So today we were in Boston recording for UTO some more. Over the course of the afternoon, we got on the subject of annoying encounters with Brandeis 2-- and so of course, I got to tell my Spencer The Prat story.
Only when I told the girls his real name, Julia burst out with "oh my god, that kid is EVIL! I hate him SO MUCH!" and told me about how he's a cheating douchebag (color me unsurprised) and, get this-- he claims to have slept with Lady Gaga.
Yeah. Yeah. Go ahead and try and process that. I'll wait.
Still laughing? It's okay. Took me a minute, too.
At any rate, it makes me happy to know that I'm not the only person to have been on the receiving end of his particular brand of terrible.
Fun fact: Today I learned, via Pandora, that I really don't like Simple Plan. This doesn't surprise me in the least, but it's nice that I can have a proper account of these things.
In other news, my laptop monitor has stopped functioning. As such, so have I.
So we'll see how that goes.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Meet Spencer
I am not generally the kind of person who tells funny anecdotes at parties. My stories rarely end with an apologetic "I guess you had to be there," and when they do, it's probably because the punch line is a nerdy reference and my fellow conversationalist is not a geek like me.
Today, I have a crazy story. TODAY, I-- for the first time-- have encountered a person so absurdly fictional that I actually need to *come up with a codename for him for use on this blog.*
He is in my assigned Short Stories group; he grew up on Fifth Avenue, went to an exclusive all-male Academy for high school, and is (as I learned today) a male model. For the purposes of this blog, we will call him Spencer the Prat, as he is both EERILY REMINISCENT of his forebear, and is, inarguably, a complete prat.
As is true of all "been there" moments, this kind of loses something in the retelling, so I'll do the short version:
The story my group is doing comes from something called Godey's Lady's Book, which was a monthly journal in the 1830s which published short stories, articles and advertisements relevant to women of the day. Our particular story is about (among other things) lovers who die of plague. The project, in brief, is to "re-publish" this story. Our idea was to reformat our meta stuff around the story as if it were a modern women's magazine, like Elle.
One of my suggestions was that-- seeing as we're allowed to put in illustrations-- we could add thematically relevant ads... one of which could be an anti-plague skin cream, as satire.
Cut to Spencer the Prat. Spencer, who has not yet read the story we're doing this project on, completely failed to understand what I was getting at. So I tried explaining it several different times, in several different ways. "But why is it skin cream," he demanded.
Spencer, being a student who clearly goes to Brandeis 2-- oh. Wait.
SHORT INTERLUDE: Chef has a theory where there are two versions of 'deis: there's Brandeis, which is populated by smart awkward jewish kids who are generally sweet and well-meaning and want to change the world... and then there's Brandeis 2. Brandeis 2 has frats, and jocks, and people who spend their weekends throwing up and then tell stories about how epic it was after. The reason so few people realize there are, in fact, two Brandeises (Brandeisi?) is because the two so rarely overlap.
Sometimes, however, they're arbitrarily placed in the same group project, and the whole system falls apart.
So ANYWAY. From the way he was talking, I was starting to get the feeling that Spencer fancied himself a bit of a manly man-- that he'd never picked up an issue of Elle in his life, and would be offended at the mere suggestion that he had. Which would explain why he wasn't getting where I was coming from at all.
Me: "I-- look. Have you ever, y'know, looked at an issue of Seventeen, or Elle, or-- because they have these, these ads for--"
Spencer: [coldly] "What do you mean 'have I ever.'" [disconcertingly sarcastic now] "Noooo, I've NEVER picked up a magazine before."
Me: "No, sorry, I didn't mean-- I just thought that--"
Spencer: "Look, I've been in magazines, so you can just drop the attitude, okay."
The more polite and rational I tried to be, the more offended and defensive he got. He then informed me that he's not sure why I think I can get away with my "snotty attitude," but that I need to "wake up" because it's "not gonna help [me] at all in the real world."
Oh, right. That would be the real world where you grow up in a luxury penthouse on the Upper East Side, take family vacations to Morocco, and plan to be a model when you graduate. No, I suppose my attitude won't help me at all in the real world.
Because I don't go to this school because Daddy can pay for it and it has a good reputation. I go to this school entirely on scholarships because I'm fucking smart, bitch.
Now run along to your photo shoot. I have an essay on schizophrenia and family dynamics in Hamlet to write.
Today, I have a crazy story. TODAY, I-- for the first time-- have encountered a person so absurdly fictional that I actually need to *come up with a codename for him for use on this blog.*
He is in my assigned Short Stories group; he grew up on Fifth Avenue, went to an exclusive all-male Academy for high school, and is (as I learned today) a male model. For the purposes of this blog, we will call him Spencer the Prat, as he is both EERILY REMINISCENT of his forebear, and is, inarguably, a complete prat.
As is true of all "been there" moments, this kind of loses something in the retelling, so I'll do the short version:
The story my group is doing comes from something called Godey's Lady's Book, which was a monthly journal in the 1830s which published short stories, articles and advertisements relevant to women of the day. Our particular story is about (among other things) lovers who die of plague. The project, in brief, is to "re-publish" this story. Our idea was to reformat our meta stuff around the story as if it were a modern women's magazine, like Elle.
One of my suggestions was that-- seeing as we're allowed to put in illustrations-- we could add thematically relevant ads... one of which could be an anti-plague skin cream, as satire.
Cut to Spencer the Prat. Spencer, who has not yet read the story we're doing this project on, completely failed to understand what I was getting at. So I tried explaining it several different times, in several different ways. "But why is it skin cream," he demanded.
Spencer, being a student who clearly goes to Brandeis 2-- oh. Wait.
SHORT INTERLUDE: Chef has a theory where there are two versions of 'deis: there's Brandeis, which is populated by smart awkward jewish kids who are generally sweet and well-meaning and want to change the world... and then there's Brandeis 2. Brandeis 2 has frats, and jocks, and people who spend their weekends throwing up and then tell stories about how epic it was after. The reason so few people realize there are, in fact, two Brandeises (Brandeisi?) is because the two so rarely overlap.
Sometimes, however, they're arbitrarily placed in the same group project, and the whole system falls apart.
So ANYWAY. From the way he was talking, I was starting to get the feeling that Spencer fancied himself a bit of a manly man-- that he'd never picked up an issue of Elle in his life, and would be offended at the mere suggestion that he had. Which would explain why he wasn't getting where I was coming from at all.
Me: "I-- look. Have you ever, y'know, looked at an issue of Seventeen, or Elle, or-- because they have these, these ads for--"
Spencer: [coldly] "What do you mean 'have I ever.'" [disconcertingly sarcastic now] "Noooo, I've NEVER picked up a magazine before."
Me: "No, sorry, I didn't mean-- I just thought that--"
Spencer: "Look, I've been in magazines, so you can just drop the attitude, okay."
The more polite and rational I tried to be, the more offended and defensive he got. He then informed me that he's not sure why I think I can get away with my "snotty attitude," but that I need to "wake up" because it's "not gonna help [me] at all in the real world."
Oh, right. That would be the real world where you grow up in a luxury penthouse on the Upper East Side, take family vacations to Morocco, and plan to be a model when you graduate. No, I suppose my attitude won't help me at all in the real world.
Because I don't go to this school because Daddy can pay for it and it has a good reputation. I go to this school entirely on scholarships because I'm fucking smart, bitch.
Now run along to your photo shoot. I have an essay on schizophrenia and family dynamics in Hamlet to write.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
GYAHH.
Okay. So. Hi.
I have a 5-6 page Hamlet paper due on Friday. I have not started it, on Thursday night I'm busy from 7-god knows when with UTO (rehearsal, gig, party) and then I'll be... well, drunk, and not useful. So I have to write it before then. Which would be fine, except my life is exploding.
Wednesday night I'm supposed to have dinner with my hypothetical new roommates before our housing appointment. But it's possible that Steph will have to skip it, which means I won't actually know anyone there. Which would be fine, except that I won't, y'know. Know them on sight. Which could lead to some problems.
On Monday I have a 5-6 page paper due in German Cinema. NEXT Friday, my big Short Stories group projecty thingy is due.
Also, I need to declare my major before I leave for spring break.
Also also, I need to get bus tickets so that I CAN leave for spring break.
Next Friday is also (also also) my meeting with Kosta about my big science paper. So I should probably, y'know, find a topic for that.
OH. AND. On Sunday we're doing more album recording with UTO. (gotta do the CD graphics.)
I got 2 hours of sleep last night. Well. Morning. From 9:20 to 11:20. Which means I missed Science. I was kept up all night by the leaky roof.
I just. What. I don't even.
(If I can make it to spring break, I am golden. Until then.... YELL AT ME, DON'T LET ME PROCRASTINATE. NO FUN IN LEAHTOWN, GOT IT? OKAY.)
I have a 5-6 page Hamlet paper due on Friday. I have not started it, on Thursday night I'm busy from 7-god knows when with UTO (rehearsal, gig, party) and then I'll be... well, drunk, and not useful. So I have to write it before then. Which would be fine, except my life is exploding.
Wednesday night I'm supposed to have dinner with my hypothetical new roommates before our housing appointment. But it's possible that Steph will have to skip it, which means I won't actually know anyone there. Which would be fine, except that I won't, y'know. Know them on sight. Which could lead to some problems.
On Monday I have a 5-6 page paper due in German Cinema. NEXT Friday, my big Short Stories group projecty thingy is due.
Also, I need to declare my major before I leave for spring break.
Also also, I need to get bus tickets so that I CAN leave for spring break.
Next Friday is also (also also) my meeting with Kosta about my big science paper. So I should probably, y'know, find a topic for that.
OH. AND. On Sunday we're doing more album recording with UTO. (gotta do the CD graphics.)
I got 2 hours of sleep last night. Well. Morning. From 9:20 to 11:20. Which means I missed Science. I was kept up all night by the leaky roof.
I just. What. I don't even.
(If I can make it to spring break, I am golden. Until then.... YELL AT ME, DON'T LET ME PROCRASTINATE. NO FUN IN LEAHTOWN, GOT IT? OKAY.)
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Interlude: Billie Piper and Pokemon
[4:13:30 AM] Marlena: god, I love Doctor Who
[4:13:44 AM] Leah: what's that?
[4:14:44 AM] Marlena: oh, nothing. some show about England and aliens.
[4:15:14 AM] Leah: oooh. do they fart?
[4:15:21 AM] Leah: not interested unless they fart.
[4:16:36 AM] Marlena: duuuuuh. and that awesome pop star, Billie Piper, is the musical guest at the end.
[4:17:04 AM] Leah: ...
[4:17:41 AM] Leah: do you think her real name is, like... Wilhemina?
[4:17:48 AM] Marlena: ...
[4:18:04 AM] Leah: just. cuz. "Billie."
[4:18:12 AM] Leah: I dunno. she named her kid Winston.
[4:18:14 AM] Leah: it's possible.
[4:18:24 AM] Leah: (baby Winstonnnnnnnnnnnnnn)
[4:18:38 AM] Marlena: sayeth Wikipedia: "Billie Piper (born Lianne Paul Piper;[1] 22 September 1982, in Swindon, Wiltshire) is an English singer and actress."
[4:18:50 AM] Leah: Lianne Paul?!
[4:19:10 AM] Leah: lolwuuuuuut
[4:19:16 AM] Marlena: "Piper was offered a record deal at the age of fifteen, and in 1998 became the youngest artist ever to debut at number one in the UK singles chart with "Because We Want To", released under the stage mononym "Billie"."
[4:19:30 AM] Leah: *dies*
[4:19:37 AM] Leah: what I don't even
[4:20:07 AM] Marlena: I love Billie Piper's life. Everything about it. So good. I almost don't want to read her autobiography.
[4:20:25 AM] Leah: somehow, I have the feeling that the mystery will remain
[4:20:34 AM] Leah: it'll just get deeper and more intense
[4:20:58 AM] Leah: I just.
[4:21:01 AM] Marlena: HAHAHAAHA WHAT
[4:21:10 AM] Leah: how does a song like "Because We Want To" DEBUT AT NUMBER ONE?
[4:21:15 AM] Marlena: "She recorded a song for Pokémon: The First Movie titled "Makin' My Way (Any Way That I Can)".[7]"
[4:21:23 AM] Leah: I mean, I'm sure that in '98 our singles weren't much better
[4:21:25 AM] Leah: but
[4:21:25 AM] Leah: WHAT
[4:21:26 AM] Leah: WHAT
[4:21:27 AM] Leah: WHAT
[4:21:28 AM] Leah: WHAT
[4:21:28 AM] Leah: WHAT
[4:21:29 AM] Marlena: I KNOW
[4:21:30 AM] Marlena: RIGHT
[4:21:55 AM] Leah: IS THAT THE ONE WHERE MEWTWO TURNS ASH TO STONE AND PIKACHU CRIES?
[4:22:02 AM] Leah: BECAUSE I HAVE SEEN THAT MOVIE
[4:22:04 AM] Leah: MANY TIMES
[4:22:40 AM] Marlena: I THINK SO
[4:22:45 AM] Leah: OH MY GOD
[4:23:01 AM] Marlena: YES. IT IS.
[4:23:11 AM] Leah: I can't remember the song, but the litl'un in me KNOWS I KNOW IT.
[4:23:29 AM] Leah: WE NEED TO WATCH THE POKEMON MOVIE, MARLENA
[4:23:34 AM] Marlena: YES.
[4:23:40 AM] Marlena: OBVIOUSLY WE DO
[4:23:46 AM] Leah: and... never tell twitter about this
[4:13:44 AM] Leah: what's that?
[4:14:44 AM] Marlena: oh, nothing. some show about England and aliens.
[4:15:14 AM] Leah: oooh. do they fart?
[4:15:21 AM] Leah: not interested unless they fart.
[4:16:36 AM] Marlena: duuuuuh. and that awesome pop star, Billie Piper, is the musical guest at the end.
[4:17:04 AM] Leah: ...
[4:17:41 AM] Leah: do you think her real name is, like... Wilhemina?
[4:17:48 AM] Marlena: ...
[4:18:04 AM] Leah: just. cuz. "Billie."
[4:18:12 AM] Leah: I dunno. she named her kid Winston.
[4:18:14 AM] Leah: it's possible.
[4:18:24 AM] Leah: (baby Winstonnnnnnnnnnnnnn)
[4:18:38 AM] Marlena: sayeth Wikipedia: "Billie Piper (born Lianne Paul Piper;[1] 22 September 1982, in Swindon, Wiltshire) is an English singer and actress."
[4:18:50 AM] Leah: Lianne Paul?!
[4:19:10 AM] Leah: lolwuuuuuut
[4:19:16 AM] Marlena: "Piper was offered a record deal at the age of fifteen, and in 1998 became the youngest artist ever to debut at number one in the UK singles chart with "Because We Want To", released under the stage mononym "Billie"."
[4:19:30 AM] Leah: *dies*
[4:19:37 AM] Leah: what I don't even
[4:20:07 AM] Marlena: I love Billie Piper's life. Everything about it. So good. I almost don't want to read her autobiography.
[4:20:25 AM] Leah: somehow, I have the feeling that the mystery will remain
[4:20:34 AM] Leah: it'll just get deeper and more intense
[4:20:58 AM] Leah: I just.
[4:21:01 AM] Marlena: HAHAHAAHA WHAT
[4:21:10 AM] Leah: how does a song like "Because We Want To" DEBUT AT NUMBER ONE?
[4:21:15 AM] Marlena: "She recorded a song for Pokémon: The First Movie titled "Makin' My Way (Any Way That I Can)".[7]"
[4:21:23 AM] Leah: I mean, I'm sure that in '98 our singles weren't much better
[4:21:25 AM] Leah: but
[4:21:25 AM] Leah: WHAT
[4:21:26 AM] Leah: WHAT
[4:21:27 AM] Leah: WHAT
[4:21:28 AM] Leah: WHAT
[4:21:28 AM] Leah: WHAT
[4:21:29 AM] Marlena: I KNOW
[4:21:30 AM] Marlena: RIGHT
[4:21:55 AM] Leah: IS THAT THE ONE WHERE MEWTWO TURNS ASH TO STONE AND PIKACHU CRIES?
[4:22:02 AM] Leah: BECAUSE I HAVE SEEN THAT MOVIE
[4:22:04 AM] Leah: MANY TIMES
[4:22:40 AM] Marlena: I THINK SO
[4:22:45 AM] Leah: OH MY GOD
[4:23:01 AM] Marlena: YES. IT IS.
[4:23:11 AM] Leah: I can't remember the song, but the litl'un in me KNOWS I KNOW IT.
[4:23:29 AM] Leah: WE NEED TO WATCH THE POKEMON MOVIE, MARLENA
[4:23:34 AM] Marlena: YES.
[4:23:40 AM] Marlena: OBVIOUSLY WE DO
[4:23:46 AM] Leah: and... never tell twitter about this
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
BORG highlights
I do quite like these kids. From Session 2 of Apples to Apples card-making:
"Gaming tonight! You should come."
"Can't. Gotta clean the suite."
"And that means you can't come?"
"Not if I'm cleaning my suite, no."
"CLEANSE IT WITH FIRE!"
"Okay, your adjective is: Yummy."
"Oh, damn. I've already made too many Doctor Who cards."
"Also, we made a Banana card last time."
"Who said anything about bananas? I was going to put down 'David Tennant.'"
"Tegan's not here? I guess I get to sit in the President's chair, then, as I'm her... concubine?"
"I think you mean 'consort.'"
"Yet somehow I think we're staying with 'concubine.'"
"Every action does have a consequence sometimes."
"Your word is: Scary."
[later]
"Ewoks?! Whoever said that, they're adorable!"
"Wait. Are you saying they're adorable, or...?"
"Ahhhh, the magic of comma vagueness."
"Can I get a ride?"
"Yeah, sure, of course."
"Well I just wanted to make sure there wasn't a... a giant inflatable rhino in your backseat."
"Well the nice thing about giant inflatable rhinos is that they can be deflated."
"Your word is... your word is... argh. I'm stuck in a direction and I can't think of any adjectives in that direction."
"East!"
"Eastern?"
"Easterly?"
"YOU'RE NOT HELPING."
"... and finally, The Neverending Story."
"Y'know, I never finished that book."
"Gaming tonight! You should come."
"Can't. Gotta clean the suite."
"And that means you can't come?"
"Not if I'm cleaning my suite, no."
"CLEANSE IT WITH FIRE!"
"Okay, your adjective is: Yummy."
"Oh, damn. I've already made too many Doctor Who cards."
"Also, we made a Banana card last time."
"Who said anything about bananas? I was going to put down 'David Tennant.'"
"Tegan's not here? I guess I get to sit in the President's chair, then, as I'm her... concubine?"
"I think you mean 'consort.'"
"Yet somehow I think we're staying with 'concubine.'"
"Every action does have a consequence sometimes."
"Your word is: Scary."
[later]
"Ewoks?! Whoever said that, they're adorable!"
"Wait. Are you saying they're adorable, or...?"
"Ahhhh, the magic of comma vagueness."
"Can I get a ride?"
"Yeah, sure, of course."
"Well I just wanted to make sure there wasn't a... a giant inflatable rhino in your backseat."
"Well the nice thing about giant inflatable rhinos is that they can be deflated."
"Your word is... your word is... argh. I'm stuck in a direction and I can't think of any adjectives in that direction."
"East!"
"Eastern?"
"Easterly?"
"YOU'RE NOT HELPING."
"... and finally, The Neverending Story."
"Y'know, I never finished that book."
Interlude: Loving Puppies
[3:19:32 PM] Leah: *clings to Angel*
[3:19:35 PM] Leah: I STILL LOVE YOU.
[3:19:48 PM] Leah: THIS DOCTOR WHO THING. IT'LL PASS. IT'S JUST A PHASE. YOU'RE MY PUPPY.
[3:19:58 PM] Leah: (lies.)
[3:20:10 PM] Marlena: why can't they *both* be your puppies?
[3:20:19 PM] Leah: oh! they can!
[3:20:21 PM] Leah: I meant the phase thing.
[3:20:31 PM] Marlena: man. you better not have more than one kid.
In other news, I may end up rooming with Steph from UTO next year, in a Ziv suite. I'll have more info tomorrow.
[3:19:35 PM] Leah: I STILL LOVE YOU.
[3:19:48 PM] Leah: THIS DOCTOR WHO THING. IT'LL PASS. IT'S JUST A PHASE. YOU'RE MY PUPPY.
[3:19:58 PM] Leah: (lies.)
[3:20:10 PM] Marlena: why can't they *both* be your puppies?
[3:20:19 PM] Leah: oh! they can!
[3:20:21 PM] Leah: I meant the phase thing.
[3:20:31 PM] Marlena: man. you better not have more than one kid.
In other news, I may end up rooming with Steph from UTO next year, in a Ziv suite. I'll have more info tomorrow.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
A Short Stories short story.
Something interesting happened when I was walking out of Short Stories today. We're on the brink of starting this project where we (split into groups too large to be productive, imho, but that's a blog for another day) take a short story published before 1860-- and only ever in one addition-- and "re-publish" it (possibly reworked, or with footnotes, or a foreword, or whatever). Because of the nature of the assignment (the source text can only have been published once before, and in the 19th century) we're using stuff from the Archives and Special Collections sections of the library.
Items in Archives and Special Collections include a Shakespeare First Folio and an Oscar (which I've held! with gloves.)
Anyway. So after class today, Professor Plotz pulled me aside and asked me an interesting question. Apparently, at one of the sessions in A&SC, a girl found a bunch of dried flower petals in the book she was looking at, and after the meeting, she went back to the library and asked if she could keep them. She had "medium-length brown hair," and so Plotz asked me if it was me.
It wasn't. But I'm kind of really touched that he thought it was something I'd do. We agreed it was really sweet and cute.
In other Brandeis news, my play is going really well! Housing, however, is a nightmare. The problem is that while I have a lot of friends here at school, none of them are in my year. And while juniors and seniors can room together-- which is why I wasn't worried about this before, because I thought I'd be rooming with Talia-- Talia and Becca and their friend Marissa want to live in the Foster Mods, and juniors can't live in the Mods. And I don't know if my lottery number is good enough to get me into one of the (I think) 12 singles in Ziv, which means there's a fair chance I could be living in Grad-- which is off campus, across the commuter rail tracks and past a business park. Those of you who have visited me at school know how fucking far of a walk that is.
I really don't want to live in Grad. But the alternative is crossing my fingers and hoping Talia and Becca don't get the room they want, so I can benefit from their misfortune and we can get a suite in Ziv together, but that's a terrible thing to think. So. I just... I don't know.
Over on livejournal, I've posted a picspam about Journey's End.
Also, I've decided to change my sidebar quote. The old one:
"Everyone suspects himself of at least one of the cardinal virtues, and this is mine: I am one of the few honest people that I have ever known."
- F. Scott Fitzgerald, "The Great Gatsby"
Items in Archives and Special Collections include a Shakespeare First Folio and an Oscar (which I've held! with gloves.)
Anyway. So after class today, Professor Plotz pulled me aside and asked me an interesting question. Apparently, at one of the sessions in A&SC, a girl found a bunch of dried flower petals in the book she was looking at, and after the meeting, she went back to the library and asked if she could keep them. She had "medium-length brown hair," and so Plotz asked me if it was me.
It wasn't. But I'm kind of really touched that he thought it was something I'd do. We agreed it was really sweet and cute.
In other Brandeis news, my play is going really well! Housing, however, is a nightmare. The problem is that while I have a lot of friends here at school, none of them are in my year. And while juniors and seniors can room together-- which is why I wasn't worried about this before, because I thought I'd be rooming with Talia-- Talia and Becca and their friend Marissa want to live in the Foster Mods, and juniors can't live in the Mods. And I don't know if my lottery number is good enough to get me into one of the (I think) 12 singles in Ziv, which means there's a fair chance I could be living in Grad-- which is off campus, across the commuter rail tracks and past a business park. Those of you who have visited me at school know how fucking far of a walk that is.
I really don't want to live in Grad. But the alternative is crossing my fingers and hoping Talia and Becca don't get the room they want, so I can benefit from their misfortune and we can get a suite in Ziv together, but that's a terrible thing to think. So. I just... I don't know.
Over on livejournal, I've posted a picspam about Journey's End.
Also, I've decided to change my sidebar quote. The old one:
"Everyone suspects himself of at least one of the cardinal virtues, and this is mine: I am one of the few honest people that I have ever known."
- F. Scott Fitzgerald, "The Great Gatsby"
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