Today I made a pull ball

The more efficient and commonsense people try to make things, the less I tend to like them. But that's probably only because by then I've gotten used to the inefficient version, and I hate change. Usually. Sometimes.

Most productive thing today: I destroyed that elven/upside down flower hat, and rewound the yarn into a pull ball. This is a lot of fun. Anne can attest to that. Speaking of which, Anne, how did that pull ball that we started making work out? Did your yarn get all tangled up inside the ball as you knit with it? I'm curious to see how well my pull ball pulls.


starting out...

growing...complete!
Well, just so everyone knows, I got a 56% on my adv stats midterm. This. sucks. I never really knew how much I care about my marks until I got that back. I feel physically ill. I thought I might puke from how my stomach was tying itself into elaborate knots. Unlike being sucky in an elective, this really matters. For my honours degree in psych: A) I have to maintain an average of 80 in all psych courses B) I can get no mark lower than a 70 C) Advanced Statistics is a requirement.

You might look at that and laugh, and say, "No mark lower than a 70? An average of 80 or higher? hahaha, what a joke!" However, the marking here is not exactly the same as an average university back home. I've explained this before, right? I don't know what hte averages are in my classes this year, but last year, for instance, the average marks were between 43% and 55%. Getting an 85 is something to make you feel really good. Really good. So, don't laugh too hard that requirement of at least an 80 average, 'cause that's an A, and the professors treat it that way.

Whew! Okay. I'll stop whining about that mark. I was considering dropping the course, but really, what good would that do? I'll see about starting to do some work.

Now, time to nap.

Knitting screw-up II

The birthday of my blog came and went, and I said nothing about it. So, a long while later, let me say happy birthday to my blog.

Happy birthday, blog. One year old.

Fun. An article on the most haunted places in Canada includes my residence.

Well, I have another knitting mess-up. I don't think this will tickle your fancy as much as the last one, though, Jaime. So, I kind of do things without any rhyme or reason or...pattern. And this is another example of not really knowing what I'm doing while knitting. Lol. I got a little (a lot) overeager in the amount of decreasing I did, and now I think I've learned my lesson.

It doesn't look that bad with teh pointy bit squished in.

But without the pointy bit squished in....I feel like an elf. Or a person with an upside down flower shoved onto their head.

So, I just saw Jaws for the first time. What???? You just saw Jaws for the first time????? How could you avoid such a classic for so long?!!! Well, I'm just that impressive. I made me some popcorn, drank all of my pop, went to the bathroom a lot, and enjoyed the movie. I have to say, I really really really liked it. Very funny and suspenseful. And for the first time ever, I liked Richard Dreyfuss. I think anyone would understand that once you know that I think my first experience watching him was Mr. Holland's Opus.

Anyways. I really liked it.

a little post and a lot of quotes

I've been itching to post for ages, but somehow the time escapes me. That's odd, considering that I really feel like I do nothing.

First, let me say. If there are three bathroom stalls in a row, who in their right mind goes in and picks the middle stall? You go in, all three are empty, and you pick the middle stall? I walked into the restroom, and this girl was in the middle stall, forcing me to pick a stall next to where she was. If, like a normal person, she had chosen one of the end stalls, I could pick the other end stall, and we wouldn't be in a stall next to each other. But no. She forced me to go into a stall next to her, whoever this girl was, because of her poor stall-picking choices. Wow, I've been calling these stalls the entire time, but now that word sounds completely wrong. Anyways, yes, this is just about one of the weirdest things to decide to care about...possibly ever.

hmm...if this were one of those bathroom stalls where the dividing walls were three inch concrete and went all the way down to the floor and up to the ceiling, that would be fine.

Second, I know everyone and their mother is familiar with Milgram's famous shock experiments, and they're always brought up in discussion of ethics. I can't tell you how many times I've heard how unethical these experiments were, and how they can never be repeated (except for that one guy who semi-replicated them recently with a little twist, but ignore that). They're held up almost as a shining example of ethics violations. However! I would repeat the Milgram experiment in a second. Ethics be damned.

Time for some professorial quotes:

Dr. Watt, Abnormal Psychology

You're worse than offenders. Inmates trust me more than you guys.

We used to be able to do all sorts of wonderful things as psychologists. We gave people LSD and made little babies frightened of white fuzzy things. Those were the good old days, before ethics boards.

There's something fundamentally wrong with me.

I could have a dance in my waiting room (she was talking about how oddly large it is)

I've threatened my husband he's not to post nude photos of me on Facebook is there's a breakup.

Dr. Watt: And what happened?
student: Sprained ankle. It's your fault.

Looong long story short, she ended up in prison (talking about girl's parents who reinforced her behavior by taking her out of school)

Ideas for solution to hypothetical situation on how to get a girl with sudden onset of a fear of flying onto the plane (so clearly the usual options aren't possibilities):
-Just put her in the plane.
-Sedate her and force her in the plane. As long as she's alive it's okay.
-Are you going to induce PTSD to get her there?
-We'll pay for the therapy later!

A really engaging, really bright, quite psychopathic young girl.

Dr. Henke, Brain and Behavior

Make sure they teach you right. (I don't remember this context at all)

It's pretty hard to see the difference between three and four. You gotta have imagination to see it, and I don't have it. So I just call it three and four. (talking about sleep)

I'm on the way down as far as neuronal growth.

Henke: I'm like a border collie...circling...
student: ...sheep?
Henke: Sheep?! Why sheep? Why not goats?!

DISINHIBITION!!!!!

Dr. Edwards, History and Theory of Psychology

Not you clever people in here, thinking deep thoughts from morning til night, but those wombats out there on the street.

Gorgeous Gorgias.

What a wacko guy that Thoreau was.

They spend their time twiddling their thumbs until the grim reaper comes.

I have a neighbor...well, actually, he's dead now, thank God.

You know nothing, you know nothing, you know nothing.

Our souls at one time dwelt in the halls of innocence and purity. I don't know where that is. Somewhere outside of Pomquet, I imagine.

....some asshole, covered in tattoos, drinks all day, and is cruel to small animals, can be elected.

We are all acorns in a forest, essentially.

There are questions that will drive you to drink. If you're lucky.

He wound the clock and buggered off to another galaxy to try some other species (God).

Dr. McCormick, Treatment of Data in Psychological Research

I don't get many good quotes from stats, these are all of them for the year so far.

T is incredibly robust! It can take these kinds of violations.

'Psychology is where all teh dumb science students escape to.' ...No! I didn't say that!!

Ah yes, the old classic before and after.

People tend to screw up on my first exam not because they're not capable, but because they freak out.

Dr. Lomore, Junior Seminar

Good quotes from here are also pretty rare.

talking about the Nazi medical experiments on prisoners
Lomore: So what was wrong with this ethically?
student: Participation probably wasn't voluntary.

Syphilis, hepatitis, AND tearoom sex study!!

There you go, fellatio and orgasm all in one breath.

today's story

There's a cafe in town called The Tall and Small. They make really good smoothies and sandwiches. It is the only place I know of in town that has an actual cafe atmosphere. I hear there's a place called The Dragonfly down the highway, but I've never been there, and I think it might be out of walking distance. Plus, I hate hate hate walking along the highway. Anyways! I really like The Tall and Small. And this year, I haven't been there yet. I keep trying to go, and things keep getting in the way.

So today, I thought, would be the day. Nick, Chris, and I headed down for lunch. We were there, when lo and behold--they were closed!! At two pm on a Saturday. I knelt in the street, tore my clothes, and covered myself in ashes. It was pretty brutal.

My second thought was Tim Horton's, and I was really bummed at the thought of exchanging The Tall and Small for Tim Horton's. However, Nick suggested the pub. They typically have really decent food, so I think we were all happy with this option.

(I just took my trash out, and it looks like someone was bleeding alcohol as they walked down the hall based on the trail of beer out there. Tonight is the night for all the Halloween partying. The noise was unbearable for a while, but they've moved on to the bars, thank goodness.)

So! We get to the pub. And discover that the chef, who is apparently German, is celebrating Oktoberfest. He had all these ingredients special ordered just for today, so I got a platter with bratwurst, schnitzel, cabbage roll, sauerkraut, applesauce, and mashed potatoes (though not with spicy mustard), and it was all delicious. I mean fantastic. It was the best accident ever. While we were there a little brass quintet or something came in and started playing polkas, and people were bringing in their steins to be filled at the bar, and it was just a great, fun, atmosphere. And so RANDOM, because this place (this place being Antigonish) is all about Scottish Scottish Scottish Scottish, plus the random moments when they're all about being Irish, because they really seem to be a bit Scottish-Irish confused.

Last night I did my dressing up, and just hung out at Chris and Nick's. All the photos are on Facebook, so you can check them out there in my StFX 2007-2008 album (which is about to be made Part I, with a Part II album added, running out of space). But! For those of you (Jennie) who aren't on Facebook, here I am as Radical Edward. I couldn't find proper orange hairdye, so I had to make do with that spray on kind. And I didn't realize that that kind of thing can set off smoke detectors. Heh, whoops.

And here is Sarah (not in costume), me, and Kristen. Kristen's robes have "Dubya was here" drawn on them like graffiti, as well as "Iran or bust" written over With Liberity and Justice for All. She's a poli sci major. :-P)

Ben, it is your birthday.

Crazy Button Lady, that's me.

I was going to respond to the comments on the last entry with another comment, but it started getting really long, so I thought why not just make it a post.

So! I myself have toyed with the idea of going private (on my blog). There are sooooo many mean things I would say. You wouldn't believe the amount of self-restraint that I exercise when it comes to talking about some people. Typically, these people I want to talk about aren't likely to even read my blog, but it's there for them to discover--especially since I import this to Facebook. There are a lot of old high school acquaintances I would like to have little chats about, for instance.

However, not only would the password entry get really annoying, there are also a few pretty regular readers who I'm almost certain I don't know, and so I wouldn't be able to hook them up with the password or anything. And I like the random people who stop in. So, yeah, I wouldn't want to deny anyone the amazing experience of my blog.

Well, Ben, I've completely revamped my homepage. All my individual blog RSS feeds are out, Google Reader is in, and I'll report back on how I like it after a while using it. It's nice that it frees the space up for other homepagey things. I can't find a weather app that I really like, though....I've tried about ten so far. Haha, nm, I've just found one that I'm satisfied with.

I've finally found a friend with black spandex shorts that I can borrow for my Halloween costume of Radical Edward. Haven't seen them yet, but I think they'll work out fine, hopefully. Now my challenge is the hair dye and the goggles. I thought that at hte very least I had swimming goggles as a back-up...but I can't seem to even find those.

Buy me my ticket, Ben, and I'll be your main man for the campaign. :) Hah, that's such a lie. Well, actually, if it involved non-house ot house things I think I'd be okay. I could picture manning a base of operations or something. Everyone would have to call me Captain Mandy. And I'd make buttons. Yeah, in reality I think I'd be the crazy lady sittign in the corner with that button press thing.

So, buy me a ticket, Ben, and I'll be your Crazy Button Lady.

Mandy's Art Studio: VIII

Eggs. The only thing that makes this cool is that we had to use red, blue, and yellow to mix and maintain this neutral color.

But yeah. Eggs.

That third egg is terrible.

Dr. Henke and Dr. Edwards Quotes

Dr. Henke, Brain and Behavior

a little window popped up asking if the user wanted to install a speech recognition feature
Henke: What's this speech recognition thing do?
class responded: Just say no!
one student explained it...
Henke looked incredulous: ....seriously?

The point is, eh, it's easy. (the class broke out in laughter)

Inside, negative, outside...well, you guessed it. Positive.

Henke: They got all the multiple choice right.
girl in the back says very quietly: Must have been a damn good guesser.
the whole class heard and chuckled for abotu a minute solid

And that's why they call me Easy Pete.

And that's why they call me Diagram Pete. (these last two are golden standards)

someone's phone was making a weird beeping sound
Henke: Is it time to take a pill?

Are you with me?! Some of you are. Some of you are noncommittal.

Henke: So, psychometrically, this test would be considered...you all know psychometrics...this would psychometrically be considered....
Student A: hard?
Henke: ...come on, big distribution of scores, not bimodal....psychometrically this is...(this went on for a looong while)
Student B: WE DON'T KNOW!!
Henke: It discriminates well! You ever thought of that???????


Dr. Edwards, History and Theory of Psychology

How do I know? 'Cause I'm smart as hell.

How am I doing doctor? Well, geeze, I don't know. Could be your leg. Could be your arsehole.
(on why sometimes an imbalance of power is nice, so someone who knows will tell us what to do)

Nothing like the idea of quizzes coming back to make the class go silent. You students are so predictable.

talking about the quizzes...
Some of you went on to say some interesting...well, some reasonably interesting things....

The examples I give are ludicrous and simple....because....that's just the way I am.

I don't want a relativist building my airplane.

You gotta take a few Prozacs if you want to go down that road.

---------------------------------

Are these boring? Eh, whatever, I don't care. I keep track of quotes for fun anyways, and typing them up is almost as fun.

fast like grease lightning (as in, I wrote this really quickly)

So, I think I've picked a Halloween costume out. Radical Edward from Cowboy Bebop! Cons: No one will know who I'm supposed to be, and I'll be wearing black spandex shorts. Pros: I love Radical Edward, and it's easy and cheap to do. Except I'll never find goggles that are quite right.
I mentioned ages ago that I got a pair of Crocs. And Anne was all, "ewwwwwwwwww, gross." So now you can truly judge. Here are they are. All dirty. I think they look pretty cute from the side. And I'm often wearing them with jeans, which looks better. And now that you know what they look like, feel free to "ew" them, Anne.
There's a lock on my door that I really like. Most of you know that I'm the most un-locking person ever. I never lock my car. If I had a house I wouldn't lock that. In the houses that I do stay in (Ben and Julie's excepted), I don't lock those. I don't lock up my bike. When I leave my dorm, I typically don't lock that. BUT! I have really been enjoying locking my dorm room door as I sleep at night. There's this fabulous lock that has a feeling of solidarity and dependability behind it. And feeling it snap into place as I'm about to go to bed is an amazing thing. So, I give you my amazing lock:
You know you're in a small town, when the sound of the helicopter doing a life flight landing at the hospital wakes you up at night. I don't think this happens very often. But around five in the morning, I was woken by a weird thwapping sound. Looked out my window (I didn't have my glasses on), and managed to make out the lights and ...wings? are those thigns called wings? rotaries? we'll call them rotaries. ...and rotaries of the helicopter. At first, I thought, "Manhunt! I wonder who they're chasing." The lack of spotlight, moment of sanity, and hospital brought me back to my senses. I hope whoever they were life flighting in/out was okay.

Amazing THINGS

Do you ever think that there aren't any romantic moments in your life the way there are in the movies? Like, I think that often people wish that their life were a little more romantic. We see all these romantic pictures and scenes in movies, and think, "Man, why can't that be me?" I think often times we are in those situations, but the romance is clouded over by other things. For instance, in this classic photo:

Maybe the guy is enjoying it, but the girl is thinking, "Ugh, ow, this is such an awkward angle. Can't I stand upright while we're doing this? And I know you're really happy to see me, but now I've got to figure out what's going on with me and that infantry guy, and make up my mind, and I'm all worried about that." Looks much less romantic from inside her mind, doesn't it.

And these guys, for instance. You're kissing in the snow, and isn't it all romantic, but really your fingers are freezing, and you can feel the cold wet snow seeping in through the back of your wool coat.

So, I think if we had cinematographers/photographers following us around everywhere, we'd all have these beautiful, romantic moments that we all want. We'd just have to ignore the way we were feeling at the time.

But! That's not to say that sometimes there are very romantic moments going on that have nothing to do with teh scenery, and you're sitting there feeling all warm and fuzzy, but if someone took a photo right then, it'd be teh most boring shot ever. Ah well. Enough of this romance vs. appearances rant.

Today was a fabulous day. The temperature was mild, the wind was strong, and the clouds were variable.

Really, it was variable cloudiness, but it just made the day more beautiful. A sky is never as beautiful with no clouds as it could be with them. Clouds are the spice of my life. A very white-grey, fluffy spice.

Darcy (my lab partner from Brain and Behavior, some of you will recall) took me out on a hike, since I'd mentioned that I have no clue where to go around here for paths and such. That might seem like a funny thing to say, since if you look out the window, what do you see but woodedliness. Anyways! He obligingly showed me a walk that's more than accessible from the university on foot.

It was a really lovely walk. I wish I'd stopped more to take photos of some of hte great views, but alas, I didn't. We paused for a bit by this little pond. This photo doesn't do it justice though, 'cause there's a hill to the right and behind, making it feel quite secluded. The air smelled like pine trees. And that's never a bad thing. Halloween's coming up. Costume suggestions welcome.

Return of the me

They should sell half loaves of bread. Why should I have to commit to an entire loaf. Those things are huge.

Tonight, I do not have a midterm to study for. So I will sit around watching a low quality movie streaming online, dying my hair, and making Mr. Noodles (Ramen) for dinner. Kickass! Good thing I bought alll that unbrand diet coke for this crazy fun. :-P


I dyed my hair! It's less red looking than it appears here. And speaking of hair, I absolutely absolutely love mine being so short. It's fabulous! I see some girls in class, one after another with long, long hair, and I think, "How boring." I feel very unboring right now.
If I were my own version of William Slade, this is what I would say: Whatever you do, don't drink pop from a bottle. A plastic bottle, that is. Glass bottles are fine, and cans are also fine. But plastic bottles take pop and turn it into some gross, unconsumable thing. And the more you drink the worse it gets. Don't do it!

Have you ever heard someone say efficacy with the emphasis "efFICacy?" I made a note of this way of saying it, but I don't remember why... I guess I just thought it was funny.

I was sitting in abnormal (psych) a couple of days ago, when teh Gummi Bears song struck from out fo the blue. Not bursting out into "HIGH ADVENTURE THAT'S BEYOND COMPARE!!!!!!" was really really hard to resist.

Speakign of which. I was doing some last minute studying with Therese for my abnormal midterm, when what should I see on the tv but........Care Bears!! Is this show really on again?

One nice thing about my dorm is that every week or so, the shower curtains are changed. That's such a small, nice thing that makes quite a difference. One bad thing about dorms in general: They are cesspits of infection. I fall asleep at night to teh endless sound of coughing, and at last, my immune system has cracked, and I am SICK. Actually, I'm on my way to recovery, but I was sick, during all my midterms. Thank you, residence.

Okay, bedtime.

color wheel! yaaay!!!!

Once I get past this midterm tomorrow, I'll post. I promise. Until then.....color wheel!
What I learned:

Mixing colors is a lot hard than it looks. And I know, my purple was all watery. I could have fixed it, but I didn't care at the time, and by the time I was done I regretted it.

Also, purple is hte hardest color ever to get right. That must be why everyone hates it, 'cause all teh artists were like, "Man, I don't want to do that color, I hate mixing that color," so no one ever used it, and it became the color of violists ('cause we know all those left-footed violists love purple). Hehe, no offense to any violists out there.

I feel like I'm in kindergarten.

Dream Scene

I woke up, with this fabulous scene from my dream still lingering in my eyes and ears. So, there was this serial killer who kept nabbing women with excellent shoes. Well, we thought it was because of the fabulous shoes, but when we (I was a detective) finally tracked him down in the middle of his latest victim, we discovered that he thought he loved these women (in a very psychotic kind of way), and was going to "make love" to them (while they were drugged), but as he was getting there, he discovered the women weren't female eunuchs, and in a frustrated rage, would kill them. As we were bringing him in, before he successfully killed that last girl, of course, the girl who survived asked him (and by the way, the serial killer was Steve Buscemi, and he said this with such arrogance, and as if it were the most common sense thing ever. Go Steve!):

Girl: Why did you think we were castrated?

Steve!: Cause of Evening Birds (an evil corporation in the dream).

Girl: You mean UDF. UDF is....a dairy company?

Steve!: Geniuses.

Girl: Dairy as in regarding cows, though, not humans

Steve!: *scoffs* Oh, and now humans are better than cows, huh?

Anyways, that made me wake up laughing.

Quotes that no one else finds funny

Have you guys ever tried the tea that sits in those big things for hours like coffee? Coffee tastes like crap anyways, so it doesn't really matter how long it's been there. But I was forced to get some tea from one of these thingies the other day, and I have discovered that I am a tea snob. It was so gross, I couldn't drink it.

Me as a tea snob is pretty funny, since I know nothing about tea. All I know is that I hate hate hate to oversteep my tea. I barely keep my green tea in for a minute, and other teas no more than two minutes. Granted, these are just little cups, not big teapots full or anything.

My webcam is set up, if anyone feels like a face to face visit.

"God, Nicki, you are such a prostitute!" -a frosh girl yelling down the hall in my dorm

Dr. Watt, Abnormal Psychology

"...and my God, I have no coping skills, and I need to go home and live with my parents."

"...someone ate his apple." -student
"What's going to happen now?"
"I figure he'll get over it." -student
(regarding a thematic apperception test)

"No doubt we can find something for everybody."
(while leafing through the DSM-IV)
edit: The DSM-IV is the book of diagnostics for psychology and psychiatry. It's like the Bible, and it's sickeningly huge, filled with every disorder you could dream up.

Dr. Henke, Brain and Behavior:

regarding our midterm:
"Will we have choice? You always have choice. At the end of the year I'll tell you about free will and stuff."

"We'll make little anatomists of you, whether you like it or not."

Dr. Edwards, History and Theory of Psychology

"The heads I win, tails you lose theory."

"Here, I've spewed my guts out. How about you sift through my vomit and pick out the gems?"

"The Sunday Christian. Good for two hours a week and spends the rest of the time screwing his neighbor as hard as he can."

"I used to read science fiction, when I was young and stupid."

"...in some sense, the deepest lingering problems of humanity are just like Quebec."

"Treating your children like humans is also anthropomorphism. They're still little beasties, though."

"I read your mental efforts, I laugh, I criticize them, and then I hand them back to you."

"I don't bother arguing with intro students anymore."

"He was a belligerent asshole. If you'd been there, you would have agreed with me. He really needed it from both barrels. Little smartass."

"I'm easy to the point of inertia."

Right before class...

I don't like Chicken or Beef Ramen anymore. Oriental and Vegetable are my favorites. I'm like a Ramen vegetarian! Does that mean I get to gain acceptance from Ben and Jaime???

The big university student 20 cent packaged noodle brand around here is Mr. Noodles. If I slip up and say Ramen to anyone, I just get blank stares.

Whenever I see something advertising that it's "top quality," I always think that the opposite is probably the case.

The hot water seemed to be turned off this last weekend. I don't know if they thought that no one was left in my branch of hte dorm after everyone left for Thanksgiving, but I managed through some icy cold showers. I talked myself through it. "You're camping, Mandy, and isn' tthe lake being this freezing part of the fun of being outdoors? BRISK!" Yesterday night, everyone returned, and sure enough, so did the hot water.

I'm very happy at the moment. Oh, and I'm completely in love with Gene Wilder.

Anne: My Christmas list asks for a book on learning bass, not for a bass. I've owned an electric bass since senior year in high school, when you wanted your upright back, and I asked for that book on bass last year as well. Speaking of which, Dad's going to throw a hissy fit pretty soon about the upright bass still being in storage wherever. You should head that off without him saying anything so that when he does, you can smile at him and say, "Of course, Daddy, I took care of that months ago." Otherwise there will be full-level Dad whining.

Clinical neuroscience, Anne? Haha. If that's your thing. Seems wicked tough to me, though.

Hang on Sloopy

I know I emailed about this a couple of years ago at least, but I love it so much. So too bad.

For those of you who don't know, "Hang on Sloopy" is Ohio's official rock song.

HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 16

WHEREAS, The members of the 116th General Assembly of Ohio wish to recognize the rock song "Hang On Sloopy" as the official rock song of the great State of Ohio; and

WHEREAS, In 1965, an Ohio-based rock group known as the McCoys reached the top of the national record charts with "Hang On Sloopy," composed by Bert Russell and Wes Farrell, and that same year, John Tagenhorst, then an arranger for the Ohio State University Marching Band, created the band's now-famous arrangement of "Sloopy," first performed at the Ohio State-Illinois football game on October 9, 1965; and

WHEREAS, Rock music has become an integral part of American culture, having attained a degree of acceptance no one would have thought possible twenty years ago; and

WHEREAS, Adoption of "Hang On Sloopy" as the official rock song of Ohio is in no way intended to supplant "Beautiful Ohio" as the official state song, but would serve as a companion piece to that old chestnut; and

WHEREAS, If fans of jazz, country-and-western, classical, Hawaiian and polka music think those styles also should be recognized by the state, then by golly, they can push their own resolution just like we're doing; and

WHEREAS, "Hang On Sloopy" is of particular relevance to members of the Baby Boom Generation, who were once dismissed as a bunch of long-haired, crazy kids, but who now are old enough and vote in sufficient numbers to be taken quite seriously; and

WHEREAS, Adoption of this resolution will not take too long, cost the state anything, or affect the quality of life in this state to any appreciable degree, and if we in the legislature just go ahead and pass the darn thing, we can get on with more important stuff; and

WHEREAS, Sloopy lives in a very bad part of town, and everybody, yeah, tries to put my Sloopy down; and

WHEREAS, Sloopy, I don't care what your daddy do, 'cause you know, Sloopy girl, I'm in love with you; therefore be it Resolved, That we, the members of the 116th General Assembly of Ohio, in adopting this Resolution, name "Hang On Sloopy" as the official rock song of the State of Ohio; and be it further Resolved, That the Legislative Clerk of the House of Representatives transmit duly authenticated copies of this Resolution to the news media of Ohio.

--------------

I've been watching too many youtube clips of Script Ohio and We Don't Give a Damn for the Whole State of Michigan, and the Buckeye Battle Cry, and have now gone completely soft in the head.

Time for napping.

Today, I reached new heights in Scatterbrainedness. I was using the microwave to cook some noodles, and pressed Start, but realized belatedly that I had forgotten to put the noodles in the microwave.

I got some new posters at the poster fair.

This might seem silly, but sometimes I feel chained/restrained/something by a mild demeanor. I know, I know, I'm not that mild. But when I think about people who explode in tears or rage, and throw things and break things, and slam doors, I feel a little jealous. I mean, yeah, their emotions are truly agonizing and such, but being that expressive about them, it almost seems like those people are more alive, or experiencing things more truly and keenly. I'm like someone who is bipolar and on medication, and wants those highs and lows back, and feels dead without them. I'm naturally like the people on the dose in Equilibrium, who have their extreme emotions taken away.

Life as a mirror would be strange. And probably pretty disgusting on a daily basis.

Man I love my hair. It's quite different than it looks in the photos, I think.

Well, time for napping.

Haircut!

So, I got my hair cut. And this time I didn't tell anyone about it or ask for input beforehand. And honestly, I'm really pleased with it. Yes, of course I took all of these myself, which seems really sad, so don't judge me!

Guess what. (!)

So, Radiohead's releasing a new album online, Oct. 10, called In Rainbows.

You can buy it online and pay however much you like for it, or wait a bit, and buy the actual discbox, which includes sort of B-sides unfinished songs.

They've described it as very minimalist and closer to OK Computer, which has me really excited.

AAAaHHHHHH!

3:10 to Yuma Addendum

Okay, this talks a lot about the ending of 3:10 to Yuma, and I'm not planning on talking about things explicitly, but if you're worried about it, don't read.

I've been reading some reviews of the movie, and all the questioning the reviewers were doing (most were really positive, this is just from a small portion) seemed to be focused on the ending. Unrealistic, illogical, sell-out, poorly plotted, "left its cowboy logic back at the station," were all things mentioned. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but this is more than just a shoot-em up movie. The characters' motivation was not anything simple. The things that happened weren't illogical, but done on purpose as part of the character development. And certainly not easily understood. I honestly think that people who watch this movie and come out with conclusions like that about the ending must have really not been thinking at all. And maybe they should go watch Bad Boys II.

<--zing!!

So, it just sounded to me like those who were criticizing it were only looking at the face-value half of the movie, and didn't even see the other half of it where the ideas weren't spelled out for them. Sillies.

"Are we doing anything planned this year or are we all giving everyone gifts?"

So, let's get our plans in order. To summarize: Sam is skivving off to Australia, while everyone but him spends time with family at this family time of year, even though everyone (incl. the Niblocks) will be here except for him, and even though he was in Ireland last year. Right. Brad, Anne, and I are bunking at B&J's, Ben and Jaime are obviously there, Dad's staying at Mater's, and Jennie and Dan are popping by for a day after Christmas (?). Who have I forgotten?

Now, regarding presents. I have no idea. Thoughts? Maybe drawing names for Dad presents, and doing our sibling presents individually? Feel free to say, "No no no no no."

Okay, I wrote the above...yesterday or something, but just got back from 3:10 to Yuma. I loved it! I have no background in Westerns, so I can't say anything about that, but I thought they kept it simple and realistic, which was nice. Russell Crowe and Christian Bale: Equally nice. I'm not a big Russell Crowe fan, but I thought he did a really good job with his character. For those who don't know hte plot, Russell Crowe is an outlaw who's been captured, and Christian Bale is a poor rancher who is trying to get him on the 3:10 train to Yuma for some money. However, Russell Crowe's a pretty wily and dangerous guy, and his entire crew is trying to rescue him.

I don't know what to say about it, really, but I get one feeling from a movie that is just fun, like a fast heartbeat, but I get another feeling from a movie that I think is fun and good in its content, a slow pounding heartbeat. I don't have much in the way of concrete thoughts about it, but I can tell that I like it.

Now Brad will write a comment saying, "That movie was a travesty. I can't believe you had the poor taste to like it." Heh, that doesn't sound like Brad at all. But! Nevertheless! I will not back down. I thought it was great. See it.

Christmas Gift Ideas: 2007 Edition

Messenger Bags:

Ortlieb

Chrome Bags
Custom by R.E.Load

Or a nice, leather satchel...any questions, ask Brad. (just an example)

A really cool locket. Not a heart, but cool.

Elementary Electric Bass
btw, I don't know anything about this, so if someone knows one that's better or anything, go with that.

Cute, used, relatively inexpensive bicycle

Perfume

Functional, funky belts

any jewelry except for bracelets and rings.

Especially a cool watch.

Socks!! Really!! (and any underwear/bras: M/36C. style: demi/balconet/plunge)

any clothing at all

Addition:
Patches:
Nova Scotia
New Brunswick
Canada
Any country I've been
Ohio
Feel free to find a less sucky site.

Addition:
Labyrinth! That game of games.

Addition:
Cowboy Bebop: The Perfect Series

Thermometer!

Clothing ideas (though I'd really prefer a bra and underwear set....dire need)
Don't laugh at me for my taste or the Forever XXIness below. It makes it affordable!!

Urban Outfitters
Cardigan Sweater, M, Heather Grey
thermal top, M, any color
turtleneck, M, any color
twisty top, M, cranberry
thermal, M, white

Forever XXI
turtleneck...I'm sort of uncertain about this one
hoodie, M, olive
sweatervest! taupe, don't laugh
hoodie ...must stop linking hoodies...
thermal
vest
toggle coat

Gap
sweater, perhaps preferably orange?
sweater jacket, orange!!
ruched turtleneck, any color but grey
t-shirt, brown, black, tangerine, or red
t-shirt, brown stripe
hoodie, red

Old Navy
cable knit scoop sweater, white
scoop neck sweater, new tan heather****
toggle sweater, tan heather

Mr. Darcy

I think a bug just tried to fly up my nose. He was flying with such purpose, straight up there, that I'm a little weirded out.

So my first Brain and Behavior lab was this last Monday. I had a friend in there to partner with already, but there was a guy sitting next to us who joined up with us as well, and it turns out that his name is.....

.....

........

Darcy.

This guy does not realize what kind of a situation he's gotten himself into. I asked him if everyone reacted about his name, and he said that I was only the second person to mention Pride and Prejudice to him. So, I think I can safely reserve the right to bug him about his name.

I just heard in the hall:
Girl: "You suck."
Guy: "I don't. I'm the opposite of suck."
Girl: "My pants say Acadia."

Posting at 1am, with an 8am class tomorrow

My blogging has magical powers. The day after I wrote about stir sticks, I went to get my coffee the next morning, and they were gone. No stirring devices to be seen. Later on they were replaced by those plastic ones. And then popsicle sticks.

Sometime this summer, a someone who shall remain anonymous commented that they didn't think Newsweek liked Obama, because they made him look bad on the cover. I looked at the cover and said I thought he looked the same as ever. This someone said that Obama was generally considered an attractive guy, but this just wasn't a flattering photo of him. I was pretty surprised at this news. So I have to ask. Does the general population think Obama is attractive in a physical and not political sense? Tell me.

Have you ever seen one of those people with a really small face, but really BIG hair? It's horrible. If I had a head that small, I'd do my hair accordingly. Or, maybe they're insecure and trying to compensate or something. There's a girl in my psych classes with this small head big hair thing going on, and I look at her every single time she walks in the room, 'cause she looks so weird.

Okay, I am going to learn (or try to learn) a song on the guitar. For my very first song, what do you think I should learn? Give submissions. Really.

SLEEP

A) I had read about Rihanna's Umbrella song, but never heard it. That is, until I was sitting in Mini Moe's enjoying a bagel and coffee before class. I didn't need anyone to tell me what song it was once I heard it. Wow. All I can say is, the old lady next to me really seemed to be enjoying it.

***HEROES SPOILER***

B) What was up with Nathan and the mirror in Heroes tonight?

C) It's midnight, and I have an eight o'clock class tomorrow, and I'm just now starting my paper. :( True, it's a very very very very short paper, but still.

titles are hard

I have Wallace and Gromit socks, and they are soooo cool. Though they have a hole in the bottom. That is less cool. Even less cool is that the two washers on my floor have been broken by inexperienced frosh trying to wash way too many clothes in one load. Thank you, Frosh.

There's a "cathedral" next to my dorm that I pass on my way to classes. I like it, except that it means that I see how often funerals happen. It's depressing passing the little sign that says, "Funeral Parking," that's placed outside so frequently. What's even more depressing is when that sign is sitting out there and there are only five or ten cars in the parking lot.

Oh, to revisit the movie Stardust. Anne and Brad saw it, and thought it was fine (sorry if I'm misrepresenting your opinions), but certainly nothing too great. However, word on the street is that they both agreed that it was a "Mandy movie." So I suppose I'm considering this a caution to everyone not to take my good opinion of Stardust too seriously. It was a Me Movie.

I'd like to clarify the "some people who go to church are right bastards" quote. I couldn't tell the tone of your comment, and whether or not you were joking, Ben, but either way I'll put it into context. In my history and theory of psychology class, Dr. Edwards was talking about the flaws in some methodology. An example he brought up was that a psychologist who was looking at how religious the population was looked at how many people went to church as an indicator (don't mind the church only thing. The town I'm in right now is nicknamed The Little Vatican. That kind of thing sort of comes with teh territory, I guess). Anyways. Dr. Edwards was saying how, of course, whether you go to church or not doesn't really indicate whether or not you're religious, but that it's a decent stab at the idea. And that's when the quote about some people who go to church came in. Which is really kind of complimentary, since it seems to be suggesting that people who are religious are not "right bastards." So! That's what that was all about.

I think a couple of you might remember that I was auditioning for a chamber ensemble a while back. I didn't want to chat about it too much before I heard back, in case I didn't get in. But I did! There are nine other members: flute, clarinet, oboe, french horn, trumpet, three violins, and a piano. It's a big mish mash of instruments. The music department here is only jazz, and nothing classical or ensembley in nature has been around for at least ten years. So this group is just starting off. And the most amazing coincidence occurred during my audition.

One of the two people listening to it asked where I was from after I mentioned something about solo and ensemble contest, because apparently they call it "festival" around here, or that's the closest they come. I said Ohio, she said no kidding, me too, I asked where, she said Columbus, I said I was from Bexley, she said she went to Capital, and I asked if she knew Nancy Moore (my former private cello teacher), and she said YES! ...did I already write about this? Sorry if I did.

So, the Canadian and American dollar. Equal. Ouch. There are signs going up saying that the Canadian and American dollar will be exchanged equally until further notice. I bet that things in the states will be reaaaally slow about adjusting their exchange in tolls and stuff to accommodate that.

Well, I suppose I should actually get some reading done for classes...so I'll go do that. :(

Oh, the other day Chris and Nick put on this really random Make Blues Not War jam in front of the library. While Nick was appreciating how ridiculous the title was considering they were raising money for AIDS relief in Africa (through a Canadian grassroots thing that actually does a lot more than that), it was just making me feel self-conscious. :-P Aaanyways. Here they are playing. Nick is on guitar and Chris is playing on his little piano. I guess technically Chris plays trumpet.
Other things...here is a better view of Nicholson, where I have all my classes.
I'll be posting some photos from tonight, when I walked twenty minutes outside of town to see this band, Mishra's Dream. For those who have Facebook, enjoy. For those who don't, sorry.

quotations

Unlike everything else in this entry, this isn't a quotation, it's just the only thought of mine in this entry.
When some people say, "I'm praying for you," I think, "No you're not."

"I'm thrilled to announce--our brains have arrived!" Brain and Behavior Lab Instructor

"Zeitgeist means flower power?" Girl in my Brain and Behavior class

"Cognitive science is to psychology what creationism is to biology." Dr. Henke (Brain and Behavior)

"One guy by the name of Kluver, another by the name of Bucy. Monkeys." Dr. Henke. What made this quote so great was just the way he stated monkeys. Monkeys.

Dr. Edwards, History and Theory of Psychology:

"Lots of people who go to church regularly are right bastards."

"It was very trivial. Bizarrely, stupidly, idiotically trivial."

"I'd bring back capital punishment for that son of a bitch." <--man playing music loudly from his car

Mandy's Art Studio: VII

So, today was my first real class in painting. He just sort of threw us in and said, "Pick one of these paintings, and replicate it." I would like to blame him for that extremely messed up eye. I mean, I know a lot is messed up, but he kept telling me to bring it down more and more.

more on campus

So, this is my main academic building. Nicholson Hall, and that's Nicholson Tower, which is connected. You can't tell, 'cause this is the high side of a hill, but it's actually three stories, and this is where the majority of classes are for everyone. Just lots of simple lecture rooms. Just to the right of it and beyond is meal hall, and my dorm is about 25 ft. behind where I was standing as I took this.
This is the psych building!! The Annex. Nicholson is directly to the right. You'll notice the same cracked pavement in both photos. I do have one class in here this year. But mostly it's the psych profs' offices and labs.
The other side of the Annex, so Nicholson is directly to the left here, and the SUB is directly on the right. I like the name the Annex. It's like a level in GoldenEye. Is it a level in GoldenEye?
You can't tell how beautiful this spot is, but it's beautiful. That's the music department on the left, the administrative buildings straight ahead, and meal hall is about five feet behind me.

in the middle of the day, not the night.

Doesn't everyone always wish that they could just tune into people's thoughts like turning up a speaker, and listen to what they're thinking about when they're sitting alone, just killing time? I've always wanted to do this. If anyone could do that to me, they'd hear a static noise, punctuated briefly by thoughts that sound exactly like what I write in here every day. Exactly. In fact, if I had a computer in my brain, life would be one long post for me. Except for those moments of social interaction when I'm freaking out.

Everyone watches people, right? People watching has to be one of the best past times ever. So, I sit around watching people, but I notice...no one watches me. Granted, I'm a blatant, overt people watcher. Maybe everyone else has mad people watching skills, and I really am being watched, only I'm too much of a novice to tell. Maybe the point is that we're watching people who are busy, and we're people watching when we're not. I never feel busy, but maybe there are moments when I am, and then my guard is down and I'm watched. The fact that I'm so worried about being watched must say something about me, and I'm not so certain it's something good.

I thought I lost my debit card. But it is found.

My room this year

As always, ignore me talking. In fact, maybe you should just listen to it muted. My room is, of course, much messier now. For the first week or so I made my bed every day. Hah.

Okay, since I can't get that movie to work, here are some photos of campus instead. Here we have the library. Buildings directly next to it are...
Meal Hall/Morrison/Moe's. There's a cafe in the back called Mini Moe's.
On the other side of campus are the athletic facilities (they circle around behind where I'm standing as I took this, the hockey rink is what's on the left), and you can see one of the dorms (Governor's/NewNew Res) to the right of it, behind.

This is my first year dorm, MacIsaac. Meal hall is to the left and behind me, and the athletic facilities above are just to the right, barely out of view.

Why didn't it happen to me????

From my Biopsychology textbook:

"In most cases, mutations disappear from the genetic pool within a few generations because the organisms that inherit them are less fit. However, in rare instance, mutations increase fitness and in so doing contribute to rapid evolution."

Honestly, what student doesn't read that and think, "X-Men X-Men, X-Men, it can happen!!"

This weekend:

My Crocs are not only adorable, they're also quite comfortable, and go with just about everything I wear. Which is nice. 'Cause I blistered my feet so badly that first week that right now they're one of the only pair of shoes I can wear without too much pain.

Independent Yoga Adventure last night: Success! I'm a little sore today, but it was fun. It was a bit more strength-oriented than I expected it to be, but there were some pretty cool-looking poses. Well, not just cool-looking, but also fun.

----TWO DAYS LATER----

Well, this has been a packed weekend. Are you ready to listen? 'cause this'll be a while. Actually, I'll work to abbreviate it.

Friday night, I went to Nick and Chris's place, where there was a small party. We hung out, first watching an amazingly amazingly amazingly bad movie that could never hope to be called B, then Mel Brookes' The Producers was put on in the background. I really wanted to watch, but it was hard with all the talking. Around one o'clock, we all went to Alexander's for pizza. Later, when I went to leave for my room around three, I couldn't find my purse. In it were my keys, debit card, half my month's budget which I'd just withdrawn, driver's license, student ID, and my ticket to Metric for the next night. Since I couldn't get into my room, we had a slumber party at Nick and Chris's. Nick slept in the loveseat in the living room, and gave me his bed to sleep in. I felt like the biggest inconvenience in the world. Then the next morning, Alexander's didn't open until three in the afternoon, so I still hung around Nick's place, preventing him from doing anything productive at all, or leading his life. And I felt like an even bigger inconvenience. I was really worried that my purse wasn't going to be at Alexander's, really worried, but imagine my relief when I finally found out it was there, and everything was still inside it!! The manager guy was very particular about that. He kept telling me to check the contents, check the contents. But bumming around Nick and Chris's apartment all day, and not sleeping in my own bed, made that day very surreal and somehow tiring. When I did get home, I just lay unconscious on my bed until it was time to head back over before going to Metric.

So, I didn't realize that I knew Metric. Perhaps you know them, too? I really enjoyed them, but I don't know how I felt about the girl who led and did all the vocals. There was something about her presence on stage that I found somewhat...repellent. Like, she seemed to really love herself, and watching that was just irritating. In a moment of great misfortune, my camera chose right before the concert to run out of batteries. :( So I have no concert photos. Ohhh well. Anyways, the rest of the night afterwards was spent listening to music at Nick and Chris's until...threeish.

So, all in all, I'm tired, and will be going to sleep EARLY tonight.

Oh, and let me add that amid the torrential downfall I walked through on the way to the concert, as well as all the beer inevitably spilled on my feet during the concert, I was very happy to be wearing my rubber Crocs.

Pictures coming later.

Downhearted

I think that maybe I need to go live in the woods as a hermit, almost starve, but survive for a while. For some reason that seems like a really good idea right now. Maybe I'm having a personal identity crisis. Maybe I need to read more. Maybe I'm actually going insane.

A deep sense of dissatisfaction with myself has been laced throughout my thoughts for a while now, and I don't know what to do about it.

Last night I dreamed that I was Renee Zellweger dating that guy, Patrick, from Coupling, and becoming emotionally dependent on him.

Independent Adventure of the night: Trying out yoga at the athletic center, without any proper yoga clothing. Undoubtedly everyone will be wearing those yoga pants, and yoga shirts, and I'll walk in with my gross sweatpants. ohhhh dear.

Baked goods are the devil.

But skirts with volume are awesome.

Last night

I had a dream that I was Itchy of Itchy and Scratchy. Scratchy and I were actually best friends. We were shooting on location somewhere tropical, and decided to spend some downtime in hot springs near a volcano. Predictably, and tragically, the volcano erupted while we were in the hot springs. Our little section of rocky hot springyness was being carried down the mountain, and we miraculously made it into the ocean without the flesh burned off our skin, when another cartoon character was water skiing by and shot both of us.

And the night before that I had a crazy Spiderman dream.

Time for a nap.

wooden stirsticks seem like an uncommonly bad idea. I'm not very proactive about the environment (hah), but that seems like one of the most pain-free ways to at least reduce the whole tree cutting down thing. I know that Ben K believes that wooden stir sticks have magical powers (maybe they do), but honestly I think that a more permanent stir method should be started. Something just seems so wrong about picking the stir stick up, giving three quick swishes, and throwing it in the trash can. Such a limited time of usefulness. Do they make stir sticks out of recycled wood or something? And even with plastic ones, that sense of waste and all the energy that went into making it, seems evil for such a short life, then straight back to the dump.

Many of you must be thinking, "There are so many things in the world, and this is what Mandy picks to care about." Well, you'd be wrong. I don't really care. It's just that for 30 seconds, while I'm picking up, using, and throwing out that stir stick, a huge vision of waste opens up before me, and for a moment I'm repulsed. I suppose little things trigger this sensation in everyone. Perhaps every time Anne sees tuna she envisions churning water, and it all suddenly being stilled, and that is what makes her cringe.

So, I had my first painting class yesterday. We were just sitting around being told about materials needed and such, and how things will work. It's a 2.5 hour class, but only lasted about fifteen minutes. The professor seems like he did a lot of acid when he was young or something. He sat on a desk kicking his feet back and forth, and sort of never seemed to be aware of or care that he was actually speaking. This should be a pretty entertaining class.

Time for a nap.

a little something

As ever, my posters will just not stop falling down. Am I cursed? Perhaps. Either that, or too cheap to buy the really nice sticky tack.

My callouses are beginning to show themselves again. Only my third finger is still a bit squishy.

I just listened to this cover by Radiohead of Wonderwall, by Oasis. The moment I saw it, I knew I had to hear it. I mean, this would be a band that I love playing a song that I abhor. Sure enough, Radiohead was actually just making fun of it. I am so happy.

Sometimes, I wonder how seriously I should take my dreams. There's the logical response of, "Not seriously at ALL, Mandy, have you been listening to yourself and the messed up things you dream about?" But then sometimes I have these vivid dreams that eerily kind of give an answer to whatever dilemma I'm having at the time, and let me tell you, that's hard to resist. When you're sitting, debating, debating, and then you're told the answer in a dream.

Last night I had one of the best social scene nights I've experienced in Antigonish. StFX's only music program is a jazz program, and Monday nights at the "pub" (actually just a nice bar), the professors meet and play for about four hours. So last night I went with Nick, Greg, and Chris, two other guys joined us, and we sat squeezed into a four person booth for the entire time, listening to some good jazz, while they drank more and more beer. All the music students were there listening, and it was just the best, most laid-back scene that I've encountered yet. Hurray!

*cough, choke, ack*

I barely made it alive through the cloud of perfume and cologne filling the hallway. It is truly a Friday night on campus, and the ladies and the men of StFX are dressing to kill.

Classes so far

The problem with advancing in a program is that the higher level you get, the bigger the egos are that you're dealing with. I mean, the egos were always there, it's just that there were more people in addition, sort of diluting the ego. Then as the people who were pretty casual about it drop out, the egos remain, and become concentrated. And then you're left sitting in class listening to people put the oddest, hoity toity tones in their voices as they answer questions, and you get angry.

Or at least I do. Grrrrrrrr.

So, I've had three of my classes so far.

Brain and Behavior with Dr. Henke seems pretty intimidating, but I think that I might be able to pull through. I got this book, "A Colorful Introduction to the Anatomy of the Human Brain: A Brain and Psychology Coloring Book," as a sort of remedial aid to myself. So far it seems really helpful, and I've already learned stuff I didn't know just in the first ten pages, but it also coincidentally is by the same author of the textbook our class is using. Go figure. Throughout the year, we'll be dissecting a sheep's brain in lab. Fun. Oh, but I sincerely hope that everyone is enjoying how funny my coloring book on neuroanatomy is.

Abnormal Psychology with Dr. Watt seems like it's going to be awesome. Interesting subject matter, guest speakers who have the disorders we'll be learning about, and perhaps a service learning volunteer type aspect as well. No lab for this class, yay!

Advanced Data in Psychological Research (level up from last years Research Methods and Stats course) seems pretty intimidating as well. In our first day, Dr. McCormick blasted through two months of last year's course. This could seem really bad, except that in one sentence he managed to encapsulate in a perfectly comprehensible way a topic that Dr. Sullivan (of last year's RM&S class) easily spent half an hour on, and I still didn't understand. However, a concept flying by that quickly made it difficult to take notes on. Con #1: No powerpoint at all, so if you miss it when he says it, it's gone. Con #2: There's a lab for this course! They purposefully didn't mention it in the Academic Calendar, apparently. :( How sad! I thought I was only going to have one class with a lab this year.

loose ends

Yes, I'm in a new place. A new room, inside a beautiful building, back on campus where adventurous things are going to be happening. But I'm not going to talk about that for now, 'cause I have some loose ends to wrap up.

a) Dad's Treo finally died. Did he replace it with something else? Nope, just another Treo, slightly newer model.

b) Jennie and Dan left behind some Junior Mints. I love Junior Mints. They had melted into the bottom of the box, so I ripped the box off from around them (rather than trying to dig them out), and enjoyed a Junior Mint Block, kind of like a brownie. In the picture, it looks like hardened oreo ice cream. Don't you think?

c) I finished the countertops before I left. Not the grouting, just the tiling. And here is my masterful work. The tile here is still covered in tile residue from me cutting them, so it looks very unclean and grimy. It just needs to be wiped down. So there are now three countertops. Oh, we were missing one piece of tile for the edges, so you see at the very far end on this one that there's a gap.

d) I have a lovely view from my room.

Departure Time

Yeah, well, this title really says everything I need to say. Until Monday, I'll be disconnected. I'm packing my laptop up tonight. That's right! No emailing, Facebooking, IMing, chatting within gmail. I know this probably makes most of you nervous, to think that you won't be able to contact me lightning fast, but don't worry. We'll all survive.

I'll be writing later.