I've been on 'vacation' at my parent's house for the last several days. I was looking forward to some relaxation ... sleeping in, eating out of my parents' fridge, catching up on deluxe cable tv programming, and I've done some of that, but overall it's been a weird lead up to christmas, and I hate to say it, but I'm pretty ready for the holiday season to be done and to be back to everyday life in chicago. 

Nothing has gone to plan this holiday break. I definitely did not plan to get drunk from 3 glasses of shiraz and get into a quasi-politcal debate/pissing contest with my parents' neighbor at a christmas party. I planned to finish up season 2 and maybe tackle season 3 of Lost, but instead I caught up on Hollyoaks and feel my IQ dropping by the hour (but Amy's new haircut is ace, yeah?). I wanted to be festive and bake cookies, maybe watch some xmas movies. My linzer cookies taste like molded flour dipped in jelly and I can't stand the xmas music station my mom leaves on in her bedroom whether she is in there or not. 

On a brighter note, I didn't plan to get my side mirror fixed, but my dad set that up, so for the first time in about 2 years, I'm driving a car with two working side mirrors and a rearview mirror -- look out world! 

The weirdest part about being here has got to be running into people at bars. I used to get a kick out of the people I recognized from high school in bars around here, but last night I realized that my friends' younger siblings are now of age and are likely going to frequent the same bars I would. Nothing made me feel older than seeing 3 of my friend's younger brothers and sisters in a bar last night along with a kid I used to babysit for. 

Since we were last together:

1. Horror Movie Marathon

We got through only a short chunk of our list (Suspiria, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Strangers, Halloween, half of The Fly, and a few others I'm forgetting), but the truly scariest (for other reasons) was Taxi to the Darkside

2. NEVERENDER

I should 

have blogged about each individual night as they are all blurring into a brilliant proggy haze. I fell in love with Claudio all over again and rediscovered some gems I under appreciated in my earlier Co & Ca days (Crossing the Frame, The Willing Wells). Overall it was amazing to be around so many other hardcore fans even if I was in the top age bracket. 

3. The Election

I was jilted by my ticket holding friend, which left me home alone to witness the historic event, but being in Chicago was still an experience. 

4. School/Work/Etc

I'm dying here, seriously. Every single grade-making assignment is due next week and of course I'm not using my Thanksgiving break to work on any of this

I can't think of many more topical things while  trying to recap. I tivoed an entire day's worth of Gavin and Stacy on my parent's tv, so I'll have some entertainment throughout the evening. 

I am nothing more than the products I consume? Unfortunately, that seems to be the lighting rod of this blog. Since I'm too beat to argue, here goes with the party line:

Over the past few weeks I've watched

1. Reprise

A deconstructed Norwegian coming of age tale that wandered a bit into "Adaptation" territory with the blurring lines of creativity and madness, ultimately seemed to be bogged down in gimmick, but overall felt pretty fresh and authentic

2. Forgetting Sarah Marshall

I must have had super high hopes because I felt so disappointed. It felt all borrowed and recycled from rom/coms with Russel Brand doing a few funny bits, Jason Segel doing the half lazy oafish, half sweet aww shucks bit and Kristen Bell and Mila Kunis playing Veronica and Betty (wow there is a lot of crossover there). I am told a second viewing is needed to give it a fair shot, but I'm not there yet. 

3. Iron Man

Definitely the leading super hero flick, on the level with The Dark Knight

Never Mind the Buzzcocks returned!

I can't believe Bill left us for greener pastures. I honestly thought Phil looked close to jumping ship last year, but I guess he doesn't have the options as Bill Bailey and this might be as good as it gets for him, which is fine by me, I think he's brilliant. Anywhoo ... Bill was missed. Mark Ronson ... loved him at Lollapalooza, but he really couldn't do much more than sit and look awkward. I guess he tried with the glasses bit and the writing bit, but overall he was kind of a let down. Highlights were obviously the "No Air" dance and Simon's bit on Duffy .. he's ruthless and I love it. BUT .... what is going on with poor Simon's hair? He chalked his former bad hair on popworld exec's making him flat-iron, but this look, I don't understand.  

Tonight I saw Tegan and Sara at the Riv. I got there at 7:40ish but managed to miss most of City and Colour, who I was equally psyched to see. I heard the last 3 songs -- all mellow and down-beat. For whatever reason I didn't think Dallas would be solo, so it wasn't the experience I was wishing. When Dallas came out for the encore with Tegan and Sara, the girl next to me referred to him as 'The Whiny Guy,' ... ouch. I was hoping he could redeem himself if Tegan and Sara would join in on 'Sleeping Sickness," but they went for their own songs instead. The rest of the show was pretty good. I realize their shows are known for the banter and storytelling, and I appreciate that. I totally get the point that if all you want is to hear the music you can sit at home and listen to the album, BUT ... if you are telling a really long story about rotting potatoes and losing the crowd, is it really valid to be super-offended and turn the lights onto the crowd and start calling out individual concert-goers? And then after your first story goes over like a lead balloon, is telling the crowd you are having your period the best tactic? I'm not sure. They sounded good, but as usual the Riv crowd was annoying -- drunk, pushy and odd. 

My 'recently added' section on iTunes has two songs, TWO! So right now I am repeating them, but they are very good, so it's working out so far. The Age of Rockets "Avada Kedavra" and Neil Halstead "Queen Bee" -- good stuff. 

Yes, I watched the debate and I feel that because the debate itself felt so recycled, all my opinions will follow suit. I will say that the GOP is really crossing the line, coming super close to blatantly blaming the Fannie/Freddie crisis on the poor people who received loans and that makes me gag almost as much as Brady Quinn and Joe Thomas introducing John McCain. 

The Perks of Meeting Stephen Chbosky

In honor of Banned Books Week, Stephen Chbosky, author of The Perks of Being a Wallflower, among other things, was in town and held a reading/Q&A session in Lincoln Square. By now, the book may seem trite or unnecessary to some, in part due to the audience MTV books had a hand in generating, but I can still remember reading it in 11th grade and the overwhelming feeling of being so carefully and respectfully represented in a book. The book stayed with me, and even now reading passages can be an extremely visceral and powerful experience. 

So he's pretty much a regular looking guy. He read two passages, both more of the 'heavier' parts of the story. The first being the secret santa part where Charlie gives everyone gifts and reads that poem aloud, and then the second was the New Year's Eve party where Charlie does acid and really seems to be bottoming out. 

Normally at these things, I'm too terrified to ask questions, but I knew I'd probably never have this sort of chance, so I raised my hand and ask a question -- twice! The first question was theme-focused and delved into heavier, muddier issues. The second was about the quote 'we accept the love we think we deserve' and its origin, and he said he was so glad someone asked the question.

Afterwards, he signed my copy and wrote a puzzling, yet touching (and somewhat overwhelming) inscription. I'm not sure what he read into my first question (and maybe I'm flattering myself thinking Stephen Chbosky was even concerned with the undertones and innuendoes of my question), but I have to (or want to?) believe that it meant more than a canned inscription. After signing, he stood up and hugged me, and I felt even more overwhelmed, touched and star-struck. I was too shaky and nervous to stick around and see if this was routine treatment for his fans (I was second in the signing line).

Overall, I'm overtaken by the feeling of meeting someone who has created characters, a story, and honestly a universe that I felt so personally attached to for so many formative and difficult years. 

"So I guess we are who we are for a lot of reasons. And maybe we'll never know most of them. But even if we don't have the power to choose where we come from, we can still choose where we go from there. We can still do things. and we can try to feel okay about them." 

I halfway quit

I often wonder if I subconsciously self-sabotage any chance o balance. This summer the pendulum swung from me being so busy and a cranky piece of work, to a bored, listless whiny baby. Now that classes have started, I feel things starting to shift to crazy. Classes have started, my internship will (hopefully) start soon. I joined two 'extra-curriculars' of sorts (one is related to my 'professional development' as a social worker, the other fits somewhere between faith and friendship). And with this, I still have my job. Right now I work 20 hours per week. Instead of quitting outright, I offered to stay on as needed to do the few tasks I handle weekly. I had in mind that this was something I could do in two hours on the weekends, and it is, truthfully, in terms of how long these tasks take. But today, I sat there as my bosses suggested me coming in two mornings a week, working from home two evenings and still coming in on weekends. This on top of 4 classes and a 24 hours per week internship, and I found myself halfway agreeing ... what is wrong with me ... why can't I just up and quit? 

In other news of worth ... I finally made it to the beach, and in the water! Last weekend Rob and I rode our bikes to the beach and waded in the water, and it only took four summers living here. 

And of course, I've been trying to digest as much of the current politic climate as tolerable. I don't have much to add to the Palin analysis. However, I had to call out Mike Huckabee. He says as follows: "And speaking of Governor Palin, I am so tired of hearing about her lack of experience. I want to tell you folks something. She got more votes running for mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, than Joe Biden got running for president of the United States."

So let me get this straight ... the amount of votes she received speaks to her level of experience? I think we learned about this sort faulty logic in intro to Philosophy, but I'll play along. So, by your account, since more people called in to Vote in American Idol than any presidential election in history, and in the mayoral race of Wasilla, Clay Aiken is more qualified to be the veep, right? 

It is interesting to now live in a blue state and be in a social work program. It still feels odd to not be in the tiny liberal minority.  

my 'candyiality'

Even though I've been trying to eat healthier (or less unhealthily), I couldn't help but stop at candyiality on our way to the comic book store today. They have the best selection of sour chewy candy ... my favorite kind. After I made a ridiculous mix of sour patch kids, sour watermelon, chewy army men, sour belts, sour cherry balls, swedish fish and some other assorted goodies, I was asked if this was my first time. When I informed the cashier that this was in fact, my second candyiality experience, she inquired if I had been previously given my 'candyiality' by the previous cashier. I assumed this was some sort of punchcard and after twelve pounds of sour sugar balls I would get a free airhead. But, this is a sort of horoscope, in which your personality is analyzed via your purchase. According to the astrology of candyiality, my predilection for sour candy means I am a risk taker. My penchant for chewy candy means I'm durable. She kept swirling the bag looking for more to tell me, after repeating the durable part, she smiled and said "I guess that's it." I decided that means I'm well equipped to survive the risks I take because of my durability! Cool, yeah?

In other news, I saw Pineapple Express today. Funny parts, but definitely not on the upper Apatow eschelon.

Lolla wrap up

It's hard to really reflect accurately, last year I had the week after the festival to reflect and lounge around my apartment. Today I had to drag my sunburned self to work. But I need to stop with the 'last year' schtick. 

That said, there were some noticeable differences this year. Most obvious was the crowd. Perry definitely oversold it ... I'm not one to have to be up front near the band, so the stage crowds didn't bother me all that much (except for at Brand New, but that's another story). It was more with the other parts....lines for water, walking between stages, going through security, all twice as long. It made for less of a city within a city feel, and more like a farm animal corral at times. Also, the heat was worse this year, and I'm no desert flower. Seriously, I almost bit it on Saturday.

All complaining aside, there were definite highlights. Friday morning was slow going after Butch Walker. The Kills and Yeasayer were not the better choice, but we sat it out in the shade. Bloc Party and CSS saved it for me. I remembered why I really liked Bloc Party in the first place. When the sun went down and they went into "This Modern Love", the mood instantly lightened. And then it was time for Radiohead .... but I guess you don't question Radiohead, nor do you hope for Barack Obama's long rumored appearance. You don't say it's boring, you just bask in the glow of Thom Yorke and murmur along, and then pray your boyfriend won't mind leaving after Fake Plastic Trees so that you can beat the train rush. 

Saturday. Last year was my favorite day....but I must must must stop doing that. Saturday morning started off with well with The Ting Tings. Then we headed North to Foals. I was probably most excited for this show and most at risk for setting my hopes to high. Luckily, I wasn't disappointed. Good show, I danced, neglected to keep drinking water as the sun beat in the center of the sky onto the blacktop upon which we stood. Yannis didn't dance as much, but they were all so into it that it was hard not to enjoy all of it. I didn't notice the building sweat and the sunburn until we stood up from our pre Brand New resting spot in the shade. All of a sudden I was in the middle of a tornado, swirling with drunk 20 year olds and Jessie Lacey's ever so abrasive voice and annoying non-clever stage banter. The sides of the stage blurred, I started to sway and thought I was going down, taking singing guy next to me down to the dried grass on my way down. I managed to collect myself, before telling Rob "I don't really like this,"agreeing with my distaste we relocated to some shade and caught the end of Explosions in the Sky, which was actually quite beautiful so perhaps my flirting with heat stroke was kismet. I felt lame and weak for almost passing out and for contemplating leaving, but after more water, contraband snacks and shade later, I felt like I could stick around. We listened to Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings while waiting out Wilco. Much to our friends' and parent's (or parent) chagrin, we chose Jeff Tweedy over Rage. Seeing as I was annoyed when a girl with a muddy shoe bumped me before Wilco, it is probably a good thing I wasn't in the Melee that was the Rage audience. 

Sunday began with a 'pleasant' morning. Tally Hall had a few nice moments and they were really earnest in their efforts, which was refreshing. They seemed to have a lot of hometown fans out for the show, and the BMI stage has an awesome canopy of shade, so it almost took away from their lame cover of Fatboy Slim's "Praise You," but not quite. Black Kids were kind of a bust, but we did get to sing along to their one hit before making our way to Flogging Molly. Say what you will, but they put on a show. I was dancing, Dave King dedicated Whistle on the Wind to redheads and for a second I felt like a high schooler singing along, being part of a crowd and getting carried away .... until a fat sweaty guy spilled beer on me. Still, they sounded good and it was probably the most fun (tied with Foals), I'd had all weekend. Rob grossly miscalculated our transit time, so we left Flogging Molly early so we could sit and endure Gnarls Barkley's entire set. However, this left us in prime seating for Mark Ronson ... a festival highlight. This is why I like Lollapalooza in the first place -- surprise guests, singalongs, quirky covers. The audience really got into and the whole band seemed to be genuinely having a good time and seemed genuinely appreciative of the crowd (not in the overblown Butch Walker no one knows who I am sense of the phrase). We totally made the right call in sticking for the entire set and arriving late to NIN. 

Nine Inch Nails closed the weekend for us. To be honest, it felt a little like nostalgic throwback territory, like I was doing karaoke. I guess the new stuff is good .... but they just don't feel relevant like they used to. Still, I was glad our group (smaller this year) had a jumping around ridiculous moment before the weekend ended and it was back to real life. 

So while Rob and I both threatened to make this our last year, the few high points on Friday and Saturday, combined with an awesome Sunday, make our chances a little better for a three-peat (in my case). 

Sorry Sorry Sorry

I let the ball drop on the backdating germany thing .....

anywhoo, I'm headed to Lollapalooza, if I don't melt or die of heat stroke, I'll be back to update and bullet point the interim time.

Germany part duex

The rest of Frankfurt was a bit lonely ... I finished The Lost Legends of New Jersey, wandered some more, stumbled on a street fair and went to the cabaret show.

The cabaret show was in a tiny theatre. We sat at tables and ordered drinks. The emcee was in an Enstein costume, but he spoke only German, so I didn't get any of the jokes. The acts were like JV cirque du soliel, some jugglers, a contortionist, hula hoop lady, acrobat guy and balance beam girl. I was glad to see a show, but this wasn't as spectacular as the book described.

Went back to hotel and packed for 7 am train. Couldn't sleep, watched BBC and discovered the largest Japanese population outside of Japan is in Brazil ... who knew

Late updates: Germany, the 4th etc

Part 1

6/16

As usual, I arrived to the airport extra early. There were no newsstands or gift shops past the security gates, so I tried a crossword puzzle, called my mom, ate candy and wandered some more. I recognized Erin from class and we chatted while we waited to board. As I might have mentioned, the cheapest flight I could find was on Air India. They fly 2-3 times a week from Chicago to Mumbai, stopping in Frankfurt. Most of the passengers were traveling on to India, but a few of us were getting off in Frankfurt. The flight was delayed and I couldn't hear the air hostesses explanation as to why. I had Matar Panir for dinner and fell asleep during the Bollywood in flight movie. I learned most women wear halter tops under saris, and Indian women lose their abs with age as well.

Erin and I navigated baggage claim and customs and said our goodbyes until Thursday when we'd meet in Cologne for the conference. I decided to suck it up and cab it, too tired to try the U-Bahn. The cab driver was very kind and talkative, but was perplexed when I gave him the fare plus tip -- I later read in "Germany for dummies" that a tip is usually just rounding up to the next euro.

I seemed to be the only guest when I arrived at Pension Bruns, carrying

my ridiculously heavy luggage up the stairs. it had cathedral celings in the room and was definitely what others would call 'quaint.'

I was so sleepy when I checked in, but didn't want to be on a wonky sleep schedule, so I showered, ate a granola bar, pulled a map of the U Bahn from the lobby and headed out.

I bought tickets for a cabaret show I read about in the dummy book. Checked out the German film museum -- a little let down, most everything was written in german. I watched some old Laurel and Hardy films in the screening room and saw the anime exhibit, really happy to see the totoro portion of it.

Kept walking and tried to take pictures ... one day I'll be good at mixing personal and scenery pics. Since I was on my own for this city, the pics are all scenery

Wandered into the Sachsenhausen district of Frankfurt and tried the famous local drink known as apple wine. I ordered mine with a bit of sparkling water and it was delish! Not sweet or fake tasting like cider drinks and not tart or cloying like fruit wines. Tasted like a very dry, clean cider. Very refreshing, but very intoxicating. The waitress told me I HAD to try this frankfurt dish know as green sauce. Due to the language barrier, she couldn't tell me exactly what was in it, but I agreed to try.

I could taste boiled potatoes, boiled eggs, cream sauce, and herbs, other that that ... anybodies guess. It was pretty good, a little odd eating all those eggs at one meal, but other than that, I was pleased.

Came home and slept early, woke up after midnight, took tylenol PM and fell back asleep.

Easy as Pie?

I have always taken issue with that particular aphorism. 'Easy as pie.' I have made many pies in my life, and few I would call easy. I remember trying to make a lattice top peach pie in 8th grade. While trying to weave the strips of pastry dough, I ended up pulling the pie off the counter onto the linoleum floor into an orange gooey mess. Perhaps the easy part refers to the eating. My point in this pie talk, is that today I am making a pie today that is truly truly easy. As I am bringing dessert to Veronica Mars night, and the weather is hot and muggy, a cool and light dessert seemed appropriate. Viola! Lemonade pie. Delicious, but so easy I am embarrassed to tell others what's in it. In the interest of fair and balanced reporting, here's the recipe

Ingredients:

1 graham cracker pie crust (pre baked)

1 Medium size tub of cool whip

1 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk

1 can of lemonade concentrate (thawed)

Mix the condensed milk with about half of the lemonade, (taste and adjust based on tart preference)

Fold in the cool whip

Spoon into pie crust

Put in freezer until firm 

It tastes a little like cheese cake, a little like key lime pie. Super delicious and the only hard part is waiting for the pie to freeze. 

In addition to pie making, I'm also packing for Germany. Funny part, I still haven't completely unpacked from the move and I think Rob my stab me with a stray curtain rod from my old place that is poking out of a random box in the dining room. Time has just gotten away from me this week. 

And, my ulcer is back. Like that annoying girl from your freshman dorm. You move to the opposite quad the next year and it turns out she's in your 8am MWF class. So, even though I am going to the land of beer, I am on strict orders to refrain from all alcohol, caffeine and pain relievers. LAME. 

some updates?

Since I left you, I have done the following things:

-- attended a Spanish wine tasting in which I got a bit tipsy and managed to retain nothing about the wine regions nor the grapes

-- saw Rock 'N Roll High school at The Music Box Theatre complete with a Q&A session with Principal Togar.  She mostly name dropped and dwelled on her Andy Warhol inner-posse days

-- packed approximately 4 boxes of odds and ends for the move

-- finished (almost, seriously, almost) my internship

-- got a 4.o GPA (which has not been achieved since first quarter 4th grade because we didn't have math, as all studies were geared towards the "Indian Fair," which was a (mostly)racist celebration of Native American culture. Technically, I got a 4.0 GPA sophomore year in high school, but only because AP courses were weighted, I got one B in something, probably math, perhaps spanish)

-- edited a manuscript in which the author used the phrase 'be recourse full,' when meaning 'be resourceful'

-- attended Rob's law school graduation, in which I was likely the most popular attendee, as evidenced by the waves received from the processing students

-- consoled a fired fellow employee 

-- watched the series finales of The Office and One Tree Hill. "I want to learn the dance and lyrics to Michael's 'Goodbye Toby'"

School is out for the term, but I still find myself hating Sunday nights. I have to tell myself it is temporary, yet I don't want to wish my life away. My internship is over in ever way except in name. I feel like I left a month ago, just kind of going through the motions. 

The job was going fine, easiest and highest paying. Friday was an awful day, just chock full of dealing with bureaucracy and incompetent people. I somehow got stuck with the task of printing out posters for people presenting at this conference. I know nothing about the subject matter, power point, or printing on the poster size printer, but I decided it couldn't be too hard. and it shouldn't have been, but everything that could have went wrong did and I found myself getting so angry that this job was stressing me out and making me want to cry and flip out at people....just not worth it.

So I'm dreading tomorrow because I have to deal with this poster snafu ... so lame, I deal with closer to life and death matters in my internship, yet that doesn't really stress me out at all. 

I got 2 grades back, both A's and I think I'm looking at 2 more for a straight A semester. Research might be a B+, which will be disappointing, but I'm honestly just glad the class is done. 

I've also been bumming today because of the ruling at the United Methodist General Conference. They basically voted to keep their exclusionary language. Obviously this was not unanimous, and there was a very vocal minority, but it felt so defeating. And the fact that our church is taking it....I honestly feel as though this is similar to churches in the 60's voting to exclude black members or clergy. I know this won't spread to our church, but to still be associated with such is disheartening. Here is a clip of the witness that took place after the vote. It is kind of long, but some pretty nice moments. 

I dog sat this weekend. I hadn't seen those dogs in a while. Apart from the extensive food preparations and giving insulin shots in the back of the dog's neck, it's a good gig. I also had access to the deluxe cable, but only caught bits and pieces of movies. I did watch 2 eps of the BBC's Robin Hood. The best however, where the two shows on Nat'l Geographic channel. The first about Amelia Aerheart and the theories surrounding her disappearance. I had no idea there was a plausible theory where she was kidnapped and killed by the Japanese army. The second was about two American girls from LA who agree to go on what they think is an all expense paid trip of a lifetime to Lima Peru (they pictured Rio in their minds), in exchange for bringing back 'a little cocaine.' Obviously the trip is a nightmare and obviously they get caught.

I feel guilty for not going home to see my mom on mother's day.

I am already panicked about the move in 3 weeks. 

3 things, Sid

So we said goodbye to the kids from Bristol while they said goodbye to Chris and to each other. I was originally feeling cheated when Chris was killed off, but I guess if we are closing this chapter, it doesn't really make as much of a difference. And honestly, while Chris was my favorite, his funeral and the Jal stuff was the least interesting part of this episode. But let's get to the good stuff.

As stated, being a funeral episode and such, I was expecting some cheap shots for tears. And there were some touching moments, I liked the fish scene with Jal and Michelle, I thought the cliffside funeral and Jal's speech were nice without too much schlock. And I liked that Chris' dad wasn't a total villain, (and that 'arab' comment from the funeral director was brilliant). The real meat of the show for me was in the friend's goodbye. FINALLY, we did something with Anwar. His fear of turning into Sketch and being left behind while his friends go off to great things was touching, (and I thought he looked so nice in his suit). When his going away party idea was shot down, I felt the lump in my throat. I loved what they did with his friendship with Maxxi and how that wrapped up. It was implausible, but I thought quite nice.

The other tear-jerker was the Sid and Tony goodbye. BTW, Nicholas Hoult brought it this episode. I never thought he was a tremendous actor, but he toned it down and I thought it worked this episode. The second take, when he told Sid to lose the hat, and that he always loved him best .... it got me. Truthfully, I don't care what happens to Tony and Michelle. When he asked "We were good, weren't we?" I wanted to shout "No". When he wasn't emotionally abusing her, setting her up with his friend, cheating on her or stalking her, they were actually kind of boring. So I'm not sure if it's a bad thing if they go off to different universities. I appreciated that the writers didn't have them decide to go to school together (even thought that kind of happened with Maxxi and Anwar).

And with Sid. I really want good things for Sid. His comment about not being able to say goodbye was so true. So I understand that Cassie was the only goodbye he actually had a chance to correct. But I'm really done with Cassie. The writers really dropped the ball with her this season and I don't empathize with her like in series 1. I think she is selfish and immature. I think Sid has already done the 'chase her down and declare your love,' I mean, that was him the entire season. Also, I really think it would have been better if the whole NYC thing was more of the surreal story, and she was in rehab again or something, but no, they made it literal. Truthfully, I think it would be more fitting with Sid's character to have written her a letter and moved on. But he's tracking her down and then who knows? They'll get a loft in Brooklyn and become hipsters? Cassie's got the dress down. I guess a reunion scene would have been worse, so I appreciate that they cut before or maybe left us hanging....but really, having Sid walk around Time Square with her picture? Even for this show, it's a stretch.

And lastly, the closing scene made me go, "Oh yeah, Effy...," she really wasn't that memorable this season, but it was a nice transition bringing in the comforter and her grin, even if I don't tune in next season.

Overall, perhaps giving a decent send off to this group was better than splitting them off, making spin offs and bringing in even more characters. Clean break, etc.

Obviously, series 2 was not up to par with 1, but they managed to get a few good episodes and end it with less gimmick than expected. I thought the goodbyes were realistic in that they were rushed and separate and ambiguous. There was no memorable last hurrah or group ritual, and that felt right. With Chris gone, the only one left behind was Sketch, and that seemed appropriate.

The infestation

I have never been one to suffer extensively from allergies. Cat's make my eyes water and nose run. In high school I ate a habanero pepper on a dare and had some sort of allergic reaction that involved sweating, shaking, losing peripheral vision and passing out. Other than that, and the occasional 'seasonal' allergies (incredibly mild) I feel very lucky in the allergy department. I can't imagine how life would be if I had a deadly peanut allergy or was lactose intolerant or if I had to plan my day by the outdoor mold count. This lucked changed this weekend..... dramatically.

Friday I made good on my promise to clean out the disgusting office fridge, even though I have not used it once. I did this for several reasons: 1. I don't have much to do during the day, and this would be a nice diversion. 2. Cleaning out a fridge is a job that has a pretty clear end-point. 3. It was so gross I was afraid to use the water pitchers for fear of contamination and lately could not stand to be in the kitchen long enough to make coffee. 4. I am still somewhat new and figured this would earn me points somewhere. 

I pulled out all the expired, rotting and unlabled food and threw it out. Then I wiped down the inside and all surfaces with a diluted Clorox solution. The fridge finally looked passable to biohazard inspectors, and the odor was diffused. I was feeling pretty good about the job as a whole.

Later that night I went to Rob's for dinner and to watch Sweeney Todd. While watching the movie I began to notice that I itched. It started in my head and I thought perhaps my new shampoo was irritating my scalp. Then my arms and stomach really itched. I didn't think much of it, but soon couldn't sit still. The itching spread to my neck and chest. I decided to change into pj's. Rob commented that I was kind of splotchy on my neck and chest. I blamed it on scratching but then noticed all these white bumps. They were everywhere! Rob instantly identified them as hives and blamed himself for infecting me with whatever he cooked for dinner. This was soon ruled out as I remembered scratching my neck at work once or twice and finding what I thought was a bug bite on my elbow before dinner. 

I was in misery. I took some benadryl, but it obviously took a few hours to kick in. It was like I was compelled by a dark evil force to scratch my own skin off. My body had turned against me and was winning the fight. Rob literally had to restrain me from scratching until I bled.... it was that bad. 

Finally the benadryl knocked me out. When I woke up the next morning, the itching didn't seem so bad. But it's kind of like ants. You see a single tiny ant in your corner, then you lift a rug and all of a sudden they are everywhere. My foot began to itch and before I knew it, I was back to itch city. I bought some more benadryl and hydrocortisone cream. Here is what I don't understand about benadryl: I can never stay awake long enough to tell if it works. Both times I took it, I fell asleep still itching, but I obviously still fell asleep. I sat through dinner, but by the time we got home I was in full itch mode. My body was jerking around from my attempts to avoid scratching. I had taken the maximum amount of benadryl and was in no better state. I was starting to crack. I weighed going to the ER, but decided to try calling my Dr's answering service. After several tries and explanations that no, this cannot wait until the next business day, unless you think I can survive for 48 hours without any skin, I finally got a call from my MD. Kind of loopy on benadryl (actually wal-dryl to save money), I described the symptoms best I could. After calculating the amount of wal-dryl in my system, he called in a prescription for steriods and recommended a different cream that could quell the itch better than hydrocortisone. I took a cocktail of wal-dryl, prednisone, hydrocortisone and generic SARNA cream and passed out, but not before observing all the interesting characters in Walgreens on a Saturday night. 

Today the hives have lessened, but still flare up every so often. I feel kind of freakish with oddly appearing and reappering splotches all over. Case in point -- they randomly popped up in my eyelids for a couple hours over dinner last night. 

So by process of elimination I would hypothesis that the cleaning solution most likely caused the outbreak. I did not eat anything I hadn't eaten multiple times before, nor taken any new medicine. The only unusual substance was that cleaning solution. Rob suggested something in the fridge, but I didn't eat or really touch anything directly. 

I have learned several things from all of this.

1. I sure as hell will not volunteer to clean ANYTHING again. If I find myself in a janitorial situation, I am wearing surgical gloves, a mask and an asbestos suit.

2. I will no longer scoff at those who complain about skin conditions. I don't really remember having chicken pox, but I will wager this was worse. Worse than camping in Minnesota and being eaten by mosquitos, worse than New Zealand sand fly bites. 

3. I am not going to feel guilty about describing how much pain/agony I am in to the answering service operators. I can't imagine a serious case of hives would take a physician's time away from a life threatening situation. I need to get over this hang up of 'bothering' medical professionals with my complaints... it's part of their job.

4. Hives are almost magical. They can appear, disappear and then reappear ANYWHERE in the body. 

5. You can better believe I'll milk this at work tomorrow. It's got to be good for a free lunch or after work drink. 

The Blog Police

Are going to issue a citation for negligence. A lot has happened since the last update.

I am 25- halfway to fifty, all the way to crazy

I elected for a decidely low-key birthday. And it was low key, it still lasted the entire week. Highlights include =
* Rob getting Tilly & the Wall to wish me a happy birthday during the encore
* My mom sending me a first edition book of Eugene Field's poetry illustrated by Maxfield Parish
* Chicken Tikka Misala and Pumpkin Pie
* Spit and Eggs on Vmars nite along with chicken artichoke casserole and a sweet mandy b's cake
* Finding out in one day that I'd been offered two internships for next year

Other news of note

I saw Snow Angels last week. It left me with some questions, especially concerning the last 20 minutes, but I really liked so much about it. It stuck with me for the rest of the day and the next.

I got bangs

It is still depressingly winter-like and doesn't show signs of changing.

Sam so bim bap san

This weekend was eventful. Rob and I ventured southwest to Chicago Premium Outlets and successfully upped our business wardrobes with new suits! Even for a Saturday, the crowds weren't awful, lines weren't too bad, but we didn't manage to run into a rock of love castmate in the bathroom....can't win them all right?

The REAL highlight of the evening came with dinner. Rob was making good on losing a bet by taking me for Korean BBQ. We were both really tired from crappy sleep the night before a day of walking/shopping/driving, but decided that tonight was going to be filled with the aroma of grilled meats and pickled cabbage. We took a cab to San Soo Gab San (as I finally correctly remembered the name) and waited as they have no hostess, but rather motion to the line cramped in the entrance when a table is ready.

We were in for a delicious meat and mystery side dish filled evening.
The meal left us full, entertained and reeking of meaty smoke. We arrived home after a strange journey involving chasing a bus, running from pigeons and escaping a clan of soul-less ginger kids.

Now the weekend is flickering to an end and the week looms. While I am technically off school for the week, my new job has started, I still have to go to my internship and I have 2 interviews for next year, combined with a hair appointment. I am trying to will myself to do some laundry. I want to get to a point in my life when Sunday nights don't hurt this much.

Jane F

I don't want to write an entire entry on skins, again, but I have to say a few things about this week's episode .... spoilers begin here:

1. As soon as I saw that hallway shot, I knew Sid's dad was dead. It felt a little borrowed from Buffy, but worked.

2. The breakdown during the Crystal Castles' concert was such a beautiful scene, and I was glad we got the Tony/Sid dynamic back for a few moments

3. Sid has grown up so much since last season. Not only does he look older, but I like how he speaks his mind more....but, when will our bespectacled stocking cap wearing friend catch a break? Was he missing Cassie on the train ride, is she going back to Bristol while he goes to Elgin or is he going somewhere else?

4. I hope Sketch is the second death of the season, she is a waste.....I really don't like the Sketch/Anwar storyline, especially if this is the 'surprise' relationship, meaning Jal and Chris aren't.

5. This episode definitely didn't do anything to quell the public opinion that the show is losing it's levity. This one was heavy

6. Next week episode is Michelle's, but it looks like a lot goes down. I'm not looking forward to seeing her step-sister character, but excited for Cassie to come back.


ok, spoilers end here.

Rob and I finally got around to watching Smiley Face. It was pretty stupid, but had some clever moments and a few surprise performances, especially John Krasinski's. I haven't seen too much of Ana Faris, but remember really liking her in Brokeback Mountain. She is really funny, just picturing her face while running in Smiley Face can get me laughing. Like most stoner comedies, it didn't have much of a point or a resolution, but surely could have been much worse.

March is in two days and it still feels like early January. I am so ready for sunshine and warm weather, but the forecast keeps showing mid-teens. I am technically on spring break starting monday, but it doesn't take the same shape in grad school.

A non skins update

Yes, last night's episode was blog worthy, but I am going to try and focus on something else for this entry.

I am babysitting and dog-sitting tonight. I had to pick the girl up from basketball practice and couldn't help but laugh when I pulled into the parking lot in my crappy white avalon with a splintered passenger side mirror. I found myself in the que of parents waiting for practice to end, the only one not driving a luxury SUV. A black mercedes SUV passed me by after the corresponding daughter got inside. The driver waved, realized who I was (or wasn't) and did the wave-recoil, pretend to brush your hair as to avoid waiving at a non-parent in a crappy car. They were definitely a clique to watch. It is a small Catholic school and they obviously all know one another. I learned quickly that I was also expected to drop off several team members and on the way got to hear all the 8th grade dance gossip and how unbelievably awesome the Jonas Brothers are....who knew?

Now I am attempting to finish the myriad of course work I didn't get to this weekend....why you ask? Well, for one thing, I decided to stop talking about it and finally get a new bed. It is unbelievable. I always get annoyed when mattress commercials promise a better night's sleep with an expensive mattress, but seriously, the last four nights in my new bed have been legendary. So in getting a new bed, I also had to get rid of my old bed, which meant a trip to Burbank to deliver the bed (for $20 plus $1 per mile) to a nice young lady from Craigslist. But no trip to Burbank is complete without taking the roads back and stopping to look at antique stoves (or trying to) and then getting breakfast at El Nuevo Leon in what may or may not be Pilsen. Then, because it was Oscar Sunday, the rest of the day was dedicated to finishing my peanut butter crunch brownies (henceforth known as 'Emily Surprise') and watching the preshow. Monday was it's own exam in two ways, which leads me to today. After my field placement and faux soccer mommery I've just now gotten around to finishing what is due tomorrow. 

Don't worry friends, a skins recap is on its way, how could I not write about last night's ep?

It's awfully easy to be hard-boiled about things during the daytime

but at night, it's quite another story

If Rome won't come to Mohammed, he'll clap until it does

Maxxie's stalker was unveiled and boy, is there some psychotic soup in that house. Sketch (or Lucy as her mom calls her), lives in the same council estate as Maxxie. She has a disabled mom and seems to be her primary caretaker. She has invented a grandiose identity and relayed it to her bedridden mother. Obviously the charade is shattered but not before the new villain causes some damage to the gang, the school play and her self, it seems.

Now, I've read a lot saying the show has lost it's spontenaity. I'll admit the episodes are a bit darker so far, and seem to be trying to have a wider appeal and seem more 'realistic.' The saving grace of this episode for me was the school play, "Osama the Musical." Loved the dance routines, the orchestra with skyscraper hats, the boogie-woogie bagel (do Brits see Bagels the way we see Krumpets?) and of course, the penultimate number.

I liked the Maxxie/Anwar scenes with the Seven/Five plan and Anwar's Hugh Grant trick, but this is just feuling my fear that he is soley a one note comic relief vehicle. I was also surprised that Maxxie didn't have more compassion for Sketch after the off-camera confrontation with her mom. He seemed to be the heart of the group in some ways and I was hoping he'd pull through on the moral high train. That whisper after the kiss with Sketch was brutal, but probably deserved. I truthfully didn't find her that interesting and am not thrilled with the prospect of her becoming a regular.

I also LOVED the driving Miss Daisy costume, Chris had several small, but spot-on scenes in this ep.

It looks like next episode is Sid's, but mostly revolving around his parents and relationship with Cassie. Which reminds me, when is she coming back? I heard a spoiler that will bring back the love square from last season. I'm also ready for the return of Angie, even though I hope the Chris/Jal rumors are true.

Everything you could ever want from an evening. Songs, choirgirls, colourful costumes, fellatio... rabbits

I don't know why I like this show so much. It bears no resemblence to my high school experience. During my summer bout with insomnia, I watch the entire first series of Skins and have been hooked and further immersed in my obsession with british mass culture. Imagine my orgasm when Bill Bailey, regular team captain on Never Mind the Buzzcocks was slated to guest star as Maxxie's dad in series 2. My internet obsessive worlds collided for a magical evening. If Busted would have guest starred I might have gone into convulsions.

Last season's cliffhangers left us with the necessary questions on which to ruminate all summer. What happened to Tony? Will Cassie move to Scotland? Are Chris and Angie doomed? The 'wild world' sing along wrapped up the season with just about every character coupled off. We had some resolution with Anwar's birthday. Most importantly, before the singalong, Tony had seemingly committed to end his sociopathic tendencies and was on his way to setting things straight with Michelle.

Because of the teasers this summer we know Tony survives. The first episode of this season reveals that Tony did wake from his summer long coma but is still suffering the effects of his brain injury after being mowed down by a bus. It is pretty obvious that the writing staff didn't spend hours with scientific research on traumatic brain injury as shown through the depiction of Tony. Nonetheless, we know he is fundamentally altered. He can't remember certain people, has problems with hand eye coordination and fine motor skills, and may or may not be able to write his name, a necessary skill to continue on in school.

Tony, being the villain for the better half of season one is now the helpless victim. This leaves an opening for the next villain and looks as though it will likely come from outside the circle of main characters. But are we supposed to completely forgive Tony for all his transgressions last season? Does saving your sister from hipster drug addicts and getting hit by a bus give you carte blanche? This remains to be decided as we are introduced to the current state of the Stonem affairs and how they are dealing with a new Tony.

This episode was also mostly Maxxie centered. I have always considered Maxxie to be a strength of the show in that he is a gay character completely outside the sitcom stereotype. He has straight friends, both male and female and isn't relegated to one-liners regarding fashion or Mark Ronson. I thought the Maxxie/Anwar episode, while at times ridiculously comedic, was the most poignant in the honesty of male friendships. Bill Bailey was spot on as Maxxie's dad. Also a relationship not straight out of high school teen issues tv where the oafish dad can't relate to his effeminate, fashionista gay son, but rather had honest conflict regarding generational differences and responsibilites. Who knew Bailey could do drama so well too?

The remaining story lines were only touched on gently. We know Sid spent most of the summer at the hospital with Tony, but is now avoiding him and the rest of the family. Cassie did in fact go to Scotland and communicates via video messaging, giving Sid ample room for jealousy. Michelle is spiraling into drinking and promiscuity. A confrontation at the rave alludes to the fact that she did not put her time in at the hospital along with the others.

Chris, Jal and Anwar were mostly background characters. I hope Anwar doesn't become the Kenneth of this season and fill an entirely comedic role. He is hilarious, but I thought the storyline involving his faith and family was really good stuff. I thought Jal was underused last season but am really excited at the possibility that she and Chris make a go of things.

Also Effy, the enigmatic delinquent of last season is speaking this season which kind of made her less interesting to me. I am not sure what kind of role she plays in this season.

We also got no scenes in school (I don't know if it has started yet).

In keeping the scandalous tone, the episode ends at a rave with the LSD and booze fueled confrontation between Michelle, Sid and Tony, likely setting the stage for further conflict as Sid feels overwhelmed in his new thankless role as primary caretaker, Michelle feels left out and Tony is exceedingly frustrated at his new limitations.

This episode obviously set the stage for a change in the group dynamic. Michelle is 'going through something,' Sid is ever distant, Cassie is in another country, Jal is asserting her hotness (haha, did she ditch Kenneth this summer?), Maxxie is dealing with the 'ASBO army' and his desire to pursue dance against his father's demands of education and sensible career paths.

I was really glad to see these characters again and hope the addition of new characters (I heard rumors of a new step-sister for Michelle, and it looks like Maxxie has a stalker) doesn't make Anwar, Chris, Jal, or Cassie into background one dimmensional characters. Also, the tone was notably more serious. I know that the Tony storyline is much darker, but contrasting to the first episode of last season with the 'mad twatter' drug dealer and driving a car into the river, this episode seemed a bit bland by Skins standards.

While most of my readers have not and probably won't see this show, I still have been thinking all week on how to blog this episode. Oh yeah, and I probably should have put a spoiler warning up top for Rob who is just starting series one.

a pretty nice day

Yesterday started off with a part time job interview. Despite being cut in front of by some schmoozy drug reps, it went well. The job is different than it sounded from the posting and could be flexible. Before I was kind of hoping I would be terribly under-qualified or too busy for so I wouldn't have to consider taking it. Now if I'm offered the job, I will seriously consider it.

I came home starving and decided to finally try the new hot dog place up the block from me. The name hooked me: Flub a Dub Chubs. Now before you call it extraneous, let me explain that the two basic hot dogs are the 'chubby' and the 'flubby.' They also have several variations on hot dogs (you know I love toppings) and their burgers smelled really good. I got a 'chubby' ... haha bet that never gets old, with the works and it was delicious. So fatteningly filling I could skip dinner. 

Then I went to the comic book store and picked up the last amory wars. It provided solid reading material while I waited for my 6:45 class to start. I am satisfied with how they wrapped up the series, and also excited for volume 2. Now if I could just get my hands on a copy of issue 2. 

Class was pretty good, we were moving at mach 10 to avoid postponing the midterm. I took the bus home and finally could peel off all my outer layers protecting me from the sub-arctic temps outside. I called home and found out my mom is sick again, and now my dad isn't even trying to be sympathetic. My mom said she had a fever of 102 and got off the phone. When I asked my dad if my mom was sick he said 'I guess so,"  and then blamed it on the fact that she doesn't go out anywhere....dude, she has a broken foot! It is going to be interesting seeing them this weekend. 

Then I wrapped Rob's present. I am really excited about it. I had no ideas up until about a week or two ago. The present is cool, but so is the wrap job..... it's eco friendly, pink and hillarious. 

I'm still trying to figure out how to put more than 1 pic and arrange them in the posting. I'm relatively new at this.

Indecision/ Undecided

My dad sent me this link today. It pretty much sums up my political situation. The primary is tomorrow and I'm still undecided.

I had an up and down kind of weekend, but mostly up. Highlights included fruitless dress shopping with Michele, thus making it an 'ugliest dress' contest in the fitting room, further inventing characteristics for Rob's new dad and unexpectedly enjoying the last 20 minutes of the super bowl. And OF COURSE, the puppy bowl on animal planet.

a bleak midwinter's gift

I was gifted with a bit of a snow day this morning. I have no class on Fridays and am currently in the process of unethusiastically seeking part time work. I'm less than stoked because I already have a job, a pretty involved one, but it's an internship/ field placement for school and I do not get paid for it. I had an interview scheduled this morning for a position that seemed much more involved and hardcore than I am looking for, but I was still planning to go to the interview. Last night after Veronica Mars night, I parked my car at a meter, realizing I'd have to move it, but figured it would just reinforce my alarm clock. Moving my car to close to 30 minutes as I had to remove the layer of winter not only on the windows, hood, roof, etc, but also by the tires, (some idiot was also pulled perpendicular out into the one way street and scraping, but i digress). When I came back into my apartment, my phone was beeping with that annoying missed call indicator. The woman from HR had informed me she was 'working from home due to weather.' She has been very long winded in an awkward, overly professional manner each time I have spoken to her on the phone, so it took her awhile to get to the gist. For a split second, I thought she was going to have me come to her house to interview, but no, she told me to call her monday to reschedule. 

This gave me the morning to catch up on all my pressing issues. The first being the newest episode of Never Mind the Buzzcocks. As most of you know, this show became an obsession this summer. It is only on BBC 2 so I watch it online. This week's episode was pretty solid. My favorite parts were the James Nesbitt pint bit and Simon calling Joe Goddard 'Hot Chip' every time. I always like it the best when Bill Bailey and Phil Jupitus laugh out loud and there was plenty of that this week. I still don't know if the guy they replaced at the beginning was really from a band called 'flip chart hiatus'? or was that a joke? I am used to not knowing a lot of the up and coming band members they have on the show, but I've never heard of this guy or band and I don't know why he'd go along with that. His video looked faked, and his outfit is way too much of a get up. I think he was a PA on the set or something. Also, I kind of miss Simon taking political digs. The first couple episodes have some real low blows at Bush. 

My mother called and wanted to make sure I was up to date on all my celebrity gossip, specifically the Sarah Silverman/Matt Damon clip, which I hadn't seen but later watched. Now I am just procrastinating starting my research proposal and doing cleaning. 

the 2008 primary is making me lose my mind

Several of my emerging theories/resulting emotions from the recent events:

1. I am never backing the candidate I love in a primary ever again. In 2004, I saw Howard Dean speak and was enamored, probably like those who first heard Obama. I was excited and hopefull, then I listened to my few democratic surroundings (including my dad) as they played armchair pundit and declared Dean unelectable. I sighed and tried to smile and support Kerry, especially after Dean spoke on campus and compelled us to do so. That year boiled down to the anyone but Bush platform, and I suffered the defeat my dad claimed to have been long suffering as a blue heart living in a red state.

This time around I was the jaded hipster of the game. Don't get too excited, he'll peak, she's not electable. But I was so incredibly moved and motivated by Edwards 2004 stump speech. And I was decided. I knew that Barack was the patron saint of Illinois and that the hype combined with the Clinton machine would likely eat up the mainstream to a point. But I had faith, in my peers and in my country, that once they looked for concrete answers, plans of actions towards real issues like economic disparity, unemployment, universal health care, climate change, dependence on oil, they would here substance from Edwards and it would be the logical choice.
Instead, we watched entertainment news reporters highlight the soundbites, the reality tv worthy mudslinging over who said what when to whom. It became a pageant and the criteria centered on degree of marginilization -- to be a person of color or a woman. Edwards had neither and couldn't get in the game. You couldn't hear his logic over the shouting.
So this is the second time I won't be able to vote even symbolically for the candidate I support in the primary. Dean dropped out before the Oh primary in 2004, Edwards left me today.

2. I didn't have a second option. I honestly don't have a strongly positive enough feeling on Obama nor do I hate Clinton or oppose her enough to swing to the Obama side. According to his website, Mike Gravel is sitll in the race, what do I have to lose that my fellow partymembers have not already taken from me?

3. What does it say about me, lefty lucy, when I always see Mike Huckabee as the best performer in the debates even though I don't agree with any of his policies? How can I love and hate this scary man simultaneously? Does it make me a bad liberal if I disagree with his policies but admire the way he communicates them during debates?

In conclusion, I hope the democrats are fabulously pleased with the campaigns they demanded. I know with the writer's strike you can't watch enough carefully scripted bickering pandering to viewers under the guise of reality television as it is. I hope you have eaten yourself sick on this sham of a campaign by super tuesday, because I have a feeling you'll be eating crow by November I'm sorry to say.

second stage turbine blog

I used to have a 'deadjournal.' Well, I guess I technically still have one, but it hasn't been updated in over a month. This was my first attempt at 'blogging.' It was an amalgam of crappy undergraduate poetry seminar creations, recaps of the newsworthy events of dormlife, moving on to political rants and the occasional movie/concert review. After about a year I lost almost all readership. Subsequently, the blog took on a more personal bent where I would discuss my personal life in a half assed manner.

So why is all this important, anyway? Ok, getting to that. My 'deadjournal' had the same aesthetic as my 10th grade web page project on Eudora Welty, except that had more pictures. I wanted a cooler looking blog because I'm shallow. I also wanted a new blog so I could get a fresh start, make a concerted effort to organize this into something less craptacular than its previous incarnation, try to win some credibility in the blogosphere.

So what does this mean for the content? I have no idea. I am rather opinionated, see a lot of movies, enjoy music, keep slightly more abreast of the current political climate than the average jane, so I could use this to hinge my shingle in the political or entertainment arena.
I'm also in grad school, studying social work and doing fieldwork as an intern therapist with specialized foster kids. This is all rich for writing. But for those who know me realize that my ADD inhibits my organization skills, which means that more than likely this blog will be a medley of all things I find interesting, exactly what I was trying to previously escape.

We'll see how this one works out