bring it on, bring it on, yeah

Oh, and while I'm thinking about it, I watched the season premiere of Veronica Mars at tv.msn.com at, um, school today. It requires Internet Explorer (....), so rather than go through the hassle of connecting one of my old PCs to the internet, I took a pair of headphones and used one of the (snazzy new) computers in the Lexis Lab. While I know better than to spoil things for those amongst you who watch the show (which should be ALL OF YOU, boys included, because what's not to like about a hot blonde girl who kicks ass and solves crimes?), I will say that I'm so glad to have the characters back again, but I worry that it's not enough to snag those folks out there who aren't already fans. I mean, the Keith storyline confused me and I haven't missed a single episode of this darn show (I'm hoping the TWoP recap will enlighten me). Oh, well--my fingers are crossed. If woxy can experience rebirth, why not our beloved Veronica on her spiffy new network, eh?

sunshine and chocolate

I just got brownies in the mail! From a law firm! Brownies by mail! I realize they probably do this for everyone, and I shudder to think what their recruitment budgets are (I remember chipping in to buy brownies-by-mail for my college suitemate five years ago, and they were Not Cheap), but boy, do I feel special. And with NALP deadlines for holding offers open fast approaching, I'm going to have to start paring my list of firms down, but this process becomes all the more difficult when there's chocolate involved. Brownies! Wow. I could really get used to this whole being-recruited thing.

in a/v club and glee club and even the chess team

So, I posted this on our group blog, but since I've watched it, oh, seven times in the last 24 hours, I feel compelled to post about it here, as well. Go on, check it out--it's pretty much the best video ever made.

in your own world

It's been awhile since I posted about music, which sucks, because that was one of the primary intents behind this blog initially. And having just heard really, really fantastic sample tracks from the new Joseph Arthur and Now It's Overhead albums, I felt obliged to point you guys in that general direction and say, "Go! Go and get!" Joseph Arthur is just all-around amazing, both as musical collaborator and as musician in his own right, so I'm really excited to hear more of his new stuff. I have a soft spot in my heart for Now It's Overhead, though, as it's thanks to them that I saw R.E.M. a second time--for free! on a guest list!--so I'm happy to endorse their new album without reservation. They sound more mature--there are more layers to their songs, but they still retain the haunting musical aesthetic that I associate with Andy LeMaster's work. Both albums are out now, so nothing's stopping you from getting them IMMEDIATELY. Go. Shoo.

Back so soon? Well, I realized that I never wrote about the end of woxy's broadcasts, but maybe that's for the best, as Bill Nguyen is in talks with the owners to resurrect it. Woxy's a phoenix, no doubt. It would be amazing if things work out to keep it afloat, but I'm not getting my hopes up until the audio stream is online again.

Now, if you'll pardon me, I have a journal outline to finish (narrgh) and a burgeoning head cold to nurse. *snif*

don't know when I'll be back again

Another first: blogging from the airport. Five hours ago I balked at the thought of paying $8 for wi fi here at LaGuardia; however, now that my plane has been delayed from 6:45 until 10:30 (and we'll probably sit on the runway for a couple of hours before we're allowed to take off, since every other flight out of Chicago this evening has done so), the $8 seems like money well spent. At this point, I'm hoping my stupid flight home doesn't turn into a red eye, for crying out loud.

More pressingly, however, there's a little grey mouse running around the empty concourse. The floor's pretty gross--lots of food debris, ergo lots of good pickins for the little fella--and he's so skittish. He's probably not long for this world, but maybe he's a fighter. I'd probably be freaked if he were in my apartment, but in this big, empty airport terminal, I don't mind the company. You keep on truckin', li'l brudder. Keep on truckin'.

the waiters are all stars

Greetings from NYC! I'm paying $12.95 for the privilege of having internet access in my room (grr), so I figured I may as well blog it up to make the most of it. I have an interview this afternoon--well, in an hour--so I can't stay long, but a conversation with a friend in the airport while wating for my plane to board got me thinking about the food I'm expensing to firms. With four interviews under my belt (though one was local, which means they got off really cheaply), I've sent in receipts for:
3 tall Starbucks Awake teas
2 Starbucks lowfat lemon muffins
1 Starbucks espresso brownie
2 Pretzel Time pretzels, one with cheddar cheese
1 lowfat cranberry muffin (possibly the best muffin I've had in recent memory)
1 ABP mediterranean salad (purchased outside the sterile zone, but the packet o' salad dressing was still allowed through the x-ray machines. SUSPICIOUS. Vinaigrette bombs are next, mark my words.)
...and assorted beverages (diet coke, vitamin water, etc.).

I was kind of worried that they'd take one look at my carb-heavy diet and deny me an offer simply on the basis of potentially-diabetes-related insurance costs, but it's really not as bad as I thought (though I foresee several more Awake teas and lemon muffins in my future). Also, since this hotel provides no free continental breakfast (boo--it's probably really gauche that I prefer Fairfield Inn and Suites to gussied-up places like this, but at least there the internet is free and the cereal is plentiful), I'm probably going to order up room service tomorrow morning. I think I've only had room service once in my life, and that was so long ago I'm fairly sure my age was still in single digits.

And a final food-related thought: I have a really difficult time sleeping on planes, partly because I have to be a vigilant ear-popper on ascent/descent, and that takes up a good hour of the flight. But more importantly, I just can't stand to miss out on my free drink and snack. Seriously. I will wake myself up if I hear the flight attendants rattling around on the cart nearby. Those Biscoff cookies or bbq soy nut snack packs will NOT pass me by, no sirree, even if it means curtailing some much-needed shut-eye.

(Oh, and I have two offers now. Hooray! Not only do I have a job, but I have a choice!)

loud and clear we all shout and cheer

I'm increasingly impressed at what a small world the internet really is.

See, in my efforts not to read this long article for my Supreme Court class tomorrow, I breezed by the 2 Skinnee J's message boards, as I do from time to time, just to see if there was anything new about the band's status. Instead, I find a link to this message board talking about "Nerdcore in '04" and how the Js were at the front of a movement (kind of). So I scroll down, and lo and behold, there I am. Er, I mean, there's a link to my website, in reference to the fact that I alerted friend Misch to their musical goodness via my college radio show. Crazy. Maybe not WHOA-unheard-of crazy, but weird enough.

And if you're looking for music to work out to, it doesn't get much better than Volumizer, really. I intend to make a kick-ass workout playlist for the 5k run I'm doing in two weeks (am I training? not so much. It'll be a big ol' character-building test of will), and "Horns of Destruction" is going to be front and center, no question.

maybe I'm crazy, maybe diminished

Things I can't deal with right now:

1) Comcast. I clearly spoke too soon last week when I was all elated at the repairman coming early. The LINE TECHNICIANS can't seem to get their act together, because my cable's still unwatchable, and I've spent an hour on the phone today trying to get that information through to someone on their end. FINALLY got a helpful person on the other end of the line who promised to call me tomorrow with more info, because their computer system is down right now. *headdesk* I just want to watch The Office without fuzz! Is that too much to ask? (NBC's the worst. The other channels aren't great, but NBC is absolutely unwatchable. Sigh.)

2) My bathtub. It keeps backing up, but not when I'm using it. Random times. And it's sewer water, so it smells like sewer and leaves little black hunks of stuff in the tub. I shudder to think what those little black hunks are. My whole apartment smells like sewer when this happens, and it's not pleasant and DEFINITELY not sanitary, and maintenance won't be back till monday, but it's SO GROSS AND I CAN'T DEAL WITH IT.

3) Laundry. Why can't it wash itself? I don't have three hours to spend messing with you tomorrow, Laundry, but I must, or I won't have shirts to wear to interviews, sheets to lie on, or towels to dry off with. Fie on you, laundry. Fie.
[See also (3a) Ironing--but we'll cross that complaint once the clothes are clean and dry, thanks.]

4) Snow Patrol. Damnit, your concert was supposed to be THREE MONTHS AGO, when I had TIME to go to concerts. I DO NOT WANT TO SPEND ALL NIGHT SEEING YOU TONIGHT, but I spent the money and I'm not missing it. I might have a (begrudgingly) good time. But I would be a lot happier if this were June 10, like it was supposed to be, rather than Sept. 16.

5) Dinner. I'm FREAKING HUNGRY which is probably why I'm so pissed off. Grrrrrrrowl.

joyful and triumphant

For once, I can honestly say that today was one of those good days that everyone blogs about now and again:

I got a job offer! hooray! Now I can proceed through the arduous callback process knowing that I've got SOMEplace to work (and a pretty darn nice place to work, too). I also had a really fun (seriously!) callback yesterday, so even if that offer doesn't come through, I met some supernice people and had a tasty meal. If only I knew how to make mushroom paella myself--I think I might eat it all the time. yum.

We were delayed on the tarmac at LaGuardia this morning (yeah, yeah, when AREN'T you delayed on the tarmac there), and traffic was HORRENDOUS on the way out of O'Hare, so I was really, really worried that I wouldn't get back in time to do my (videotaped!) 3pm negotiation with my classmate. The cab? Rolled up in front of school at 3:04pm. Nearly perfect. (Also, the negotiation went pretty well--I pretended I'd just flown in from a big meeting with a client. Heh heh. whooo. Anyway.)

And perhaps most importantly, today marks a year for The Boy and I! (Coincidentally, we aren't the only ones celebrating an anniversary today. Congrats, you two!) I honestly can't imagine struggling through the highs and lows of law student life without him, mostly because I only struggled through a very little bit of it before he came along. We're going out for tapas tonight to mark the occasion, which is good, because what better way to be festive than to enjoy some dates wrapped in bacon? mmm. bacon.

Tomorrow I research, I read, I write email and work the Lexis lab and get caught up, but I'm taking tonight off. I do believe I've earned it.

the clouds came tumbling down

So, I've said before I'm big on anniversaries. And I've felt, on past anniversaries of this treacherous day, that I genuinely had something to say, that I felt something that I needed to share.

It's odd, then, that today, I'm spent. I've got nothing.

I haven't watched any of the news recaps. I sure as hell didn't watch "The Path to 9/11." I felt no need to see United 93 or World Trade Center earlier this year. I haven't forgotten where I was that morning (German class), what I did that day (voted, under the clearest, emptiest blue sky), even whose music I listened to (Ben Folds), though the intense feelings I had initially have faded, as feelings tend to do. I do still get angry at times, still feel a twinge whenever I see an old photo with the towers spiraling over lower Manhattan, looking so stoic and constant.

But what can I say? We were never as safe as we thought we were, and we're probably not as safe as we think we are now. We re-elected a president who made a mess of our foreign policy in the wake of the tragedies. We accept regulation after regulation of our air travel, as though suffering these minor indignities will somehow atone for those four doomed aircraft on that bright September morning. We live in a different world, perhaps--but in many ways, it's the same world with the veil pulled back. I wish, as we all undoubtedly do, that our nation didn't have to suffer tragic loss to achieve such jaded understanding.

The worst part, though, the part that is keeping me from focusing much on the memories of today, is that I fear the way we've changed is exactly wrong. I worry that I'm not the only one who has lost the big picture, and that really, really frightens me. Saddens me. Drives me to think about other things, most of the time.

But right now, I'm thinking about five years ago, how I stayed up all night with the other Glee Club officers deliberating on our roster and our feelings. How I was lucky not to lose a loved one. How maybe, just maybe, the worst was over, but wondering if, really, the worst was yet to come.

Goodnight, America. Tomorrow's a new day. Tonight, we sleep.

honey in my chemicals

Another week, another hodgepodge post to make up for my lack of posting of late:

First off--go Comcast! Not only did my cable repairman show up early (which, I suppose, could be bad if I had anything to do other than sit around here all day), but he got the job done WITHOUT hitting on me the whole time, like last year's Comcast guy. More importantly, he told me that the cable problem is a "line issue" (meaning it's the entire 2nd/3rd floors of my building, not just my apt), so they're sending someone out to fix it either today or tomorrow. See, Creepy Cable Guy last year told me the same thing, but instead of offering to send someone out to fix the line, basically said, "Yep. Nothing I can do, you've just gotta live with it." Maybe if I'd agreed to go golfing with him (*eyeroll*), he would've stepped up... really, all I want is to be able to watch The Office's season premiere without fuzzy cable (NBC was the worst--bizarrely, the upper cable channels were fine. The Boy says it's because I'm the only person watching Bravo or Animal Planet. Har har).

In other news, I'm tired. No surprises there, but I fell asleep last night without washing my face or brushing my teeth, and I feel like my conscience woke me up every two hours as if to give me a shot at remedying the situation. But no, I rolled over and went back to sleep each time, and now I feel beat up. Fnurrr. I think I'm also still groggy from the 4:10 wakeup Thursday morn to get to my 7am flight to NYC, then turning around and flying back here that same evening. I need to recover faster from these callback trips, because I'm not going to have the freedom to spend the day sitting around watching Project Runway reruns and sipping diet berry Dr. Pepper for much longer. (Technically, I probably don't have that freedom right now, but whatever.) Speaking of, I missed the first ep of this season, so I taped it over Labor Day weekend and didn't get the chance to watch it till, well, right now. And some of the photos they used in the little montages to introduce Jeffrey and Uli were photos of them wearing the outfits they designed for themselves last week! Ok, so it's not such a big deal, but it's nothing I'd've noticed were I watching two months ago. (Also, I had no idea Jeffrey almost got kicked out on the first challenge. whoa.)

Re: the callback... I think it went fine, but looking back, I can tell that it was my first callback and absolutely have a couple of places in mind where I should've responded differently. Oh, well--with practice things should go more smoothly. My class schedule is settling into place, more or less, but there are still a couple things up in the air that need to get figured out by Wednesday. You know, lots of time, no problem. Sigh. And if I may voice a pet peeve? PLEASE please please please, people--if someone has emailed you or phoned you and left a message about a time-sensitive matter, GET BACK TO THEM. I am juggling far too many things right now to get bogged down because someone can't reply to an email or return a phone call. I'm a little less incensed about all of this than I was yesterday, as replies/responses have gradually trickled in (or, in some cases, I just said, "To hell with it," and moved on), but the point remains the same. I realize I need to have a little less of a visceral reaction to this in order to keep sane, particularly as I embark upon a legal career, but I've had about six or seven different variations of this same problem occur over the past four days, so I'm having a hard time being charitable about it.

Finally, is there a countdown special that Michael Ian Black doesn't participate in? WTF, man. I don't even know what I'm watching (Bravo's countdown of Best Sitcoms?), but there he is. I'm sure if I popped over to VH1 he'd be blathering on about metal videos or how much he loves the 90s or something. Sheesh.

punishing our transgressions

Oh, for crying out loud.

Sometimes it really, really sucks to have to claim Ohio as my home state. November '04 was one of those times. This, too, is one of those times. Guh.

Also, I had to be told by a music blog that Facebook has apparantly gone through a not-very-popular facelift involving a news feed that updates every change your friends make to their profiles. (Sucks for the guy on my friends list who just had to switch from "in a relationship" to "single." Chin up, Adam!) I guess I'm a bad mass-social networker for not knowing about this by now.

Really, though, I'm just plain busy. I've only had two days of class but it feels like it's been a week and a half. I have my first callback tomorrow. I'm so, so tired. The weekend really can't get here fast enough.

(Also, am I the only one who thinks Suri Cruise looks like a baby Bjork?

all the king's horses and all the king's men

I know, it's been practically a week since you've heard from me, and I'm too tired to say much of anything right now--

but the Crocodile Hunter died! And this makes me sad. Between this, the news about Pluto, and Woxy's impending demise, I dare say bad things really do come in threes.

Classes start tomorrow. aiieee. More soon.