Thursday, November 22, 2007

Happy Anti-Turkey Day

Keith and I realized that we aren't too fond of turkey... So, we decided to have an anti-Thanksgiving dinner. We don't say what we're thankful for (because we're pretty thankful we're alive every day), and we don't eat turkey. This is what's on our dinner menu:
  • Steak. Lots of steak.
  • Bacon-wrapped crab
  • broccoli and cheese casserole
  • beer
  • ice cream
  • chocolate covered caramels

Sunday, November 18, 2007

As my brain slowly weeps...

You would think this post is about my weekend of grading, but it's surprisingly not. Instead, Keith and I found that there is something about our apartment that is making us stupid. I kid you not. We both woke up this morning in a mental haze. Once we determined that there was "something not quite right" with our recent mental burps (my stupidity in front of friends, colleagues, and superiors and his silly mistakes at work), Keith devised a plan to determine what the cause of this haze really is.

He opened all the windows, propped fans in our hallways, and shut the bathroom door closed. Within half an hour, we found that we were a bit more clear in thought and verbal ability. Finally! We've determined that something in our apartment is making us stupid.

We suspect that it is either a lack of oxygen in our air supply or sewage gas coming from our bathroom sink and tub. We will conduct more experiments until we've determined a conclusive result.

In any case, Keith's temporary brain deadness has been reduced. However, since I've been exposed to this weird, winter phenomenon in this current apartment and my former apartment (in the same complex), I'm still experiencing the lasting results of my brain-deadness. This explains why I keep feeling dumber and dumber as the years pass during my PhD program. It's not that I've stopped evolving and learning... It's because my brain is dying from staying at home.


Soon I may find myself voting for a republican president in the next election. Or even worse, calling George W the greatest American hero of our time. I'm hoping that my next doctor's visit will determine whether I can reverse the damage that my apartment has caused on my brain...

Sunday, November 11, 2007

The Onslaught of Posts

Of course, it's that time of year where I must begin writing all my final papers for the end of the semester... Aargh!

This time I'm not honestly sure what I'm doing. I've had my proposal on my mind constantly, so the information from the film courses I've taken have dripped out of my brain.

I tried to get one of my films "knocked out of the way" this weekend. Yeah, right. I don't have a single page written, but I've at least read most of the sources for the paper. I'm currently considering an all-nighter (or at least a late-nighter) to get something started... Well, with enough caffeine, anything can happen, right?

This year I've delayed by Colorado trip till January. Oh blissful January! I even saved on the ticket price because I'm not going during Xmas. That's a big middle finger to the airlines man! Boo-ya!

Explaining why Madison sucks

Aside from the issues of weather and overall climate (which we all know are absolutely horrible here), here are some reasons why Madison can occasionally suck:
  1. Madison is conservative: This is all relative. At one point, let's say in the 1960s, Madison was an island of liberal thought. Now, not so much. However, the local Sconnies have always boasted about Madison's liberal tendencies. Many places in the Midwest, including Chicago, call us the Red City for our Marxist vein... But, this is truly not the case here. Perhaps, if we are only looking in the five mile area known as the UW. Outside of that, Madison is just as conservative as one would expect a Midwestern farming state to be.
  2. Madison is racist: You wouldn't think it, would you... unless you finally notice that most of the caucasians live in the wealthy areas while the groups of minorities are stuck on the periphery of the city... Oh yes, the university promotes diversity in every way and shape possible... That's because there hardly isn't any.
  3. Madison is xenophobic: They don't like outsiders here. That's why there's the Sconnies vs. Coasties battle. And, the Sconnies do label us folks from Colorado as Coasties. Hello?? We're from a landlocked state. Not the coast. As if people from LA and NYC are going to be the same anyway. Sigh.
  4. Madison is overpriced: This again is all relative. Sure, we aren't anywhere near Chicago or New York prices, but we can't really boast the kind of view and activities they can... All I know is that I pay more to live here, where I freeze and have nothing to do, than in Denver, where I don't freeze and have stuff to do. Although you can find some juicy morsels of yummy food goodness at low prices, your taxes, rent, and/or entertainment will cost you a pretty penny. There are free of charge/low charge things to do, but they kind of suck because they don't charge and use the money to improve.
  5. There are a lot of crazy people here: These aren't your run-of-the-mill crazy people that you see hanging out. We do have those. We have drunks and druggies and generally rowdy people. But, we also have people that want to stock and harm other people. We also have folks that like to pretend they're door-to-door gynecologists. We also have people that have sex with dead deer carcasses on the side of the road. Of course, there are also the people who happen to stay up all night with 3 TVs blaring and decide to put up a flag for Veteran's Day at 5am on Sunday, and who also happen to be your downstairs neighbors. Need I say more?
  6. Nothing is open after 10pm: Except for bars. And Woodman's. But if I want to go to Walgreen's to pick up some cold medication, I'm out of luck. I'm also out of luck if I want to buy a 6-pack of beer after 9pm.
  7. If you don't like sports, you'll never fit in: I mean it. Never. It's not just football either. Everyone here plays a sport of some kind. They know people because of the sports they play. If you don't play or enjoy sports, they look at you as if you're some kind of alien. You might as well be painted in green... Oh, right... if you were painted in green, you'd probably be a sports fan. Duh.
I can't say that there are moments when I love Madison. But, sometimes I just need to vent about things that drive me crazy about this place. Blech.

Wednesday, November 07, 2007

Rearranging a little

I'm now going to post all my "academic" discussions to 18cAsian.blogspot.com

So, if you're bored and want to know how my proposal and dissertatin' are working out, check out that blog.

If you just want to read about my weird observations and crazy rants, then they're all gonna be here, baby!

Monday, November 05, 2007

Meh, so what's new?

Things that I learned about myself these past two weeks that appall me:
  1. I really like the new Britney Spears album *shudder*
  2. I find CSI boring In fact, I find most TV boring
  3. I can play Guitar Hero better than I can play my violin
  4. I've only wanted to wear three pairs of shoes in the past year.
  5. All three pairs are comfort shoes: 1 birkenstock sandal, 1 mary jane by Dansk, and 1 snow boot by Sorel
  6. I'd rather eat snacks than a full meal
  7. I'm getting old people problems: I squint at people, I'm terrified of those rascally teenagers on their skateboards and scooters, I can't hear very well, my joints hurt when it's cold outside, I hate most new music, and I'm cranky
  8. I spend more time reading perez hilton than the new yorker
  9. I call my students "my kids"
  10. I would rather sit at home and do nothing than go to a party