. . . . . entries for 31.8.05 . . . . .
Happy legal adulthood to you, Dan. I am sad because I could not say it last night. :(
. . . . . entries for 30.8.05 . . . . .
Damn you, Dan Earle, for signing off before you became a legal adult!
Drawing one's feet on the ceiling is not much fun, which is why I am taking a break until such a time as I feel it necessary to shoo Charlie Hyland to bed. He has double sessions in the morning. Har har.
 | If I were a Dead Russian Composer, I would be Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. Considered the leader of the 19th Century Composer group "The Mighty Handful," I am indeed the teacher among them. My orchestration skills are superbly colorful, and are explained in my book on the topic, but works like "Scheherezade" explain my mastery better. Who would you be? Dead Russian Composer Personality Test |
Fuck yes I wrote Scheherezade. xD Take that, Beethoven!
^^ my mother. She thinks this is really cool.
Today's been disgustingly productive. Don't you hate those days? I totally hate those days. Oh well. I didn't do any schoolwork, it was more like. . . family-related productivity. Bah. Lazy lazy lazy.
But! Today I downloaded the entire OST for FFX-2, and that makes me happy, even if the in-game versions of 1000 Words (or no Kotoba for the ones who just can't stand the English title) and real Emotion are not available ANYWHERE. If anyone can find these, tell me. If you find something with one of those titles, listen to it - if you've played Final Fantasy X-2 you'll know if it's a) the Japanese version, b) the sucky English version or c) the goosebump-inducing in-game English version.
This soundtrack would make wicked awesome D&D background music, too, so to my DM friends - tell me if you're in need of a particular sort of tune. I may well have it.
Ellen says: Get used.
. . . or possibly "get used to it." We're still not sure. I'll talk to Charlie about getting used anyway. xD
. . . . . entries for 29.8.05 . . . . .
Remember this? No? I do. xD I was Schubert last time.
Zomg Cas is linked because I don't want to commit her blog URL to memory, damn it, and it sucks to google it every time. xD
Woke up at 5:30 after going to bed at 2 with a bad dream. I dreamt Samara, from The Ring, was a real person, and was trying to break onto the pop culture scene.
Okay. So this is bad enough. I'm fucking terrified of this girl. What's worse is this:
Colin's mom was helping her.
Fuuuuck! xD It sucked, I sat in bed reading Crypto for an hour or so before going to sleep, and I had the image of the little devil child in the back of my mind the whole time. I kept on peeking past the book to see if she was there waiting to KILL ME.
Sleep well? o.o
. . . . . entries for 28.8.05 . . . . .
Oh my feet. My feet, they hate me, because I made them walk from Friendly's to David's house. . . barefoot. Oh feet. I am sorry.
Other than footlike troubles, I have had a good day among my kind, my wonderful nerdy kind. Tales of Symphonia and Once Upon a Time and shelties, o my! Yes. Good times.
I'm not doing well with the focus thing.
I just had to write a bunch of questions for my APUSH chapters, which are all read but not noted. Oh well. Notes are a waste of time, damn it. xD Anyway. The problem here is that I only have one question, really. I had to rephrase it and specify it and make it sound academic. I will pose it to you all, and see if you have my answer.
Why are Europeans inherently jackasses?
. . . . . entries for 27.8.05 . . . . .
So I am totally going to the Wake Forest tournament a week and a half after school begins. In JV. Maybe I won't get my ass kicked. (I probably will anyway.) But ZOMG! I get to see Abby Awesome Alger again and *that* is kickass.
And I'm missing school for it. Damn. xD No, seriously. This year is going to be awful for missing stuff, what with debate and DID and all. Ooooh well.
Almost done with ye olde APUSH reading. After that, all I'll have is art and Crypto, har har, Crypto, like I'll *ever* finish that. Pfaw!
. . . . . entries for 26.8.05 . . . . .
You know you're in a weird state of mind when you desperately want to slack off and play a video game or something, and simultaneously realize that doing so will be nowhere near as interesting as reading your damn history chapter.
I have a splitting pain on the right side of the bridge of my nose, and an unusually sharp ache in my lower right back. I am sixteen damn it. I am not supposed to be creaky.
. . . . . entries for 25.8.05 . . . . .
Any conversation that starts like this should not go well. It kinda did anyway. xD
Neal: islam is asinine
Me: Neal, let's not get started on this. xD
Neal: anyone who says they understand islam iand claiims its good at the core is asinine
Me: you've read the Qu'ran then?
Neal: only moderate believers who dont even follow islam correctly are not asinine
so in essence their not really islamic at all
yes i have
and its dumb as hell
well thats true if u read the bible 2 the bible and quaran are ridiclious
both advocate dehumnaization of women
both advocate
Me: the Bible moreso than the Qu'ran, I might add.
no
equally
Me: ah?
what about "all believers are equal in the eyes of Allah"?
Neal: yea exactly key rhetoric there " all believers of allah" but as far as their concerned all nom blievers can die and burn
Me: uh, not really.
Neal: uh yes really
Me: how much attention did you pay to the Islamic units in Hirota's class, Neal?
Neal: it has a section where it talks about out the bad fate of non believers
Me: it was the most progressive, prosperous region for women while Mohammed was alive.
Mohammed started it.
Neal: yea but its been peverted so badly
Me: what Mohammed did > what's written in the Qu'ran.
YES.
god damn it.
Neal: and despite mohammeds beleiefs
Me: it has been twisted so badly.
Neal: whats wriiten in the quaran is fucked up
read it
and ul see
it advocates women as objects to have kids with as does the bible
it says all non bleievers burn as does the bible
wanan hear neals theory
Any religion claiming to be better than another religion or amy thing non universal in a religion is stupid
Me: agreed.
but it is the nature of religion to claim it is supreme.
or, if not supreme, true.
and if one religion's facts clash with another, there is conflict.
Neal: yeah and then there both wrong unless one religion says mine is better and the other says all religions are equal
Me: i.e. universal unitarianism.
Neal: dont know what that means
but il tell u this much
Me: it's just what it sounds like.
ask Alex, he's an observer.
Neal: im an observer of a faith called hinduism which tells u that all religions are equal and even if u dont believe in god u can be fine as long as u act morally
Me: that's cool.
Neal: and buddhism is cool like that 2
Me: Westerners are incapable of not being competitive sons of bitches. xD
Neal: same with jainism
all eastern religions are usually good
Me: so we're all like ZOMG MY RELIGION IS BETTER THAN YOURS
but really.
most followers of Western religions use it in the wrong way.
Neal: western religions suck jews think there the best christians think tehre the best islam says now ere the best
its so wrong
Me: the point of a religion is, in my opinion, to follow the examples of the figures who started them.
i.e. Jesus, Mohammed, so forth.
if you forget how these people acted and stop emulating their great deeds, you are no longer pious.
but I'm one of very few who thinks that way.
Neal: no not true the point of a religion is to encourage moral actions we shouldnt use any one person as a paradigm because no one is perfect plus that creates another problem because jesus acted differently than mohammed so we should use the princpials behind their actions but not act as them
Me: right, we can't exactly get ourself nailed to a cross or march to Mecca.
Neal: exactly
but ppl belive that we should
because they take religion literally
which is BAD
Me: exactly.
the people who piss me off the most are those who adhere to the letter and not to the spirit.
they're like, "but zomg homosexuals are going to hell!"
and I'm like. . . dude.
Neal: right which is what conservatives in this country do
Me: isn't God supposed to love all of His children?
damn southern baptists.
And then we went back to talking about LD debate. xD I may or may not be going to the Wake Forest tournament down near Duke. I really want to go. Mostly to see Abby. I love that girl. She is my idol. ^_____^
I'm kinda pissy because Boyang doesn't want me teaching novices. He's having Alex and Neal do it instead, because they went to debate camp over the summer. Debate camp rocks, make no mistake. It's great for owning at big tournaments. Well, god damn it, the first tournaments these kids are going to are local tournaments at lower levels, and there will be SUCKY JUDGES. If they don't learn how to cater to sucky judges, they're toast and will never get a) self-confidence in their new trade or b) bids to go to States. Alex and Neal will not teach them this. I rock at this. I learned from the best - Abby. Woo. She is still my idol, even after another paragraph. xD
The more I read of my APUSH, the more I think the average Puritan of New England in the late 1600s was a pretty cool person, and that the society there was pretty wicked awesome for the time period. Observe the quote in my sidebar to see one reason why. xD I swear, the radical Separatists gave those ladies and gents a bad name.
I love being a history nerd.
I observe the cogs of my thought processes turning, but all that's coming out is "emo, emo, emo."
So Dan thinks he has a website now. Haa. Let us see him maintain it. :P
AAAAH!
I finally see the resemblance. xD
. . . . . entries for 24.8.05 . . . . .
Today was fun, and mostly involved Natalie Ann(e?) Burke. There are worse ways to live. xD We went to Hot Topic, for Natalie's sake, not mine, and I was reminded that I need fishnets. -.- I will not pay ten dollars for totally unremarkable tights, though, so I saved the purchase for later, at Wal Mart or something. I *did* get something there, though - a black T-shirt with Kuro Neko-sama on it, in a velvety fabric. If you do not know who this is, you're missing out on life, and on Trigun.
Mrow.
You're Squall/Laguna!!
Hey it was never proved that Laguna was Squall's
father and besides, potiential incest just adds
that extra hint of spice to the relationship.
What Yaoi Final Fantasy 8 Couple are You?
brought to you by Quizilla
Hawt.
I'm at Natalie's! Woo! Natalie says: " . . . I dunno. . . I CAN'T SAY ANYTHING WHEN I'M PUT ON THE SPOT! Why'd you write that? No! You're horrible! I hate you! Schadenfreude. . ."
Well, disappointingly enough, Google has posted no instructions for a Mac user to connect to GoogleTalk through iChat - but it has said it can be done. Er. Okay? xD
. . . . . entries for 23.8.05 . . . . .
Something strange found its way to my sidebar. >.>
Wherever one stands in my house right now, one can hear the news. I kind of like it.
Also got opening day information from the school district today. Woo. My homeroom is the new cafe - surprise surprise, debate nerd what I am. I take it I'll be chillin' with all the other debate nerds. They're good people. xD (Well. Mostly. Er. Well. . . at least I won't get bored.)
So. I take it Rumsfeld just announced the ascension of a new assistant secretary of defense, specifically for the Middle East region.
I want his job. You mark my words - when I am fiftysomething I will have that job.
Pretty damn funny. xD Ah man. . .
It'd be wise of me never to blog again. It's so time-consuming. xD
. . . . . entries for 22.8.05 . . . . .
Knew I forgot something. Sunrise at Lake Winnepesauke:
I took that. At like. . . six in the morning. Because I woke up that early. -.- Damn it.
Right. On to the good stuff. If you open these pictures in separate windows, you will learn from the title prefix what I think of them. I will let you judge exactly what went on for yourself, but remember: we're basically good, responsible kids. xD
Oooh such times we had.
This is the post where the lonely pictures go.
That one is from our ferry ride back into New York across Lake Champlain. The moon is being absurdly shiny again - see?
From Lake George, on my mother's birthday. I looked so snazzy in my all-black-with-a-red-heart I conned my poor mother into a photoshoot. I like this picture the best. My head looked impossibly large in one of the other ones, it freaked me out. xD
More flume junk! Proof that my father and I were actually there at the same time:
We had a hapless German tourist take it. Ach ja.
ZOMG I DIDN'T EVEN MEAN TO SIMULATE A FAMOUS WORK OF ART BUT THE CAMERA BLURRED THE PICTURE AND THE GORGE IS SO SCARY
I think this picture is very representative of what it means to be a Sherman: pictures in front of a random carriage at a random location, with very random expressions.
My blog will become progressively more graphics-heavy as this evening wears on. I am sorry, Sir Charles, for making your computer have electronic seizures. xD
Okay! So this was on the grounds of our hotel in New Hampshire, on lake Winnepesauke, and aroundabouts that area.
Stylish thrift store gypsy pants? I think so.
It was so fitting we couldn't stand it.
I am proud of myself for taking that picture.
So first. This is Mount Washington, or rather, me on top of Mount Washington. The other pictures really did not do justice to the godawful weather up there. So:
And that was my vacation. xD Woo!
Uploading way more pictures than I have any right to. It's taking a while.
You know what I did today? I looked at furniture. I have pictures to prove it. Several pictures, actually. I was so. . . very. . . unenthusiastic. xD Oh well. We are getting a new goddamn couch and we need it, so it's all okay. This is what I tell myself as I have approximately ten tons of AP homework to do and I spend hours on end sitting on pieces of furniture I will never own.
I have pictures, and oh man, do I *ever* have pictures. Some of these are pretty wicked awesome. xD The last three I shall post this evening were skillfully snatched from the stack of photographs before they fell into the hands of yon parents. I think they would ask uncomfortable questions.
If you are a parent reading my blog, please, spare me the uncomfortable questions. Like, really. Why are you reading this in the first place? Have you no respect for my privacy? Gaaaah.
Besides, we just thought it would be funny. xD
Next week is here. Time to get focused.
. . . . . entries for 21.8.05 . . . . .
Probably Cassie's doing, that.
As is that. Discerning any kind of theme? Probably not - you were probably not there.
Let this one be a hint to you:
Funerals are weird because they are frequently the main occasions upon which a big chunk of the family congregates. Behold the congregated:
Behold the congregated being a little bit silly:
o.O
This is not the sun, it is the moon. I am not sure why it is so goddamn shiny, but it is.
So that was the cog railway. Here is the flume, another scenic stop on our journey through New Hampshire.
Hey, it's me! It was bloody gorgeous in there. And dangerous-seeming. o.O Slip and you go CRASH into the stream with all of those yummy glacial erratics hanging around.
Hey, it's dad! He took a lot of pictures of me, but this is the only one of him that turned out properly. There are more, again, on an un-developed roll.
Dad thought this was funny, because "the bear" was my nickname when I was tiny. Har har. It was really slippery in there.
Oo. I look kind of. . . mystical. A little. xD
So that's the cog railway being pretty. Here is the absurd part - or part of it, anyway. Some of the most entertaining shots are on my disposable camera, which has not yet been developed.
This man looks kind of like Derek Jeter. He was our snarky, twentysomething guide on the cog railway.
Visibility on the top of Mount Washington sucked. No, really. That was like, fourty feet away from the engine of the train. It was foggy like whoa. Proof of the sucky weather conditions:
Scenic nonetheless.
Pretty.
Behold! I have pictures. In fact, I have three pictures of clouds. Just clouds. This is one of them.
I quite like it, actually. It was taken from somewhere near the top of Mount Washington, I think. Good times we had up there. . .
Okay, so I got bored with my APUSH reading (which I'm finally doing) and decided, while listening to some perky techno CTY canon, that I would throw together a playlist of what I would play at a 3-hour-long school dance. It is long. Here it is. The songs that cannot go are denoted in bold. Suggestions on altering the other selections are welcome.
Baby Got Back, Sir Mixalot
Hate to Say I Told You So, The Hives
Zoot Suit Riot, Cherry Poppin' Daddies
Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy, Big and Rich
Boom Boom Boom Boom, The Vengaboys
Venus in Furs, Velvet Underground
The Bad Touch, Bloodhound Gang
Istanbul, They Might Be Giants
The Ballroom Blitz, Sweet'
Stayin' Alive, Bee Gees
You and Me and the Bottle Make Three, Big Bad Voodoo Daddies
Cell Block Tango, from Chicago
Lady Marmalade, as in Moulin Rouge
Fashion, David Bowie
Dragostea Din Tei by Ozone
Alright, Okay, You Win by Diana Krall and Tony Bennett
Flagpole Sitter by Harvey Danger
That damn catchy song that was in the old Oreo commercials
Amazed, Lonestar
Like a Prayer, Madonna
Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend, as in Moulin Rouge
Walking After Midnight, Patsy Cline
The Way You Move, Outkast
Bohemian Rhapsody, Queen
Let's Dance, David Bowie
Mack the Knife, Bobby Darin
That goddamn Sean Paul song Shake That Thing, more to shut up the kids who like rap than anything else
Hallelujah, as sung by Rufus Wainwright
Ice Ice Baby, Vanilla Ice
Blister in the Sun, Violent Femmes
Unchained Melody, Righteous Brothers
Buddy Holly, Weezer
Bei Mir Bist Du Schön - no idea who's singing it in my recording
Cha Cha Slide
Time Warp, from Rocky Horror Picture Show (hell yes!)
Nightswimming, R.E.M.
Jump, Jive and Wail - don't know who's singing this one either
I Will Survive, Gloria Gaynor
The End of the World, R.E.M.
Stairway to Heaven, Led Zeppelin
American Pie, Don McLean
And damn it, I think that's how a school dance *should* operate. :P
Dan Earle said: Erin (insert middlename here, maybe it's Marie or Elizabeth or something) Sherman, you're not my moral compass - you're my fucking shoulder angel
At least I'm getting something done.
. . . . . entries for 20.8.05 . . . . .
Finished reading A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius today. I wish it didn't end so damn depressively. At least it's over with. Now I immerse myself in art and APUSH, and maybe Crypto if I'm feeling particularly ambitious. Ha.
There will be pictures soon, damn it.
Okay. So let me make an announcement. If this seems completely and totally unwarranted to you and you cannot dream of a reason I would say this, then it is probably not addressed to you.
YOU PEOPLE SUCK.
Let me tell you something about life. If you deny the truth, if you live as a different person to everyone you speak to, if you lie about stupid things, you will be crushed. You will be incapable of effective communication. Your life will work like a car that has not had an oil change in a hundred thousand miles, god*damn* it, it will creak by and fall apart one day.
Tell. The. Fucking. Truth.
It works a hell of a lot better than lying about everything.
Chroooome.
First of all: I hate hormones. This is not my normal hormonal complaint, i.e. that involving bleeding and pain, but damn hormones suck.
For those who fancy cheerier song, I have been making headway on A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. My body also seems to be growing accustomed to operating on a sleep deficit, tired and lethargic all the time - great preparation for the coming school year. Woo.
. . . . . entries for 19.8.05 . . . . .
If you really loved me, you would go to Shannon's blog and click the Chocorobo link IMMEDIATELY. So amazing - so true. xD
According to this, I am "Rarely Rosy." This is a lie. Oh well.
Having trouble staying awake while readingzzzzz.
I actually got home several hours ago, but I did the sleep thing in between arriving and blogging - silly me. I slept quite enough in the car anyway, so I do not know what I was thinking. Oh well.
Uh, yeah. So I'm back from New Hampshire. It involved a lot of mountains, and altogether too much eating. Blech. Memorable moments:
- The Cog Railway in its jittery, slow-moving, spine-jarring entirety - and its snarky, twenty-something conductor
- The top of Mount Washington on a nice August evening: 42 degrees Fahrenheit, 36 mph sustained winds, visibility of approximately 20 feet
- Hoodies: the lint, the warmth, forgetting them and freezing, remembering and being adorable in them
- The wholeheartedly halfassed swimming experience offered by a bunch of inns on a fucking LAKE
- The Flume and all of its prettiness
- The mass of orthodox Jews giving us funny looks at the Flume and elsewhere - maybe it was my bright blue sneakers?
- The moonlit ferry ride back into New York over Lake Champlain - that, I think, was my favorite part.
I'm forgetting things. Serves them right - they just weren't memorable enough, the bastards. Overall, though, I think we went about it in the wrong way. We need to have a wanderin' vacation again, like we had in Ireland all those summers ago. Variety is the spice of life, right? Right? Right. I want an RV, that'd be kickass. xD
So, 'til Monday, my parents are off, so I will probably be doing family things locally. Call me anyway. Especially you, Natalie. Yes, YOU. After this week, as I said, I'll be forced to focus on AHWOSG and Crypto (pffftmaybe) and art (a lot) and APUSH. Buggering overachieving me and my AP classes. Grumblegrumble.
. . . . . entries for 16.8.05 . . . . .
It's ten of noon - do you know where *your* parents are?
I don't. -.-
We're supposed to be leaving for New Hampshire. Like. . . two hours ago. This is silly. I do not know where they are or what they are doing. They left a while ago, like, a *while* ago, with an itinerary. Drop off the dog, go to the bank, et cetera. I have not heard from them and I tried (and failed) to get in touch with them by calling my mom's cell.
Bugger.
Anyway. I am, in fact, off again today, with my AP English reading and gigantic AP Studio sketchpad in tow.
(The 'rents just called, they're on their way home at last. Woo.)
I will be back sometime on Thursday. I may pop online if I find a means by which to do so between now and then, but otherwise, I'll be away, away, away. How terrible for you. I can see how much you care in your eyes. :P
. . . . . entries for 15.8.05 . . . . .
My mother's birthday is almost over. Whoa.
Took a few more shots on my camera today - hopefully I'll shoot up the rest of the damn thing by the end of this week and get it developed with due speed.
We did not go to Nothing But Noodles. Instead, we went to an unfamiliar joint in the Lake George region called the Ridge Terrace - har har - which was okay, I suppose, but kind of made me grumbly at heart. Now we will never get Dad into our favorite local house o'noodles.
We went to some random diner across the Mohawk for lunch, and I (for once) drew something on my napkin, like I used to all the time. Pen - runny, blue-black ink pen, the best kind - in a vaguely Japanese brush-painting style. At least, the figures were like that. I would have needed a much bigger pen to do the same for the buildings and the one willow tree - some of you will know, probably, the willow tree of which I ramble. I scrawled a little bit of illegible cursive on the thing, including the date, at my mother's behest, and, in the region off to the side, behind the shed (covered in whitewash, or whatever that stuff was), in the infamous Erin Sherman backwards hand:
"just for a minute"
Happy birthday, Mom.
. . . . . entries for 14.8.05 . . . . .
Back in Niskayunaaaaa. Part of me is getting used to the cycle involved in the damn long distance relationship thing, which is simultaneously good and bad; the fire burns cooler as I leave, but the sparks seem dimmer as I am there sometimes, as well. Emphasis on sometimes.
This'll probably've been the last occasion I'll see Mikey for a good long time, and maybe the last I'll see Toine ever. Didn't know the latter too well, but he seems pretty wicked awesome, yo. Rock the game design school, man. As for Mikey, we all know he's awesome. We love Sir Michael von Lintz. Have fun with the hopefully-more-normal people at college, my dear Mikey. We'll miss you.
So I'm leaving again on Tuesday for a resort in New Hampshire, on account of it being my parents' vacation week and all. I'll be back Thursday. Tomorrow is my mother's birthday, so I'll be making breakfast and going to Nothing But Noodles for dinner, which is fucking hilarious. We wouldn't have gotten Dad there any other way, though. xD It is a beautiful thing.
After this week, then, I will be doing two things.
#1) A shitload of reading and artwork for my APs.
#2) Socializing with the local crowd ESPECIALLY NATALIE ANNE BURKE GOD DAMN IT. (Maybe Greg too, along with Shannon and Kristen and Linda and Susan and Colin, of course. I love you kids. xD)
Now is when my actual summer-summer once again commences. No more compsci. NO MORE FUCKING COMPSCI. >.< Sorry, Windows nerdfriends, but. . . it just ain't my bag.
It's Sunday here in hot, hazy, humid Binghamtonia. I am going home late today, since the Lintz family has to get going to Pittsburgh tomorrow. One of those things you just can't help, I s'pose.
So first, I'm thinking a CTK or two (or three, or four) is kind of frustrated with Charlie and myself right now for sulking off alone so much last night at Toine's. I know people like it when couples do not act couply when they're in the company of others, but goddamn it, it's not like Charlie and I ever have the opportunity to NOT be in the company of others. I apologize for circumstances we cannot control and for being sick of playing along with the group mentality when it's really not what I want to be doing, because while I do not see why I should be made to feel sorry, I still do. (But then, I do see why I should be made to feel sorry. Toine is leaving; Mikey is leaving; Dan isn't leaving as such, but is going to college, anyway. It was a goddamn farewell party, and I know that it sucks to ignore that.)
Other than my residual feeling of guilt associated with Toine's party, it was pretty fun. What with the strange activities under the trees in the rain, and the lightning game - yes, it was fun.
Still thinking that if one side or the other let up on the infernal game you CTKs play, the other side might stop being so. . . icky. It takes a lot of courage and faith in the conscience of the other party to be the first one to back off, though, and there's no particular reason for any of that to be present. So, eh. What can you do?
I also loved chilling at the Hyland home afterward - long past curfew, but eh - and meeting Nora, bantering about ROTC and history and stupid, stupid standardized tests. o.o Good times were had by all, even if it was incredibly roasty in my corduroys.
Today is not as roasty, and I am wearing my cutoffs. O, the agony and the irony, they're killing me.
. . . . . entries for 12.8.05 . . . . .
I've felt a strange connection with that song for a couple of days now. Brought on by a dismal mood - what a surprise!
Currently packing for Binghamtonia, and surprised by how little I have to say. It's going to be an interesting few days, that I know. xD Mwahaha. Everyone! Wear your finest indie attire to Toine's on Saturday.
Compsci is over. It did not end particularly well, but it ENDED goddamn it, and I am pleased to have it behind me. Tonight, there shall be Lintz! And it will be good. Damn good.
. . . . . entries for 11.8.05 . . . . .
Fuck I am glad compsci is almost over I HATE THIS. o.o; Yeah. Final exam, almost half of my grade, tomorrow. Imagine my UNBOUNDED JOY.
Actually, I'm pretty happy right now, but not about compsci. Charlie apparently wowed all those present at his interview for Catholic U today, and thinks he'll really like the school. He's auditioning for the music program in December. Woo. ^__^
. . . . . entries for 10.8.05 . . . . .
Hey, Charlie's in D.C.! I have no excuse not to do my work. So. Uh. Right.
. . . off I go. -.-
So blogger was just down. Yick. It's back, though, and that's good.
I wanted to post about something, or rather someone, very specific - Peter Jennings. Most of you are probably aware that he died of lung cancer a week ago tonight. I think. >.< With all the shit afoot in my own life, I haven't been following as much as I should've been.
My point is this: Peter Jennings reminds me of me, Erin Sherman, in innumerable ways. Watching the program on him, apparently of infinite length, that has been running this evening was an experience much akin to the presentations on SIS and the honors' college at American University. I was struck, and I thought: this is me. He was an avid student of history, especially of the Middle East and of religion - although he wasn't particularly religious himself. He was fascinated with America and even moreso with the idea of America, and kept a tiny little Constitution in his back pocket at all times (similarly to my sister and her glove compartment Constitution, actually).
It also occurred to me as I watched that, in this age of famous, amazing newspeople retiring and being laid to rest, there is not a woman among them. I brought this up to my mother, who pointed out that Connie Chung came pretty close, but she was fired because of her interest in having children and its pull away from her focus, essentially. This is a great gender-based injustice, yadda yadda, blah blah feminism - my point *here* is that no one's done it yet, and there's a lot of room for an enormous impact to be made. Someone will probably get there before I even have a chance.
I think what it all boils down to is that I would not mind going into the global news correspondent profession, and that Peter Jennings has become my idol in death. God rest you, Pete - hopefully there are others in this world, like you, who will use their knowledge and passion to infuse others with the same.
Sooo staying in Binghamton until Monday evening. Yay! I feel better now. xD I'm such a fickle teenager - and not one-track-minded at all, of course. Ho'no.
After this week, I say - after this week, I shall focus.
Frequently, people have absurd dreams that seem totally normal as they sleep through them. Lately, though, I've had exactly the opposite - fairly realistic dreams that I knew, even as I was dreaming, were just figments of my imagination. I had another of those last night. It was set in that funny mall-like dreamscape I visit now and again when I'm in Morpheus' care.
Last night, I dreamed we were all back together again. And we were happy.
. . . . . entries for 9.8.05 . . . . .
Proof that A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius is a heartbreaking work of staggering genius:
"Finally, the author would also like to acknowledge the men and women of the United States Postal Service, for performing a sometimes thankless task with great aplomb and, given the scale and scope of the endeavor, with stunning efficiency.
Here is a drawing of a stapler.
[insert drawing of stapler here - yes, it is actually there, in the text: the stapler.]"
Fan-bloody-marveltastic.
I lied - I'm starting A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius instead of reading Crypto. xD I don't mind it so far, but then, I'm not quite done with the preface yet. Eeh.
Pirate Dan and Tina have been de-linked, since they never blogged anyway.
I just took a moment to try to think of something to post here so that this entry wouldn't be almost completely pointless and devoid of content, but I realized that my life really hasn't had any interesting turns today, except this: Ed, my ER buddy, was not in today. I do not know why. There was a short, perky, female lab tech there instead. I was confused and a little sad. The fact that it was a quiet day in the ol' emergency room helped nothing; I had no busy work to do and no one to talk to, it seemed like.
Also, the hospital cafeteria had no pears. NO PEARS! What madness is this?
And class today was class. Uh. Yeah.
Today I also came to a sort of quasi-revelation. I realized that, given my courseload for this coming year and the events commonly associated with being a junior (i.e. driving, prom, college shopping), I will probably have a hell of a time of it, in a good way. I simultaneously reminded myself that I will have a hell of a time with it in a bad way because I will be so fucking busy. Here is the list o' junk I want to be on the memberlist of in school:
Mock trial
Forensics
Model U.N.
Amnesty International (maybe, if I have time. :P)
Youth Court
That's on top of my three APs, mess of honorses and electives (midi tech II and Latin III, which is going to be damn near an honors class anyway; midi is for sleeping, which I clearly won't be doing the rest of the time). And I am going to run for school office at the end of this year - probably some minor position so I'll be more-or-less guaranteed to office, har har. xD I suck. Too bad.
Point is: I will have a hell of a time with junior year, in good and bad ways. Being a teenager is ridiculous in more ways than I can count. One of these ways, in my case, is the impulse to read more books than one has any time or energy for.
I'm going to read Crypto like a good little monkey now. Save me? o.o
Charlie Hyland is occasionally an enormously frustrating boy. >.o . . .
But I shall see my secret love this weekend, God willing. <3 O my darling of the comforting embrace, the moist and gentle cheek-smooches! Soon we will be together at last!
. . . . . entries for 8.8.05 . . . . .
I would appear to finally have one of those nifty date header things everyone else has. Go me. o.o Also just put together a playlist for a Cassie CD. Cas! What sort of CD should this be, an mp3 CD or a data CD? (I have comments now, so you can reply directly. Hee hee.)
Sidebar changed a little. Not much. I don't think you'll really care. xD
Aww. Cheeky. See?
Shannon is FANTASTIC. Thank you Shannon. <3 I'm gonna tweak the template a little so my comments are cheekylike, but first: a blog entry!
Another code, and another death accordingly, at the hospital this morning. This could go one of two ways: first, it could be the last of things in threes - first code, Grandpa, and this. Second, it could be another omen-thing. That would suck. So let us hope the former is the case or nothing at all.
I am soooo tired. o.o Remind me to remind my mother to call Mikey tonight!
Wo0t! Okay. This is Shannon on Erin's blog. Yay.
I have successfully installed comments, which means no more tagboard becuase it sucks. xP So, yay. Therefore, comment away, ye blog readers! xD
. . . . . entries for 7.8.05 . . . . .
It's about twenty of midnight and I just got home. My flight was delayed. (Damn Chicago weather.) I had a funny little conversation with a college-aged guy from the southern reaches of the country (several actual locations - I got the impression his parents had split or something) consisting mostly of small talk, almost definitely begun for the purpose of getting my number. At one point in this conversation, he asked my age. This is the approximate dialogue having to do with this topic. Imagine a vaguely southern-accented, slightly mumbly young male's voice for the guy's lines.
Guy, whose name I've already forgotten: So how old are you?
Me: . . . guess.
Guy: *pauses for a while* . . . hm. . . I'd have to say. . . 22?
Me: . . . well, you almost got my sister's age. She's almost nine years older than me. I'm sixteen.
Guy: Whoa, how does that work? (He said "how does that work" several times in the course of the conversation. I think I perplexed him.)
Me: Eeh. Lots of people think I look older than I am.
Guy: Does your sister look older too?
Me: No, just me. People think we're two or three years apart. It's weird. (I said "it's weird" several times in the course of the conversation. I felt it was justified, since he seemed to be a more-or-less normal human being. Now *that* is weird.)
Guy: So I guess you wouldn't have much trouble getting a fake ID, then.
Me: . . . what?
Guy: You'd be able to get a fake ID easy.
Me: Ah. . . I'd never use one.
It kinda got worse from there. Before this exchange, the talk between us was limited and kinda forced; afterwards, though, he seemed to make a conscious effort to seem interested in who I was as a person in spite of the fact that I was much younger than he originally thought. This is what we call "a guy trying not to seem like a lecherous asshole." Ha!
The parents be on their way home, and I be at Cassie's house still. She is a'showering and I am checking up on online things before playing some Civ III, which is pretty wicked awesome, yo.
Thrift store shopping is fun - I'm wearing these "fetching" (it's an agreed-upon adjective) silverygray corduroys that I got last night right now. I also acquired some pirate-wench-piratewenchy pants, yar. I seriously felt like I was in a strip of QC for the past couple of days - the parts of them, anyway, which involved Martin (Marten?) and Bill. The latter of this pair is Indie Geek Prime, and it makes me glow inside.
Kicking ass at Monopoly is also fun, especially with mild hallucinogens and stimulants, mood heighteners and natural cox-2 inhibitors. There shall be green curry tonight!
. . . . . entries for 6.8.05 . . . . .
Back from the funeral. It was funereal. (Hm.) We also went to Ruby Tuesday's afterwards, at which I ate more or less healthily, which was a thing of great note given the nature of the place.
Spoke at the ceremony, too. Couldn't get through it without crying. Was complimented by several relatives on my speech. I seem very sort of. . . brief and abrupt about it here, mostly because it'd suck to cry on anything of Cassie's anymore than I already have today. So.
Off to watch Star Wars, finally. o.o Swimming later?
. . . . . entries for 5.8.05 . . . . .
So! I am in Cassie's room, which is amazing and artsily decorated and things. When she comes back, she will be bringing one of our Monopoly-playing, curried chicken-eating guests. Martin, I think. That will be fun if I can bloody well wake up. o.o Very tired, and it's freezing in here from the air conditioning.
On a completely different note, AU prospie day was today, and I was very surprised and impressed by the whole affair. Prior to today's events, particularly the talk on the honors' college, I had American tacked up in my brain as a safety school. Now, it's actually striking me as a serious possibility - *and* a serious possibility that I'll almost definitely get into. This feeling of healthy compromise was recurrent throughout the day.
It'd be silly to try and enumerate all of the things that just clicked about the place, but I will say that the experience of being in the honors' college came off as something of a strange combination of three good things: the Washington area university, the small liberal arts college (i.e. like St. John's just enough for me to make the connection and not enough for Cassie to agree with me), and Hirota-Morris' classroom. Those of you who have not had Hirota-Morris probably will not understand how fantastic this last bit is.
One thing that was emphasized over and over throughout the day is that the best professors work at the undergraduate level, and that they focus on being good teachers - after all, what's the point of being a professor if you aren't a good teacher? One of my greatest fears about going to college is facing a wall of bad professors and TAs. Hearing this and meeting so many enthusiastic profs was a sigh-of-relief-inducing experience.
All these facts given, I haven't made my decision - I mean, Jesus, I'm not yet a junior in high school, how could I? However, I'm certainly taking this into more serious consideration. I think American Univerity, the Honors College and School of International Services in particular, could be a good home for me. It seems as if almost everything I want in a school is here.
The only thing that's missing, I think, is what Cassie has constantly pointed out: it is not a Great Books school. I would not learn ancient Greek there, or read the Bible in its original tongue. I would miss out on what I, as an intellectual, as a twisted gnosticist of sorts, really want: to study theology as it should be studied, as it began and how it has developed. I think I may be able to get just a glimpse of that at American, but they don't offer any kind of Greek, let alone the ancient variety - and, disappointingly, their major in belief systems is called "Religion," not theology.
I'm not much for religion.
. . . . . entries for 4.8.05 . . . . .
Soooo I'll be getting on the plane to BWI in a couple of hours. Printing out my dad's travel itinerary now. We'll probably get back to Cassie's around eight thirty or something. I'll be rockin' the Crypto on the way there, I expect. I may crop up on AIM once or twice before Sunday, but regardless, have a lovely Erin-free weekend. Go out and get a life for once.
('Cept for Cas, who is having an Erin-ful weekend for once. She has too much of a life anyway.)
. . . . . entries for 3.8.05 . . . . .
It's weird because I saw my first code at the hospital today. They just call it a code because the other codes - red, yellow, D, stork - are fairly uncommon. Code blue is not very uncommon. It is the code denoting a cardiac resuscitation. The woman, very large of build and in her forties, died in bed three at Samaritan Hospital around quarter of nine this morning.
A few minutes ago, Aunt Julie called. She had her cell phone on and with her, like she never does. My dad was on the phone with my sister, so it rang through. Call back immediately, she said. It's an emergency about Dad. Their dad - my grandfather, Julian Augustus Sherman. He was declared unresponsive and died today, around 2:00 PM.
. . . ever have one of those moments when you just wish you could take back one stupid little word? Yeah. Me too.
Rest in peace, Grandpa.
Okay. So according to dad, it's unladylike to be blunt about one's hatred towards one's sexual organs. It irks me to no end that I do, in fact, have a preset rant in my head for the whole "ladylike," "respect for women" thing, because I just can't say a word of it to my father. He would not like it. At all.
Grrr. I HATE MY UTERUS AND I DON'T CARE IF IT'S UNLADYLIKE TO SAY SO.
. . . . . entries for 2.8.05 . . . . .
| Smart enough You scored 120 Intelligence! |
You're smart. Did you know the average IQ of a doctor is 116? Yep. You're just right around there. You're cool. I'd probably prefer to hang out with someone like you with this IQ. You're a little above average, but not quite a genius so that you annoy me with useless crap. Stay cool. |
My test tracked 1 variable How you compared to other people your age and gender:
|
| Link: The You think you've got a high IQ Test written by idrankitaway on Ok Cupid |
Pfft. Thanks, Matt. xD
I hate my uterus. Just thought you should know.
Whoa tagboard is working. That never happens. Comment while the gettin's good, kids.
I love Neal Stephenson for writing stories of ambiguous autobiographical quality within Cryptonomicon. xD "I have a thing for black stockings." So good. As with all of his books, I am getting the sense, a good third of the way in, that he's finally getting to the plot bit. That's a third of the way consisting of 370 FRIGGIN' PAGES. o.o Sizzle.
To Colin's today for Cowboy Bebop! Yay.
| the Prankster |
| CLEAN | COMPLEX | LIGHT Your humor has an intellectual, even conceptual slant to it. You're not pretentious, but neither are you into what some would call 'low humor'. You'd laugh at a good dirty joke, but you definitely prefer something clever to something moist. You probably like well-thought-out pranks and/or spoofs and it's highly likely you've tried one of these things yourself. In a lot of ways, yours is the most entertaining type of humor. PEOPLE LIKE YOU: Conan O'Brian - Ashton Kutcher |
 |
My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:
|
| Link: The 3 Variable Funny Test written by jason_bateman on Ok Cupid |
Nicole and I are humor buddies. xD Woo.
. . . . . entries for 1.8.05 . . . . .
Which Member of the Endless Are You?
Pfffft. xD I still love this test.
I'm such a girl. xD I'm disgusted at myself for liking a movie entitled The Prince and Me, but. . . it's so warmfuzzy, I can't not like it. (And it reminds me of me which is even worse. No, really. It is.)
Haha, I don't feel obligated to be productive tonight since I read Crypto a lot and started an artwork this afternoon. xD Woo!
Whoa am I ever glad I'm not going into compsci as a field. xD Homework is done but a little tiny bit buggy, damn the thing.
I feel better now. Even though the thing that made me grumbly isn't necessarily gone entirely, I'm just going to try not to think about it. Not worth the emo tears. :P Emo tears are a terrible thing to waste.
come home?
.:people:.
{ting}
she looks like the real thing
{mari}
out and about
[kelsey]
THIS IS AMERICA
{yianni}
stop being depressed
{alisa}
other
[shannon]
close and far
{frank}
islands where no islands should go
[cassie]
eating knowledge
{colin}
my dm
[emily]
shoulder to the wheel
[brian]
nostalgic for fantasy
[nicole]
industry insider
{elle}
angry enviro
[matt]
never heard of miyazaki
[pirate dan]
are you reading this?
[olga]
distracted
[messiah dan]
messiah/believer
{max}
approach focus
[natalie]
wait a minute
[susan]
solitude
{greg}
manbeargreg
.:past:.
April 2002
May 2002
June 2002
July 2002
August 2002
September 2002
October 2002
November 2002
December 2002
January 2003
February 2003
March 2003
April 2003
May 2003
June 2003
July 2003
August 2003
September 2003
October 2003
November 2003
December 2003
January 2004
February 2004
March 2004
April 2004
May 2004
June 2004
July 2004
August 2004
September 2004
October 2004
November 2004
December 2004
January 2005
February 2005
March 2005
April 2005
May 2005
June 2005
July 2005
August 2005
September 2005
October 2005
November 2005
December 2005
January 2006
February 2006
March 2006
April 2006
May 2006
June 2006
July 2006
August 2006
September 2006
October 2006
November 2006
December 2006
January 2007
February 2007
March 2007
April 2007
May 2007
June 2007
July 2007
August 2007
September 2007
October 2007
November 2007
December 2007
January 2008
February 2008
March 2008
April 2008
May 2008
June 2008
July 2008
August 2008
September 2008
October 2008
November 2008
December 2008
January 2009
February 2009
March 2009
April 2009
May 2009
June 2009
July 2009
August 2009
September 2009
October 2009
November 2009
December 2009
January 2010
February 2010
March 2010
April 2010
May 2010
June 2010
July 2010
August 2010
September 2010
October 2010
November 2010
December 2010
January 2011
February 2011
March 2011
April 2011
May 2011
June 2011
July 2011
August 2011
November 2011
January 2012
February 2012
March 2012
June 2012
April 2013
May 2013
June 2013
.:skin:.
turtles! turtles! by araglas
(heavily modified by yours truly)