I need some new ones. Not the friends, of course, but the random ones that are entertaining. So what are your favorite random, entertaining websites? Bonus points if they don't take forever to load via dial-up.
Aaaaaand GO!
19 January 2009
16 January 2009
Hear that? It's the sound of my independence being yanked away
Conversation held earlier today:
Me: 'I have a meeting this afternoon at [local high school] with one of my student teachers.'
Dad: 'What time?'
M: '12.30.'
D: 'Well, I'll drop you off, I have to go to the store. I'll pick you up in an hour?'
M: 'O...kay.'
That was me, being dropped off and picked up at the high school, like a high schooler. You'd think the last ten years haven't passed at all.
Me: 'I have a meeting this afternoon at [local high school] with one of my student teachers.'
Dad: 'What time?'
M: '12.30.'
D: 'Well, I'll drop you off, I have to go to the store. I'll pick you up in an hour?'
M: 'O...kay.'
That was me, being dropped off and picked up at the high school, like a high schooler. You'd think the last ten years haven't passed at all.
10 January 2009
2008: Year in Review
01 What did you do in 2008 that you'd never done before? Earned a masters, wrote 16000 words within two weeks (yeah, exams were fun), designed and went through with a research project, visited a few new countries, toured my parents around the UK and Ireland.
02 Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year? Heh, apart from a fit of exercising in between semesters, I didn't keep the 2008 resolutions at all. To be fair, I should have kept up with that, since that was about the best few weeks of this entire year. So I'm going to get back into that, except let's not call it a resolution, since I have an apparent tendency to fail at those. Also, finding a JOB and achieving a real, adult, grown-up life is in the process. I hope.
03 Did anyone close to you give birth? Nope.
04 Did anyone close to you die? Janice, my family's crazy, psychotic, clueless, adorable dog. Who liked bagels. And sneezing on your face as you were laying on the couch. And howling along with you. There's no other greyhound like her.
05 What countries did you visit? The UK, Ireland, Portugal, Belgium, Germany, Canada. And France if you count the train ride on the way to Belgium.
06 What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008? An idea of what I want to do with my life. (This answer from last year still applies.) Though at this point, I'd also accept a job.
07 What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? July 17, graduation day!
08 What was your biggest achievement of the year? Graduating with a master's from Cambridge... cross one thing off my to-do list! (see #35)
09 What was your biggest failure? I guess the inability to get hired could be counted as a failure, though there are a number of other factors that contribute to this. Example A: recession.
10 Did you suffer illness or injury? Not serious ones.
11 What was the best thing you bought? Anything involving travel: plane tickets, train tickets, any food in Belgium: fries, waffles and chocolate!
12 Whose behavior merited celebration? A few of my friends got married, so yay for them!
13 Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? Apart from the usual politicians (Blagojevich, Spitzer)... hmm. There are certain people who seem to exist in my life purely to ruin my self-esteem and make me feel bad about myself, and the plan is to get them out of my life, and/or get myself away from their influence. (If you are reading this, it is not you.) (Also, this is NOT a resolution, since I generally fail at those; it's merely a goal. Not expressly for New Year's. Yeah.)
14 Where did most of your money go? I know exactly where: student loans. Also, the pound --> dollar exchange rate. Also, plane tickets. (Last year's, but still true.)
15 What did you get really, really, really excited about? When I found out my parents were actually going to visit me in Europe! I figured that was one of those things that they'd talk about ad nauseam but never follow through on, but it happened!
16 What song will always remind you of 2008? Uh... I didn't listen to the radio all year. I did buy some songs by Colin Meloy and the Decemberists this year, although only the former album actually came out in 2008.
17 Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? Less stressed in terms of being on a schedule, but sadder due to a lack of purpose/independence. Funny how that works.
b) thinner or fatter? Fatter. Hopefully you can't tell.
c) richer or poorer? Poorer, big time. If anyone steals my credit cards or identity, they have definitely chosen the wrong person.
18 What do you wish you'd done more of? Made more friends and gone out more. Two years in a row; let's go for three!
19 What do you wish you'd done less of? Self-doubt and feeling stupid.
20 How did you spend Christmas? With the fam in B-lo. Of course.
21 "There is no question 21" I have got to find a better New Year's meme that doesn't include this 'question'.
22 Did you fall in love in 2008? No. There was a slight infatuation, though. But it didn't involve stalking, I promise.
23 How many one-night stands? Yeah, okay.
24 What was your favorite TV show? Still 'The Office', though it's really starting to slide. Let's hope the writers pick it up a little for the rest of the season.
25 Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year? There were some professors at Cambridge that I rather extremely dislike, but I wouldn't say I hate them.
26 What was the best book you read? I'd say Vienna Blood by Frank Tallis. Rather a lame title, but very well-written, uses an impressively varied vocabulary, and set in 1902 Vienna. And it involves cake. That's basically a formula for a winning book, I feel.
27 What was your greatest musical discovery? The Decemberists are pretty great, I think. Their music gets better upon each relisten. Also, I'm suddenly into Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, which is funny and twisted and catchy and fantastic, but it's now 2009, so I'm not sure if that counts. Although it came out in 2008, so let's say it does. Only one year behind the pop culture trends is quite good, considering my track record.
28 What did you want and get? I've been talking about visiting Belgium since 2003, and I finally got around to it this year. It was not quite as awesome as everyone's talked it up, but the food and beer definitely made it worthwhile.
29 What did you want and not get? A freaking JOB.
30 What was your favourite film of this year? I might have to be a lemming on this one and say 'The Dark Knight'. 'Atonement' was also amazing.
31 What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I turned 27, and I had people over to our house and fabulous garden for a grill fest. It was a good time, especially since it was after the academic year had ended for most people.
32 What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Lasting friendships with folks from Cambridge.
33 How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008? I was in grad school, what do you think? Jeans and fleece and funny, random t-shirts. I've tried to get out of that rut to some extent, but it's a bit tough when you don't have any money. H&M helped me out a bit when I was in Cambridge.
34 What kept you sane? Phone calls to and from friends. Also, travel: getting away from the routine is always good.
35 Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Heh, British phrasing. I continue to be a big fan of John Krasinski. Also, I'm suddenly enamored of Neil Patrick Harris: he's hilarious, seems to be a down-to-earth guy, and he can sing!
36 What political issue stirred you the most? Oh, the 2008 election! Absolute madness. I loved it, as much as the infighting and twisting of words drove me crazy.
37 Whom did you miss? Oddly enough, I missed folks from Cambridge after returning to the US... I guess the grass is always greener, eh? Thank goodness for Facebook.
38 Who was the best new person you met? I met some interesting people while traveling...
39 Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008. Asking for help is not a bad thing.
40 Quote a song lyric that sums up your year. 'Es tut so schlau, um nicht unangenehm aufzufallen/Und nicht schön genug, um damit durchzukommen/ Weisst du genau wie es ist, immer rauszufallen /Nur nicht weit genug, woanders anzukommen.' - Wir sind Helden, 'The Geek (Shall Inherit)' One day, the answer to this question won't be a song lyric that can also be applied to an angsty, geeky, misfit high-schooler. Today is not that day.
Happy 2009, and let's hope that it's better than 2008. It's got to be. Right?
02 Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year? Heh, apart from a fit of exercising in between semesters, I didn't keep the 2008 resolutions at all. To be fair, I should have kept up with that, since that was about the best few weeks of this entire year. So I'm going to get back into that, except let's not call it a resolution, since I have an apparent tendency to fail at those. Also, finding a JOB and achieving a real, adult, grown-up life is in the process. I hope.
03 Did anyone close to you give birth? Nope.
04 Did anyone close to you die? Janice, my family's crazy, psychotic, clueless, adorable dog. Who liked bagels. And sneezing on your face as you were laying on the couch. And howling along with you. There's no other greyhound like her.
05 What countries did you visit? The UK, Ireland, Portugal, Belgium, Germany, Canada. And France if you count the train ride on the way to Belgium.
06 What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008? An idea of what I want to do with my life. (This answer from last year still applies.) Though at this point, I'd also accept a job.
07 What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? July 17, graduation day!
08 What was your biggest achievement of the year? Graduating with a master's from Cambridge... cross one thing off my to-do list! (see #35)
09 What was your biggest failure? I guess the inability to get hired could be counted as a failure, though there are a number of other factors that contribute to this. Example A: recession.
10 Did you suffer illness or injury? Not serious ones.
11 What was the best thing you bought? Anything involving travel: plane tickets, train tickets, any food in Belgium: fries, waffles and chocolate!
12 Whose behavior merited celebration? A few of my friends got married, so yay for them!
13 Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? Apart from the usual politicians (Blagojevich, Spitzer)... hmm. There are certain people who seem to exist in my life purely to ruin my self-esteem and make me feel bad about myself, and the plan is to get them out of my life, and/or get myself away from their influence. (If you are reading this, it is not you.) (Also, this is NOT a resolution, since I generally fail at those; it's merely a goal. Not expressly for New Year's. Yeah.)
14 Where did most of your money go? I know exactly where: student loans. Also, the pound --> dollar exchange rate. Also, plane tickets. (Last year's, but still true.)
15 What did you get really, really, really excited about? When I found out my parents were actually going to visit me in Europe! I figured that was one of those things that they'd talk about ad nauseam but never follow through on, but it happened!
16 What song will always remind you of 2008? Uh... I didn't listen to the radio all year. I did buy some songs by Colin Meloy and the Decemberists this year, although only the former album actually came out in 2008.
17 Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? Less stressed in terms of being on a schedule, but sadder due to a lack of purpose/independence. Funny how that works.
b) thinner or fatter? Fatter. Hopefully you can't tell.
c) richer or poorer? Poorer, big time. If anyone steals my credit cards or identity, they have definitely chosen the wrong person.
18 What do you wish you'd done more of? Made more friends and gone out more. Two years in a row; let's go for three!
19 What do you wish you'd done less of? Self-doubt and feeling stupid.
20 How did you spend Christmas? With the fam in B-lo. Of course.
21 "There is no question 21" I have got to find a better New Year's meme that doesn't include this 'question'.
22 Did you fall in love in 2008? No. There was a slight infatuation, though. But it didn't involve stalking, I promise.
23 How many one-night stands? Yeah, okay.
24 What was your favorite TV show? Still 'The Office', though it's really starting to slide. Let's hope the writers pick it up a little for the rest of the season.
25 Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year? There were some professors at Cambridge that I rather extremely dislike, but I wouldn't say I hate them.
26 What was the best book you read? I'd say Vienna Blood by Frank Tallis. Rather a lame title, but very well-written, uses an impressively varied vocabulary, and set in 1902 Vienna. And it involves cake. That's basically a formula for a winning book, I feel.
27 What was your greatest musical discovery? The Decemberists are pretty great, I think. Their music gets better upon each relisten. Also, I'm suddenly into Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, which is funny and twisted and catchy and fantastic, but it's now 2009, so I'm not sure if that counts. Although it came out in 2008, so let's say it does. Only one year behind the pop culture trends is quite good, considering my track record.
28 What did you want and get? I've been talking about visiting Belgium since 2003, and I finally got around to it this year. It was not quite as awesome as everyone's talked it up, but the food and beer definitely made it worthwhile.
29 What did you want and not get? A freaking JOB.
30 What was your favourite film of this year? I might have to be a lemming on this one and say 'The Dark Knight'. 'Atonement' was also amazing.
31 What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I turned 27, and I had people over to our house and fabulous garden for a grill fest. It was a good time, especially since it was after the academic year had ended for most people.
32 What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Lasting friendships with folks from Cambridge.
33 How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008? I was in grad school, what do you think? Jeans and fleece and funny, random t-shirts. I've tried to get out of that rut to some extent, but it's a bit tough when you don't have any money. H&M helped me out a bit when I was in Cambridge.
34 What kept you sane? Phone calls to and from friends. Also, travel: getting away from the routine is always good.
35 Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Heh, British phrasing. I continue to be a big fan of John Krasinski. Also, I'm suddenly enamored of Neil Patrick Harris: he's hilarious, seems to be a down-to-earth guy, and he can sing!
36 What political issue stirred you the most? Oh, the 2008 election! Absolute madness. I loved it, as much as the infighting and twisting of words drove me crazy.
37 Whom did you miss? Oddly enough, I missed folks from Cambridge after returning to the US... I guess the grass is always greener, eh? Thank goodness for Facebook.
38 Who was the best new person you met? I met some interesting people while traveling...
39 Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008. Asking for help is not a bad thing.
40 Quote a song lyric that sums up your year. 'Es tut so schlau, um nicht unangenehm aufzufallen/Und nicht schön genug, um damit durchzukommen/ Weisst du genau wie es ist, immer rauszufallen /Nur nicht weit genug, woanders anzukommen.' - Wir sind Helden, 'The Geek (Shall Inherit)' One day, the answer to this question won't be a song lyric that can also be applied to an angsty, geeky, misfit high-schooler. Today is not that day.
Happy 2009, and let's hope that it's better than 2008. It's got to be. Right?
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