Monthly Archive for February, 2007

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

The Good

I have just received notification that my request to join Pi Sigma Alpha, the scholastic honor society for political science majors/minors, has been approved. Now I just need to send in my one-time membership fee. I had originally planned, about four years ago, to make sure I got into this and Upsilon Pi Epsilon (the computer science honor society). Now I’ve done it, and I’m quite happy. Getting in Alpha Chi, a general scholastic honor society, and Omicron Delta Kappa, a leadership honor society, were both instances of unexpected yay. The four of them together cover every aspect of my life here at SU, so I guess I did something right. :)

The Bad
Last night, a form of the Norfolk virus (that bug that gets people on cruise ships en mass) attacked my roommate and I. Needless to say, I was not only insomiacal, but fevered and suffering from various bodily malfunctions I don’t think I need to describe here. It was really quite horrible. I’m finally starting to feel a little better, though. I’ve been able to sip on gatorade since about 2 without my stomach cramping so bad it feels like I’m going to explode. I haven’t eaten anything today, but since I’m doing better, I might try a Popsicle later.

The dreams were a doozy too. My favorite was the one where I was Ibn, the adulterous exhiled warrior from The 13th Warrior played by Antonio Banderas. I was trying to run away after cavorting with someone (I assume there was cavorting…the dream starts with me completely dressed except for my feet, but we’re both sure panicked while I’m trying to put on my boots.). Long story short, I don’t escape in time and am attacked and fatally wounded by a jealous lover’s dogsnake.

Yes, a dogsnake. It’s a creature that apparently exists in my mind. Think of a giant sized Yorkshire Terrier, but with snake fangs that spit venom. Seriously.

I’m not even going to try to analyze this dream. Yikes.
I am somewhat consoled to remember that in my second dream, which was basically me and some friends yelling at some jackalope in the computer lab who had the nerve to insult my sense of humor and tell me I was a horrible person (yes, I know, weird), I seemed to have a girlfriend.

Incredibly freaky, but way better than having the dogsnake go after my crotch. (This happened, but he missed and got me in the leg. Yay…I think.)

Yeah. Fever dreams are the awesome. ::twitch::

The Ugly

Lord, I wish they’d test the paternity of Anna Nicole’s baby already. This whole thing has gone from interesting to annoying to just plain sick. Do we really need live in-courtroom footage of what is essentially a private matter. I mean, really?

By the same note, all these talking heads who are using Britney Spears’ emotional crisis to belittle her and have experts on to speculate about why she’s going insane and how funny it is, when essentially no one knows what’s really going on, is downright disgusting. I’m specifically looking at you, Tucker Carlson, but I’m sure if I bothered to watch FoxNews or CNN I’d have a bone to pick with some of those guys too. Tucker, if someone in your family has an emotional/mental crisis are you going to call them pathetic?
Idiot.

Also, James Brown is still not buried. WTF?

SMU update.

Just a quick note:

On the 15th, I got an email confirming SMU received my application, mentioning that they were setting a deadline for reciept of everything else (e.g.: my LSDAS report) by 28 February. I just checked, and the report I ordered for them (yes, you have to pay for these, too, in addition to the school application fees and Law School Data Assembly Service fee) went out on the 15th, so everything’s groovy there.

Need to schedule interviews/visits.

Uh oh.

For a while now, I’ve known I have two research papers to write this semester. The Guerilla Movements in Latin America paper is 8-12 pages, and I’ve got a topic. I found out yesterday that the Communication and Memory paper is 9-12 pages. So that’s at minimum 17 pages of well researched … research. Not to mention everything else I have to do.

I may be just slightly screwed. ;)

Law school update.

Edit (30 April 2008 20:21 CDT): SMU’s totem animal is the pony/mustang.  Let’s just pretend I knew this the whole time, okay?

SMU application over-nighted today. Not that getting it off was an easy task, what with everything else going on. The last two weeks have been … intense. And I get grumpy when I get stressed out, as some of you may know. My roommate hasn’t tried to bludgeon me yet, so at least there’s that. :)

I’m not really sure what SMU’s totem animal is, but it is in a preppy neighborhood. As for the goats this time around, I’m thinking just getting some white ones and dressing them in sweaters and ascots. Yes.

I am returned.

Bonus geek points if you pronounced the subject in a really goofy/deep movie announcer voice when you read it. These points are redeemable for … for … look! Monkeys!

Back on campus now. Nice drive, even if the sun was in my face for about an hour (at least). Slight headache aside, I can still see, so no complaints. Saw a really neat tree on the side of the road, but didn’t have a camera. It was these two skinny trees that had, like, fused together towards the top and bent almost completely over, without looking sickly. Wish I had a picture.

I just realized I typed a sentence with the pause-like-pause structure without even realizing it, or doing it on purpose to be funny. I’ll have to flog myself after I post this.

Urologist visit on Friday was … interesting. He wanted me to have a CT scan on Saturday at 9:15 (blasphemy!) and a bladder scope thingie on Monday. Needless to say, that wasn’t exactly how I envisioned spending my saturday and monday mornings. I went to the CT place and they got all huffy when they couldn’t get an IV line to inject the contrast agent to light up my innards, and ended up taking the scan without it. (I was actually secretly pleased with this. I lost all enthusiasm for having iodine injected into my circulatory system when the technician asks me, “Are you allergic to iodine,” I say no, and she responds cheerfully that we’ll soon find out. Thank you, veins, for your prompt and skillful insurrection.) At any rate, nothing evil showed up on the CT, so he cancelled the bladder scope. Victory!

Remember the Teach for America thing I mentioned a while back? Aside from my awesome skill in directing people around campus, I suppose I should briefly explain what it was about. The organization selects a number of recently graduated (or about to graduate) students with varying academic specialties, places them in a rapid, intensive course on education, and sends them out as teachers in various socially disadvantaged areas. Corps members are given a generous stipend in turn for a two-year commitment and hired on as teachers in their districts, receiving full salaries. From what I understood, aside from helping the underprivileged, one of the main purposes of the program is to acquaint those who will go on to be doctors and lawyers and business people with the educational plight in certain areas, so those most equipped to work for change will be motivated to do so.

It sounds like a really great program, and I really like the idea of what they’re trying to do, but given the time commitment involved and other factors, I won’t be applying. Still, I was chosen as a potential applicant because of my involvement with ODK, so that’s pretty cool.

Before I bail, I just want to remind anyone that it’s Covered in Chocolate Week on the Food Network, which is decidedly less kinky than it sounds. :P Right now I’m watching my man Alton Brown make a chocolate mouse. I love watching him because I really feel like I’m learning something. When I watch other cooking shows (that I also love) I just feel like I’m watching a really great performance that will end up making me hungry in the night if I watch it too soon before I go to bed.
Mmm. Chocolate.

Law School update.

When I logged in today, I received email confirmation that UT has received my application. I should know something from them by April. I’m planning to visit as soon as possible. Wish me luck. Oh, and I wasn’t kidding about the orange goats.

I hope to finish my SMU application this weekend.




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