when the going gets tough...FML

For the record, I'm having a very good day, what I hope and dream every Friday will be like. In fact, my day has been going so well that I wouldn't be surprised if a unicorn pranced through the door and handed me an ice cream cone. I had queso at lunch. It's sunny and 73 degrees. I just found out that I'm getting my first personal iProduct this weekend (a shuffle) for free from Lundy, and that my used-but-new-to-me Mac laptop should be ready on Monday. I only have 2 more hours left at work, if that, and I have a weekend of relaxation and whatever I want to do ahead of me. 

This website was not made for days like this. And I feel a little guilty about other people's worst days adding sprinkles to my day. Please make me feel better and take a bite out of the apple too....meet Fail Blog's unfortunate cousin, FMyLife. Quick sample:

Submitted by lonely: Today, my phone rang for the first time in four days. It was my mom. She dialed the wrong number. FML

Submitted by pointlessperson: Today, I hung out with a friend who has been too busy to hang out with me in a few months. I decided to make the day super special with fun plans and spent a lot of money doing so. When I got home, her facebook status said "Pointless day, gone to bed". FML

Submitted by nycgirl424: Today, my boyfriend of 2 years sent me a text message saying, "Don't worry I'm gonna break up with her soon. Love you." FML

See? Don't you feel better?

nice change of pace

I've taken over the front row table because no one sat next to me, but I don't care anymore because it's made room for my assault of accoutrements^*: a disappointing overvalued latte from the school cafe, half-empty bottle of tap water, calculator, finance book, 2 notebooks, pen, pencil, highlighter, list of formulas on one side, roomful of accents on the other. Nobody wants to be my partner — I am the only blonde, the youngest student, and stereotypes abound! The fluorescent lights are bright enough to photosynthesize a rainforest and by the end of the three-hour class, my eyeballs feel like they just got a Brazilian wax. When I leave, I am exhausted, confused, stressed, isolated, and...happy.

Up until now, I've been fighting my disheartenment (real word?) since transferring, because St. Edward's so far has been little more than a hemorrhage on my bank account. Sort of like I thought I was riding the Titan but then looked around and realized I was actually on the teacup ride and just barfed cotton candy onto myself. Five out of my six teachers so far have just let their students sliiiiide right through and it's taken almost no effort to do well. I know saying that is like the verbal equivalent of a fanny pack, but grad school should be all about the disonnance theory — the harder you work, the more valuable the reward, right? That being said, I'm now into my fourth semester here, I seem to have finally waded through the entry level classes, and I'm happy to see that I'm finally getting my ass kicked. 

And now...back to the books (seriously).

*Please note this is my favorite word, ever ever.

and for you, glowsticks!

High Fidelity Winners

"(Do) Judge an Album By Its Cover" = Best LP Cover Art 

1st place: Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti

(can't really remember the others, oops)

"Championship Vinyl" = Best B-side, Track 1

1st place: Mamas and the Papas - California Dreamin' 
2nd place: Rod Stewart - Maggie May 
3rd place: Bruce Springsteen - Born to Run 

"Battle of the Bands" = Best 3-Song Playlist

1st place

I Love Rock 'N Roll by Joan Jett & The Blackhearts

Rock the Casbah by The Clash

Under Pressure by Queen & David Bowie

2nd place

Push It by Salt-N-Pepa 

Paper Planes Remix by MIA ft. Lil Wayne

Don't Stop Believin' by Journey

3rd place 

Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen

I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You by Black Kids

ABC by Jackson 5

A few people were DQ'ed for not being present during the awards ceremony, but despite some drunken protests and anonymous commentary written on the lists, these were pretty much the legit winners! Prizes included Beatles magnets, Rolling Stones coasters, Rock n Roll poetry magnets, band buttons, mix CDs, and glowsticks. Oh, and the best part: the t-shirt/swag collage!

party time

For the past 3 nights, I've been playing with a new toy. 

I e-mailed this video to my mom just so she could see that I got my dad's old record player fixed and had it up and running. I happened to be listening to the Mamas and the Papas If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears, which I figured she'd like. As it turns out, my mom (who is neither enthusiastic or grammatically lazy) must have blacked out from the nostalgic ecstasy because she wrote back that she "loved it soooooooooooooooo much." Because it was the actual album. Which apparently got lost among the mix during the great Blanton Record Divide of 1988. But now the record is back and the player is working, just in time for the High Fidelity-inspired party we're having tonight! I'm not even sure Brian and I could pull this off somewhere else, but all of our friends here love music so much that they make the perfect contestants for our little competitions:

1) Best 3-Song Playlist 

2) Best B-Side, Track 1

3) Best LP Cover Art

We have one area set up for the art, the record player ready for the B-sides, and then the playlists will form the soundtrack for the party. Everyone votes, we have prizes that I secretly want to keep for myself, etc. We're entering but not to win, so I'm trying to keep it respectable yet forgettable. (Although really, this playlist is neither of those things.)

Playlist: In a widget on the right. Could also be named "80s Songs That Make Me Lose My Shit."

Track 1: Go Your Own Way (Fleetwood Mac, live)

Cover Art:

 

I'll post the winning playlists etc. next week!

dooce

Ooh ooh, my favorite blogger Heather Armstrong is coming to Austin in early April to promote her new book It Sucked and Then I Cried about pregnancy and post-partum depression! (I have no doubt it's much more entertaining than it sounds). I started drinking the dooce kool-aid last year shortly after it won blog of the year at SXSW, and since then I've become unhealthily interested in the Armstrongs' dogs, addiction to edamame, and deconstruction of Barbie dolls. Anyway, I'm just worried that when I meet her I'm going to rinse&repeat the little episode from when I met my ex-favorite blogger.  I have two months to prepare for a casual hello-will-you-sign-my-book conversation, which should theoretically mean I'm good to go...if I can just figure out how to stop my excitement from launching another coup d'etat on my dignity.

do you believe in life after love?

You know how when you play with babies, you find yourself talking in a bizarre voice that you've never heard before? Your baby persona, if you will? Well, my boss just had his baby (Evie) at the office, and she and I were playing / trying to figure out why Betsy the Bug has so many stupid pockets when all of the sudden I realized my baby persona was Cher. 

it's not an excuse to be lazy

If you recall from last year, I'm not all that into New Year's resolutions. A recent discussion about them led to the possibility of giving up cheese in 2009, which led to a would you rather give up oral sex or cheese for the rest of your life debate, something you should think long and hard about before answering. McAdams, in response to a previous question, had already decided to dispense Easy Cheese from her belly button, so you can imagine her conundrum. Anyway, I'm not giving up any of that. But I have been thinking that one thing I could probably maybe sorta kinda work on is my ever-dwindling patience. I recently found myself wanting to give out impromptu colonoscopies like candy canes, and, well, you know. That's not cool.  

In the spirit of making practicing patience fun!, I decided I could start by watching more movies. It sounds kind of ridiculous I guess, but really, forcing myself to sit down for 2 hours rarely happens. I'm too afraid that I'll end up wasting my time, and I hate waiting for stories to build. But as a consequence, my personal imdb is disgraceful...as you may have noticed. 

I'm proud to say I've already seen 5 movies in 9 days (the starring is really just proof that I didn't fall asleep).

Doubt (★★★ 1/2) 

Burn After Reading (★★★ 1/2) 

High Fidelity (★★★★)

There Will Be Blood (★★★★)

WALL-E (★★ 1/2)

I've been anxious to discuss the movies afterwards, so all in all, I'd say my non-resolution-resolve is panning out pretty nicely so far! And I'm even accumulating new knowledge, like the fact that Alan Greenspan produced High Fidelity. See? Look how smart and patient I am!