Day 10

Nope, no Berlin Wall post here.

Instead, as I was working out (!) this morning, I heard classic 80s song "Take On Me" and was reminded of those literal interpretations of music videos. (Thanks to Müs for introducing me to those.) So enjoy:




There's also "Total Eclipse of the Heart":


And "We Built This City":


These seem to work best with 80s music videos, when the bands didn't seem to know what to do with the new genre and made crazy videos. Thanks, 80s bands!

Day 9

Twenty years ago today, the Berlin Wall came down. And I was hoping to write a nice reflective post on how my experiences abroad would have been completely different if the wall were still standing today. Maybe I wouldn't even have traveled to Germany at all, actually. But instead, I have spent far too much time today staring at a computer screen, writing a brand-new cover letter from scratch, which I believe is one of the nine circles of hell. (Check with Dante if you want to be sure.) And so I am rather phoning it in. Perhaps I'll be a bit more reflective tomorrow, but you never know around here.

Sidenote: What the hell is up with this weather?

Day 8

Things I saw on a walk today:

• Sunshine - for the first time in at least a week
  
• Massive piles of leaves at the curbs - these were very tempting!
• A pre-teen (tween?) girl on what seemed to be an electric mini Vespa - seriously, what the hell, suburbs? My parents wouldn't even let me get a Power Wheels when I was little.
• Bedraggled ghosts and scarecrows from Halloween
  
• Lonely pumpkins discarded in a cardboard box at the curb
• People putting up Christmas lights and decorations
• Leafblowers: 3, Rakers: 3 - I am cheered by this; I didn't think anyone raked their leaves anymore
• Neon stakes on either side of driveways in preparation for snowplow season
• A dead squirrel laying face-up on the sidewalk... directly underneath some power lines
  

Day 7

Following up on yesterday's 'Office' post, here's a very interesting article comparing four countries' versions of 'The Office'. It's a couple years old, but still pretty accurate, I think; the author describes how each country's version of the show reflects that nation's culture, sense of humor, and attitude towards work. Having seen three of the four shows (though when in Germany, I never realized 'Stromberg' was their version of TO and only saw it once or twice), I'd agree with the points made. It also helps me better articulate why I like the US version better than the UK version, though I like both for different reasons.

Day 6

I enjoyed Thursday night TV last night, and I've been torn about 'The Office' for a while now. So far, I would have to say the hierarchy of seasons goes:

2>3>1>5>4=6

I'm sort of torn about this season, though. I'm definitely not invested as much as I used to be, when I'd scour the interwebz from the UK to find the most recently-aired episode... and was often disappointed. (Thanks, writers' strike.) And last season was just sort of there; I haven't gone out and bought the season 5 DVDs yet because there aren't many moments that I'd like to be able to see again. This season, though... I don't know. At first it was painfully unlike the show I'd grown to love; the characters have turned into caricatures, arcs have been dropped completely (Do Jim and Pam want to leave Scranton or not? Does moving up in the Dunder Mifflin universe really constitute ambition?), and I'm just not invested in the characters anymore. They're becoming downright mean, and I just can't root for people like that. (Pam and Kelly, I'm looking at you.)

But last night was somehow returning to form. The lunch out was super-awkward and cringe-inducing, which was what the show goes for in the first place. Toby telling Pam how to throw a punch = awesome. And many people seem to dislike the Dwight-Andy politeness war, but I thought it was hilarious and a nice return to classic office shenanigans. The show's not all the way back yet, but maybe it can get partway there. And then it definitely needs to end at the end of this season.

What do you think? (Quotes also welcome.)

Day 5

Late night TV is a pretty sad state of affairs these days. Conan can be pretty good but seems sort of hit-or-miss, Letterman is basically phoning it in, and Jay Leno at 10pm makes me want to gouge my eyes out, it's so unfunny. (Fortunately, I opt for not watching it, instead of the more painful method.) Craig Ferguson, though, that guy's awesome. Sadly, I haven't seen a whole lot of him, since I tend not to stay up that late and prefer not to spend hours on YouTube, but what I have seen is thoroughly entertaining. For example, compare the monologues:

Letterman/Conan/Jay: 1. Joke setup 2. Punchline 3. Overenthusiastic audience laughter 4. Repeat, with an unrelated joke.

Craig: A monologue that actually builds on itself, segueing from one topic to the next.

Last week, the power went out on the set of the Craig Ferguson show, and he just kept going. And it was funny. Would the other late night shows do that? I'm not so sure.



Moral: Craig's show needs to be on earlier, when people (read: me) will actually watch it.

Day 4

Pumpkin-flavored foods that are delicious:

• Pie
• Coffee
• Doughnuts
• Yogurt
• Muffins
• Chocolate chip cookies
• Granola bars
• Bread/cake
• Scones
• Beer, of COURSE. (how could I forget?)
  

Pumpkin-flavored foods that are not delicious:

• Pumpkin
  

Day 3

It's Election Day, go vote! Or, if you're apathetic about local council races, battles for the sheriff's seat, and pointless referendums (referenda?) on the ballot, celebrate the end of those annoying political commercials. At least until January or so.

In voting news, it seems that we're getting rid of those old metal voting booths with the levers and phasing in a grown-up version of those Scantron tests that every former elementary school student fondly remembers. Apparently, there haven't been any problems so far, but this system seems rather sketchy to me. Last year, I learned from "The Hour" that New York state had the lowest percent of vote miscalculations, because we were the only state still using the old voting machines. (And I wish I could show you the chart here, but I googled to no avail.) So now we have to fill in little bubbles and scan them in.. I can think of any number of ways this could go awry. Let's just hope that no one trips over the power cord.

Hey, I'm sounding more crotchety by the day. Stay tuned for more positive updates, including videos and thoughts on current TV shows that you should be watching but might not have on your must-see list yet.

Day 2

Even though Halloween was two days ago, I feel some observations are in order (apologies to folks on Facebook, who got one of these rants from me already):

1. Has Halloween etiquette changed since the mid-90s? Since when is it appropriate to ask for a specific type of candy during trick-or-treating? This happened twice at our door; one girl wanted Almond Joy and another wanted SweeTarts. (They were in separate groups.) So.. if you ask for a candy and I don't have it, does that mean I don't have to give you anything? The kicker is that we always have awesome candy for Halloween -- results in better leftover candy to eat after it's over -- and let the kids choose at least two pieces. Last year, I even started giving them three because there weren't many kids around. If you can't find your favorite sweets among a selection of Kit Kats, Almond Snickers, a variety of Clark Bars, Reese's, and York Peppermint Patties, then (a) you are one picky child and (b) just be happy to not receive pennies, apples, or those horrible orange and black wrapped taffy things that nobody likes. Also, this phenomenon doesn't seem to be confined to my section of suburbia. What is going on, are kids becoming spoiled brats?! Get off my lawn.

2. Moving on from "what is wrong with kids these days", what is wrong with grown-ups these days? Halloween has become more and more sheltered, and it seems like adults are bent on sucking the fun out of it. While I do agree with some rules for school parties (for example, no weapons, toys/props or masks in school), many restrictions are just over the top. Does "no culturally insensitive costumes" mean no Indians? (There goes my 4th grade costume.) Why discourage scary monsters or horror movie costumes, instead asking kids to dress as their favorite historical figure or healthy snack? Hate to break it to you, but that is the making of the lamest Halloween ever. Also, crazy new-age parents who are anti-junk food and give out things like toothbrushes or books deserve to have one of their life's pleasures taken away. Not that I'm anti-children's books -- I'm extremely pro-book -- but Halloween is the one night of the year when kids can eat enough candy to send them into a frenzy and subsequently a sugar-crash-induced coma. They're pressured and badgered enough for the other 364 days, let them have some fun.

3. I was going to go on about the sluttifying of Halloween, but all that ranting wore me out. Go read this, and tell me that's not ridiculous.

That's right, I hate everyone. Now you know.

NaBloPoMo 2009

It's here! Now that idleness has practically driven this blog into the ground, NaBloPoMo is here to resurrect it. I'm going to give this blogging-every-day-for-a-month thing another shot, after last year's abject failure, but we'll see how it goes.

So. The main reason I haven't been updating is that nothing's really changed. When you're jobless and living with your parents in an area that you don't really like, there's not a whole lot to report. I did take a trip to London a few months back and plan on posting some photos soon, so watch for those. Also, being unemployed has given me hours upon hours of internet time, so I'll try to scrounge up interesting videos and links and so forth. We all need something internettily amusing to counterbalance those lame email forwards that your one friend insists on sending you, even though you're not 15 anymore and don't believe that forwarding them on to your closest 25 friends will bring you good luck.

Anyway, one exciting happening in my life is that I went to an Irish music session yesterday. I've been searching for these for a while now, and the ones that I've found have been cancelled due to lack of participation or conflicting football games (or perhaps a combination of the two). So I went downtown yesterday to hang out and listen, and remembered how much fun these are! Very laid-back, welcoming, and great music to boot. This week, I'll be warming those fiddling fingers again (they're in pretty bad shape at the moment) and next time, I'll bring my violin down and will hopefully feel brave enough to participate.

Watch this space

It's coming....



NaBloPoMo 2009. Brace yourself.

Happy birthday to meeee

My birthday horoscope:

"For those of us born on June 9:

Your desire to learn new things and explore beyond the reaches of your immediate environment is strong this year, as you strike out in search of adventure. August brings you opportunities to travel and interact with a new group of people. Though you may feel hesitant at first, by the fall, you will find your confidence growing in leaps and bounds. Try to remember to be observant and ask questions, as you take on the role of a student. By November, you may have an opportunity to share some of what you are learning with others. At the end of the year, love is in the air, as your courage to reach out and connect to others grows by leaps and bounds."

Sounds pretty good to me! Also, when am I ever NOT a student?

In other news: Interview lined up in Boston! Now I just have to figure out how I'm going to get there, where I'm going to stay, how I'm going to get around and how I'll get back. That's all.

Also: I'm possibly going back to London this summer! Updates to follow.

Still alive

Back by popular demand because I remembered that I have a blog. And it's looking pretty sad and neglected. I may end up shutting this down because I spend inordinate amounts of time on Facebook and have not a whole lot to report. Yet, if something does happen (i.e., I move somewhere awesome and exciting), I'll probably keep it up. So basically I'm indecisive, surprise, surprise.

Speaking of moving somewhere awesome and exciting, a number of applications are currently under review, for jobs in places like Chicago, Boston, Baltimore and places abroad... that's right, I'm looking at spending another year abroad. It's addictive, really. Also, it's not here, so win-win. There's this program that sends folks with Master's degrees in TESOL/applied linguistics (check!) abroad to teach English for a year, and it sounds pretty amazing. Working on one of the projects they have listed would be a pretty big shock, I think; the countries are all underdeveloped (well, that is the point of the program) and some are more anti-American than others, but what an experience that would be. I'm sometimes rather hesitant and not entirely thrilled about schlepping stuff overseas again, but overall it seems genuinely worthwhile. At any rate, we'll see if I make it past the interview stage.

In other news.. Have you ever friended someone on Facebook and then sort of regretted it? I recently found a high school friend and was pretty psyched to get back in contact with her... and then I remembered that I had the feeling that it wasn't entirely an equitable friendship. Looking at her profile has sort of brought back memories of not only that, but of how non-awesome I was in high school. I mean, I'm pretty geeky, but now I revel in my geekiness. (Sort of.) Then, I was also very nerdy, but also insecure and inadequate and sort of wanted to change, but didn't know how to go about it. I guess friending this girl brings me back to those days; although I thought they were far in the past and I'd moved beyond that, here come all those high school memories flooding back.

Lastly, I'm starting to wonder if I've missed the marriage/baby train. Or if there's something in the water. Seriously, what's going on with everyone?

My next career: graphic designer

Thanks to Müs for the idea!

Directions:

1 - Go to wikipedia. Hit “random”or click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:RandomThe first random wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.

2 - Go to "Random Quotations"or click http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3The last four or five words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.

3 - Go to flickr and click on “explore the last seven days”or click http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days Third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

4 - Use Photoshop or similar graphics editing program to put it all together.

The Results:

This is actually really fun... and a pretty awesome way to procrastinate. I might do some more of these when I get bored again, which is fairly often.

Good thing most of my readership is female

On Saturday, one of the local malls (yes, there are many) had a visiting makeup artist in from New York, and they were doing all sorts of free gifts and makeovers and generally fun girly things, and so my mom and I both went for makeovers. Now generally, I am not one for makeup; I usually put a bit of something on my face so as not to scare people, but it is really fun to see what I would look like if I actually bothered, once in a while. And since this is rather a picture-worthy event, I'm going to break my own rule about posting self-photos on the Interwebz and put one up, to probably be taken down later. *edit: done!*

You can't quite tell in the picture (why does the camera focus on itself in the mirror? is it narcissistic?), but the eyeliner is actually blue, and I've got about 5 different colors of eyeshadow on. So it's something I wouldn't do every day, but I've been thinking that maybe I should put a little more effort into it... when I manage to scrape together a social life again, at least.

Also at the mall, I scored a dress and matching jacket, from Calvin Klein, originally $320, for $50. And an awesome pair of sparkly high heels which are definitely standing or sitting shoes, not so much for walking, but totally worth it. Suffice it to say I did my part this weekend to pump some capital back into the American economy.

You're welcome, America.

10 more things

That Facebook "25 Things About Me" craze recently made me go back and reconsider those 50 things I posted here about two three years ago. (sidebar: holy crap, it's been that long?!) Some of those aren't strictly true any more -- I'll leave it up to you to determine which ones I'm talking about -- but instead of editing them, I'm going to add a few more. And maybe I'll put these in my Facebook list, since the one that I posted there is admittedly pretty lame. So here goes:

Ten More Things About Me!
51. I love words: crosswords, reading, word puzzles, using words in daily conversation that most people don't use, ever. I'm not trying to sound pretentious; I just think it's fun to use semi-obscure words that'll get across exactly what I mean. This is probably the main reason why I don't want to live in Germany; though I suppose I'm pretty fluent in German, or at least could definitely get by, the nuance isn't there. My sentences in German come across (to me) as a simplified version of what I'm actually thinking. I miss being able to pick from a variety of slightly different word choices for a given situation, instead of going with the one German word I'm familiar with.
52. I'm a beer snob. The hierarchy goes: Belgian > German > other imports > microbrews > domestics. A particular microbrew may move up the list (case in point: Saranac Caramel Porter). Also, ale always trumps lager. Lager is vile.
53. I'd take beer over wine any day. Caveat: Said beer must be good (see above). Caveat #2: This does not apply to certain meals, like pasta.
54. I've been compared to Liz Lemon from "30 Rock", from the way she talks to the Tina Fey smirk. I think this is awesome.
55. I'm a blue cheese fiend. When I was little, I used to use celery sticks to fish out the blue cheese chunks from the dip that comes with wings -- and not eat the celery. I never get sick of blue cheese. Also, I still hate celery.
56. I like:
a. mushrooms: raw
b. broccoli: cooked
c. tomatoes: both
d. olives: neither
57. I think the concept of "boneless wings" is both fallacious and a huge scam. If they're boneless, they're clearly not wings now are they? Call them chicken fingers/tenders/nuggets/strips/whatever, but if you can eat the entire thing at once, that is NOT a chicken wing. The day Bocce's or Duff's starts advertising "boneless wings" is the day I shoot myself.
58. I'm a dog person. In my younger days, to the consternation of my parents, I was a cat person. I guess nurture wins out over nature.
59. The furthest east I've been is Athens, Greece. The furthest west I've been is Minneapolis, Minnesota.
60. Breakfast is vital to my ability to function in the mornings. It's got to be within a half-hour or so, or else heads will roll. You do not want to be around me if I've missed breakfast.

See those links on the side?

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!

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.

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?

Food, glorious food

What better way to get into the holiday spirit than thinking about food? Specifically, desserts? (mostly desserts) Enjoy!

The Christmas Fifty
1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve tasted.
3) Place an asterisk after all the items you’ve cooked/prepared.
4) Cross out anything you never want to try, or add an exclamation mark after anything you really want to try.

1. Crystallised or candied fruits.
2. Egg nog
3. Bûche de Noël, or Yule log*
4. Rum balls
5. Bebinca
6. Roasted chestnuts
7. Cavallucci
8. Tourtière
9. Uszka
10. Port & Stilton - I've had them, but not together; let's pretend that counts
11. Hallaca
12. Roast goose
13. Lefse
14. Sugar plums
15. Romeritos
16. Pinnekjøtt
17. Hot toddy*
18. Christmas cake - does this mean fruitcake? Let's say it does, so I can bold it
19. Tamales - but not for Christmas
20. Sorpotel
21. Panettone
22. Candy canes
23. Pasteles
24. Speculaas
25. Makowiec
26. Christmas pudding - it's really gross, don't try it
27. Stollen
28. Figgy pudding
29. Lebkuchen
30. Turrón
31. Mince pies
32. Wassail bowls
33. Buñuelos
34. Pio Quinto
35. Marzipan fruits
36. Mulled wine*
37. King cake
38. Christmas beach barbecue
39. Cola de mono
40. Lutefisk
41. Kutia
42. Pizzelle*
43. Dominostein
44. Cranberry sauce
45. Pfeffernüsse*
46. Satsumas or clementines
47. Pumpkin pie
48. Smalahove
49. Nut roast
50. Brandy butter

Grand total: 23/50 - not bad, I guess. What's yours?