. . . . . entries for 31.10.05 . . . . .
A really incredible friend would find the song currently in my sidebar for me somewhere. It's so damn catchy. xD And Halloween-related, of course. O German eighties pop, how I love thee.
Susan's house was fun. :) Her home is good for spinning, collapsing, and wandering.
Yon iPod mark II is dead. Didn't take very long. I am unimpressed. -.- Maybe when the roll of film currently in the family camera is shot up, we can make a voyage to Crossgates. . . ugh.
In other news, happy all-souls night. :P I'm so Wiccan I'll cast a curse on you. Rar!
I am actually a crypto cowboy for Halloween and you know what, I intended to write an explanatory paragraph about said crypto cowboy, but I cannot bring myself to do so. More later, maybe. I am going to go bang my head against the wall now. Goodbye. -.-
. . . . . entries for 30.10.05 . . . . .
Amazing things courtesy Ellen O'Connell.
And one final testament to my trip to Washington.
It's a nice little house. I don't see myself moving in ever, but hey, funny things happen. If ever I take up residence, I might paint it chartreuse.
A few shots from around and about D.C.:
The national botanic garden is a lovely place, but no Biodome.
The DID kids wandering up to the capital on the beginning of a day that ended in many bleeding feet. Ow.
. . . hey now, I thought that was a really good picture. :P That's Justice, seated outside of the Supreme Court, in case you can't tell with the funky angle.
And just one more after this. . .
A few more random shots from the Patton group! This is what happens when people drop the ball on leadership:
No, really - all the ribbons fall down and then someone has to roll them up again. What a drag. (That's Zailin, though I have no idea if that's how you spell his name, freakin' out with the leadership ribbon. He is an awesome guy.) Anyway, this is Andy (our vice president from Florida) being *exceedingly* lazy on the last day, next to Justin on the floor:
And this, my friends, is me and my fellow member of the press standing to either side of our Madam President, Melissa, who hails from Brooklyn, New York. Sweet revenge for shooing us away all evening!
Now for the group shots. There are three of them, of the DID folk in various moods and modes of dress. First, the Patton group in a formal mode of dress, which we were stuck in for most of the week:
Now the Patton group in a casual mode of dress:
I just *glow* in that picture. It's bizarre. Anyway, now for the gang who went to the Lithuanian Embassy, standing outside of same:
Lithuania is awesome. Just so you know.
And now! On with the defense, intelligence, and the diplomacy! Here are pictures of myself and Raina, my Capital Hill wanderin'-buddy, sitting on the doorstep of quite a few senators:
Note the various apparati for receiving signals.
Note me being paranoid about the various apparati for receiving signals.
These are from Colin's Halloween get-together-that-ended-up-not-being-a-dungeon. xD We were positively fantastic, even if David kept on shooting me. Grr.
(As if you needed proof that I don't know how to hold a gun.)
Colin did that by accident. I think it came out quite nicely.
Not only do these pictures feature me and/or my cat, they also feature other random parts of my lovely home and lifestyle, such as: my new couch and my down-filled robe.
That is my fish. His name is Brucie Jr., and he is the most agreeable creature in my house.
Pictures cometh! Prepare thyselves. First, I'll do the random around-Erin's-house pictures. xD
My Indian friends and acquaintances (and people who have Indian friends and acquaintances) may be interested in this little treasure.
. . . . . entries for 29.10.05 . . . . .
Take my Quiz on QuizYourFriends.com!
Some folks are just easily amused.
I just owned Civ's ass. 102%, bitch. What now?
. . . . . entries for 28.10.05 . . . . .
Ah. I slept so much this afternoon. There is no hope for sleep in the actual evening hours. Maybe in the grotesquely early morning. . .
| The Potion Maker |
|---|
| hot tamalerium is a cloudy, porous orange solid pulled from the saliva of a phoenix. |
| Yet another fun meme brought to you by rfreebern |
This is phenomenal. xD
I don't even care that I'm the boring Bowie. The issue at hand is everyone *else* taking this test - especially Charlie Hyland. The last question has something that made me think of him immediately. xD
Oooh I'm tired. o.o It feels good to have a weekend, which one can only have when one is, you know, in school in the first place. Yaaaaawn.
. . . . . entries for 27.10.05 . . . . .
New geek chatspeak, as defined by the Latin nerd community (use or perish):
MH, mehercule or OMD, o maximi dei = OMG, oh my god
RMV, rideo magna voce = LOL, laughing out loud
STIA, sile tu ipse, asine = STFU, shut the fuck up
n0vu5 = n00b
RIHS, rideans in humo sum = ROFL, rolling on floor laughing
!!!!!!IIII!I!!!III!!IIIIIIunusunus = !!!!!!1111!1!!!111!!111111oneone
Edit: Wait, wait, we're not done yet.
BTR, brevi tempore reddeam = BRB, be right back
IED, iam excedere debeo = G2G, got to go
3xsc1ssum = pwn3d
QIT, quid in Tartaro = WTF, what the fuck (or WTH, what the hell, more precisely)
3xsc1ssum, n0vu5! RMV! xD
So. The White Sox won the world series. Good for them. Now I know why Charlie wasn't online last night. xD He just may be straight after all.
I think I meant to blog about something else, but I don't remember what. Maybe it'll occur to me?
First day back went surprisingly well. Tomorrow will be worse. I have a hell of a lot of work to do tonight. If I had any plans for this weekend, rest assured that I do not have them anymore.
If someone wants me to go trick-or-treating with them, they should, like. . . tell me. Yeah. Word. Otherwise I'll just be in costume during the school day. I might not be able to go out anyway, because my mom is pretty sure I'm going to drop dead any moment, and she wants me to be at home when this happens. I guess.
. . . furthermore, we should bake pumpkin seeds. Pumpkin seeds are delicious.
. . . . . entries for 26.10.05 . . . . .
I. Suck. At. Focusing.
ZOMG ZOMG ZOMG MAGISTRA MILLER IS PREGNANT!
EE!
I must write more, man. I just read over my Odyssey adaptation from eighth grade, and man, it's pretty bad, but it was really goddamn fun to write. xD Maybe if I have time to breathe ever again. Yeah.
Neal: yo
are u like deadly sick
Me: not really. I'm probably coming back tomorrow.
Neal: lol oh man i feel bad for u
missing 8 days ur goiung to die
from over stress
Me: probably.
that being said, I probably won't be coming to debate, MUN, or JSA for a while.
I've actually had mono for a month or so, I was just recently diagnosed.
Neal: i dont think ankur caress anymore
he only cares if i or williams or zhou doesnt come
Me: what team spirit he has. -.-
Neal: lol
hes my homie
Me: don't be too surprised if I just sort of. . . don't come back to debate, even after catching up.
anyway.
dinner.
later.
Neal: wait hold up
why would u quit debate
u dont emjoy it?
enjoy
if u have a problem with ppl like me who spread and stuff u can just stick with local tourneys
thats what u like best anyway
but dont quit after u catch up
argh if u quit debate and then karma will hurt u
the debate team likes u and i speak for everyone
Ha. Ha. Ha. xD
. . . . . entries for 25.10.05 . . . . .
Colin called me yesterday and told me he was going to make me curry and bring it to me, due to my mono-stricken state. I told him not to. This, like arguing with a parent, is an acute exercise in futility.
So he brought me curry. He is a good lad. I particularly enjoyed the rice pudding with pistachios. I just hope I catch wind of it when he gets terribly ill sometime so I can do something nice for him - damned if I know *what,* but *something.*
I am going to try to go back to school Thursday. I feel like I'm in some sort of state of unreality - a questionably chilly summer, perhaps. I need to get back to academia. I am lost without it. Lost, lost!
It's fucking freezing. o.O My father seems intent on fattening me up before roasting me. That is okay, I suppose. I can feel my ribs below my collarbone, which is really disconcerting; one should not be able to feel one's ribs there.
I wish I'd started watching I, Claudius several years before now. The life lessons contained within could've actually been worthwhile at that point. Now they're just something to be bitter about. Play the fool, says Postumus. A little late, jackass. God. -.-
Translating Orpheus and Eurydice. Woo.
Dad is off picking up my homework and so forth for this week. I slept 'til half past noon. o.O I have not slept that long in a considerable while. It is thinkable, therefore, that I really needed it.
. . . . . entries for 24.10.05 . . . . .
We're sexy, sexy people.
Damn right.
To argue with a parent is to act with a futility most nearly matched by that exercised by a fish flopping about on the deck of a ship, slapping the planking with its fins as if they could pierce the salted-down wood, as if the deadened sap would move again and flow like blood from the little tiny scratches inflicted by the poor little bastard's scales.
Writing overly-detailed, run-on sentences is my way of punching walls.
Edit: I invite the inspired to write a better badly-written metaphor for parent-child conflict. Go on, do it. You know you want to.
Brief note: feeling somewhat better, am not going to school tomorrow, though. Probably staying home Wednesday, too. Out of gym class for a couple of weeks.
Colin called and offered to make me curry, or rather declared that he would do so and there is nothing I can do about it. Due to screwy scheduling on the part of drama club, he is going through production week hell for about four weeks straight. I told him to chill out, but I should know better by now. This is Colin we're talking about. o.O
Man. I have listened to Sympathy for the Devil and Heroin Is So Passe *way* too much today.
. . . . . entries for 23.10.05 . . . . .
Apparently everyone in the world has been sick lately. It makes me feel a little better, if I clear my mind of everything else that is wrong. o.O
I swear to God I am trying to focus on my goddamn APUSH. -.-
I think attempts at sleep will result in crying, which is why I'm still here. Blaaah.
At NYLFDID, our crisis simulation involved Nigeria, Iran, the states, Russia, Britain, Libya, Niger, Holland, blah, blah, and blah.
Okay. So, that's a lot of countries. A lot of shit was going down - four stolen nuclear warheads, a potential civil war in Nigeria, Al Qaeda splinter cells all over the place, the theft of 1.3 trillion dollars from the U.S. government by cyberterrorists, and some other stuff I'm not remembering. This is fine and well, but something is missing.
What the fuck happened to Asia?
Okay. So the lack of Asia in the simulation was bugging the hell out of me. The guy who wrote the simulation came in to brief us on this stuff, and I was first struck by the Asia-gap somewhere in his speech. So I got up to ask him about it. It was the only question I asked a plenary speaker all week: "Does the United States have any interests in Asia that could affect our decision?"
And this guy answered in the most assholish, condescending way possible: "You'll have to read the simulation in your book for that." A brief explanation; he's an Africa expert, not an Asia expert, he says; a token mention of North Korea still being a nuclear threat; and the rest of Asia failed to exist, even in the book, which I looked over later.
"Nice try," he said as I stepped away from the mic, after thanking him, according to our tidy little NYLF rules of decorum. I felt more like killing him than thanking him.
So why did the lack of Asia piss me off so much? Well, think about it. Is it *ever* the case that things are only going terribly wrong in one part of the world? If all this havoc was being wrought in Africa, don't you think some, oh, Indonesian terrorists would take it to mind to bust a move too?
Never, *ever* does only one thing go wrong. My life is proof of this.
What the fuck happened to Asia?
Forgot to mention: got B's in three of my classes on the interims. Okay, so this shouldn't be a big deal, but it's Erin we're talking about, so it is. (Stupid Erin.)
Like I really needed another thing to be depressed about.
I actually told myself I wouldn't blog about my horrible mood because I kind of figured it'd just sound really, y'know, typical teenaged emo. But I wonder if depression is a symptom of mono, or if it's just because I'm really tired, or because I am faced with unusually bad grades/a perceived inability to improve those grades anytime soon due to downtime from school/a terminal lack of boyfriend/whatever the hell.
Anyway. I feel guilty about hovering on the interwebs instead of trying to sleep or look at homework. My head hurts, possibly from trying not to be weepy, because that's, well, pretty dumb.
I wish I could fix it.
Not going to school tomorrow due to mono. Should be trying to sleep. Want to talk to Charlie, damn it. Am bothered by us never getting to talk anymore. Mopey. Sulky. Sick.
Blah.
Home. Yup. That's about it.
. . . . . entries for 22.10.05 . . . . .
"By the way, Charlie, Cassie says this: Charlie, I won't shoot you. I probably wouldn't shoot you even if you were a son of a bitch to Erin. Just. . . don't be that way. Because if you were, I'd probably yell at you, and that'd be just as bad."
Cassie does not intend to scare Charlie with this comment.
Also, for those who aren't aware of it because they don't read my comments: I have mono, or did and am recovering from it and Cassie damn it stop reading over my shoulder rar.
"You still have your fever. You probably have it still."
So yeah. She commented on the last post about the mono thing, for the benefit of, oh, anyone who might've had close contact with my saliva in the past couple of months. :P Charlie, if you're feeling sleepy, consider getting bloodwork done.
I am at Cassie's and not at DID today because it is rainy and cold and generally miserable out, and the DID kids are all going to Arlington National Cemetary, wandering around the Smithsonians, and going on night tours of the monuments today. These are outdoor activities, so Cas suggested that I chill at her house so as not to become more ill than I already am. We also ate some really disgusting fried food at Ruby Tuesday's. It was fantastic because I've had salad every day since I got to DID.
The program has not quite met my expectations, for any number of reasons, but there were certainly good points along the way. One thing it has made me sure of: I definitely want to go into politics eventually, and I do *not* want to just stay in intel or the foreign service, if I go into either in the first place. Why? I want to make policy, not just carry it out. What good are foreign and civil servants if they carry out a sucky policy?
Not much, right? Mmmyep.
More on DID (if I feel like it) when I get home on Monday (if I am still alive). Do not be altogether shocked if I do not show up in school on Monday. I need rest like whoa. My roomies watch Sex and the City at eleven every night and leave the goddamn TV on so I can't sleep. UGH. -.-
One final note: as with CTY, teenagers who test well/are recommended by teachers for one of these damn youth leadership things are still teenagers, and are still hormone-driven and generally stupid. Stupid stupid stupid!
. . . . . entries for 17.10.05 . . . . .
And now I am off to school, and after that, Albany International; then the air, then BWI, then the loving arms of my sister, from which I shall eventually be transferred to the Defense, Intelligence, Diplomacy program of the National Youth Leadership Forum organization.
Power went out at my house during the night. Figures, it went out everywhere else yesterday. I think I packed everything. (Not really, I'm sure I forgot some vital little thing.)
I'll miss you crazy kids. :P Stay out of trouble.
. . . . . entries for 16.10.05 . . . . .
The founding fathers were crazy people. Maybe (pfaw!) I'm egocentric, or maybe they really are all a lot like different facets of my own beliefs with regards to the body politic. Hm.
Well, this I know. Jefferson was brilliant, but also kind of a ditzy, holier-than-thou jackass. Hamilton was a strong and admirable personality with a keen grasp on economics, but also the overbearing bastard son of a Scottish pedlar. Aaron Burr was perhaps the least naive of the founding fathers, but also a waffling, disloyal, pompous son of a bitch. Madison was reserved, scholarly and unspeakably knowledgable about politics, and also a paranoid, whiny, weak little wallflower.
I love history.
I feel very organized today. I have a to-do list and everything. It's kinda gross. :P Ah well.
. . . . . entries for 15.10.05 . . . . .
Phenomenal.
. . . if you had a chibi-Erin. How would you dress it up? What would you do with it? What would it say to you?
I found myself underwhelmed by the PSAT. I went in all like, man, I love standardized tests, I rock at them, but it was just so boring. o.o I guess I was remembering the SAT IIs and the AP exam (o Hirota!), and I completely forgot how miserable *real* standardized testing is. Blaaah.
Note: pumpkin spice frappucinos = delicious. Like Kurbiseis, only less German and more readily accessable. Fantastic? Certainly.
Max's party was fun, even if we were Australia, and even if Jason is a little weird. Baaaah. I didn't destroy anything this time, which I suppose is a positive development.
I wore my pajamas backwards today, so I was walking around with a button on my ass. Pretty hot, I know. They fit better this way, and I feel like such a rebel. Maybe I'll always wear my pants backwards from now on. :P
Fashionista 64% Tastefulness, 58% Originality, 50% Deliberateness, 27% Sexiness |
[Tasteful Original Deliberate Prissy] One is certain: you have great taste and plenty of ideas. You have clearly defined beliefs about what's good and what's bad in fashion but they are far from banal. Stylish and imaginative, you prefer to inspire admiration than to shock and you mostly succeed. Even if sometimes you'd like to have more courage to put on something absolutely outrageous you do great job in creating a unique look that others look up to. There is a possibility that you work in the fashion industry. If you don't, perhaps you should. The opposite style from yours is Bar Cruiser [Flamboyant Conventional Random Sexy]. All the categories: Fashion Enemy Bar Cruiser Kid Next Door Sex Bomb Hippie Kid Fashion Rebel Fashion Artist Catwalk God(ess) Librarian Sporty Hottie Office Master Uptown Girl/ Boy Brainy Student Movie Star Fashionista Glamorous Soul |
 |
My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:
|
| Link: The Fashion Style Test written by mari-e on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the 32-Type Dating Test |
. . . . . entries for 14.10.05 . . . . .
Sappy sappy sappy sappy
From now on, I may write a nightly haiku. I think it would be a good habit to get into.
popular culture
cannot teach you how to write
a three-line haiku
I am writing haikus as I converse with Brian. Here are a few of them. xD
rain of junior year
old revolutionaries
fall into my book
pattering noises
on the phone, and so i ask
typing? no; just rain.
some burn the bright ropes
that bound us, but i save them
to wear on a whim
feathers are dirty
you never know where they've been
dipped into black ink
Been poking around on Myspace asking my favorite music artists to be my friends. xD Oh man am I ever a loser. Oh well.
You know those stupid little icons that clutter forums and blogs and profiles everywhere? Well damn it, I really, really like this one.
I'm a sappy little goofball, yes. But it's a nice way to encapsulate my views on "modern beauty," even if it is a stupid little icon that clutters forums and blogs and profiles everywhere.
Erin's perverse logic of the day: stay awake now, go to sleep "early" later so I can actually get a long, straight stretch of rest before PSATs.
So tired. >.<
A lot of people were wearing really cool shirts in school today. Greg was wearing his Flying Spaghetti Monster shirt, Jenny had Music + Science = Sexy, Ian was sporting a lovely Zelda motif, and of course there was me with my bright pink Geek is Chic. 'Twas a fantastic shirt day.
Tomorrow = PSATs. Imagine my joy! I have somewhere more fun to be after that, though, so it'll be okay.
Also, from yesterday: got my CS1 grade, finally. I thought I failed, but I got an A. I giggled over that a lot, and got a lollipop from the nice lady at the registrar's office. Yay.
And now I'm going to post another passage from the Scarlet Letter. You're free to shriek and run away.
"This vocal organ was in itself a rich endowment; insomuch that a listener, comprehending nothing of the language in which the preacher spoke, might still have been swayed to and fro by the mere tone and cadence. Like all other music, it breathed passion and pathos, and emotions high or tender, in a tongue native to the human heart, wherever educated. Muffled as the sound was by its passage through the church-walls, Hester Prynne listened with such intentness, and sympathized so intimately, that the sermon had throughout a meaning for her, entirely apart from its indistinguishable words. These perhaps, if more distinctly heard, might have been only a grosser medium, and have clogged the spiritual sense. Now she caught the low undertone, as of the wind sinking down to repose itself; then ascended with it, as it rose through progressive gradations of sweetness and power, until its volume seemed to envelop her with an atmosphere of awe and solemn grandeur. And yet, majestic as the voice sometimes became, there was for ever in it an essential character of plaintiveness. A loud or low expression of anguish,--the whisper, or the shriek, as it might be conceived, of suffering humanity, that touched a sensibility in every bosom! At times this deep strain of pathos was all that could be heard, and scarcely heard, sighing amid a desolate silence. But even when the minister's voice grew high and commanding,--when it gushed irrepressibly upward,--when it assumed its utmost breadth and power, so overfilling the church as to burst its way through the solid walls, and diffuse itself in the open are,--still, if the auditor listened intently, and for the purpose, he could detect the same cry of pain. What was it? The complaint of a human heart, sorrow-laden, perchance guilty, telling its secret, whether of guilt or sorrow, to the great heart of mankind; beseeching its sympathy or forgiveness,--at every moment,--in each accent,--and never in vain! It was this profound and continual undertone that gave the clergyman his most appropriate power."
-Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter, ch. XXII: The Procession.
. . . . . entries for 13.10.05 . . . . .
Natalie and Jen Burke are awesome, awesome people for bringing my mother flowers. Yes. <3
. . . but yes, a black collar. Silk, for preference, or maybe leather if you're feeling uncreative. Just don't damage the merchandise.
Just saw the first episode of I, Claudius. This is good, because it was on my to-do list for my day off. xD Man. I have quite a few hours of that to watch yet. I am led to think about how the dialogue would be spoken in Latin from time to time.
Now I must do my monstrous amount of homework for tomorrow! Wish me luck. :P
I am tempted to post another passage from The Scarlet Letter, but instead suffice it to say that god damn it I'd really like this book if I didn't have to talk about it in class. -.- Man.
"Hester Prynne, gazing steadfastly at the clergyman, felt a dreary influence come over her, but wherefore or whence she knew not; unless that he seemed so remote from her own sphere, and utterly beyond her reach. One glance of recognition, she had imagined, must needs pass between them. She thought of the dim forest, with its little dell of solitude, and love, and anguish, and the mossy tree-trunk, where, sitting hand in hand, they had mingled their sad and passionate talk with the melancholy murmur of the brook. How deeply they had known each other then! And was this the man? She hardly knew him now! He, moving proudly past, enveloped, as it were, in the rich music, with the procession of majestic and venerable fathers; he, so unattainable in his worldly position, and still more so in that far vista of his unsympathizing thoughts, through which she now beheld him! Her spirit sank with the idea that all must have been a delusion, and that, vividly as she had dreamed it, there could be no real bond betwixt the clergyman and herself. And thus much of woman was there in Hester, that she could scarcely forgive him,--least of all now, when the heavy footstep of their approaching Fate might be heard, nearer, nearer, nearer!--for being able so completely to withdraw himself from their mutual world; while she groped darkly, and stretched forth her cold hands, and found him not."
-Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter, chapter XXII: The Procession.
So here are some *amazing* pictures of my sister and me before homecoming. I did her makeup. She is beautiful; she cries stars and bleeds black.
. . . . . entries for 12.10.05 . . . . .
You know how there are a bunch of heretics listed on my shirt in the sidebar? Here's that one at the bottom which everyone was rather unsure of. It just occurred to me to google it, and voila. Interesting.
Ugh. I'm such a conformist.
Ugh. I'm getting a goddamn myspace. I can't help it - all the cool emos are doing it! MUST! BLEED! SAME! EYELINER! AS! EVERYONE! ELSE!
Just a little bit freaking awesome.
Today started off really bad. I was in a terrible, terrible mood. It ended up well, though, which is all that matters. :P
I have tomorrow off! Thank you Judaism. <3
. . . . . entries for 11.10.05 . . . . .
I appear to have a bruise on the lower left edge of my right shoulderblade. How the hell did that get there? o.O
The song currently in my sidebar is like my life. Cheeky, vaguely indie, and filled with debate-ish, philosophical prospects. A senior told me she didn't understand the reflection she was supposed to write on a play after school today, and I asked her what play it was. When she said No Exit, I swear I literally cackled in delight. I'm kind of a nerd.
So I am *not* going to debate tonight (wouldn't be doing anything if I went anyway) because I have a monster chem lab due tomorrow. Woooooo.
I am also really goddamn busy - I have both my first debate tournament of the year and my first Junior Statesmen of America conference ever on the weekend of the 29th (LD) and 30th (JSA). There are a great many acronyms in my life - NHS, JSA, LDD, MUN, APUSH, SCC, AU, and so on into infinity.
Maybe I should take it easy. o.o
. . . . . entries for 10.10.05 . . . . .
Es ist eine kleine, entfernte Insel, in dem Herz von der See. Ich werde die einzige Person auf der Insel sein. Ich geb’ zu, dass ich diese Strafe verdiene. Ich habe etwas schrecklich machen, und ich muss meine Abgaben abführen. Ich bedauere nichts; ob ich es nicht haben machte, dann würdte ich keine Rühe finden. Mein Schicksal wird rühig sein, aber einsam.
German writing assignments rock. :P
Woo! I finished the space race! And I kicked ass! Go me! I think I may be done with Civ forever now. :P Now I do homework. I slept a lot today, so I should have no trouble getting it done. I also read The Scarlet Letter ahead like a good little Moorinator. I'd like the book if we didn't have to talk about it. >.o
Interims are going to be really interesting this year. o.O
Talking to Neal makes me giggle.
5:40PM
Neal: hey will u to manchester if we have room , we need 2 more ppl or so to make it a school sponsered trip
so
me: no, man, I'm going to CBA.
Neal: why?
me: because I want to be with the novices for their first local tournament.
Neal: lol im letting my good friend novice run my cases so i cant really be there
hes starting Varsity i think
me: that'll be interesting.
Neal: hell own
i told he has three options
1) win novice 2) prolly place jv 3) varsity uncertain
he hasnt decided yet
i ran brainards cases many times last year
i simplified the rhetoric
to make it local tourney friendly
but ran his ideas
whatdo u think he should do
5:45PM
?
varsity novice or jv
me: I'd let him go novice his first time.
but it's his choice.
Neal: kk
me: I think it'd be best to experience each of the levels, even if varsity is the ultimate destination.
Neal: first novice tourneys are so illegit im worried about it , like thats how aditya won his case writing is the worst thing ive ever seen
like i dont want our novices becoming aditya
me: ah, I see. xD
Neal: he won his first tourney and he dropped 0-5 at yale
me: I won my bids pretty early too.
so it could be that I'm completely terrible as well. :P
Neal: lol no ive seen ur cases
plus u helped me with my cases
and ur defintaley not terrible
u beat ardevan and hes a legit national circuit debater
ur problem is u refuse help
which is ridiclious b/c every varsity debater has been coached
me: it's my problem, though, not yours. :P
Neal: yes it is but i dont see anything wrong in a coach
a coach is like a tutor
5:50PM
they point u in the right direction
u do the work
me: I have never had a tutor, either.
a lot of people I know have; a few have recommended that I get one.
but it's just that I prefer getting places on my own steam, even if it's harder or unusual or puts me at a disadvantage.
it feels more honest to me.
Neal: lol its just making life more dificult but i respect that
i believe in utilizing your resources b/c thatsa what u do in real life
CEOs dont know shit they just know how to find ppl that do
me: I plan to be one of the people that knows their shit.
as opposed to one of the people who uses them.
Neal: haha and u want to be a politician???
me: hey Neal.
do you know about the position called Chair of the Chiefs of Staff in our government?
Neal: no
but im sure to get there u have to use ppl
me: it's not elected.
interestingly enough, however.
the man who recently retired from the position had been there for thirty years.
Neal: your point?
politics = using ppl no matter what level your at
me: my point is that a large part of politicking is appealing to a very large group of stupid people.
that part, at least, is avoidable some of the time.
Neal: nope
not avoidable
ever
me: we all have our beliefs, Neal.
Neal: politics is dishonest to some extent in nature
its not an honest field
me: you can get pretty far with honesty.
Neal: only failed politicians are honest
me: maybe not in politics as such.
but it's a good. . . pre-political policy.
Neal: do u know we havent had a single honest president
me: because it certainly endears one to people.
5:55PM
Neal: if u tell the truth u cant compete with ppl who lie
me: that depends on a lot of things.
I know you will try like hell to convince me otherwise.
but I believe what I believe and like all fanatics, I will not be told otherwise.
sorry. :P
Neal: lol i just think politica not equal to u
politics
u should be a philosophy prof
or a lawyer even
but not a politician
me: any good politician should be one of those two things first anyway, I think.
in order to deal in weighty moral issues, one should have a grasp of what morality is, at its base level.
even if it gets mocked up a lot along the way.
Neal: morality doesnt exist
its a bunch of Bs
and i can defintaley beat u on this one
anyone who runs morality as a value is fucked if they debate me
me: if morality doesn't exist, Neal, what does?
what *important* does?
Neal: morality is not universal
me: right, but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist.
Neal: doesnt exist
b/c whats moral to u is not moral to me if our moralities conflict one doesnt trumo
trump
me: morality is personal.
again.
what is real if not what is personal to us?
more existentialism for you, Neal.
morality is what makes us human.
Neal: right but then ur equating morality to ideals
which isnt what it is
me: what is it then?
Neal: it doesnt exist
thats my point
6:00PM
me: now we're just getting into semantics.
Neal, this is not a debate round.
I believe what I beleive.
*believe
no one is judging.
me: lol right
but erin
ur
talking about how politicians
should be mora;
l
which is contradictory to ur perception of morality
b/c u just said its personal
me: read the Republic, or heard about its general contents?
Neal: but if its personal
how can u judge ppl on it
if their personal beliefs are diff than urs
me: welcome to the world of the GOP, Neal. xD
whoever's in power uses their morality to govern.
Neal: no i mean u just contradicted yourself
me: and it sucks.
I am kind of sort of libertarian in some of my beliefs because of the suckage of the GOP.
right.
Neal: u cant judge ppl on morals
its not something u can do
me: but people do.
Neal: but they cant
me: and *that* is politics.
Neal: wrong
me: I don't think you're quite cut out to run for president either, Neal.
Neal: politics is graft
yea im not cut out only for one reason
race
me: you wouldn't be you if you weren't Indian. you draw so much of your personality from it. xD
Neal: lol no im good at poltics
i dont mind corruption and i can bend rules and i know how to appeal to ppl
me: I think the greatest possible way to bend the rules in your favor is to work through them.
perfectly, with a smile on your face.
Neal: no
me: again, Neal, don't bother arguing. xD
Neal: lol i will debate you on thus
this resolved
: politicians can exist in an uncorrupted state
and u will lose if u affirm
me: only because of the word "politicians."
it has a negative connotation.
Neal: fine
policy makers
we will use that word
me: now we have a problem with the plural.
Neal: and il still beat u
fine a policy maker
me: because only *one* policy maker can exist in an uncorrupted state.
Neal: il still win
me: Plato would so eat you.
like.
he'd *hate* you. xD
Neal: plato was an asshole
he dint kno wwhat he was talking about
just pulled stuff out of his ass
brb
. . . and it unfailingly ends up on a "X the classical western thinker sucks" note. xD Man! I love talking to Neal.
"This is going to turn into the movie 'Threesome.' I can just tell. Only Jesus'd have to be gay and I'd have to be turned into Stephen Baldwin.
And no one wants that."
~Dan Earle
Civilization is really fantastic - not civilization, but Civilization, Civ II, the video game, in which I recently was at war with the Americans as fundamentalist Greece. I am back to being democratic now, but am still Greece, and could totally take the States down anytime I wanted. Yeah. Bitch. What now?
. . . . . entries for 8.10.05 . . . . .
Cassie found this when she Googled my name. I think it's pretty funny. xD
| You Passed the US Citizenship Test |
 Congratulations - you got 8 out of 10 correct! |
I consider myself pwned. Honestly. I'm in APUSH. This is disastrous.
Disclaimer: absolutely no one is to take the song currently in my sidebar as a threat of violence against my fellow students or the staff at Niskayuna High School. Got that? Good. o.O Geez.
So people are theoretically coming over in a couple of hours for pictures and junk. If you have nowhere to go before the dance, or no one to go with, come to my house. There shall be a light sprinkling of tomfoolery. Mmyes.
Remember, kids, the theme is Mardi Gras. Yes, it's sick and wrong, but it's our school. What did you expect?
| Advanced Global Personality Test Results
|
personality tests by similarminds.com
Trait snapshot:
expressive, open, self revealing, loves large parties, loud, social, outgoing, does not like social isolation, assertive, social chameleon, positive, always busy, likes to fit in, likes to stand out, enjoys leadership, brutally honest, trusting, optimistic, desires attention, dominant, aggressive, attachment prone, wants to be understood, realistic
Okay, so except for liking big parties, it's more-or-less true. It might have gotten a more assertive aspect of me than I normally walk around in, though. Hm.
. . . . . entries for 7.10.05 . . . . .
Haaa. If you want to look at some funny embittered indie stuff, check out the merchandise at Cat and Girl (the cute link in an earlier post). Capitalists do it ruthlessly! (The hoodie is pretty friggin' awesome too.)
Ooooh this is really cute. xD
It may just be that I will die in my twenties after all.
Does it bother anyone else that I have a perfect average in precalc?
Uh. Anyway. It's the weekend. I am eating, then I should be cleaning my room. And I should read The Scarlet Letter *now,* so I won't have to later. Gah.
Got my homecoming ticket today, so now I am kind of obligated to go even if I would rather stay home and vegetate with my sister or something. I want to go in someone's company, so I won't be, like. . . wandering around alone for half an hour, with all the cool kids laughing at me. (We know how much I care about them cool kids and their giggles.)
. . . . . entries for 6.10.05 . . . . .
Why do I say "wicked" so much? o.O
Mm. . . hot chocolate.
When it comes down to it, I am not a very difficult woman to please.
I got home, went upstairs, fell asleep, and woke up, I dunno - a couple of hours ago at the most, relocated to sort-of talk to my mom about my day at school, then drifted off again. I have also been sneezing a lot. I hope I do not have mono like Elle. It is probably just a coldish thing.
My mother and godmother, Jane, were laughing about the avian flu just now. We're weird people. Bush is planning to quarantine people who get it, which is against the Constitution and he knows it. It's funny. How is it that people are still supporting Bush?
La. Cas is coming home tomorrow. Sohail was the only kid at the debate meeting tonight. I feel guilty - it would've been so cool to have been at debate without Alex and Neal and Boyang and Anjana and everyone else barking at one another. Sohail does not bark, not anymore. Now Sohail is relatively sensible (and actually using his impressive intellect productively instead of just being bitchy with it), and is probably my favorite kid on the team. How friggin' weird is that? Baaah.
Still do not have Founding Brothers. I hope it hurries up and gets here because I kind of, like, need it. Yeah. And now I have to do math and. . . art homework? o.O Sketchy sketchy. I don't know where I'm going to set up my still-life, because my cat is Satan and I need dramatic lighting.
In short: uggy buggy.
. . . . . entries for 5.10.05 . . . . .
Charlie is probably not coming to homecoming. Blarg.
I hate Mrs. Moore. -.-
. . . . . entries for 4.10.05 . . . . .
I just deleted a lot of blog clutter. I left my favorites, though. If precalc were blog clutter, I would delete it five hundred times.
Double-you. Tea. Eph. Eighty-one degrees at the high school tomorrow. >.o IT IS OCTOBER GOD DAMN IT. IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE WARM LIKE, LAST WEEKEND, NOT NOW. Urgrbrble.
In other news: I have a lot of candy in my room. I tend to forget about it and not eat it, so it just sort of. . . hovers around. Kinda weird. Jellybeans and dark chocolate and lollypops, o my! (I blame my friends and family. I never buy candy for myself, they get it for me. Curse you!)
Just got back from Youth Court, the proceedings of which are confidential, duuuh. I cut off my previous entry because I had to run off to it. It was at seven. Go figure.
And now I have stuff to do, like homework and preparation-for-impending-sisterly-visit. This week is so messed, it is incredible.
So I don't know when my Youth Court case is. I think it might be at six because Stroebel is nuts, but I'm not sure. Woo.
Went to see The Corpse Bride with Natalie today. It's a really *cute* movie, in spite of my uneasiness with Burton.
. . . . . entries for 3.10.05 . . . . .
So I need to compose two songs in midi tech this year: the Cas Must Avoid Bill song, to which there are already lyrics, and the LD Debate Love Song, which I was inspired to write this evening. It is very terrible. A few lines, which are probably the lead-in to the refrain and part of the refrain itself, go:
Then he told me all about his kritik on the aff,
Got picked up twice back at Yale, what a laugh. . .
I knew we'd go far
At the 1AR,
We're made to cross-apply!
Let's talk about topicality!
Cross-examine me!
Our brightline's drawn in the sky. . .
I love my LD debate guy!
Isn't it awful? I love it. xD Woo! I think it might to be an Avril Lavigne-ish tune, which is silly, but it just fits *so* well with the absolute horror of the thing.
I may well be allowed to teach the novices at debate tonight. Woo!
Get me one of these, damn it. :P
So yeah, I don't think I ever told anyone - I want to be a Secret Admirer for Halloween. Like, from Crypto, not elementary school. I already have a lot of the costume, which is what's so totally sweet about it. I need the bandana and T-shirt (black with red question marks both), but I already have a black trenchcoat, cowboy hat, pants, et cetera. It's so nerdy, it makes me smile.
I am playing video games because I am lazy.
You scored as Lawful Good. A lawful good person acts as a good person is expected or required to act. They are dedicated to upholding both what is right and what is set down in law.
What is your Alignment? created with QuizFarm.com |
That may explain why all of my roleplaying characters are both totally psycho and really really *good people* at heart. o.O
| Your Hidden Talent |
 Your natural talent is interpersonal relations and dealing with people. You communicate well and are able to bring disparate groups together. Your calming presence helps everything go more smoothly. People crave your praise and complements. |
. . . pffffft! xD
So Laura has a new boyfriend who is like a male me with facial hair? Or something? Who runs cross country? I think this is kind of funny. xD Maybe it's just me.
It feels fucking *weird* to have tomorrow off. Why did we have to have school today? o.O . . . whatever.
. . . . . entries for 2.10.05 . . . . .
| You are a Social Liberal (60% permissive) and an... Economic Liberal (28% permissive) You are best described as a:
Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid Also: The OkCupid Dating Persona Test |
Interesting.
One last note before I shuffle off to read The Scarlet Letter: it's going to be wicked hot tomorrow. It's October god fucking damn it! Why couldn't it have been warm *yesterday?* Baaaaah.
Oh well. Anyone up for pushing dress code? xD
To whom it may concern: Erin's junior prom is on May 13th. It's a funny little date, isn't it?
Homecoming is this Friday, I think. I have no idea if I'm going, or if anyone is going, and I severely doubt that Charlie is coming but he *might* be and I can hope, damn it. xD
I do not know when Snowball is yet. Probably January or February sometime. Anyone want to adopt Vera for a night or two around the time of the event? She really wants to come.
I also need to plan the funky dress-up days for this year. Gender bender day is going to be school-sanctioned this year - har! I love Visibility. That leaves Naughty Catholic Schoolgirl Day, Faerie Princess Day, Technicolor Puke Day, Sleepy Day, and whatever else I am not thinking of. I think an Out-Of-Character Day would be entertaining, especially given that I have no clue what I would wear. Everything is in character to me, or at least, that's what it seems to me. Maybe a high ponytail, but other than that I'm seriously blanking. xD
Suggestions, people!
So. A few notes on Binghamton:
Venus was bright last night.
Dan Earle is rather a lot more tolerant than Charlie Hyland when it comes to cold hands.
. . . rhinestones?
I have excellent taste - that, and I'm a lucky bitch. (You pinky swore, Daniel. <3)
Kate color-coordinates roses. Let's spend a moment talking about Kate - I love Kate. *Everyone* should love Kate. Kate is friggin' awesome.
I actually love pretty much all the theatre kids who were there last night. It was a fine old time, indeed.
Tigers are cute.
Group hug!
I'll shoot the egg off of *your* poodle's head, if you know what I'm talkin' about.
That four-hour nap may not have been entirely worth it. xD
That's a pretty square rip, actually.
Vera - post that goddamn picture. It *proves* I am AC. :P
Decker is such a pervert. And he didn't even come to the show to see me. That bastard.
And I am forgetting things, but that's okay - you get the idea. It was. . . weird, like always, but better. I miss them crazy kids. Ah well. I'm pretty much used to it by now. It reminds me of The Good Earth, actually - the main character is eventually sated of his love, and is delighted because he can get back to tending his land without distraction. This seems like a bizarre idea to us romantic Westerners, but in a way, if I didn't at least sort of accept that worldview, I'd implode.
I just hope I'll be able to talk myself out of that worldview in a couple of years.
Okay! Back. Now you get yet another random tangent before I actually say anything about the main body of what happened in Binghamton. xD
Even more random: I am in a Strokes mood and I am not sure why. Joan Jett, too. Maybe just old punk rock-ish stuff in general. . .
Moving on: I had this funny dream last night. I have funny dreams pretty frequently lately, but this one was kind of like a bad roleplaying game, and I was the protagonist, which was pretty exciting. The plot was murky, but it went something like this - see if you can catch the nerd/gaming/Shermanesque motifs which appear.
It started off with a newscast announcing that some South Asian city - geographically in the region of Bombay or something, they showed it on a map - had been swallowed up by a gigantic, slimy squid monster from the sea. (Hint hint: It's a little Lovecraftian.) Meanwhile, there was general havoc being wrought on the home front - a number of bizarre monsters, including at least three breeds of mutant deathmongering horses, were running rampant here in Niskayuna.
So there was called a meeting of the minds - a sort of monster ass-kicking squad, if you will, which seemed to consist mostly of my friends, which are mostly RPG nerds. I supposed their expertise would come in handy in this ridiculous scenario. So before I went to the meeting - which was in a room suspiciously reminiscent of a combination of Hirota-Morris' classroom and the briefing room on board the landing pod in the beginning of FFVIII - I tried to call Shannon up to tell her about it, or warn her about what was going on, or something. And I could not remember her number. It was ridiculous - I spent a good twenty minutes, in the dream, flipping out because I was incapable of dialing my best friend's phone number.
Anyway. Eventually I got to the meeting, and at least three people I expected to be there - Shannon included - were absent. I feared the worst. I was briefed on the various freakish things running around, including the three breeds of horses, one of which, I think, was winged. From that point forward, though, I think I woke up or something because I don't remember the events too distinctly.
It was still a wicked awesome dream. :P
Next post I'll mention actual Binghamton, show-related, Charlie-related things. I swear.
Okay. Got home, turned on my computer, pressed ye olde "play" button on iTunes, and Mission Complete! from FFX-2 pops up. It is a most excellent song for this moment, because verily, a mission has been completed.
I'll start with the mission part, which was not the show or surrounding events in and of themselves but the return from them. A bunch of exits in Oneonta were closed today because of a walk/run of some kind. So: Vera, Ms. Ripson and I made it to McDonald's sure enough, and on time, but my mother was not there - weird, since she'd left really early. We went to Wendy's and discussed, in the 45 minutes or so we waited, what would happen if my mom failed to show up, since Vera had to get back for the matinee, which should (by now, quarter after two or so) be underway or beginning.
So, as it turned out, the exit-closing nonsense had been far more difficult on my mother's end of things. She spent an hour and a half, give or take, within six miles of our traditional meeting place, trying like hell to get there. Anyway. That phase done, we said hasty but polite goodbyes and were off - with pumpkins. I do not think Vera was too thrilled about the pumpkins.
My mom decided to drive in the wrong direction for a while, seeking an alternative route to the McDonald's in case such a fiasco was going to happen again. (It won't. It really, really won't.) Soooo we were cruising around on country roads for an additional half hour or so before we finally got back onto I-88. (We did not visit Schenevus, although it sounds like an interesting little country town full of Jewish people. However interested I was to test this hypothesis, I was more interested in getting home and taking a shower.) The mountain roads were pretty but obnoxious in their curviness and tendency to wander off in the wrong direction.
Then we actually drove on the highway for a while, uneventfully. Whoa!
Eventually we got to Cobleskill, where mother dear got something edible (and I got a jamocha shake from Arby's. . . mmm, tasty) and a hanging chrysanthemum basket, and gourds, and then we were off again. What a thrill, right? Right. I'll tell you why.
"Hey mom, want me to drive?"
". . . what do you think?"
"I think you don't want me to drive."
"You have to keep your shoes on when you're driving." (I am much opposed to the repression of foot-coverings, as you may or may not have noticed; I was walking around in stocking-feet at the pumpkin/mum/gourd shoppe moments before.)
"I'd put my shoes on to drive."
"Well. . . okay. I'll turn around up here so you'll be facing the right way."
So I drove on I-88, and didn't suck at it too bad. Mom got freaked out a little when some teenaged/twentysomething guy was merging into our lane creepily close, but that's what people in that age range do, ain't it? :P She was much more jumpy when we were within a fifteen mile radius of my home, during which time I actually had to drive, as opposed to steering with the cruise on.
That was the ride home and, for now, that's all she wrote. I must go shower. o.O Eeeeew gross Erin.
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:.
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.:skin:.
turtles! turtles! by araglas
(heavily modified by yours truly)