bottle up and explode
Monday, 29 September, 2003
today was school. i liked it but it was weird to be back at school. it’s been six months since i took a class. i had forgotten how much fun it is to play “lauren’s not as smart as everyone else.” whee, academic insecurity.
i suppose i am just cross right now. my room smells like cigarette smoke, i don’t know why, and it pisses me off. my room is also a giant pile of crap. and i have no money. i don’t know anyone. i know it’s just my first day of school, but all these people are cooler than i am, so i’m never going to approach them, so i’m not going to meet anyone. (tho’ some people did laugh when in the stupid ice-breaker introductions i said i was born in reno but i didn’t want to talk about it, and that my guilty pleasure [a stupid ice-breaker introduction question] was buying yarn. it doesn’t matter. they are all cooler.) at least i got the network un-broken, even though i don’t believe the stupid tech support man who said it was just unplugged. i checked all the cords before i called him. and the optional orientation/ice cream social on friday afternoon turned out to involve a homework assignment, which i of course did not receive, since i did not go to the optional event. oh, and did i mention i have no money? it’s going to be ramen for the rest of the term … there go all my plans to eat healthier.
pfffft.
ok. done being stupid now.
i am a grad student now. i got to wear pink pants to school. these two statements are not related. work was boring and then i went to class. it was boring too, even though the teacher is funny. we talked about the “life cycle of information” and “what is a document?” quotes of the day:
“if i hang a flower upside down, and it’s purple, is that a document?” (david levy)
“writing is the death of information. that’s a good one. i like that. write that one down.”
and
“you are now information people. you are no longer normal.” (joe janes)
conclusion: we don’t know what information is. we don’t know what documents are, but we think an antelope is not one, and that a phone book is. we don’t really know what anything is, but if you tell us what you want it to be, we can make a structure for you that will help you use it.
apparently that’s librarianship.
my room still smells like cigarette smoke. nothing i do is ever the right decision. but at least vincent loves me.
(song: “bottle up and explode!,” elliott smith)
Posted by lauren-import at 11:12 pm |
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In the catalog under mood/grumpy
et ce stupide espoir
Thursday, 25 September, 2003
i might’ve found my new rennie’s. it’s called the college inn. the only problem is that it has no outside, and seattle has no anti-smoking law, so it’s stinky. no, actually, i lied. there’s another problem: i have no math and/or commentator boys with whom to go there. sigh.
in other news, i am utilizing my new fast internet to download this wacky thing called trillian (strangely, trillian.com is not its link, but rather a link to some super graphic-intensive and really annoying page about yachats, oregon.) anyway trillian is a program that pretends to be icq and aim and yahoo and msn all at the same time, which is super cool. yay sho for recommending it.
i like halloween because there are those orange candy corn-like pumpkins. i love those.
oh! chicklit has always been cool, but this article is awesome! yay, librarian dolls saving the world!
i had something else to say, but i don’t remember what it was anymore.
(song: “je te donne” [super-cheesy french ’80s song], jean-jacques goldman)
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every resolution ends in tragedy?
Tuesday, 23 September, 2003
today’s assignment: describe your day in 30 words or fewer.
MY DAY IN THIRTY WORDS OR FEWER. by lauren.
sun! pigtails! pinkyred shirt! sun!! Too Much Coffee!!! work: not nearly as scary as expected. negatives smell funny. router installation: also easy. running? should, but no: internet! eugene this weekend!
(that was a lot easier than the time fracchia made us write papers of exactly 500 words. but, the picture of him on that page more than makes up for that stupid assignment, i think.)
(song: “eponine” [!!eponine!!], ozma)
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she has trouble acting normal when she’s nervous
Sunday, 21 September, 2003
i’m having a hard time getting used to the fact that seattle has more crime than eugene. every day on the news there are shootings and robberies and things. at first i thought maybe it was just an abnormal period of more crime than usual, but i’ve been here three weeks now and it’s pretty much every day. shelby says she noticed it too. so i guess i’m in the big city now.
i added some links, finally. they are mostly the things i check every day. my new favorite thing is neil gaiman’s blog. he’s so great. and, since i now have cable internet (yay cable! boo comcast!) i can look at the internet All The Time. and i will!
i really want to go to a soccer game. does anyone want to come with me?
this weekend i was not so bored as usual, because sho was up here to visit some people in redmond. they had a pirate party on
goal for today: put away clean laundry. throw away random crap which is all over my floor. shan is coming home from astoria today, so i have to clean up.
(song: “round here,” counting crows)
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somebody other than me
Tuesday, 16 September, 2003
i just bought myself my favoritest umbrella ever again, to replace the one i lost two years ago. hmph. take that, stupid birthday depression!
also: i can run 5 kilometers. i can drink beer. should i do this? please advise.
oh, and, my sister? she’s the best.
(song: “time and time again,” counting crows)
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In the catalog under mood/grumpy
like the moon, and the stars, and the sun
why, i wonder, did i think it was a good idea to drink caffeinated tea at 6:00 last night, AND tea in the morning AND coffee at lunch? i couldn’t get to sleep, then i had weird dreams (garage sale shopping, orlando bloom, bruce campbell [??why??], ghosts & other scary things that would happen if i didn’t wake up from the dream right then), then i woke up at 4:45 and stared at the ceiling for about half an hour. ugh. now i’m up for work and i just want to go back to bed …
oh, by the btw, i am so glad i didn’t go to school in north carolina like my dear mother wanted me to! it’s pouring here today but at least the weather isn’t in danger of killing me. anyway it’s ok, because i finished my scarf last night so now i can wear it and my big coat. yay!
for bb king and lauren bacall and, um, anyone else whose birthday is today, but who doesn’t want to talk about it because she doesn’t like being the center of attention, but horoscopes are fun so she wants to share:
If today is your birthday! from yahoo.
Today’s planetary energies:
Today marks a very significant day, because the Sun is back in Virgo at exactly the place were it was when you were born. It’s a good day for colorful shoes. (oh, that’s good. i like colorful shoes.) This could be a really fun day. If you have friends or a special someone nearby, be sure to include them in your plans. (right, ‘cos i know all of three people in this entire city.) If you are at work, relationships will be easy and organizing is favored. You can follow your heart today. It is a good evening for a gathering of old friends. Take time to appreciate your many blessings. Make sure you spend this day well, since it sets the tone for the year ahead!
What to expect during the next 12 months:
You have the best of Virgo’s talent for service. You are willing to sacrifice yourself for others. You care so much for the world. Solitude is important. Take time to consider what you are doing. Between March 25, 2003 and April 8, 2003 you will reach a critical point. Circumstances will ask you to reexamine the value of your commitments. You may feel hindered and discouraged. This will pass. Be true to yourself. Lucky days are January 14, 2003 and May 15, 2003. The best days for romance are April 11-12, 2003. May 15, 2003 favors any kind of social event.
Your lucky charms:
white, light brown, nickel, agate, corn and oats, gardens, small domestic animals, the star Spica, the Tarot card the Hermit, the number 10.
(corn and oats? um … ok.)
Historical events on your Birthday:
1990 - Actor Dennis Quaid marries Meg Ryan
1983 - Arnold Schwarzenegger becomes a United States citizen
1857 - The Typesetting machine is patented
1812 - Great fire of Moscow
yeah.
(song: “instant karma!,” john lennon)
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you plant your seeds and you let ‘em grow
Saturday, 13 September, 2003
yay, yay, job, job, wiggy wiggy wiggy: i might have some translation work, too; though it’s probably only $20 per five pages, it’ll be good for me, and it sounds like fun material - some guy’s family stories & histories from québec. awesome. i seem to be specializing in québecois material. haha, what a fun thing to be able to say. i’m a specialist! (pfft.)
(i found it on craigslist. have i mentioned that i Love craigslist? i also sold my old monitor, found someone wanting to get rid of yarn super cheap, and met a girl who’s a library student, too.)
i’m amazed at how quickly i got un-used to living alone. shan left thursday and isn’t coming back until next saturday, and i’m super bored. yes, i know that part of it is that i don’t know very many people in seattle … but i shouldn’t be scared of noises and dark in the apartment when i lived in a dirty nasty crack house two weeks ago! pfft. but tonight i went to a barbecue with nic and noella and lots of other library people, so that was good. i didn’t have to sit at home alone in the dark crying.
also, i found the public library, which was a fun adventure. not really much of an adventure, actually - i mean it’s not hard to find. but libraries are always an adventure! they didn’t have very many of the things i was looking for, so i went to the beginning of the fiction section and just took whatever looked good. i got: daughter of fortune by isabel allende, shirley by charlotte brontë (probably my favorite brontë, because i love jane eyre so much), and something silly about ghosts by marion zimmer bradley. i was tempted to be like francie in a tree grows in brooklyn and read all the books, starting from the beginning, but that would have included too many romance novels. i couldn’t handle it.
the video store was more of an adventure. i think it’s bigger than the library. seriously, this video store has everything! i never went to flicks&picks in eugene, so i don’t know how it compares, but it’s amazing. the checkout guy wasn’t very friendly, though. but i got the first volume of the first season of mr. show, which both olly and chris&chris love; it was free to check out (!) but with a $150 deposit. !!! they don’t take it, really, just freeze that amount on your card until you return it. but. yikes. they said they have some movies that have a $1500 deposit. that’s scary. i wouldn’t trust myself with it.
my new running path smells the same as my old running path in some bits. that’s nice. it’s because of the blackberries & fennel & sweet peas. but there aren’t many blackberries left, and the fennel is going to seed, so that smells really strong. there aren’t as many trees as running paths should have, but there is a building that seems to contain a giant waterfall in the back of it, but there’s no back wall, just lots of water … it’s not clear what exactly is going on there. the path also goes right by the gym, so that’s good; i can run there and then do things, or do things and then run home, or something. i think i might take kickboxing. i’m super excited.
the theme of this post seems to be things i have found. translating job; craigslist; some people; library; video store; running path. i can’t think of anything else, though.
school starts in two weeks! i’m so excited! (i’m such a geek!!)
NO! that’s NOT all! oh my gosh! oh gosh why didn’t anyone tell me this before?? simon and garfunkel are TOURING!! i had better stop drinking beer so i can save up … yay!!
(song: “what do you love more than love,” dar williams)
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she says ‘amen! hallelujah!’
Monday, 8 September, 2003
yay, yay, job, job!
that’s the job song.
shan told her boss at archives etc that i needed a job, and she was looking for someone to take a photographs position that is going to be available, so i went in today to talk to her … she hardly even looked at the little paper i have to fill out for them, she just said “well, if you want it, i won’t even have to post it! come in next monday.” and she was very happy to hear that i have work study. so: yay, yay, job, job!
(job song, reprise.)
here is a finding aid that shan wrote. she was very excited even though it is about sewage disposal.
i will not write finding aids, though. but i will use them, i think. i will be the person you write to if you want to get permission to use a photograph in the photograph collection. i will do the permission form thingy and then i will take the negatives to the place where they print them, or i will scan the photo to send it to the person, or whatever. hooray!
oh! fun thing. we went to ikea. it was cool. i did not like the beginning, though. although it is nice to see the different ways one could decorate one’s kitchen/bedroom/bathroom/etc., i would rather be able to pick up the thing i want to purchase and carry it with me. i understand that this is not practical for the furniture, but i didn’t like that i couldn’t grab the lamp and put it in my bag. so i went ahead to the home organization/lighting/kitchen things section, where i was able to pick things up and carry them around. shan got a lovely orange table, which they don’t have a picture of on the website for some reason, and a pink lamp, and we also got a bathroom scale ($5!), some towel racks ($.50 each!), some shelves for my wall ($1.50 each!), some tea lights ($5 for 100!), a plant ($1.50!), some super cute bright plastic bowls, and … that’s all i can remember. some other things, i am sure. in any case we spent only $40 on all that stuff! then we went to the grocery store and spent $65 … oof. o well, we won’t need to go for weeks.
other than that … nothing. the dresses were found. the house is getting cleaner. we worked on the kitchen yesterday. we have two sets of everything, so it was a challenge to find places to put things. tomorrow i’m going to find the gym and look at it, if i can get in, and maybe find a path to run on.
(song: “call me al,” paul simon)
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if i could make it rain today
Friday, 5 September, 2003
things i cannot find in my apartment:
my razor.
my scrubby loofah thingy.
my burgundy dress, and my purple skirt & grey top.
how is it possible to lose an entire box?
things i have done today:
eaten a whole thing of “cheesecake” flavored jello instant pudding.
eaten some other things, too.
drunk a quarter of a bottle of leftover wine. straight out of the bottle. and it was even two buck chuck, as shan aptly called it. hee.
(song: “amy hit the atmosphere,” counting crows. i quote this song a lot when i think it is just too frickin’ hot, and i want it to rain. but they said it might rain on saturday, so i am pleased.)
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and the one who leaves this also grieves
Thursday, 4 September, 2003
so, i live in seattle now.
this is ok because my head hasn’t figured out yet that i’m not just visiting shan. unfortunately, i don’t know when i’ll figure it out and get depressed. today i was mildly sad because i wanted to go to hana’s for lunch, but it is not in seattle. but i have shan and shelby and noella who is super fun and the market and other interesting things.
(but there are not enough squirrels on campus, and sales tax is So Lame, and the bus schedule is frickin’ complicated, as shan would say.)
anyway, moving went about as well as can be expected with these sorts of things. except the fact that i Really Hate moving. hatred plus not eating hardly anything on moving day and also not sleeping enough and having to paint and having to leave and hating my stupid landlord all conspires to turn me into giant rampaging bitch woman. gr! here i come! i’m giant rampaging bitch woman! stay out of my way or i will break furniture and dump sugar all over the floor of the moving truck!! i was great fun for bill (lovely bill drove the moving truck for me, yay) and shan, let me tell you. but now i have a shan-roommate and she cooks food for me so i don’t have to cry anymore. we made fun pasta with fresh basil & garlic on it, and then we made sooop with beans n tomatoes n pasta. i think soup is my favorite food. also salt.
i had a job interview yesterday morning. however, because the lousy bus driver lied to me, i got horribly hopelessly lost on the way there, and did not make the 10:00 interview. then i got discouraged and depressed and decided that if i couldn’t figure out how to get there on the bus, they probably didn’t even want to interview me because clearly i am too stupid for this job. but then the nice lady called me and said i should come at 3:00, so i went to the market and had bagel&lox&capers (mm!) and felt better about myself. then i got there super early because i wanted to make sure i could get there the second time. i think the interview went ok but it’s not clear if i’m qualified. i suspect i am extremely unqualified, but that everyone else they will hear from will be, too. i don’t think they know what they are looking for. they said it’s a work-study $12/hour archive position. i was expecting something not extremely different from what i did at uo archives, but with more responsibility. but no! they want someone to “create an infrastructure” and start organizing EVERYTHING THEY HAVE KEPT SINCE 1972. none of which has been processed or sorted in any way, ever. they want a student to start an archive. for $12 an hour.
pffffffft.
all the same, i need a job, so if i get it, and if i don’t get the dream job which has a full tuition waiver & benefits, i might take it. it would be amazing experience. assuming i really do want to do archives. but i probably won’t get it anyway.
and … that’s all!
(song: “spring street,” dar williams)