The Buried Life

I really hated that thing.

2008-07-15T21:40:02Z

So after I doused my phone with water this morning, ten minutes ago it stopped malfunctioning long enough for me to get all the contact numbers and take a 20-second call from my mom. Then I threw it against the wall twice and put the remains in the trash.

That's how it's done.

I need to stop

2008-07-12T02:26:51Z

...ordering clothes online!

No more cloooothes. I have more than enough. It's a sort of compulsive thing...now that I have money, I feel like now is the time to spend it. I was pretty frugal all summer and now I have to make up for it. But at least the clothes I'm getting are different and most of them are vintage. Aaaah e-bay...it's both economically sound and better for the environment. I completely endorse e-bay shopping over real-life shopping. Anyway...good band I've recently been listening to is The Virgins. You all out there should download "She's Expensive", or another song by them. Or go buy the whole CD, if you're feeling craaazy and want to spend money just to get the official artwork and all.

$ blather

2008-07-08T19:24:42Z

I'm in this conference right now, supposed to be in charge of fixing anything that goes wrong. It's a fairly big auditorium and the guy in front looks like Hugh Hefner. Apparently he's only 65 (he actually mentioned this). The audience is full of principals from every school in NJ. It's overly air-conditioned and I'm really cold! One more hour left (or less) and I can call it a day.

I like this job a lot. It's great to be able to see people from school, and to be close to NYC. Blah blah blah.

I feel I should mention that my tuition this year has ballooned to 30,000. For Drew. I know the topic of ridiculous college tuition is not a new one, but I've never had to pay that much and I feel supremely taken advantage of. Most of the increase is due to the Pell Grant that my mom isn't getting because she made "too much" money last year. She got an hourly raise to a dollar more than what she was making before. That's literally all that was changed to her financial situation. Also, I made a couple thousand dollars from my summer job. So now we're not recognized as all that needy, the grant was dropped and it's as if the money I made from last summer is being taken back from my parents. Okay. It's only money.

YEAH, RIGHT. I wish I thought like that. I'm not a money freak and I don't really mind if my future job doesn't get me rich, but this situation makes me want to go into every giant store in America and wantonly steal things. I am so done overpaying for shit. And I don't want my mom to pay for anything for me anymore. I hate being a vacuum. Because of me, every month hundreds of dollars is sucked out from her bank account and I am tired of it. Maybe she doesn't "mind", but I sure as hell do.

And in case anyone is unclear, Drew University isn't worth $30,000. It's not worth $15,000. Three of four thousand would be about right (or less)--but then the school wouldn't be able to squander away millions of student dollars by taking the school in a "new direction" so it can compete in the "liberal arts marketplace." As far as I know, nobody wanted these changes but the new president, who everyone hates. All my friends hate him, the newspaper staff hates him, and now I definitely hate him and everyone associated with the money expenditures and the awful decisions made in the name of this school.

What a terrible atmosphere to be a part of during my senior year. In short (uuhh), I'd better make thousands from this job (3-4 would be fine) to soften the blow and so I can be more or less entirely (makes sense to me) self-sufficient.

Zut Alors!

2008-06-28T02:10:14Z

My friend Dave showed this to me the other day:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Wl6YIRBfvjg

Gotta love Kenan.

In the spirit of receiving

2008-06-13T22:43:50Z

Free Stuff (Non-Edible) I've Gotten During My First Week At Princeton:

2 polos (come with the job)
2 t-shits (also come with the job)
laptop cleaning tool
NMC t-shirt
NMC tote
NMC notepad, pen and pencil
stress ball
cassette and lighter adapters for the car
2 blank discs (1 DVD, 1 CD)
headphones
a demo of Sibelius "music-making" software, which I might give to my composer brother

I forgot what NMC stands for, but the first word is "national", the third is "conference" and the "M" has something to do with teaching technology.

If I had a Mac, I also would've picked up a free copy of "Aperture" at Day 1 of NMC, the most valuable item (at $200 retail) and presumably coolest. I helped give those away and the conference-goers were very happy.

Also I should mention that I'm no longer working for the Sports Camps division, but for Conference and Events Services (like I applied for)! And it's way better.

one giant mixed emotion

2008-05-31T03:41:17Z

Song of the week is "Freeway" by Aimee Mann. Yeah, you remember Aimee Mann. She did the Magnolia soundtrack, among other things.

I've been downloading all the torrents of Sex and the City. I'm halfway through season 5, which is a lot heavier than the other seasons. You start to feel bad for the characters instead of envying them. Kind of like seasons 5-7 of Buffy. But it's still a great diversion.

My room at the condo is shaping up but it's still a mess and I don't know if it ever will be like I want it to. I'm so sick of every day not having something I need in its right place, of making tons of to-do lists for whatever it is I don't have or still need to fix, of endlessly dividing my stuff between two places but not feeling organized in either one. Also I'm gettin' real tired of driving back and forth from Saratoga to fucking Ballston Spa every day.

I guess it's a good thing I'm only here for another week.

Also I should note that I'm going to Lake Placid tomorrow with my mom for a weekend of birthday pampering. So don't feel too bad for me yet.

One week down...fourteen to go?

2008-05-23T04:11:25Z

Song of the week is "Ghost" by Voxtrot. Good band.

I should stop separating my life into countdowns. I do that too much. Summer's been alright so far, and Princeton might be fun. It's just that I've gotten used to a certain type of people at Drew (read: awkward) and I'm kind of afraid of the Sports Events Services strain of people that I'm going to be working with for two months. For one, it's a good bet that they will be really into sports--a recreation I've basically never involved myself in to any great extent. Until I got offered this job after applying to something similar.

But I can be sporty. Or I can pretend.

You're talking with your boots and you're walking with your mouth

2008-05-17T03:21:55Z

Song of the week is a tie between "Baby Boomerang" and "Phantom Limb", both by The Shins.

My finals were easy and I'm glad to get a break from Drew. It was weird saying goodbye to people, because a few of us were moving out at the same time, so I kept seeing the same people and didn't know when the last time would be, so I wasn't sure when to say a formal "have a good summer"-type of goodbye. Then some people I just bypassed completely. Oh well!

I finally have my own room in my dad's new condo and I am going to make it really attractive. Tomorrow we're going to get a gorgeous bed and I am fairly excited.

I still need to see Iron Man, which I mostly want to see because ever since I saw this little gem,

I've been really into Robert Downey Jr. The movie's silly but he is perfect in it.

A perfect understanding of the finer things in life

2008-05-07T20:53:22Z

Nobody cares about this but me. BUT. On my birthday, this is happening:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/may/07/radio.pressandpublishing

<3333333333333333

Something in my veins, bloodier than blood

2008-05-04T17:23:47Z

Song of the week is Wilco's "Shot In the Arm".

I'm not a huge live music person, but they sound exceptionally good without fancy studio equipment.

It's Friday AGAIN.

2008-04-25T18:26:19Z

The song of the week is:

"Spring Break 1899", written and performed by Murder by Death.

I don't like the weekends much right now. Last weekend was so ridiculous, I was bored out of my mind. Sometimes I really hate this school, hooray.

On the bright side, that means this weekend will be (hopefully) be much, much better. The scales (of life, if you will) usually tend to come out even for me. It's a bit distressing but sometimes comforting.

Oooh yes.

2008-04-10T20:19:20Z

Your official registration for 2008/FA is now:

ENGL*127*001   Credits: 2.00 Registered
ENGL*21A*001   Credits: 2.00 Registered
ENGL*21B*001   Credits: 2.00 Registered
FILM*18*001   Credits: 4.00 Registered
FREN*126*001   Credits: 4.00 Registered
FREN*186*001   Credits: 4.00 Registered

Total credits (excluding wait list): 18

You got a boatload o' nerve.

2008-04-10T04:30:28Z

The song this week that I am obsessed with, in case anybody cares, is "Long Time Running" by The Tragically Hip. I wish I had the technological know-how to post the mp3 on here.

I went to Stop and Shop today and every food product that I bought, I consumed within about 12 hours. This includes an entire bag of $1 (and pretty low-qual.) gummy bears. No more grocery shopping for me, as I have no restraint.

OH did I mention that I am one of 3 very important people in charge of this year's school election? Being astounded by my importance is normal. Just treat me like a regular person, though, ok? I don't want any special favors.

Back in my emo days

2008-04-03T07:46:11Z

I haven't posted in a while. It's pretty late on a Wednesday and I'm not going to either of my classes tomorrow. HOWEVER I am planning on working a lot at the newspaper and I have a meeting with my adviser tomorrow. I hope he doesn't hate me for doing the English major requirements so out of order.

Umm...anyone have any suggestions for movies for me to download? Or good alternative/indie music?

Housing lottery numbers came out, and I got 88. Not bad at all--in fact, best so far! I think I've progressively gotten better numbers as the years have gone on. Nobody knows where they want to live, and it's the familiar confusion of last year. It's fun to see where people end up even if it seems a bit stressful at times.

What else...still doing SGA, still doing MRC stuff, working more on the Acorn. Waiting patiently for nicer weather.

Blueberry bagel + blueberry cream cheese = too much blueberry?!?

2008-03-12T21:18:52Z

This morning I stumbled upon an interesting blog (http://bandwagn.com/). Its goal was to post a new song for every day, which I thought was admirable. Well the guy definitely didn't post a song for each day and in October seemed to have stopped bothering entirely, which is too bad because a lot of the stuff is really good. Anyway, I spent a good part of the afternoon downloading everything he suggested. Ah, the joys of spring break...I just couldn't do this type of thing at school. Too many distractions.

Speaking of distractions, apparently Drew has two dances during the next two weekends after spring break, LOL. One is a "Spring Fling" and the other is Junior/Senior. The Spring Fling is brand new ..supposed to be like Holiday Ball (which I wasn't around for), only without the "holiday" part! So I'm excited, even though I hadn't heard about this until yesterday, despite my ubiquitous involvement in school affairs. Kudos to everyone involved for the excellent planning and promotion.

C'mon sea legs, pull yourself together.

2008-03-05T03:57:42Z

"insert meme rules here"

1. What 2-3 characters from literature/theatre/film/music/etc do you most relate to? Why?

yikes, I don't know. I relate a whole lot to certain songs, but not really the people who create them. Not sure about those other categories either!

2. What was the best thing that happened in Europe last semester? The worst?

Best--the concerts/random weird nights with Clea (and sometimes John!). One of my favorite nights also was going to see a this comedy show with a few other people that turned out to be really funny and fun. Also seeing Steve Merchant on the street (not by accident). The worst would be...? I dunno, I had a lot of middling-moments, like "yeah I'm in London but what am I doing that's so great?" So, I would say "too many of those" as being the worst. I didn't have any actual bad times, though.

3. What is one artist that more people should listen to, because they're really good and accessible, but don't?

Pulp! Their songs are over a decade old by now, but so many of them are so, so good and a lot of people (mainly from countries that aren't England) have never even heard of them.

4. You can have any job you want, or work for any organization you want, without having to worry about work experience, education, any other qualifications, or how much money you might earn. What do you chose?

Probably an assistant to a movie director, or part of a camera crew on a good TV show. No sitcoms.

5. In your own words, how much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? Please answer in 15 words or less, and make one of the words "Appletini".

15 2-lb pieces of wood per hour. I want an appletini.

Maybe I like the song "Babies" a little bit

2008-02-28T04:48:58Z

I'm going to pretend that Jesse's most recent post was a meme, and that he tagged me. I really don't want to do my homeworks.

Top 25 Most Played Songs on Meg's iTunes (Since September 2005)

1) "Babies" by Pulp--145
2) "I Don't Feel Like Dancin' " by Scissor Sisters--108
3) "Use It" by The New Pornographers--87
4) "She's My Man" by Scissor Sisters--70
5) "Do You Remember the First Time" by Pulp--66
6) "Stuck Between Stations" by The Hold Steady--55
7) "Town Called Malice" by The Jam--55
8) "Sing Me Spanish Techno" by The New Pornographers--55
9) "Grace Kelly" by Mika--53
10) "I Love You" by Under the Influence of Giants--51
11) "Like a Friend" by Pulp--50
12) "Fireworks" by The Tragically Hip--46
13) "I Can't Decide" by Scissor Sisters--45
14) "Maybe, This Time" by OK Go--43
15) "All the Old Showstoppers" by The New Pornographers--42
16) "Mama's Room" by Under the Influence of Giants--42
17) "Myriad Harbour" by The New Pornographers--41
18) "The Bones of An Idol" by The New Pornographers--41
19) "The Bleeding Heart Show" by The New Pornographers--41
20) "The Spirit of Giving" by The New Pornographers--40
21) "Song 6" by Daniel Powter--39 (this is embarrassing)
22) "Might Tell You Tonight" by Scissor Sisters--39
23) "The Ghost of Genova Heights" by Stars--39
24) "Oh Lately It's So Quiet" by OK Go--38
25) "Sentimental Guy" by Ben Folds--37

I don't listen some of these songs much anymore and the stuff I do listen to is much more varied, so there's less of a chance that newer bands will break into the top 25 anytime soon. That being said, The New Pornographers is still the best band in existence.

Also, I definitely got that summer job at Princeton. Whoooo wants to come visit me? You might get to meet the real-life equivalent of House if you stopped by the Princeton Medical Center*. Also there's a really big mall nearby.

*may not exist

Just to give you an idea of my present mental state

2008-02-27T04:46:44Z

I've started to keep a food diary on Microsoft Word. We'll see how long this lasts. I thought I would post the first couple of entries on here in order to appropriately show how ridiculous I've become.

FOOD DIARY!!!

Ok so….MONDAY (2-25) I ATE:

7ish gummi bears

An apple

A banana

Cappuccino

Mountain Dew

A tootsie pop

Some sprite

Resolution for Tuesday: eat NO candy. Just cereal with perhaps a banana and a cappuccino w/ juice or soda.

TUESDAY (2-26)

OK. I didn’t do well…the Popcorn Factory thing came and I couldn’t/didn’t help it. Here goes:

1 bag ranch popcorn

1 bag cheese popcorn

½ bag of rainbow yogurt pretzels

¾ bag of chocolate drizzled caramel popcorn

A cookie

About 6 sour sugar gummies

A few gummy bears

HAHAH that’s pathetic. No wonder I feel like sh*t! OK…well. I didn’t eat any other food…like half a bowl of rice crispies with a banana. And of course,

Cappuccino

Apple juice.

That sucked. New Plan?

GYM WEDNESDAY and FRIDAY. And fuck it, SATURDAY TOO!

Wed—sushi. I have to. Wednesday is sushi day, I have deemed it so. After sushi I’ll stop by the UC again after work and get coffee.

Thursday—cappuccino and cereal at commons. Should be rice crispies with banana.

Friday—same. Doesn’t NEED to be rice crispies, but shouldn’t be sugary. Bleh, no more sugar, please, for the love of god.

DON’T TOUCH THAT CANDY UNTIL SUNDAY. NO CANDY UNTIL SUNDAY. NO CANDY UNTIL SUNDAY. NO MOTHERFUCKING CANDY UNTIL SUNDAY.

--------------end journal-within-a-journal-----------------------

Other news...I joined the Living Council! I'm VP. Also I may have gotten an internship at Princeton over the summer. They e-mailed me a stunning 6 weeks after my phone interview, so I'm not sure what's going on...if there's been a mistake or something. I hope there hasn't, because I really need something to do this summer that isn't in Saratoga!

I seriously feel crappy. Sugar is the devil! I was going to say the "devil's food", but the devil already has a food and apparently it's chocolate cake???? GAAAH I need to stop, I apologize for this entire post.

I didn't mean to set you free.

2008-02-14T00:14:32Z

I joined the Student Government Association last week, and our student newspaper this week. So now I'm a senator and a copy editor for my school! This is good because I am starting to get bored with life. Even though I'm taking 5 classes, I still end up with a good amount of dead time, mainly because I don't see a lot of the same people I used to. A few weeks ago I was all about re-establishing connections with people, but I can't be the one doing all the work--and that's how it would be for a couple people who, for now, I'm just going to give up on.

I really hate driving in New Jersey. Fuck all of you New Jerseyan drivers who suck. Yeah, you know who you are/what I'm talking about/karma is coming for you. God I hope I don't get into an accident.

Also...YAY for the writer's strike ending!

omfg

2008-02-07T21:37:41Z

omfg omfg omfg

I love the song "The Ghost of Genova Heights" by Stars. The first time I heard it, I was like "OK, good, good...whaaaat?!?!?!?!?? YESSSS!!!!"

Ever had that happen? It's the best feeling IN the WORLD. Or one of them, because I don't think I've had them all and I don't want to make any artificial statements here.

yeah, alright

2008-01-29T22:52:54Z

1. Do you like blue cheese?
no

2. Have you ever shot up heroin?
no

3. Do you own a gun?
no

4. Your favorite song?
"babies" by pulp

5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments?
no, just irritable

6. What do you think of hot dogs?
they threaten my ever-wavering vegetarianism and i don't trust myself around them

7. Favorite Christmas song?
"Christmas number one", the black arts

8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning?
water

9. Can you do push ups?
probably

10. What's your favorite piece of jewelry?
my ring from camden town

11. Favorite hobby?
listening to music...sounds boring but it's true

12. Secret weapon to get the opposite sex?
...invisible guns and knives

13. Do you have A.D.D.?
no

14. What's one trait you hate about yourself?
i don't really hate anything

15. Middle Name?
elizabeth

16. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment...
1. patrick wolf lyrics are silly but i like him anyway
2. baaaah 2 1/2 hours of french tonight
3. even if it doesn't end up doing much for me health-wise, that humidifier was a good investment because it's just soothing.

17. Name 3 things you bought yesterday?
1. books :(
2. coffee
3. lemonade (to chase the coffee with)

18. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink?
water, mountain dew, coffee

19. Current worry right now?
Will I be able to return that book from that class I dropped if I lost the receipt but maybe I can convince them I never got a receipt or maybe it's in their records because I ordered them online and picked them up at the store? I want my money back!!

20. Current hate right now?
the aforementioned English class

21. Favorite place to be?
here

22. How did you bring in the New Year?
at my brother's lovely apt. in New York

23. Where would you like to go?
some resort somewhere, venice beach, an empty palisades mall with a pair of rollerblades

24. Name three people who will complete this...
? ?? ???

25. Do you own slippers?
not ones i wear

26. What shirt are you wearing?
that green one. with the buttons. you know what i'm talking about

27. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets?
who doesn't?

28. Can you whistle?
yes

29. Favorite color?
purple

30. Would you be a pirate?
no

31. What songs do you sing in the shower?
i don't really sing in the shower

32. Favorite girl's name?
not sure

33. Favorite boy's name?
Jarvis

34. Whats in your pocket right now?
nothing. girl pant pockets are too shallow

35. Last thing that made you laugh?
"kuh kuh kaw, kuh kuh kaw!"
-"CHICKENS DON'T CLAP!"

36. Best bed sheets as a child?
i had pretty carousel sheets

37. Worst injury you've ever had?
maybe when i fell after rollerblading down a hill when i was like 11

38. Do you love where you live?
saratoga, no; drew, yes

39. How many TVs do you have in your house?
1

40. Who is your loudest friend?
maybe dave

41. How many dogs do you have?
none

42. Do you have a crush on someone?
does stephen merchant count

43. What is your favorite book?
hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy

44. What is your favorite candy?
reese's

45. Favorite Sports Team?
the mets by default

46. What song(s) do you want played at your funeral?
dunno...I clearly haven't thought about that enough

47. What were you doing 12 AM last night?
hanging around

48. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up?
I could sleep for longer if I wanted...

49. What is your current job?
assistant at the MRC :)

50. When is your birthday?
june 9

Good things

2008-01-28T05:16:53Z

My new dorm room is kickass. I can't say I'm surprised; I have a knack for these types of spaces. Riker is also a great building to live in. And my roommate is awesome! I forgot how much I love and missed this.

Mostly Pointless

2008-01-22T06:46:48Z

Today (or yesterday, I guess) I saw Blair Witch II: Lost in New York and I wasn't thrilled with it. Silly me for thinking that everything J.J. Abrams is involved with equals automatic gold.

OMG I go back to school so soon. I am both ready and not ready!!! But at least my car is finally fixed--after sitting around in the cold during most of fall and some of winter with no one to drive it, the battery cables (and some other parts) were all corroded. Luckily enough, it wasn't too expensive to fix and it's running really well now. Hooray for true independence on the Drew campus--a previously unknown experience! Now if I want to get milk, I can go get milk. No walking half a mile to Stop 'N Shop and back (in the likely unpleasant Madison weather) required. I can have milk!

That's all for now.

And all the wine is all for me

2008-01-16T02:56:50Z

I need to document this day as Awesome. Today I figured out my living situation after calling the Housing Director at Drew, and I'm living in the dorm I wanted to with a girl I've known since freshman year who seems like she'll be a really good roommate. Also my last Christmas present came in the mail today--the complete series of Extras!!! (Thank you, Mom.) And then, after checking my e-mail for the hundredth time today, I got a notice from Paypal saying that they resolved a case I had filed earlier this month. (I never got an item that I ordered in mid-December. eBay sucks.) They decided in my favor, obviously--so I get my money back, hooray.

Saturday is Treat Day.

2008-01-12T23:47:44Z

http://youtube.com/watch?v=vjnuBTPOaKY