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If you can believe, I've been told by the person with whom I've been spending a lot of time with these days that I'm neglecting my blog and not updating it enough - as if that's a bad thing! But seriously, when you're working long hours and come home to dozens of cable channels, it's easy to be distracted.
But, I will comment on a guilty pleasure that I've truly missed because I only have basic cable - a guilty pleasure that I've been able to watch the entire season of today: The Surreal Life, season 4. I remember the first season (then called The Surreal World), when it was offered on the WB. As dysfunctional as it was, sticking several has-been celebrities in a house and let them go wild for a couple of weeks, it was strangely hypnotic to watch, like a train wreck con tabloid that you just couldn't keep your eyes off of.
The last time I had the pleasure of watching The Surreal Life, it was last September, during my evacuation from town because of hurricane Ivan. We went to a friend's house in the next state over, and her parents had nice cable - I would spend the whole morning watching season 3 as (quite disturbingly) Brigitte Nielson and Flava Flav got it on. Just thinking about it left a weird taste in my mouth, but be assured, season 4 is much more interesting.
Although dysfunctional as usual, at least it has a cast of characters that I mostly know and maybe remotely care about: Verne Troyer (Austin Power's Mini-Me), Christopher Knight (aka. Peter Brady), Da Brat (apparently the 1st female rap solo artist to go platinum - had no clue who she was before the show), Joanie Laurer (aka. Chyna Doll; yes, the former pro-wrestler who is 1/2 man 1/2 woman), Jane Wiedlin (part of the former Go-Go's), Marcus Schenkenberg (apparently he was the first Calvin Klein model - didn't know who he was before the show either but he reminded me a lot of the guy who plays Sawyer on "Lost" - fine but a lot less skanky), and Adrianne Curry (apparently the 1st ever America's Next Top Model).
Let's just say I didn't really expect to see a small person naked and pee in a corner (or the same person literally topple over from getting trashed), an Amazon with a canyon as wide as she had between her boob jobs, a Brady hooking up with someone who is 25 years younger than he is, or one has-been rap star calling another rocker a has-been. There was real drama, too, as Joanie Laurer had to deal with her abusive IRL bf, who came to visit her and was obviously abusive towards her; the other cast members had to intervene to pry her away from the relationship. It all became warm and fuzzy in the end as the stars shed tears and couldn't bear to leave one another's company.
Mindless TV at its best. I love it. And tomororw, I face another week of work, work, and more work. Totally unpaid, but at least I'm learning lots from the experience.
thus spake merserene on May 30, 2005 18:31 |
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file under watching
Alive and well here; just working very hard and doing so many things (and not having an internet cable for about a week) that I've hardly been on the net. You know, things like working F/T, unpaid, and sitting right by the printer queue so everyone can monitor what I'm doing; getting my apple green iPod mini (yay!) and putting tons of songs on it; watching TV because there are lots of cable channels here; going out to do things with R, like seeing Star Wars Episode III, etc. It's been overcast and downright chilly at times, but it's been a nice change of pace from down south. Unfortunately, allergies are still unrelenting up here.
thus spake merserene on May 21, 2005 16:32 |
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file under living
Color me shocked. Schmuck Boy is moving out! Didn't even know he was, but can't say I'm sad. Now we'll see if the person moving in won't be as inconsiderate or noisy. Heaven forbids worse...
In other news, a club in town is having a Brit Pop night tonight, with promises of Oasis, Blur, Pulp, New Order, The Clash, Kula Shaker, etc. Gah. Envious but can't go because: 1) no car, 2) no one to go with, and 3) I have to get on a plane tomorrow morning.
thus spake merserene on May 13, 2005 11:43 |
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file under living
I've been a productive busy bee today. Did laundry, sold my old textbooks (got back $180!), did some stuff to make sure I can start work on Monday, and tried to fill my prescriptions. That doesn't sound like much, but it involved at least 10 trips back and forth from place to place, and because it was 92 (!!) today, it was hot as hell and really not the best day to be doing so much walking. I'm pretty sure I got tanned even though I have no desire to.
Getting tanned and dark is for farmers - that's probably the justification for a lot of old Asian ladies like my grandma, who always walk around carrying umbrellas on hot summer days. Dontcha know - being pale is a sign of wealth and status in some societies, because only those who are poor and must labor outdoors get tanned. Thesedays I don't think that's exactly the reason why all these cosmetic companies make special lines of "whitening" products and sell them only in Asia (because probably only Asian women would care to buy them), but probably because they worry about sun damage.
The stereotype goes that Asian women age well. It's likely a combo of factors - genetics, diet, etc., but it just may have something to do with the obsession to stay pale.
* * *
Oh yeah, my apple green iPod mini got shipped today. w00t! Can't wait to play with it when it arrives. It's a good thing I got the green because I spotted a pink one on one of my classmates the other day...
thus spake merserene on May 12, 2005 16:36 |
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file under living, cultural differences
So I brought a book with me to read this morning while I waited for my doctor's appointment. Embarassed to say that I'm still working on The Emperor of Scent because I haven't had any time for pleasure reading, until now. It's a sort of biography on Lucas Turin and his theory for how we detect smell. There are parts with lots of chemistry talk, but mostly it's about his quest to prove that we detect smell by the distinguishing the vibrations of various molecules, rather than by the shape of the molecules. Sadly for him, shape theory has been the dominant one for decades, and it seems that there is as much politicking within the scientific community as there is in, well, politics, and what I've read so far makes it seem like he's conducted all of the tests, but the only reason why his theory isn't accepted is because: 1) the scientific community doesn't want to, because he was a no-name, 2) the shapists have pretty much dominated the field of smell, and accepting the theory would mean their lives' work would go down the tubes, and 3) the Powers That Be in distinguished journals didn't want to publish it, because they themselves are biased for many reasons.
You would hope that scientists would be keen on the scientific method and respect the results that come with it, but it seems human frailty prevents them from doing so. It's not science for science's sake but whether they can keep maintaining a theory that has been disproven so they can save their asses. I find that disturbing.
Anyway. So I was reading this, and the nurse at the doctor's office asked me what I was reading. I showed it to her, and she gave me this look like I was out of my mind. I told her that it's about the theory of smell, that there's some chemistry involved, and that it talks about perfumes. All seem pretty reasonable - smells, perfumes, chemistry, molecules. Except she gave me this look like I had 5 heads and 10 arms. As if I was nuts to be interested in reading something like this, or even talk about it. You know, she did ask.
I wish so many "regular people" wouldn't freak out at the mere mention of science. (And we were in a doctor's office, for chrissake!) Believe me, I've been made fun of just for the fact I like sci-fi shows, as if that elevates me into the Uber Nerd category. I've had to reassure people that I can indeed communicate in plain English. But I'm just an amateur compared to so many other people. It strikes me as odd and amusing when recently, one of the non-amateurs was "impressed" by the fact that I knew what port 80 means or that I keep up with technology and science news. I've also had several men flash smiles at me because they were impressed that I did some basic diagnostic checks on my laptop when it died some time ago. (All of these impressed folks are IT people, I might add.) As compared with my peers, I suppose, since people in general at the school are apparently very clueless when it comes to science and computer speak.
It's so crazy though. In this day and age, when our lives are filled with computers and technological devices, I don't think anyone can afford not to know at least a little bit about them. Like, when a button falls off of your shirt, you should at least know how to work a thread and needle to sew it back on again, and not bring it to a tailor/seamstress right away.
I don't think there is a problem with women not going into science, as what's-his-name president of Harvard - Sumner? - said. I think there is a problem with the general population being afraid of technology and science and are therefore unwilling to pay a little more attention to them. Because when normal people think that *I* am a science geek/nerd, then there is a problem.
thus spake merserene on May 11, 2005 11:16 |
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file under reading
Having one of those good then shitty days myself.
Finished all of my finals, with this last one being only 2 hours. I came off on such a high of relief, ready to come home, clean the place, take a shower, then go out to enjoy the sun.
But I come home to find an email basically telling me there might be problems with the background check they had to do on me so I can be at my internship this summer. Don't want to go into too much detail, but let me assure you it's not because I'm a terrorist or that I have criminal convictions in the past. Basically, I have to explain myself on some things.
Reminds me of what I read on LJ the other day, about how this guy got into trouble and was detained/interrogated by the police right here in town because he happened to take a picture of the sunset right in front of the post office. Just stopped right there because it was a nice view. Apparently, because it's a federal buildling, you can't take pictures any where near it, because if the post office police spots you, it'll bring you in for questioning, even if your reasons for taking the picture are completely innocent.
Point being, our tax dollars are being used so bureaucrats can spend them on stupid things like questioning and stopping all the wrong people. Again I ask, do people have common sense?
thus spake merserene on May 10, 2005 09:33 |
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file under daily grind, politicking
Winamp starts its shuffle rotation every time I start up the program, but it seems to shuffle through most of the same songs for some odd reason. It's rare when it decides to land on any of the Better Than Ezra tracks, which is why I've forgotton just how sexy and unique Kevin Griffin's voice is. Unique, in the sense that the moment you hear him utter/sing one word, you'd immediately know who it is. In the like ranks of: Chris Martin, Eddie Vedder, Michael Stype Bernard Sumner, John Fogarty, Steve Perry, Robert Plant, Bret Anderson, Elliot Smith, Thom York, Billie Corgan, Phil Collins, and Richard Marx. And yes, oh so sexy.
The songs that BTE were known for back in the 90s remain catchy after more than a decade. I have a little soft spot for Kevin's vocals and their jangled guitars because their big break came at a time when my own musical tastes blossomed. BTE has branched off to do more electronica and Brit-pop, but its post-grunge sound (or however you want to categorize them) is what I'll always associate with BTE. Makes me sad that I missed them while they played the House of Blues and Jazz Fest, and they're not coming back in town for some time because of their touring schedule.
And to think, I lived right next door to BTE's bassist...
ETA: One of the people I've been studying with has a radio show at the station on campus. After talking about it and the station yesterday, I'm regretting more and more that I didn't look into it when I first arrived here as to acquire a show of my own. Now, it's too late as I have one year left here, and I don't want to go through weeks of training or the graveyard shifts again. But, there are times when I really miss my radio station days. It was one of the happiest and coolest things I did way back when.
It's got to be in my blood. My dad still tells the story of me as a toddler, when I insisted on pushing the play/stop buttons on our old radio so it would play my staple children's song tape, which I had to listen to at least once a day. My mom also tells the story that I could sing before I could talk, and that apparently I was quite a show to my relatives during New Year's celebrations. That latter story has yet to be verified though.
ETA again: I CAN'T wait to get my iPod.
thus spake merserene on May 08, 2005 14:32 |
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file under listening
Three exams down and one to go. I'm kicking myself for not having studied more old exams for this last class because there were so many recycled questions that I've seen before, but for some of them I forgot the answer to. If I had basically memorized the sample exam I had worked on, this would've been an easy pass. We shall see how well/badly other people in the class do.
But, my pet peeve of the day is this: Yes, it's the weekend, so one usually does need an ID card to get access to the school, but when did they start locking the library too?! C'mon, it's friggin' exam period; people are going to be using the library, plus you can't get into the library without coming in through the door anyway, so why make the library ID acess as well? It just makes it more difficult for students who are carrying tons of text books to have to put down our stuff, fish out our ID cards, then swipe. Plus, heaven forbids that you actually walk out of the library to talk on the phone or to get some water without your ID card. If you're lucky, one of the librarians may see you and let you in; otherwise, you'd have to wait for someone to exit/enter.
Friggin' common sense, people.
thus spake merserene on May 07, 2005 14:11 |
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file under oh no you didnt
Today is Cinco de Mayo. I went walking to get my bubble tea fix, and lo and behold, just as LiveJournal postings had promised, there were block parties at certain Mexican restaurants around town. The area was blocked off, and there was even police/guard presence. I saw promises of "one margarita, two margarita, three margarita, floor." Despite this being finals period, there was quite a crowd there.
But yes, many of us have been stuck indoors. The first years just got out of a 4-hour exam, and now they get to enjoy themselves if they want to, since their next exam won't be until Monday. They really do spoil the first years, scheduling their exams evenly within a two-week period. Not like we upperclassmen who have to study because there are exams on Saturdays, too.
At least this semester, I am not bombarded with having 4 consecutive exams in a week. Lest anyone think that's nothing, let me assure you that for us, just having one exam is incredibly draining. You sit there for hours on end, typing or writing madly, trying to churn out coherent sentences and paragraphs while analyzing problems, and trying to recall an entire semester's worth of information within the allotted time. When you're done, you either want to shoot yourself or go home to sleep or get plastered (and this is coming from someone who rarely drinks).
I miss working. At least you get semi-instant gratification with pay and big chunks of free time on the weekends.
* * *
In other news, now I think I want the apple green iPod instead of the pink. They had some pictures of the green one on the apple.com page, and they look so hip and happy and just over all verdant. They say green looks good with brunettes. But so does pink. It's a hard decision, one I shouldn't be thinking about right now. Ah well.
thus spake merserene on May 05, 2005 16:32 |
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file under daily grind, living
If you don't want to read what I consider spoilers on Episode III, please do not read this article. But if you do want to know, by all means, click away, if you haven't already.
I am forewarning you because I wasn't warned. It's irresponsible reporting, considering that this is from CNN, which in the past has had reviews that warned you of spoilers ahead (reviews that, BTW, I didn't consider to have spoiled very much at all). However, the title and opening paragraphs of this particular article lead you to believe that this is on why people have complained that Episode III is rated PG-13 instead of PG. Yes, we know that Anakin will turn into Darth Vader in this movie, and it won't be pretty - no one can be that clueless even without spoilers! - but we don't need to know exactly how, what other scenes it will be juxtaposed with, who will be killed, or who will be maimed.
But that's what you'll get if you read it.
Hell, I'm as big of a spoiler fan as the next spoiler person, but that's when I make an effort to visit my spoiler sources. On Episode III, I don't want to know, and I don't want gratuitous information, especially from CNN, that might have ruined some elements of surprise for me.
thus spake merserene on May 04, 2005 20:47 |
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file under reading, world of cinema
Taking a breather to say that I've finished 2 finals and there are 2 more to go. I'm tired, sleepy, filled with food at this point, and am having a very hard time trying to study for the next final as I sit here listening to some sappy music. I didn't get a chance to watch L&O last night but I got them taped.
Tonight, I'm gonna try to indulge at least a little bit of TV. And putting on my clogs and walking around in my bedroom at 2 a.m. because Schmuck Boy downstairs (thanks to R for the nickname) was having a little party in his place last night and as usual, totally disregarding the fact other people have lives and may have finals to take this morning, like I did. I've never wished for anyone to be taken out of the gene pool, but I've definitely found a candidate.
thus spake merserene on May 04, 2005 13:56 |
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file under daily grind, living
Finals start tomorrow. Need positive energy.
Also need motivational energy because it's 72 outside, "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" has opened, tons of tourists in town, and the LiveJournal groups I subscribe to wouldn't stop posting about events around the city.
It's so unfair to be taking finals at this time of the year.
thus spake merserene on May 01, 2005 12:31 |
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file under daily grind, living
