Dri in the Trees

This Guy Right Here

2010-11-02T01:29:00.003-04:00

(That title should be read with a Maine accent and a bunch of elbow nudging.)

He's good at listening.

Snowy appears courtesy of Estherocket. Mess and books are my own.

Holy Smokes!

2010-10-17T11:33:00.000-04:00

Today, I get to wear a lip ring for the first time in five months. So excited!

The Educational Wall

2010-10-12T03:28:00.001-04:00

I've been struggling a lot lately. The whole full course load, part-time job, running a club, social life, and sleep balance has been off.

Mostly, I've been missing a lot on the sleep, homework side of things; job and social life are managing and club running ain't going bad.

I've made some changes that are helping things balance out again, but in the midst of writing a paper on a book and film adaptation I really really like, I can't help but wonder if I've hit my wall. It's taking me hours on end to try and even finish the book, let alone start the paper. Before last week (when I eventually had two days of pure exhaustion that barely let me eat, let alone let me go to class) I was up to date on homework, readings, the works.

But now, I've hit my wall.

It happens every semester, no matter what. Always, just as October's got its rhythm. Now starts the hours of utter incompetence in front of a computer, of utter inability to motivate myself to do anything that'll help me earn my degree. Usually what happens is I get over it in a month or so (just in time to actually enjoy Thanksgiving break), something like this:

For the first time, however--in the midst of a full 16-credit load, a club, part-time job (for now), preparing for essentially two theses, GRE studying and grad school applications, a mere semester and a half away from earning the degree I've worked damn hard for -- I wonder if I've hit my real educational wall. Close to 16 years of schooling and a few more to go; I just don't know if I can.

Everything was fine and dandy when I wanted to write or go into publishing. Grad school was never an option I considered, unless of course, if I didn't get a job, in which case I'd apply to Columbia College's MFA program because what the hell else would I do? Work retail until a real job came around? It was a good plan, a plan that required 4 more years of classes that ruined books for me and made reading -- one of if not my favorite activities, ever -- a chore that I just could not get to.

I've cleaned rooms, done laundry, rearranged closets, knit, crocheted, drawn, everything I can do avoid this chore. I don't know how much more I'll take before I just want to hurl my books at the wall. I'm just not the schooling type. I love learning, but on my own time. I commend people who are about to spend another 5, 10, even 15 years of their lives in school to get to where they want to be, even if it's to win the scholarly-penis size competition. If possible, I'd fast forward through the next two and a half years (save the love and fun and character building heartache courtesy of friends, family, and loved one) and get this whole Real Life thing going. It was the reason I wanted to get out of Maryland, the reason I wanted an apartment last year, the reason I needed a job, the reason I've begun looking up entry-level salaries at various library institutions.

Dropping out is not an option, not this far in. I'd never live with myself if I gave up on something this important to me, something I loved this much (because despite my rant, I do love almost everything else about this school) this close to the end, and I'd hate to give up on my librarianism dreams, as well as hate myself for the debt my family and I would be stuck with if it were without reason.

Essentially, I just need to stop being a little bitch about it and suck it. the fuck. up.

But like I said, I'm putting it all back in balance. I've stopped limiting myself and my social ventures--attending shows out the wazoo in the next few months and shelled out the cash to visit a particular lady I seem to like a lot -- I've started purchasing books for class, and I finished unpacking. After Sunday I won't have an excuse to not read, or research, or write, or diagram, or whatever it is I have to do to get that large sheet of paper with the fancy script typeface that says Emerson deems me a competent person. Once I get there, it'll be fine.

(Edit: Reading through, there are a lot of I's My's and Want's in this post. GD I'm a selfish ho.)

National Coming Out Day

2010-10-12T00:48:00.004-04:00

Apparently it's National Coming Out Day (or at least it still was on the east coast until 48 minutes ago but we'll pretend it's still the 11th) and rather than getting into my own story of self-acceptance, I'll share this video.

Oh, Pansy Division. I love you guys.

Quote of the Day

2010-10-11T17:08:00.002-04:00

When I look at Chord [Overstreet], I for some reason only see Justin from Queer as Folk. And when I think of Justin from Queer as Folk, I think of Brian Kinney's face nuzzling between his sugar-free Twinkie nalgas. As it should be. So therefore, Chord's butt cheeks are destined to marry a look-alike Brian Kinney face and I won't except anything else!
--- Michael K. on Dlisted

Michael K, you always know what to say what's on my brain.

Sometimes. . .

2010-10-10T23:34:00.002-04:00

. . . the best way to deal with self-hate is cleaning up your (literal) messes. At least it's productive.

So, uh. . .

2010-08-22T03:26:00.003-04:00

I think I can safely conclude I don't really like blogging very much. Oh, well. I'll post sporadically over at the Juicebox as usual but this personal blog bidness ain't my cup of tea. Guess I'll just have to have real conversations with y'all!

Who knows, maybe once I want to avoid grad school applications, I'll come crawling back.

Summer Update

2010-06-04T11:34:00.004-04:00

I'm sure I've mentioned this, but I'm interning over at the Harvard Botany Libraries for the summer. So twice a week I get to pretend I'm a librarian. Yea!

Now, since I've never worked at any sort of library (for various reasons I was never hired) my decision to go into library science was a bit hasty. Who was to say I would actually enjoy it? After years and lots of money, would I still be as enthusiastic? So as I made my list of grad schools (an ever changing list, but there are a few that stay) I figured it would be a good idea to dip wmy toes with an internship.

I was originally looking at public libraries, such as the BPL, since my interest in kid's books pointed to the fact that a children's librarian would be a good route. But the more I thought the more I realized I'd rather save books and materials in a way, rather than hand them over to kids with chocolately hands. A bit more research lead me to the archivist specializations. Oh boy, that was a good find.

Long story short, I remembered the business cards I'd picked up during the Harvard Forest's visit to the Botany Libraries last summer. (How's that for subconscious planning?) A few e-mails and an interview later, and I had an internship. Considering my bad luck with getting (publishing) internships, I was surprised, but no less excited. Life was good.

Yesterday was my first day and like most first days I was nervous. I was nervous that I'd find that I don't like it. I was nervous that this might reveal some sort of aspect of being a reference librarian/archivist/whatever position I end up in the future that I wouldn't be able to deal with. And despite my very vocal love of tediousness, I was nervous I would be bored.

I had no need to be worried! Everyone is super nice and loves their job, and even the "boring" stuff (i.e. reshelving) was making me smile like a buffoon. My cheeks were hurting by 3 pm; I still had two hours to go.

There have been a few things that I just knew were right for me. There's a feeling that tells me I've made the right decision. It's the feeling I had when I visited Boston for the first time, and when I toured Emerson. It's the same feeling I still have about dating my girlfriend. It all just makes sense and is where I should be, be it at the time or the future. The longer I spent at the libraries, the more I realized it was the same feeling.

So how's my summer? Quite simply, awesome and it's only going to get better.

A Terrible Movie I Will Watch

2010-06-01T16:50:00.002-04:00

Sometimes you have to suck it up and watch a bad movie even though it's going to be bad-bad not good-bad. For example:

I will watch this possible kid's movie turd. I know it will be a turd because the director's first name is Cosmo. That's only allowed in cartoons.

So why will I watch? Lindsey Shaw. I love that lady and will watch as much of her as I can. Which means I'll probably watch this horror movie written/directed by Rob Pinkston, AKA Coconut Head from Ned's Declassified.

For more Lindsey related news, go over to the Juicebox. A few rants over there from me and Ms. K.I.A.

Quote of the Day

2010-05-30T18:05:00.002-04:00

Dr. Fransecky said, “I need friends that I can scratch and sniff.”
-End quote from the New York Times article, "Are 5,001 Facebook Friends Too Many?"

Well said, Dr. Fransecky

I'm Old, Lame, and Unhip

2010-05-20T14:30:00.000-04:00

Another quick post. This time around we're talking about Nicolas Merritt, an 8-year-old kid who released a punk album called Punk Rock Elementary. Seriously. You can buy it on iTunes. And if you listen to it, it sounds better than a whole mess of high school punks bands, so really this kid has a bright future if he's still into punk rock when he gets older. But who knows, maybe he'll rebel and be all about Lady Gaga and The Jonas Brothers. (Don't you dare mention my love for KJ. I admit my faults.)

Here is one of his videos:

This kid is cooler than I'll ever be. Ditto about this next one:

Quote of the Day

2010-05-12T18:05:00.002-04:00

Is Betty White the new Neil Patrick Harris?

-On Betty White hosting the Oscars

Quote of the Day

2010-05-07T22:04:00.002-04:00

The colossal squid is not a voracious predator capable of high-speed predator-prey interactions.

-Dr Rui Rosa, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal

Poor colossal squid. All he wants is to be tough. Read the whole article here.

Did I Mention Allister is Back?

2010-05-06T10:29:00.002-04:00

Music isn't something I talk about on this blog, but this is a special exception. Allister has been my favorite band for nearly a decade, and after what looked like a permanent hiatus, they're back!

The really quick story is this: they signed to Drive-Thru records in '99, released three albums between then and '05, a cover album in Japan in '06, and in '07 they went on hiatus. As the story goes, the hiatus was brought on by Tim finding out he was going to be a dad. In the end, he chose family over the biz, his brother taking over for the last of their Japanese tour. Since then, all four members continued in music one way or another, be it a solo career or another band. Finally, the announcement a few months back on Allister's MySpace page: new album summer '10. And that's where we find ourselves today.

Their latest video for their single "Free" was released two weeks ago. Just for frame of reference here are their first and second videos. Watch them. I'll wait, and we can come back to discuss.

(Side note: If you don't like pop-punk, then I'm saddened. It's a fun genre, but not everyone's cup of tea. Nonetheless, I hope you stick around anyway.)

I'll admit, these aren't Lady Gaga levels of production, but quite frankly who cares?* A punk band don't need no product placements to win me over. Anyway, after watching "Free" there are a few things to note:

1. They're still a bunch of good looking guys. At the young age of 12 their good-lookin' faces was definitely a factor in my love for them, along with the music. It's been five years since I've seen them live, and three since the hiatus. They're all in their 30s now, and it shows, but that's not a bad thing.

2. I still want Tim's wardrobe, and I'm jealous of his new half-sleeve. Scott's hair still makes him look like a Mexican soap star. Kyle pulls off the scruff. Mike's still his adorable, tall self.

3. The song is great. It feels like a great mix of Last Stop Suburbia's pop-punk sound and Before the Blackout's subject matter. (UPDATE: Apparently this was an old Conways song, the band Mike and Tim were in a while ago. Also check out this much better review.) If it's any indicator of the album as a whole, then I'm even more excited than I already was.

4. I'm just happy to see the band having a good time. Even how the video starts makes me smile. It's essentially Tim coming back to the band and saying, "Oh hey guys; I'm back. Let's be awesome again." It's like he was just next door, and it took him 3 years to make it to practice.

5. Is it me, or is there something going on with Tim's eyebrows? I don't remember them being this prominent. Lee Pace would be jealous.

As much as the hiatus broke my heart, I'll forever commend Tim for his decision to focus on his family (and as far as I understand battling the alcoholism referenced in Before the Blackout's title), and am glad to hear that it worked out in the end. (In addition to the baby, he got married last year, as former Allister member Eric aka Skippy reported.) I know this post is pretty Tim heavy, but I feel like it's appropriate.

Ever since the hiatus he's been a ghost as far as my friends and I were concerned; many a discussion started with wondering what 9-to-5 job he'd gone for. Scott and Kyle continued making music, Scott pretty much a Japanese pop-star with a pretty lengthy list of work. The first time we heard about Tim again was randomly coming across a MySpace page for a band he and Mike had started up for what seemed was just for fun. And now that the boys are back, it's hard not to treat it like Tim's homecoming. He was the one who went off to, as my mother said, be responsible, and we're glad to have him back. I'd be lying if I weren't super stoked to see him find a way to balance family and music.

Having the gang back together is so sweet, and I'm just waiting for the US release date. And if it never comes, well, that's what the internet is for.

Welcome back ALLiSTER. Your mismatched type is bothersome, but your music makes me happy.

*Our soldiers do Gaga it better then she ever could.

Why I Love the UK

2010-05-06T06:06:00.003-04:00

"I'VE BEEN IN THE PUB AND FEEL DRUNK. CAN I VOTE?

Yes. Polling station staff cannot refuse a voter simply because they are drunk or under the influence of drugs. However, if the presiding officer suspects you are incapable of voting you will be asked a series of questions to determine whether you are up to the task of casting your ballot. If the voter cannot answer satisfactorily they will be told to come back when they've sobered up."

"I'M A MEMBER OF THE ROYAL FAMILY. CAN I VOTE?

This depends on whether you're a minor or major royal. "The Queen lives in the constituency of Westminster but she isn't on our electoral register," Mr Tonkin says. "As head of state, she is part of the institution of Parliament so cannot vote." The same applies to close family members like Prince Charles and his sons. But "minor" royals not so closely related to the Queen may be able to vote."

"DO I HAVE TO MARK MY CROSS WITH A PENCIL ON A STRING?

No, the election is not being electronically counted. So if you prefer you can use a pen. You can even mark the box with a tick instead. The important thing is that your voting intention is clear."

---Courtesy of the BBC's "What can you NOT do in a polling station?"

Short Piece #2: Poetry Exercise

2010-05-05T23:13:00.006-04:00

According to the great Doug Paul Case anyone can write poetry. Now, if you read my open letter to poetry then you know I don't work well with the genre. Well, in an effort to convince me that he's right, Doug gave me an assignment: describe the setting of a story, then stop before you get to your characters. I figure the worst that could happen is that I'd end up with the beginning of a story. This is what I ended up with. Was he right?

an unexpected warmth blanketed the grass

the moisture on its blades more sweat than dew

the heat of the morning sun wringing it dry

an anticipation

a hope for a breeze hung in the air

but the sun showed no sign of giving up

it sat in the sky with its own plans

it waited for the sound of bare heels swishing across the ground

the sound of moist legs mingling with the grass' nervous sweat

the clouds and wind had their turn

it was time for the sun to take over

Quote of the Day

2010-04-23T00:43:00.004-04:00

Bermuda's not dirt. It's an actual country.

-in reference to a mistake on artwork for a children's book.

An Open Letter to Poetry

2010-04-11T23:36:00.005-04:00

Poetry,

I must say, I've given you a bad rap in my past. I've constantly said I dislike you; sometimes I even went as far as say that I hated you.

Sure I would give you the benefit of the doubt when it came to your collaborations with Robert Lowell, Lewis Carroll, and Jonathan Aaron. But for the most part, I've got to say, I haven't been nice to you. I'm sorry for this.

I'm glad you've changed my mind, at least when it comes to your side project, slam poetry. It's pretty effin' sweet. About two years ago you showed me that it could be awesome. And slowly you've been showing me the light. And last week you let me into your beacon of awesome.

Last week Emerson hosted the College Union Poetry Slam Invitational. Thirty-one teams performed over four days, and it was a tough battle. I only got to see two of the performances, but even so, I was blown away.

The CUPSI preliminaries on Thursday broke my heart (in a good way), something I'd only let fiction by the likes of Walter Tevis and Joe Meno do before. The University of Minnesota performed pieces that stuck with me for the rest of the week. So naturally, when I found out Minnesota was in the finals, I hoped they would wrangle in the top prize.

Little did I know, Poetry, that you were as great as Butch Walker, producing some absolutely gripping performances with Macalester College, University of California-Santa Cruz, and University of Wisconsin-Madison, as well as good ol' Minnesota. Each performance was as great as the last, and the poems that hit hard on Thursday were still just as powerful on Saturday.

In the end, UW-Madison took home the top prize, but really, in my eyes it could've gone to anyone. (The judges were tough on Saturday. They definitely underscored some of the pieces I thought were the best.)

You've changed my opinion, Poetry. Thanks for that.

Love,

Adri

PS. Poetry, you still need to work on that whole written-on-paper thing. Haven't quite won me over in that department. It's OK. Nobody's perfect.

*Check out these videos of past CUPSI perfomances. Oh, Minnesota. I really love them. Sam Cook (the guy in that video) did one of my favorite poems of the week. Maybe because he mentioned bourbon.

Cats are awesome

2010-04-06T23:47:00.003-04:00

I know I just did a "Why I Love...Cats" post at the Juicebox, but I just had to share more. Cat videos are the reason Al Gore invented the internet. Enjoy!

And I'll throw the dog lovers a bone. (See what I did there?)

Fun Stuff via Twitter

2010-04-01T02:53:00.004-04:00

Came across this post from Adam Savage (you know, of Mythbusters fame) and thought I'd try it out on some lyrics from Oliver and Company.

Original text:
"Why should I worry? Why should I care? I may not have a dime But I got street savoire faire Why should I worry? Why should I care? It's just bebopulation And I got street saviore faire"
...54 translations later we get:
"Why is it important to you? It's as easy as, I suspect, wine, why, why? Bubba Paul is the only way to gate. Virtualizatyon."

Uh, what?

Quote of the Day

2010-03-29T01:07:00.002-04:00

It's not a secret if it's true.

I'm a genius, ain't I? For a better quote check out the latest Why I Love... post over at the Juicebox.

Oh, and did I mention I have a Twitter now? Nothing like a good bandwagon.

Short Piece #1: Character Exercise

2010-03-24T01:47:00.003-04:00

If everyone is one in a million, then there are at least 5618.6 Michael Gertrudes in the world. At least that’s what Michael Gertrude (the eight-year-old in Mrs. Lionel’s third grade class, not the thirty-five-year-old in Judge Harper’s divorce court) managed with his rudimentary math skills. Times like these, he wished he had a different name, something cool like Maxamillion or a symbol like the guy with purple pants on TV.

It wasn’t that Michael Gertrude hated his name. He quite liked it, actually; he liked the sound of it (two even syllables and a round sound at the end of each name) and the look of it (the large imposing capital “M” and “G”). He just wished he was allowed to use it.

Ever since kindergarten, there have been at least two other Michaels in Michael Gertrude’s class. Last year, he was one of six Michaels. The first alphabetical Michael is always Michael. In the past these have been Michaels Bernard, Cover, and Engleston. Never Gertrude. Currently it’s Michael Franklin. Every other Michael gets a nickname.

Michael Gertrude never gets to be Michael. He’s always Mike, Mick, Mikey. Once a teacher tried using last names only, and settled on Gert so the other boys wouldn’t make fun of Michael Gertrude’s last name being a lady’s name. (And not just any lady: Great-great grandpa Ostermann didn’t understand the questions on Ellis Island, and when asked for a name he gave his and his wife’s. Thus in America, his wife was Gertrude Gertrude.) In the end, the last names were dropped, and Michael Gertrude became Mikey once again.

Today, in Mrs. Lionel’s class, he is Mick. He can live with that, for now at least. The only real plan there is is to become famous for something important, like curing cancer or making a really cool action movie. Sure, there would be other Michaels, but they would be Bolton, Palin, Jordan, of Kent. No one else would be Michael Gertrude except Michael Gertrude (the thirty-five-year-old action star, not the sixty-two-year-old divorced pet store manager).

Progress is good

2010-03-18T21:19:00.003-04:00

So, I haven't quite kept up with my goal (Remember that last post?), but I'm not fretting. Thankfully I had to write a story for class, so I got kicked in the ass to do what I'd wanted anyway; and at 3000+ words, it makes up for 6 days of writing. Not bad.

The story actually turned out to be a challenge, in a good way. I've tried to consciously fight against my usual M.O for this class; if I'm not trying to find new ways to write, what's the point of this Fiction BFA?

I usually don't write female perspectives, oddly enough. Before this semester, I could think of four stories I'd written with female leads/perspectives. I quite like two of them (one of which was printed in the Spring 2009 issue of Stork which was nice), and the others I wrote in high school, so really it was destined to be shit. Maybe I should revisit those high school pieces, see what I can do with them now.

For some reason, I just lean towards writing from a man's POV. Some may argue it's because I'm queer, so traditional female perspectives are "more difficult", but that's not it. I was ridiculously girly in my early years, preferring the pink puffy dresses and white leggings with purple skirts. (it was the 90's, what can I say.) I grew out of it quickly, but I was still a girl, despite not looking the part. For that, I think the POV issue has to do more with the amount of guys I grew up around. I spent more time with my brothers, cousins and their friends when I was a kid than my own friends, got to see all their stupid boy actions and get a feel for how they spoke. I just got guys better than I got the ladies. Thus, male narrators and characters.

That being said, this semester I've written two stories from a female's perspective. Granted that's out of six pieces, but still, not bad for a semester. One was from a the perspective of a little girl; the other was of a woman a few years older than me. Though, I'll admit the latter involves the character taking part in a male dominated society. That last one is also the one I just turned in. I think there's potential, so I'm excited to hear what my workshop says.

That last one was also a ten-pager, a length I haven't reached in over a year. I've been doing a lot with shorter pieces, under 6 pages. I like being able to pack an entire story and a well-rounded character in such a short space. But it also comes easier to do shorter pieces. I admire those who can easily whip out 10, 15, 20 pages. It takes skill to keep someone's attention for such a long time. I on the other hand have an idea pop into my head and then whip out a quick four pages that night. Not a lot of planning, something else I've tried to change a bit. This semester marked the first time I outlined a story before writing it. It was very useful for that particular story because I was determined to get the scientific theories correct. But I don't know if I'll do it for pieces that don't require much research. There's something reassuring about the creativity and spontaneity of my usual method, writing without knowing the end.

I also got a twitter account, which has kept me writing, even though it's not necessarily a real medium. Still, a few posts a day at about 80 words each, that's something. It keeps me thinking and aware of what I see and what's notable for the future. I'm no twit freak yet; it's just something to keep me busy when I'd otherwise be staring blankly in space. So despite not being on the Twit train a few years back, I think it's worth a shot. Plus Craig Ferguson and Conan O Brien are fun to follow.

Has anyone tried writing an entire story on twitter? Like a serial, ten under-140-word sentences a week? Japan has already done the Cell-phone novel. So maybe there is a future in the Twitter short story?

Welp, That's a Failure Ain't It?

2010-02-16T02:31:00.003-05:00

It's been a whole four days (possibly five) since i made my Write Every Day resolution, and I have failed already. I wish I had a reason, but I haven't really. I do have excuses though. They are as follows:

Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion

Zombieland

My Blue Heaven

Craig Ferguson

The Princess Diaries

Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure

Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey

Tool Academy 3

There are more excuses for my lack of motivation, but that should be enough to explain why writing is hard. Or at least explain that I'm a lazy bum when I've finished my homework. Or haven't touched my homework. Or wake up in the afternoon. So essentially all the time. How about I make up for my lack of writing with this haiku:

new cherry blossoms

bloom early. harsh cold front. a

frozen shrine to spring

Haiku's are harder than they seem. Even practice isn't helping. I should work on that.

Life Lesson #4

2010-02-11T01:43:00.002-05:00

I found this post from October and thought I should post it:

Know what you're doing, or at least pretend you do.

In honor of such a lesson I give to you the new purpose of this blog: figuring out my thesis and then how I'm doing on it. Who knows, maybe it'll become part of it (probably not).

Also, this is probably a lie. I'll discuss my ideas here and there, but really, how often will I do that?

I'm going to keep this as Lesson #4. However, let us figure out what is wrong with it, shall we?

First off, I never know what I'm doing, but have gotten really good at pretending that I know. So I guess the lesson itself checks out.

Second of all, I know what my thesis and BFA project are going to be, so really I won't be figuring it out on this blog. I won't get into the details just yet, but there are trees involved. Eh, I might as well, right? The BFA will be a collection of short stories (surprise) with a tree as a central figure in the story. Each tree will be a different species from many areas of the world (but mostly the U.S). The Honors thesis will be a hand-bound manuscript of my BFA and an accompanying 20-page-paper focusing on some aspect of the book arts. Ta-dah! I made a decision! Thus I shan't be using this to figure that out.

However, I will will use this for my thesis, but not as originally planned. Allow me to explain. On my way home from a Gangsters meeting, I was talking with Sean (assitant prose editor and all around cool guy) about writing. We talked about his direct-study and how it's hard to write everyday, especially for people who only write when the idea strikes them (something we both apparently do). Thus, he is doing the direct-study as writing a novella would be a good challenge.

Now what does this have to do with me? Well, I am not really challenging myself, I have found. At this point I have rough-to-near-complete drafts of 3.5 stories of the 10 I hope to have for my BFA. I also have vague ideas of 3 other ones. At these rate, I will have everything written by the Fall and I won't technically work on my BFA until the Spring. While this is good for the Honors project (as it'll give me something to bind) it sort of makes me question if I'm going about it right. The BFA is the pinnacle of what we've been studying and IMO should be a challenge. As of now it's not.

My talk with Sean made me realize this but also gave me a solution: forcing myself to write every day. For real. About 500 words a day, if I can. I don't mean a story a day (that's be hard) but something, even if it's a blog post. And that's how I will use this more often. I will start writing here some more, even if it's to chronicle something stupid, and maybe share the shorter stuff I work on. Hopefully, writing every day like a real writer can help me be more like a real writer and not just some future librarian in writing school. It'll be a challenge, but it'll be good for me.

I will admit that I am working on something that is a daily project, but I shan't be sharing it here because it ain't ready, you silly person.

Anywho! this should be fun. Also on the list of stuff to do concerning this degree I'm pursuing: submitting to real magazines. I'll have to ask Doug about that one though. He's gotten pretty good at it.

(PS Read this, Doug is silly.)

(PPS Shout out to Mia. You's a celebrity now.)

Life Lesson #3

2009-11-07T03:11:00.001-05:00

Do not brew tea in Kool-aid.

It may sounds like a good idea, but it's pretty effin' gross.

Things That Make Me Uncomfortable, The Very Special Episode

2009-11-07T01:15:00.004-05:00

In this special episode, I'd like to speak about what I find comforting in TV land:

Time Life Collection infomercials.
I can't help it, but they make me feel better and feel comfy when I'm alone.

Life Lesson #2

2009-10-27T23:18:00.001-04:00

Never sit near the hobo that smells like urine.

Before you get pissy (pun TOTALLY intended), it's not because they're homeless. It's because for the rest of the night, you'll think you smell like piss, and that's just annoying.

Things That Make Me Uncomfortable, Ep. 1

2009-10-21T02:04:00.002-04:00

People who wear blazers with a sports bra and a skort.

Thanks Contour Lady.

Jeph Jacques Does it Again

2009-10-15T00:22:00.005-04:00

YES PLEASE!

And if you haven't been reading Questionable Content, you need to change that. Right now.

REALLY??

2009-09-15T23:12:00.004-04:00

So starts the school year and this is what welcomed me:

Why? Animals are animals. They already have coats. Geez, Louise.

PS I wasn't sure if this was a Juicebox or tree post, but since I haven't posted here in a while figured I would.

Life Lesson #1

2009-08-23T03:26:00.001-04:00

So, keeping a HF theme (yet not) someone said this summer:

The secret to happiness is ice cream and hugs.

Most true. Especially if you know what hugging means.

End of the road

2009-08-16T21:51:00.002-04:00

It saddens me to say that my adventure in the trees has come to an end. I will miss the people I've met, and can't wait to see them again.

I'll probably keep the blog, but we'll see.

Requests

2009-08-03T14:57:00.004-04:00

It has come to my attention that I haven't mentioned anyone else from the program. I assure that I have friends and socialize (inorite?), I just thought it was weird to post pictures of them and talk about them without their knowing. Well, too bad. Here's a quick Q&A:

So, how are you?

I'm fine. Sad that the program is over in two weeks.

Really? Guess that means you like the people you're living with.

Yep, I do. Some I even like more than wallabies.

Are they nice?

The wallabies?

The people.

Yes, yes they are. Though the cleanliness of the house is questionable.

Gross?

Yep, we have fruit flies. Lots and lots of fruit flies. And I think there was a cockroach a couple of times too.

You guys hang out over the weekends n' stuffs?

Do I hang out with cockroaches?

No, the other REU people.

Some of them, but not all. We went contra dancing the other day. And ate pie.

So the people are fun?

Yes, and they take care of me. (Note: Contra dancing+not enough water=not fun. I tried to stay hydrated but epically failed. Oh, well.)

Are they, you know?

Know what?

You know. Wink wink nudge nudge.

Erm. . .

Really, you don't know what I'm asking?

. . .

Are they, you know, cute n' stuff?

Oooooh. Some of them are, yes.

Really?

Yes, really.

How cute?

Sometimes to the point of distraction and lack of productivity.

Oh, that cute.

Yes'm.

That's all I wanted to know really, if they were an attractive bunch.

I figured.

Will you give them my number?

No.

Why not?

Because you're a non-existent synecdoche, merely playing the part of my group of friends who might ask these questions.

Oh. Will you give them this picture of me in a bikini?

Sure why not. You do look pretty hot in it.

I know.

Don't be cocky.

You're an ass.

I know.

Ambiguous Toothpate Label

2009-07-29T17:02:00.000-04:00

"For best results, squeeze from bottom."

Does this mean it'll make your teeth cleaner than if you squeezed from the middle?

I would say yes.

Why?

Because squeezing from the middle is barbaric and wastes valuable toothpaste!

Um. . .are you okay?

Yes, just tired and baffled by toothpaste claims. Is it Friday yet?. . . Yeah didn't think so

How to improve the workplace

2009-07-27T16:43:00.016-04:00

Work gettin' you down?

Looking for something to liven up your 9-to-5 (or 4, or 3, or whenever they're not looking anymore)?

The answer is simple: the mustache mug! Its gentleman-like design will make every sip an utter delight.

Don't believe us?

Well, why not give it a try?

Now isn't your job so much better?

(Amount of sparkles depends on the amount of 'shrooms consumed during use. Results may vary.)

Brought to you by the people who brought you Dino-mobile.

Dino-mobile: because being a five-year-old boy is definitely better.

On the Radio-o-o: "Data" Rise Against Revolutions Per Minute

Did I mention. . .

2009-07-23T15:26:00.005-04:00

. . . that my office chair is an awkward, faded orange color? And square? With wheels?

Yeah. Be jealous; I'll understand.

On the Radio-o-o:

"Your Boyfriend Wears Girl Pants" Zebrahead Broadcast to the World

Oh hey there

2009-07-17T11:29:00.004-04:00

Sorry, I've been kind of distracted lately. Not much to update you on I suppose. Currently looking at some pollen. (Found some ragweed which is a bit confusing since Europeans settlement hasn't happened yet, supposedly.) Fourth of July was pretty chill. I'll put up some CT pictures at some point.

Um . . . watched Half Blood Prince and quite enjoyed it actually.

And . . . went to Northampton, and felt way uncool while there but it was fun.

And I can't think of anything else other than I'm almost completely decided on going into Library Sciences. Woo!

I'll write something when I have something important to say, or at least figure out what I've been doing for the past two weeks as it seems I've already forgotten.

----------------
Now playing: Save Ferris - Under 21
via FoxyTunes

Random Photo #1

2009-06-26T15:48:00.002-04:00

Bumming Around Like a Creeper

2009-06-20T15:39:00.003-04:00

Spent some time in the school playground a few weeks ago. This is what I saw:

This is what my camera saw (no photoshop, for rlz):

It's Sunday

2009-06-14T23:38:00.002-04:00

. . . and I ain't doin' nuffin'.

----------------
Now playing: Half Pint/Lucky Boys Confusion - Sunday Afternoon
via FoxyTunes

Rock Climbing

2009-06-13T23:24:00.003-04:00

Another activity I never though I'd really enjoy, but it was wicked awesome* and we're going back soon. I'm pretty stoked. Afterwards, we had some pizza then headed to That's Entertainment. It's even cooler than their commercial makes it sound. Plus their logo's robot is one of the coolest robots I've seen. I bought "The Goon: Nothin' but Misery." It was awesome, a'course.

I later went with a housemate to Country Pets (yep that's the name) to get a mouse for her python. I was a bum for the rest of the day, pretty much. But what else you expect from me?

*I picked up "wicked." New England Goal No. 1 is a success!

----------------
Now playing: Ministry Of Magic - This Book Is So Awesome
via FoxyTunes

Some More Canoeing

2009-06-07T16:32:00.004-04:00

We went canoeing on Lake Ellis in Athol (hee hee, Athol)

Pretty, ain't it? Little did we know (what did Dustin Hoffman say about that phrase . . .) that two days later it would be closed due to high levels of E. coli.

----------------
Now playing: Atom & His Package - Happy Birthday Ralph
via FoxyTunes

Views from Rt. 302

2009-06-06T23:54:00.011-04:00

That horse stared me down both times I passed by.

That last one's my favorite picture of the summer to date.

(PS Once I learn how to do the 'under the cut thing' these'll be less picture heavy)

Urban Hiking

2009-06-06T16:53:00.005-04:00

Well, sort of. More like walking 6 miles (3 each way from the forest to the center of town) in this:

Here's some urban kayaking. Looks more fun.

----------------
Now playing: Big D & The Kids Table - She Knows Her Way
via FoxyTunes

Saturday in Petersham

2009-06-06T12:00:00.003-04:00

Library had a plant sale to raise funds.

The longest running Country Store in the country, apparently.
And this is the library. It's pretty effin' cute, inside and out.

NOT SCIENCE RELATED!

2009-06-02T21:23:00.004-04:00

Youtube has finally been kicked off, and webcomics prevail!

I Want to Sleeeeeeeep

2009-06-02T19:19:00.001-04:00

I weighed out some samples today to dry in the oven - to remove the water - which I'll then put in the furnace so it can ash and the organic matter will be gone and blah blah BLAH! As fun as work was today (it was, truly) all I could think was:

"I'm tired as fuck. Why the hell did I go to bed so late?"

And then I would think:

"OH YEAH! CUZ CONAN IS BACK IN MY LYFE!"

Other than simply filling a hole in my heart, Conan taking over the "Tonight Show" also means that I can watch him AND my new love Craig Ferguson in the same night, if I can stay up that is. Now if only Rove McManus could get a show in the states. . .

So life's good. It'll be even better once I get a paycheck and can get Lucky Boys Confusion's new (and last) album. The 30 second samples on Itunes can only do so much.

----------------
Now playing: The Living End - What Would You Do?
via FoxyTunes

The Lab

2009-06-01T16:49:00.005-04:00

Here's where Club Paleo does it's thing.

We extruded the surface core today with this set-up:

Basically we pushed the bung up with the pipe centimeter by centimeter and collected the mud into marked Whirl-Paks then baggies, like this:

I got to stamp the Whirl-Paks too, which was fun because the stamp was kind of like a tiny letterpress.All in all, another fun day. Paleoecology is the shit. Had some more good conversations, ranging from middle names to Neil Diamond to Emerson's Science minor.

So far best job I've had, not that there's much to choose from.

----------------
Now playing: Against Me! - The Politics Of Starving
via FoxyTunes

Shit.

2009-05-30T19:10:00.000-04:00

I think I like hiking. . . and canoeing. . . and the outdoors. . . uh oh.

Did I Mention We Have Beefalo?

2009-05-30T15:08:00.004-04:00

A guy gets land to use as pasture in exchange for doing maintenance.

Sadly they ain't for milkin' :(

----------------
Now playing: Black President - Neon
via FoxyTunes

Injury

2009-05-30T15:06:00.009-04:00

I ripped a (very)small chunk of skin from my leg today getting off a bike. I turned around and went home instead of going to town as originally planned. So much for going outside today. It's not even a cool injury, either. I was just getting off a bike. LAME!

At least I got to eat a Wicked Whoopie (banana flavored) and got "My Neighbor Totoro" from the library. Woo!

Daily Tick Count: 1 False Alarm
Total to Date: 0

Coring time!

2009-05-29T19:06:00.007-04:00

OK, so I'll try and keep this one short, especially since I don't have pictures of actually doing the stuff. (Wyatt does, so once I get those from him I'll post them or something.)

We first had to canoe out and tie of a shit ton of ropes so the makeshift raft would stay still. Then we built the raft and went over to the rope intersections and tied off. The raft looked something like this:
We started with the surface core. The pond is pretty shallow, 1.4 meters at it's deepest; we could see the bottom at most spots. Anywho, the surface core was about 1.4 meters of the top mud which can shift and stuff over the years. We plugged a plexiglass tube with a bung (yes, a bung, but unlike wine barrels the hole isn't a bunghole) and attached a rod to the top to help push down. It sort of looked like this:
Then you pull the bung up to collect the surface core, kind of like a straw. i think. I might be remembering this incorrectly, but I'm pretty sure that's what happened haha

Then we ate lunch. That looked like this:
We got about 6 meters of mud with the Livingston corer. This was definitely a team effort. It's basically a metal tube with a piston that you shove in the ground to a certain depth. Then it takes a meter length cylinder of mud starting at that distance. Yeah, doesn't make much sense when you don't see it. Took me a bit to get how it worked, but I think I've got it now.

We took the mud out of the Livingston, which looked like it was pooping. Like this, but on the raft and in the warmth of sun. Sorry, it's the best way to explain it. The last meter we got was gray, pretty much clay because it's from the the glacier receding 13000 or so years ago.

Mind you I was wearing jeans because it was supposed to be rainy and cold to the point where we almost turned around when we met up with Wyatt in Ludlow. Instead it ended up sunny and kind of warm. Too bad I didn't think to bring my Obese Little Boy Swim Trunks (C). Anyway, wet clothes meant a lot of changing behind trees. Also did other things that a person should never do in the woods. What you may ask? Well, let's say that I could live in Maine now.

Daily Tick Count: 0
Total to Date: 0

----------------
Now playing: The Phenomenauts - Galactic Pioneers
via FoxyTunes

Drive Back from Guilder Pond

2009-05-29T16:44:00.000-04:00

The surface core was strapped in through the passenger window:

----------------
Now playing: Bouncing Souls - Dirt
via FoxyTunes

Mmm. . . Ponds

2009-05-28T17:39:00.007-04:00

I suck at this picture taking thing. Anyway, I went to check out Guilder Pond. It was foggy as fuck so we could barely see the other end of the pond. Good news is we got to take the Prius, sometimes getting up to 100 mpg. WOAH! It took about 2.5 hours to get there. It was pretty scenic (I think we passed Holyoke and Chicopoee, for those in the know). It was a short trip actually; all we did was walk the trail a bit and then eat lunch. Most of the time was spent in the car. Some interesting conversations there. Looking forward for the coring tomorrow!

More time in the Forest??

2009-05-27T19:31:00.001-04:00

Yep, there was another three-hour hike today. Today we went around on Prospect Hill (where our house be located) and saw some sweet ass permanent research plots. We climbed this tall blue tower thing (I don't rememebr what it was called), and looked over the canopy. I have pictures on my phone, but I haven't uploaded them.

Anywho, later in the day a few of us went to the town center and went to the Petersham Library. It's in a stone building and it's pretty gosh darn cute. Their DVD collection is pretty good (I'll finally get to see My Neighbor Totoro) and they have some nice old books with swastikas on them from a time before swastikas were bad. That ups my library card count to three. SCORE! Plus there was a cute dog outside beggin' for some pettin'. We didn't go the country store, but another day I suppose.

I believe that was all. I'm checking out some ponds tomorrow then coring on friday. I'll make sure to get pictures of me doing sciency things and shiz.

Daily Tick Count: 0

Total to Date: 0

Venture into the Forest

2009-05-26T22:09:00.001-04:00

For orientation today, we went into the forest. Suprise? No, but we had to get around with a topography map and a compass. I let others do it because I was confused. We had three spots to navigate to and at each spot we learned how to do something related to research. Anywho, there were a lot of bugs which sucked, and a lot of pants tucked into socks, which looked silly, but i got a preview of what I'll be doing which was cool (Wyatt took a small core sample from a bog for his portion) and I got to take a tree core. It broke when I was taking it out, but at least I hit the center.

Sorry this one's kind of boring, but I assure they'll get better. If more science means better to you.

Daily Tick Count: 0

Total Ticks to Date: 0

The House

2009-05-26T07:50:00.000-04:00

I just realized that I haven't taken pictures of the house. Here are a few of the outside. I get some interiors later. Here's the front. It was too big to fit in one shot.

Here are some trees I'm living in, or at least among. I don't' remember what the road leads to.

And this is the neighboring house. There's a couple of researchers and their dog living there. Dog's pretty nice.

That's all for now. Off to breakfast. Later today: bushwhacking. We'll see how that goes.

Lator.

Arts and crafts

2009-05-25T23:09:00.003-04:00

Look what I made!

P.S. We have to keep track of how many ticks we find on us, and tally them in the notebook they gave us, so I'll keep you in the loop too.

Tick count:0

What exactly is going on?

2009-05-25T10:30:00.000-04:00

I'm not sure, but I'm going to find out soon enough (orientation isn't until tomorrow). Alls I know is that I'm in a triple, we have a toilet in the room, and the left a notebook on our beds:

This only fed my paranoia.

Anyway, I do know that I will be collecting sediment cores from lakes across the northeast, then studying them. What is a sediment core, well this (a dog started barking outside and it's fucking scared the shit out of me)

And that's all I got. More once I actually start doing stuff and can report properly.

Lator.

----------------
Now playing: Army Of Freshmen - Calling Me Home
via FoxyTunes

A View from My Bed

2009-05-24T22:25:00.001-04:00

And one from the window for good measure.

Lator.

----------------
Now playing: The Phenomenauts - Cyborg
via FoxyTunes

I be here.

2009-05-24T18:32:00.000-04:00

I live here.

More to come.

Lator.

----------------
Now playing: Gob - Lemon-Aid
via FoxyTunes