Figures

So this past week, I had a lot of homework. I needed to read six short stories, workshop a classmate’s short story, write a book review, and write a short story, all for my fiction class. I also needed to read and respond to two scripts, and write a four-page outline for my own script idea for my screenwriting class. My fiction class is Monday nights and my screenwriting class is Tuesday nights.

I wrote the script outline Saturday (it took me at least 4 hours) and also have already done the scripts and responses. For my fiction class, I’ve still got to write my own short story and write the book review, and it’s already 11pm on Sunday night.

Guess which of my classes just got cancelled?

I’ll give you a hint: it’s not the one that I’m prepared for, nor the one that’s furthest away.

Grrrr.

So what’s been going on?

In bullet form because there is SO much:

*First movers bailed on me and I had to open a paypal claim in order to get my money back. Second movers I found the next day were wonderful, two Romanian guys, very helpful.

*Had no internet or tv at the new apartment for three weeks, and even now the signal is so weak that the internet frequently cuts out and the tv is hardly watchable. Comcast has visited us three times, the first time being disastrous. Fortunately, they wisely decided not to charge us for this first month.

*Maintenance is constantly in and out trying to fix the place up. To name a few: we have no shelves or drawers in the fridge; every single lightbulb was burned out (did the guys before us just live in darkness?!), the closet doors were removed, there was a huge leak in our bathroom and then a hole in our ceiling.

*Classes started. I had some scheduling drama because I refused to take a lit class where the best I could get was a B, and Emerson thought I’m already overscheduling myself anyway and didn’t want me doing my senior thesis project early. The result is that I only have three classes this semester: Photoshop for photographers, Screenwriting, and Advanced fiction seminar. I am SWAMPED with homework.

*Work has its ups and downs. The little boy I regularly nanny (his older brother is in school most of the time) has decided he doesn’t like me, and just wants to wrestle with me, and has no interest in any of my arts&crafts or outside adventure ideas.

*Went home this past weekend to visit Mom and Jerry. Even though I spent about six weeks at home this semester, it didn’t feel like enough, and still doesn’t.

*Had a dental appointment whereupon I was told I needed one, maybe two root canals, plus I had five other cavities to fill. This didn’t surprise me TOO much (I have some inherited thing where my tooth enamel is ridiculously weak and I just am constantly getting cavities) but they were trying to convince me that the tooth that needed the root canal had hurt (it never did) and didn’t care that others of my teeth DID hurt. In fact, I was told cavities don’t hurt. Now, I have had my fair share of cavities. I know what they feel like. And furthermore, when a doctor/dentist tells me “that doesn’t hurt” and it DOES, I call foul. Fortunately this morning I had my first appointment with an amazing new dentist who agrees I don’t need the root canal — at least not yet — actually cares that my teeth hurt, found a crack down the side of a tooth that the other dentist didn’t (and this, we think, is what’s actually causing most of my pain), and wants to treat what hurts first. All in all, I think I have found the dentist I’ve been searching for all my life. Oh, and she’s also from Ireland.

*Writing wise, I’ve submitted two things for publication. One came back quickly but without an attached letter of rejection or acceptance, so I e-mailed the magazine and the editorial director emailed me back and told me to resubmit because he doesn’t know if it was rejected and they forgot a letter or if it was sent back too soon. So basically I still have two possible publications in the wings.

*It is autumn, which I’m excited about. Frank bought me a beautiful gerber daisy plant for the new apartment, which I killed in about two weeks. He and I went to King Richard’s Faire (a renaissance faire) weekend before last (SO fun; pictures are too cute; I’m sorry it’s not getting its own blog entry) and he bought me a rose which I’m currently drying. Monday he brought me a big beautiful sunflower. i also bought two pumpkins to put over my faux-fireplace.

I realize this was uber quick. I’m going to force myself back into the habit of writing now that I have semi-stable internet and will hopefully soon be settling into a life schedule. Also soon (once I’m finished hanging things on my walls and find a mirror and a desk chair) I’ll get pictures of the 519 up. Now I’ve got LOOOOOADS of homework to do, so I’m off!

Random things

Being back in Boston is wonderful — except for the missing Texas, family, and friends part. But the weather is much better, it’s good to be back with the boyfriend, and I’m actually being quite productive.

Last weekend had two daytime adventures. Saturday took Frank to the haymarket, which he had apparently never been to before. If you lovely readers will remember, it’s a giant open air farmer’s market that sells everything from fish to veggies to cheese. For someone who loves food and enjoys spending money impulsively — Frank in a nutshell — it is excellent because prices are ridiculously low. This time our purchases included pineapples for .50, grapes for .99, and four pounds of broccolli for two dollars. It’s made Frank’s and my attempt to eat healthy a BIT better — though other “bad” foods keep somehow slipping in.

Sunday Frank, me, and Richard went to the aquarium which none of us had been to before. Richard had never seen penguins in real life before. I was quite impressed with Frank’s retained knowledge from his fish studies class at Harvard (kay, I don’t remember the actual course name); he served as sort of our personal guide and was able to give us a lot more information than was on the plaques. The aquarium was definitely smaller than Corpus Christi or Monterrey, but I mean, even a bad aquarium is fun, and it wasn’t bad.

This week I have mainly been getting some writing and odd errands done. Not having internet at the apartment severely limits what I do doing the day (I’ve decided not to turn my internet on this month; it’ll save my $65!) but I’m still managing to be productive, and it means I budget my internet time much better. We’ve watched a bunch of movies, gone out a couple of times, but overall pretty lowkey.

Interesting talent alert!: So it is a joke about how I will eat food until right up to the point at which it will kill me. I cut the mold off of cheese or bread, gouge out the mushy parts of fruit, etc. But one thing I DO NOT budge on is milk. If milk smells the slightest bit off, I say no. I have had no many episodes of taking a big gulp of milk that I thought would be fine only to run my tongue along the carpet to get the stale milk taste off.

Well Frank has apparently taken note of this talent, and I am now the high judge of food. If he can’t decide whether it’s good or bad, he brings it to me and says, “Smell.” This all started the other day when, after baking a chocolate cake (I said we were TRYING to eat healthier), he poured us a glass of milk. After downing half the glass in one gulp, he held it out to me and asked, “Does this taste funny?” Sure enough, it was three days past expiration day and WAY funny tasting. Ick. The smell was revolting.

Anyway, that’s all the news for now. I’m procrastinating actually sending anything in to be published, which is what I’m actually supposed to be up to these days. Send good luck, concentration, peppy, and focus vibes my way, please! I have a fiction and a nonfiction piece both ready for submission, a couple poems I might submit, and a couple of fiction pieces that need some reworking but will soon be ready. Oh, and those two ten-minute plays can be submitting, and a one-act that is almost ready. Also, I’ve realized that a full-length play I started a year ago, which I’m a third finished with, would probably do well either as my BFA thesis or publication. So definitely lots of projects to be working on.

like?

My forehead was dominating my face again, so I gave myself bangs.  I like them.  If you don’t, I really don’t want to hear about it. 

Now I am going on a night photography adventure.  And I am probably going to eat ice cream for dinner.  Or fruity pebbles. 

I’m trying to piece together my summer: this month either Ireland, Poland, or Guatemala for ten days.  Possibly a weekend in Canada at the end of May.  MAYBE Greece for a week with Amberlee if her settlement comes through.  Maybe Puerto Rico or Bermuda, or maybe even Spain, in August.  Family reunion in Grove, Oklahoma (very exotic! :p ) and weekend friend trip, probably back to the river again.  At least a couple days in East Texas; I may see about spending a week or two there during the fall (if Mom and I don’t do our two weeks in Argentina) or in the spring as “research” for my BFA thesis.    I’d like to fit one more abroad trip in, since this is possibly my last summer of free flights unless I go to grad school –which I continue to go back and forth on.

what do you do

with 6×150 napkins?  That is 900 napkins.  That are in my apartment right now.  Next to 36 bags of popcorn, 48 bags of peanut M&M’s, and 24 small bottls of cranberry juice.

Diana has another 900 napkins, 10 16.5 oz. bottles of oil, 24 bottles of water, and 48 bags of regular M&M’s.

We will never have to buy napkins for our new apartment.

 

In other news, just had my last class.  I have one more paper to write and one final exam to take, and then I am homefree.  HURRAY.  It has been a stressful end of the semester, to say the least.  My plays went fabulously on Tuesday, and it wasn’t painful at all to watch other people interpret my work.  Mom flew up for the occasion, and it was wonderful to have her here, even if I was either in class, writing papers all night, or napping while she was here.  That was kind of lame.  But we still had fun because that’s what we do together.  And it meant a lot to me that both her, the boy, and a few of my other friedns came out to support my plays.  And mom got to meet the boy when we went to Korean BBQ Monday night — my third time in a month.  Yummy stuff. 

Now . . . now I almost don’t know what to do with myself.  I guess I’ll get started studying for my final exam so I’m not doing it all last minute.  Another beautiful day outside so I’ll probably go running later.  And I need to take my coat to the dry cleaner’s.  Maybe that’s what’s making my apartment smell so bad?  uh oh . . .

thought y’all might care

I splashed drain cleaner onto my face today and it burned me.  It’s not going to scar or anything, but enough that it hurt like hell and I was scolded into standing with my face under the faucet for ten minutes, snorting water. 

In further news, suggestions on best way for me to bleach my skirt without a washing machine?  I was going to do it in the sink but a.) my bathroom is VERY poorly ventilated and b.) same scolder lectured me about how then I would have to scrub down my sink because I wash my dishes there.  Bath tub? 

I am droooooooooowning in finals but eh, what’s new.  Next week is the last week of classes and then a week of finals and then dunzo, thank GOODNESS.

Avoided the Boston marathon this past weekend by chilling in Cambridge the entire time.  Even had a slumber party with Diana.  I just . . . Newbury St. on a normal weekend with tourists is bad enough but there were like a thousand extra people.  The city was crawling with them.  Tourist infestation.  That you aren’t allowed to step on.  Though I did vocally growl at two.  If you roar like a lion “RAWR” at idiots on the sidewalk, they aren’t offended, they are just severely confused and get out of your way.  True story, it works.

I am a cranky old lady at 21.  I’m just going to go back to my crumpets and knitting and hair rollers and rose perfume. 

. . . . actually I have to go read about Darfur and write a paper.  And it’s 1:12 AM.  And I also meant to get my American Drama paper written tonight and did NOT, but I can’t write it tomorrow because I will be in the dark room all day and then have some homework for Thursday’s classes. 

Mom is coming to visit Sunday.  I hope you do not expect a spic-and-span clean apartment.  I will tidy.  That is all I have the spirit for.

EDIT: The scolder has yelled at me for the bathtub suggestion.  He wants to know if I want to kill myself.  No, I just want my skirt and my tank tops that I spilled coffee all over to be white again.

You know what is really lame?

When you are all excited about a meal and it just fails.  My soup was nasty nasty nasty (um, spices are 0 calories; you can still put them in light soup!) and my potatoes didn’t get as soft as I wanted, even after like 9 minutes in the microwave.

When everyone is talking about how warm and beautiful it is outside but your recent day-trip to Texas has reset your understanding of warmth and so you are freezing and can’t wear your peacoat because it is at the dry cleaner’s.

When the darkroom is going to be free the entire day but you forgot your printing stuff at home and by the time you could walk to your apartment and back, the free period is going to be over.

When the electricity in your apartment goes out at 1:30am and you are in the middle of doing homework and there is not 24-hour maintenance service, so they call the regular maintenance guy and then you look like an ass for waking him up at 1:30am and he refuses to come out and flip the switch anyway.  Oh, and the reason the fuse was blown in the first place is because GARY WAS VACCUUMING AT 1:30AM WHILE LISTENING TO HIS BOOMBOX.  But HIS electricity didn’t go out.  Oh no.  MINE did.

Gary = worst neighbor ever.  I rest my case.

my dears

Dear Boston: STOP RAINING so that I can shoot my photo project.

Dear Emerson: STOP SENDING me on a wild goose  chase and just somebody tell me how I can get you to pay for me to go to a writing workshop in Guatemala.

Dear Mouth: STOP HURTING; just because I bit my lip hard enough to bleed is no excuse.

Dear Brain: STOP NEEDING so much sleep.  There’s simply too much to do for you t ogo around behaving like that.

Deaf photography class: STOP RUINING photography for me.

lame and lamer

I would just REALLY like one solid good day.  Just one.  With nothing bad.  For like the past three weeks, it’s just been bad day after bad day with some mediocre ones thrown in there where good things happen but are still bumping elbows with bad things.  JUST ONE.

Today: it is pouring rain.  I overslept.  I lost my student ID and am now going to have to go tomorrow, in the pouring rain, to get a new one made –and I hate losing IDs for nostalgic purposes.  Did I mention it’s pouring rain and I looked like a drowned rat.  I’m not getting any of the homework done that I had hoped to because I’m having to run all over the city collecting photography equipment and retracing my steps to try and find my ID.  DId I mention it’s raining and umbrellas suck?

I want to go buy a raincoat because umbrellas are a joke.  But I don’t want to go outside again and they will probably all be really expensive. 

Good things (so I don’t sound like a total whiny baby): my birthday is in five days and I have two presents waiting to be opened on the back of my couch; I got registered for the schedule I want in the fall; I have my korean bbq date tonight.  And at least apartment stuff is all taken care of, even if I had forgotten how much money you have to pay up front and that I’m going to have to buy furniture because I don’t actually own any.

happy april!

I had a wonderful time last night, even though it meant I was, for the third night in a row, only able to snag about two hours of sleep before time to start the day.  Classes went well, and even though I feel physically exhausted, I’m not really sleepy.   It was supposed to rain all day but it was pretty and sunny until only a short while ago.  The coffee shop downstairs had its grand opening today, which meant FREE COFFEE.  I came home for lunch to find a beautiful flower arrangement from Mom and Jerry for Easter/my birthday next week AND a birthday present from Aunt Kathy and Uncle Dan.  I haven’t opened it yet.  I don’t think anything exciting is actually going to happen for my birthday this year, even if it is 21.  It’s on a Wednesday in the middle of the most stressful month of the schoolyear.  I might go home for Easter the following weekend, in which case I could go celebrate with Texas friends, but everyone is really too busy to do anything here.

The only downsides to the day really are that I really AM exhausted and I still have a big paper to write tonight.  I talked to my photography professor about my unhappiness with having a B and we talked about what I can do.  I have to reshoot my large format project, which sucks because that means completely redoing a photo project WHILE I’m also trying to do the final photo project (which is more work, of course, than a normal project) –that’s shooting, processing, and printing.  Plus I have final papers for all my classes, second papers for two classes, another piece of fiction to write and workshop, two final exams to study for, not to mention all the daily class work.  PLUS, I really would like to have submitted at least two pieces to things for publication by the end of the semester.

Oh, and less than a month to do all of that. 

Anyway, here are pictures of the flower arrangement from Mom and Jerry, the ridiculous LACK OF CARE INSTRUCTIONS that I was given (apparently I’m supposed to just have some sort of maternal plant instinct), and the plant I bought with Thomas while he was visiting on St. Paddy’s day.  That photo was taken TODAY, meaning it is STILL ALIVE.

I’m quite proud of myself.