I finally got around to seeing Charlie Wilson's War this morning. It was good - I especially enjoyed the many loving shots of things blowing up midair. I was also reminded that the eighties were scary for many reasons, none of which have to do with communism, Russia, or Afghanistan. Also, East Texas is scary. I won't even bother with the analysis of how it's especially timely.
The best parts are those with Philip Seymour Hoffman, natch: Mister Bones is an advanced cuddler, by the way - right now the left half of my body is immobilized by sleepy happy dog. Speaking of dogs, I think the dogs in the movie are Whippets, but I'm not sure.
The hair is still painfully bad.
I finally have a grade for my last class, which is great - I can stop worrying now. I definitely made Second Honors which is nice considering my only goal this semester was to not get kicked out of school. Also, I have housing! Yay! Now I just have to contact people so they can do things and I can get a specific room. Maybe tomorrow.
Remember when I said the cut was good enough? I lied. It's horrible. Horrible and brutal, and it's going to take a long time to grow out enough to be okay. It will take longer to grow out enough for me to go looking for another stylist who can handle a razor. I've already gotten some recommendations, though.
Second, an interlude of dog blogging:
Today Mister Bones and I went on an expedition to find balls for his found ball collection. We only found one - a Darth Vader Basketball. He played with it in the front yard - running with his back legs and controlling the ball with his front legs and mouth. I had to go retrieve it from the street, the neighbours yard, the street again, and the other neighbours yard. Finally he punctured it! And then his mouth got stuck, because he'd inadvertently created a vacuum with his teeth. But my dad and I pulled it off and deflated some of the air so it wouldn't happen again. After that he took a break and had some ice water before going back to closely supervising my dad as he washed the car. Mister Bones helps my dad wash the car by sitting in the backseat after the backseat has been vacuumed. Also, Mister Bones recently got a doggy pool, but more about that later.
Third, there also may be more about this later:
By 'this', I mean something very loosely (barely) connected with the video.
Fourth, dispatches from church:
We're going trilingual soon, which is cool. The third language will be vietnamese. Also, the vietnamese community in my parish recently ordered a statue from Italy and placed it in the chapel where the tabernacle is located. There are two candle boxes on either side, which means that now we are finally a real Catholic Church, because we weren't before. The end.
That's what it says in the spot where my fourth grade should be - just NR. NR = Not Reported. This sort of worries me - that was the one where I got an extension, and then went over the extension a little bit. On the other hand, my professor never emailed me to tell me something was wrong. I also know that professors are generally expected to have a seventy two hour turn around on final grades. For a test, this seems okay. But for fifteen to twenty essays, which are themselves fifteen to twenty pages, this seems unfair. Three days to read and grade 225 to 400 pages seems like it would take a herculean effort. And that's just for one class, not multiple classes. In this class, the essay is half of our grade. Three days seems a little aspirational, at the least.
I didn't feel like raising GUAS from the ashes today either. Last night I was watching television because I couldn't stand to look at my computer screen any longer. I spent about nine or ten hours yesterday working on the website and the listproc. Unlike some people who are silly heads who live in Bronxian stomping grounds, I actually like the new site better, and not just because I made it. It has fewer colours and photos, but in my mind that adds up to visually and aesthetically simpler, and therefore more desirable. Take that Joe! Just kidding. I agree that the last site was quite good. For this one, we have no choice but to use a template, and the template is not very customizable. I expect that this is to make it simpler for people who don't build websites, and even out the playing ground for all the professors, departments, organizations, etc. THe only real customization I can do besides the header is with html in the text, and by embedding photos and videos. Even the photos can't be hosted on the site though - the only way it works is by putting them on a flickr stream and using the code. That's strange, but okay. I might just set up a flickr stream for the organization to make it simpler.
The first photo is of Mister Bones helping with the dishes. Mostly he helps by getting in the way or by licking plates as they're loaded into the dishwasher. He looks confused and sad here, because I had just thrown out food instead of giving it to him. Mister Bones doesn't believe in the concept of food going bad, and therefore not being suitable for eating. The second photo is of Mister Bones helping me blog. As you can see, he helps me blog by sitting on my bed and touching my nose with his nose. He slept all day today, until my parents pulled into the driveway in their hippie car, and then he woke up and ran to the front door to meet them when they came in. This morning we made more progress with chomping and dragging. After a round of chomp chomp I showed him how to chomp on my dad's arm and then drag my dad towards me. Then he did it all by himself. Yay for progress! Much like Mister Bones, I also slept all day. I think the sleep deprivation from finals has caught up to me, and I've run out of adrenaline. That's fine - after I sleep it off I'll feel better and return to a normal schedule. Today was a day of being a bum, and it was great. Now I'm going to go continue reading Brooklyn Follies by Paul Auster. I bought it months ago, but was too busy with school to start it until I got on the plane home.
Yes, I totally just stole Joe's blog post title. I did that because now that I'm back in Texas, I, much like Joe, am being a bum. This mostly involves watching 30 Rock and taking naps with Mister Bones. He still does that thing where he stretches out and uses a pillow for his head. Sometimes he flops his ears over his eyes.
Last night I finally saw Hot Fuzz - it was not at all what I expected. Actually, it was better than I expected.
I met J-- for dinner Saturday night after cleaning up my room as much as possible without a vacuum. We had end of semester Wisey's in the LXR Underground. Technically the LXR Underground may be the Neville's common room, but it's difficult to tell. It is totally awesome though. We went to N---'s Rocky Horror party, which was very much the type of party N--- might throw. J-- and I were falling asleep and had places to be early in the morning, though, so we left early.
I totally didn't miss my plane, although I did have to repack my suitcase in the middle of the airport. It was over the weight limit, which is stupid when you consider that I was still taking the same amount of stuff, just in two bags. Although, it isn't stupid when you consider that at some point, someone has to be able to lift that bag. I could lift it though.
Right now Mister Bones is having a dream, and he's barking in his sleep. Except not really, because it sounds more like a broken squeaky toy sound, but they're clearly supposed to be barks.
My shoulders do not fit in airplane seats. This is very uncomfortable. The baby carrots and kit kat bar almost made up for it. (Hint: not really)
Before watching Hot Fuzz last night, we had to do mothers day things. These really just consisted of eating dinner outside. Dinner, by the way, was amazing, as it was totally the first real food I've eaten since easter. Negro Modelo, chocolate dipped strawberries, and steaks were involved.
I thought Mister Bones' cookies might have been crushed on the airline, but they weren't. I didn't realize until I took them out of my bag to show my father that they had garlic powder in them as well as peanut butter. So Mister Bones got a garlic powder peanut butter cookie, and then got to go around and lick everyone with his garlic powder peanut butter breath. Good stuff.
Assorted extras: noone knows what happened to Mister Bones' volleyball I got my third grade back, out of four - it is better than I thought it would be! I saw K----, at church, briefly, in between the airport and home my cat hates you we have new cable - with BBCAmerica later I will write a post about how I know my parents are hippies
I can't believe I've been here for a semester. Since January. A little bit more than four months. That is almost as long as I've had this blog. Exactly as long as I've had this expensive view (marginally decent photo attached). Now that all of my papers are written and turned in, all that's left for me to do is purge my belongings, store most of what is left, pack some things to take home, make sure I catch my plane, and then wait on tenterhooks for grades.
That last part is the worst.
I haven't really processed all of this yet - the going back to Texas for a year (!) and the coming back here for a year, and the part where I'll probably be back here next August, but actually I don't know for sure yet. I expect I won't be able to process it for a while, especially since the class I came in with graduates in one week.
Speaking of odd things: today, because I am in the astronomy club, I rode on the back of a golf cart from Village A to Leo's to Prospect & 37th st NW to 37th st NW & O st NW to the Alumni house on O st NW. Jack the bulldog got shotgun, because he's the mascot. It was really strange, partly because the driving was questionable (but in a good way) and partly because I haven't been in a moving vehicle in a very long time and partly because it was just really strange and unplanned.
I don't really know where I'm going with this, so I'm going to go back to watching questionably legal episodes of 30 Rock. [Suck it, USA TODAY!]
PS- Mister Bones has mysteriously acquired a volleyball for his Found Ball Collection! No one knows how, when, or where he got it!
First, the cupcake. Vanilla Cupcake with Chocolate Satin - really good. The cupcake is vanilla, but also has undercurrents of something else that I can't name. In a good way, not a bad way. The chocolate icing is deliciously rich and sweet without being too sweet. The cake and icing are in just the right proportion, as well. When J-- and I came in, Baked & Wired was strangely empty. Then it filled! And one of the people who had come in had a tiny tiny little pug puppy, which was so cute. And right now there's someone else waiting for a drink with a dog. I don't know the breed, but it's the same as the Target dog.
Now, Tom Lehrer -
This is what I've uploaded instead of posting more information about the pope.
The Unsweetened Persian Necter Black Tea (Iced) is quite delightful also - it isn't as strong as one would think, and more flavourful.
Right now, as I post this, J-- is reading through all my back entries. What a lemon wedge. Today J-- and I had lunch at The Tombs, which according to their website "doubles as a sporting saloon and a neighborhood restaurant". It's not as strange as it sounds, I promise. Anyway, our waiter today was scared, sort of. Actually, I don't know quite what. He was enthusiastic even if confusing and confused, and the whole thing was entertaining even if he did look sort of like a panic attack was coming on by the end. Right now, J-- is kicking me. I called him a lemon wedge earlier because in The Tombs, he ate a lemon wedge. Whole. Weirdo. Here is a gratuitous photo of my dog:
