I'm Lazy

Julie did such an awesome job of summarizing our holiday (with pictures of course!) that there is nothing I can possibly add to it except the two very amusing Adopt a Highway signs we saw...one section of our beautiful Pacific Coast highway has been adopted by "Cambria Republican Woman" (this is a blue state after all) and another by "Tim the Volunteer". I have a picture of Julie w/ the Cambria Republican woman but it has not been developed yet. You know why. Here's Julie's entry if you have not perused it yet. I will also throw a photo in for good measure:

Jellyfish at Monterey Bay Aquarium
I think this photo would make anyone jealous of the jellyfish- just floating along.

Now I am trying to get some actual work done. I realized two nights ago as I lay in bed that I have a ton of research work to do for my job, that I need to fill out all my applications for next year and take the GRE before I go to Chile, that I have a bunch of things to prepare (ie visa and immunizations) before I got to Chile, and I still don't really know what I want to do for a REAL job (and what can I be besides a professor if I get my PhD in history?). I am hoping to get an internship in DC after my sojourn in Chile just to procrastinate a little longer. Ah well...encouraging comments are welcome!

Anyone hear of a band called Devotchka? I heard one of their songs in a movie called "Everything is Illuminated" which is awesome and you should all see it. Julie and I plan to make t-shirts that say "Oficious seeing-eye bitch"---see the movie for an explanation. Anyway the song "How it ends" was in the trailer and part of the movie and I ended up downloading a bunch of their other stuff. This section, besides recommending a good movie and band, was also to prove to Eamonn that I do listen to "new" music and not just "old" music like jazz, swing, and classic rock.

Oh amusing story! My cousin Jenny (well i guess technically she is my 2nd cousin, her grandfather is my grandmother's brother....all part of my complicated and extended Chinese family) is going to study abroad this summer as well as her roommate. Seemingly random but important backstory: First, Jenny is Chinese and looks...well...Chinese. When I studied abroad in Scotland 3 years ago I sent some pictures of my year back to the UC study abroad program and last year Jenny sent me a letter with the latest study abroad brochure and lo and behold there I was with my buddies Shona and Lizzie in front of the stone marking the border of Scotland beside the highway. So Jenny's roommate went to a info meeting about studying abroad with two other friends and they were shown a slideshow of all those cool people who studied abroad including ME! Jenny's roomie says to her friends "Hey that's Jenny's cousin!" And her friends' response: "Do you have your glasses on? That girl can't be Jenny's cousin. She's white!" My white half thought that was hilarious and my Chinese half thought it was a sad commentary of racial stereotypes today. And the other Valley girl half though OMG I am a total study abroad celebrity! You do the math.

Time is money and I just spend like 30 minutes on this dang entry because it took me that long to think of interesting things in my life currently and I could have spent it making a chart of Pacific trading vessels from 1785-1825 for money! So the least you could is leave a comment and let me know that you are alive and that this was time well spent.

What passes for literature

So my friend Kelly and I were perusing the aisles of Barnes and Noble the other day before we went to see Mission Impossible III, when we cam across this "book" entitled "The Notebook Girls". Essentially four high school girls published notebook entries that normally would have been passed in class as notes. It even has a crappy diagram of the social structure of their elite high school (nothing new...your standard jocks, nerds etc.). Awesome. I still have some of my notes somewhere. My chem notes too. Maybe I can get them published. Because everyone will want to read about who has a crush on who and like all the inane feuds that like teenage girls get into with like other teenage girls. Like, who pays for this crap? Just go look through your junior high and high school yearbooks if you want to reminisce about those bygone days.

Which brings me to the other annoying moment of the week: annoying lady in the movie theater. As the green screen appears heralding my favorite part of the movie, the previews, a lady sitting nearby announces for the ENTIRE theater to hear, "Start the movie already!!! We've been sitting here for 45 minutes waiting." No, madam, you are an idiot for coming to the movie theater 45 minutes early, before "The Twenty" even starts. And this was only the beginning. Perhaps she had some sort of disorder but in any case I doubt she has ever had occasion to use her "6 inch" voice. As much as I like to comment on movies as I watch (in this case to say things like Philip Seymour Hoffman is one scary villain, or how Tom's on screen wife looks eerily similar to Katie Holmes), I don't believe anyone else besides my obliging friends (Katie when are you back in the bubble so we can go see some movies?) wants to hear. What would have turned this annoying moment into true entertainment was if someone had confronted her and told her to shut the hell up.

And now for something completely different

Doesn't Aragorn look FABULOUS??? I promised Clare I would post some of my latest knitting projects so here they are. Aragorn is sporting a very trendy handbag w/ bamboo handles, which is also REVERSIBLE! Its, like, totally two bags in one! Looks HOT with a forest green coat, tunic, bow and quiver or bring it out for more casual, everyday use when not on an epic quest to save Middle Earth. And on below we have Ms. Marion sporting a very cute Jayne hat in purple. A Must Have this season especially for all the cold weather we've been having in California. Brrr.

Now I know you are all wondering, how can I look and be this awesome? Start knitting. Girls can make their own fashion statements. And for you guys, everyone knows "Girls only want boyfriends who have great skills." That's a fact. Knitting needles are a lot easier to use than nunchucks or bows yet can also be substituted as deadly weapons in a pinch (see Jules for tips).

Favorite knitting moment: All the Angus House Krew guys and gals (minus Tryste and Jules) sitting around knitting for Kristin's blanket, and someone commenting (Joe? Olley?) "So this is a Stich n Bitch...when are we going to start bitching?" Good times.

For lack of a better imagination

Not that Duncan doesn't have a very fertile imagination but yes I am copying one of Duncan's posts. Why? Because I don't want to do my work and I can't think of anything original to write and this will satisfy all who complain I don't write often enough. So there!

Go to your music player, set it to shuffle/random, and answer the following questions with the title of the FIRST song that you skip to each time. No cheating!

If you reached the top of Mount Everest, you would scream:
"Gimme a pigfoot (and a bottle of beer)", classic blues song by Bessie Smith...I think in reality I would settle for just the beer. And one for my sherpa.

The next time you stand up in front of a group of people, you'll say:
"Wand'rin Star" by Lee Marvin....That's me especially now since I will be leaving for Chile soon to live for 6 months! This song is from a great musical also starring Clint Eastwood of Dirty Harry fame...yes he can sing...sort of. Well its amusing and my dad actually likes and stayed awake during this movie and thats saying a lot.

Your favorite thing to say when drunk is:
"Mama said" by the Shirelles...hahah!! If I had listened to what Mama said I wouldn't be drunk =P.

Your message to the world:
"Gypsy" by Fleetwood Mac....lame...

Your deepest secret:
"Soul Kitchen" by the Doors...I like soul food? Now you know.

Your innermost desire:
"Loving you" by Elvis Presley...doesn't everyone want to be loved?

Your oldest memory makes you think:
"Change your mind" by The Killers...must not be a good memory.

Somewhere in your wedding vows, you'll include:
"Give me one reason" by Tracy Chapman. I think I am going to need more than 1 reason.

On your deathbed, you'll whisper:
"Tempus Vernum" by Enya. Since when do I know Latin?

Your friends say behind your back:
"Lola" by the Kinks...I do NOT talk like a man! I resent the implication.

You say behind your friends' back:
"Moving to the Ghetto" Wojciech Kilar (The Pianist soundtrack)...all the way to Compton, Eamonn.

Your opinion of LiveJournal:
"All my love" Led Zeppelin...got lots of friends over there even though eblogger is wayyyyy cooler.

When you wake up in the morning, you mutter:
"Fotografia" by Juanes. Because dreaming in Spanish is much sexier. =)

If you found yourself lost on a desert island, you'd yell:
"Across the Universe" by The Beatles, which includes the lyric "nothing's gonna change my world" a statement very appropriate to the desert island scenario.

Right now, your feelings are:
"Wild as the Wind" by Nina Simone. Although she's talking about love (when is ol' Nina not talking bout love?), I think it applies to my feelings right now as I try to figure out stuff. See that hows wild it is, can even pin down what the "stuff" is.

What's your excuse for reposting this meme?:
"I don't know enough about you" by Peggy Lee....yes so now its your turn to answer this meme! Otherwise we will remain mere acquaintences and that would be a shame.

Your life's soundtrack:
"But I might die tonight" by Cat Stevens....sounds kinda morbid but really about finding your own way and not settling for just anything.

P.S. I had to leave out some of my classical music songs because reading that Your friends say behind your back: Suite #1 in G, BWV 1007, Prelude by Bach would make you guys sound like weirdos.

OH AND I DO HAVE GOOD NEWS:
Besides Jules coming to visit in one week, I was accepted to be a volunteer with the Voluntarious de la Esperanza organization that oversees a bunch of orphanages and community centers in Chile. Looks like I will be living down Chilean way for 6 months. Hasta luego mis amigos y escribame un comentario.