Reading

This is all the reading I have to do for school (with the exception of the Chicago Manual of Style, which is purely reference). All of this needs to be digested by December 21! Lovely.

It's Snowing in October!

I'm Drowning in Homework!

I'm literally drowning in homework right now. At orientation, the speaker said that most students re-evaluate their "reasons" for attending graduate school around the end of October. It's when they are hit the hardest with the huge amount of work and responsibilities that's just been laid on their shoulders. I said to myself, "no, that won't be me. I appreciate why I'm doing this and won't be overwhelmed at all!" Yeah, (expletive) right! Today I've spent almost the whole day immersed in reading and only just came up for some air. And now I'm going to dive back into my workload. I'm hopeful that SOMETIME or other I'll be able to find sometime to post about the concert I just went to last week along with a few pics!

Kelly Tagged Me, Now I'm It

Kelly's tagged me to post 20 random things about me. I'll try not to duplicate anything I posted on 20 Really Interesting or Just Plain Strange Things You Didn't Know About Me .

1. I'm obsessed with silver. Gold to me is subpar.
2. I hope to one day have a pet cow. Either Guernsey, Jersey or Holstein.
3. I always cry when I watch The Little Mermaid (1989).
4. The leading literary critic, Harold Bloom, once told me I was pretty. It's a moment I'll never forget.
5. When I was 7, I stole an Alf umbrella from a Bradlees.
6. I like to link things. Hee hee.
7. I wear lots of hats.
8. I love Fossil watches.
9. I love pocketwatches and curse the fact that I can't wear them because I'm female!
10. I once had a house in Portugal as part of my inheritance. Not anymore, though...
11. I secretly dream of being famous in the literary world.
12. Autumn is my favorite season.
13. I love the Oxford English Dictionary. It's a word-lover's delight.
14. I've danced tap, ballet, jazz, modern, lyrical and gymnastic all to countless '80s and '90s cheesy pop tunes.
15. I hate drugs.
16. I really really really want my own apartment.
17. I'm more immature than I let on.
18. I'm convinced that John Henson is the funniest man alive!
19. Turner Classic Movies is my favorite channel (can you see I'm struggling here?)
20. I love to rebel! If you don't rebel against something in your life, then you are just letting yourself be washed away with the tide.

Bev, tag your it!

The Big 25 List

With the big 2-5 lurking just around the corner (actually it's over a month away), I thought I would be inspired by French Toast Girl and do a Big 25 list. These are the things I want to accomplish in my 25th year of life. My goal is to complete all of these before I'm 26. Here's my list!

1. Get an apartment closer to work and school! This is crucial for my sanity and for the ozone.
2. Start becoming financially independent and buy less junk!
3. Shhhh... this one's ultra-personal so I cannot reveal it's contents.
4. Learn how to flirt! hee hee...
5. Travel to Paris, France.
6. Learn some French before I go to France!
7. Celebrate one year of no sugar on April 9th, 2006!
8. Sign up for 401k. And read the huge 401k info packet before I do so I make an informed decision.
9. Keep up reading the New York Times and Publisher's Weekly and listening to NPR.
10. Learn how to rollerskate.
11. Be cool, fork over the cash and finally buy an iPod. Does that conflict with #2 on my list?
12. Get a professional portait taken of myself.
13. Take a self-defense class, or learn some self-defense techniques. Or get a can of mace!
14. Look more people in the eye
15. Make a few friends outside of work.
16. Brush up on my Portuguese. It's really faltering.
17. Travel to Maine (I can't believe I've never been there).
18. Get rid of some of the shame I carry around with me. I hate being embarassed over everything.
19. Brush up on my writing skills.
20. Go see a musical, theatrical production or even some ballet. I have no excuse not to because my school is in the theatre district and I get student discounts. Yes!
21. Read more blogs. There are so many cool and interesting people out there in the blogworld.
22. Go to the beach and have some fun in the sun. Believe it or not I haven't done that in a few years!
23. Watch less TV! (pipe dream)
24. Go to another crazy concert! (I went to one on Saturday, I'll fill you in on the details later)
25. Above all else, strive to be happy!

It's Raining, It's Pouring

I'm starting to get concerned about all this rain we've been having! It can't be good. It's been raining on and off for a week now and it's been raining (not drizzling, but pouring) all day today with no stop! MSN even has an article about it: Hundreds Flee Soggy Northeast. Hey, I guess it could be worse. It could be non-stop snowing and I could be trapped in my own house! Wait. No I take that back. That would be a good thing!

Thinking Big

It's been a dreary and miserable week. I swear I haven't seen the sunshine since Saturday! Or was that Friday? It's been so long I can't remember. We've had non-stop rain and perpetually overcast skies. And it's supposed to continue through the weekend. It's enough to make one suicidal. Fortunately, my thoughts have been towards the more progressive side of things. I've been doing lots and lots of thinking. About my situation in life right now. My 25th birthday is coming very soon and I don't have a lot to show for it. I feel that I'm successful professionally and academically, but in life, I'm a bit of a failure. I really need to get my act together and straighten out of my life. And I'm hopeful that if I do that, everything else will fall into place.

I'm Still Alive, Barely

Shame on me for not posting in almost a week! I've been completely inundated. I feel like I'm buried under a mountain of junk that needs to be sorted and organized. I've literally spent the day reading stuff away. I finally read through the Friday and Sunday editions of the New York Times and am making my way through my stack of magazines. Not to mention all the reading for school I'm doing. It's an incredible amount. I thought my having to read 5 Bronte novels as an undergraduate was tough, you should see my reading now! When I find my digital camera (it's somewhere in my mess), I'll take a picture of the mountain of books I have to read for classes and post it. And it's not just reading, I need to sort through and organize all the physical junk in the house. All the excess clothes, books, cds, boxes, shoes, and other random things that seem to be everywhere! I feel like having a big clear out! A grand purging of the whole house. I want to go through every nook and cranny of every room and just throw stuff into the trash. Just get it out of my house and out of my life!

Good Old-Fashioned Home Cooked Meal

That's what I'm hankering for right about now as I sit eating my cold Bruegger's bagel with onion and chive cream cheese. Because of my new schedule of full-time work, part-time school I've had to change my priorities food-wise. Lots of frozen pizza, frozen dinners, bagels with cream cheese, bagel sandwiches, burritos from the local Mexican place, bagged popcorn, fruit in ziplock bags, etc. Any food that is fast and portable and BORING. And even during the week, it's mostly the same old take-out standby. Which in my case is pizza, pad thai, and Applebee's buttermilk shrimp. Mmmmm, the variety! I've had to start drinking coffee again to keep myself awake enough to work and study. Problem is coffee is a hypoglycemic's worst enemy. It kicks up my insulin levels so when my blood sugar starts to dip the difference between the two is staggering. So I have to drink coffee and follow it up an hour or so later with an orange juice. Now I despise the taste of both. Bleh! Luckily, I have tomorrow off, YAY!!!!, so I'm going to try to cook a homemade lunch and dinner. Hmmm. What shall I prepare? Soup? A classic meat & veg dinner? Ooohh Seafood? Shall I even attempt some kind of low sugar dessert? The possibilities are endless.

Robert Mitchum ::swoon::

I think I'm about to faint. The good folks at Turner Classic Movies (who are obviously my long-lost family, they just don't know it yet), decided to dedicate the month of October to the sexy, hunkalicious, charming and debonnaire Robert Mitchum. They will be showing 32 movies and one documentary throughout the whole month. Did they read my mind or what? Robert Mitchum is my all-time favorite classic male movie star (move over Kirk Douglas!). Not only was he outrageously good looking, but he was a talented actor with a rebellious side. He is highly underrated which is why I'm glad a whole month is being dedicated to the man with the sad eyes! Here are some pictures for you to ogle at:

My Darling Sweetheart!

Stupidly Efficient

Sometimes I surprise myself. I know I shouldn't talk about work, as that's a taboo topic in the blogging world and can get you on the fast track to unemployment, so I'll talk in general terms and not specifics. I have a project that needs to be done in three phases. The first to be completed in August one in September and one in October. I know in the back of my head that the August one is complete. And today I had the sudden realization that it's September 27th and my September portion hasn't been done yet. Now I hate to be late for anything! I have a tremendous fear of failure and that extends to letting people down, showing up late, missing a deadline, etc. I get nervous, my palms get sweaty, and I start to speak in incoherent sentences. Then when I have to face facts and confront my lateness, I start making excuses so that I don't look bad. It's not pretty, it's not honest and it's the opposite of what a responsible adult should be. So when it came to it, I tried everything to save myself from this situation. When finally, I apologized, gave my side of the story and made promises of working on the project right away, I come to see I've already finished the project. In fact I finished it two weeks ago! That's what I call stupidly efficient. I'm efficient enough to do all my work on time but stupid enough to not remember that I did it.

My Two Cents

Here are some of my silly Netflix Two Cents Mini-Reviews that I've written for TV shows and films I've rented on DVD. I'd thought I'd be nice and share with you folks. Enjoy:

• The Darling Buds of May (1991-1993) ~ Ok, my bags are packed and I'm all set. So, when do I move in with the Larkins?
• The End of the Affair (1999) ~ Worth watching for that romantic line about pantyhose and shoes!
• The Office (2001-2003) ~ Oh my goodness, you will laugh so hard that your pants will split. I guarantee. So save up for new pants!
• The Pacifier (2005) ~ Too funny!! The duck stole the show.
• Sullivan's Travels (1941) ~ It wrenches a tear right out of your eyeball!
• Woman of the Year (1942) ~ Keep a fire extinguisher handy, because the chemistry in this movie is EXPLOSIVE!
• Mean Girls (2004) ~ Any movie with pretty girls getting hit by buses is ok with me!
• Titus (1999) ~ If you like blood & guts, mutilation and torture, then this film is for you! Yes you but not me!
• What Women Want (2000) ~ I know what this woman wants, and it's for Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt to never make another movie. Ever again!

Sick Day & 10 Gratitudes

I'm taking a sick day today, because I'm truly sick. I'm physically, emotionally and mentally exhausted and stressed out to the max. I feel like I'm a flame of a candle that's burned through all the wick and wax and has made it's way to the metal ring at the very bottom. My energy source has run out and I need a new candle! Plus, my back is starting to show the tell-tale signs of stress-induced pain (similar to what happened to my neck). So I'm going to relax today and recharge my batteries. I have loads of work to do so I'm hopeful I'll get some stuff done as well!

The lovely Kelly and Penelope posted on their respective blogs 10 things they are grateful for. I really need to step back and appreciate the good things in life and stop dwelling on all the negative. Here are mine:

1. My family, they are my rock, my stronghold. I don't know what I would be without them.
2. God, to whom I pray to every single day and whom gives me the strength I need to get through life.
3. My dog, who's shamelessness, courage and heart full of joy and happiness amazes me every day.
4. Books, my mental stimulation, my career, my study, my comfort, and my escape.
5. Movies, that whisk me away to another world for 2 glorious hours.
6. The Internet, that feeds my insatiably curious mind.
7. Irish Breakfast Tea. Add some milk and honey and it warms both the body and the soul.
8. My bed, in which I lose myself in layers of fabric and travel to the land of dreams.
9. Elena Tverskaya, my red Toyota Corolla, who takes me everywhere I need to go. (Yes I name my cars. Always female, first name ethnic, surname Russian from Anna Karenina and based off the letters in the license plate. My other car was Filana Petrova).
10. New England. My home, my base. The part of the world that I'm the most connected to.

Avalanche

I can't believe I haven't posted in almost a week! I've been absolutely swamped. A coworker told me that graduate school was the biggest expender of time and to make of it what I can. I'm only into the second week and I already feed overwhelmed. This is when my non-existant time management skills should really come into play. My problem is, is that when I have too much on my plate, I go beserk. My inner multi-tasker goes on overdrive and is trying to do everything all at once, and everything ends up getting done at a slower pace with a poor end result. I really want to be able to approach my graduate studies differently. The richer and fuller academic experience is what I'm striving for, but my main problem is find the time to have that experience. I hope I can manage work, study and life in an organized and efficient way while maintaining my sanity. Any idea of how I'm supposed to do that because I haven't got a clue?

16 Seconds in Time Square

My digital camera can take little mini videos, 16 seconds long. And the few I've taken I've been very happy with. Sure it won't compare with the work of Alfred Hitchcock or Steven Spielberg, but I like it.

Here is one called "16 Seconds in Times Square." Click on the picture below to watch it. If the link doesn't work, please let me know. Enjoy!

In Light of it All

I realized my neck injury was more than a result from my fury of cross-stitching. It's compounded by the fact that I've been suffering from high stress these past couple of weeks. Especially in preparation for graduate school and all the work that will come with it. It'll be difficult juggling part-time school, full-time work and a long commute. To add to that my classes are at night so I've been sick with worry over the safest way for me to get home. Boston late at night is not necessarily the safest place to be. And the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina have taken a toll on me emotionally. It gives me a sense that there is no security and that everything you have in life can be gone in an instant. In the end, if this disaster affects the economy, it means I'm in danger of losing my job if my company starts to go under. No job, no school. It's all one vicious cycle.
So I need to do now is take deep breaths, relax, sip on some honeyed Chamomile tea, listen to some Bobby Darin and Chet Baker tunes and de-stress!

Who Knew???

I have this horrible blinding pain in the left side of my neck that doesn't let up. And guess where I got it? From sitting in one position for three hours, cross-stitching. Yes that's right. Cross-stitching! The most I thought I would get was maybe a prick from the needle and some blood. But no, cross-stitching lures you in and doesn't let you go. You say to yourself, just one more line and I promise I'll put it down. A few hours later and you realize you still haven't brought yourself to set the job aside.

So today I went online and Googled the keywords "hazards of cross-stitching" (words I never thought I'd ever type) and come to find out, there is a name for what I'm suffering. It's called SNSS (shoulder and neck strain syndrome).

Here is a quote from the website I visited:

"SNSS, a group of pain symptoms originating with the muscles between the lower neck and the shoulder, is also the most common CTD (cumulative trauma disorder) of the upper body. Who Is Most Vulnerable? The people most vulnerable to SNSS are those who keep their shoulders elevated or shrugged for extended periods of time. Repetitive work with the hands and tucking of the chin to one side add to the vulnerability."

Who Knew??? So if you are a first-time cross-stitcher like me, or your thinking of making this dangerous sport your new hobby. Beware! SNSS may strike on your very first attempt, as I am proof!

Orientation

On Thursday I spent the whole day at graduate orientation in Boston. It was the usual, welcome to the school, here's a tour and some souvenirs. And they toss in lots of droning lectures on financial aid, health and wellness, technology, library services, academic life, etc. I got to give credit to some of the speakers because they did try to make things interesting for us. The technology guy was very chipper, cracked a lot of jokes (at his expense) to keep us awake and attentive. The best part came at the very end, when we got to meet the faculty department of our major. It was cool to see all the students I'll be in classes with for the next 2, 3, maybe even 4 years depending.

On a whole the day was pretty good. I got to socialize a lot with some great people from all over the U.S., and some from other countries too. And during one of our many tours, the most random thing happened. None other than Stephen King, the famous horror fiction writer, walked right by my group as we were headed towards another campus building. I was completely starstruck to say the least. It was a fitting moment since I was going to begin an academic career in something he is so involved in. All in all, it was a good day. Now I'm anxious for classes to start next week. Wish me luck, because I'll need as much of it as I can get.

Before I forget...

If you are an art-lover and a philanthropist, please take your wallet over to eBay and bid on French Toast Girl's painting for the Illustration Friday theme "Wise." All proceeds of the painting go to Mercy Corps' Hurricane Katrina relief fund. It's a good cause and if you win, you'll have a beautiful one-of-a-kind piece of artwork to adorn your home and the good feeling that your purchase helped those in need. The auction ends September 12th!