From a gal whose brain cells work faster than her fingers. (Sometimes.)
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Anyone know of any exercises to rid of excess baggage from your derriere and thighs? Apparently mere walking isn't enough, and I'd like to continue to wear the clothes I have. 
Must be high time for PMS because everyone and everything is getting on my nerves.
Don't put your bags in my seat even if I arrive late. Have the civility to remove them upon my arrival so I can sit in my designated seat.
Stop singing in your friggin' shower and talking on the phone at midnight because I can hear you. Your singing voice is awful, just like your personality. Have a little self-awareness.
Don't argue with me about how dominant/recessive genes work. I paid attention in biology class. Obivously, you didn't.
Don't look at me as the weirdo because you don't know who Johnny Cochran is. Even if you are 17.
Netspeak where one abbreviates EVERY single word. Including "any." No one is charging you $ per character on the internet so learn how to type! Takes me more time to figure out you weren't typing in Spanish than it would've taken you to type proper English.
Schiavo case. Over exposure. People who aren't her family making it their crusade to save her life. Where are/were your energies and sympathies when real humanitarian crises are going on? (ETA: Schindler family authorizes selling of a list of their supporters' names.)
Board cliques. Times like these make me wonder why I even bother posting.
I have not blogged about my yet another spontaneous indie movie moment over this weekend, but it's time.
"Downfall" (Der Untergang) is a German-made historical fiction that portrays Adolf Hitler's last 12 days in his Berlin bunker, from which he was clinging on to hopes of turning the tide and victory for Germany. We all know the outcome: the situation got worse and worse for him, and led to his eventual gunshot suicide con cyanide poisoning.
What we don't normally know, at least not for a non-WWII buff like me, was his close circle of friends - Eva Braun, his lover; Traudl Junge, his secretary; Joseph Goebbels, his right-hand man; and Magda Goebbels, the wife. The movie portrays a very human side to each and every one of these people, including Hitler himself. As much as the notion of humanity linked with some of these people is a detestable or impossible idea, the film does it quite well. That is not to somehow diminish the horrible things some of them have done to millions of people, but it does show the reality that even the most terrible of monsters and criminals can be tender with their few loved ones.
If Oscars are given to non-American actors, Bruno Ganz, who portrayed Hitler, surely deserves one. He apparently studied tapes of real Parkinson's patients to prepare himself for the constant shaking of the hand. (I didn't know Hitler had Parkinson's.) He also studied Hitler's unusual German accent (which I did notice was different from all the other Germans') as well as tapes of Hitler in normal conversations. I read somewhere that Ganz took on this difficult role because he believed Hitler could be played with depth, and he rose up to that challenge skillfully. The moments where he went from a slow simmered anger to an explosion of curse words and frothing at the mouth portrayed just how mad and irrational the Fuhrer had become in his last days.
Aside from the brilliant acting, the audience got to see Berlin getting bombed into bits. Various people getting killed through bombings, air raids, suicides, or firing squads. War is always gruesome, but I was not prepared to see people getting their limbs sawed off or blowing their heads off with guns upon hearing Germany had lost. The most haunting scene was how Madga Goebbels stoicly and methodically sedated each of her 6 children, then killed each of them by putting cyanide capsules in their mouths. How a mother can kill her children in such a fashion speaks to the irrationality of it all, of how a people can be so moved and manipulated by an ideology and by one person.
Not a happy movie at all, and I'm not even sure I'd ever want to watch it again. It is a great piece of art, however. I even learned bits of history that I never knew before. It is not surprising that this movie has won much acclaim in Germany since its release.
Vocabulary of the day: Dorito hair.
Definition: "When someone, usually with dark hair, has bleached his/her hair to a burnt, putrid shade of orange, thus resembling Doritos (of the Nacho Cheese variety). Most often applies to young Asians who dye/bleach strips of their hair into this color."
Some people can come up with the most creative terms to describe pet peeves. I read that term yesterday and had to laugh out loud, because it's so appropriate and so true. The trend of dying/bleaching one's hair into Dorito's orange invaded Asia some years ago and apparently hasn't left. Heaven knows why. It might have been due to young people's desire to look more "western" and not have a head of black hair. (Which is so incredibly ironic because when I was little, I used to get made fun of or get pointed out that my hair wasn't completely black but was rather brown (not to mention curly and frizzy), and that must've meant my hair was "damaged" because I wasn't like everyone else. Oh, the scarring to a child's mind.)
I'm not against dying/bleaching one's hair. In fact, I've done it myself, though only with temporary dye that washed out in 6 shampoos. (Anyone remember "Glintz"?) I've used spray-in bleach that is activated by the sun (like "Sun-In"). I've also seen an Asian woman who dyed/bleached her hair blonde, and it was a fabulous shade. However, bleaching is really tricky, especially with Asian hair. When people think it's cool to have some color in their hair but disregard the fact that the bright burnt orange color means you're not supposed to bleach your hair with that product (that's the warning in the bleaches I've seen), also the fact it plain looks ridiculous, and that there are other options (like dying with a color that doesn't look like you've walked too close to a torch), then there's an epidemic of sorts.
I've seen Dorito hair on a few of my cousins. They used to be so cute when they were young, but now they just have them nasty strips of Dorito hair. And I couldn't tell them that they look ridiculous because everyone did it, and a lot of the sheep mentality pervades through Asia in terms of fashion.
Thank you, common sense, for never allowing me to think that Dorito hair was ever cool.
Uh. How do you go outside when there's a large wasp buzzing around your door?!
Well, back from spring break. It's s warm here today - at least the mid-70s. It's beautiful and warm, and about 30-40 degrees warmer than where I was at this morning. Even with the uneasiness that comes with driving in snow and having to fly under snowy/icy conditions, I must confess that it was nice to see the flakes falling and to step into freshly fallen snow. Weather aside it was of course nice to spend time with a loved one. Did I also mention shopping?
Trip back was much better than the trip going. At least I wasn't sitting next to a completely rude woman who wouldn't apologize whenever she bumped/hit me. Also relatively calm flights this time and no turbulence - thank goodness - so I didn't feel like I was about to die from nausea. Pretty much slept the whole way back, except for the layovers, and that's considered a good flight for me. Decided to take the shuttle home instead of the taxi; the wait was incredibly long but it was 1/2 the price by shuttle. Plus I convinced the driver to let me off at my door because my place was on the way to where he was supposed to drop students off anyway.
I probably need to unpack. There's also laundry to do. And there's always studying. But instead of being cooped up inside I'm very tempted to take a little field trip outside. Tourist season has begun, after all.
Anagramic (is that even a word?) number of visits now: 11011. Or binary. Whatever.
Today is apparently St. Patrick's Day, and I had forgotten about it. Luck would have it that I'm wearing a set of green earrings/necklace that look just like four-leaf clovers. At this age and in a higher education environment, one should no longer be pinched for the lack of green, but you never know.
Still feeling very tired today but not as bad as yesterday, when I had trouble focusing my attention in class. This itching/rash thing has GOT to stop.
The work day is almost over for most people, but there's still a slew of things I need to do. Take a shower. Find my suit. Check reservations. Reserve a cab. Turn in timesheet. Pay bills. Figure out what to bring. Pack. Stay awake. Go to sleep at a decent hour.
Then spring break, baby.
So, we've had a go at U.S. geography previously. How good are ya at European geography?
Oh. My. God. I just found out that LUSH has a store right here in town! !!!!! How could I have missed it?!
Apparently, they've been open since December, but there has been NO SIGN up, and it's stuck between some daquiri place and a bead shop. Well duh, no wonder I didn't know! It's by an area of town that I frequent, too.
Also apparently, I'm on the "VIP list" of folks who subscribe to the LUSH newsletter, and I've been invited to this party at LUSH which will have tons of products, massages, give aways, etc.
This is so great. :D
ETA: DAMMIT. I just realized that I won't be in town this Saturday for the LUSH party. Waaah! Why do these things happen to me?! And I got carried away in thinking all the friends I could invite to go with me... So. Sad.
ETA again: I'm a dork. The event won't happen until next Saturday, when I will be here! Yay!! But I'm not the only dork because on the flyer, they spelled "early" as "ealry." Hee.
It is somethinig like 78 degrees outside, but I'm stuck indoors doing all sorts of reading. Not to mention the fact that because it got warm, my itching came back last night and I didn't get a peaceful sleep. Even if I want to go outside, I'm so out of shape that it's a total embarassment to be seen in my shorts.
Sigh. Such downers.
Just came back from finishing a final. I finished it, answering all the questions, which is more than I can say about several of my past exams. But that wasn't the most exciting part of my day, though.
Shortly afterwards, while I was walking from one building to another, a tree branch fell about 2-3 feet in front of me. If I had been walking any faster, that tree branch would've fallen on ME. The branch had the girth of a thick upper arm and was quite long. Given that the tree it came from is pretty tall, and the position this branch fell off of, I'd say that if it did drop and hit me in the head, it would've certainly done damage. And the school would probably be sued for failing to upkeep its grounds.
One moment I was walking along, the next moment I heard some cracking sound; with barely enough time to think it might be squirrels climbing up there, that thing came crashing. And I'm here to laugh and talk about it.
It stopped other people in their tracks, too. One person was a professor, who saw the whole thing and went, "Holy smokes!" The other was a girl with whom I had just be in the same building and who was walking way ahead of me. She was speechless too. They both had to look back from where there were going because it was that big of a crash. Everyone was kinda shocked.
Well, the receptionist wasn't there, so I had to talk to someone in the mail room about it. The guy almost couldn't believe it, and probably didn't know what to say except, "I'll check it out and get that thing out of your way." The story may sound a little ridiculous, but had I been hurt, no one would be laughing or think it unbelievable. It's almost like the time when I was attacked by that seagull at the beach. You can only laugh when you've come out of it relatively unharmed.
More things about me...100 to be exact.
1. I usually remove staples with my own nails.
2. I love reading for enjoyment.
3. I watched no TV while in college.
4. But now I'm totally addicted and like more shows than I have time for.
5. I also love movies.
6. I think I inherited it from my dad.
7. I first got interested in learning French when I learned there's a song devoted to my name.
8. And also the boy I had a crush on flirted with me in French.
9. However I truly think French is the most beautiful language on earth.
10. I have a fascination with perfumes.
11. Right now I can't stop sniffing my wrist.
12. Unfortunately I have a knack for liking things that get discontinued.
13. I own over 300 lipglosses.
14. My nailpolishes are no where near that number but they're getting there.
15. I bit my nailis when I was in elementary school, but nailpolish stopped that.
16. My interest in makeup went downhill/picked up from there, depending on your view.
17. I'm currently on an eyeshadow kick.
18. I've just recently discovered the joy of loose shadows and powders.
19. I'm very much a girly girl.
20. Yet I played with boys' toys when I was young.
21. I once bugged my grandma to buy me a sword so I could have a sword fight with the neighboring boy.
22. I also had a remote-controlled car.
23. There was also a train set.
24. I have a tendency to overshop for certain things.
25. It started when I was very young; my first obsession was with erasers.
26. I bought many more than I could use because they were so pretty, but my mom got mad at me for doing that.
27. I love the aisles at Staples, especially the pen aisle.
28. I prefer blue ink to black.
29. But I always find black pens.
30. Right now I'm in love with Pilot Precise rolling balls in extra fine tip.
31. My shopping impulses revolve around makeup, jewelry, pens, perfume, and food.
32. Sometimes I wish clothes would make it into the picture.
33. It's hard work shopping for clothes because I don't have the body that clothing companies want me to have.
34. I inherited wide hips from my mom.
35. Otherwise I'm fairly happy with myself waist up.
36. I wear contacts.
37. I'd love to have perfect vision but am afraid of LASIK surgery.
38. I found out I needed glasses when I failed my eye exam at the DMV.
39. I broke my wrist once while attempting to try out for the basketball team.
40. That was dumb and now I'm content to be sedentary.
41. But I'll walk lots if I'm traveling in foreign lands.
42. I love traveling in France.
43. I'd love to go to Switzerland one day.
44. Once upon a time I wanted to be an archaeologist because of a manga series I read.
45. I was also once obsessed with Egypt and anything Egyptian.
46. I love reading classics and non-fictions.
47. I like my eyebrows the most.
48. But I was too afraid to tweeze until I was in college.
49. I am an only child.
50. I don't mind being an only child.
51. I love red polishes.
52. Other than blue I prefer to write in green ink.
53. I love cashmere periwinkle sweaters.
54. I still color with my Crayolas from time to time.
55. I adore white chocolate.
56. My favorite candy bars are Toblerone and Coffee Crisp.
57. If I had to pick, my #1 favorite food is pork dumplings.
58. I really don't care for Vietnamese food.
59. I've built up my immunity to spicy foods.
60. I prefer tea over coffee.
61. Most of the time I drink water.
62. My favorite dessert is crême brulée.
63. I'm somewhat lactose intolerant.
64. I love carbs.
65. I prefer salty things over sweet things.
66. Russian is the next language I want to learn.
67. I had different phase addictions to mints.
68. It went from LifeSavers to Tic Tacs to Mentos to Altoids.
69. Currently I have no mint addiction.
70. I must apply lip balm before I sleep every night.
71. I use only natural toothpaste nowadays.
72. I'm addicted to MUA boards.
73. I prefer the summer over the winter.
74. Heavy winter clothes weigh me down instead of comfort me.
75. I usually have a green thumb.
76. I'm usually introverted.
77. I'm very sensitive when it comes to noise.
78. I don't own a car and haven't driven in years.
79. Mosquitos really love me.
80. Occasionally I talk in my sleep.
81. I've been told I sing in my sleep.
82. My birth stone is emerald.
83. I'm a Gemini, which I think explains a lot.
84. I'm a big environmentalist.
85. I'm liberal.
86. I'd love to be able to travel to outerspace one day.
87. I believe we're not alone.
88. But I do not believe in a higher being.
89. I do believe in karma.
90. I own a paper shredder.
91. I also own a microwave egg cooker.
92. People have told me I look bi-racial. I'm not.
93. I despise hip-hop, R&B, and rap.
94. I have phases where I'm addicted to ebay.
95. I wouldn't let anyone cut my hair until I was 6.
96. I used to get car sick all the time.
97. I played the piano for 12 years but was never very good because I was too lazy to practice.
98. I prefer Fuji apples to all other apples.
99. My favorite fruit is a tropical fruit with no English equivalent.
100. Now I must get ready to go out tonight.
