Happy Halloween!

Have a happy, fun and safe Halloween weekend! And don't forget to turn your clocks back tomorrow night for a very very very precious extra hour of sleep. :) :) :)

Alas

I'm not sure the whole series thing is working for me.

Hmm. Ironic. Series, The Series. Ironic how I decided I didn't like the way the series of pictures was going the same night as the series ended. The coincidences of which life are made.

Anyway, I think I'll just post up pictures at will. Two reasons the series thing is not working out for me is that I'm sick of counting the number of pictures that have been posted, and I feel like it's requiring "photo + unrelated note" entries to the exclusion of anything else. Who am I kidding.... this blog has no form. I was supposed to remedy that after the last one, wasn't I...

Here's some more sights from Millennium Park on Monday:



People who know me know that I love people watching. There's just something refreshing about watching other people's emotions, how they carry themselves, wondering what they're thinking about, what they're feeling, why they happen to be at that particular place that particular time... it's the stuff that prompts stories.

I was heading around to the last side of the Jellybean to try to capture some fall photos (which wasn't that effective generally, since the sun was going down and it was late afternoon), and I just happened to catch sight of this couple. I liked a few things about this. First, her bright red jacket and the way it stood out against the colorless park. With the sun going down, the color of the trees had dulled and everything was taking on a tone of grey grey and more grey. The red was a great "spark" that just drew me to them.

Second, they just seemed really really happy in their shared experience. Everyone loves the Jellybean the first time they get there - there's something really fun about seeing yourself reflected all over the place. They had big smiles on their faces. I tried to get a shot of them waving at themselves, but I wasn't quick enough. I wasn't being a voyeur per se - I was there to take a picture of that side of the Jellybean... and just happened to be captivated by this couple.

And lastly, you know how sometimes you can just look at people and feel how happy they are, and you can feel how they're just really in love? Like that really romantic "awww" feeling? Yeah, that was the vibe I got from them. It's such a heartwarming feeling.



I'm not sure why this person attracted my attention. I think it was the fabric spikes that ran up and down his hooded sweatshirt in rows. I wasn't quite sure what to make of it, but it really isn't everyday that I see someone from far away whose profile reminds me of a dinosaur, asking me to get a closer look.

I have more pictures, but if I'm really going to tell stories, I need more time and I need to be more awake. Time to sleep... busy day tomorrow: class, lunch, class, work, yoga, tv, work, work, sleep. Oh the exciting life I lead. :)

Guarding Sparrows (FFT VII)

Guarding Sparrows, 25 October 2004 (Seventh in a series)

Consoling myself... aren't they cute?

No Words

What on earth did the Yankees do to anger Babe Ruth that he ended the curse?!? The world is very very .... very upside down right now. I'm fully expecting something really outlandish to happen tomorrow... like pigs flying or a pink and purple polka dotted sky. Quite frankly, it's not inspiring to me at all that the "curse has been broken"... it's depressing. There goes a whole industry!! Sigh. Poor Jason.

In other news, "every election is between a giant douche and a turd sandwich." Hee South Park.

Seasons Change

In less than two months, we went from this...



... to this.



Sigh.

(Photo is Breakdown, sixth in the series.)

Autumnal Bean

Autumnal Bean, 25 October 2004 (Fifth in a series)

I am back home from my meeting, and I am just dismayed at having work to do. Too much to do, too little time and too much Red Sox on my TV. What's wrong with the world that this bunch of runts is up 3-0?

Invitation (FFT IV)

Invitation, 25 October 2004 (Fourth in a series)

Still plugging away at my entrepreneurship assignment (it's been hours again)... what do you think of this one?

Aon Gold (FFT III)

Aon Center Wrapped Up in Gold, 25 October 2004 (Third in a series)

Is it bad that I cheered when I noticed it got cloudy outside? Of course the sun's coming back out now, but I was so happy when it was gone, unlike yesterday when I was begging it to stay out for my pictures. Sauna sauna sauna.

Golden Red (FFT II)

Alright, it's been almost 5 hours since I posted the last photo in the series. I should probably figure out some definitive frequency for posting the pictures to make it really seem like a "series", but that's too much commitment. :)

This photo was taken on East 60th Street in Hyde Park outside another university parking lot.


Golden Red, 25 October 2004 (Second in a Series)

Unscheduled

You know I must have something to do if I blog a lot.

I have a finance problem set due Wednesday, and I feel utterly lost. (Hee. That was unintentionally funny. Wed. Lost. Hee.) I also have an entrepreneurship assignment with a lot of research due Wednesday.

And here I am, sitting in front of the laptop, thinking about how there are no classes that I really desire to take anymore in the next two quarters. There are not enough classes to fulfill my requirements (no Friday classes, no long papers, haven't taken the class before, vaguely interested in the topic). In fact, the ways some classes are scheduled are so screwy that they wipe out two time slots which is just inefficient.

My first look at the spring schedule, I came up with two classes. Luckily I think I only need 3. But finding that 3rd one will be an exercise in itself.

Winter is even worse though. There's not really many options available - everything's on Fridays! Who would possibly think that a dreary dark early morning on Friday in the winter could possibly be a time when people would get to class? Hmm. Not me.

I don't want to take classes anymore. I'm so burnt out. And it seems like I've taken all the classes I really wanted to take last year. Oh well. C'est la vie. 2.6 more quarters to go... (or something like that).

Wacky Wigglers

These Wacky Wigglers toys on QVC are actually pretty cool. I don't want them, but they're fun to watch the hosts play with. Even if the hosts are unbelievably peppy. It's almost midnight on the East Coast. Why are they so peppy??



The Rainbow Arts look really fun also. You can mix and match all these paints and make these really nice things. I think it would be a good stress release.



Aww. They've moved on to rugs. Really not as exciting as rainbow art or flipping cars.

Just in case you're scared, I do not watch QVC with any intention of buying anything! I watch when I'm doing work, because it is conducive to my brain working. (What does that say about me?) And I only started watching QVC a couple of weeks ago after the Apprentice stint. Thanks DT, now I'm watching QVC. Look what you've done to me!

Pumpkin Patch (FFT I)

I went on a mini-fall foliage trek ("FFT") today because the temperature was in the 70s and I needed a break from anything school-related. I took over 160 pictures. I won't post them all here, but I think I'm going to do a series of photos.

This picture was taken in Hyde Park on the entry/exit driveway of the school parking lot. I love the pumpkins. What a festive touch. :)


Pumpkin Patch, 25 October 2004 (First in a series)

TV Time

On Saturday night (well, mostly after midnight), I indulged in 4 hours of animated TV. Actually, more. South Park episodes and then the South Park movie (yay!). Followed by Read or Die on the Cartoon Network, which I didn't realize would be 2 hours long. Oh well. It was worth staying up until 4, because I really enjoyed the anime. It was fun.

What's up this week for TV:

Yesterday: Extreme Makeover Home Edition, Desperate Housewives, Boston Legal

Today: Two and a Half Men

Tuesday: The Biggest Loser(tape)

Wednesday: Lost/LAX(tape), Jack and Bobby, Wife Swap

Thursday: Survivor(tape), The Apprentice

Aside: FOX is dumb/nuts/weird? Under Tues., they have "Baseball, World Series, Game 3." Then under Wed., they have "Baseball, World Series, Game 2." Yeah. That's really smart. :)

I miss TWoP. :)

My Fix

The people at TWoP have been fixing their layouts and coding, so the boards have been down for over 24 hours!! (It feels like so much more...) TWoP is like crack for people who love to talk about TV. And they must know how much we've been dying for our fix. (Especially with Desperate Housewives airing last night.)

This is what they've updated the forum pages to read:

"Please hang in there! In the meantime you can: - Read a recap - Buy a shirt - or against our better judgment you could actually do some work at your job today. We don't like that last idea too much but your boss tells us it would make them happy."

Hee. That amuses me greatly. Almost everything on TWoP makes me laugh. I'm going through withdrawal because this is my "good distraction." It has been replaced by pure zoning out and wasting time, instead of wasting time productively. Oh well. I hope they get it fixed soon! I need my fix ... almost as bad as Charlie on Lost. :) I love TWoP. :)

I've officially voted! (Well, it's sitting in our apartment building mailbox waiting to be picked up.) Go Kerry/Edwards!

It's funny... on the road this morning (I was late leaving for school but made it to class on time!), every time a car with a Bush/Cheney '04 sticker on it did something stupid (e.g., drifting over lanes since there was not a strong wind), I felt an overwhelming urge to flip them off. Of course, I wouldn't, but why oh why would they think of voting for such an idiot??

The sun is shining and the trees are really beautiful today. I was dying to just pull over to the side of the road (in Hyde Park, not on the highway) to take photographs of the trees, but like I said, I was running late to class. There are some golden yellows, vivid reds, multi-hued trees lining a road with fallen leaves. Unfortunately, because of the rain, many of the leaves seem to be gone downtown from the trees. Or they don't look so vivid. I haven't gotten to the Jellybean yet to take a fall picture. I need to get there sometime this week - but when?

I love it when the sun's out when I'm outside, and when the clouds are out when I'm inside. It keeps the apartment temperature bearable, and keeps my spirits up. Which is important. :)

Happy Monday!

Tuna Tartare

Yesterday, the New York Times ran a piece called, "Looks Like Diversity, but It Tastes Like Tuna." After a summer packed full of elegant and delicious lunches, I couldn't help but laugh. Tuna is on the menu a LOT. And I've eaten it a lot. I had such a great fish diet this summer - I kind of miss it! And the article focuses on one of my absolute favorite appetizers:

Tuna tartare.

Yum! I've had good tuna tartare this summer, just okay tuna tartare this summer, and absolutely delicious tuna tartare this summer. I've been spoiled. It's kind of an expensive habit. Haha. But call me an addict.

Anyway, the Times has a picture of the tuna tartare from a Kosher restaurant called Solo. That was one of the better tuna tartare dishes I've had this summer. It was so yummy!

Also on the "best tuna tartare" list is Union Square Cafe, where I took my parents to dinner for their anniversary - if only I had a picture of that yummy one. And the one at Geisha, which was served with a Japanese potato salad. It was fabulous. The one at Jubilee was pretty good too. I could go on and on. I only have one wish - that I kept a better record of my lunches this summer. I'll never have such a treat again.

I didn't take pictures of the dishes (my normal M.O.) because this summer was still basically one long interview. I didn't want to be known as "the girl who takes pictures of every dish on the table before people eat." Although I really did want a shot of the cheesecake lollipop tree from david burke and donatella. I guess when it comes to my favorite places this summer, I'll just have to go back. :)

Meaning

It wasn't meant to be for the 2004 Yankees. Oh well.

However, there are two things that bother me more than the Yankees loss. One is non-Sox fans, or rather, non-baseball fans, that feel the need to go on and on about rooting for the Sox to me during games in which the Yankees are losing. Now, I could see if I were a person who taunted others when the Yankees were winning, but I don't make a practice of doing that. And it would be different if it were coming from a Sox fan. For people, especially those who usually have no interest in baseball, to jump in as bandwagon haters drives me crazy. I understand why a lot of people dislike the Yankees; it's not irrational. But for people who could normally care less about baseball to start the trash-talking makes me crazy.

Second, I don't know what's wrong with so many Americans, but the curse has not been lifted! The curse is not over because the Sox beat the Yankees - if that were the curse, it wouldn't be around now. The curse of the Bambino is about the World Series, not the ALCS. It means that since they traded away Babe, they haven't won a world title. So, for all those people who think the curse is gone, where the heck are you getting your historical basis from?

ESPN.com is not helping. The first question on their poll is, "Has the Curse been lifted?" Why are you even giving people a choice when the curse is about the World Series, which ... the Red Sox have not yet won.

While 64.7% of the people who took the poll (at the time I did) were aware enough to say, "No, it's not over until they win the World Series," a whopping 35.3% said the curse was over because the Sox beat the Yankees in the postseason.

Call me incredulous. Don't believe me and think the curse is really broken? Would you believe Wikipedia instead?

I'm rooting for the Astros or the Cards, whoever ends up in there. And it's not just anyone-but-Sox fandom. Jason Marquis (pitcher for the Cards) went to my high school during part of the time I was there (a big part of our city championship teams), and it would be great to see him get a ring. And then there's the fact that I like a lot of guys on the Astros, and they have lots of B's. ;-) And I want to see Roger pummel the Sox. Haha. I wasn't even a big Roger fan when he was with the Yankees, but I do want to see that match-up. Either team really is okay by me since I have reasons to like both (and don't hate either).

Anyway, on Saturday... go N.L.!

Good TV News

There are some (major) for me TV announcements out today, and there are some good scheduling moves (unlike NBC's move of LAX from Mondays to Wednesdays). "Jack and Bobby" is getting moved (although it's to the spot I hoped for "Alias" to be, but that doesn't come back until January), and "The Amazing Race" has a new home. Yay!

I highly recommend "The Amazing Race," even if you're not sold on reality shows. It's fantastic!

So here's the schedule as it stands for me now, once FOX starts up its programming after baseball (all times are Central):

Sunday
7: Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, No Opportunity Wasted, Simpsons
8: Desperate Housewives
9: Boston Legal, Crossing Jordan

Monday
24 comes back in January, LAX is no longer here, and I guess MNF wins by default

Tuesday
7: The Biggest Loser (post to come, I hope)
8: Amazing Race

Wednesday
7: Lost, LAX
8: Jack and Bobby
9: Wife Swap

Thursday
7: The O.C., Survivor: Vanuatu
8: Apprentice

I feel like I must be missing something. 24 and Alias aren't on the list because they're not on right now, and neither is American Idol. But I still feel like something is missing...

Edit: I'm so glad about "The Amazing Race"! Its 2 hour premiere is like a birthday present for me. :)

Restoration

School today with a notebook and a pen wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I think this is partially due to the fact that both classes used slides that are later posted on the web, so there was no rush to get all of the notes recorded. If this had been, say, my 1L property class, I think my arm would have fallen off and I would still be missing half of what the professor had said.

I have not cursed school today. I am still not amused at the idea of doing lots of homework, and I was upset with myself for not getting up in time for the first class, but this was actually not the fault of school. I actually had two very interesting classes, and dare I even say the second was engaging and fun? It was nice to have some good classes, especially when I needed to pay attention, to restore my faith in the value of the third year of law school. :)

My old computer has a new power cord, and my new computer is up and running (although sans Office and wireless right now...). I haven't done all the reading I need to do, but that's not unusual. Lost is on tonight, I'm eating some yummy chewy noodles that were exactly what I needed, and I feel a little better despite the clouds increasing and my exhaustion growing. I'm not anywhere near peak form, but I'm also not as in the basement as I was last night at the height of my exhaustion crisis and pain.

Maybe this will benefit the pinstripes. ;-)

Drained

I am completely and utterly drained.

I can't even watch this game with the same level of enthusiasm I usually do. I just don't have the energy, I can't stay awake, my morale is shot (and not just because of the game), and my mood is just so far underground that I don't know when it's going to get back up.

I got so little sleep and it was uncomfortable. I barely made it to class on time. My computer continued to be an obstinate charger. I couldn't focus on accounting because I was so tired and there was a photographer in the room. My shoes hurt.

The second class started with a bang as my computer power cord adapter thingy (when have I ever been precise?) burst open, gave me a small electrical shock, and burned my thumb. Lots of smoke and smell of burning rubber in the air. No computer made class seem 3 hours long. Next class, I use up the 50 minutes of my fully charged battery and then have to struggle to take notes by hand.

At home, I expected my new computer to arrive on time, which of course, it didn't, so now I have no computer for a long day of classes tomorrow. This caused a mini-crisis as I had greatly relied on its arrival and it was nowhere to be found. Considering how much I use a computer daily, not having one is a significant hardship, one which I was trying to avoid.

The highlight of my day has been eating a salad. Woo.

I can't get any work done. This game has been demoralizing. I don't have time for this crap - this series was supposed to be over 2 games ago. I have too much to do to deal with setting aside time for this crap. Too many credits, too many deadlines, too many important exams, too many important cultural events, too little owned technology, too little heart.

Sigh. I just don't care about anything anymore. I hate feeling like this and I haven't actually felt this much stress in a long time. The feeling sucks. If it were just the game, I would be able to tolerate demeaning comments about my team. But since it's everything layered on top of one another, I just can't. And I just don't care.

I need to relax. I need to consciously stop doing work. And I need to stop caring about things that in the long run I shouldn't care about. The numbers of times I've sworn this week with regards to school is unacceptable. I need to not let school bother me. It's going to be one helluva long year if I curse daily about being stuck in school.

And it's going to be a long 4 years if the red states get their way. I just can't fathom how people support a smirking bumbling dumb liar.

And with this post, I've broken my plan of not putting anything personal in this blog.

Is this depression? Is it apathy? Is it burnout? Is it just a really bad case of stress? I don't know what it is, but it has to end soon or else I'm going to lose my mind. I need a night off to just stay in, watch a heartwarming movie, have a good homecooked meal, and lots of happy thoughts. At this point, that just seems like such a distant fantasy.

Manic Monday

I had a whole bunch of posts that I wanted to write today: winter weather, a comparison of my work ethic between 1L and 3L, my computer's issues, Desperate Housewives. But right now, I just have no energy. It's been a hectic day, and David Ortiz's miserable performance topped it off and drained me of any energy I possibly had to write. Oh well. Maybe another time or maybe those posts will lie unwritten with all the rest of the "I want to write, but didn't have time" posts.

Damn Red Sox. Just remember where you're going tomorrow. Back to the house that Ruth built. Uh huh.

I'm not sure who I'm rooting for between the Astros and the Cardinals. I would root for the Cards because they have Jason Marquis, who I went to high school with. Or I could root for the Astros as a Plan B for the Yankees, in the slight off-chance that the Red Sox pull this off purely on momentum. They have lots of B's on their team and that could do the Bambino proud. But only if necessary. It would be so awesome to have someone from my high school pitching in the World Series though...

I really am drained. Damn Red Sox. I punched a pillow for 5 minutes after that, cursing all the way, and almost threw my computer at the TV. Look at the destruction you could have caused, Mr. Ortiz. You could have taken two of the most important electronic devices from my life. Argh.

And not only that, but you threw off my whole time schedule twice. The game (and series!) was supposed to be over. I was going to watch LAX, but had to tape it instead. I was going to start doing my homework earlier, but no, the game wasn't over yet. And then it took me awhile to calm down before I could even break out network industries stuff. And tomorrow I have a meeting I have to go to, and there wasn't supposed to be a Game Six to interfere. Argh!

I want to be happy. I'll think of Zoloft commercials. Those are happy.

Damn Red Sox. Interfering with my pre-scheduled plans. I think I might have to go to school in glasses again tomorrow.

Oh well. I'm going to sleep. I'm going to dream happy dreams of no Game Seven. And then I'm going to wake up bright and early and will head to accounting. That's the plan. Root for the Yankees. I'm off to dream in pinstripes. Good night!

Spider Rolls

Last night (Friday), we went to dinner at Sai Cafe, a Japanese restaurant in Lincoln Park. Here's some of what we indulged in.


Halloween Roll and Spider Roll


The rolls arrive!


Mmmm... sushi....

And from the day before, when I went down to Hyde Park for class:


Colorful trees outside the Museum of Science and Industry in Hyde Park

If the nature of this entry hasn't clued you in, there's been an update. Leave some comments and let me know what you think of the photos.

Insomnia + sick computer + need to save files + cooler apartment + late night TV = I'm still awake and doing productive and responsible things. Has anyone ever seen the infomercial for Yoga Booty Ballet? Anyone want to give me computer advice?

Nineteen Runs

I took one for the team tonight.

As much as I would have liked to, I didn't watch the Red Sox-Yankees game, because unlike the first two games, I was apparently a jinx.

Consider the following scenario:

I'm watching TV, and all of a sudden, think, "I should turn on the game!" I flip over to Fox and it's the bottom of the second, Yankees up 3-2.

All of a sudden, it's tied 3-3.

The Yankees don't look like themselves; Derek Jeter can't make a hard play, bobbling the ball. Red Sox take their first lead in 20 innings, and are up 4-3.

NO WAY.

The Yankees were winning, despite giving up a home run. I turn on the game, then it's tied and then the Red Sox are winning? What kind of luck is that?

Bad luck, that's what.

Top of the third, Alex Rodriguez comes to the plate. We change the station, because I'm not willing to make the Yankees lose just because I want to watch the game.

I'm on the phone with my parents through all of this, and whaddya know, as soon as we change the channel, A-Rod homers.

What are the chances? Yankees are winning before I turn on the game. I start watching, and the game is tied and then Red Sox are winning. As soon as I turn it off, the Yankees score! Clearly, it's me.

And the Yankees keep scoring. But I refuse to turn the game back on. It's not my day to watch.

Flip through the channels in the bottom of the 3rd, and it's tied again. Iron Chef Cod Roe Battle it is!

A bit later, we flipped through really quickly and the score was 13-6 Yankees. I caught some of the local news on CBS and they mentioned that the score was 16-6. My dad calls me, and tells me that it's 17-6 and that the Red Sox could "never" score 11 runs now to make up the difference and that it's safe for me to watch.

I was reluctant, since despite the fact that 11 runs is a lot, I don't believe it's over until it's over. But it couldn't hurt to look, right?

I flip over to Fox, 17-6, bottom of the 7th. Jason Varitek hits a home run.

Ohmygoodness, I am not watching any more of this game! I refuse to jinx the Yankees like this!! The second time I turn on the game for any prolonged length of time (more than one pitch), the Red Sox score! No way. No more game. I'll watch the highlights.

My parents tried to convince me that I should watch, since after all, "there's only 9 more outs." Tell that to Mike Mussina... only 9 more outs and he still had a perfect game. (And I was so sad when he lost it! My poor favorite Yankee starting pitcher!)

I still haven't seen the highlights of the game yet. (ESPN has the Rockets game from China - go Yao Ming!) But I've read the box score and the articles. I'm fine with missing the game if that meant the Yankees didn't have to lose. I was the bad luck jinx for this Game 3; it would only help the Red Sox if I kept watching. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. ;-)

House Arrest

I just watched the second half of House Arrest on TBS. I was flipping channels and remembered that I had seen this movie many times before, but I couldn't think of the name of the movie. It's really cute. It's about these kids who lock their parents in the basement to work out their difficulties. More of a kid's movie than an adult's movie, but I still enjoy it. I might even buy it, were it to go on sale for cheap. ;-) I'm a sucker for cute cheesy movies. Now TBS is showing Jumanji. Another movie I've seen multiple times (whenever it's on TV) but also don't own. TBS is taking HBO's place today. :)

Survivor 9.5

Keeping with the theme of TV-related (list) posts, here's my current feelings on Survivor.

Survivor: Vanuatu has not been as exciting as All-Stars. I didn't watch the seasons inbetween Australia and All-Stars, so I can't say whether or not the franchise went steadily downhill or whether this one is just a snoozer. It's not terrible (and it still entertains me) and maybe we'll see more game play now that the men and women's tribes have been shaken up, but so far, it hasn't been that compelling. (Not sure what I'm going to do once The O.C. goes on in the same spot - I only have one VCR and that's yoga time, so more than likely I'll tape The O.C. But I'll still watch Survivor - what's great is that they have so many clips online.)

Going into this episode, I liked the women's tribe (Yasur) a lot more than the men's tribe (Lopevi). The men were annoying. There was a clear split in the voting: the (sometimes) younger, good looking, built guys v. the old fat guys. The alliance of 5 old fat guys just started picking off the younger guys for no other reason I thought than that they were good-looking and would be individual immunity threats later on. The women had a better team, seemed like they were playing the game a little more, and are definitely not as annoying and cringe-inducing as the women on The Apprentice. It's exactly the opposite of The Apprentice, where I'm rooting for the men's team every week. (Although their corporate shake-up I think comes next week...)

So the teams are split up, and despite attempts to keep them "equal", end up with one tribe that only has 2 women (Lopevi: Julie and Twila) and one tribe that only has 2 guys (Yasur: Bubba and Rory). This makes the minorities easy targets, and sure enough, one of them goes. Not that I minded though, because Bubba was getting on my nerves and he did something really stupid by trying to signal to the other team at immunity. That's just jeopardizing your survival in the game and really dumb. "Caught with your hand in the cookie jar?" Yeah, I think so. What, did you think they wouldn't notice you saying "merge"?

So here's who I like and who I don't... Those in parentheses are already voted out. (I'm including them because I'm never written a Survivor post before.)

Like: Ami, (Brady), Chad, Eliza, John K, Julie, Leann, Scout

Meh: (Brook), (Dolly), (John P), Rory, Twila

Don't Really Like: Chris, Lea/Sarge, Lisa, (Mia), Travis/Bubba

Let's see who gets kicked out next week and how much impact Scout's team-splitting decisions make in the long run.

Apprentice 2.6

As pretty as John is, for once (this season) I think Trump actually made the right decision. But if this task wasn't practically spoonfed for the women to win, I don't know what would be. Had they lost on a women's fashion task, that would just be sad.

Anyway, I don't have all that much to say, except to put in order my rankings for how I like each member of the team. I've put the rankings from before the episode and after, to see how what the editors chose to show us affected my opinion. ;-)

Pre-Show

Apex: (commentaries are overall, not per episode)
(Although I do have a ranking, I only really like Jen, and somewhat Elizabeth, and after that, they could all be fired in a row, and that would be fine.)

1. Jen M. - competent, speaks well, professional, not as catty as the other women, seems like she actually has talent
2. Elizabeth - conscientious and a good worker, although cracks under pressure as a leader, I really don't think she's as annoying as some of the Heathers think she is, she has some valid questions
3. Sandy - kind of bitchy sometimes, doesn't seem to add a whole lot of value, but not actively pissing me off yet
4. Ivana - I go back and forth on her, she can be really annoying obnoxious and bitchy, she can be clueless and non-existent as a leader, but sometimes she also gets things done and is bearable
5. Maria - her facial expressions, blinking, voice are getting to me; she's a little too full of herself and thinks she's greater than she really is
6. Stacy - I thought she might be under the radar in episode one because she didn't talk, but now she won't shut up and she's getting on my nerves

Hmm. Clearly I find uselessness more acceptable than obnoxiousness, as I have more tolerance for useless Sandy than I do for annoying Ivana, scary Maria and shouting Stacy.

Of the firees, I liked Pamela, thought Jen C. was annoying and would not shut up, thought Stacie J was eccentric but wrongly ganged up on, and was neutral on Bradford but thought giving up his exemption was dumb.

Mosaic:

1. Kevin - Oh, c'mon! UofC and he's competent, a good worker, and smart. He has to go at the top of the list.
2. Raj - He really amuses me; the tennis thing was hilarious and I like watching ppl who seem to be having fun.
3. John - He's pretty. :) I didn't like his "no food" thing on the ice cream task, but I think he's a good guy.
4. Andy - Yes, he's young and he's inexperienced, but he got on the show so I think he should be treated like everyone else, since the show is about performance and not just resumes. He's had some great ideas (the whole toy concept for Mattel, the charity idea for the ice cream task) and I think he has a lot of good energy. I hate when people try to make Trump's decisions for him about who is experienced enough.
5. Kelly - Strong leader but maybe a little too stern with his military style?
6. Wes - Don't really like very much about him, but don't hate him or anything, don't really know if he adds anything to the team.
7. Chris - His attitude bugs me, especially the comments about gay people.

I just like the energy of this team so much better.

Only one firee before today's episode, and I didn't really like Rob and his whole "well, no one told me to do anything!" thing.

Post-Show

Apex: No change. What a surprise. I dislike Ivana, Maria and Sandy a little more than before, but I don't think the relative rankings change.

Mosaic:

1. Kevin
2. Kelly - He really impressed me tonight, stepping up to the plate. Seems like a good leader and a good guy, but I'm not sure what was up with his comments to John about who to bring in to the boardroom, and then placing blame on Andy.
3. Andy - I still really like him, despite the fact that a lot of people seem to want him gone. He has good ideas and works hard, even if he's inexperienced. (Unlike Chris, who reads the paper during the task, knowing he's exempt...)
4. [John]
5. Raj/Wes - Raj was really annoying me today. Sometimes he really needs to learn how to shut up...
6. Chris - Pink camouflage underwear? Oh, shut UP.

Alright, now that I've finished watching all the extra Apprentice videos on Yahoo for all the past episodes, this topic can be laid to rest for the night. With my useless comments above that really are nothing but me spewing into cyberspace. :)

Silver Coins Follow-Up

To follow-up on my old post, I thought I would mention that Eliot Spitzer has gotten a court order halting the sale of those 9/11 coins. If they're found liable for deceptive advertising (coins are silver plated not silver, they're not US tender but the Northern Marianas Islands, etc.), that's $500 per violation, which includes every broadcast of the advertisement. I appreciate that some of their money goes to charity, but a halt to those ads seems like the right thing to do.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/14/nyregion/14coin.html

Nader in PA

"Judge Colins said the conduct of the Nader campaign "shocks the conscience of the court."

He said, "In reviewing signatures, it became apparent that in addition to signing names such as Mickey Mouse, Fred Flintstone, John Kerry and the ubiquitous Ralph Nader, there were thousands of names that were created at random and then randomly assigned either existent or nonexistent addresses by the circulators.""

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/14/politics/campaign/14nader.html

Are you kidding me? The Nader campaign signed fake names for something so important as getting him on the ballot in PA? Now, I'm not a Nader supporter and would rather he not be on the ballot in PA, but this is just ludicrous. Whose bad idea was this??

Pedro's Paternity

From Tyler Kepner's New York Times article, "Lieber Tucks In Red Sox for the Night":

"It was the greatest moment of his career, and Jon Lieber was still in a hurry. There were 56,136 fans standing for him and roaring, their voices strident, somehow, after screaming about Pedro Martínez's paternity for most of the night."

Hee. Who's your daddy? He brought this one on himself.

(Said in "derisive singsong." But I don't know how much of a "derisive singsong" it is when it's to the same tune as "Let's Go Yankees.")

Lieber was great last night, and Mariano, well, he's historic. But this series is nowhere near over. And to Boston we go.

Let's Go Yankees! :)

Trailer Update

I think I've decided what my treat for finishing the MPRE is going to be: The Polar Express, unless I haven't already seen The Incredibles by that time. Then it might be both of them. :)

Eulogy looks like it could be funny; I am David looks like it could be good and is definitely trying to angle for an Oscar; Robots (watched it again) looks fun. And Beyond the Sea looks like it has the potential to be good.

As for movies coming up soon: The Incredibles is the next one on my list. Like that was hard to guess, considering my love for all things Pixar. :)

Mardi V

As the ESPN headline read: it's on!

And the Yankees take Game 1. Hallelujah!

Those first 6 1/3 innings were a nailbiter for me. I was hoping and hoping that Mussina would get the perfect game, but also hoping that it wasn't in his head because then he might lose it. Sure enough, once it got in his head, the Yankees started making bobbles everywhere. But they didn't give up and they pulled this one out. With great thanks to my other favorite pitcher Mariano. I think the save tonight will be really good for his psyche... I can't even imagine how hard it must have been to pitch right after flying back from Panama where your family died at your home. Poor guy. But he got it done. Poor Mussina. He just looked so bummed after the 7th. And he was on fire before that. He looked so good; I was so so excited for him.

[I'm clearly not a sportswriter.]

The Red Sox... I don't know why they think that looking like thugs is a good thing. The long hair, the unshaven faces, I know it's part of their deal, but it's just so unattractive.

I wanted Matsui to break the ALCS RBI record. Oh well. Next game. ;-) "Who's your daddy?" Hopefully this will be fun. :)

There were some great creative signs tonight. I liked the K signs - the moose holding the Sox in its mouth; the 1918 ones. "May the curse be with you." I liked the guys who made big numbers saying 1918 with Babe Buckner Bucky and Boone's pictures on the numbers.

Tomorrow's a packed TV day so I'm going to have to be productive during the day - Lost, Game 2, post-debate stuff. Go Yankees!!

The list:

Shower
Brunch
Late lunch, more like a snack
Fill out absentee ballot
Last Thursday's network industries reading
This Thursday's network industries reading
Monday's accounting homework
Tuesday's accounting homework
Case reading for paper
Dinner
ALCS game
Sleep

Mardi IV

Cool air conditioned air flows in through the front door, propped open by a large blue bucket and a toaster oven. The air freezes my feet as I sit atop a yoga mat and seat cushion, clicking away at the laptop mounted on the microwave oven desk. The air pushes through the fan trying to circulate and push out the hot air in the living room, trying to make the humidity disappear into thin air.

Right. :)

At least I can cross something academic off the list finally!

Shower
Brunch
Late lunch, more like a snack
Fill out absentee ballot
Last Thursday's network industries reading
This Thursday's network industries reading
Monday's accounting homework
Tuesday's accounting homework
Case reading for paper
Dinner
ALCS game
Sleep

Mardi III

I haven't done any work yet.

Doesn't help that my mom called and then asked how far I've gotten on my paper, prompting a burst of frustration about how I don't have time for this crap (paper, not phone call) and a litany of reasons why I wanted to do this paper before school started, yet was thwarted in my best efforts by forces beyond my control. (If you want details and don't know them, just ask. I'd prefer not to put all the gory details in a public forum.)

And I'm hungry and my head, off and on, feels like it's being wrapped up tightly in a cord since I barely slept last night.

I don't really like to complain, honest.

Anyway, I'm going to really do work now. I mean it this time...

Shower
Brunch
Late lunch, more like a snack
Late snack
Fill out absentee ballot
Last Thursday's network industries reading
This Thursday's network industries reading
Monday's accounting homework
Tuesday's accounting homework
Case reading for paper
Dinner
ALCS game
Sleep

Mardi II

No way. How could I forget such an important entry on my to do list?

The Yankees - Red Sox game!

May the curse of the Bambino live on.

List, revised:

Shower
Brunch
Late lunch
Fill out absentee ballot
Last Thursday's network industries reading
This Thursday's network industries reading
Monday's accounting homework
Tuesday's accounting homework
Case reading for paper
Dinner
ALCS game
Sleep

Mardi I

It's taken me this long to write a to-do list for today. Granted I was setting up my workstation and propping the door open to cool off the room, but still. A to-do list is important. (By the way, is it "to do list" or "to-do list"? And for anyone who's wondering, I decided on initial caps for the titles.)

Tuesday's To Do List

Shower
Brunch
Late lunch
Fill out absentee ballot
Last Thursday's network industries reading
This Thursday's network industries reading
Monday's accounting homework
Tuesday's accounting homework
Case reading for paper
Dinner
Sleep

This list seems remarkably shorter than yesterday. I wonder what's up with that.

QVC Over Breakfast

I'm watching QVC now. I don't really intend to buy anything, but I love hearing about new kitchen appliances. And I'm really amazed at how many people watch and buy things on QVC. I just don't get it. Do people really need all of this stuff? Although... I understand the QVC phenomenon a whole lot better than how people could possibly vote for and actively support Bush.

The first item I saw them sell was this quilt. It was okay; I probably wouldn't buy it, but I probably wouldn't buy any bed stuff on a home shopping channel. This woman called in, and was like, "My husband abhors flowers, but there's just enough red and gold ribbon on this quilt to make it masculine enough that I can get away with it." Hmm. Red and gold ribbon = masculine? I didn't know those were gendered colors.

Next up was the waffle maker. Now, I'll admit waffle makers are pretty cool. Not as cool as the DeLonghi Panini Grill (which they sold out of!) or the Cuisinart ice cream maker, but pretty cool nonetheless. I thought this one exchange was pretty funny:

Caller: I'm so glad. I've been waiiiiting for this to come back in again.
QVC: Really? So you're a waffle gal?
Caller: Oh, I ammmm.

Same caller at the end of the conversation:

Caller: I'm so glad I could talk to you. You're my faaaavorite.

Scary.

And they kept going on and on. I guess you had to hear it yourself.

In other subtle amusements, whoever does the captions for the Apprentice photos on Yahoo is having a grand ole time with subtle sarcasm. And I appreciate their efforts because it makes me laugh.

Haha, another caller.

QVC: How about some apple and cranberry waffles?
Caller: I'm so hungryyyy.

Reminds me of last night when the Mosaic guys kept saying they hadn't eaten and wanted panini, and then they made them give it to the audience.

Oh my goodness, the hungry caller stayed home from work to watch this?!

They just fly through the products on this channel! In the time it's taken me to eat a cup of yogurt, they've gone through 5 products....

I need to write a to-do list for today...

Rêvassez

Still up.

Why?

I don't know. Probably insomnia or something. I really should get to sleep, and half of me wants to sleep, but the other half is racing around, doing something, probably complaining.

About what?

My current annoyances and frustrations. Namely, the heat in the apartment, my AIM's insistence on signing me off for 5 minutes at a time every 5-30 minutes without telling me that my messages aren't going through, schoolwork. Thinking over my day, I'm also still amazed that someone would actually hit me in pilates class (not like a punch, but still an invasion of space).

Ah. I see.

Yeah... I don't know what's keeping me awake. Maybe it's the sensory overload from the bright bathroom lights, the smoke filtering in from the hall, the loud white noise of the fan, my stomach growling and begging for more pretzels.

Well, did you get anything done?

Sure, I got stuff done. I can cross another entry off the list. I did Thursday's securities reading. At least what I think is Thursday's securities reading. Maybe I should stop being such a conscientious school reader. I never was before.

You got that right.

After all, I still have that paper looming over my head threatening to destroy my sanity.

Yes, you do.

And the MPRE, which I absolutely have to pass this time around because I really don't want to take that standardized test twice.

Uh huh, sure. You've got plenty of time.

I wonder if tomorrow will be any cooler than today in this apartment.

You're changing the subject.

I don't want to talk about school-related topics. Anything but homework, schoolwork, papers, tests, problem sets... why why why is law school 3 years long?

No idea. They just want to torture you personally. (sarcastically) Everyone's out to get you.

Bullshit.

It's a conspiracy.

This isn't normal.

What's not normal?

Having conversations with myself at 5:46 am, and willingly continuing the conversation for the sake of my own amusement when I could be doing much more productive things like trying to sleep.

***

Yes, I am amused by my conversation with myself. This is what happens when you daydream in dialogue all these years. Lots and lots of dialogue. But I promise you, the stuff I normally daydream in dialogue is much more exciting and much more well-written than this. But hey, when it's almost 6 am and you've been up for 20+ hours, and have nothing going on in life but schoolwork, the dialogue gets a little dry.

I've just been inspired. To daydream. In dialogue. To post. We'll see what comes of this. For now, I'm actually going to try to sleep. And dream away.

Columbus Progress X

I realized that I hadn't finished my securities note-taking for the last segment for last week, so I finished that. It wasn't on my task list, but I'm adding it so I can cross it off, since I actually did something productive.

I think I am obsessed with the strikeout font style. It's so much fun and it feels so good to be able to cross something out. That must be why I'm updating so often with the list. It's just so much fun to cross things out! Don't you agree? Or maybe I'm just addicted to posting. I don't know why...

Shower
Eat lunch
Call parents to find out about flu shots
Two 1.2 One weeks of accounting reading/outlining
Last Thursday's securities reading/outlining
Thursday's securities reading/outlining
Last Thursday's network industries reading
This Thursday's network industries reading
Case reading for substantial paper
Set timer for LAX
Tidy the hallway
Put away 5 2 things in the living room
Cool the room with the hallway air - in progress
Pilates class
Dinner
Watch QVC for Mosaic
Sleep

Columbus Progress IX

Is this still considered Monday's progress or is this Tuesday now? I guess it's officially Tuesday, but I consider it Monday because I haven't gone to sleep for the night yet. Same way I do my regular journal entries.

I am so not productive. Sigh. At least I'm caught up to last Friday's accounting class with reading. I don't know why I'm even still attempting to do the reading for my classes - isn't there something about not having as much work as a 3L? I'm thinking it's not the work load, but the self-imposed pressure. But then again, so many of us are perfectionists that it's hard to not force oneself to at least try to do work. Oh well. Such is life.

I really want/need to work on this darn seminar paper. The sooner it's out of my hands, the better for all involved. Praying that I actually get approved for substantial credit, or else the end of third year will be ... really bad. Let's not go there.

So where am I at now?

Shower
Eat lunch
Call parents to find out about flu shots
Two 1.2 One weeks of accounting reading/outlining - actually turns out that the 2d week only has 4 readings instead of 5 - woohoo!
Thursday's securities reading/outlining
Last Thursday's network industries reading
This Thursday's network industries reading
Case reading for substantial paper
Set timer for LAX
Tidy the hallway
Put away 5 2 things in the living room
Cool the room with the hallway air - in progress
Pilates class
Dinner
Watch QVC for Mosaic
Sleep

Columbus Progress VIII

Running thoughts on The Apprentice QVC Show:

• The female host really does have a doll face. I think it every time I see her face.
• Nice shot at Mark Cuban... haha... other loser reality shows like "The Benefactor." Ha.
• I bet they're watching their website numbers spike with their advertising of the contest.
• That really will be how they sell the Apprentice DVD set - "I bought it from Sam." Since I think I got it cheaper than what they're selling it for... by about $10...
• Whoa, 16 minutes in and the Apprentice DVDs are sold out?!
• I love all these Apprentice clips. I love watching Trump watching QVC. Hee.
• Saying that the women sold 659 units of their product is really going to make people go out and buy it... they want to be part of the group... and they want to be part of the Apprentice!
• Haha, now they're going to sell It Works.
• Jen M is much better on camera than Pamela in selling products.
• Now Pamela's wiping it lightly but it doesn't look like it's coming off! But that product is pretty good.
• Omg, when people were actually going to call in, they never mentioned that they weren't going to ship the product until Dec 10th!
• Haha, someone in the audience is calling in to order. Haha.
• Trump's book, Trump's this and that... it's all about Trump. Where's Mosaic?!
• I love watching the ticker go up higher and higher... especially when it's things that I can't figure out a reason for. (This one I get... it's a TV show tie-in.) But some of this stuff? Who are the people who buy them?!
• "Our representatives are busy. Use automated ordering." HAHA. Everyone wants Trump's book.
• "Overly bragg-a-day-cious" - is that a word?
• Ohhh... so the Trump family crest is only through QVC? Oooh.
• 33,000 copies of Trump's book sold out? Geez.
• John's better than Andy at the panini grill. You can watch at the QVC site.
• I want the panini grill....
• Sold out!
• No fair... every member of the audience gets one!??!? Not fair!!

And the list:

Shower
Eat lunch
Call parents to find out about flu shots
Two1.2 weeks of accounting reading/outlining - in progress
Thursday's securities reading/outlining
Last Thursday's network industries reading
This Thursday's network industries reading
Case reading for substantial paper
Set timer for LAX
Tidy the hallway
Put away 5 things in the living room
Cool the room with the hallway window air - edited because I'm watching TV/typing on the desktop and can't see the door
Pilates class
Dinner
Watch QVC for Mosaic
Sleep

Columbus Progress VII

This woman on QVC has a face like a Barbie doll. Blond well-sculpted hair, bright white smile, long eyelashes, pronounced blinking eyes, wide open eyes... I don't know, she just reminded me of a doll face.

Ooh, look at that all-white audience...

Trump still says Ah-marosa. Ha.

Now that you see my unproductivity (is that a word?), can you see why I get no work done?

Shower
Eat lunch
Call parents to find out about flu shots
Two1.2 weeks of accounting reading/outlining - in progress
Thursday's securities reading/outlining
Last Thursday's network industries reading
This Thursday's network industries reading
Case reading for substantial paper
Set timer for LAX
Tidy the hallway
Put away 5 things in the living room
Cool the room with the hallway window air - edited because I'm watching QVC and can't see the door
Pilates class
Dinner
Watch QVC for Mosaic
Monday Night Football
Sleep

Columbus Progress VI

Pilates-related question: how hard is it, when you are looking directly at someone during a stretch, to not hit them twice with your hands?

Shower
Eat lunch
Call parents to find out about flu shots
Two1.2 weeks of accounting reading/outlining - in progress
Thursday's securities reading/outlining
Last Thursday's network industries reading
This Thursday's network industries reading
Case reading for substantial paper
Set timer for LAX
Tidy the hallway
Put away 5 things in the living room
Cool the room with the hallway air - in progress
Pilates class
Dinner
Watch QVC for Mosaic
Monday Night Football
Sleep

Columbus Progress V

I took a half hour power nap. Unintentionally, of course.

I took some pictures of the pre-sunset that I might post later.

I've now got cross-ventilation going with the window and the door despite my loathing for not being able to watch one or the other apartment openings. (Watching for bugs v. watching laptop by open door... hmm.) My fear of spiders coming in to the apartment has been momentarily crushed by the oppressive humidity and heat.

I haven't made much work progress. It looks like I've done 4 days of accounting, but really I've only done 2. And what's odd is that by reading accounting, I have made myself believe that I do not hate tax as much as I thought I did and that I might take corporate tax because I can't find any more classes to take. Heat frying brain...

Shower
Eat lunch
Call parents to find out about flu shots
Two1.2 weeks of accounting reading/outlining - in progress
Thursday's securities reading/outlining
Last Thursday's network industries reading
This Thursday's network industries reading
Case reading for substantial paper
Set timer for LAX
Tidy the hallway
Put away 5 things in the living room
Cool the room with the hallway air - in progress
Pilates class
Dinner
Watch QVC for Mosaic
Monday Night Football
Sleep

Columbus Progress IV

I'm eating mozzarella sticks with chopsticks out of a rice bowl.

For some reason, this struck me as amusing.

Columbus Progress III

It's not on the list, but I'm still hungry after lunch, so I'm making mozzarella sticks. In other news, I'm almost done with one day of accounting reading and recording... this is pathetic! (It's also sad because it is for last Wed's class..)

Shower
Eat lunch
Call parents to find out about flu shots
Two weeks of accounting reading/outlining - in progress
Thursday's securities reading/outlining
Last Thursday's network industries reading
This Thursday's network industries reading
Case reading for substantial paper
Set timer for LAX
Tidy the hallway
Put away 5 things in the living room
Cool the room with the hallway air - had the door open for an hour but am now on the desktop computer so cannot see the door; it's much cooler now
Pilates class
Dinner
Watch QVC for Mosaic
Monday Night Football
Sleep

Columbus Progress II

I do not approve of the steamy condition of my apartment, but the steamy sunrise the Weather Channel showed of Mt. St. Helens? Gorgeous.

Shower
Eat lunch
Call parents to find out about flu shots
Two weeks of accounting reading/outlining - in progress
Thursday's securities reading/outlining
Last Thursday's network industries reading
This Thursday's network industries reading
Case reading for substantial paper
Set timer for LAX
Tidy the hallway
Put away 5 things in the living room
Cool the room with the hallway air - in progress
Pilates class
Dinner
Watch QVC for Mosaic
Monday Night Football
Sleep

Columbus Progress I

Happy Columbus Day! (i.e. Happy day off if you have one!)

On the Weather Channel just now, they showed pumpkins that were over 800 lbs! They were huge! It was the big pumpkin weigh-in in Kaysville, Utah. Things like this are why I love to watch the Weather Channel. I mean, when am I ever going to find myself at a pumpkin weigh-in in Kaysville, UT?

I need to be productive today. So I am going to write my to-do list here, to keep myself accountable for how much progress I have (or have not) made. I'll update with my progress... since you know, that's not a time-waster or anything. ;-)

The list:

Shower
Eat lunch
Call parents to find out about flu shots
Two weeks of accounting reading/outlining
Thursday's securities reading/outlining
Last Thursday's network industries reading
This Thursday's network industries reading
Case reading for substantial paper
Set timer for LAX
Tidy the hallway
Put away 5 things in the living room
Cool the room with the hallway air
Pilates class
Dinner
Watch QVC for Mosaic
Monday Night Football
Sleep

And it's already 12:37 pm. Beautiful. If anyone's wondering, I really don't expect to get all of this done. I'm ambitious. ;-) But cheer me on anyway!

Panini

I haven't tidied up the hallway yet.

But I have leafed through my 2004 photo album, which has lots of gaping holes for the digital pictures I still need to print from June and after.

I want a tuna lover roll from AKA Sushi. Or a tuna tempura roll.

Instead I have been watching the Mosaic commercial on QVC for the DeLonghi Retro Nonstick Panini Grill with Cookbook. I want it! It looks like a great product, and it's so versatile. You can grill anything! And the lid adjusts for items of different heights, and who doesn't love panini?

Hmm. This must be why I keep myself away from QVC. And the Home Shopping Network. At least when they're doing small kitchen appliances and electronic gadgets... my weaknesses.

I was so sucked in by John and Wes and that lady doing the presentation that I really want the panini grill! But I don't want to pay $70 for it. Apparently QVC has decreased their price from the one Mosaic charged ($71.25) to $69.something. But still.... I can wait until I find it for cheaper. But this panini grill looks so awesome!

I love panini. I've had good panini sandwiches at Corner Bakery, and Fox and Obel makes a great chicken chipotle panini. Yum yum yum. Now I'm craving panini....

swelter

No decision on the caps thing yet.

It's so hot! I think I'm going to go eat the last popsicle in the freezer.

Poor burning-up laptop keyboard.

At least the bedroom is almost in tip-top shape; just a corner or two to take care of the details, and it'll be done. The bathroom is still in pretty good shape from the last compulsive cleaning spree; it's just not as scrubbed-down as it was last time. And the laundry room has always been okay.

My problem is that I clean in one of two ways: starting in one place and then working my way around in a logical method (along the border of the room, usually), or just grabbing things at random. Either way, I lose interest eventually.

Off to go tidy up the hallway. Bye bye shoes!

To Cap or not to cap

I can't decide whether or not to write my headlines in initial caps or to write them in all lowercase. What looks better? What fits more with the style of this blog? (Like there's one consistent style - ha!) Help! I need your expert advice!

giant victory

And the Giants win another football game! Congrats boys in blue! Yay for Tiki Barber!

Only bad thing is that I didn't get to see the game. :(

So what is going on this Sunday afternoon?

• I woke up early, but not early enough to catch the Chicago marathon like I had planned. (They were going to be passing by Streeterville at 8, the start of the marathon.) Oh well. I watched last Sunday's Jack and Bobby (only a week late!), and then Alvin and the Chipmunks meet Frankenstein (or something like that) on the Disney Channel and the rest of X2 (yes, again) on HBO. HBO loves X2.
• It's so hot in the apartment that the chocolate has taken up residence in the fridge. Mmmm cold chocolate.
• The air conditioning is wonderfully cold in the hallway but not so in the apartment, where it is off. I will not rant about it again. But the laundry room, which is right by the door to the hallway, is much cooler - with the dryer on - than the living room. I hooked up the fan to an extension cord to put it at the entrance to the living room so now there's air circulation at least. Before there was just hot heavy air moving around; at least now the cool air is trying to make inroads.
• There are lots of air fresheners around the apartment. Yippee!
• Last night, there were 2 spiders and a fly in the apartment. It was gross. The fly kept circling the light. I was so scared. Bad window experiment.
• My absentee ballot is here. Woohoo! I forgot there's no mail delivery tomorrow.
• Clean clean clean. I almost forgot I have a ton of work to do for school.

And as I write that, frustration wells up in my fingers, forcing me to go do something productive. This place really needs to be unpacked and put away so that I can do work!! Argh! Why can't I just invoke some Hogwarts magic spell to tidy up the room? You know Harry didn't clean up his own room after the diary pilfering in Chamber of Secrets. I want that spell!

lyrical

Today (Saturday) hasn't been one of the better days this week (except for the Yankees win!). But it's over and we can only look forward to tomorrow. A new day. And hopefully, a brighter better one.

In the meantime, I can clean the apartment and listen to The Calling...

These are the days worth living,
These are the years we're given
And these are the moments
These are the times
Let's make the best out of our lives.

It's inspirational to me. :) Let's make the best out of our lives.

Influenza Vaccines

The flu shot shortage is national news. Despite the original announcements that there would be plenty of flu shots to go around and the scheduling of hundreds of clinics across the country, we ended up short. Again. Portfolio diversification clearly doesn't apply to the world of influenza vaccines, and we lost 50% of our expected capacity because of a plant shutdown in the UK. Maybe we should have had better contingency planning, or planned a way to get vaccines from more sources so we wouldn't be in this mess. Hopefully they've learned from this shortage. We can't do anything about it now though; it is what it is.

Only high risk patients can get the flu shot right now. That includes pregnant women, elderly people over 65, health care workers, people who care for children under <6 months, people on immunosuppressants, asthmatics, and those with chronic lung and heart conditions. (I've studied the list, yet I still feel like I'm leaving something out.) Despite these stringent category restrictions, the run on the flu shots is akin to a run on the bank.

Having gotten a flu shot for the past 13 or 14 years on doctor's orders because I'm asthmatic, I was really worried that they weren't going to let me get a flu shot this year because I'm "only asthmatic," and not like pregnant or over age 65. I tracked the news on the flu shots diligently; I ran searches for flu shot clinics twice a day. I followed the news. I printed out all the checklists that said asthmatics were included as high risk patients. I watched as the number of clinics listed on various websites dwindled, with scheduled clinics being cancelled left and right. My stress kept rising; what was I going to do if I couldn't get one? And what was I going to do if they ran out? My fear over getting an illness from which I've been kept safe for over half my life was everpresent; I even ended up checking for flu shot clinic schedules during class because I was so anxious.

My original plan was to go to Costco today for the shot, because it was $5 cheaper than Walgreens and then Alvin and I could go together and save time. But once the news on the flu shot shortage broke, I changed my mind. I saw a Walgreens that was giving the shot on Friday 10/8 from 1-4 pm, and it was the only one that I could make at the start of the time period due to my class schedule. I resolved that I was going to try to go on Friday, armed with all my papers, and if I couldn't get it, at least there was still Costco. As early into this mess as possible, the better.

I thought I would get to Walgreens around 12:20 to get on line and be early; I ended up leaving my apartment late and got there around 12:45. My mom was surprised I was going so early; she was sure there would be a rush at the start and it would calm down around the end. But then there was my constant fear: what if they run out?? I decided that I could stand waiting on line; after all, it couldn't be that bad, could it? They probably wouldn't run out, but going early couldn't hurt, right?

The flu shot clinic ran from 1-4 pm. I got there at 12:45 pm. I was #92.

Ninety-two?!

They were already giving shots to #18 when I walked in the door. Yikes. Twenty or so minutes later, when I finally got the forms to fill out, they were calling #30. But then I learned the bad news - they only had 130 vaccines to begin with.

Damn, I felt lucky. I'm so glad I got there early.

It was a zoo. Hardly anyone was shopping in Walgreens at the time. The cosmetics department was overrun by people holding green and pink forms. There was a mob scene around the payment and form-getting table. No one really knew what was going on. They needed a sign by the door saying, "Get number, then get form, then wait." It would have been a lot clearer. The magazine aisle was packed. Lots of people chatting on cell phones, and getting to know their neighbors. People came from all over the city since there were only 2 clinics in the whole city of Chicago on Friday. What a madhouse.

I gripped my number tightly, worrying that it would accidentally slip out of my hand and I'd be out of luck. I prayed that they wouldn't turn me away.

To distract myself since my phone was dying, I decided to go look for a copy of US Weekly, my guilty pleasure. There were two on the rack when I'd gone by 5 minutes before, but now they were both gone! It was very amusing though, looking down the aisle. Over half the people were reading US Weekly, despite the fact that there were over a hundred different magazines there. (No Real Simple though; in a magazine battle for what to read at the store, that one would trump US Weekly for me.) People were commenting on articles. We're such nosy voyeurs.

I eventually picked up Glamour and starting thumbing through the pages. I got distracted by the guy next to me who was reading US Weekly because there was an article on who celebs were voting for. He caught me looking. We ended up talking... about the flu shot shortage, about work and school, about how expensive it is to live in NY. He gave me his US Weekly when he was done with it, and said it was a good issue. He was ten numbers behind me, but in better shape than the day before when he said he was #140 and was turned away.

An hour and a half after I arrived, they were finally getting to the 80s and 90s. I headed over and joined my cohort by the cosmetics register to wait. Us early 90s were friends from our form-getting time. (Similar: when the nurse turned to another group of people as we waited, and said, "what number are you?" they responded as a group, "We're the 80s!" Very cute.) #91 was a man who gave off a very friendly vibe; I told him I was going to stick near him since then I knew my time was near. #92 was me. #93 was this very nice lady who put some perspective on our wait time when we first got there. I thought it was going quickly; they had gone from #18 to #30 in such a short time! She made the point that, even if they went one per minute from then on, we still would be waiting an hour. I hadn't thought of that. (And my stomach was dismayed; I had decided to eat lunch after the shot. Oops.) #94 was this other older woman, who seemed so worried that she wouldn't get her form off a very large stack when we were on line and was in such a rush to make sure she could get her form. It goes by numbers though, and goodness knows, we had plenty of time to fill out the forms with our long wait. Yay early 90s people! :)

I got my flu shot at 2:15. They gave me no problems. I was relieved. I felt lucky. I'm sure there are many many people in the risk column that will be turned away. It's unfortunate, but there's nothing that can be done. I treated myself to lunch at Potbelly's, and then picked up my review book for the MPRE.

I braved wind and constant rain to get my flu shot and my review book, and by the end of the day, walked over 4 miles to and from my apartment running these errands. But it was well-worth it. I'm protected.

I went with Alvin to Costco today. We didn't get there as early as I had hoped, but we were there and on line by 10:10. The line was four lengths of a Costco aisle by the time Alvin got on line. Poor thing. At least they had 400 vaccines to give out.

I got some good walking exercise, walking back and forth to the food stands to get him and me some snacks, but the chicken pot pie cups probably negated any benefit. In the time it took him to get his shot, I had 3 cups of chicken pot pie, 1 cup of Monster energy drink (blech, tastes like cough syrup), 2 crackers with caramelized onion and roasted garlic dip, a chip with shrimp fondue, a panetini with hummus, half a chicken potsticker, and had gotten him most of the same as well as a chicken tender piece and a peanut butter sandwich. I also bought stuff for the apartment at Target, looked through all the cookbooks and DVDs, watched the credits of Aladdin, got offered a canvas bag by a savings bank, watched a guy dressed up as a cute dog for the savings bank promotion, and walked laps around Costco. It was about 2 hours and 5 minutes from start to finish, getting on line to getting the shot. The worst part was that there were no numbers, because it wasn't so easy to get on the loudspeaker to announce them. You had to stay on line the whole time. It was funny listening to them measure progress, "We've moved from Campbell's soup to Progresso." Sigh.

While on line, Alvin learned from someone else that Walgreens ran out of vaccines. How could that be?! They had cancelled more than half of their clinics, but they didn't give away that much yesterday. Upon returning home, I learned that they had one clinic today and cancelled the rest, diverting their supply to medical centers that could ensure that high risk people only would get it. I guess they found too many people in the past week that they thought were lying?

After running various searches, I realized this is it. Today is the last day that I've been able to find any listings for any flu clinics in the entire city of Chicago - Walgreens, Osco, Costco - and I can't find anymore. I haven't felt just this lucky in quite awhile. Phew. I hope my parents can get their shots. There are only two more listings for Manhattan and two for Staten Island, and that's it that they can get to. I hope they can get them.

Those people who can take the spray vaccine, please do. (I'm in the age group that can, but based on what my ENT [ooh, my mom gave me the word I wanted to use: otolaryngologist. hee.] said last year about my sinus problems/congestion, I'm not sure that vaccine even works for me.) To all of those people who are high risk and should be getting the shot, good luck with finding one and get there early.

I still can't believe I was #92 and I was 15 minutes early.

Unrelated note: I'm thinking of trying out a new concept in this journal, sort of my own version of Daily Themes, which I never got around to taking. Look for it. We'll see (a) how long it lasts; (b) how successful it is; and (c) whether I have any writing skills left whatsoever. (See: post from a long time ago, I think titled "Accountability.")

Stay well this flu season.

Our Lives

There are a bunch of songs that I can't get out of my head. The problem is that if I don't catch them on the radio (and many aren't on the radio), I can only hear them on my laptop with its not-so-great speakers because they're through iTunes. (Well, I can hear them on my iPod which does make it a little better.) So I'm burning a CD. :)

I have lots of CDs I want to burn with mixes representing all different things: summer mixes, college semester mixes, high school mixes... I wonder if it'll ever get done.

Anyway, here's some songs on the mix I'm currently burning:

Cathy Dennis - "Too Many Walls" - was singing this for a couple of weeks before I finally downloaded it
Bowling for Soup - "1985" - so much fun, was hooked the first time I heard it on the radio
The Calling - "Our Lives" - the song from the Clubhouse ad, I've really liked it, but never downloaded it and now I love it
Diana Anaid - "Last Thing" - iTunes free song from last week that I liked on the first snippet and have been singing in the shower

In other music news, it's a fabulous feeling to be driving home from school while the tail end of the morning show is still on, knowing that even though you have a lot to do, the rest of your day is free free FREE!

Ninth

Today is officially the ninth day of school for the year, and I am already burnt out. Now this is not a surprise, considering the massive amount of complaining that I did prior to the start of the year about wanting to stay at work and not return to school. It's been a long and hard week, and I am relieved that I have no classes Monday through Wednesday. It's going to be a much-welcomed break even if I plan to get work done during those days.

I think I would feel more settled and less uncomfortable if my apartment were not trying to compete for an award for being one of the hottest and most humid confined spaces in the city of Chicago. Considering my thoughts about classes and school, it disappoints me that I actually welcome going to school because their air conditioning still works. I understand that once the low temperature goes below a certain temperature, heat must be made available, but I think it's poor planning to do so at the exclusion of having cooler air available especially when the high temperatures are still hitting 70. 70 degrees under intense afternoon sun makes a room a lot hotter. Add a lack of ventilation to the heated air and you end up with a hot humid sauna. Except the saunas I've been to might actually be drier than this. I hate not having control over air flow. And I hate opening the windows because allergy season isn't over yet, and it's not a good idea. And I hate having to have both the door and the window open in order to get a remote breeze, even though it doesn't cool the apartment that much. What are people supposed to do who have bad allergies, are asthmatic, and can't get any cool air in their living space? Sounds to me like a health risk.

Rant over.

I got called on today in securities and it wasn't that bad. I have realized that I learn law the best when it's through hypotheticals. For that reason, I am glad that class is conducted through hypothetical problems. Yet it still feels a little disjointed, and I'm not sure if that's because I'm in the last row and can't hear everything being said. That might be the reason.

I didn't go to my 8:30 accounting class today, and instead am going to the one that starts in 26 minutes. [At least it did when I was writing this part.] I'm glad we have that option. I just couldn't do it today. Insomnia kept me from sleeping until 2 or 3, and lack of time to read for my other class meant it wasn't a good idea to go. I thought I might have a restful morning, but waking up dripping with sweat, taking a shower, and then immediately being covered with sweat again is the furthest from comfortable that I can imagine (right now). I really want to get a significant amount of work done on my paper early next week, and if this heat persists combined with the lack of air flow, I'm not sure I'll be able to make any progress. Stifling heat and humidity just isn't a work condition.

This wouldn't be so bad if I could sit in the hallway with my laptop to do outlines or to work. But I can't. For two reasons: the outline feature in Word stopped working (see previous post) and my laptop keyboard decides that it wants to burn my fingers once left on for a certain number of hours. What I don't understand is why it was burning hot in my apartment after being on for like an hour, but currently, having been on in class, and not having that air flow circulating tablet underneath it, it's quite cool. Oh wait, I get it, it's because it's actually cool and air is flowing in the Green Lounge! Air conditioning and air circulation, yes, novel concepts.

I think I must be in a complaining mood. Nothing else could account for all this negativity. But what's funny is that my negativity right now is directed at the fact that my living conditions are driving me up the wall and sapping my energy more than classes and school. Who would have thought?

Okay, I need to stop ranting and raving. Even though it's how I feel. I would rather the apartment be cold because I could put a blanket on, but I can't unheat myself if it's too hot. Oh wait, it wouldn't be too cold if there were still a/c available, because the sun keeps the building so damn hot!

At least I know that when I look for a new place to live, I'm going to look for someplace that can sustain a climate change without making me melt into a puddle.

Tonight's TV brings "Survivor: Vanuatu", "The Apprentice" and playoff baseball. "Survivor" really hasn't been as compelling as "All-Stars" was for me. I still love watching the challenges and might still tape some episodes, but it's just not doing it for me. I might tape tonight's though because the person spoiled as getting voted out of the tribe is someone I like. "The Apprentice" should be good, although I'm afraid Mosaic will lose, so I can't see the women tear each other apart again. (Darn.) Playoff baseball is always good.

Well, not always. Game One sucked, but last night's game was fantastic.

I think maybe I should have gone to my other class, and just used the excuse that I didn't read because I was sucked into the Yankees game. After all, I am from NY. But I think that reason would go over much better at, say, a NY law school. The Cubs exemption worked last year, but we unfortunately can't use it this year.

I'm rambling.

Anyway, I was so happy the Yankees won. They needed this. They could not go into Minnesota on the verge of elimination. Originally, when I still planned to go away for the weekend, I really wanted to get Twins tickets. Now I wish I had actually tried to follow through on that plan. Would have been awesome.

I'm looking forward to yoga tonight. I could use the cooling effect and the peacefulness it brings. It's really hard to meditate in a hot room. Wait!! I just figured it out. I can do Bikram yoga 24/7 in my apartment now, if I manage to clear floor space. You're supposed to do it in a stifling hot and humid room - now I have my answer for what to do with my life in this heat condition! Eureka! Bikram yoga!

Although I would suspect that when it's over, you're supposed to retire to someplace cooler. Maybe I'll fill the bathtub with cold water.

I need to head to accounting in about 5-10 minutes. One more visit to the Amazing Race pixel challenge (these people are amazingly creative; I can't compete) and check of my email, and I'll be on my way. I doubt anyone even read this far considering for how long I've rambled on, and that most of it is complaining. Oh well. Such is life.

Hope you're having a cooler Thursday!

Circuit Overload

My brain circuits are overloading. I'm not used to balancing five classes at once. Usually it's only 3-4 classes a quarter, but because of the accounting minicourse, I'm running five this week (and also two weeks from now). It's actually a lot rougher than I thought it would be. I'll be a happy camper tomorrow at 3 pm. I know I have class at 8:30 on Friday, but at least the bulk of the week is over!

The outline feature on my Microsoft Word is broken. I can get a bullet, but when I try to shift+tab it or tab it over, it just inserts a regular tab, and doesn't outline. Same result when I go through the bullets menu to select outlining. I don't know what I did to make it stop working, but it hasn't worked in weeks. If anyone has any suggestions for how I can correct this, I would greatly appreciate it. It's a significant inconvenience to my school life to not have my outline feature. :(

I don't care if I'm on panel for securities tomorrow. I need my TV break, and I'm going to watch Lost and Wife Swap tonight. Go ABC! Lost is so exciting!!

This has been a useless post. That's what I get for writing when I'm not at home.

I do have some posts I want to write (re: echo boomers and the like), but I haven't had the time. (Boo.) I also haven't had the time to enjoy the leaves falling from the trees. (Sigh.)

14 more minutes until my schooltime Wednesday is over. I can't wait.

It's clear that when my brain is fried, I can't write coherently or intelligently. Right?

Off to go delete some spam or indulge in reading the pixel challenge on TWoP (Celebrity Amazing Race!), trying not to laugh out loud at how wonderful it is.

Heat Wave

My apartment is like a sauna. It's steamy and it's hot. Despite the fact that it's in the mid-50s outside, opening the window brings in warm balmy air. Opening the door to the hallway lets in a light cool breeze, but I don't have a clear view from any part of the apartment that's plugged in to an outlet, so I'm constantly checking the door for visitors. I guess they've turned off the air conditioning. A sure sign of colder days to come? I guess they had to, with the freeze advisory on tonight and everything.

Speaking of what's hot right now, ABC! They're really staging a comeback this season, and I think their ad about having the best new shows of the season is 100% correct. Then again, they have a lot of new shows. Before, the only critically acclaimed hit was Alias (and they better not trash it now!), and there were some sitcoms here and there that did okay (8 Simple Rules, Hope and Faith). But now?! Wow!

Last night, Desperative Housewives was the runaway #1 in the key demographic, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition was #2, "NFL Overrun" on CBS was #3, and Boston Legal was #4. ABC cleaned up. Amazing. Who would have ever thought the consistently #4 network last year had it in them? And they've got Lost and Wife Swap too. I think it's going to be a good year for them.

And to show just how well I fit in with the ratings of the top shows... here's what I watched last night: No Opportunity Wasted on the Discovery Channel, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Desperate Housewives and Boston Legal. Right.

Anyway, No Opportunity Wasted is good too. It's a lot of fun, and everyone loves Phil Keoghan. :) (Host of The Amazing Race!) People write in about dreams they want to achieve, and the show gives them $3000 and 72 days to put it together and do it. I like it because there's work involved... they're not just giving away dreams. *cough*oprah*cough*

And Phil says a fantastic line that I think should be applied to life: "Imagination is your currency."

That it is.

Wheat Wafers

The New York Times has a story on the continuing fight of a little girl who wants to take communion but is allergic to wheat. She has celiac disease, so it's not like she just doesn't want to eat wheat - she can't. Having had my own share of GI problems, even though none are remotely this bad, I can completely understand why her mother won't put her at risk with a low-gluten wafer.

The Church is resisting, saying a huge part of communion is that it must be a wheat wafer. One of the big issues I have with the Catholic Church is their refusal to go against anything traditional or to change with the times. (Keep in mind that I'm not Catholic, just grew up in a largely Italian (and Jewish) area, so that might color my opinion.) It's almost like they're practicing their own version of religious evolution; if you can't fit in with the requirements of Catholic rituals, you can't participate.

I must confess that I do see both sides here. The Catholic Church has rules, and (as much as I might disagree with the way they work) they're following them. Rules are rules. If you don't like them, you're free to leave the Church. Although maybe people shouldn't have to do that. It seems wrong to force someone out of their religion, an integral part of their lives, because of a medical condition that they didn't choose. Then again, isn't this the same story about gay rights
and the Church?

A really sad part of this is the story of her family though. The parents are getting divorced, and the kids are all sick. From the end of the story: "Haley has three brothers, all younger, who also have medical ailments. One has an enlarged liver, one has nodules on his voice box, and another is on a feeding tube." How does it happen that one family has 4 children, with this many ailments? Not that I would wish ailments on other families to spread it around, but that is one
huge burden. Poor kids.