye the way, I do not remember looking into his eyes during the dinner. A and I have been calling him Saddam.

Totally unrelated: The girls from Japan were so cute and had really neat names.

Other

2006-03-24T20:48:00.001-05:00

so i really need to get one of those blinkie things for aim that says

"Marcia Cross makes me question my sexuality"

notice i had fun with the block quote thing. leaving tomorrow bright and early to visit georgetown and hang out with preppy kids.

Doc Appt

2006-02-22T17:51:00.002-05:00

So today I got to get out of softball and the horrible B for a yearly physical...apparently things change when you turn 16. First, we had to wait for a while which was annoying, why do they tell you to come at a certain time and then make you wait a long time? Maybe someone changed all of their clocks (that would be a good prank...).

I never had to put on a gown which was nice except she then got to see my awesome Joe Boxer "Kerpow" boxers (S-I will show you sometime). So we sat and talked about iron and calcium blah blah and then she asked my mom to leave. My mom has asked me before if I ever want her to leave during the exam but I never care. So she left and I suppose this was my cue to fall to the floor on my knees and tell the doctor I am being abused.

She asked me more questions about classes and activities (her daughter went to the same high scool and knew mr. a - proof he is a fossil). She asked me the date of my last period which I don't know why people ever bother to ask me questions like that because anyone who knows me knows that I am too unorganized to have a watch that says the right time much less remember some detail like that. So I really wanted to say Jan. 33 which is totally stupid, obviously. So I kinda made up a date that is near the 33 but actually exists. The really sad part that had S peeing her pants during history while R was giving us the evil eye (everything happens during history, hmm...) is that before the appt, I knew she would ask so I got the answer but forgot by the time I got there. To be fair, I did have to remember through an entire school day after a long break.

Then she tells me I should do monthly breast exams...okay...then she starts talking about gynecological exams! (you know it would be just my luck to get a hot young dr). She did say I don't need one until I turn 18 or become sexually active, whichever happens first...let's take bets on that one. And she asked me if I smoke or drink, etc. which was weird because, I know there is all of that doctor-patient confidentiality, but I think if a minor is endangered you are supposed to do something. Anyway, she then asked me to look at all of the answers my mom wrote down to the questions on the form and tell her if they were true or not. At this point I kinda felt like I was in an episode of Law and Order: Special Victims Unit where they beg and plead with the girl to tell them that her mom is a lying bitch and her stepfather's brother is pimping her or whatever. So that was a fun day, I also missed the first day of play practice, how lovely...and even though I told her last week I wouldn't be there, C didn't know...grr...

Then she made me do the duck walk, and I gave her a really weird look. You sit on air and then lean your chest to your knees and walk across the room. It is supposed to test a lot of your joints.

BTW, the Queen of England writes in her diary everyday just as Queen Victoria did so that one day her diary entries can become part of history...how lovely.

Video of the Day. I think Ken should get the points, he is right.

Continuing with the theme...

2006-02-18T17:57:00.001-05:00

To continue with random acts of kindness and making people happy, go here

Maybe this is why the British are so weird.

Random Acts of Kindness

2006-02-17T22:43:00.003-05:00

So today it was really cold. I mean really cold with wind coming fast and bitter. Of course I wore my cute backless tan shoes so my feet were freezing. I had to go to the library to do research for that awful history paper and A was supposed to come but didn't...grrr...so i was there alone...anyway, my mom dropped me off but spent the whole time bitching about how i can't take the bus and don't know how to do anything. so i was early and had to stand out in the cold for 20 minutes with these kinda seedy looking guys making me increasingly pissed off at R. Then I went in and didn't have too much trouble with reasearch but it really wasn't great. So I called my mom and had to sit outside again in the cold again. I guess you could tell how pissed I was at R and PGH by my face and there was this guy who had baggy pants, chains hanging all around (reminded me of Coop on pants days), lots of rings, dyed hair, tattoos on hands, etc. He was on his cell talking about liver damage and standing halfway up the steps pretty close to me which i thought was a little weird. Then he said, "I gotta go, love you, mom" which I thought was cute but then he turned to talk to me. Okay, I will admit that I am a spoiled little princess with somewhat irrational prejudices who gets really weirded out when strangers, especially "different" ones talk to me. So he said "Quit looking so happy! You look like your puppy just died." So I laughed a little and he said, "He didn't, did he? Good, cause then that would make me look like an asshole. Smile a little, it's a nice day...sort of." Then he went inside and it did kinda make me smile even though I was still a little weirded out. Then, only about a minute later he came back out of the library, went over to a little sign and bent down and pretended to pick something up off the ground (I am not sure if he pretended or actually did but I am pretty sure he pretended). He came over to me and I started thinking, "shit, he's coming over. He's nice but I just don't do strangers." I was pretty mortified that he would sit next to me but instead he just came over and handed me something and said, "Here, I found this on the ground, you looked like you could use an angel." Then he left. He had given me a little silver-colored oval shaped thing about the size of a thumbprint (creative comparison, eh?) and on one side was an embossed angel and on the other was engraved the word "healing." I really am still not sure what to think. Part of me is like, he was nice, a little weird, but sweet. The other part, the part that watches too many scary movies and thinks about them too much, thinks this is out of something like the ring where the angel is the angel of death or whatever. But I tend to have a crazy imagination so I will just go with the random nice stranger. I have to admit, even an hour or so later I was still in a kinda "good" mood after that. After typing this out, it doens't seem that real. It seems like one of those feel good stories people tell to reassure and inspire.

Sex Goddess

2006-02-15T18:57:00.003-05:00

Okay, Marcia Cross is the ultimate sex goddess. All through history S was staring at pictures of her and is now questioning her sexuality. S says forget Eminem and Orlando Bloom (her previous dream hubbies) and run away to Holland with marcia....(or me).

New blog replaces history paper

2006-02-15T18:53:00.003-05:00

Here I am, starting a new blog instead of searching for a topic for the massive history paper.