When you work on the weekends, you forget what day it is

So, this past week or two (I honestly have no concept of time any more) I've been working some extra classes because my fellow posse-people have been ill. This job has been so detrimental to the health of so many of us. Knock on wood that I don't get sick in the next 10 weeks. That seriously make me angry.

My friends and I from UNC did get into the MAPACA's conference on Popular Culture. We will be on a panel called "After Altamont: The Contemporary Rock Film Genre." I was attempting to be cool and witty, punning off of the Rolling Stones Gimme Shelter and the many interests in deMan-ish "After Auschwitz" courses in recent lit studies stuff. I'm hoping to make my title-creating into a new career. . . and of course, I'm only kidding about that last part. At any rate, we will be living it up for a weekend in Baltimore! I'm now hunting down a possible lift from Ivan. . . please???

I'm trying to revise one of my seminar papers into something a bit more cohesive. It's on Miyazaki's Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, and I've decided to focus my topic more on the issues surrounding invasions in the pastoral space. I think I'm going to call it "Space Invaders," which will probably give the paper a more sci-fi feel. Although, I whole-heartedly object to dubbing all anime, particularly Miyazaki's, as sci-fi. Don't we limit our experiences of these films when we label them as sci-fi?

Welcome to Mordor

My uncle mentioned that Phoenix is also known as Mordor. Well, here's to Mordor (survey per Christina):

The Dante's Inferno Test has banished you to the Sixth Level of Hell - The City of Dis!
Here is how you matched up against all the levels:

Level	Score
Purgatory (Repenting Believers)	Very Low
Level 1 - Limbo (Virtuous Non-Believers)	Very Low
Level 2 (Lustful)	Very High
Level 3 (Gluttonous)	Extreme
Level 4 (Prodigal and Avaricious)	Very High
Level 5 (Wrathful and Gloomy)	High
Level 6 - The City of Dis (Heretics)	Extreme
Level 7 (Violent)	High
Level 8- the Malebolge (Fraudulent, Malicious, Panderers)	Very High
Level 9 - Cocytus (Treacherous)	Low

Take the Dante Inferno Hell Test

Yet another moment for surveys!

You are a Brainy Girl!

Whether you're an official student or a casual learner, you enjoy hitting the books. You know a little bit about everything, and you're always dying to know more. For a guy to win your heart, he's got to share some of your intellectual interests. A awesome book collection of his own doesn't hurt either!

What Kind of Girl Are You?

Your Style is 1950s

High heels, pretty dresses, classic makeup... You're a feminine beauty who knows how to play up her assets!

What Decade Matches Your Style?

Your Love Song Is

Your Body Is a Wonderland by John Mayer "One mile to every inch of Your skin like porcelain One pair of candy lips and Your bubblegum tongue" Why go out... when so much fun can be had indoors?

What Love Song Are You?

You Are Trinity

"Touch me and that hand will never touch anything again."

What Superheroine Are You?

First Full Week Finally Finished

Today was my day of recovery from my 9 class teaching load this past week. Let me tell ya, it was quite a load.

What they don't tell you in training:

• Wear comfortable shoes. Like nursing shoes. Otherwise, your feet will blister and bleed in places you never knew existed.
• Drink lots of water, but pace it. You need the water to prevent voice loss, but if you drink too much water, you have to pee. With nowhere to pee, where would that lead you?
• Moisturize. Moisturize. Moisturize.
• Advil is everyone's friend. Especially the 400 mg kind.
  
• Eat a big breakfast. That will be your last meal for the day.
• Don't choke on food that you try to choke down quickly.
• Put up that sun visor in your car. Seriously.
• Folks in the AZ think that air conditioning is great at 80 degrees.

It's safe to say that I learned a lot about the new sport I've labeled "Power Lecturing." It should be an olympic sport, like the triatholon. I can see it now: thousands of TAs lining up at the starting line with tatoos like the Ironman competitors. Good times, good times.

Mystery Meat

My roommate and I were getting ready to chow down when we notice an unfamiliar leftover container in our fridge. Lo and behold, it's filled with sesame chicken. Now, neither one of us has eaten chinese food in Arizona yet. . . So, this mysterious, chinese chicken is from someone else.

This confirms our suspicions from earlier this week. About two days ago, my roommate was getting ready for bed when she noticed something touching her feet. She looked under the bed straight away and found a pair of white sandals!!! Neither one of us own these shoes. . . what is going on???

Let me suggest our hypothesis. Our current digs are owned by a subletting company. We suspect that the owners of said company have been snooping around in our apartment, causing this mayhem. . . We're going to leave them an earfull tomorrow morning. Bastards!

On another note, it's still freakin' hot here. And I can't believe I missed the last scene at the end of the credits of X-men 3. I'm usually so good about that. Sigh.

Living it up in Scottsdale, AZ

So, I've finally arrived in Scottsdale, AZ. . . Well, I arrived a few days ago, but we were still in "Work" mode, and we still are. . .

Anyway, we are again in a lovely apartment with central air and all the other most convenient and modern appliances. I also received my very own rental car, a Chevy Cobalt. . . It's a scoupe in bright yellow! Very fun.

Can I tell you how odd the weather is? We get to Phoenix in the late evening, around 10pm, and it's 98 degrees outside!!! I mean, it's hotter in Phoenix at night than it was in California at noon. And the heat is not just any heat, it's the kind that permeates your SOUL!!! (Imagine that dungeon guy from The Princess Bride saying this before he cleared his throat)

On a lighter note, I convinced my company to allow us to expense a cheap printer for our use. . . This has become a revolutionary breakthrough. . . No more driving to Kinkos at odd hours. :)

Even one more thing: I just saw X-Men 3 last night. It's good. Real good. If you loved the other X-men films, you're going to see it anyway. . . If you don't, I don't think you'll like this one that much. But, I liked it. :)

Iron runs in the family

Per Christina:

Fe... Iron You scored 22 Mass, 44 Electronegativity, 63 Metal, and 0 Radioactivity!

I don't really need to describe you do I? You're the backbone of any well put together group... communally minded, out going and social, but you don't demand to be the center of attention. Without groups of people like you, human society would crumble. I mean that... don't change. With respect to realtionships, I don't know what to tell ya. I guess I'd reccommend a first row transition metal... or if you don't mind being submissive then go for an oxygen... everyone else will wonder how you ended up with one of those drama queens, but you'll probably secretly love it and he/she will bring out colors of you that you didn't know existed.

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 9% on Mass You scored higher than 85% on Electroneg You scored higher than 67% on Metal You scored higher than 0% on Radioactivity

Link: The Which Chemical Element Am I Test written by effataigus on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

Pig farming and other novels that have bad subject matter

My training thus far has been quite smooth. I've found I can fall asleep during the instruction portion and still maintain an okay ability to perform the tasks at hand. Honestly though, I've really enjoyed the training, and I am really excited to get my summer going in Phoenix.

While I've been in Long Beach, I've seen a few of the sites:

• The LACMA and their current exhibit of five Gustav Klimt paintings (oh yeah!)
• The beach at Long Beach (we live 2 blocks away)
• The island of Naples (we live 1 block away) and Sushi of Naples, an AMAZING restaurant
• The Queen Mary (unfortunately not Mary of Scots, but the ship)
• Alhambra, Monterey Park, and La Canada (there's a tilde somewhere in there)
  
• The joy of mochi, belgium chocolates, dim sum, and wicked strong coffee

I still have this weekend to visit the Glendale Galleria with my extended family, enjoy a night of drunken revelry with my new found friends, visit West Coast Choppers during my lunch break (I'll try and get bumper stickers), and go night clubbing (yeah, right). As for the usual touristy things to do in SoCal, I will be skipping those. After all, Disney probably hasn't changed in the last 15 years. . .

Ironically, one of the favorite restaurants for my fellow co-workers happens to be Mimi's Cafe. That's just plain funny. I've basically travelled a thousand miles for food that I can get in my home town(s). Woo-hoo.

Celebrate!

I'm finally finished with my spring semester!!! Woo-hoo!!!

I probably turned in one of the worst papers I have ever written, but I don't care! No more all-nighters and full work days this summer!!! Woo-hoo!

Sleepy

Finally finished semester. Going to nap now before work. . . zzzzzzzzz

Now I know why Austen wrote about interiors rather than exteriors

Many of my friends have asked me what California is like thus far, and I can only talk about how nice my apartment is. Well, I just realized that my paper (which I am still writing) has kept me indoors the entire time I have been here. So, I obviously can't comment on any of the beaches, the weather. . . you know, the usual thing that people comment on when they travel to new and exciting places.

I am, of course, still writing my paper. I have about 8 pages (probably all crap). I have no idea if my argument is too plain jane, and I may be too uncritical and not using my full range of sources. Nonetheless, I will still push through, burning the midnight oil, tonight and try to finish by the crack of dawn tomorrow morning. Hopefully I can then clean it up and send it in on Sunday night/Monday morning.

AAAAAHHHHH! Then FREEDOM! 2-4-6-0-1!!!!!!

I'm in L.A.

My summer job is about to start in an hour, and I am currently sitting in "my apartment" in Seal Beach, just south of Los Angeles. The weather is nice (as always). I have a really NICE bed. I miss having a bed this nice (did I ever have a bed this nice?).

I'm a bit nervous. . . but not entirely of the job. I'm still working on my paper for my class, but I have yet to type A SINGLE PAGE. I've been compiling a ton of information on the author and his work, and I'm in the midst of close reading passages with swains in them. Yep. Swains (not swans, look it up). Blah.

I'm already freaking out inside. I am worried this is not going to make it to my professor in time. I have no idea if he will offer me an incomplete. . . and ultimately, I'm not sure if I want to take it. This is a rather precarious situation to be in. . . Who's fault is it? Mine Mine Mine.

Our work schedule is 8:30-4:30, but it takes about 15-30 to drive to our work site. I have no idea what this will be like, but I have a feeling that it will be uncomfortable. This is one of the philosophies of the company. Put people into a state of disequilibrium so that they must learn more in order to adjust to a state of equilibrium. Pretty much like grad school.

A new yu!

Just kidding. . . anyway, here's a picture of me and my new haircut. The picture looks grainy and unkempt because of the lighting:


I've gained quite a bit of weight in the last month of this semester, but I hope to drop it all once I start working and actually DOING something instead of writing papers. . .

It still hasn't hit me that I will be leaving town on Sunday. . . for a LONG time. Ah well. . .

Gah! I look like a man!

AAAACK! Dread of last paper

Have I started my final paper? The very last paper that will guarantee me solace and relief from the past semester? Nope.

This is a problem. This means I either have to write it straight through in the next 2 days, or I will have to bring all of my work with me on the plane.

I'm off to get a haircut and not worry about it for now. I'll show y'all a picture when I get back.

2 down, 1 to go

I know I haven't been keeping you abreast of my mayem lately, but that's because I've been busy working my weary hands on some very sinister papers. So, I'm at the point right now where I have finished my pastoral paper (incidentally on Miyazaki's Nausicaa), and I am now taking a quick blogging break before I begin work on Thomson's Seasons. Little did I know that this work is rather cumbersome and has an extensive publication history. .. well, actually. . . I did know this, but I decided to do it anyway. Meh.

I just found out that I will be in LA this summer for about a month and then moving my way to Phoenix until August. Hopefully I will be an amazing teacher. Hopefully. I want to say that this may determine my future in academia. I've found more and more enjoyment in the editing and writing process than I actually do in the literary analysis process (but not so much in the way of composition studies). So. I never really tried my best in terms of my teaching. . . This may be the summer for me to give it my all and find out how rewarding it could be (or not be!).

I take delight in moments where I practically resolve issues in papers. . . It makes my heart skip a beat. I wonder if I can feel the same way about literary analysis again. . . I know I can about theory, but it's been a while for the thing that I'm actually supposed to enjoy. . . Is this pathetic, or am I just exhausted?

While enjoying my miel (yes, it's now one of my favorite caffeinated beverages), I noticed how cold it is. . . Drink faster, Em. . . faster!

It is Sunday and I am scared!

For some reason, every time I type an apostrohe, my Find function keeps popping up. That is just plain annoying. Oh well!

Anyway, it is Sunday (and I am avoiding the use of contractions and the like), I am currently at Panera Bread, hurriedly typing away at my Troilus paper. Okay. I am glad, at least, to know that I do not really enjoy Middle English in the ways that others do. However, I did really enjoy reading Chaucer. He is a kick in the pants, but his scholarship is a bit scary.

I have about 7 pages, including two 3-passage long quotes. That is not good. But I only need about 12-15 pages for this bad boy. . . Soon I will be starting my paper on Thomson and his Seasons. That should be interesting, to say the least.

Yet again, I wonder why I always procrastinate till I can no longer wait. What am I thinking? Well, I suppose I am not thinking. I believe that subconsciously I want to fail. . . I desire failure so that I can stop what I am currently doing (because it is too difficult) and move on to something else. But it's not too difficult (yay! that damn apostrophe thing finally went away). And I know that I can accomplish these things, not easily but y'know. I think I'm just plain lazy.

Woo-hoo! Just a week left, and I'll be on my way to someplace else!

Yeah, my summer job. . . I've no idea where I'm going, and I've no idea where I'll be, so this becomes an excitin' new exper'ence that'll shape the way I think. Hop'fully, not too much.

Christina, we're driving almost the same car!

You Should Drive a Jaguar XK 4.2

You don't care how you get there as long as you get there with class. And having a little power doesn't hurt either!

What 2007 Car Should You Drive?

'Tis an honor!

Hi all,
I just received a message regarding Carol's Friends of the Friendless Marching Band and Friendly Fridays. . . Apparently, this blog is being monitored by many people now. . .

I originally started this blog as a venting mechanism, like so many others also have. At the moment, it's a way for me to communicate with family and friends that I hardly ever seen now that I am working on my degree in Madison.

Thanks for featuring my blog this week! I hope that y'all will also take a look at my sisters' blogs (they are located on the side links, I believe).

Best,
Bemmie

Best Caffeinated Beverage of All Time

I don't know what I would have done in my life if I hadn't tried this beverage. Yes, I've fallen off the wagon, and I've started drinking caffeine again. I now drink Coke but not as much as I used to in my younger and slightly wanton days. However, my friend introduced me to Electric Earth (cute coffee shop), and I tried something the call "Miel." This may be old hat for some of you, but it's a new experience for me!

It's basically like liquid incredible! It's a latte, but they press the espresso shot with cinnamon, and then they fill the bottom of the glass with honey before they pour in the latte. I get it with soy milk, so I don't have to suffer through traumatizing lactose-intolerance pains. This has just the right amount of sweet with spice, and it keeps me up for many MANY hours.

Of course, now it is problematic as I am typing to a heart attack as we speak...

One day, I shall conquer you again caffeine. . . oh yes, I shall!

More quizzy mcquiz quiz stuff

Your Five Factor Personality Profile

Extroversion: You have medium extroversion. You're not the life of the party, but you do show up for the party. Sometimes you are full of energy and open to new social experiences. But you also need to hibernate and enjoy your "down time." Conscientiousness: You have medium conscientiousness. You're generally good at balancing work and play. When you need to buckle down, you can usually get tasks done. But you've been known to goof off when you know you can get away with it. Agreeableness: You have medium agreeableness. You're generally a friendly and trusting person. But you also have a healthy dose of cynicism. You get along well with others, as long as they play fair. Neuroticism: You have low neuroticism. You are very emotionally stable and mentally together. Only the greatest setbacks upset you, and you bounce back quickly. Overall, you are typically calm and relaxed - making others feel secure. Openness to experience: Your openness to new experiences is high. In life, you tend to be an early adopter of all new things and ideas. You'll try almost anything interesting, and you're constantly pushing your own limits. A great connoisseir of art and beauty, you can find the positive side of almost anything.

The Five Factor Personality Test