18
July
2008

Hatred0

So I have this friend named Jenn. And she didn’t come to work today. And I hate her for that.

9
July
2008

Shoes0

Want!

I know, I know, they’re not cruelty free, but shoes are a tough one. It’s hard to find good quality shoes that aren’t leather. 

I didn’t get much done tonight. I’m really tired. Plus- my computer is going really slow for some reason. It’s bugging the crap out of me. I think I need to install some updates and reboot…

8
July
2008

To Do List Continued:0

I got one thing done and added one thing…

Get Eurostar tickets to Paris.

19.) Buy some comfy shoes.

7
July
2008

Bummer!0

I just went to book my King Lear tickets and I found out that the only time it will be showing when we’re in London is at 1:30 in the afternoon. I was really hoping we could see it at night. Lear is just one of the those plays you want to see in the dark! Oh well, better Lear during the day than no Lear at all. However, I still wasn’t able to book our tickets. Something is wrong with the website. I’ll have to try again tomorrow. Damn, I really wanted to check that off of my list…

I do, however, have some things to add:

17.) Make British Invasion soundtrack.

18.) Notify the bank of trip out of the country so they don’t freak out if I buy a cup of coffee in London. 

In other news (if you can call it that), I made a delicious Asian “Ficken” salad tonight:

Asian \

I found the recipe on Allrecipes.com, but I made some slight alterations to suit my fancy. Instead of bok choy I used cabbage and I added red bell pepper and cilantro, and subtracted the water chestnuts (gag!). And of course I replaced the chicken with “ficken” (just as good, and cruelty free). We didn’t have any soy sauce for the dressing either so I just put in some Asian sesame marinade goop that we had in the fridge. It turned out pretty well. It was nice and fresh and crunchy- plus, there are leftovers for tomorrow’s lunch!

6
July
2008

Boo on you Sunday night. Boo. On. You.0

Yet another weekend has gone by and I didn’t get enough done, nor did I relax as much as I would have liked. How is that possible?

I did, however, manage to spend money this weekend. Somehow I’m always able to do that. 

I’m working on redecorating my office and I found this adorable owl will that will look quite charming on a shelf that I just hung:

I also hung my William Blake quote decal:

 

I also made a pretty good blackberry peach crisp:

Blackberry Peach Crisp

Well, it’s time to go do my Sunday ritual- laundry!

4
July
2008

Pip Pip! Cheerio!0

I’m sad to say that I haven’t posted since February. I suppose it was around that time in which I became completely swallowed up by my graduate work. It was a rough semester… I’m certainly glad it’s over. While I could go on and on about the intricacies of the semester, I would rather talk about something that is much more interesting: our upcoming trip to EUROPE!

It’s official, Kyle and I are leaving for Europe in exactly four weeks! While this is insanely exciting, I’m starting to freak out a bit. I have a lot of planning to do. While I was very proud of myself for getting our plane tickets and booking (most of) our hotels, I still have a lot of work to do. Although I don’t plan on following a strict itinerary, there are some things I would like to prepare for.  

If there is one thing I have learned in college, it is this: when stressed, make a list.

Things I need to do in preparation of our trip:

  1. Figure out transportation:
    • What the hell is the difference between an Oyster card and a travel/paper card? Which one should we get? (Looks like the Oyster card is our best bet- At this point- I really don’t care if it is or isn’t, I’m just sick of doing the research.)
    • How do we get from Heathrow to our hotel?
    • Become somewhat familiar with the tube stations and their proximity to the places we’d like to go.
    • Figure out transportation to/from the Lake District (see below).
    • Get Eurostar tickets to Paris. Find out how to get to the Eurostar station from our hotel.
    • Find out how to get from Eurostar in Paris to our hotel.
    • Become somewhat familiar with the Metro stations and their proximity to the places we’d like to go.
    • Find out how to get from the Eurostar station in Paris to our hotel in London (it will be a different hotel- near Gatewick).
    • Figure out how to get from our hotel to Gatwick.
    • Find someone who is kind enough to take us to/from the airport, or see if taking Yolobus is plausable.
  2. Research day trip to the Lake District. I really want to go, but I’m not sure it’s practical. But is a trip to London and Paris practical to begin with? Nope. So why not indulge?
  3. Come up with flexible itineraries for each day. Okay, I’m not a psycho who has to follow an itinerary down to the very minute, but I don’t want to spend all this money getting over there, and then waste time by not being organized. Plus, I will schedule in time for spontaneity ;)
  4. Buy an electrical converter (or whatever) so Kyle can charge his laptop and I can use my hair dryer.
  5. Buy a laptop charger for the plane. I’m not sure we’ll be able to use it, but if we can, it’ll be nice that we have it.
  6. Take a looksy at my Mom’s luggage, see if we can use it.
  7. Make sure my mom can watch Piddy while we’re gone.
  8. Make a list of things to pack. Make sure I have said things.
  9. Make copies of pertinent documents (passport, credit cards, etc.).
  10. Make sure I have fun things to do on the plane. Bring a book (or two?), some magazines, iPod, etc. Have Kyle put Spaced and other shiz on his computer. What great fun it would be to watch Spaced on our way to London!
  11. Buy tickets to see King Lear at the Globe Theater. That’s right, mother fucking King Lear at the mother fucking Globe Theater.
  12. Look into buying tickets online for cruise on the Seine. If you purchase them online they take 4 euros off (making it 7 euros each, not bad!). But I want to make sure the dates/times are flexible if you buy them online.
  13. Look into trip to Versailles. How much will it cost? Is it worth it? What am I talking about, it’s Versailles! Of course it will be worth it!
  14. Make sure my camera has enough memory for the entire trip. If not, buy another memory card. (Kyle assured me that we don’t need another one.)
  15. Make sure rent/bills are paid before we leave. 

Wow. Lots to do. And I’m sure I’ll come up with even more. I had better get busy!

Ooh! I already remember one more thing!

  16. Book hotel near Gatwick on last night.

17
February
2008

Arthur Morted0

I humbly retract my ignorant grumblings about Le Morte D’Arthur. I’ve gained a much greater appreciation for the story as it comes to it’s cathartic end. Although deeply sad, the end is quite beautiful.

10
February
2008

God Arthur, Can’t You Just Morte Already!0

I’ve read about 250 pages of Le Morte D’Arthur and all I want is for Arthur to die! I know I sound like a bad English major, but I just can’t take it any more! It’s too much! I get so irritated simply holding the book in my hands. It’s the same feeling I got when I had first period P.E. in high school and the teacher would make us run first thing in the freezing cold. No, reading this is worse, because at least I knew the running would at one point come to an end. This book will not end!

2
February
2008

Java City Employees May Come and Go, but I Remain0

Well here I am in the umpteenth semester of my life.

I often find myself doing homework in the Java City on campus (despite the fact that their coffee tastes like styrofoam), and I find it comical that every semester or so the resident employees leave and they are replaced by newbies. It just doesn’t seem right that Java City employees move on with their lives but I’m stuck dealing with papers, reading, and annotated bibs. I’m like a war vet who witnesses the world changing around her, but isn’t able to change along with it. My knowledge of technology and pop culture has definitely been stunted since high school. I’m okay with knowing more about British lit than reality TV, but I definitely feel inept when it comes to relating to my peers… But I’m thankful that most English majors (especially grad students) are nerds like me.

This semester I’m taking three grad classes: Arthurian lit, Classical Rhetoric and the Poetry of T.S. Eliot. I’m excited, but a little uneasy. These classes are pretty hardcore, but I guess that is a good thing. I’m used to writing papers the night before and still doing well. These classes will give me a much needed mental push. However, I won’t deny the pain that I suffer every time I think that I could be finished with school right now…

I had to buy an unholy amount of books for just three classes:

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How on earth am I supposed to fit these books in my bookshelf?
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29
January
2008

Up Yours Bowser!1

I think it is only appropriate that I beat Mario Galaxy the day before school starts back up again. Although… I still have about 15 stars to get… I can get those on the weekend. More to come on the game itself…