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December 9th, 2007

05:45 pm - Update?! So -- yeah, I'm probably the worst person ever at keeping in touch with people. My only excuse is that writing doesn't come naturally to me -- I tend to torture myself over even unimportant things like livejournal entries -- so if I sit down to write at my computer I tend to feel like I should be writing for the website or doing something else productive instead of talking about by not-terribly-interesting life. Yeah, lame excuse. Sorry to everyone I haven't talked to in forever. Here's the basic life update: - I work at a comic store now, which is pretty cool. I like the guys I work with a lot, my hours are good (I work Monday through Friday, same hours every week, but I can almost always get time off if I need it), and what I thought was going to be a retail job has ended up being much more about filling and shipping orders to libraries. I've even been asked for input about which manga titles we should or shouldn't give to different libraries based on age-appropriate content and quality, and I've started putting together lists of recommended books for people too. This job isn't necessarily something I want to do for the rest of my life, but for now it's pretty damn sweet. - My parents came up to visit me yesterday, and got me my Christmas Present. I asked for a cordless power drill. My big plan right now is to make a bench for our kitchen that'll fit over the radiator, so when me and my roommates are waiting for things to cook we have a place to sit. Unfortunately, the one thing I don't have right now is any kind of saw, so I have no way to get the pieces of wood cut to the right size... I need to go to the hardware store and see what they've got. - WHY AM I NOT HUGGING ADORABLE KITTENS RIGHT NOW? It seems like they're everywhere, and yet there are none for me to pet. The only animals I get to see regularly are the skittish, unfriendly dog that belongs to the people who own the building our warehouse is at work, and the stray cat that hangs around my job and who only loves me when he thinks I might feed him. Adam and Nancy, if you are reading this, I hope your unexpected multitude of cats are doing well. I'm really looking forward to seeing you guys when I come home for Christmas, and not just because you have adorable cats at your house -- but I'd be lying if I said the kitten wasn't a draw. Um, that's about it for right now. Knowing me, I won't post on here for another few months, and I'll probably see most of my livejournal friends list in person long before then. I hope everyone's doing well, and I'll see the WH crew in a few weeks. Current Location: The Funhouse Current Mood: sick

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January 29th, 2007

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January 16th, 2007

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February 10th, 2006

12:12 am - Update, in all senses of the word School is kicking my ass. Like, harder than it ever has before. When I'm at school I don't have time to daydream or eat, there's that much solid work to do. And I'm usually at school for between 5 and 9 hours straight. My tendinitis is coming back with a vengeance. If I have a full-blown relapse this semester, I'm literally going to murder someone. And for this exact reason, this post will be very brief. Sunita -- I'm really, really sorry I haven't been around to chat at all. I always see your instant messenger pop-ups and really want to talk to you, but I'm always running out the door or in the middle of working or something like that. Also, I'm pretty sure Julia doesn't read this livejournal, but if anyone sees her tell her I'm really sorry I didn't email her back yet. Graa, I'm sorry I've been such a crappy correspondent lately. Hell, I haven't even had time to read people's livejournals, let alone update my own. Oh, by the way, you all lose. Current Mood: exhausted Current Music: My new, wonderful ipod!

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January 9th, 2006

11:57 pm - New Developments We're thinking of getting a hotel for the Girl Gaming night, "so we can trash it", as Maggie says:) We still need to decide on a night though. Currently, we have one vote for Thursday, with Wednesday as a possible second choice. Can people please let me know how those days are for them? Thanks. Current Mood: tired

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January 8th, 2006

11:55 pm - For the Girl Gamers Less than a week from now Maggie and I are going to be in Toronto, and as we've discussed with most of you, we're hoping to do a reunion session of the Girl Game! Ideally, we want all of you there, so I thought it would be a good idea to try to pick a day when everyone's free beforehand (although if those of you who work retail don't know your scedules yet, I understand.) So Ana, Em, Sunita and Julia, please reply to this post with days you'll most likely be free. Also, we need a place to do it (oh, how I miss our awesome apartment), so if any of you either have suggestions or could offer your homes for the night, I'd really appreciate it. I really can't wait to game with all of you again! Apparantly Maggie has a one-shot plot already planned... Current Mood: excited Current Music: The Living End - Pictures in the Mirror

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January 1st, 2006

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December 27th, 2005

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December 17th, 2005

05:59 pm - Graduate Commencement I played with the band for grad-student commencement this morning. They combined it with the ceremony to welcome the new president of CCSU. The ceremony was actually kind of awesome, because apparantly the president gets a mace! Like, a big heavy piece of wood for hitting people! And I'm sure it's all very ceremonial and symbolic, but still... considering his job is to be the head of an institution of higher learning, it's really great/hilarious that he's presented with a weapon used to bash people's skulls in. His speech, though, must've been 45 minutes long. It was really painful. And if I never hear "Pomp and Circumstance" again, it'll be too soon. But they pay me $40 to play the clarinet for a few minutes and sit still for a few hours, so I really can't complain. Current Mood: relaxed Current Music: Pomp and Circumstance - still in my head.

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December 14th, 2005

09:52 am - So... tired... of... studying... My last exam is in 4 hours. And I didn't get much studying in last night, because of this little scenario: Becca (9:30 last night): "I have lots of studying to do tonight! But I'm also very tired, so I think I'm gonna take a quick nap first. This is a great idea, and nothing can go wrong!" *Sets alarm for 10:00* Becca's body: "Oh, so you think you can substitute Diet Coke for sleep three nights in a row, and expect me not to notice? Fuck you." *Sets ears to off* Becca (4 am): "Aaaah! What happened to my night of studying?" And yet here I am, writing a livejournal post instead of working. I'm having a lot of trouble caring this morning. Current Mood: apathetic Current Music: Ben Folds Five - Underground

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December 12th, 2005

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December 9th, 2005

12:15 pm - Bah Humbug Every year I understand more and more why people hate Christmas. I want absolutely nothing to do with it this year. It just seems like all the things about Christmas that are supposed to be good are either turning bad, don't count for some reason this year, or just don't matter to me any more. I mean, think about the things that are supposed to make Christmas good: Spending time with family: I live at home. I see a lot of my immediate family, every day. As for my extended family, wasn't Thanksgiving like 2 weeks ago? I mean, I just saw them. I've also seen my Grandparents twice since then, since they went to a few of my concerts. As for the rest of my extended family, they're fine and all, but making small talk with aunts who don't have anything to do with my actual life at all isn't my idea of a good time. Plus, they're all coming over to my house. On Christmas Eve AND Christmas Day. So it looks like Christmas Eve night is gonna be spent cleaning up after one group of guests in preparation for the next. Fun. Parties with friends: I see my West Hartford friends once a week as-is. I like hanging out with them, but it's not like it's going to be anything special at Christmas, since it happens once a week anyway. It's gonna be nice once exams are over, since maybe we'll get to hang out slightly more often, but that has nothing to do with Christmas, just school schedules. As for my friends abroad, I'm not going to get to see any of them until January. In fact, seeing my friends at Christmas is exactly the same as usual, only with one really bad aspect added-- Presents: I have no money. I've spent the last 2 weeks with an ever-increasing sick feeling in my stomach because I can't afford to buy presents for people, and everyone keeps telling me about the wonderful things they're getting me. Last night, my sister Sharon and I were stressing out about gifts together, and we decided that we're going the route of making a whole lot of Christmas cookies and giving them to our friends for Christmas. To anyone who was planning to give me something extravagant/expensive, feel free to rethink it because you're getting cookies from me. Probably delicious cookies-- I'm gonna try to get some recipes from my aunt, who makes really awesome ones every Christmas-- but cookies, nonetheless. Decorations: Well, I kind of like seeing all the lights on people's houses when I'm driving at night. But that is more than counteracted by the garish store decorations I'm assaulted with every time I go to CVS. And the counter in the mall, ticking down the last shopping days, minutes and seconds before Christmas? I could've really done without that one. Plus, if I hear another awful pop singer's rendition of a cheesy Christmas song, I think I'm gonna kill someone. So that's why you're not likely to see me singing carols while wearing a santa hat this year. Not that I'd do that anyway, but still. In other news: We have about 7 inches of snow here, and it's still falling. The only good thing about my crappy injury is that I'm exempt from shoveling. In other other news: Basara 15 is completely and wonderfully awesome! Everyone should read it. Everyone should read it especially since I have absolutely no one to discuss the latest plot developments with, and I very much want to. Current Mood: cranky Current Music: Lovecats - The Cure

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December 4th, 2005

01:49 pm - I thought Em and Ana would appreciate this In the tradition of the Eponine video: http://www.matesofstate.com/media.html Watch the first music video, G.J. Echternkamp's Dance Video: "Goods (All In Your Head)." It's very awesome. Current Mood: amused Current Music: Mates of State - Goods

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November 18th, 2005

03:21 am - I just saw Harry Potter Best thing about this movie: No stupid fucking house elves! Worst thing about this movie: So, the time you've allotted for the first 200 pages of the book is, what? 15 minutes? Maybe 20? Thing Maggie will most like about this movie: Holy shit, they touch each other a lot. Pretty much every character gets in on it. Hugging, affectionate arm-grabbing, top-of-the-head kissing, smacking of students by teachers, slow dancing, grabbing with fury, vaguely homoerotic scuffles, this movie had it all. Most amusing in-theater moment: Cedric Diggory's first appearance. Pretty much every girl in the theatre started cat-calling or whistling at the screen. Strangest effect of condensing this long, long book into a movie: Why does it feel like Neville Longbottom was more of a character than Ron? All in all, it was a fun night out, although I can't imagine that anyone who hasn't read the book will have any idea what the hell the movie was about. Current Mood: sleepy Current Music: That Harry Potter theme music sure does stick in your head

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November 13th, 2005

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November 12th, 2005

01:32 am - Creepy So I was driving back from Lily's birthday party in New Britain, and just as I get off the highway near my house, a cop car starts following me. It followed me for about 4 blocks and around several turns, then stopped at a corner as I kept going, like it's watching me continue on down the street. Now, I wasn't drinking, or too tired or anything-- I'm pretty sure my driving was just fine. I even checked that both my headlights were working when I got home. Maybe it's just because I was on the road at 1:30 in the morning on a Friday night and my car looks like it might belong to a young person. Hell, maybe we were just going the same way and I'm imagining things. Still, it kind of skeeved me out. Current Mood: okay Current Music: Ben Folds Five - Your Redneck Past

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November 5th, 2005

11:21 pm - I'm not dead... ...although I'd understand if you thought I was. Sorry. I'm bad at this. School is boring, but not so boring that I hate it. I'm fairly apathetic towards it, actually. I do my work, I go to class, and it sucks enough that I'd rather be home, but not enough that I hate my life. The only exception to this rule is a class called "Fitness and Wellness Ventures." This translates as "A really dumb class that some asshole in the PE department pushed to make required for everyone, that's basically 2/3 10th grade health class and 1/3 10th grade gym class." So yes, as a 23-year-old college senior I'm being lectured on STDs, forced to record my food pyramid, and in a new, extra-insulting twist, made to jump and skip around the gym. And do that thing where they play music, and when the music stops you freeze. While being lectured by an extremely condescending woman about not talking. Now, this wasn't one of my ed classes where they teach you how to teach little kids-- I've played plenty of clapping and singing games in those classes, but in the context that someday we'd be teaching that same game to actual 5-year-olds and with a full understanding of the educational purpose of the game. No, this was actually a class where the whole experience was geared toward college students. I don't know what I was supposed to learn from it, except that the CCSU Athletics Department thinks I'm 5. Now that midterms are over for my more hardcore classes, my time's being completely occupied by Piano 3. It's one of those classes that's really easy until suddenly it's not. And right now I'm stuck in one of those "not" times. We're doing a project where we each have to accompany an instrumentalist. Now, the piece I chose is called "Allegro Spiritoso," which those of you who know music know means it's really freakin' fast. Marked tempo is quarter=128. After putting in probably 20 hours of practice time over the last week or so, I've managed to get it to a point where I can play most of it through at quarter=40. I have to rehearse with the guy I'm accompanying on Wednesday, then play it for real the following Monday. Yeah, I'm in trouble. On the social side of things, we started a GURPS game here based on Serenity. As most of you know, gaming is pretty much my favorite thing to do, so I'm glad to be doing it again. My character is 10 kinds of crazy, which is also fun. Other than that, I've been surfing around on Wikipedia, where I've read up on such varied topics as pi, the Uncanny Valley, the riots outside of Paris and different types of humor. And novels entirely written without the letter E. And about 80 euphemisms for urination. I'm thinking of writing one about manga adaptation-- there isn't one yet, and I know a bit about the topic. Sunita-- you asked for it (well, you mostly asked for a post, any post), so here it is: The Better than Sex Cake Ingredients: 1 box devil's food cake mix all the ingredients for baking it, as listed on the box (usually eggs, oil, milk, stuff like that.) 1/2 can sweetened condensed milk (14 oz) 6 oz caramel ice cream topping skor bits and chocolate chips -Bake the cake in a shallow, rectangular pan according to the directions. Usually you know to take the cake out when a toothpick poked in the middle of the cake comes out clean, but I find that the cake comes out more moist if you take it out of the oven a little bit before that point. -On the stove, combine the condensed milk with the caramel topping over low heat. -When the cake is done, take it out of the oven and let it cool for about 5 minutes, leaving it in the pan. Then cut a bunch of parallel slits in the top of the cake, not going all the way through to the bottom. Make them about an inch apart. -Using a spoon or spatula, spread the caramel mixture over the entire top of the cake. Let it soak into the cracks, then add some more. Do that a few more times. -Sprinkle the skor bits and chocolate chips over the top. The original recipe called for actual skor bars diced up, but since Dominion never had those the chocolate chips are pretty much the same idea. -Drizzle more caramel stuff on top of this. -Eat, preferably while talking about how ex-boyfriends suck and/or discussing in great detail female sexuality. I don't post for months, and then I post something terribly long. Expect 10 more pages sometime in March. Em- if you know any more details about whether you're gonna be coming down to CT or NYC for American Thanksgiving, please let me know. I hope I get to see you. Current Mood: relaxed Current Music: Useless ID - Pink Stars and Magazines

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August 30th, 2005

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August 28th, 2005

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11:02 am - Back in old WH First off, thanks to everybody who helped us move. It was a huge job, much bigger than we originally thought, and we could have never gotten it done in time to get home last night if you hadn't helped us out. Jae-- thank you for taking so much of our stuff, even if it was against your roommate and all your friends' better judgment. I feel better knowing our stuff is being used by a friend instead of in the trash. Plus, it was pretty funny hearing you argue with Ben over whether or not you could fit a second couch in your living room. Em-- don't feel bad about having so much stuff over at our place, it was great having you over all the time, plus you used a lot of that stuff to make us wonderful baked goods. I woke up this morning thinking "Man, I wish I was back home, with Maggie in the next bed and Em on the couch." Bennie-- you are always awesome, as per rule 2. Although my sign for the couch was much better than yours, I mean, pirate adventure? What the hell? Sunita-- You've been really great this past week, and you really helped us out a lot. It's good to know you'll be on MSN all the time, so keeping in touch won't be hard. It was unexpectedly cool that we all got to hang out yesterday morning for so long. Julia and Ana-- I'm just really glad we got to see you guys before we moved. I didn't see as much of either of you as I would have liked this summer, since you're both really busy, but the times we did get to hang out meant a lot to me. Also, thanks to both of you and Sunita for the great presents you got us. Ana, the stuff you wrote on those pictures was so sweet, it was really nice of you to do that for us. I put my lucky pig from Julia in with the dice she gave me for my birthday, so hopefully it'll make them roll better. And Sunita, now the S&M Penguin will live on in infamy thanks to you. And I have a really nice little bowl. I miss all you guys already. I'll most likely come up to visit over winter break, so I'm looking forward to seeing everybody then. The drive home wasn't bad. Once we got out of Toronto, the traffic and weather both improved a lot for the rest of the trip. And after taking the train home all those times, 9 1/2 hours in the car seems like nothing. I was about to pass out by the time I got home though. I woke up at 7 in the morning, packed until 2, then drove straight until almost midnight, so I was pretty exhausted. And now I get to spend today moving all the stuff from the car up to my room. In the attic. I'm just glad it's raining right now so I have an excuse to put it off. I have an awesome futon in my room now, so if anybody is ever in Connecticut and needs a place to stay, my place is open. I can show all you Torontonians what good Chinese food tastes like. Current Mood: okay Current Music: The Postal Service - Be Still My Heart

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