I love Married To The Sea. XD

( Click here to see the comics of epic hilarity. )

Apparently Jon Stewart and I have the same style of humor...according to this quiz written by some random person on the internet. *grins*

( Click to see. )

Tonight when asked by CNN's Ed Henry why it took him a couple of days to express outrage over the AIG bonuses, President Obama delivered the following response:



THAT'S MY MOTHERFUCKING PRESIDENT.

(Maybe he's been taking "anger lessons" from Rahm after all?)

Apologies to anyone on my friend's list if you've already seen this. <3

Nicholas Hughes, Sylvia Plath’s son commits suicide - Times Online

This is such sad news, wrought with such bitter irony. I've been a huge fan of Sylvia Plath for over ten years; I even wrote a play about the last days of her life for my senior creative writing class in high school. Such a shame that depression runs in the family. I know that her daughter, Frieda, has been treated for depression as well...hopefully she'll be all right.

In honor of Nicholas Hughes and Sylvia Plath, here's Sylvia's poem about her infant son from her Pulizer Prize winning collection Ariel:

( Nick and the Candlestick )

Tonight I finally watched the movie Milk with my aunt...and it was absolutely amazing. I can't even really express how what a well-done film it is and how much it affected me emotionally. One of the many great things about it was the love story and friendship between Harvey Milk and Scott Smith (the James Franco character), which was portrayed with such intimacy and affection. Sean Penn and Dustin Lance Black definitely deserved the Oscars they won (for Best Actor and Best Original Screenplay, respectively) this year. I know it sounds cheesy as hell, but the movie honestly made me feel proud to be queer and a part of the GLBT community.

As tragic as Harvey Milk's story is, it's also so uplifting and very, very timely. It was such a huge step forward when he became the first openly gay man to be elected to California public office in 1977. (Or, as Time magazine much more accurately put it, "the first openly gay man elected to any substantial political office in the history of the planet.") He ran several times before he was finally elected, but when it happened it was such an achievement, brought on by the hard work and determination of him and the rest of San Fransisco's GLBT community. The scene in the film where he and his supporters were celebrating after his election reminded me of the elation that so many people felt when Barack Obama was elected President. And the movie also reminded me that as bad as things were for the GLBT community in the 1970s, with the incidents of street violence and police brutality that were so prevalent then, we still have a long way to go. In many ways things have gotten much better, but we're still fighting Proposition 8 just as people then were fighting Proposition 6 which banned gays and lesbians from teaching in CA's public schools. And I think it's so amazing that a gay rights activist who was killed over thirty years ago is still inspiring people. In his own words, "If a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door."

You can also watch a fantastic documentary called The Times of Harvey Milk at Hulu; I definitely recommend watching that as well as the biopic.

I was feeling kind of irritable at work today, but then I came home and saw THIS:


see more dog and puppy pictures

...and now I'm soooo much better. I honestly don't know how anyone can feel bad while looking at that picture. Now, where can I get one?!

BBC NEWS | UK | Shakespeare's first theatre found

Archaeologists believe they have unearthed the remains of Shakespeare's first theatre, the BBC has learned.

It predates The Globe.

This is why I want to be an archaeologist. God, to make a discovery like this that would combine my love for literature with my love for archaeology/history...I can't even imagine.

U2 tour dates were announced, and they're playing in Chicago, IL on my 26th birthday.

They're also playing in NYC two weeks later.

*starts plotting*

ETA: A lot of my LJ friends are getting tickets to The Daily Show and The Colbert Report right now. Which makes me think that maybe -- and I know this is waaaaay stretching it -- I should try to get tickets to see U2 in NYC and try to see TDS and/or TCR at the same time? Lolz, I know, YEAH RIGHT. Even if it worked out, I'd be soooo broke afterward. But surely a girl can dream, can't she? (Plus, last summer I thought it was stretching it to think I could travel to Washington DC to see Nick Cave -- and look what happened there.)

ETA #2: Exactly ONE MONTH until Erika and I see David Sedaris in Durham!!

I've discovered that Loreena McKennitt is the perfect musician to listen to while you're writing an archaeology paper. I put on her most recent album, An Ancient Muse (which I bought only a few weeks ago), and lit some candles and incense, and it puts you in just the right kind of mood to research ancient sites in England where Mesolithic peoples once hunted. Who knew. Thanks, Loreena!

HOLY SHIT, YOU GUYS: The White House Internship Program is accepting applications. And since I graduated college in the last two years, I'm eligible.

In addition to normal office duties, interns will supplement their learning experience by attending a weekly lecture series hosted by senior White House staff, help at White House social events, and volunteer in community service projects.

Dare I apply?! I'm thinking of doing it just for giggles, to see if I get in, but if I were actually accepted... *faints* Not that I know how I would work out moving to Washington DC and getting a place there. But then, I also have friends and family living in the area, so it's feasible...

It might also interrupt my plans in terms of archaeology. But God...this could be such an amazing opportunity.

*ponders*

ETA: Nevermind, you guys, the internship would be happening when I'd be in the field school for achaeology (provided I get accepted into that). So it's probably not gonna happen. Oh well, a girl can still daydream about attending a lecture series hosted by Rahm Emanuel and David Axelrod, and helping coordinate President Obama's travels.

Dammit, I have too many different passions/interests! It's so hard to choose! Although someone at rahmbamarama has tempted me by suggesting, "Apply for both and if one falls through then do the other?"

I went to Kohls with Erika this past Sunday, and I actually succeeded in finding some new clothes that I really like! My favorite was this adorable jacket-and-skirt set; it's grey with white pinstripes, and when I wear it with a cami and heels it looks very adult and professional. Of course, I don't really have a reason to wear it yet, but now I'll be prepared if in the future I actually land a job interview (*crosses fingers*). Or if I speak at an archaeological society or land an interview at The Daily Show or The Colbert Report to talk about my latest book (haha, God, I wish!). Maybe sometime I'll post pictures of myself wearing it.

I also found some jeans that actually fit me! In general I hate buying pants, because I'm only 5'0" tall and most of the pants out there are way, way too long in the leg for me to wear. I've always had to get my pants tailored, which is expensive and a pain in the ass. But at Kohls they have "short" sizes in jeans, and I found a couple of pairs that were still a little bit long but were wearable. It's so rare for me be able to take a pair of pants home and actually wear them right away, so that made me feel a whole lot better about my wardrobe too. And I also got some earrings, a purse (Relic brand, my favorite), and some cute camis. I ended up spending over $200, but I used my Kohls charge card so I can pay it off later. And it was money well-spent regardless of how I paid for it.

Last night was fantastic -- I saw Ben Folds at the Durham Performing Arts Center with my longtime friend Katie, and her friend Kelly. It was a great show! I last saw Ben over a year ago, but it wasn't a good concert experience because these drunk frat boy type douchebags wouldn't shut the hell up and they all but ruined the show for me. Unfortunately this time we were seated behind a bunch of girls who all looked to be about 18 years old, and they wouldn't sit still and were kind of obnoxious -- but they were nowhere near as bad as those guys. I was actually able to ignore them somewhat and enjoy the show. A local university a capella group opened for Ben, and they were awesome! They did beautiful renditions of Ben's "Jesusland," Adele's "Hometown Glory," and Red Hot Chili Pepper's "Otherside."

Then Ben came on and he was in top form musically, and he was really funny too. He repeatedly made fun of the GOP's response to Obama's State of the Nation Address the night before, and at one point he went on this hilarious tangent about his bassist. He gave a long, rambling list of the various instruments that the guy could play: "triangle...glockenspiel...lap harp...skin flute." XD Then Ben said that the bassist's previous band was called "Santa's Cock," and that their big hit was "Santa Claus is Coming...DOWN YOUR THROAT!!!" After that he said, "Sorry, I don't know what's wrong with me tonight, I think I've had too much sugar." Awww, Ben Folds on a sugar high is totally adorable. (Normally I'd think that "sugar" was a euphemism, but he was way too coherent to be on drugs.) He also played several of my favorite songs, like "Fred Jones Part 2," "Annie Waits," "Bastard," "Zak and Sara," "Not The Same" (the song where he always has the audience harmonize with him, with surprisingly beautiful results), "Army," "Kate," and "Rockin' the Suburbs." The man definitely knows how to put on an entertaining show. And it was great to go with Katie because I hadn't seen her in about six months, and she and I have never ceased to get along fantastically no matter how old we get or how long it's been since we last saw each other.

As many of you probably know, U2's new album, No Line on the Horizon, was leaked recently. A friend of mine sent me a copy, and...I love it. I absolutely love it. I think it's the best album they've released this decade. I like it infinitely more than All That You Can't Leave Behind (which always sounded mediocre to me despite all the awards and popularity it got), and it's even better than How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb, which I did like quite a bit. It just sounds so much more inspired than either of those albums, so it seems the five-year break they took after writing HTDAAB did them a lot of good. I put it on my iPod and I just can't stop listening to it. The only bad thing about it is that I think Bono should have spent some more time on the lyrics; they're not all bad, but they're nowhere near as good as the lyrics were on Pop (which I think showcases some of their best songwriting). There are a few cliched lines and a few that are just kind of...clunkers. Like Bono was trying to convey a certain feeling and didn't really succeed. But the music is really, really good. If I tried to list my favorite songs, I'd probably end up listing them all. Let's just say that I am even more determined than before to see them when they go on tour for this album, because I can't wait to hear these songs performed live.

Erika isn't here this week because she left on Tuesday night to go to a conference. She'll be gone until Sunday...boo. I miss my biffle and fluster. Hurry home to me, baby! <3

God, work kicked my ass today. We had almost two hundred customers and there was a line for almost two hours straight. I was so tired by the time the line finally dispersed about half an hour before closing time, that I barely had any energy left to clean up; I just wanted to either cry or go home. Fortunately, I held it together, successfully closed the shop with the help of my wonderful coworker Lindsay (the bitch coworker wasn't there, thank God), and was able to go home by about 3:30. Then I crashed until nearly 7 pm. I'm still absolutely exhausted. Erika and I have been watching more of season 2 of The Tudors, eating pints of Ben & Jerry's, and drinking some of the wine that's in the fridge, so it's been not a bad night over all -- but I just don't have any energy left at all. I hope to get a good night's sleep so that I might have a chance of being somewhat productive tomorrow.

Thanks to everyone who replied to my last post about historical fiction books. You guys left me some great recommendations that look really promising! Based on your suggestions, I think I'm going to check out the following:

* Nefertiti by Michelle Moran. I'm really looking forward to this one because I used to be sorta obsessed with ancient Egypt. And I found out that the author is an archaeologist turned historical fiction writer (!), which what I want to do.

* As Meat Loves Salt by Maria McCann. Homosexuality in the seventeenth century, woohoo!

* Katherine by Anya Seton. I've heard nothing but good things about this book; it's supposed to be very, very historically accurate.

* Murder Most Royal by Jean Plaidy. Compares the lives of Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII's fifth wife, Katherine Howard.

* The Baroque Cycle by Neal Stephenson. These novels apparently have a science fiction element, which sounds very interesting.

Can't wait to get started on reading some of these.

I've been meaning to do a proper update...but until then, Erika and I are watching season two of The Tudors and it got me wondering if anyone on my friendlist can offer me recommendations for good historical fiction novels or authors?

No Phillippa Gregory, please; I've read several books by her already and I find her a bit spotty as writer, and I'd like to branch out. Although I love reading about medieval and Renaissance Europe, I'm open to other time periods as well. Do any of you know if Jean Plaidy or Anya Seton are good authors? I've heard their names tossed around a lot.

Thanks guys! <3

So apparently I should make angry, frustrated voice posts more often, because when I do the auto-transcriber on LJ mistranslates what I say with hilarious results. *shakes her head whilst laughing*

Erika worked her voodoo magic on my laptop so that I was able to restart it again. She thinks it might have something to do with the fact that I tend to keep my computer on and plugged in at all times, so I think from now on I'm going to start shutting it down before I go to sleep and see if that prevents such an incident from happening again.

At least one good thing came from going a day without internet -- I finished writing the essay portion of my field school application. Well, it's the first draft because I had to write it by hand (writing by hand -- what's that?!), but at least now all I have to do is type it, tweak it a little and print it out. You'd be amazed at how productive I can be when I don't have the interwebs to distract me. :-P

I had a pretty good weekend. Aaron, Erika, Erika's parents and younger brother and I saw Stomp at the Raleigh Memorial Auditorium yesterday afternoon. I really enjoyed it -- it was my first time seeing it and it was different from what I'd expected. I'd heard it described as "people banging on pots and pans," but it's so much more than that. I loved how there was no dialogue and the cast communicated solely through facial expressions and body language. It was also amazing in the sense that it got me thinking a lot about "found art" and how just about anything can be an art object or a musical instrument. The show was definitely worth seeing and I highly recommend it to everyone else. It reminded me of the show De La Guarda, which I saw in New York City in 2002. I'd say De La Guarda was a much more breath-taking experience overall, but Stomp is still similar in its avant garde-ness.

Today wasn't bad either, despite my computer issues. I've been going to bed a lot earlier lately -- at around 11:30 -- so I didn't sleep in too late, like I usually do on Sundays. I did a ton of laundry, and I also did a "What Not To Wear" thing to myself where I tossed out a bunch of clothes that I don't like anymore. I realized lately that I have shitloads of clothes, but most of them are ill-fitting or really old (I still have had clothes from high school, guys), or just really don't make me feel good about myself. What I want is an all-new wardrobe, one that makes me feel confident and adult. I can't afford to replace everything in my closet right now (and of course there's still plenty of stuff I don't want to part with), but Erika and I are tentatively planning a shopping trip to Kohl's in the near future, so hopefully I'll at least find one new outfit that's a vast improvement over what I had before.

We also saw He's Just Not That Into You tonight because we wanted to see a ridiculous romantic comedy together as part of Singles Awareness Day (which is what we call Valentine's Day). We called it Singles Awareness Date this year, because it was just the two of us. Usually we get a bunch of people together and we all dress in black and go to IHOP, but that didn't work out this year. It was fine, though. The movie was cute -- very flawed (Erika and I analyzed and nit-picked the hell out of it once we got out), but it was pretty much what I expected it to be, which was a lighthearted, somewhat mindless chick flick with an all-star cast. (I liked Jennifer Connelly's and Ginnifer Goodwin's characters best. I felt like Drew Barrymore was hardly in the movie at all, despite getting top billing.)

Uhhh...I think that's all for now. God, it's great to be back on here again. I hope everyone had a fab weekend! <3

Oh, and here's some gorgeous Rahm picspam, which was one of the first things I saw once I was able to access the internet again and it just made me feel that much better: http://community.livejournal.com/rahmbamarama/396864.html Baby needs to improve his taste in ties, though. The one he's wearing in these pictures is especially hideous. *g*

To everyone who commented on my last post, not to mention those who listened to me rant even further about my horrible day on AIM -- thank you so much. You all are beyond awesome. <3

Today was a much better day. We had far fewer bitchy customers, and one of my coworkers -- who I don't normally like much because he can be a asshole -- actually apologized to me this morning when I walked in. He said something like, "I didn't know you were having a bad day, so I'm sorry if I contributed at all to that." Well, the truth was that he definitely did contribute to it -- I forgot to mention it in my last post, but one of the things that made yesterday so bad was that I felt like I was being treated like crap from multiple sources; first from that evil bitch at the register, and second from my coworker, who was just really short whenever I had to talk to him. He's usually really immature (he's 38 but he acts like he's about 12, maturity-wise), but the fact that he actually apologized for being a prick was nice, I thought.

At any rate, kitties and piggies make everything better.


more animals

Today has been kind of a shitty day for me. Mostly because I was horribly bitched at by a customer at work -- again. This time it was by a middle aged woman who seemed harmless enough at first. I took her order and she was polite -- not overly nice, but polite. Then she handed me her credit card, and I tried to explain to her that we don't take credit cards during daytime, only at night. (I know, it's a weird rule, but it's one I have to follow even though it sucks to have to explain it to people.) Now, if a customer only has a credit card and doesn't have a check or cash, we'll make an exception and take the card that once. But I didn't even get to explain this part to the woman, because the second I asked her -- very nicely -- if she had any other form of money on her, she immediately launched into this tirade against me, as if I owned the establishment and made the rules, and was refusing to accept her credit card just to spite her.

I can't remember the exact thing she said, but it was something like, "What is it with you people and not taking credit cards?! This is ridiculous! People should accept cards, this is America!" (Yes, she really, truly said that. I am not shitting you.)

Now, I don't deal well with people yelling at me. This is gonna make me sound like a complete pussy, but whenever I'm yelled at I immediately start shaking. I wanted to bitch her out back but all that came out of my mouth was, "I don't make the rules, ma'am, I'm sorry." I meant the "I'm sorry" as in "sucks for you!", but it probably sounded too weak, like it was an actual apology (which it definitely was not). She was the one who should have apologized to me, but I knew I wasn't going to get one.

The icing on the cake? The bitch had her fucking checkbook with her. There was no way she would have not been able to pay for her order, but since I'm young and sweet-looking and an easy target and a lowly cashier (which makes me not even a person to these people), she got to take whatever problem she has out on me.

I didn't get to hear what she said next because while she was very angrily writing her check, I went to get her drink and after I put it on counter, she was already gone and had just left her check on the counter. I tried to help the next customer in line -- who was actually a very sweet young woman who must have heard it all, and I think she felt sorry for me -- but my hands were shaking too much. So I asked my coworker to take over for me so I could go in the back and calm down.

I was only back there for a few minutes before my shaking subsided enough and I was breathing normally enough to go back to the front. I also told some of my coworkers what had happened, and they were all pretty sympathetic. But what bothers me almost more than the fact that I was bitched at by a total stranger was the fact that it got to me so much. There are a lot of things I can withstand at work; I'm really good at keeping my cool when we're slammed and have long lines and what not. But being yelled at by someone I'd never even crossed paths with before, in a situation that's totally uncalled for? I can't take it.

I just wish I had a bigger backbone. I have so much admiration for strong people who don't take any shit from others, but I have such a hard time being that kind of person myself. I just hate that I fucking start shaking when people raise their voices at me like that -- I'm sure it's the reaction they want; they want to yell at people who they think will back down. It just makes me feel so weak.

I was talking to Karen, one of my coworkers about it, and she said, "Oh...that lady was probably having a bad day," and I said, "That is not an excuse!!" It really isn't; I'm tired of people acting like it is one. So you're having a bad day, fine -- you just went ahead and ruined mine. Happy, bitch? I have bad days too and I don't take it out on total strangers. I just don't and I will never understand why people do that. I would never treat a cashier like that, and I feel I can say that with absolute certainty. People who do that are scum, plain and simple. I have little to no respect for them.

So, yeah. I've just been feeling pretty much like crap for the rest of the day. I went to my archaeology class tonight but I still just felt so blah and depressed. I'm starting to get the impression that my teacher is kind of a slacker type, which I don't really like; and a lot of the girls in my class are ditzes, but I knew and expected that already from going to Peace College before. Whatever.

I'm sure it's in large part due to the fact that I'm PMSing, but I just want to curl up into a ball on my bed and not do anything productive for the rest of the evening. I was going to finish my field school application, but fuck that. It can wait another day. I'm just too tired -- more emotionally than even physically -- to do any of that stuff right now.

And I hate to whine further, but this is one of those nights when I really wish I had a significant other, if for no other reason than I just want someone to cuddle me. My friends are great listeners and great cuddlers, and I love them to death -- but I don't know. I miss being held and comforted by someone like that. You know? 90% of the time I do damn well being single, but unfortunately tonight is not one of those times. I just want to be held.

Tonight I went over to Erika's parents' house for dinner (we had a really yummy grilled chicken salad), and while I was poking around in their living room my eyes fell upon this David Sedaris box set sitting on a shelf. I immediately held it up to Erika with a look that was probably very similar to this emoticon: :-O

Then she was like, "Oh yeah, that was supposed to be part of your Christmas present along with the tickets to see David Sedaris in April! My dad had the box set but he wasn't a huge fan, so I asked him if I could give it to you and he said yes. And I forgot to give it to you, but it's yours now."

It contains the following audio books, read out loud by him (and by his sister Amy too on a few of them):

Dress Your Family In Corduroy and Denim
David Sedaris Live At Carnegie Hall (recorded in NYC in December 2002)
Me Talk Pretty One Day
Naked
Holidays On Ice
Barrel Fever and Other Stories

So, yeah. I have pretty much the best roomie ever. I can't wait to put all these on my iPod so I can listen to them during my lunch break at work and laugh hysterically out of seemingly nowhere, scaring the customers in the process.

Gah. There's just so many things I both have to do and want to today, and I don't know how I'll be able to accomplish them all.

Have to / should do:

* Pay this month's student loan payment to the College Foundation. (It's due every month on the tenth and it's already the eighth, arg!)
* Do laundry.
* Clean my bedroom. (God, it always gets to be such a fucking disaster by Sunday.)
* Work on my field school application. (Oh, by the way -- both of the teachers I asked to write recommendation letters for me agreed to do so! YES!!!)
* Eat something. (LOL, food is always at the bottom of the list. Eating just seems to get in the way.)

Want to do:

* Do some creative writing on at least one of the various things I've been working on lately. (I'm sorry, novel! I promise soon I'll be working on exclusively you again -- YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE FOR ME, BABY.)
* Email shoebox_addict to give her feedback on part of her fic that she sent me.
* Get in touch with all the people whose emails and phone calls and LJ comments and such I've postponed replying to, because I've been horrible lately at keeping in communication with the people in my life.

I could have done some of this stuff yesterday, but I ended up crashing and napping for like 4 hours after work, which made me groggy for the rest of the evening. Thus, no productiveness ensued.

I hate that Sunday always feels like the one day out of my week that I have to do all this stuff.

( So this entry isn't merely whiny, here's a hilarious gif of Hillary Clinton pulling away from her husband's attempt to kiss her so that Obama can kiss her instead. BURN! )

I can has archaeology icon now? *grins*

I'm currently working on the application for the summer field school in archaeology -- if I'm accepted, I'll be going on a dig in Brunswick Town, North Carolina, only a ferry ride away from the gorgeous Kure Beach. I really, really hope I can get a spot. I didn't know it until the head of Peace College's anthropology department emailed the application to me, but apparently I have to write a "statement of purpose" explaining why I want to attend the field school and why I think I have the qualifications to be successful at participating in an archaeological dig. I think I'll kick ass on the essay, though. I'm more worried about getting the two recommendation letters that are also required, because I haven't been in school in awhile and I'm afraid that the teachers I was going to ask to write letters for me won't remember me well enough. LOL. But we'll see. I have to get that application in as soon as possible -- it just seems like the field school will be such an amazing experience, and I don't want to miss out on it.