How many sparks of fire from flint and steel have flown;

In between coughing up my lungs, I bring you this post.

2009-12-23T07:25:42Z

I've been having a good week so far. Running errands and laughing and playing with friends is just what I needed after being stuck in bed. I got my books for the Philosophy class I'm taking in January and moved most of my stuff out of my dorm room with a little help from my friends (insert proper Beatles joke). I'm actually quite proud of myself for driving on such tricky roads; it's exactly what I signed up for to deal with next semester when I commute, so I should get used to it, right? I've been getting away with some beastly snow maneuvers, believe you me. Also any car ride that lasts more than an hour devolves into Disney music, whether or not passengers are in the car with me. I'll make a man out of you, alright.

I've been doing a wee bit of "holiday shopping" in the last week as well. Malls are such carnivals of the grotesque. Consensus among myself, Emma, and Smalls is that some sort of nauseating substance is pumped through the air vents to make shoppers tense, hyper, and impulsive. My heart goes out to anyone working retail or forced to cater to the insane whims of shoppers this season. Oh America, ILU.

One thing I noticed from being at the mall is that Waldenbooks is closing its doors. I fear Borders is next. I'm not going to knock the discounts it has been forced into providing, though. 30% off was the discount I got when I worked at Barnes and Noble, and that was just what was off fiction books when I walked in today (slim pickings, though). Doubtless it will rise, but I have to assert some control over my mass book hysteria, or it will ruin me.

Do you like languages? You should try livemocha. It's sort of fun; I have to admit I haven't explored it much beyond the beginner courses of a few languages. Beware the arabic and farsi courses though-- the alphabet appears in the equivalent of what English spakers would call capslock, so don't expect it to teach you the letter forms, which is an important component of their alphabets.

I just found an e-mail from Chris Baty of Nanowrimo reminding me that my book is waiting patiently for me to come back and love it properly like I should. It's true. I have neglected it in order to let ideas swirl in a less frienzied way. I printed out a paper version of my manuscript so far. My characters seem all on the cusp of something, which makes sense considering nothing much has happened. Some of them have weird quirks that I have to flesh out. One of them turned out to be much more violent than I anticipated! Anyway, enough of that for now.

Have you heard of formspring? You create an account and people post anonymous questions for you to answer. I have just made one. If you're secretly dying to ask me silly or serious things, by all means, do so immediately.

Lastly, I just want to say that I've been illustrating, really illustrating for the first time since the summer and it's been flexing my creative muscles like woah. If anyone wants anything contact me about commissions/drawing something for them, go for it. I invite you to check out my sketch blog for some random stuff in case you forgot what I do.

In the next few days, some lovely family will be coming to visit and staying until January. It will be fun and busy in the house and I can't wait.

I will leave you with this picture of my bed. It is made of starlight.

JOIE TO THE WORLD

2009-12-21T16:12:24Z

OMG WHAT IS THIS I DON'T EVEN
I GOT AN A IN ANIMAL PHYSIOLOGY LAB.

Hot damn do I feel like a champ. Maybe I'll even hit up Dr. Plotkin for a recommendation. I honestly thought I was pulling for a...well, not an A.

sunfall @ 2009-12-14T19:49:00

2009-12-15T00:49:38Z

Ok, WTF body. Why suddenly run a fever the day before finals?

Why?

DO NOT M'F'ING WANT

I left my head and my heart on the dance floor! Now they're sticky.

2009-12-07T06:19:46Z

Ah, this week was very interesting -- suffice to say it's been quite funny motivating myself to do things with phrases such as, "you wrote 50k words in a month, you can do this stupid assignment!" This weekend I worked on the Stony Brook Press Literary Supplement. Put all of it together by hand...and by hand I mean using Quark Express and Illustrator. Quark, surprisingly, only quit on me one time. Impressive! & Illustrator...what can I say besides it's this immensely powerful program that seems relatively simple. It's deceptive! But I made some really neat linear shapes bend and sway to my will. I'll link to the thing once it's in the issue, but if you feel like waiting for an 80 MB file to download by all means let me know and I will link you to it.

I've recently been converted into a Lady Gaga fan. At first I was obscenely jealous of her because she got to go to the VMA's with Kermit as her date, but I got over it. Then Bad Romance's video came out and it was easily the most interesting music video I'd seen in years -- then I listened to the Fame Monster and I must say I was impressed by her newer songs. I think I just thought she was trashy in the very beginning - or maybe she really was, I don't remember. She's a lot more streamlined now, and "Speechless" is just a gorgeous song, although she sounds a little drunk when she sings it. Charming!

I bought LED Christmas lights and I've hooked them around my headboard. My headboard and sheets are white; the whole effect is very fairy-tale virginal, which is calming when you're there for rest and reading. I think everyone needs a corner in their living area that calms them down, at the very least. Anyway, the LED light is a white so pure and intense that the regular ceiling light in the room now looks disgustingly yellow. Woops! This is, I think, my last post before the 16th. In between I will have sososomuchtodo. I will list it, so that when I come onto livejournal to procrastinate this list can stare me in the face and hiss at me with evil eyes.

~~Bio Lab (T) (the last one, aurghg!)~~
~~Bio Lab Debate (T) (about persistent vegetative states -- do you think they'll give me a bye if I tell them I am in one?)~~
~~Honors 401 Presentation (T)~~
~~Honors 401 Final Paper (F)~~
~~ITL Oral Presentation (W)~~
~~EGL Paper (*now moved to day of final, 16th) (going to do it on Paradise Lost & Homer and talk about sex, woooo! *giggle*)~~
~~Finish reading The Prelude (before final on 16th)~~
~~Cancer Biology Ch 12 and 16 (before final on 15th)~~

Somewhere along there is Winter Beerfest (which is really just Winterfest, says the nondrinker), going out with my suitemates and telling them I'm commuting next semester, and filling out a scholarship application that will send me to Tajikistan. I am not kidding about the last bit. What I am really looking forward to after the 16th is a return to my book. I can't tell you how weird it is not to be writing about my characters every day. Yep, gon' return to my book, read books, and do some illustration. (pssst secret I've been cheating and reading bits and bobs of The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye even though I should be doing work, and practicing my Persian by reading Harry Potter in Persian, hehehe) I leave you with some bits from my horoscope, which I read and with a grain of salt:

"This month the lunar eclipse will fall in Cancer at 10 degrees and ask you to think about your own needs and what you need from now on to be happy. As a Cancer you are so oriented toward taking care of others that you rarely can think about you. ... This month, if you work in the arts or with artwork or creative ideas, you may make a big sale on Monday, December 21. ... This month emphasizes coupled up Cancers most, but if you have no person in your life, or, if you do and are happy, you will have some important days to enjoy the holiday season. They are December 3-4, 7, 12-13, 16, 21-23, and 26-27. "

I say grain of salt because half the crap on this page deals with romantic entanglements, of which I luckily have none. At least I think I don't. I must say though that I certainly wait for this bit:

"A piece of your puzzle will very suddenly appear, and once added to the whole, you will see a very different picture emerge. You will understand your situation or relationship better than ever before."

I've been having ~life troubles~ and according to this website it will all clear up by the eclipse. HOT !

"Look for a part time or full time job: December 16-23. It won't be a step up, but it will be a job that can add money to your coffers." This amuses me because that's when I'm going to work on a commission and was thinking about putting word out for other people to contact me if they want any. I guess this means I should go for it?

"With Saturn in hard angle, you may be concerned about a housing situation or the welfare of a parent near December 31, too. Or, it may be that your family or your partner's family may have opinions about your future plans, and you'll have to manage those family members' comments, too. Yet this eclipse, in Cancer, should not be about what others tell you to do - it's about you, dear Cancer. Follow your heart. "

IF ONLY IT WERE THAT SIMPLE, ASTROLOGY!

HERRO PREEZ, quoth the emma

2009-12-02T04:20:29Z

NaNoWriMo is done - at least for this year. It was so exhilarating that I am quite certain I wish to repeat it every year until I die. Until I die A FAMOUS WRITER, THAT IS! Just like future Nobel Laureate Stephenie Meyer.

I'm sitting now in Honors class, listening to presentations. Our digressions in this class are epic. Last week, during the 10 minute break in the middle of the three hours this seminar goes for, I pretty much commandeered the class into watching this video:

We all watched it, mesmerized. And then Dr. Crease walked in. When we told him what it was, he proceeded to flip out excitedly and we then watched it again. It wasn't any less awesome to watch twice in a row, TRUFAX. Dr. Crease is hilarious -- he lets everyone talk and will suddenly burst in with this impassioned statement every once in a while - "Doesn't anybody have a problem with this?!" he will cry, arms flailing, about any number of topics. And every class he'll have at least one story that, after it is heard, causes the class to do a complete double take. "One time at a New Year's party I saw her lying naked on a table at CBGB's" he said once ... about Patti Smith.

OF NOTE, but RANDOM:

Craig Thompson might almost maybe soon be done with Habibi? Or at least he's on the home stretch. I can't think of anything else I'm anticipating more than his new book.
Prof. Bingham and Souza's book is available on Amazon! ...After almost forever. Hooray! & their website has a special shoutout to yours truly. I'm TA-ing for that class again in Spring.
I accepted an invite to LinkedIn. What do I do with it??? Besides wallow in my lack of worth???
This website is awesome. I thank ebeda for tweeting about it. It's essentially a blog of the greatest worst rap lyrics ever. Like this gem:
"You're now surrounded by the world's most elegant n*ggas."
- M.O.P, World's Most Elegant N***a

"You did it, writer."

2009-12-01T04:23:38Z

That's all I can really say at the moment. I have to go do my bio lab. :}

It's so late I don't know how ter spel.

2009-11-18T06:36:35Z

I heard this song at Starbucks during one of those moments where the speaker mix isn't absolute rubbish. It is wonderful in every way possible. I'm putting the embed under a cut because it's an eyesore. But listen to it. The chorus has the best melody, but the other lyrics are better. My stupid translation of the refrain follows:

Oh, mon amour...
Mon doux, mon tendre, mon merveilleux amour
De l`aube claire jusqu`à la fin du jour
Je t`aime encore tu sais je t`aime.

Love of mine,
Sweet, tender, marvelous love of mine
From clearest dawn until day's end
I love you still, you know I love you

The clip in the cut is only 30 seconds because the internet is fail, but if you click the link on it, you can listen to the full song on imeem.

La Chanson Des Vieux Amants (The Song Of Old Lovers) - Judy Collins

Novel's right on schedule, if I stay up late tonight. Which I probably will (though it is already late). If anyone wants to beta anything for me, hit me up.

sufi path of knowledge? more like sufi path of making me unable to read syllabi

2009-11-03T06:20:50Z

Ok, I know I said I wasn't going to update due to 'Wrimo related distractions, but I have to tell you about how utterly ridiculous I am. So I'm sitting here, looking a few things up in my Sufi Path of Knowledge text for the class that I'm sitting in on, and suddenly find myself looking at the syllabus to see how far behind I am in the reading. I'm thinking, 'Oh, that's weird. There are 14 chapters in the syllabus, but only 7 in the text.'

It turns out that I'd been doing double the readings that everyone else had been doing and had been more than keeping along with the class for most of the time leading up until the midterm. Heck, I'd been poring over these incredible and lengthy sections for hours because I didn't even have the syllabus and thought it was just a section a week. Then Chittick added me to the blackboard site and I could get the documents he put up for the rest of the class.

This explains why he once asked me in office hours if I had read ahead.

This explains why I thought it was weird that other students were asking questions from pages I had read weeks and weeks ago.

Most importantly, this makes me feel loads better about not having done the reading for the last two weeks. Because clearly, I did it anyway without knowing :)

Ok, back to writing about crazy old men.

Writer's Block: Let's Date A Nazi

2009-10-27T15:49:00Z

Which character from any film, television show, or book would you most like to take on a date and why?

Submitted By blue_mariposa88

View 2283 Answers

Wait for the cream! We can spend our date speaking in three languages. When we are done, I will carve a swastika onto his forehead and send him home to Nantucket.

OK, while we're at it...him too. Do I even really need a reason? Hells to the No I Don't. Look at those fingers holding that cigarette. Mmmhmm.

I could have said a lot of other folks, but Bio lab was canceled because the lab building lost power, and so I am going back to sleep. Yes, at 11 in the morning. Win.

Stop the presses, I'm updating my livejournal

2009-09-29T05:08:28Z

Let's play a game. It's called "Adjective, Not So Adjective".

AWESOME: Going Contra Dancing on Friday night, with hope of going again soon for English Country Dance. They even have a Jane Austen dress up night or something, they are unreal and they hold their dances in a barn. Definitely the most random thing I've done in a while.
NOT SO AWESOME: Waiting for an hour said Friday night in order to get into John Harvard's where I didn't even get to eat their delicious and calorically damning bread. But Budassi wore a ridiculous outfit (to visualize, he looked like Daniel Day Lewis in There Will Be Blood, with mustache) and I told passers-by that he was John Harvard.

DELICIOUS: Seeing Cindy Liu outside of school, inside IKEA, and sharing a cinnamon roll + Thai meal with her. SPECIAL BONUS: Comforter and Shower rack acquired. I told Cindy she should be a poet and she glowed.
NOT SO DELICIOUS: Thai food was so spicy that I couldn't finish it. This is unheard of, as I am crazy ravenous for Thai food AT ALL TIMES (Kanye West: AT ALL TIMES). I asked for the same amount of spice as Cindy but she tasted both meals and they lied! I cried tears of burning! Burning!

NERDTASTIC: Having 20 items checked out from the HHH library. I have these great resource books on Persian Mythology and Ancient Persian architecture, plus I found The Authoress of the Odyssey and The Persian Boy. I had to wait for the latter because someone at Stony Brook took it out from that library. (Who? What? Why? Phhfhtft.) It's a really awesome read, and I'm the littlest bit in love with the way Mary Renault writes Alexander the Great. I can very clearly see what Jacqueline Carey meant when she said she was influenced by it, but it only adds to my love/enjoyment of both authors.
NOT SO NERDTASTIC: Not being able to read all 20 items checked out from the library. I've got these Sufi books I KNOW I'll never get to, and A Clash of Kings remains untouched (even though I long desperately to get back into the series). Also comes the fact that I really don't have time to be reading so many books for pleasure hello. Along with the books on Ancient Persia I also started Censoring an Iranian Love Story (which is, after only 45 pages, quite remarkable and charming and modern), which I really shouldn't be reading - I can justify the others as being related to my thesis, but this one is just because. SIGH.

LITERARY: Reading the Odyssey for EGL. Starting useless, 100+ page reading on the Metric System in France and other such things for HON. Reading my last "how to" book for my thesis preparation.
FAIL-ERARY: Not being able to read for RLS. And there's a quiz tomorrow DURFFDGH.

HOT: Michael Fassbender, the cast of Merlin, and Gregory House (and Hugh Laurie, obviously). I've started watching Hex just for Mr. Fassbender - I can see what works about the show: teen drama/snark well captured, strong acting, pop culture references (even if they're from 2004), that gorgeous manor and the green fields they use for the school setting - but I can also see its problems, too. The plot and main character just seem unsteady somehow. It's as if the episodes cut off at the wrong places, or all the pieces are there but they won't fit right into the puzzle. Merlin is adorable - the best part of that show is the sheer amount of plot the writers manage to fit into one episode and still manage to keep each episode self-enclosed; the pacing is wonderful! House...well, it's House. Tonight's episode was called "Epic Fail". Wilson and House made slash jokes and 13 even insulted Jeremy Piven at some point. (I don't think that was too spoilery on the whole, forgive me if you feel violated somehow.)
NOT: Spending this time watching TV shows when I could have been studying cancer biology. WUH WOH.

Clearly that game de-volved by the end.

You know how I venture into my basement, or various nooks and crannies in my house, and sometimes stumble upon magical troves of delightful things? Well, in the process of writing this entry I watched House, and while I was doing so, I went to the garage to grab a drink and found a bunch of hardcover books sitting on top of a box. They didn't look like books that I typically read, but then my dad walked past the door and I asked him where they came from. He was surprised I didn't know! Oftentimes my parents don't keep tabs of my presence around the house and their lives, and I love this. Anyway he laughed in a Daddy-like fashion and walked away to continue watching House and now he's asleep, so I'll have to wait to ask him where they came from. I did go through the entirety of the box - there must have been at least 70 books in it - and I have suspicions about the original owner. I want to say he's a male, Italian or Jewish, and flies a lot. He's also a parent and own a George Foreman grill. The reason I say these things are that most of the books were Dude Fiction (you know, Stuart Woods, Tom Clancy, James Patterson, John Sandford, John Grisham, etc), so he's clearly into a good thriller, and most were paperbacks that you can grab at an airport and go with. Also in one book I opened at random I found the envelope/outer stub of a Delta boarding pass. I say those other things because I found two pregnancy books and a George Foreman cook book. Italian/Jewish is just a guess (I mean come on we're on Long Island).

Anyway, I'll end the entry there - have to finish another book in the Odyssey and go over another Cancer Bio lecture before bed. But I'll open a cut and list the awesome books I found in the box and decided to keep! Let me know if you want to come over and go through my box of bro books.

Ten Plays - Euripides
The Canterbury Tales (with an Interlinear Translation)
Romeo & Juliet
Othello
King Lear
The Taming of the Shrew (how is it that the Shakespeare books I end up finding are always the ones I don't own? Neat!)
Tales From Shakespeare - Charles & Mary Lamb
Les Misérables, Victor Hugo
The Betrothed - Manzoni
The Sun Also Rises - Hemingway
Short Story Masterpieces (with bits from Steinbeck, Faulkner, Fitzgerald, etc)
English Romantic Poetry: An Anthology (this book seriously appeared because my subconscious called to it; it's the only reason I can see for it being in that box)
The First Man in Rome - Colleen McCullough
Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
The Bantam Concise Handbook of English
Into Thin Air - Jon Krakauer
Holy Cow - Sarah Macdonald

sunfall @ 2009-08-25T01:20:00

2009-08-25T06:29:25Z

So this is how summer ends. < / ❤ >

Still nervous about my MCAT. If you have spoken to me in the last month, I've explained the "what happens if I didn't do well" story to you at least five times, and shan't bore you with that tale once more. Today I took a Physical Sciences section and did ok (as in, what I needed). As for the "what happens if I don't get accepted to medical school this year" question, well, the possibilities are endless. My backup plans include trying to get research positions here or possibly at Yale, teaching English abroad, working on being a ~serious illustrator~, getting a PhD in Psychology first, and so on. I'm looking at things in the long run, and know I'll get to med school some day, if not with the class of 2010. I see the long road, for miles and miles.

My apartment will be available for me to access starting Thursday. That leaves me two days to do some sparse packing and errand-running. And I do mean sparse. Bed linens, books, clothes, laptop, bathroom goods - that is all I intend to bring. The rest, kitchen and decorative items included, can come to school little by little, hiding within my things as I come to and fro from home on weekends (ah! such luxuries - may I relish in this, my final year). I'm excited to see who our mystery 6th person will be, as I think one of my flatmates moved somewhere else in the building.

Two weeks ago I purchased and assembled a new bed from ikea. Dad and I = an incredible IKEA BUILDING TASK FORCE, having together built an expedit bookshelf, a desk, and a billy bookshelf. Pros, I tell you. Before I go on with this story, let me ask you, flist, how do you pronounce IKEA? I say "eye-key-uh" but my French family says "ik-eyah". Oh, those marvelous francophones. Comment je vous adore. Anyway, we buy a bed, a mattress, and a foundation box and get home. We get the bed frame and mattress inside, but upon closer inspection notice that the foundation is the wrong size. Not many of you may know this, but when you purchase a box spring or foundation from IKEA, they will wheel it out for you personally and of course help you secure it on your car. The one thing that the employees were meant to do...and so we drove back. Replaced it, brought it home. We began to assemble the bed frame, and what did we find? One of four essential screws was flawed. The teeth wouldn't align with the piece it was paired with, which together are needed to secure the side beams to the front and back. They were surprised at such faulty manufacturing, but they were nice and gave us new screws and a coupon. Needless to say, we were a little furious, having to drive there and back six times in one day. But the bed is comfortable, and to have so much room to roll around in is something I'm more than happy to get used to.

This past week, we had family visit us! My (I'm guessing) second cousin once removed and her daughter (second cousin). I honestly just call them all cousins; I love them as dearly as if they were my siblings or aunts. We showed them around Long Island and New York. I had such an incredible time getting to know Shirin (second cousin) better. We became so close by the end. We'd lay on my bed reading to ourselves, side by side and content, late into the night. I miss them deeply. The house seems empty without them, especially my room.

As for the Great Book Read of August 2009, I'm making progress! I finished Amber Spyglass, Blink, Yiddish Policeman's Union, and Handmaid's Tale (FINALLY got to read Atwood after so many great comments about her). I loved them all, and was pleased to see the references Blink made to John Gottman, whose theories and research I really respect. I want to say it's a shame I don't read more nonfiction, but not really, as I'm still buying textbooks. I also had a crazy period in which I read 9 volumes of Peach Girl. That manga has such a scintillating villainess! Anyway, I'm about 100+ pages into Shadow Magic and Water for Elephants respectively. The latter wasn't on my book list at all, but after buying it at random in June from my fav used book hideout (along with the penguin edition of 1001 Nights that I'd wanted for a while), I decided to pick it up on a whim. They will both be read by the end of the week, mark my words. As for the bigger books like Infinite Jest and Count of Monte Cristo, their fates are yet to be determined.

Remember all that fuss over whether or not to take Myth & Magic in Literature? I saw the book list today and wasn't terribly moved by it. It had a decidedly African spin on the selection, which was not exactly what I was expecting - I thought there would be a broader scope, or at least some hint of direction. I thought, perhaps I was meant to take Shakespeare. But what I thought was one open spot in the Shakespeare: Major Works class is reserved for English majors (oh you wretched ones!). So I switched to a class on The Epic! Which makes me sad, for now I have one Friday class. BUT LISTEN TO WHY THIS IS WORTH IT, DUDES. Not only do we get to read Virgil and Homer, but we get to read PARADISE LOST. And WORDSWORTH. And Peter Manning's focus? BRITISH ROMANTICS. YES WHAT A COOL SOUNDING DUDE.

AND ALSO I SIGNED UP FOR A 6 CREDIT ITALIAN COURSE. Yes, I am crazy. But I'll always regret not taking a language class if I don't do it.

As you can tell by my increasingly deranged statements, this post must be coming to a close. But before I go, one more thing to note -- MY PHOTO WEBSITE IS UP! Click it to see the pictures from England and France I've been promising to show you. Hope you enjoy them!

ok, now this is just getting out of hand.

2009-08-02T18:09:35Z

Do you all remember how I had that post about drunks and killings? Last night my parents and I were driving back from a friend's house around 12:30 and as we roll up a hill on our street we see all sorts of flashing lights. It turns out that somebody drove his car into a house. I'm starting to become convinced that there are some Final Destination type shenanigans afoot and that I'm pretty much next. I'm going to walk over and see the damage again today if I can, just because there were three police cars and two fire trucks blocking the path last night.

On Friday I took my MCATs. I can't really gauge my score; I stayed awake and finished all the sections before time ran out, so I guess that's a good sign. I like to describe it as getting into a car accident or getting punched as you punch someone at the same time. I feel like I'm in that moment of impact where you can't tell who is doing more damage, you or the other guy. I just hope I wrecked that test so I never, ever have to take it again (Can't wait to return the MCAT prep books I took out from the library. Good riddance.). I think I would hate it most if I did well enough on two sections but the third is a point below what I need. I can't imagine paying $225 to take a test again to raise it by a point. A big note of thanks to anyone who wished me well for it.

So now I have a month to read fantastic books, make lots of art, and plan my thesis.

Have you all seen the concept artwork for Disney's Rapunzel? What I have seen is nothing short of gorgeous.

These two images struck me as particularly sweet. I'm hearing that it's going to be a mix between 2D and 3D? If it looks less like CGI and more like the concept art then consider me sold. More images here.

Pluging the fabulous community that is lit_library once more. I hear the moderator of The Romantics is one classy lady *cough cough*. Me and cellowraith won 3rd and 2nd respectively in a really fun challenge where you had to re-order books on a bookshelf. There are photo challenges, icon challenges, etc. There's even a book club! So get on it, yo.

I'm finally - finally - getting to reading all of The Yiddish Policeman's Union. I've picked that book up more times than I feel comfortable admitting here but I can proudly say I'm well past what I considered the tipping point, which is somewhere around page 150. My usual issue with getting through a book is timing - if I pick up a book at an inopportune time, I just don't have patience for exposé and scene building. There is some great stuff in this book, though. The descriptive language flips between subtle and overt in a pleasing manner and the puzzle pieces are starting to fall into place. Also the cover art is one of the more unique designs I've seen in recent years, so it's nice to be holding such a beautiful book.

When I'm done with that, I have a very researched, decisive list for what I'll be trying to read this month:

The Amber Spyglass
A Clash of Kings
Blink
(Finish) Dr Strange and Mr Norrell
Kushiel's Mercy
The Count of Monte Cristo
The Handmaid's Tale
Shadow Magic
Infinite Jest
Dune

I love how I've turned into this little Fantasy Lit Monkey. Go me. Not sure where I'll start, but I think I'm going to leave Kushiel's Mercy for last, just because it's going to be the last book set in that particular era of Terre d'Ange and I'll be immensely sad to see it finished. Speaking of Terre d'Ange, I can't wait to finish the picture of Joscelin I'm drawing for marinshellstone . It will be epic.

Last night consisted of some vivid dreams. In one of them I walked onto a train and saw Woody Allen. I became completely star struck and absolutely shy about the fact that I was in the same train car as him, trying to figure out how I'd approach him and tell him how much I love his movies. Then the LIRR conductor said something to me about getting something from the platform and coming back on the train and assured me I'd have time before they shut the doors, so naturally I went out to do whatever it was she was saying and walked up the stairs to find the doors closed and the train starting to leave. With all my belongings still on the train. I was so upset, so absolutely enraged, that when I started to scream "NO!" and was watching it leave, the force of my anger caused the platform to rumble and start moving in the same direction, as if it, too, were a train. In another dream my part of Long Island became so severely flooded from all the rain we've been receiving that it turned into some kind of boat dependent area; in this same dream, Marvel and DC were recruiting, but rather than be interns to work in their offices they were recruiting young persons with super powers to be junior members of their staff. I'm rather silly to dream such things, I know. But the interview consisted of going to a local high school and stopping a supervillain amidst pouring, torrential rains.

Speaking of torrential rain: All Points West has been going on this weekend despite this summer's god-forsaken weather. Tonight is Coldplay, MGMT, and Ghostland Observatory (among others). I have tickets via The Press, but like I said, the weather is going to be more than absolutely deplorable & it is an outdoor concert. So I'm still on the fence, and when I look out the window, it looks and sounds like nothing short of DOOM. Tomasz and I are lazy enough to just vegetate and watch movies instead of go, and I wouldn't be crushed if this were so. I suppose we'll see.

ozonolysis produces aldehydes and ketones.

2009-07-22T23:39:20Z

My MCAT is soon. Way soon.

SO OF COURSE I AM DISTRACTED BY THINGS. Like photoshop tutorials and writing and downloading soundtracks. It's funny how your favorite scores are by composers you already know and love but you were just so young when you saw the movie that you had no comprehension of such things. Rachel Portman and Thomas Newman FTW.

This was from last month. For a time, text twist was good. But then I decided I was bored with it.

REST ASSURED that I am, in fact, studying. My lack of a social life will attest to this. I haven't even seen Harry Potter yet! But I did get to re-reading this lolarious recap of Deathly Hallows. It's actually thoroughly accurate.

Another thing: SKETCHBLOG IS BACK. Notice how the playlist was june, and the sketchblog is july, and my domain's name means summery? Yeah I'm clever what up. For folks who followed it and had it on their rss feed, sorry I never said it was moving. Trust me when I say it was worse for me, as I didn't export my entries properly. Speaking of, I have art homework now, since this summer I'm technically an ~art student~. Bahaha.

& lastly APPARENTLY PHINEAS GAGE WAS A HOTTIE WHO KNEW!? For some reason, Zoolander comes to mind.

EDIT + ADDITION: I just joined this community; anyone who likes books should take a peek because applications are open! lit_library

I have had it.

2009-07-21T21:43:20Z

I have had it. Someone explain this to me, please. Did I go to Europe and return to find Long Island some kind of oasis for careless, reckless drunkards? Did they all suddenly come out while I wasn't looking? Is this for real?

Because when I got back in June, I heard that Dr. Edward Carr was in a horrible car crash caused by a drunk driver. He taught and researched in the psychology department. Everyone - literally everyone - I know who had taken his class on Autism either said it was amazing or that he was a remarkable teacher. Who knows whether or not I would have taken his class, or what he could have done in another ten or fifteen years of research, teaching, and being with his family. Not only is he gone, but his wife was rendered brain dead. Their son is alone now.

Then I came home from class today to find all sorts of status messages on facebook saying "RIP Scarpi" or "My heart goes out to the Scarpati family". Time slowed down as I typed his name into my search box and waited until his page loaded. Wall postings like "Rip - I'll miss you man" had been cascading down the page for hours. So I wondered: what on earth could take away the life of a healthy, thriving 19 year old? Then I saw what one of his friends had posted.

Just...ugh. If that man makes it out of the ICU, I hope he wakes up every day for the rest of his life with the unmistakable weight of knowing that he killed another human being upon his shoulders. Another +1 placed in the "reasons why I don't drink" column.

ugh, just ugh

2009-07-10T18:54:49Z

Why, hello. Let me tell you what is up.

It's my birthday tomorrow and I have no plan besides having told my friends to meet me in Manhattan. I told twenty people altogether. I originally intended to have a picnic but now it's going to rain and I will feel terrible for making them all spend money to get there without having a place to go or a course of action. I would cancel what I said to them if I could, but I'm not going to have a chance to see anyone again until August.

Put that together with the fact that I'm already scared witless about turning twenty one and that I'll be getting on a really early train tomorrow to get tickets to Shakespeare in the Park (which will also probably get rained out), and you can perhaps understand why I could be in better spirits.

So I'm pretty much boned. I'm going to try to accept it with grace.

In other news, do you like this piece I posted? It's the first thing I've properly attempted to color in years. They're two characters from the Kushiel's Legacy books (Mavros is in black and Imriel is in blue). I love that series because everyone is described as so unutterably beautiful that no matter how hard you try to capture them you can always excuse yourself for not quite getting it right. To top it off, they're described as a pretty folk, so drawing males as bishonen would be pretty much welcome.

RIP netherworld.nu. You had a good run. Not really, but let's just pretend you did. I registered a new site, which will probably be completed sometime soon. It's aestival.net. If anybody who reads this wants hosting on there, leave a comment about it and I would be happy to discuss it with you. So far there is nothing up except for an online playlist that you can listen to by clicking here. I have bizarre tastes but maybe you will find something worthy of listening to. There is some kind of theme to that playlist, be it the cosmos, making babies, or robots, but I'm not necessarily one for laying it all out there to be understood. All I have to say is that the song selection is both thematic and incredibly indicative of albums that have come out in the last year that I have adored and listen to pretty regularly.

If you want something else to do, visit Fifty Two Stories. Free short stories are like free cupcakes, only without calories you don't need and just as sweet. For some reason I really liked this one, although I can't quite figure out why. Tiger, Tiger is also pretty good.

I changed my livejournal layout and added a new mood theme. It's going to be hilarious looking at old posts and seeing my mood described as "JARETH LOLZ" next to a picture of Audrey Tautou.

Oh, and, I suppose you have figured this out, but I returned from England and France. About a month ago, actually. I have come back from trips before and announced it on livejournal only to never post pictures or stories, but this time I am making a blog on aestival for my photos and intend on describing certain bizarre incidents in alarming detail, whether on there or in another post to come on here.

For this afternoon, I'm going to drive to Stony Brook with Sarah and see if I can do anything for the paper. MCAT studying goes okay. I'm trying to block out flagrant wank and focus on learning, but boy is it hard.

hells yus

2009-05-20T22:06:15Z

Yeaaaaaah~~~. I don't care that this could be my worst academic semester ever, I have had it up to my ears with stress. I feel like everything I've held dear in my academic and social life this semester has been thrown for a loop, beaten, broken, and bruised, and I am not going to take it any more. So I said no goodbyes and just took off last night for Dix Hills. Tonight I'm flying away and leaving the country. Sounds sort of rash, but sometimes you just need a clean break.

First stop: England with Gregory. We're gonna go visit Kavita in Oxford, go to London with her, then visit Laura and Sam in Sussex. After that, I go to France alone, starting with Lyon, then Grenoble, then Paris, visiting family all the way.

No Blackberry, no laptop, no obligations. I'm not sure if I deserve such a boon, but I am taking it and running.

Studying? Naw.

2009-05-17T17:54:24Z

I have a dreamwidth invite code. Two, in fact. Comment if you want one.

I have been trying, in agony, to write in this livejournal, but I have had the poorest luck imaginable. I have had this post open for the last five days. FIVE. Maybe what I meant to write will never be written. All I know is I have two finals on Tuesday, a flight to England on Wednesday, and severe drama regarding the MCAT to worry about right now (see below). Discussing Beerfest will probably not be very conducive to success should I attempt it. But I will say this, I drove home last Sunday with a smile, compared last year's emotional self-flagellation. Smiles are important, oh yes they are.

May I just mention that the leak of the new Tori Amos album has reached my ears (thank you annaybunny). It's the first album I've been able to sit & listen to all the way through since Scarlet's Walk. I'm not sure why this is so. It may be partially because I have this deep affection for Scarlet's Walk and had looked to her other albums, without much success, to give me that same feeling of beauty and yearning. But this is good. It makes me want to take a long walk alone and get lost. It will make for good travel music when I am in Europe, I think.

MCAT WANK ALERT: I have to take this test by July 2nd. I only found out the latest I should take it is July 2nd this morning, because up until this point I just thought I had to take it by the ballpark month of July. All the dates are closed in the 100 mile radius for July 2nd. So I signed up for July 31st (the nearest date that didn't involve me driving to South Jersey, Connecticut, etc.) and intend to look out for drops opening up spots closer to me. But seriously, Stony Brook Med School, do you think it would have been wise to send me mail, be it electronic or postal, that delineates the protocol that's appropriate? To tell me officially instead of by word of mouth? To have some kind of relationship with me, even the most formal and methodical/contractual way? How was I supposed to know? Come to think of it I STILL have no idea what's involved in preparing for the med school application process other than sending things to you through AAMC.org. You would think that one of the colleges with the highest rate of pre-med undergraduates in the state/area would have some sort of mandatory pre-med advising, especially for people who are in their 8 year program! But in the last three years, if I wasn't vigilant about the classes I'm required to take, everything would have imploded.

I just want to read about biology & psychology and think about my vacation this week, please.

LOST

2009-05-14T03:33:04Z

loved everything, especially the awesome badassery of juliet burke, but..

WHERE THE HELL WAS DESMOND HUME

pseudo follow up

2009-04-15T06:06:22Z

Tonight I double checked the Neuroscience track requirements for my Bio major (see last flocked post) and realized that I don't need 4 classes to finish my Bio major, I only need 3! So silly of me to think about doing the minor (as a comparison, my Psychology major only needs 2 more classes). I'll be twiddling my thumbs by this time next year, so I may as well finish it. It's not like I don't know what my career holds for me after undergrad (for new-ish friends, I'm in an 8 year med program).

So my tentative schedule for Fall '09 is:
BIO 335 - Animal Physiology Lab
BIO 314 - Cancer Bio
ARS 154 - Drawing (Intro? Something?? I'm taking it for lulz)
HON 401 - Global Issues in the 20th Century or something important-sounding

The last class has to be an english (EGL) class. I'm trying to pick between taking Myth & Magic in Literature (EGL 375) with cellowraith and a Shakespeare course with ruchirahni. The credits cap off at 17 until a few days before the Fall semester starts, so I'm gonna have to wait if I want to sign up for both. I'm thinking Myth & Magic though, because it's going to give me more incentive to show up for class on Thursdays, and I'm already familiar with Shakespeare so I may as well try something new. I already finagled it so that I'll have no class on Fridays (which, after 3 years of having just one annoying, agonizing, pre-med class to wake up for on Fridays, is something I believe I deserve, thankyouverymuch).

The reason I didn't realise I only have 3 classes left for the bio major rather than 4? I'd forgotten I'd taken BIO 358 last spring. What makes it worse: I am currently a TA for that class. BRILLIANT WORK, TIA.

Writer's Block: Sweet Tooth

2009-04-13T04:55:34Z

What is your favorite holiday-specific candy or treat?

View 503 Answers

PEEEEEPS

more than a paragraph long, I bet

2009-03-23T00:48:13Z

I have 4 chapters of Physics, 4 chapters of Psychology, an abstract to perfect and lecture slides to memorize. And yet here I am.

I want to announce to the world that Greg and I FINALLY bought our tickets to England (and I bought my return ticket from France; at some point I have to get all up on easyjet.com and get my in-between flight from Gatwick to Lyon). I would just like to say that Orbitz and CheapTickets.com were cheaper than both StudentUniverse.com and StaTravel.com (although the latter most was almost comparable, I will be fair). But if I hadn't checked I would have paid $140 more. The true Quest for Money begins now that I need spending cash. If you know anyone who would like art commissions done, or in fact have so much expendable income that they wish to give it to a wandering college student in Europe, please send them my way. As for MCATs, I'll take 'em in June or July. Studying in advance is only helping me.

In other absolutely random news, check out Paper Links. I meant to plug it before this point but I'm sure they won't miss the .2453 number of hits this link will get them.

Does anyone on my flist have a DSLR? I have been itching to buy a Canon Digital Rebel since this past summer. My flatmate has an XTi and she gets some damned gorgeous shots out of the thing. Canon is rumored to be releasing the 500D and will have a press release of some sort in a couple of days; this is exciting because by the time I have enough money to buy a DSLR the new 500D will presumably drop down the prices of the XTi and the XSi. Or I'll just throw caution to the wind and buy a 500D (it is going to have video capabilities! I wouldn't need my point and shoot any more!). But if anyone out there in livejournal land has anything good/bad to say about Canon, or in fact wants to tell me all about how I'm wrong and should be purchasing a Nikon instead, speak now!

And in another plug for the sake of plugging, I've been incredibly consistent in updating my sketch blog!

Happy Friday the 13th! I wish I had a black cat right about now.

2009-02-14T04:46:48Z

If you like using your eyes, or beauty, or goodness, or believing that the world is capable of wonderful things, I suggest you see Coraline. If anyone on my flist wants to see it again with me name your place and time.

Grargpghlaaggle!

2009-02-03T04:17:00Z

I used to be the sort of person to wonder about how one goes about losing weight from stomach viruses. That was 5 pounds, 2 nights of agony, and several nonsolid meals ago and I wouldn't wish it upon my worst enemy.

That said, it's time for a meme! Courtesy of schnuggleme.

Rules:
A. People who have been tagged must write their answers on their blog and replace any question that they dislike with a new, original question.
B. Tag eight people. Don't refuse to do that. Don't tag who tagged you.

001. What are your nicknames?
Being that my name is only three letters long it is a wonder I have any nicknames at all. Usually (rarely) it's just "tee". My mother calls me by lots of different nicknames, none of which even remotely resemble my name. I could be here all night listing them, so I won't. But some include "Sally" and "Melika". I don't know.

002. How do you style your hair?
Via copious amounts of curl-related products. Redken ringlet curl protector, Oscar Blandi curl spray, sometimes Tresemme mousse...and tears. Gypsy tears. And my hair isn't even that CURLY WTF.

003. What's new in your life right now?
My freaking classes URHGGGH; The semester just started last week. Some I love (<3 neurobio) but some are just a big damn waste of time (Orgo lab *moans*).

004. How many colors are you wearing now?
Black, white, and seahorse. Seahorse being the pattern on my PJ's.

005. Are you an introvert or extrovert?
Still figuring this one out.

006. What was the last book you read?
Kushiel's Chosen. OMG It's like, my new book crack. Politics sex and alternate history FTW. I liked Kushiel's Dart better, but I'm also looking forward to finishing Kushiel's Avatar. (Studying for MCATs? What are those?)

007. Do you nap a lot?
If I have time, and if I need it. Naps are a blessed thing.

008. If the person you secretly like is already taken, what would you do?
There's no "if" - that's pretty much been most of my life anyway BOOOOO.

009. Is there anything that has made you unhappy these days?
I'm trying to figure out whether or not to drop this class. Also the whole writhing in agony over stomach pains thing. Glad the latter's hopefully not going to happen again.

010. What's your favorite dessert?
Fail. Too many to choose from. Chocolate > Vanilla though. 4EVAS.

011. How long does it take you to get ready in the morning?
I give myself an hour ("ready" being a relative term SIGH).

012. What websites do you visit daily?
In order: gmail, livejournal, google reader, facebook, cnn, blackboard (cannot believe I am admitting that last one!)

013. What classes are you taking right now? And if you're not in school any more, what's your job?
Principles of Neurobiology, Molecular Development of the Nervous System, Physics for People Who Want Nothing To Do With Physics, Organic Chemistry Lab, Close Relationships, and I'm TAing a class called The Biology of Being Human. Whew.

014. Do you like to clean?
How general we are! I actually find a lot of peace of mind in cleaning dishes. I don't know how to use a dishwasher.

015. What's the last song that got stuck in your head?
Uh. Dunno! But sometimes I get phrases/words stuck in my head.

016. What's the last movie you saw?
I re-watched Memento with my parents the other night. I heart that film.

017. What's better: eternal love or memorable love?
The memory of love can be eternal / eternal love can't be forgotten, I imagine. So both?

018. What color do you look best in?
I don't know, but I've been into purple recently. Barney = fashion icon amirite.

019. Best time of your life?
NOT 2008~~ I DON'T MISS YOU! The last really fun thing I did was probably that karaoke stuff, or going to MoMa with some wonderful folks.

020. What are you most looking forward to in the coming month?
Probably New York Comic Con. The Coraline movie. And weekends in general!

Tagging: cellowraith, bombazzinedoll, ruchirahni, stormydown, ebeda, freckled_eyes, chrryblssmninja, annaybunny OR ANYONE ELSE WOO

say what?

2009-01-30T04:39:48Z

I have to take quizzes every other day for my physics class, and I logged in to Blackboard to see if tomorrow's assignment was up, and found this:

I know it was my crazy German professor who wrote that. I KNOW IT.

In the endearing grammar of my Bio 201 professor:
HOW COOK PHYSICS??

Just now:

2009-01-28T01:26:19Z

[my apartment door opens]
Tomasz: Is anyone there? Who's there?
Budassi [walking out]: No, only Tia.
Tomasz: Oh.
[door closes shut]