Cliched

Well as everyone else seems to be doing a "last blog" blog, i feel the need to follow suit and wrap up what has been a very...different, shall we say, experience. *RANDOM* I just realized I'm such an idiot. In the email saying blogs were due Tuesday at 9 my brain just totally skipped over the line that said 64 was the magic number. Oh well, i have 2 extra. Anyway, about this experience. I never really thought about blogging before this class. I mean i had heard of it but i didn't follow any and i never considered writing my own. My cousin basically blogs for a living, he writes for SB Nation with his blog Over the Monster, about the Red Sox. I really don't think i could produce quality blogs day in and day out. I mean when i had to write these minimum of 100 word blogs, it was like pulling teeth sometimes. Some days it was fun, sometimes i liked to write about a movie i just saw or something weird that happened during the day but other times i just hated it. It is a good way to get writing everyday but honestly i enjoyed the response papers so much more. I cant believe the semester is already over. I honestly will really miss this class, i like to write (just not blogs) and i really like everyone in the class. We should all take another class with Meg next year! Notes from Neverwhere OUT!

Next Semester

I'm really excited for my classes next semester! I was lucky enough to get all classes that i really wanted. I'm the most excited for my OT 510 class, which is basically an intro to occupational therapy, what you would do as an OT and the types of jobs out there. I think it will give me a really good idea if i want to chose OT for my major. I also am taking ANTH 411, which is an intro to anthropology, which i plan on minoring in i think. I just took an archaeology class this semester (ANTH 412) and i really loved it so i definitely want to keep taking those kinds of classes. I also have Psych stats, which I'm not super excited for just because its math, but i need it if i want to do OT, so whatever, its just stats, its not like calculus, so i should be ok. I am also taking American sign language, which i think will be really cool! Then i have concert band, which is just at night on T and R. My schedule is pretty sweet i only have one 8 o'clock class on M and W and on Friday i only have one class. Should be great!

No Punctuation

I really love living on Main Street i can see all the pretty lights on the street and it makes me feel like I'm living in like the suburbs or something get to see the occasional car pass by and with all the snow now it feels like something out of a Christmas movie all were missing is carolers and oh yeah no final exams would be nice but now were talking about a perfect world not gonna happen i was so happy to see snow the other night i got home at like 2 in the morning on Saturday and it was so beautiful with all the Xmas lights and the snow falling and it was just perfect i can only hope that we get to have a white Xmas this year its not supposed to warm up too much next week i don't think and i think we may be getting some more snow on Wednesday i have to go now though because i need to shut off the Xmas lights before my roommate goes to bed

ha ha when you read this it sounds like i have major ADD

Titles

I just realized that most of the titles of my blog posts have little to do with what i actually end up writing about. What i do is i come up with an idea, use that as the title and then start writing. The first few sentences end up being about what the title suggests but then i get off on a tangent and start writing about something unrelated. Like whats about to happen in a minute, because i mean, seriously how much can i write about my titles having no relevance, especially when i just said that. Now i have to write about something else. I think for my next entry i will write without punctuation just for laughs...Muahhahahah!

Drawing

Ive been sitting on my bed for the past hour trying to think of a funny cartoon to draw for our last response paper. I just could not think of anything really witty, so i just ended drawing the beginnings of all these stupid ideas and now i have given up. I guess i will just write a regular response paper. I love to draw but i suck at cartoons, i just am not witty enough i guess. So what to write about then? I could write about how much i have really enjoyed this class. Boring. I could write about how much i dislike blogging. Lame. I could write about how I'm writing about ideas to fill up space for this blog. Lamer. Hmmm. I could write a personal narrative. Maybe. Or perhaps ill just come up with some completely ridiculous story about a squirrel named Mike. Awesome. There you have it, i am going to write a story about Mike the Xmas squirrel. Just wait, ill be on the NY Times bestseller list!

Almost Done

I really cant believe that the semester is almost over. This semester has just flown by, it seems just like yesterday i was moving in and getting settled. I really hope that all of colleges doesn't fly by like this because i really don't want to have to work yet. I wonder what the difference between now and high school is, because high school certainly didn't fly by like this. Maybe its because high school was so structured and now we have all this free time and can actually have fun during the day and not be in a classroom all day. I really love college so far, all my classes are great and the freedom is just amazing! I cant wait for my new classes next semester and I'm so excited for winter break and spending some quality time with my family and friends from home!

TV makes me hungry

I keep seeing all theses Pillsbury commercials and they are making me so hungry. They show like all the different things you can make with Pillsbury rolls and now i want a breakfast sandwich.

20 minutes later.

Well my hunger got the best of me. I went to Panache with my roommate and got a tomato, mozzarella and basil sandwich. I know, not exactly a breakfast sandwich, but it was so good. I'm so grateful that that place is open late because i seem to get these late night cravings quite a bit. I also have like 130 dining dollars to spend so I'm trying to use them up before the end of the year. That may sound easy but i eat at the dining hall most of the time and never really think to stop somewhere else and get food. But now I'm full and i think i will go to bed.

Ridiculous Commercial

I just saw the most ridiculous and probably really effective commercial for Hanes socks ever. So the mom walks into the house with some shopping bags and sees her husband dunking their son's feet into a tub of what looks like glue. So she asks what the heck he's doing and he tells her that he invented a paste that can substitute as socks because they (him and his son) are sick of socks that don't conform to their feet. They mom just looks at them with a dumbfounded look and says "well thats stupid" and pulls out a packet of Hanes super extra comfort socks (or whatever they were) and throws then at him. Then it skips to all three of them jumping for joy on a bed in their new super comfy socks. Oh. My. God. Seriously? It was so stupid but really effective because it totally caught my attention and made me laugh.

Room Decorations

My roommate and i decorated our room for Xmas today. I bought some cute mini trees and tinsel and ornaments at Borders the other night. The trees are so cool, they're both made of tinsel and one is bright pink and the other is multicolor. The ornaments are bright blue mini glass balls and i also bought some caramel filled chocolate ornaments which I'm sure are going to be disappearing slowly! Then we hung the tinsel strands around the window sills and hung up a stocking i bought at Old Navvy. My roommate also bought some window clings of snowflakes and snowmen, so we put those up as well. I think we want to cut out some paper snowflakes and write our names on them and stick them to our door. I'm just so happy now because our room is so festive and will hopefully keep our spirits up when it comes time to start studying for our finals!

Harry Potter Marathon

Heck yes! This weekend on ABC Family was the HP marathon where they show all the deleted scenes from each of the movies! I'm just able to catch the end of it! I love seeing all the awesome deleted scenes, its much better to see them in the context they were meant to be in rather than all together as bonus features. Its amazing how all the actors still look around the age they should be when in reality there quite a few years older than they should be. I cant wait to see the last two movies, and i cant wait until the theme park opens! I think the theme park is scheduled to open in April 2010! Just after spring break, I'm so sad. Oh well it just gives me an excuse to go down to Florida for the weekend in the middle of the semester!

City of Wonders

NYC really is a very fascinating city for those who like to "people watch" like me. In the subway station there was this guy wearing the tightest black pants i have ever seen and he was wailing away on an electric violin, and he was just totally rocking out and it was hilarious. There were just so many people doing ridiculous things, i cant even name them all. Also in the subway was this girl who was like screaming down the hallway after her boyfriend/friend, who was walking away from her, about taking the wrong train and going the wrong way. Wonder why he was walking away. Oh boy, it was just such a fun day.

NYC Trip

I went on a day trip to NYC yesterday for only $25! The trip was put on by my dorm so we had a nice coach bus and obviously it was really cheap.I had such a fun time despite all the rain and snow! Luckily i have friends that live in the Upper East Side, so we were able to hang out at their flat for a while to take refuge from the rain. They met us where we got dropped off at Bryant Park and took us out to lunch. NYC pizza is so good, i don't care where you go, i have been to NYC 5 or 6 times and every time I've had pizza there it was delicious! Then we hung out at their flat for a few hours and caught up and had tea. Then we went out and shopped around a bit and went to Grand Central Station and then had dinner at a cute Vietnamese restaurant. We caught the bus at Bryant Park at 8:30 and arrived back in Durham around 2:15 am! I was so happy when we got back because it was snowing and so beautiful, not to mention i was dead tired! Such a fun trip and i was so happy to see my friends!

Itunes Visualizer

Whoa! So i totally just discovered that Itunes has a visualizer, like in windows media player, but like ten times cooler!! It has a classic version which is ok but the newer version is completely mesmerizing! Oh i cant even tell you happy this made me! I saw my roommate like staring at hers and i was so excited and went to look for it. Its under the view menu, as visualizer! I cant believe how easily amused i am but seriously look at, its so cool! Weird that i never though to look for it before or just stumbled upon it. It just totally made my music experience so much cooler, and less productive because no rather than doing work while i listen to music I'm just staring at the screen like an idiot.

Skype

I haven't decided if i really like Skype yet or not so i think i came up with a list of pros and cons to help me make up my mind.

Pros:

-Face-to-face interaction -Awkward if there are other people in the room (you
-Funny effects you can use
-Free
Cons:
-Awkward if there are other people in the room (you can use headphones but then it sounds like you're talking to yourself)
-Delayed responses occasionally

While i do have more pros than cons i guess my real problem is just that with three other people in the room it can be a little awkward if they have to listen to my entire conversation. I guess by using headphones it would be the same as talking on the phone. Well either way Skype is still pretty cool and way more fun than just talking on the phone.

Registration

Its so unfair that some freshman got to register at like midnight and i have to wait until 1:3o this afternoon! I was told they just do a lottery to see who gets to go first but ughhhh its so frustrating to have to sit here and wait and hope that the classes i want/need are still open. I'm just really concerned about getting OT 510 which is a class that explores what occupational therapy is all about and what careers you can have with it. I think i want be be an occupational therapist but I've never really experienced what it is, so i think this class will really give me a good idea if its what i really want to do. I'll just have to keep my fingers crossed!!

A Blog about Blogging

I never thought it would be so hard to do something as simple writing a blog. I mean you can write about anything you want, they don't have to be long and i only needed to do one a day. Yet i still found myself getting behind. I just could never remember to do it, even though i made it my home page and have a sticky note on my desk reminding me to do it. Every time i did remember i would just push it off or be like, oh i can do it later. I guess this is because i just really don't enjoy doing it. I don't want to write about my day, because really, who cares? I started out writing movie reviews, which i did enjoy but it was also at the beginning of the semester when i didn't have that much work and could watch like a movie a night. Now i have time for maybe a movie a week if i really try to fit it in. I guess i just need more inspiration, because there is only so much i can say about the Xmas season and other things that no one really cares about.

Xmas Traditions No More

I keep thinking of all these things that I'm going to miss out on this holiday season! I'm so sad, I'm not going to be able to watch most of the 25 days of Xmas on ABC family! Between having 3 other room mates who may not want the TV on, to having to study for finals, i just don't see when i would be able to watch it. I'm also missing going shopping for wish upon a star with my mom. I wont get to make cookies and other treats for presents and to munch on. I wont get to decorate my house or put up my mini Xmas tree in my room at home. And what about drinking hot cider and just curling up with a good book and watching the snow fall? Well the snow thing is kinda out of my control, but honestly even if it did snow, when am i actually going to have time to just relax with finals on the way,and where can i get some hot cider around here? So many changes!! This is i think the biggest crisis I've faced since coming to college!! I feel better now that I've ranted though.

Tree

I am so sad that i wont get to partake in picking out my family's Christmas tree this year. Every year since i was just a kid we always did it as a family and its going to be so weird to come home for break and see the tree already up and decorated. Maybe i will ask my parents to leave me a few ornaments to hang up when i get home. I might just have to get my own little mini tree for my dorm. I saw a few at rite-aid but i think they were normal size for people to use in their homes. Maybe i could draw one and put it on my door, that seems so lame though. I already put up a stocking and some window stickers, so maybe of i get some lights my room will feel more Xmas-y. Well regardless this is just going to be something I'm going to have to get used to.

Cell Phone

I just got a new cell phone right before i left for college. I really like it, its the new Motorola Clutch and it has a full keyboard and everything but i really cant stand the screen. My screen is so scratched up and i cant figure out why, i have been so careful with this phone and still its got the crap scratched out of it. I bothers me just to look at the screen, which is kind of a problem as you may imagine. When they made the phone, because it doesn't fold shut making it prone to scratches already, they should have made the screen super durable. Like the ipod touch, i have dropped mine quite a few times and the screen is still perfect, not a single scratch. I guess i should have bought a case for my phone or something but i didn't honestly think it would bother me that much. But it does, oh ho ho, yes it does..i really cant stand to look at it. I really need to chill and not be so OCD but i cant help it.

Same old stuff

Well im kinda sad to be back from break. I had a great holiday, my whole family came up for Thanksgiving and the food was great and i just basically ate leftovers the whole weekend. It was nice to just relax and forget about school for a couple of days. But now i have to kick it into overdrive and get geared up for exams! We only have like 2 and a half weeks until finals and then we are back on vacation again..pretty sweet deal! I guess i just have to survive these next 18 days and then im home free for 5 weeks!

Snow

I think that its time we had a snow storm. I mean really, its almost December and we haven't even had any accumulation at all. I cant remember it ever being this warm for this long. I'm sure all the snow haters are enjoying it, but i must ask- if you don't like snow, why are you living in New England? I love NE because we get the best of the four seasons, but we are definitely lacking in the snow department this year. I guess i will just have to do a little snow dance if i don't see any substantial snow storms in the forecast soon. I want to make a snowman, and have to bundle up to go outside, and drink hot chocolate, and have a fire, and go snowmobiling! There are just so many wonderful things to do in the winter and they are usually more fun to do when there is some SNOW!! Tubing is so fun too! I love going to Gunstock and going tubing, i went for the first time last year and had a blast! Well, Mr. Weatherman, all i can say is we better get some snow in the forecast soon or i might just have to do something about it myself..i don't know what..but I'll figure something out!

My dog

I was so happy to get to see my dog this holiday! I miss her so much when I'm at school. I can always talk to my family on the phone but i cant exactly do that with her. She is a 9 year old black lab and she still acts like such a puppy! She was so excited to see me, sometimes i think just as much as my parents. She was all nice and clean, she just went to the groomers and she had a pretty pink ribbon on her collar and she was running around our house like a crazy dog. From downstairs its sounded like a herd of elephants was running through our house! I remember when i was younger i always used to say i would take her to college with me, and i had no idea that doing such would never be allowed. A bit of a heartbreak for me when i finally realized in high school that i wouldn't be able to take her. I'm glad i live close enough to home that we can bring her along when i go back Sunday!

Keyboard Kid

An oldie but goody that i re-discovered today! So bad but so good!

My Fortune

"You like to form new friendships and make new acquaintances" That was my fortune. That seems like more of a personality trait than a prediction. It told me something i already knew. I feel jipped. Although at least it said something. I've gotten fortunes before that have said nothing at all. Talk about a bad omen. I wonder who comes up with these fortunes..hmm. Is it some factory with a super-computer that just prints all these random predictions or is it some guy sitting holed up in a room trying desperately to read the cosmos and predict the future of every human being on earth. But how would each fortune find who its supposed to go to? A bit of a flaw in the system i think, because i have cant really recall ever getting a fortune that came true. They're fun all the same though. Especially when they have "learn Chinese" on the back and you can make short funny sentences in Chinese if you combine a couple fortunes when you got out to eat. I cant be the only one that does that..right? Give it a try, its fun!

Boring Day

Today i bought a new toothbrush. I bought it at the grocery store and the lady who checked me out seemed to be just a bored as i was. Except she seemed bitter and angry. Maybe because that was her life, day after day, checking people out at the store. I guess i could understand being a bit upset about that. So then i went home and tried to do some Christmas shopping online. That didn't go very well, i have never liked online shopping. I always prefer to see things for myself. So i gave up on that after about an hour. I called my friend and listened to her complain about her room mate, and then when i couldn't take her complaining anymore told her i had to go make dinner. My dad brought home Chinese food. I ate dinner then watched a movie with my family. I think this weather has just drained all my energy. I was exhausted after doing nothing all day. So i read a bit in my book and now i will be going to bed. Goodnight world, and lets hope tomorrow is a little more exciting.

Black Friday

I was supposed to go shopping today, you know to take part in all those great black Friday deals. But in the end sleeping won out. I just couldn't bring myself to get up on such a miserable day to go wait in line for something that will probably just go on sale again in a week. I am going shopping tomorrow though, at the Tanger Outlets in Tilton, and according to their website, just about all the stores have the same deals going on. So i have concluded that Black Friday is a lie, a sham, a plot by Wal-mart and other super-stores to trample people, a sick and twisted form of entertainment for employees as they watch folks get in a fight over a GPS. A GPS that will probably break in a week, that's finally being sold at the price it should. But maybe I'm being too harsh. Maybe Black Friday is just retailers finally cutting consumer's a break and selling things at a reasonable price. I guess i will just have to experience the event for myself to know..maybe next year.

New York

I'm going to New York City next week, on a trip sponsored by my dorm! I'm so excited, we leave a little before 6 am and will get their around 10. Then we have the whole day until 8:30 pm to do whatever we want! I just really want to see the city all decorated for Christmas. I probably wont do much shopping because its so expensive but it will be fun to look in all the windows. I hope i will get a chance to get over to Rockefeller Center and see the huge Christmas tree all lit up, and maybe even do some ice skating. My room mate is coming too, and we have some friends who live in Brooklyn, so hopefully we can meet up with them and have lunch somewhere. Hopefully since they live there they know a few reasonably priced places! Should be a great time though, and it was only 25 dollars! WE get a nice coach bus for the ride, so i thought that was a really great deal! A fun trip just in time for the holiday season!

Johnny Depp

Johnny Depp claimed his second "Sexiest Man Alive" title in People magazine this month. A title he truly deserves. He is such an amazing actor and as i sit here watching Pirates of the Caribbean 2, i can truly appreciate his appeal. He looks good as a pirate, Willy Wonka, and a man with scissors for hands, not many people can pull that off. He's musical, attractive, a great actor, and not to mention a family man. Whats not to like? I cant wait to see him as the Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland! That looks to be one of his most interesting roles yet, he looks freakier than in any role I've ever seen. Johnny Depp will forever be my favorite no matter how old he gets.

New Moon

Saw New Moon a few days ago. I know what your thinking, such a teen flick, why would you even bother? Well i am proud to say i am an original Twilight fan, i read the books when they first came out, thanks to sheer happenstance. So naturally i have to see all the movies. And naturally i have to like Twilight, the movie, on pure principle (even though it sucks if i do say so myself). New Moon, however, i am happy to say is much better than Twilight. Funny how a new director can change everything. The cheesy effects from Twilight were fixed, and the movies wasn't nearly as choppy or full of close-up's. Not much can be done for Kristen Stewarts acting ability but Rob Pattinson and Taylor Lautner can make up for that with their looks. Not a particularly good movie if you haven't read the books i would imagine, because the intensity of their love cant be summed up in a short movie. But i enjoyed it, and not just because i have too, it was actually pretty decent and way better than Twilight.

The Children of Haung Shi

The Children of Huang Shi, starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Chow Yun-Fat, is the inspirational true story of English journalist George Hogg (Meyer) and how he unwittingly saved and inspired the lives of 60 plus children living in a rundown orphanage in China. And let me say..it is a tearjerker!! Be prepared to ball your eyes out. The story takes place during the Chinese Civil War, during a time when China was being invaded by Japan. Looking for some action, i suppose, Hogg heads into the heart of the fighting in Nanjing, only to be devastated by the atrocities he witnesses there. He finds himself at the orphanage by recommendation of his friend Chen, seeking refuge, only to be met by a group of savage, filthy boys. He intends to leave as soon as possible but is compelled to stay because he is the only one around that is fit to care for them. He helps them refurbish the orphanage, he teaches the boys, and gives them hope and something to live for. The group is eventually uprooted due to encroaching Japanese forces and they settle on the edge of the Gobi desert, where they hope they will not be bothered. What Hogg does for these tragic boys is so moving i cant even put it into words. He gave them a reason to live, he helped them learn trust and how to care for themselves and one another. And i think Hogg learned just as much from them. I wont give away any more details about the movie, but just let me say, it will stay with you long after you watch it.

Watch the trailer here : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NydpkXCB0o4

Muse

I'm listening to Muse right now, my absolute favorite band in the world!! I'm so sad, they barely even toured in the US, NOT COOL!! Just because they hated Bush, who is gone now FYI, doesn't mean they should ignore their adoring fans over here! But i do forgive them because they are amazing and their new CD totally kicks butt! One of the songs on their new album is titled MK Ultra, which is really funny now that i have seen The Men Who Stare at Goats and know what that refers to. Although the seriousness of the song itself is not funny, but it reminds me of the movie and makes me laugh! Next time they come touring in the US i will be FIRST in line at the box office to get tickets, you can be sure of that!

Boston (not the band)

I would really like to get a chance to go to Boston before Christmas is over. I've never been down there around that time of year and I've been told its absolutely breathtaking when its all decorated and such. New York would be great too but Boston is a little more accessible. I could just hop on the train and spend the day shopping and eating and enjoying the scenery...sounds lovely! If only i had that kind of money to be spending indiscriminately. Today some guy on Oprah won 250,000 dollars for winning a karaoke contest out of only 3 people! I want 250 K! Well, I'm sure he deserved it but really, for singing karaoke? Oh well, guess ill just have to dream up my own little Boston winter wonderland and hope for some snow to make me feel a little better. What am i saying though? Its not even Thanksgiving yet!! I really need to stop thinking about x-mas..ITS SO HARD THOUGH!! Christmas is just so wonderful. Only 42 days to go!!

The Men Who Stare at Goats

Went to see The Men Who Stare at Goats on Veterans Day. It was..interesting to say the least. It was funny, there were definitely some very comical parts but it was kinda one of those movie where they stick all the funny parts in the commercials and that's it. So it wasn't quite as funny as i had anticipated but it was still very enjoyable. In fact i think it would have been even more enjoyable had i been a bit more familiar with the "true story" this movie was based on. Looking back, seemingly meaningless or stupid jokes are actually subtle references to some of the government's goings on that the movie is based on. Type in 'men who stare at goats' into google and read the wikipedia web page that describes the book its based on and where the inspiration for the book comes from, before you see the movie. The movie centers on the CIA's concepts of psychological warfare, the MK Ultra operation and the First Earth Battalion (called New Earth Army in the movie). I tell you i think i would have died laughing had i read up about this stuff first because there are so many funny references to the things i read, looking back. So read about, see it, and laugh. Will definitely buy it when it comes out on DVD.

Christmas

I feel like Christmas is coming up so soon! I know we haven't even made it to Thanksgiving yet but i feel the urge to listen to Christmas music and start my shopping! My friend and i are going shopping on Black Friday, and I'm so pumped! We have been wanting to do it for like 3 years now and just haven't. I cant wait to roll out of bed at 3 in the morning, chug some coffee and sing Christmas carols all the way to the mall! I tried watching Elf last night from some online movie database but it kept freezing up :( It was very sad. I want some snow soon, i cant believe its already November and we haven't had a substantial snow storm yet. It seems so out of whack compared to the last 3 or 4 years. Oh well, id better be patient because we'll probably get tons of snow soon and i will be complaining because i have to walk to class in it! I'm so excited for Christmas though!!! Oh and Thanksgiving!

2012

I cant wait to see 2012, it looks so good! My mom is coming to visit me tomorrow and and were going to go out to lunch and then see the movie! 2012 is from the same director as Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow, and by the looks of the ads 2012 seems to go along the same lines. Roland Emmerich seems to specialize in end of the world movies. I don't really understand what its about though, you know besides the general end of the world concept. The commercials say "the Mayans predicted this day would come" and then you see the world falling apart and the government building ships. I feel like there is going to be some unexpected plot twist. Or it could be exactly what it seems, but wheres the fun in that? The movie is like 2 and a half hours though! I think the only time I've gone to the movies to see a film that long was the latest Harry Potter! Lets hope its worth it!

Itunes

I finally figured out how to transfer my itunes library from my old laptop from my new one! What a pain it was to figure out though, the actual process was really simple but figuring out what needed to be done was not easy even using the help bar. For those struggling here's how to do it, in the simplest terms (note: these instructions are for PC's not Mac's)

1) Copy your music (drag and drop) from itunes library on old computer to either a flash drive (easiest) or external hard-drive or CD's if you have to

2) On your new computer go into "Computer" then to "Music" and if you already have itunes installed there should be a folder labled "Itunes" just copy the music from your flash drive or whatever you used into this "Itunes" folder

3) Open Itunes and go to "File" --> "Add folder to Library" and select the "Itunes" folder under "Music"

4) Give your computer a few minutes to copy all the files and your done!!

See, isn't that simple? If only the instructions to do this were as simple to find..Hope this helps all you frustrated Itunes users out there!

Analysis Paper

I am actually really enjoying writing our analysis paper, even though its proven to be quite challenging. I really like my topic, The Clash, so all the research i am doing is quite interesting and gives me a whole new look at the band. I have a clearer idea now about where i want to take my paper and think my paper is much better off now that i had some people read it point out whats sort of irrelevant and point me in a really solid direction i can take it in. I sometimes think i would like to be a writer, but then I'm like, well i only have to do this for a semester, could i really do this my whole life? And mostly i answer no to myself (yes i do sometimes talk to myself) so i guess that route is not really for me. I really do love to write though, so i hope even if i never take another English class ever again i will continue to write a lot just for fun. I might even miss doing analysis papers, not that i wont have to do them in other classes but i think they're most fun in an actual English class because the topics are usually more fun and your can push the limits a bit more, you don't just have to just write about your topic and stick straight to the rules of perfect format. That's what i like about this analysis, i can include elements of a narrative and give really vivid imagery and still have it fall with in the category of an analysis paper (assuming i am doing the analysis part correctly). Wow i kinda never thought i would actually write about how much I'm enjoying writing a paper...this is weird, like a dream or something..hmm i think maybe i should go to bed now.

Harry Potter Puppet Pals

HP Puppet Pals are like the funniest thing on this earth! I know, I'm such a geek, but seriously for those of you who haven't seen it, it is hilarious. Particularly "The Mysterious Ticking Noise" its a song and i cant even describe to you how stupid and brilliant it is at the same time! Whooo..so i watched that today and now i really want to read the books again. I actually have them all here with me, so i think i might just pick one up later tonight and read it. I think I've already read all of them at least 3 times, except the last two, so maybe i will go back and re-read one of them. Tonight in the Strafford Room was an event where the lady who wrote "Harry: A History" was going to speak. I was SO mad that i couldn't go because i had band..but oh well i guess i will just have to buy her book and read it. But back to the HP Puppet Pals, they are just so funny and i kinda wanna make one of my own..but i guess that would be really lame to copy someone else brilliant idea.Guess YouTube will have to do.

Germs

There is so much sickness going around and its starting to make me think about just how many places there are to pick up germs. Like door handles for example, what if people don't wash their hands (god forbid) on the way out of the loo and then go touch not only the door but stuff around their room, potentially infecting their room mates and friends...GROSS!! And the dining halls, there are hand sanitizers everywhere but i don't think many people use them before they eat, which to me makes more sense because after your done eating you're not putting your hands near your mouth so there is a lesser risk of catching something. Sigh..i just really hope that since I've already been really sick that i am either immune to whatever is going around or that I've racked up enough karma points by washing my hands and coughing into my elbow and Purelling my hands 24/7 that i will be spared by H1N1. One can only hope.

UNH for One

UNH for One is a campaign to raise awareness about poverty, AIDS and education in Africa. We will be fundraising this semester for Rain for Sahel and Sahara, and the money we raise will go towards finishing a well that was started, to benefit the nomadic tribes of that region, but has yet to be finished due to lack of money. Our first event is tomorrow (Tuesday) at 7 Pm in MUB Theater 1 and we will be screening the movie "From A Deep Well" that will give an inside look into the lives of theses nomadic people and the struggles they face with lack of food, water and education. After the movie Bess Palmisciano, the founder of Rain, with be joining us to speak about the organization and what we can do to help. The movie is not very long, a half hour at the most and will only take up a bit f your time for a great cause. Then if you would like, the following day Wed. November 4th we will be hosting the actual fundraiser "Dine to Donate" at Applebee's in Dover at 5 pm. When you come to the movie on Tuesday you will receive a flyer that if you should bring with you to Applebee's and 15% of your bill will be donated to Rain. It will be a really fun time and will also be helping a really great cause! So if you're interested in learning more or just want to come for the fun of it join us on Tuesday, Wednesday or both! Hope to see you there!

Halloween Show

So for the half-time show at the football game today (which we won!) the band played "Time Warp" from the Rocky Horror Picture Show and we played "Thriller" by MJ. It was soooooo cool, we did the dances for both songs and it was so much fun! At the end of Time Warp we all just fell to the ground, so that when we started Thriller we could all get up like zombies! We all did our hair all messy and put on zombie make-up, so it was like the funnest (i know that's not a word) show we have done all year. I think the audience really enjoyed it too, they all started to cheer really loud when we did the Thriller dance, so I'm hoping that means we did a good job! A fun start to Halloween~Happy Halloween everyone!

Halloween

I'm really excited for Halloween! I'm so happy its on a weekend that way i wont have to worry about homework that night or anything. I still don't know what I'm going to dress up as though. The band is having a party after rehearsal on Friday so i need to come up with one quick. We were going to try and do a group thing but that's a bit hard because there are 13 of us in our section. We thought maybe going as characters from Snow White would be fun. We could do one person as snow white, one as the prince, one as the queen, and the others as the seven dwarfs, and the other three people already had their costumes picked out. Great idea right?! But after we talked more about it we figured it would be too hard to try and get all the costumes together by Friday, since the only nearby place for costumes is Rite-Aid and they seem to specialize only in gory masks. So that idea is out i think. Hopefully someone will have a good idea..i know i don't. Oh well, if worst comes to worst ill just buy one of the horridly gory masks from Rite-Aid and wear that. YAY for Halloween!

On Belay

On Belay is an organization that helps kids dealing with a parent or loved one that is or has suffered from cancer or some other life changing illness. Every year they look for UNH volunteers to help at the one day program that is usually hosted at an indoor climbing facility or a camp. Its the job of the volunteers to be there for the kids while they're climbing and throughout the day supporting them and helping them have a fun day and forget the stress of dealing with cancer (even if indirectly). I volunteered at the program this past Sunday and it was an absolute blast despite the horrid weather! We were at Camp Lincoln in Kingston NH and it was a really pretty camp, and it had a great ropes course and lots of fun team building structure for us and the kids to learn and play on. All the kids were so amazing, they were all a bit shy at first, as many came alone for the first time, but immediately all the volunteers started laughing and joking with them and playing games to make them feel welcome. By the end of the day everyone had a huge smile on their face and we were all sad to say goodbye. I had an amazing day supporting the kids and i really think they all had a fun day! It is so worth giving up a Sunday to help these kids forget about the stress in their lives and let them know that there are other kids out there going through the same things and that there is always someone out there willing to help! If you want to learn more about the organization or how you can get involved you can visit the following website:

http://www.on-belay.org/

80's Music

For some reason today i was really interested in listening to 80's music. I have no idea what got me started but before i knew it i was on YouTube watching clips of glam rock bands like The Sweet and T-Rex and then i just started watching other 80's artists like Annie Lennox and Duran Duran and The Smiths. A lot of that music was just so cheesy, and the hair and outfits they wore were hilarious! I remember now though that i had been listening to Tears for Fears and that's why i went on YouTube, to watch some of their music videos, and that just lead to other videos and so on, ensnaring me in front of the computer for a long while. It would have been really interesting to be a teenager in the 80's, get to grow up going to these awesome concerts where the lead singers of groups wear wigs and glittery outfits (and yea, i am talking about the men) all while wailing on guitars to a screaming crowd. Must have been pretty epic. I guess ill just have to settle for what YouTube has to offer.

Gerard Butler

I am so happy that we get HBO here! Its really the best thing ever, there are like six movie channels and all WITHOUT commercials! I just watched P.S. I Love You. I had to pick between that and Marley and Me, which i have really wanted to see but i didn't really feel like crying, and i already know that its really sad. P.S. I Love You was really cute though. A chick flick, if you hadn't already guessed that, with Gerard Butler AKA super-Irish-hottie! His accent is so adorable and he is just so charming! I think i will go to see the Ugly Truth on Sunday. I had no real desire to see it before, it looks like a typical love story/chick flick movie, but now I'm on a Gerard Butler kick, so i really want to see it now. In P.S. I Love You he dies early on in the movie, but you still see quite a bit of him when his wife is reminded of memories they shared and just thinks of him. It is kinda sad but has a really sweet ending. Harry Connick Jr. is in it as well, and in this he has a disease where he just speaks his mind (its not like turrets though) and he is so hilarious, he just says the most inappropriate things! Like when he asks Holly (Gerard's wife) how her husbands died, she says a brain tumor and he smiles and goes "NICE!" He adds a bit of comic relief when things get heavy. Its a great movie for those who enjoy a chick flick in all its essence!

Home

I was very happy to go home this weekend. I had a hectic week and it was nice to just be able to go home and be away from the stress of school, have a home-cooked meal, and sleep in my own bed! A very nice feeling. I did see something rather strange this weekend though. Well at least i think its strange. I live on a lake and Sunday morning i looked out one of our windows and saw a a head poking out of the water. Not a human one, although that would make a good story. No, it was some kind of animal, but i couldn't tell what it was. As it swam closer i could see ears and so i thought it was a moose maybe. Then, right before it came on shore, i was able to tell that it was a female deer. I didn't know deer could swim! I know that sounds dumb but honestly can anyone think of a time when they have seen a deer swim? It was just so weird to see this skinny, hoofed animal doing the doggie paddle. I cant imagine they are very efficient swimmers, their hooves wouldn't really be able to propel them far..perhaps that's why i have never seen one swim before. So i thought that was weird, maybe I'm just being silly though But it made me chuckle!

PLEASE READ THIS!! I BEG YOU!!

I thank you if you are reading this now because the topic i want to address deserves so much more attention than it is getting. I just went to see an extraordinary documentary called The Cove. Its about illegal whaling/slaughter of dolphins in Japan. Whaling was banned in Japan in 1986 by the International Whaling Commission but still the small town of Taiji, Japan engages in the mass slaughter of them, killing around 23,000 a year. Many of the dolphins caught are also sent around the world to aquariums and "swim with the dolphin" programs where they spend their lives in captivity. Some of them are killed and sold in Japanese markets, labeled as other fish because of the toxic rate of mercury they contain. What's worse is even most of the Japanese people do not know what they're eating. Check out the below preview and please go check out this movie its truly unbelievable and makes you want to take action. Or if you just love dolphins and want to help anyways here's a link you can follow to learn how to get involved!

http://www.takepart.com/thecove/



Thanks for watching and please take action!!

Sleep Deprivation

This weekend was an absolute blast for the most part..you know despite the uncomfortable bus ride and the fact that i am now suffering from major lack of sleep. I didn't get to bed until 12 on Friday and had to get up at 4. We rode down on a coach bus, which you would think would be super comfy but it really wasn't. The overhead storage was really tiny, and nothing fit in it, so i ended up with most of my stuff either under my feet or in my lap. For 8 hours. I also have this thing where i cant sleep in any kind of moving vehicle, whether a car, train or bus, no matter how tired i am. So basically the whole ride down i just listened to music and watched movies in this weird semi-delusional state. Maryland was really hot when we got down there. Most of the way down, through to New York, had been rainy and humid, but in Maryland it was really sunny and 80 degrees. Which was great until we had to put our uniforms on. The game was fun though, we crushed Towson, 57 to 7!! Thank god because if we drove 8 hours to get our butts kicked i think i would have cried. The next day we headed to Allentown PA for the band expo. That was a lot of fun!! We got to watch some of the other bands preform for about an hour before we had to change and warm up. All of the bands were really good and this one band had a color guard and dance team, it was really entertaining to watch! So then we got up and did our show which went really well, the crowd cheered really loud for us and our director cried because she was so proud (awww!) So the trip was definitely worth it and I'm just glad we have the whole show memorized and now we can just work out the kinks and put on a great show for homecoming next weekend!

So Earlyyyyy

Wow i really wish i had done this earlier so i could go to bed now. I have to be up at 4 am tomorrow to be at the PCAC at 5 so we can leave for Towson. I'm excited. Really. Seriously, i am PUMPED but i am going to be so tired tomorrow and i just hope i don't sleep through my alarm..because that has happened to people before and the band has left them behind. And that would be awful, not to mention my grade would go down. Which would be really lame since i get an A just for playing and showing up, easiest class ever, so if i blew that it would be pretty bad. Yup so Baltimore tomorrow for the football game and then we get to do whatever we want for the night in the Inner Harbor. That should be fun, I'm told there are some good restaurants and shops, so I'm really excited for that. Then after we head to Allentown PA to play in a band expo for like 15 minutes and then we go home. Both ways its like an 8 hour drive so I'm really hoping i can get some homework done..and maybe finish the book I'm reading. Gonna be a fun weekend!!

Jaed Coffin Reading

Today's reading with Jaed Coffin was very interesting. I really wish i had known more about him and the book before i read the excerpt for class because i was kinda confused as to what it was about. I mean obviously i understood he was in Thailand with a monk but i didn't really get why or what he was expecting to gain from it. I bought the book today though after the seminar, i really like the way he writes and i think the excerpt was really interesting and I'm sure the rest of the book will be too. I immensely enjoyed the preface to his new book about the fighting ring in Alaska and will definitely be buying that when it comes out! The essay about his mom was really good too. It was interesting to hear about the differences in culture, and how even though Jaed was involved in Thai culture, there were still some big differences between him and his mom. So I'm very glad we went to the reading today and hope to hear more from Jaed in the future!

Dream Wedding

These two weddings are so fun and original!! Like, seriously who wouldn't want to dance down the aisle, as opposed to the traditional somber walk to "here comes the bride" so lammmeeee! And have cute dancing men preforming "Thriller" at the reception? Awesome! Although they didn't do the best job i've ever seen the idea is still cool. So that's pretty much my dream wedding, dance down the aisle like a fool and then have people preforming dances to cult hits at the reception! If only i could find Mr. Right now.......

oh and by the way these videos took a while to load on my computer so let them fully load and then watch them, the overall affect is better rather than pausing throughout the clip.

Rap Documentary

The Rap/Hip-hop music documentary we watched in English today was really interesting and actually made me kind of upset. It was very eye-opening and weird i guess to hear from people who weren't afraid to say how they really felt and explain just how bad things for them were. I was astonished to hear how much black/people and minorities hated Ronald Regan. I had always thought he was a really decent president just from what i heard from my parents and from what we are taught in school. I had no idea how oblivious he was to poverty in our country and how poorly treated blacks/minorities were. I was also kind of shocked because i am taking criminology and we are just now discussing the war on drugs and the drug problem in general. A lot of the statistics about prison sentences for crack and cocaine possession i had already read but what the people in the video made me realize is how much white people distort the truth. Seriously, blacks make up the majority of people busted for possession of crack but now that makes more sense because a lot of them are living below the poverty line and crack is a lot cheaper. So many upper class and white people are getting away with possessing cocaine because there is not as much patrol assigned to upper class neighborhoods and that throws statistics way off, making black people look like huge drug users in comparison to whites when its probably pretty equal. I was just amazed at how different history is portrayed by two opposite sides of society. I loved when President Bush senior was like "we live in a time of peace and prosperity" and blacks were like ummm HELLO were like dying from drugs and poverty and being mistreated and life basically sucks and the government was just either totally oblivious or didn't care. I was just really blown away by this video and now I'm really excited to analyze some rap music and i kinda just want to listen to some "old school" rap. I don't like rap music, especially modern rap because i do think its very degrading to women and just not necessary (as was hinted at in the video) but i would like to listen to some original 80's rap because i think it had a lot more meaning and had some very valid ideas in it and really gets the problems of that time out there, instead of sugar coating them like the government did. So I'm reallllly anxious to see the last bit of that movie!!

I'm stilllll sick :( I got better for a while but then after the football game on Saturday went rapidly downhill. I guess getting up at 7 am and marching for most of the day isn't the best thing when you have a cold. Nonetheless the game was still really fun, i played tunes in the stands and screamed until my already sore throat was raw. Totally worth it because we completely killed Dartmouth. I believe the score was something like 40 (us) to 14 (D-mouth), we dominated those Harvard rejects! I really hope that the team keeps it up because if they make it to playoffs the band gets to go to Tennessee, which would be SO cool! So yeah, then after the game my parents took me out to eat in Portsmouth and then we went to Rite-Aid to get some cold medicine. Which has helped a little, so I'm on my way up, thank god, because colds just suck, especially when you have tons of work to do. But things will get better and next weekend i get to go to Maryland to play at the UNH v. Towson game, and that will be a blast! Hope everyone had a good Monday!

Football!!!

So as some of you may know tomorrow is football versus Dartmouth!! Should be a great game, but for those of you not really into football you should totally just come for the Wildcat Marching Band, because they are awesome! And I'm not just saying that cause I'm in it..cough, cough..No but seriously we are going to be great, we have not only our pregame show done but we have a FULL half time show as well. Last game we only had one song for half time but now we have two full length songs and shorts snippets of about 8 others. The show is called "Don't Touch that Dial" and its basically supposed to be a radio show. We have, like i said the short snippets of popular radio songs and then some radio hosts talking in between (like your scanning the radio) AND we play two full length songs. Both songs are pretty popular and I'm sure everyone would know them but i wont tell you what they are, i don't want to ruin the surprise. You'll just have to come to the game tomorrow and see for yourselves! I promise you it will be great, so even if you don't like football come for the band because we will also be in the stands playing some awesome stand tunes and getting the players and fans riled up so we can BEAT DARTMOUTH!!! So be there! Or else! I will find you! Not really..but BE THERE!

Soup

I'm a big fan of soup, its just great when you're sick or just want something warm and its perfect in the fall. So i was really disappointed with the roasted butternut squash i had today at HOCO. I'm not sure if it was the way they prepared it or if it just wasn't my thing, because I've never had it before. I really thought it would be good though because i absolutely love butternut squash so i though, hey, why not have it in soup. Its not that it was utterly disgusting or anything and i had to spit it out, it just tasted wrong. Like the first bit i put in my mouth i was chewing, it was good and then all of a sudden there was this weird and off flavor. I cant even describe what it was, it was kind of bitter, i guess but not really, it wasn't anything i had never tasted before. It just tasted like it didn't belong in the soup, so maybe it was the seasonings in it or some bad squash. I don't really know but i was sad. All the other soup I've had at HOCO has been really good though so i will remain a loyal patron to their soup bowls.

Blah!

Alas i have finally been struck by sickness...sigh. I have been so good about washing my hands and have been using hand sanitizer up the wazoo but apparently that still wasn't good enough. So i went to Rite Aid and bough some cough drops and Ramen noodles, so that should fix everything. I really have nothing to talk about. I feel tired and stressed and sick, isn't that just the best combo ever. I will probably be up all night studying for my Anthropology exam tomorrow so that certainly isn't going to help. How about losing power today though? That was weird, but hey, i got out of psych half an hour early so i wont complain. Then i went back to my dorm and slept until we got power back and then i turned my computer on. Big mistake. I have my battery out of my laptop because i always have it plugged in, and that kills the charge the battery holds. So twice my computer has not shut down "properly" so I'm pretty sure it hates me now. And I'm pretty sure anyone reading this hates me too, so i apologize for this being the most boring post ever. Hopefully i will feel better tomorrow and hence have something better to say.

The Resistance

So as i mentioned in my earlier post i bought the new Muse album this weekend and now i have finally had time to listen to it! And let me tell you it did not disappoint! They took on a bit of a different sound than on many of their previous albums, it still had the kind of electronica feel that is the trade mark of many of their singles but they incorporated many other genre's. Matthew Bellamy used a bit of a different vocal range too in my opinion. Usually he sings in a pretty high octave and all the notes are very smooth and flow together, but on this album he used some some lower vocal ranges, and broke up the notes more, which was a really cool change. I found that a few of the songs really took on a very Queen-like feel. Especially United States of Eurasia and Resistance. They would start off slower and softer and then get really loud and have classic rock sounding guitar riffs and it reminded me a lot of Queen really. Then the last three songs of the album, Exogenesis symphonies parts 1, 2, and 3...wow! There are some really beautiful piano solo's and you'll just have to listen to the songs to really be able to appreciate just how hugely talented they are and their amazing ability to incorporate classic rock and electronica and classical music and other genre's to make an extraordinary album. I Belong To You was by far probably my favorite song, it has a very jazzy feel, believe it or not and then Matthew Bellamy sings in french and it is veryyyy sexy! Oh and there's a really cool clarinet solo, which is awesome because that's what i play! I really don't have the time to talk about this album because i probably could all night, its just that good (and Muse just happens to be my favorite band) so you'll just have to go out and BUY (not download) the CD and see for yourself!

Portsmouth

Had a really fun afternoon in Portsmouth today. My mom and my Aunt came to visit and it was the first time my aunt had seen my dorm so she was really excited! We went to the Gas Light for lunch which is one of my favorite places down there. When we got into town there was a bike race going on and there were all these adorable little kids on their bikes trying to make it up this little hill and they were just so cute! Then later there was a men and women's race, I'm pretty sure this is the bike race that Professor Glasson mentioned in class the other day, i had forgotten all about it but it was fun to watch for a little while. I must say though all the shops and boutiques in Portsmouth are sooooo expensive! It makes sense though, Portsmouth is a big tourist attraction in the summer and all the stores are pretty exclusive and unique. Window shopping is still fun though! I went into this shoe store (i forget the name of it) and i tried on theses really cute black heels that you could just slip on and the back was open, in the sale section and they were still around 200 dollars! It was ridiculous, they were so comfy and stylish but waaayyyy out of my price range. Trying on expensive shoes is a blast though, and plus at the end you don't have anything to feel guilty about. Because, c'mon girls we all know that those 4 inch black leather boots you "just had to have" will only get worn once and then will get shoved in the back of the closet. But hey, that's what girls do! So afterward we went into Macro Polo, which is the funniest shop ever. It kind of reminds me of Spencer's but in a more unique and less vulgar way somehow. There were these hilarious note pads that said "Mood Alert" on them and listed were a whole bunch of things and you just checked off what applied to you. For example there was "My Day was:" a) horrible b) great c) mediocre etc..and then "You should:" a) stay out of my face b) give me a hug c) take cover under a rock etc...and then there was "I need:" a) a glass of wine b) a hug c) time to relax etc....You get the point, it was just really funny and i was really tempted to buy them for one of my friends but i was worried she would be a little insulted. It was such a beautiful day to walk around down there though, it was nice and sunny with a little breeze and it was really perfect fall weather. Shopping in general is fun no matter what but when its a nice day and you can be outside and walking it makes it all the better. I can't wait to go back and have another girls day out!

Awesomenesss

Just got back a little while ago from seeing Angels and Demons. It was really good, a lot better than the Da Vinci code i think. It was quite graphic with a lot of people burning and being branded and such. Not really a lot of blood but just a lot of unusual ways to die. Tom Hanks was great as usual, his wit and charm commanding the stage. The plot line had a lot of twists in it, and basically you hate the wrong people the entire movie. I don't feel too bad giving away stuff because this movie did come out like 4 months ago so most people reading this probably already saw the movie (if they care that much). The guy that plays Bootstrap Bill in Pirates of the Caribbean (Stellan Skarsgard) played this really uptight head of the Vatican security. Personally i found it weird to see him without starfish and barnacles all over his face. This movie just felt a lot more real and...dangerous, i guess than the Da Vinci code. This is perhaps because the Da Vinci code was mostly just about trying to solve a puzzle, no one was really in great danger, not compared to in this movie at least. The Pope was dead at the beginning of the movie but other important figures (4 cardinals) and various members of the Vatican were in danger throughout the movie making it more action packed and definitely more suspenseful. The architecture was beautiful as well. I realize that most of it must have been re-created for the movie but the statues and areas of the church and the Sistine Chapel and St.Peter's Square were all very beautiful and makes me want to visit Rome so bad! Im sure this is super boring to those of you who have already seen the movie but if youre still reading this then this next tidbit is kind of funny. On my way back from the movie i walked by a guy riding his skateboard up a hill and just as i passed him he took a huge fall, flat on his face and sent his skateboard flying in the other direction down the hill. It was hilarious, and then he stands up and turns to me and is like "im way to drunk to be riding a skateboard!" It was pretty comical, i mean this guy went down hard and his skateboard went flying, but luckily his friend was able to catch it for him. So that was completely unrelated but i thought was worth sharing. But all in all i had a very fun night and i though the movie was great, just let me say Ewan McGregor played a great part, he was all beloved and noble..and then he broke my heart. Those of you who have yet to see it will just have to watch and find out. So i will definitely be buying this when it comes out on DVD, hopefully by christmas!!!

Angels and Demons

First off whoever wrote in their blog that they set their blog to their homepage, great idea! I think I've forgotten to blog twice now but the homepage thing should fix that, so thanks! Anyways..Im really excited to go see Angels and Demons tomorrow at the MUB. Me and a couple of friends are going and I'm just sooo excited because Ive been wanting to see it ever since it came out and just never had the time. The Da Vinci code was pretty good, i thought it was a little slow but i enjoyed the puzzle element of it. I like the kinds of movies where you have to put the pieces together and essentially keep guessing to the end. A and D looks a lot more action packed than the previous movie though. I think i remember from the previews (like 3 months back) that there were some explosions and maybe a shoot out? My friend and i were also discussing how amazing it was that they recreated St. Peters square, i mean what a huge project that must have been. Obviously a necessary one thought, i highlt doubt the Pope would be ok with them running rampage through the square just to shoot a movie. Even better is that Ewan McGregor is in it. HOTTIE! And a good actor but essentially a hottie! Tom Hanks is an amazing actor so I'm geared up for an awesome movie! Not to mention that's its only, what, 2 dollars to see a movie at the MUB? You cant get much better than that.

Tennis

Just played a rousing game of tennis with my room mate! It was really hot despite the wind though and after only an hour I was so tired. The wind was really obnoxious as well, it kept blowing my ball just outside the line. Otherwise a fun time though. The courts here are really nice, they're not all cracked and lumpy like the ones I used to play on back home. Its also nice having so many courts, I believe there are 12. When I was down there the boys and girls tennis teams/clubs were having practice and there were still some courts open. I only wish that they were closer, I live on main street which is quite a hike but I suppose people further in on campus have it even worse, so I shouldn't complain. If the weather is nice like this all week hopefully I can play a couple more times this week before it starts getting too cold. Between tennis and hitting the gym 4-5 times a week I should be able to avoid the dreaded freshman 15..or is it 50, I've heard both, the latter seems a bit extreme though. U-day activities are starting soon, its a great day for it! I cant wait to check out all the clubs and organizations. I had wanted to do to Tennis Club for a while but I read online they play D-1 teams from other school and personally that's way beyond my level, so I decided just to avoid that. Luckily one of my room mates loves to play so I have someone at my level to play with. If anyone else likes to play let me know and maybe we can get another couple people and have a doubles match sometime!

Sickness!

I'm starting to get really concerned with what appears to be a sudden outbreak of sickness on campus. I've had multiple people tell me they're sick or getting sick and yesterday one of my classes was cancelled because my professor was sick. I know that may not sound like a big deal but apparently a lot of schools down south have been stricken with H1N1..oh no the swine! Which the severeness of the swine flu is debatable but still i would just rather avoid it. Pleasssse everyone wash! wash! wash! those hands and don't share drinks/eating utensils and cover your mouth when you sneeze/cough! Common sense people! I'm sure that i hate sickness just as much as the next person so for those of you out there that are already suffering please do the rest of us a favor and stay away!! Just kidding but really practice good sanitation! Being sick just sucks in general but i personally think it sucks even more when you're away from home and cant sleep next to the toilet. So i will definitely be doing my part to stop the spread of germs so if everyone else does as well we can hopefully avoid a school wide outbreak of the cold..or worse.

Parents and Texting

I'm sure I'm not the first person to notice that parents and texting don't really mesh. I think its due to a combo of not understanding how to do it and just thinking its plain stupid. Take my parents for example. My Mom: "honey I tried texting you the other day..it took me about five minutes to type out 'Hi, I hope you are having fun, i miss you' and then when i finally went to send it, it said 'Messaging Error: Not Sent' I was sooo mad..that's the last time I try that!" And then you have my Dad: "You better not try to text me because I wont respond. It's so stupid, why don't you just pick up the phone and CALL!" I can see their point to an extent; the other day I had a very lengthy texting conversation with my friend and and I was so absorbed in it and it took me forever. When I was finally done talking my mom looked at me and was like "you know i bet that would have taken way less time if you'd just called her." Thinking on it I bet she was right but texting just seems so much more convenient, and in some ways it is but definitely not in all circumstances. But back to the parents thing. I don't really understand their opposition to texting. I mean back when there weren't any telephones and people just wrote letters I don't think anyone was opposed to the telephone when it was invented. I don't think anyone was like "phones are just stupid, why would anyone want a faster and more convenient way to talk to people?" Provided you cant send naked pictures of yourself over the telephone, so there's a point to the parents. But really texting can be very convenient is some situations..like in class when you really need to talk to your friend...i mean..just kidding. But seriously when you just want to send someone a quick message or see if your friends want to meet up. Plus you don't have to wait for them to answer the phone and you wont get off on a tangent or have to engage in frivolous conversation. I suppose not all parents are totally against it and i should be lucky my parents even let me have it on my phone. Who knows maybe one day there will be texting revolution and parents will succumb to the evils of T9 Java Powered texting. Until then let there be peace between the flying fingered teens and their cord wrapped parents (but hopefully by now they've at least upgraded to cordless).

To Eat or Not to Eat

Today I ate sushi for the first time. Well I suppose that's not entirely true..it was vegetable sushi, there wasn't any actual fish in it. I just couldn't bring myself to eat raw fish, I don't particularly care for fish in the first place so I couldn't really see myself enjoying it anymore raw. The vegetable kind was quite delicious though. The outside was white rice and the inside had a thick layer of what looked like the veggie cream cheese you can get at Dunkin Donuts. The filling was very smooth and had chunks of red pepper and carrots in it. I put on it this "spicy mayo" sauce. It wasn't really all that spicy though, I think tangy would be a better word. It looked a bit like mayo that just had a little red food coloring in it, giving it a pretty salmon color. It had more chunks of red pepper in it, which made for a lovely presentation atop my "sushi". It made basically an alternating pattern of white and pink. Sushi is a very pretty food..even the fish kind. I just love how the rice or seaweed wrapping binds everything together in this neat little package..they're just perfect finger food or for chopsticks. Who'da thunk it, eating sushi with chopsticks?! The Chinese must have had that in mind when they invented sushi. Maybe next time I'll try real sushi. They did have a tuna sushi roll...hmmm i do enjoy tuna. Well that's all for now but maybe some of you would like to share your sushi stories or know a good sushi bar? Let me know!

House of Flying Daggers

All I can say is WOW. Honestly, I am completly awed by House of Flying Daggers. I was never one for martial arts movies but to call this movie simply a martial arts movie would be an understatement. My friend recommended this movie to me after seeing it with her dad and was highly impressed by the soundtrack and costumes. Being a bit of a music junkie I watched some clips of the movie online just to hear some of the music. After watching a few sequences I found not only did I really enjoy the music but the movie itself seemed quite enthralling. Let me tell you my high hopes were not let down either. The premise for the movie is that its set in 859 AD and with the Tang Dynasty in decline many rebel groups have appeared, one of them being House of Flying Daggers. Two deputies are charged with finding their leader and to do so they manipulate a believed member of this group and follow her in hopes that she will bring them to her leader. Many trials ensue along the way and there are just so many twists and turns in this movie you might just fall out of your seat. I thought the movie was going to end about six different times before it actually did and not until the very end of the film do you really get to see the true colors of each of the 3 main characters. There were so many unique and beautiful shots in the movie. One of my favorites is from the fight scene at the end. The two rivals are fighting in this huge meadow of white flowers and the background behind them is just blooming with color. The immense forest behind them is filled with trees changing color and the contrast between the white meadow and oranges and reds and greens of the trees is absolutely stunning. After doing some research I found that the director of this film, Zhang Yimou, is known for his strong use of colors and in this movie that certainly holds true. In another scene, in a bamboo forest, just about everything on the screen is green, the costumes, the forest, everything. The sets and costumes in this movie are no exception to the quality of the rest of the film either. In the beginning of the film one of the deputies visits a brothel to obtain information and the women there are all dressed in beautiful silk robes and the building is covered from floor to ceiling with beautiful chinese paintings that the director used to depict the era in which the movie was set, adding to the authenticity of the movie. If your still not convinced you should see this movie you should know its not just a martial arts movie, as i said before. There is also a pretty involved love story occuring at the same time, which is said to be unusual for this genre of movie. Know also that this genre of movie, called wuxia, is also known for never having happy endings so be ready with a box of tissues...but dont jump to conclusions either, as i said before nothing is really ever what it seems. So the action is great, the love story is touching, the set and costumes are amazing, and the soundtrack is unbeleivable. Whats not to like? I certainly loved it but you be the judge.

The Big Lebowski

So I have a new favorite movie...The Big Lebowski! Now for anyone that hasn't seen it a good description would be a mix between Dumb and Dumber (to the extreme) and Dude Where's My Car, plus a lot of swearing and naked women..that pretty much sums it up. I won't even bother giving you a plot line because in all honesty there is none. For those who have seen the movie you'll know who I'm talking about when I refer to Walter. Walter is the MAN! He has...um lets say "emotional problems" meaning he says the F Word every second and pulls a gun on his friend when they get into a dispute about bowling. Yeah pretty epic. I can't even begin to imagine how this movie came into being, the person who wrote the script in all honesty must have been on drugs because nothing in the movie ties together. So why would I like such a disgraceful sounding movie you ask? Well just the pure hilarity of it is reason enough but honestly I can't really explain why I enjoyed it so much. It was just a great representation of creative movie making at its best and worst at the same time. It just goes to show that just about anything will fly in Hollywood. So I highly suggest this for anyone that just wants a good laugh or wants to see Jeff Bridges head shoved down the toilet multiple time, whatever your reason, check it out!