Now Playing

Paraguayans - The Bloodhound Gang: "You and me baby aint nothin' but mammals...."

Greeks - The Boys of Delta Upsilon: "Macho Macho Mug, Round 21"

Uh-Oh

There was just the most horrible banging. It shook the house really badly. I was actually scared for a second. I think maybe the girls in the middle were stating their opinion on the matter. Sounded like they voted against the Paraguayans, but it hasn't done any good thus far. We're still pulsating. Maybe they'll call in the noise complaint.

Answer the following question to the best of your ability

It's 1:53 a.m. Which is worse:

A. The Paraguayan party two levels down
B. The drunk greeks down the street

Given the following information:

The Paraguayans are alternating between techno and alternative - our house is pulsating.

The frat boys are singing and the gals are squealing.

The Paraguayans are hotter and probably more interesting, so I'm liable to cut them a little more slack. They're also louder (due to proximity) and they're vibrating my house.

It really is a tough choice. Ultimately I'd say it's going to come down to whoever passes out first. If the Paraguayans pass out and forget to turn off their music it will result in the following equation:
them = enemy for life

If the frat guys pass out first, we could be good, but there's always the potential for a fight, in which case things could drag out indefinitely. As it is, something just got smashed so we should be well on our way.

Now I've heard the old adage, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. And I really have thought about it. But I played sand volleyball in the rain this evening and, with my hair, you can all imagine what the end result looks like. I suppose I could effectively scare them into submission or something, but really the Paraguayans are hot and I'd like to keep that option open. I suppose I could always call in a double noise complaint, get rid of them both at once. I've never done it before and I probably won't now, but if I'm still having this discussion at 3:00 a.m. I might change my tune.

As it is, I'll be drifting off with the sweet sounds of the "Braveheart Theme Dance Mix" and 15 rounds of "Macho Macho Mug" as my lullaby. Gotta love college.

Dear goodness, downstairs they've got a dance mix of In the Jungle....maybe I should make that phone call.

Gravity

I was wearing pants that were a little longer than normal. I moved my curling iron. The vacuum was in the middle of the floor, my plant was behind me. A dirty shirt was flung over the back of my chair. My exercise mat was sticking out three feet further into the room than usual. Gravity was exerting a downward force on me to the tune of 9.8 meters/second squared. There was a chance that I might be meeting someone for a movie. Obviously a recipe for disaster.

You know how people have certain habits that they don't really even realize they have, things they do a million times in a row and never once blink or waver in their motions. Like for instance when I do my hair - I do it in front of one small mirror, then I get up and check in the mirror leaning against my wall, then I check it in the bathroom mirror. I don't even think about this. It just happens.

Well I did my hair and something just happened. I stood up and the next thing I know, I'm on the floor, the chair is flipped on top of me, I'm laying on the vacuum and my plant has just been mutilated. I remember going down, I just wish I knew how it happened.

Who Moved My Cheese

There are some things that just don't fit properly in supermarket aisle designations. Incidentally, these are also the things that aren't sold in enough volume to warrant being placed on the index signs hanging from the ceiling. I say those are the things that need to be on the signs! Everybody knows where to find bread or cereal or soft drinks. But, say for instance, you're looking for a dairy product that doesn't need to be refrigerated..... tricky huh. Or try this one - maple syrup. French fried onions? Trust me, you won't find those items on signs.

I usually go to Wal-Mart and sort of just follow the cart till I end up in front of what I need. I know where it is, I just don't really process what items are around it. Most of the time it's pretty obvious, and I could tell you just using simple logic. Peanut butter and jelly - same aisle. Canned goods all together, condiments neatly lined up, etc. And I get along just fine for the most part, but when I switch it up, there's where we have our problems. I wandered around Dillions for 20 minutes looking for Velveeta cheese before I broke down and asked someone. At which point they told me it was in the aisle with the coffee and tea. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot. That is not where it goes.

Parrish Blue

The sky a perfect

Parrish blue, with one bright star.

I should skip my class.








Picture is "Ecstasy" by Maxfield Parrish

Spring's Refugees

Dirty piles of snow
Huddle in the plaza
Refugees displaced
By a change of season
Forcibly removed to the edges
So polite society
Needn't be bothered by them
As they wait
For evaporation.

With My Brother and My Sister Standing By

Last year, about the time I was wrapping things up in Australia, I saw a Time (or Newsweek - I can't remember for sure) magazine in the airport as we were leaving Uluru. The cover story basically said that research had shown that of all the influences in a kid's life, siblings play the largest role in how he/she ultimately turns out. I thought this was quite interesting, but not interesting enough to shell out the money to buy it. I've thought about it since then and want to thank my siblings for all the guidance, support, and well-timed whacks on the head that helped make me who I am.

I'd like to thank Canaan for not letting me whine, for helping me think of a topic for my intercultural communications presentation, for sharpening my corn knife before we went back out after lunch, and for telling me there wasn't a guy within a five mile radius of Aggieville who was worth my time. Although I didn't (and still don't) believe him, I appreciate the sentiment. I remember once when I was out at Hays, waiting for Kristi to get back from a cross country meet, you talked on the phone with me for well over 5 hours. I know we'll probably never do that again, but it really was great.

I'd like to thank Aubrie for helping me decide whether or not I should wear socks to bed, for letting me sleep on the "not fall out side" of the bed, and for holding my hand until I fell asleep. I also need to thank her for helping me re-enroll my freshman year when I dropped all my classes and switched majors after the first week and for not getting too fed up with me when we've been traveling and I take a passive role leaving her to make all of the decisions and read the maps. (But honestly, if I can't even decide whether or not to wear socks to bed, do you really want me in charge?) Thanks for reading over my crappy school papers and fixing my prepositions and what not.

However, I did not appreciate it when you (Canaan) kept knocking me down when I was jumping on mom and dad's bed or or when you hid under my bed and grabbed my ankles at night. I was also pretty ticked when you (Aubrie) took my brand-new eye shadow back to D.C. (it was still in the package!) Um there were several times when you (both) held me down and tickled me till I thought a really bad thing was going to happen all over the carpet and it made me really sad when I heard you complain to mom when I had to practice my saxophone. I was in 5th grade and thought I was pretty cool...

Regardless, the benefits have greatly outweighed the drawbacks and overall I think you're pretty good as far as siblings go. You guys have shown me how to work hard and how to succeed, how to have compassion and forgive, how to laugh at myself, and how to negotiate (I'll wash the pans if you do the plates and silverware...I'll eat your peas if you eat my tuna). You taught me that good arguments are not based on volume and expletives (although they can sometimes be used for effect) and that I'd better bring something substantial to the table to even have a shot at making my point.

I'm sure there's probably more gems of wisdom you've passed along but I'm just going to leave it at this for now. Thanks for everything.

Nerd Love - Part 2

I was in the library, tap tap tappin' away on my machine when a guy walked by. He gave me a sideways glance and said,

"Nice computer."

Nerd Love

I have seen the shape of love my friends and it looks very much like this

Yes, baby's got a brand-new procrastinatin' machine. Don't get me wrong, it won't be all fun and games. There will be some serious, knock-down, drag-out academic endeavors taking place on this desktop. It's just kind of nice, after four years of computer labs and the library, to have my very own computer, where I can have my own bookmarks and settings and a cool picture on the desktop.... At last I've got my very own technological home.


And it has a remote - how cool is that!

6.5 sentences

And I'm having a solo dance party. Music courtesy of the Black Eyed Peas. Shout out to my girl Fergie.

Wireless internet is standing between me and academic fulfillment. Damn the electric fence.

Procrastination/ADD

I’ve written 5 sentences of my 5 page philosophy paper. They’re pretty solid sentences. Good content, nice structure, proper punctuation. Instead of forging ahead, I’m taking a break to balance a carrot on my fingernail and think of witty phrases while I wait for facebook to load.

Adriane... Ad... A.D.D....

Coincidence?
Wanna ride bikes?

Somebody keep The Juice on the DL

There was a short news blurb in the paper yesterday regarding a book by O.J. Simpson. The title? "If I Did It"

In interviews, set to run later this month on Fox, he apparently describes how he would have committed the 1994 slayings of his ex-wife and her friend "if he were the one responsible."

There is so much that is wrong in this whole scenario - I think it really becomes a study in just how arrogantly idiotic people can be. Is it too much to ask that he just fade from our collective consciousness and finish out his days in relative obscurity? Instead he's gotta come out with something new every now and then, just to peel off whatever scabs the involved parties may have been nearly through healing. There was the interview incident where he deemed it appropriate to wield a banana as if it were a knife, making repeated stabbing motions. Now there's this. C'mon man. You got off, consider it a favor from the universe, now do us one in return. The winds blew in your favor. Sail off into the sunset already. Pay your bills. Mow your lawn. Build birdhouses and brush your teeth. Keep to yourself. Above all, avoid the press.

Do it for the* kids.





*your

Of Microphones and Old Men

An empty podium is so potent. The microphone ensures you will be heard. The podium implies people will listen. Important people stand behind them and we all stop talking. They start out with a round of accolades to each other. Thanks and honor all around. It's hard to take seriously.

But the perspective is different if you see it from the side, when you see the guy behind the podium. The legs, the shoes, the fumbling of papers. For the first time you see not a stone-faced man getting blasted in the papers. You see a Grandpa. If the differences in clothing and culture are eliminated, the world's most powerful men become slightly different shaped versions of Mr. Rogers. It's hard to take seriously.

So I wonder, at the end of the day, towards the end of life, after they have spent years making decisions on a global stage, speaking to a world who has no choice but to listen, what is left to old men? The rest of the world is left to either laud or pick up the pieces of their lives' work. They exit stage left and watch from the wings. The future will judge them when it gets around to it. Bodies and minds deteriorate until they can no longer tie shoes or button sweaters. The world finds someone new to put behind the podium.

The White Boots Ranger

So I went to our exhibition game (men's basketball) on Saturday. And the question I have is this - I just found out the answer - yes Bob Huggins does have a wife. The reason I was wondering this was because he was wearing a black suit. And what appeared to be creamy white boots. The shirt was purple. So the more I look at him the more absurd he becomes.

And then he takes off the jacket.

The purple shirt appears to be a t-shirt mock turtleneck. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot. Underneath a black vest. Double Whiskey Tango Foxtrot. I mean it was Nike, so maybe since we are a Nike school he had to have the logo somewhere. But wow.

And white boots.

Bottom line is Huggins = true dandy. We obviously didn't hire him for his class, his ethics, and I'm wondering about hiring him on the basis of winning either. We hired him for his white boots. End of story.

I'm kind of hoping he keeps this up though. I mean, fashionable coaches are so boring. Let's keep the white boots coming. After Labor Day? Of course, don't mind if I do! It's not like he's never been controversial before. If he can keep the craziness limited to his clothing choices, I don't think there'll be many people complaining. Stay posted for future white boots sightings.

Carrie's Song

There are certain songs that will always put me back in a certain place, a certain frame of mind, a certain camera's image. There's a song, named for a girl who isn't me, written by a guy in a band who never made it. And I remember a group of people who no longer bother to keep in touch. Time moves us along toward ever-new destinations. The song means something different to each of us. But it doesn't matter. At one point in our lives, we knew every word. We stood too close to speakers, breathing in too much smoke, singing it together.


Image from www.scythianmusic.com

The Bluemont Files

The vending machine was givin' me sass so I roughed it up and stole it's pocket change. And an extra bag of M&Ms.

Let them eat cake!

Reason's why life is grand:
1. When I first moved in for the year, our frige was filled with wedding cake and beer.
2. The First week of school I saw the largest preying mantis ever. It was honestly almost as long as my shoe. Pretty Cool.



Areas that could use a little improvement:
1. The lawn of the house on the corner, which I have to walk by every day smells like cat feces. I mean it is bad. I didn't notice it till they mowed, but wowee. And since it's a corner lot, I've gotta deal with two whole sections of sidewalk that get progressively stinkier.



It's been several weeks since I first wrote this. The cake is gone, the beer is left and the neighbors haven't been mowing so things are still hanging basically in balance. Now if I could just find that preying mantis.

Here we go again...

Here are some notes on the first few days of school:

On Monday, my fears regarding Ad Sales were unfortunately confirmed. I'm in the class with a bunch of other people who all already know each other and have their "groups". (most of the people I knew who would possibly form my "group" have graduated) Great. I spent my one hour break sitting at the union, chatting it up, enjoying the people watching. Then I sauntered on over to Philosophy. Ok, so I didn't think it would be that bad. I mean sometimes it's kind of fun to go round and round in circles and never reach a difinitive answer. And the professor's accent, though slight, was something interesting for my ears. However, to jump up to the present, I really am not going to enjoy this class. It's like he's taking the dullest approach possible. Whew. Could be rough. Work was pretty dull, but I had no complaint there because I already had an assignment I managed to do a little work on. Gold Star for me.

On Tueday I left the house feelin' pretty frat-tastic. I was wearing the standard fraternity dress-code conforming attire: khaki cargo pants, flipflops, and a t-shirt advertising a witty sounding business (Dottie's Den - Lake of the Ozarks). Once I realized this, I felt pretty uncomfortable - as if I might somehow be mistaken for the wrong demographic. (male... greek.... alcoholic...) Anyway, I got to my first class and wham-o, the marketing dept. had pulled a doozy on me. I signed up for the 8:05 Business Strategy class, not because I like to get a nice intellectual jump start on my day, no I signed up for that section because I heard the professor was good. But oh, no, there was no James Bloodgood at the front of the room. There was a lady. And though I'm sure she'll be wonderful, this just really irks me. If they don't know who's going to be teaching the class, don't even list a name on there, so you don't enroll under false pretenses! Sheesh. I was still excited to take Sports Marketing, until I walked into the room and saw that it was completely packed. I had this professor before and I really enjoyed the class, however, there were only about 8 people in there so the dynamics were significantly different. I never realized just how differently I behave in these two situations. In a large class I will not speak up unless required. It just doesn't happen. It shouldn't matter, but apparently in larger groups I revert back to the 4 year old who stared at her shoes. Oh well, I happen to have very nice shoes that deserve to have a little optical attention every now and then.

Today was basically a repeat of Monday although today I did go for a rather disheartening run. Oh the hill is long and steep, but somewhere, up among the clouds, I think I can see the shadow of my former glory. And if I squint real hard I can see I'm wearing my cool green pants (Aubrie, their days in your closet are numbered, however do not fear, it is a very large number).

And now I'm at work for the next 1.5 hours. The year, is off to a start. What sort of start? The jury's still out on that.

Busy, Very Busy!

Since I've gotten home from Australia, I've had my roomate's wedding to look forward to and get ready for (I was in charge of the slideshow). And now it's all over. Despite a few minor hang-ups everything went wonderfully. The bride was beautiful, the groom was handsome, and one of the mothers wore her dress backwards all day. The flower girl broke her ankle at the rehearsal dinner but still carried out her duties like a champ. Just as their marriage is the beginning of something wonderful, it's also the end of something that was pretty darn good too. It's just a little sad to be in our apartment and know that Meredith isn't going to be living with me anymore. One more reminder that time keeps a steady pace and never turns around. Lives diverge never to meet up again in the same way - which for the most part is a good thing. Who really wants to go back to 7th grade? Honestly.

Between Thursday and today, I've been sleeping the way we've been getting rain - too little, too late. It's terribly annoying to go to sleep at 1:36 am only to wake up at 6:18 am and not be able to fall back asleep. The next night was basically a repeat of the first. I woke up looking like an extra from the set of FraggleRock which kind of appealed to me so I left it. So on Saturday I tried to take a nap but strangely couldn't sleep (this NEVER happens!). So I swept my room and went to Walmart instead. The two departments I visited were Electronics and Automotive. And I'll be honest, with my fragglerock hair, I pretty much owned the aisles. The great bias-cut skirt and beaded sandals I was wearing may have had something to do with it too. But 69 bobby pins later - my hair a post-fraggle rock disaster, my skirt in the dirty laundry, I'm just exhausted. Somewhere in the middle of all the craziness of the wedding and not sleeping and topping off my motor oil in the Walmart parking lot, I realized that for the first time in my life I felt like a bona-fide grown-up rather than a slightly heavier, more educated version of my 17 year old self.

It's great, but I'm exhausted.