WARNING: If you're sensitive or tactful, or something weird like that, then you might not want to read this. If you don't like me, this will probably just give you something else to dislike me about.
I'm sorry, but cheaters still piss me off. Yeah, it's no new development, but I was talking with a dear friend tonight and I just kind of realized it again. We were talking about how we'd have a huge problem being in a relationship with a cheater, and it even bothers her a bit to be friends with them.
Now don't get me wrong, I'm not judging anybody. It seems that the cool thing to do these days is cover up your laziness/inadequacies/mistakes by demanding of anyone even remotely criticizing you if they're judging you, because of course, that would be horrible. No, no, I'm not judging anybody.
But I am judging what you're doing. And yeah, I'm valedictorian. So what? Does that make my opinions about this any less valid? More so, I'd think. I've been through all aspects of academia. I've been tempted to cheat, I've almost cheated, I even accidentally cheated once in seventh grade (but then I got the answer wrong on purpose because I felt guilty). Sure, write me off as self-righteous, elitist, or whatever you want. But you still know I'm right.
And don't give me that bullshit about how that's easy for me to say because I'm "smart". I'm no smarter than anyone else. I just worked my ass off to get where I am. Anything that I say, anything that I do, anything that I write, anything that sounds or looks smart that comes out of me has a ten year background of hard, hard work to it. No, it wasn't easy for me.
Or another argument was that if you cheat, you always get a few wrong on purpose so you don't screw over the guy who you're cheating off of. Nice work, figuring that one out. Now shut it, because you know it's complete bullshit. Any correct answers that you get that aren't your own are screwing somebody over. Your GPA and class rank don't care that the person in front of you let you copy his math homework. They'll overtake him anyways. Or maybe someone else. Maybe kick that person out of the top ten percent, and screw over her application to UT. There goes that plan.
I worked hard to get where I am. Even if you cheaters don't want to work, at least stop pretending like you aren't just lazy.
I actually wrote this post back on January 29th, but I'm just posting it now.
Sweet catharsis.
Feb 12, 2006
Feb 7, 2006
You Asked For It (Not Really)
Yes, another quiz.
Here's to discovery, self or otherwise.
Have you ever...
1. Fallen for your neighbor? No, all my neighbors are weird.
2. Made out with just a friend? Never.
3. Been rejected? Actually, not yet. It's probably coming soon.
4. Been in love? Yes, as I define it, so don't all you skeptics bring out your guns.
5. Used someone? Yes, and I'm still sorry for that, Miss Palindrome.
6. Been used? Yes, and I'm still smarting over that, as pathetic as that is.
7. Been Kissed? Hell yeah.
8. Done something you regret? Of course. I just hope that I don't make the same mistake twice.
Who was the last person...
10. You talked to? My mom, who made me lemon-honey tea, which is amazing on a sore throat.
11. You hugged? My mom also, for the tea.
12. You instant messaged? Luis Diez, guitar guru.
13. You are missing? Most recently, my tussle buddy.
14. You called? Not sure, but the last person I talked to on the phone was my awesome sister, Priti.
15. You yelled at? A guy at our impromptu talent show at Houstonfest who played guitar. I believe the exact quote was "Have my babies!", preceded by my shirt being thrown at him.
16. You laughed with? My mom.
17. Who broke your heart? I'm not sure if my heart has been truly broken, but I guess the answer to the closest thing would be the person my acoustic guitar is named after.
18. Who told you they loved you? My mom.
19. Who complimented you? Tiwa!
20. Have a Birthmark? Not that I know of.
21. Have any piercings? Nope. Keep those needles AWAY from me, please.
23. Own your own house? I WISH.
24. Own a nice car? I wish EVEN MORE. Although my dad drives a BMW that I get to use every so often.
25. Speak any languages other than english? Definitely
26. Cook your own Dinner? Damn straight!
27. color your hair? Yes, blue-green over the summer. It was good.
28. Have green eyes? I'm Indian.
29. Stolen anything? Sticky notes from a classroom in Passports to use to cover up used questions in German Jeopardy...does that count?
30. Smoked? Hell no.
31. Taken drugs? Medication, yes. Anything else, no. Except I sniffed a permanent marker once by accident. Dunno if that counts.
32. Obsessive? Perfectionist, if that's the same thing.
33. Shot a gun? Not a real one.
34. Done something illegal? Not TOO illegal.
35. Panic? Not too much.
36. Anxiety? See above.
37. Depressed? See above, again.
38. Control Freak? Definitely.
39. Obsessed with hate? Definitely not. What the world needs now...
Questions
40. If you were a cartoon character, what would you be like? Hugh Downs. "Hugh Downs awayyy!!!"
41. If you could be anywhere, where would it be and with who? A bit too broad, but at the moment, it would probably involve one of two cities in California, either Palo Alto or San Diego.
42. Can you do anything freakish with your body? I can bend my thumbs behind my hands. Yes, very impressive, I know.
43. What feature do you find most attractive on girls/guys? Hair, eyes, and smile.
44. Would you vote for a woman candidate for president? Perhaps.
45. Would you marry for money? Nope, I think I'll be okay in that respect.
46. Have you had braces? Yes. Don't remind me.
47. Do you wear lip gloss? Vaseline.
48. Do you sing in the shower? Of course!
49. Do you play any sports? Look at me. Just look at me. That aside, I used to play basketball.
50. Could you live without a computer? What's a computer? Try the exact opposite of that question.
51. Do you use AOL, MSN, Yahoo? AIM, Yahoo, and MSN, but I only have buddies on AIM.
52. If so, how many people are on your list? 247
53. If you could live in any past, where would it be? Sometime in the heyday of the blues.
54. Do you wear white socks? White and grey.
55. Do you wear shoes? No, I wear cantaloupes.
56. What is your favorite fruit? Oranges. I can eat them forever.
57. Do you eat wheat bread or white? Wheat is better. No offense.
58. What is your favorite place to visit? I haven't been there yet.
59. Fav DVD? The Matrix, probably. I'm not sure. I like too many movies.
60. Do you kiss on the first date? Haven't yet.
61. Are you photogenic? Some say yes, I say hell no.
62. Do you dream in color or black and white? Definitely color.
63. What are you wearing right now? Jeans, a t-shirt, an open shirt over that.
64. Do you eat a lot of fruit? Yep.
65. Do you have dimples? No...I can only wish.
66. Do you remember being born? Yes. Wouldn't you like to know what it was like.
67. Why do you take surveys? Self-discovery, baby!
68. Do you drink alcohol? Nope. I've had rum cake and rum chocolate, though.
69. Do you like high school? Yes and no.
70. What is the best accent? Australian!
71. Who do you want to kiss? I don't know how she kisses, so I'm not sure.
72. Do you like sunsets? Yes.
73. Do you want to live to be 100? Longer.
74. If not, why? Why not?
75. Do you or have you played with a ouija board? Not yet.
76. Are you loyal? Very. Although the meaning of being "loyal", apparently, is somewhat frayed as of late.
77. Are you tolerant of other peoples beliefs? I try to be.
78. Is music your life? Not yet, but it's a large percentage.
79. Do you like scary movies? The corny ones...cry_wolf, anyone? The Fog, anyone?
80. Do you think you can draw well? Yes, if by well you mean horribly.
81. At what age did you find out that Santa Clause wasn't real? Man, I don't think I ever believed in St. Nick.
82. How many pairs of shoes do have in your closet? 4
83. Do you like to wear the same shoes everyday? Yeah.
84. Do you write poetry? No. I attempt to songwrite, but that's a different post.
85. Snore? Horribly loudly, apparently.
86. Do you sleep more on your back, front, or sides? 360 degrees.
87. Do you like Cats/Dogs? Adore them.
88. Do you lick stamps? Yep.
89. Do you use an electric can opener? No...man, those things are confusing.
90. Have you ridden in a hot air balloon? Not yet.
91. Like your name? Mostly.
92. Were you named after anyone? Nope. It means quiet, though.
93. Do you wish on stars? Occasionally.
94. Which finger is your favorite? Ring finger on my left hand. Gotta love those blues.
95. When did you last cry? My eyes watered from being sick today. I dunno if that counts.
96. What is your favorite band? Matchbox 20.
97. Who do you admire? As a musician, John Mayer. As a person, Denise Tanner. As a parent, my own parents. As a friend, my sister. I could go on for a while.
98. What is the #1 priority in your life? Fulfillment.
99. What is your favorite day of the week? Friday.
Woo hoo!
Here's to discovery, self or otherwise.
Have you ever...
1. Fallen for your neighbor? No, all my neighbors are weird.
2. Made out with just a friend? Never.
3. Been rejected? Actually, not yet. It's probably coming soon.
4. Been in love? Yes, as I define it, so don't all you skeptics bring out your guns.
5. Used someone? Yes, and I'm still sorry for that, Miss Palindrome.
6. Been used? Yes, and I'm still smarting over that, as pathetic as that is.
7. Been Kissed? Hell yeah.
8. Done something you regret? Of course. I just hope that I don't make the same mistake twice.
Who was the last person...
10. You talked to? My mom, who made me lemon-honey tea, which is amazing on a sore throat.
11. You hugged? My mom also, for the tea.
12. You instant messaged? Luis Diez, guitar guru.
13. You are missing? Most recently, my tussle buddy.
14. You called? Not sure, but the last person I talked to on the phone was my awesome sister, Priti.
15. You yelled at? A guy at our impromptu talent show at Houstonfest who played guitar. I believe the exact quote was "Have my babies!", preceded by my shirt being thrown at him.
16. You laughed with? My mom.
17. Who broke your heart? I'm not sure if my heart has been truly broken, but I guess the answer to the closest thing would be the person my acoustic guitar is named after.
18. Who told you they loved you? My mom.
19. Who complimented you? Tiwa!
20. Have a Birthmark? Not that I know of.
21. Have any piercings? Nope. Keep those needles AWAY from me, please.
23. Own your own house? I WISH.
24. Own a nice car? I wish EVEN MORE. Although my dad drives a BMW that I get to use every so often.
25. Speak any languages other than english? Definitely
26. Cook your own Dinner? Damn straight!
27. color your hair? Yes, blue-green over the summer. It was good.
28. Have green eyes? I'm Indian.
29. Stolen anything? Sticky notes from a classroom in Passports to use to cover up used questions in German Jeopardy...does that count?
30. Smoked? Hell no.
31. Taken drugs? Medication, yes. Anything else, no. Except I sniffed a permanent marker once by accident. Dunno if that counts.
32. Obsessive? Perfectionist, if that's the same thing.
33. Shot a gun? Not a real one.
34. Done something illegal? Not TOO illegal.
35. Panic? Not too much.
36. Anxiety? See above.
37. Depressed? See above, again.
38. Control Freak? Definitely.
39. Obsessed with hate? Definitely not. What the world needs now...
Questions
40. If you were a cartoon character, what would you be like? Hugh Downs. "Hugh Downs awayyy!!!"
41. If you could be anywhere, where would it be and with who? A bit too broad, but at the moment, it would probably involve one of two cities in California, either Palo Alto or San Diego.
42. Can you do anything freakish with your body? I can bend my thumbs behind my hands. Yes, very impressive, I know.
43. What feature do you find most attractive on girls/guys? Hair, eyes, and smile.
44. Would you vote for a woman candidate for president? Perhaps.
45. Would you marry for money? Nope, I think I'll be okay in that respect.
46. Have you had braces? Yes. Don't remind me.
47. Do you wear lip gloss? Vaseline.
48. Do you sing in the shower? Of course!
49. Do you play any sports? Look at me. Just look at me. That aside, I used to play basketball.
50. Could you live without a computer? What's a computer? Try the exact opposite of that question.
51. Do you use AOL, MSN, Yahoo? AIM, Yahoo, and MSN, but I only have buddies on AIM.
52. If so, how many people are on your list? 247
53. If you could live in any past, where would it be? Sometime in the heyday of the blues.
54. Do you wear white socks? White and grey.
55. Do you wear shoes? No, I wear cantaloupes.
56. What is your favorite fruit? Oranges. I can eat them forever.
57. Do you eat wheat bread or white? Wheat is better. No offense.
58. What is your favorite place to visit? I haven't been there yet.
59. Fav DVD? The Matrix, probably. I'm not sure. I like too many movies.
60. Do you kiss on the first date? Haven't yet.
61. Are you photogenic? Some say yes, I say hell no.
62. Do you dream in color or black and white? Definitely color.
63. What are you wearing right now? Jeans, a t-shirt, an open shirt over that.
64. Do you eat a lot of fruit? Yep.
65. Do you have dimples? No...I can only wish.
66. Do you remember being born? Yes. Wouldn't you like to know what it was like.
67. Why do you take surveys? Self-discovery, baby!
68. Do you drink alcohol? Nope. I've had rum cake and rum chocolate, though.
69. Do you like high school? Yes and no.
70. What is the best accent? Australian!
71. Who do you want to kiss? I don't know how she kisses, so I'm not sure.
72. Do you like sunsets? Yes.
73. Do you want to live to be 100? Longer.
74. If not, why? Why not?
75. Do you or have you played with a ouija board? Not yet.
76. Are you loyal? Very. Although the meaning of being "loyal", apparently, is somewhat frayed as of late.
77. Are you tolerant of other peoples beliefs? I try to be.
78. Is music your life? Not yet, but it's a large percentage.
79. Do you like scary movies? The corny ones...cry_wolf, anyone? The Fog, anyone?
80. Do you think you can draw well? Yes, if by well you mean horribly.
81. At what age did you find out that Santa Clause wasn't real? Man, I don't think I ever believed in St. Nick.
82. How many pairs of shoes do have in your closet? 4
83. Do you like to wear the same shoes everyday? Yeah.
84. Do you write poetry? No. I attempt to songwrite, but that's a different post.
85. Snore? Horribly loudly, apparently.
86. Do you sleep more on your back, front, or sides? 360 degrees.
87. Do you like Cats/Dogs? Adore them.
88. Do you lick stamps? Yep.
89. Do you use an electric can opener? No...man, those things are confusing.
90. Have you ridden in a hot air balloon? Not yet.
91. Like your name? Mostly.
92. Were you named after anyone? Nope. It means quiet, though.
93. Do you wish on stars? Occasionally.
94. Which finger is your favorite? Ring finger on my left hand. Gotta love those blues.
95. When did you last cry? My eyes watered from being sick today. I dunno if that counts.
96. What is your favorite band? Matchbox 20.
97. Who do you admire? As a musician, John Mayer. As a person, Denise Tanner. As a parent, my own parents. As a friend, my sister. I could go on for a while.
98. What is the #1 priority in your life? Fulfillment.
99. What is your favorite day of the week? Friday.
Woo hoo!
Jan 22, 2006
A Tiring Weekend
So, I had a very interesting and fun weekend, when you include Friday. Well, it was fine even without Friday, but Friday was notable, so I'll mention it anyways.
Friday
Went to school, as usual. First period, Physics II, where I presented my science fair project, and then sat around for a few others to do the same. In the middle of Pranay's presentation, of course, the mercury "spill" went down, and we all grabbed our stuff and evacated to the stadium, where our class went to the top of the bleachers and got to the balcony that looks out over the school. That was, apparently, too fun for a mercury spill, so we were told to find seats. That we did, near Mr. Ruggles.
After hanging out there for a while, we were all moved inside the fieldhouse in a wonderfully orchestrated migration that tried to pack about twenty kids at a time into a doorway that fit approximately two. < /sarcasm >. Having overcome our door issues by the tried-and-true method of mass chaos, we (all 2500 of us) were now all arranged extremely comfortably in the fieldhouse. < /sarcasm (really, this time) >. One fight broke out, at least. Another "fight" broke out, but it was actually two kids faking it, just so they could take pictures of the cops coming to break them up. Finally, we were taken back inside the school to our first period classes (those in the "contaminated" classes were put in the auditorium).
Us internship kids were released at a little after one, I believe, so Alonso, Frazier, Jon, Luis, and I went to Wendy's and decided to skip internship, as we wouldn't get there in time to get anything done anyways. We hung out there for about an hour or so, chatted about the original Mario game on NES (yes, we're nerds, but cool nerds), then disbanded. I drove Luis home and noodled around on guitar at his place for another hour, then left to go to Stammtisch at CiCi's (the new one near Laser Zone).
Stammtisch was hilariously fun, made even more so by Lesley and her faces. Lesley is an honorary member of German Club, in case anyone was wondering. Lesley, your faces are hilarious. After Stammtisch, I decided to go to Agattanz practice (folkdancing) at Jordan's house in case I was needed. I wasn't, really, but Amanda Comer and I hung and I played guitar for something around two hours while they practiced, and eventually I ended up helping them with the directions and coordination.
I dropped Amanda home at around eight, I think, and then came back to Jordan's house, hoping that someone else wanted to watch a movie too, or hang out somewhere. Turns out, everyone who was still there wanted to (Ana, Tessa, Edward, Joann, and Jordan) but Joann had to go home, and Jordan was going out of town the next morning, so neither of them could. This meant that we couldn't stay at Jordan's house either.
Thus, my house was volunteered, and we mobilized our caravan to get there. I took Ana, stopping by at work (Piccomolo Italian Ice Cream on Highway 6, near Half-Price Books and Corelli's) to get Ana some gelato. Having done that, we got to my house. Tessa and Edward had dropped off Joann and gotten Wendy's, and got there a little after we did. Ana and I had already narrowed down the movie options, and we ended up watching National Treasure and then Hidalgo. Finally, we wound down the night by watching an episode of Family Guy and another of Futurama.
It was at some point during Hidalgo that we realized that we were all tired and no one wanted to leave my house, so I crept into my parents' room and halfway woke my mom to ask her if they could spend the night here. I got a surprising assent, so after going to sleep at around four, we woke at seven and they left.
Saturday
I, naturally, went back to sleep until twelve-thirty, when I woke up and ate something. Didn't do much of anything all of that day except try not to play guitar. I had spent Wednesday and Thursday night staying up until around one or two in the morning playing guitar (on my acoustic), and then on Friday I played for something around four hours, also mostly on acoustics, so my fingers were completely shot. Not playing on Saturday was hard, but every time I picked up Kay (my acoustic) my fingers started to burn a bit again, so I had to stop to let them heal.
Surprisingly, I did my physics homework on Saturday night, and I also got a haircut at some point in the afternoon.
At night, my mom and I went and got Lord of War from Hollywood Video, which wasn't too great. At least, as a movie about a gunrunning Ukranian it wasn't too great, but as a movie timelining the evolution of the illegal arms trade from the post-World War II years to present, it's very good. So basically, you just have to know know what you're in for.
I went to sleep early (around eleven or twelve) because the next morning I had work from eleven to three.
Sunday
I worked today, for the first time since Thursday, and we had gotten some new flavors, like watermelon, cappuccino, pina colada, and venetian something-or-other. Oh, and something called Yoggi, which tastes just like yogurt, but with gelato texture and consistency. It's um...interesting. I also had several cappuccino/cafe latte escapades; let's just say I'm not quite finished learning how to make drinks.
Lara showed up, and bought a couple cups of gelato, and we chatted at the end of my shift, because no one was there. Afterwards, I got my forty-five cents in tips (pathetic...usually it's about three to six dollars per shift, but it was a cold, rainy morning, and no one really wanted ice cream) and we hung around for a little longer. Finally, we left but I was hungry, so we went to Chipotle's, and I got the vegetarian tacos, which were superb, by the way. Lara had chips, lemon, salsa, and salt. So, so weird. We were both going to Span and Benita's surprise party, so Lara took me by my house and I dropped off my remaining two-thirds of a taco and my work t-shirt and cap, we returned Lord of War, and then she took me back to Piccomolo so I could pick up my van.
It was pouring rain by now, and we ferried our way to the Incredible Pizza Company, which is an incredible misnomer. First of all, you have to leave your car keys with them if you don't want to eat, and secondly, the buffet is horribly overpriced and pretty disgusting. The arcade games are all old, there are no shooting or fighting games, and they're all expensive. So it wasn't Incredible and the Pizza wasn't great. The only thing the place had going for it was the Company, which was Lesley, Lara, Span, Nick, Chris (Nick's mini-me), Nita, Suchi, Sneh, Christina, and Ben, and even that was somewhat tarnished by the weird 50's high school theme that some idiot managing the restaurant decided on. Definitely not Incredible. Maybe it would work as the Mediocre Pizza Company, but even that's almost pushing it.
After the surprise party (to which Benita didn't show up to, by the way), I drove Lesley home. Here I must interject and write a few lines about Lesley, for she is one of the most hilariously awesome people I know. Her faces and expressions are priceless, and she always always always can laugh at herself. She's a good talker and a good listener, and she's on time with her payments (gas money, you pervert).
Anyways, drove Lesley home (stopping by for gelato on the way, making this the third girl in as many days I had met at or walked into work with), and then got back to my house before eight. Some family friends were over, so we all chatted over dinner before they finally left.
After that, all that I did was noodle on my electric for a little while (I tried messing with the distance of the pickups from the strings and realized that the cover on the brige pickup is loose), and ate a little bit.
It is now a little past eleven on Sunday night; time to start the new week. Gehen wir schon!
Friday
Went to school, as usual. First period, Physics II, where I presented my science fair project, and then sat around for a few others to do the same. In the middle of Pranay's presentation, of course, the mercury "spill" went down, and we all grabbed our stuff and evacated to the stadium, where our class went to the top of the bleachers and got to the balcony that looks out over the school. That was, apparently, too fun for a mercury spill, so we were told to find seats. That we did, near Mr. Ruggles.
After hanging out there for a while, we were all moved inside the fieldhouse in a wonderfully orchestrated migration that tried to pack about twenty kids at a time into a doorway that fit approximately two. < /sarcasm >. Having overcome our door issues by the tried-and-true method of mass chaos, we (all 2500 of us) were now all arranged extremely comfortably in the fieldhouse. < /sarcasm (really, this time) >. One fight broke out, at least. Another "fight" broke out, but it was actually two kids faking it, just so they could take pictures of the cops coming to break them up. Finally, we were taken back inside the school to our first period classes (those in the "contaminated" classes were put in the auditorium).
Us internship kids were released at a little after one, I believe, so Alonso, Frazier, Jon, Luis, and I went to Wendy's and decided to skip internship, as we wouldn't get there in time to get anything done anyways. We hung out there for about an hour or so, chatted about the original Mario game on NES (yes, we're nerds, but cool nerds), then disbanded. I drove Luis home and noodled around on guitar at his place for another hour, then left to go to Stammtisch at CiCi's (the new one near Laser Zone).
Stammtisch was hilariously fun, made even more so by Lesley and her faces. Lesley is an honorary member of German Club, in case anyone was wondering. Lesley, your faces are hilarious. After Stammtisch, I decided to go to Agattanz practice (folkdancing) at Jordan's house in case I was needed. I wasn't, really, but Amanda Comer and I hung and I played guitar for something around two hours while they practiced, and eventually I ended up helping them with the directions and coordination.
I dropped Amanda home at around eight, I think, and then came back to Jordan's house, hoping that someone else wanted to watch a movie too, or hang out somewhere. Turns out, everyone who was still there wanted to (Ana, Tessa, Edward, Joann, and Jordan) but Joann had to go home, and Jordan was going out of town the next morning, so neither of them could. This meant that we couldn't stay at Jordan's house either.
Thus, my house was volunteered, and we mobilized our caravan to get there. I took Ana, stopping by at work (Piccomolo Italian Ice Cream on Highway 6, near Half-Price Books and Corelli's) to get Ana some gelato. Having done that, we got to my house. Tessa and Edward had dropped off Joann and gotten Wendy's, and got there a little after we did. Ana and I had already narrowed down the movie options, and we ended up watching National Treasure and then Hidalgo. Finally, we wound down the night by watching an episode of Family Guy and another of Futurama.
It was at some point during Hidalgo that we realized that we were all tired and no one wanted to leave my house, so I crept into my parents' room and halfway woke my mom to ask her if they could spend the night here. I got a surprising assent, so after going to sleep at around four, we woke at seven and they left.
Saturday
I, naturally, went back to sleep until twelve-thirty, when I woke up and ate something. Didn't do much of anything all of that day except try not to play guitar. I had spent Wednesday and Thursday night staying up until around one or two in the morning playing guitar (on my acoustic), and then on Friday I played for something around four hours, also mostly on acoustics, so my fingers were completely shot. Not playing on Saturday was hard, but every time I picked up Kay (my acoustic) my fingers started to burn a bit again, so I had to stop to let them heal.
Surprisingly, I did my physics homework on Saturday night, and I also got a haircut at some point in the afternoon.
At night, my mom and I went and got Lord of War from Hollywood Video, which wasn't too great. At least, as a movie about a gunrunning Ukranian it wasn't too great, but as a movie timelining the evolution of the illegal arms trade from the post-World War II years to present, it's very good. So basically, you just have to know know what you're in for.
I went to sleep early (around eleven or twelve) because the next morning I had work from eleven to three.
Sunday
I worked today, for the first time since Thursday, and we had gotten some new flavors, like watermelon, cappuccino, pina colada, and venetian something-or-other. Oh, and something called Yoggi, which tastes just like yogurt, but with gelato texture and consistency. It's um...interesting. I also had several cappuccino/cafe latte escapades; let's just say I'm not quite finished learning how to make drinks.
Lara showed up, and bought a couple cups of gelato, and we chatted at the end of my shift, because no one was there. Afterwards, I got my forty-five cents in tips (pathetic...usually it's about three to six dollars per shift, but it was a cold, rainy morning, and no one really wanted ice cream) and we hung around for a little longer. Finally, we left but I was hungry, so we went to Chipotle's, and I got the vegetarian tacos, which were superb, by the way. Lara had chips, lemon, salsa, and salt. So, so weird. We were both going to Span and Benita's surprise party, so Lara took me by my house and I dropped off my remaining two-thirds of a taco and my work t-shirt and cap, we returned Lord of War, and then she took me back to Piccomolo so I could pick up my van.
It was pouring rain by now, and we ferried our way to the Incredible Pizza Company, which is an incredible misnomer. First of all, you have to leave your car keys with them if you don't want to eat, and secondly, the buffet is horribly overpriced and pretty disgusting. The arcade games are all old, there are no shooting or fighting games, and they're all expensive. So it wasn't Incredible and the Pizza wasn't great. The only thing the place had going for it was the Company, which was Lesley, Lara, Span, Nick, Chris (Nick's mini-me), Nita, Suchi, Sneh, Christina, and Ben, and even that was somewhat tarnished by the weird 50's high school theme that some idiot managing the restaurant decided on. Definitely not Incredible. Maybe it would work as the Mediocre Pizza Company, but even that's almost pushing it.
After the surprise party (to which Benita didn't show up to, by the way), I drove Lesley home. Here I must interject and write a few lines about Lesley, for she is one of the most hilariously awesome people I know. Her faces and expressions are priceless, and she always always always can laugh at herself. She's a good talker and a good listener, and she's on time with her payments (gas money, you pervert).
Anyways, drove Lesley home (stopping by for gelato on the way, making this the third girl in as many days I had met at or walked into work with), and then got back to my house before eight. Some family friends were over, so we all chatted over dinner before they finally left.
After that, all that I did was noodle on my electric for a little while (I tried messing with the distance of the pickups from the strings and realized that the cover on the brige pickup is loose), and ate a little bit.
It is now a little past eleven on Sunday night; time to start the new week. Gehen wir schon!
Jan 17, 2006
Take It Away...
No longer a minor, so that makes me a...major? I'm not sure. But in any case, I am now officially eighteen years of age, which makes me able to have a license that goes up and down instead of side to side. That's really about it. Actually, I'm not even sure that they give the vertical ones to you until you're twenty-one now. So that's gone too. What's left, then? The rest of my life. One AM and I'm still awake writing a blog post. Almost pathetic, but not really; I'm in an introspective mood. Nothing better than writing half to yourself, half to the world to get those inner tangles out there. Whatever that means.
It only hit me a little after midnight on Sunday that graduation is this year. This year! A few months, even! And then...college, said Luis. College, indeed. Philadelphia or Houston or Boston. Pennsylvania or Texas or Massachusetts. I don't even know what state I'll be in, much less what I'll be doing. Where did the time go? I've had the time of my life, sure, but it was a fast ride, it seems. I think the biggest reason it doesn't only feel like it was a couple of weeks ago that I was a freshman is the radical changes that I underwent during junior year. Besides that, I still remember walking into my advisory class first thing on the first day of school. I still remember that Ronnie Sherwood was in that class. Of all the things to remember.
It's strange to look too closely at anything now. There's always been a purpose, before. But now? Where's the purpose? Grades matter naught, or at least not much. College applications are in the hands of a higher being now (admissions officials, of course; what, did you think I was going to delve into the intelligent design debate?). Most things that we do now are for our own benefit.
I got a job. Got my first paycheck last Friday. I've been telling everyone that, believe it or not, I finally got off my lazy ass and started to actually do some work. But you know, I've been working for the past three years. It just paid really, really, really crappy. I've got free time now, though, so I figured, might as well serve gelato. Strangely enough, I posted more on my blog last year, when I had less free time, than this year. I guess that means that someone else should post on this blog too, every now and then, perhaps? Give me a little company?
The dawning of the rest of our lives, eh? That sounds about right. How quickly things change, though, you know? One day you're planning a trip to Italy that climaxes in an engagement with someone, the next day you're ranting through tears on a hotel balcony at her. We'll always have Italy, sure, but it's locked away now, to be seen gathering dust in a glass cabinet. Nostalgia in a box, for that eventual trip down memory lane, picking up fond recollections in turn, examining them, and replacing them carefully in their late-night AIM conversation cases. I guess it's true about the best-laid plans. Although I never did quite get how the mice were involved, but I suppose a little mystery keeps thing spicy.
Coffee stains splattered over equations for the length of a guitar string, that's what's on the desk in front of me. That's how today has been. Guitar, food, AIM, phone, science fair. O Unholy Tormentor, Science Fair! Or so it seems, at least. Still have to finish that. I have all the data, I just don't know what to do with it. Sounds a bit like life. Sounds a lot like love, actually. Watch someone pop out of nowhere and make fun of me for using the word "data" in an analogy. Such a nerd, I am. That's a compliment from a certain someone in San Diego, though. Or at least, it used to be. I don't know half of my friends half as well as I should like. On the plus side, I've gone through these last three and a half years with only truly hating one person in the long run. But I think hating is so counterproductive, you know? The only influence hating can have is if you have a way to screw over the person you hate, and I haven't had that, so I've just spend a couple years nursing a general strong dislike for him. Oh well; can't love everyone.
Speaking of which, we all need to loosen up about using the word love. Or Love, or whatever. I understand that some people feel that they don't know what love is, but seriously, I believe love is what you feel it is. Everyone defines everything differently; I define love as what you feel when you feel like saying "I love you". What else is there? To stop yourself from saying that is denying a puppy to a little boy. People say love is cliched. I say that saying it's cliched is cliched. Love is like a sofa, and keeping yourself from capitalizing the word is like putting plastic on the sofa, so your family can't actually sit on it. Who the hell are you waiting for, anyways? The president? "Oh, Mr. President, we were saving these couches just for you. Here, let me take the plastic off." Right. Use them. Use love.
The rain outside patters softly on the lamplit street. I'm not even kidding. It's picturesque, really. It's delightful, it's delicious, it's de-lovely...wonderful song, that one. Slow dancing would be nice, outside. I think I'll drift off to sleep with that image in my head.
The night is young, the skies are clear, so if you want to go walking, dear...
It only hit me a little after midnight on Sunday that graduation is this year. This year! A few months, even! And then...college, said Luis. College, indeed. Philadelphia or Houston or Boston. Pennsylvania or Texas or Massachusetts. I don't even know what state I'll be in, much less what I'll be doing. Where did the time go? I've had the time of my life, sure, but it was a fast ride, it seems. I think the biggest reason it doesn't only feel like it was a couple of weeks ago that I was a freshman is the radical changes that I underwent during junior year. Besides that, I still remember walking into my advisory class first thing on the first day of school. I still remember that Ronnie Sherwood was in that class. Of all the things to remember.
It's strange to look too closely at anything now. There's always been a purpose, before. But now? Where's the purpose? Grades matter naught, or at least not much. College applications are in the hands of a higher being now (admissions officials, of course; what, did you think I was going to delve into the intelligent design debate?). Most things that we do now are for our own benefit.
I got a job. Got my first paycheck last Friday. I've been telling everyone that, believe it or not, I finally got off my lazy ass and started to actually do some work. But you know, I've been working for the past three years. It just paid really, really, really crappy. I've got free time now, though, so I figured, might as well serve gelato. Strangely enough, I posted more on my blog last year, when I had less free time, than this year. I guess that means that someone else should post on this blog too, every now and then, perhaps? Give me a little company?
The dawning of the rest of our lives, eh? That sounds about right. How quickly things change, though, you know? One day you're planning a trip to Italy that climaxes in an engagement with someone, the next day you're ranting through tears on a hotel balcony at her. We'll always have Italy, sure, but it's locked away now, to be seen gathering dust in a glass cabinet. Nostalgia in a box, for that eventual trip down memory lane, picking up fond recollections in turn, examining them, and replacing them carefully in their late-night AIM conversation cases. I guess it's true about the best-laid plans. Although I never did quite get how the mice were involved, but I suppose a little mystery keeps thing spicy.
Coffee stains splattered over equations for the length of a guitar string, that's what's on the desk in front of me. That's how today has been. Guitar, food, AIM, phone, science fair. O Unholy Tormentor, Science Fair! Or so it seems, at least. Still have to finish that. I have all the data, I just don't know what to do with it. Sounds a bit like life. Sounds a lot like love, actually. Watch someone pop out of nowhere and make fun of me for using the word "data" in an analogy. Such a nerd, I am. That's a compliment from a certain someone in San Diego, though. Or at least, it used to be. I don't know half of my friends half as well as I should like. On the plus side, I've gone through these last three and a half years with only truly hating one person in the long run. But I think hating is so counterproductive, you know? The only influence hating can have is if you have a way to screw over the person you hate, and I haven't had that, so I've just spend a couple years nursing a general strong dislike for him. Oh well; can't love everyone.
Speaking of which, we all need to loosen up about using the word love. Or Love, or whatever. I understand that some people feel that they don't know what love is, but seriously, I believe love is what you feel it is. Everyone defines everything differently; I define love as what you feel when you feel like saying "I love you". What else is there? To stop yourself from saying that is denying a puppy to a little boy. People say love is cliched. I say that saying it's cliched is cliched. Love is like a sofa, and keeping yourself from capitalizing the word is like putting plastic on the sofa, so your family can't actually sit on it. Who the hell are you waiting for, anyways? The president? "Oh, Mr. President, we were saving these couches just for you. Here, let me take the plastic off." Right. Use them. Use love.
The rain outside patters softly on the lamplit street. I'm not even kidding. It's picturesque, really. It's delightful, it's delicious, it's de-lovely...wonderful song, that one. Slow dancing would be nice, outside. I think I'll drift off to sleep with that image in my head.
The night is young, the skies are clear, so if you want to go walking, dear...
Jan 2, 2006
Brief Rundown
Here's a brief summary of my winter break, before I forget:
Wednesday, December 21, 2005:
Got up early, flew to Maryland, where we were picked up at the airport by my uncle, who drove us to my aunt's house. Met my aunt, my cousin, and my grandmother for the first time in several months.
Thursday:
Got up early again, took a Greyhound bus to the Port Authority bus station (it's huge) in Manhattan. Saw my sister for the first time since Thanksgiving (she had been in NYC for a couple days before us). We then saw the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), which was semi-interesting. Finally, we saw Rockerfeller Plaza and the giant Christmas tree there. We also ate pizza there at a place called Two Boots Pizza. We spent the night in the Comfort Inn less than a block from Times Square. The MTA strike ended that evening.
Friday:
My family and I took a semi-circle cruise tour around the island of Manhattan. We saw the Statue of Liberty, Ground Zero, the U.N. building, etc. We then saw the U.S.S. Intrepid, an old WWII aircraft carrier converted into a museum. After that, we lunched with an old friend whom my mom and aunt knew from back when they lived in NYC named Om. He's about fifty-ish and very zen. He's also the owner of the corporate side of the business of Tracy Reese, a fashion designer. Her clothes run about $500 and usually sell in places like Neiman Marcus. We got to meet her and see her office and design floor.
Saturday, December 24, 2005:
Went to the Guggenheim Museum, trekked through Central Park, went shopping, bought all of our touristy stuff, met with relatives: Amit, Monica and their families, and hung out in Rockerfeller Plaza again.
Sunday, Christmas Day:
Saw the U.N. building, rode the bus around, took a Greyhound bus back to Maryland, saw my other cousin, exchanged presents with family that evening after dinner.
Monday:
Saw Tyson's Corner, an immense mall.
Tuesday:
Visited the Capitol.
Wednesday:
Visited Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania (which was awesome).
Thursday:
Didn't do anything.
Friday:
Went snowtubing
Saturday, New Year's Eve:
Went to the boardwalk, and went shopping.
Sunday, January 1, 2006:
Flew back to Houston, went to German Club thing at Ana's house where we set off fireworks.
Monday, January 2, 2006:
Lesley's cotillion practice, and slept.
Sorry the last half was really brief; I don't really feel like elaborating.
Wednesday, December 21, 2005:
Got up early, flew to Maryland, where we were picked up at the airport by my uncle, who drove us to my aunt's house. Met my aunt, my cousin, and my grandmother for the first time in several months.
Thursday:
Got up early again, took a Greyhound bus to the Port Authority bus station (it's huge) in Manhattan. Saw my sister for the first time since Thanksgiving (she had been in NYC for a couple days before us). We then saw the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), which was semi-interesting. Finally, we saw Rockerfeller Plaza and the giant Christmas tree there. We also ate pizza there at a place called Two Boots Pizza. We spent the night in the Comfort Inn less than a block from Times Square. The MTA strike ended that evening.
Friday:
My family and I took a semi-circle cruise tour around the island of Manhattan. We saw the Statue of Liberty, Ground Zero, the U.N. building, etc. We then saw the U.S.S. Intrepid, an old WWII aircraft carrier converted into a museum. After that, we lunched with an old friend whom my mom and aunt knew from back when they lived in NYC named Om. He's about fifty-ish and very zen. He's also the owner of the corporate side of the business of Tracy Reese, a fashion designer. Her clothes run about $500 and usually sell in places like Neiman Marcus. We got to meet her and see her office and design floor.
Saturday, December 24, 2005:
Went to the Guggenheim Museum, trekked through Central Park, went shopping, bought all of our touristy stuff, met with relatives: Amit, Monica and their families, and hung out in Rockerfeller Plaza again.
Sunday, Christmas Day:
Saw the U.N. building, rode the bus around, took a Greyhound bus back to Maryland, saw my other cousin, exchanged presents with family that evening after dinner.
Monday:
Saw Tyson's Corner, an immense mall.
Tuesday:
Visited the Capitol.
Wednesday:
Visited Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania (which was awesome).
Thursday:
Didn't do anything.
Friday:
Went snowtubing
Saturday, New Year's Eve:
Went to the boardwalk, and went shopping.
Sunday, January 1, 2006:
Flew back to Houston, went to German Club thing at Ana's house where we set off fireworks.
Monday, January 2, 2006:
Lesley's cotillion practice, and slept.
Sorry the last half was really brief; I don't really feel like elaborating.
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