Stereotypical Political/Election Post

I was going to update all evening, seeing as this is a historic (or, as some people insist on saying, AN historic) event and all, but then I got caught up in eating cotton candy and drinking generic cola in the common area downstairs while watching Indecision 2008. When the results came in on CNN, everyone jumped up and started screaming and hugging. It felt like New Years, but with some actual cultural significance. Here's hoping Barack Obama is better at keeping resolutions than I am.

So, in the spirit of excitement, Michi and David and I decided to walk to the Green, expecting that there would be some sort of gathering there. Wrong. We did, however, have fun lying in the (empty) street and taking pictures of us imitating the pedestrian symbol painted on the ground near the crosswalk. We then proceeded to walk around campus and return home in time to watch Obama's speech on Dee's laptop (yay for streaming television!). Apparently there are people on the Green now. I can here them screaming from all the way across campus. Jeez, you miss out on so much when you're ahead of your time like the three of us were. I seriously don't know what I'm going to do without Michi and David when they go to the Latino conference this weekend. I mean, we've already christened me an honorary Mexican. I should be an honorary candidate, too.

They're letting off fireworks now? Seriously? I mean, I know we're in New Hampshire and it's therefore legal (unlike in my lovely home state of Massachusetts, where people just drive fifteen minutes over the border to legally buy fireworks and then proceed to illegally set them off - loudly - in Massachusetts at inconvenient times, such as when one is trying to sleep or have a phone conversation), but come on! I feel so left out!

I have to be up at 7:00 tomorrow morning for 7:45 drill, and I still have some reading to do, so I'd better get going. But one more exciting (?) thing before I go - my blog has ONE follower.

Thanks, Mom, but I don't need your pity. That's why I moved out.

Just kidding. I don't know who this person is because I haven't bothered to check yet, but thank you. You are my light, my self-esteem-booster, my--

Oh shoot, I left my laundry in the laundry room. I haven't switched to the dryer yet. Now I have to leave it there overnight. 

Fiddlesticks.

Some Political Commentary for You, Sir or Madam?

In celebration of the fact that I registered to vote yesterday (and got two stickers saying so which I proudly wore around campus), I'm going to share some in-depth political commentary from Jess and me (mostly Jess, because she actually watched the debate, whereas I'm still trying to figure out my cable hookup).

Jess is green, I'm tan.

McCain's catchphrase is "my friends"
look, my friends
see, my friends
it goes like this, my friends
...
i can't keep up with these two, they just bounce around
"by the way, my friends"
oh, john mccain
...
"we've got to drill offshore my friends"
they are basically ignoring the questions and attacking the other and defending against the other, lol
well, that's politics for you
...
obama just talks and talks and talks
he has one minute
and then like
he just goes
and goes
and goes
and goes
does he now?
he does
xD
when is this supposed to end?
no idea
tomorrow at 4am at this rate

Odes to College Life (So Far)

I'm feeling poetic today, so I figured I'd go back to my true literary calling: haikus. I did them once before (about working at the MB) with great success (honk honk*), so why not do some more?

(*the sound of me tooting my own horn)

Of course, I haven't worked at the Basket in, oh, four weeks on account of the fact that I now live two hours away from it, so I needed to find a new topic, and that new topic is college living. So, without further ado...

Ode to the Drunk People Outside
I know you like beer
I know you like to party
But I want to sleep

Ode to My MacBook
It took me awhile
To learn how to copy/paste
But it's all good now.

Ode to the Weather
When I don't have class
Sun shines. When I do have class
I walk in the rain.

Ode to Drill
Seven-forty five:
"Parlez français avec nous!"
Shoot me, s'il vous plait.

Ode to My Mini-Fridge
You make weird noises
But you hold all my junk food
So I love you lots.

Second Ode to My MacBook
I procrastinate
But now with my new MacBook,
I do it way more.

Ode to Febreeze Extra-Strength Spray
Without you, Febreeze,
My dorm room would still smell like
Dust and sweaty feet.

Ode to My Parents
I love you so much!
Life's not the same without you!
Please send more money!

The Joys of College Living

1. My college ID picture is far more flattering than my drivers' license picture.
2. Free food everywhere. EVERYWHERE.
3. Free stuff, too - key chains, magnets, pens, clips, mini flashlights, drinking cups, bags, tee shirts, condoms...you name it, someone is giving it away.
4. With the miracle of mini-fridges, one never has to make the grueling walk from bedroom to kitchen in the middle of watching TV.
5. New MacBook!!! (Fun fact: My MacBook's spellchecker keeps telling me I'm spelling "MacBook" incorrectly, which is funny because I just copy it directly off the logo under the screen that says "MacBook.")
6. Skype! (Although this is also a downside, because if all my friends and family were still around there would be no need for Skype.)
7. Always something to do. I usually opt to go chill in my room, but should I ever feel the need to play pong at 1:30 in the morning, I could.
8. I can drink orange juice straight out of the carton (and not just when it's almost gone...today I opened a brand-new orange juice - Tropicana, the only good kind - and unapologetically drank it straight from the carton. Sorry, Mom.)
9. Added perks for me: giant room to myself in a quad with a common room and full bath. My suitemates are all wicked nice, too.

Now, if only I could figure out what to do about those pesky classes...

Quick Post

A quick round-up of the events of this past week:

- Went hiking on pre-college freshmen trip. We backpacked over 22 miles of the Appalachian Trail in New Hampshire. It was moderately intense, which is still more intense than I was prepared to deal with. Luckily, we managed to miss most of the bad weather from Hurricane Hanna, because we got to sleep in CABINS!!!

- Met Daneille, one of my suitemates. She and her mom came over for dinner, which was nice. I think this year will be a good one, living-situation-wise.

- Second episode of Bones was leagues better than the season premiere. Still not quite up to snuff, though. And seriously, people online need to go easy on Sweets. He is becoming one of my favorite characters.

- The one week I miss Psych (last Friday, see above, re: backpacking) is the one week USA doesn't post the episode online. And it was also a good one, apparently.

- Tonight's episode of Psych was also good. I'm bummed that it won't be back until January, though.

- I am done with working at the Basket...until Thanksgiving/Christmas, anyway. I still need to go pick up my paycheck, though, so I can buy a sicknasty pair of Chucks. Or, you know, use it to pay off some school-related expenses. One is fun; one is responsible. I cannot decide which to go with.

- Facebook's new layout sucks. Just saying.

Now I'm off to clean up my disaster area of a room, maybe do some packing, and catch the 12:30 re-run of the Soup. Later, dudes.

Spoiler Alert!

I am about to commit television blasphemy: I was not happy with the season premiere of Bones.

I waited for it all summer (after a season finale whose plot mainly consisted of "Booth - Zach - Gormagon - WTF?!") and I had high expectations for the season premiere - even though, statistically, most of the shows I watch tend to be weakest in their fourth seasons -Buffy, Gilmore Girls (until the seventh season, which was far worse), and so on. Nevertheless, I thought Bones might be able to somehow sidestep the mud puddle that is a show's fourth season.

If the season premiere is any indication, then the answer is: not so much.

I was excited about the on-location filming in England, but it ended up feeling gimmicky. The Angela-Hodgins breakup (I told you right in the title of this entry, spoiler alert! Don't whine because you didn't pay attention to the warning!) was waaaayyyy too rushed. They're like, "I love you." "No, I love you." "Awww, kisses!!!!" "Wait, you don't trust me." "Well, I don't trust you either." "Let's break up." "I don't want to..." "Me neither. "...but okay." Seriously? SERIOUSLY?! They've gone through two seasons of relationship hurdles and all of a sudden they break up in a diner? In thirty seconds?! Come on, now. If you're having second thoughts about getting married, then DON'T GET MARRIED YET. You don't just break up with your longtime partner over one problem. Go to therapy, for crying out loud. Dr. Sweets - remember him - is a shrink with two doctorates. GET SOME FREE THERAPY FOR PETE'S SAKE.

Everything felt rather off. No one seemed upset about Zach anymore, which I found really weird. I mean, the guy went to Iraq for a couple months and no one could stop talking about it until he returned. The guy kills another human being, betrays the team, is tried for murder, and is sentenced to rot away in a mental institution for the rest of his life, and no one seems to care (apart from Brennan's brief mention of it at the beginning, which I totally didn't buy, by the way...talk about airing the dirty laundry in front of company. It felt like what it was: a quick recap for the audience about the events of last season. Seriously, splurge for a "Previously on Bones" montage. Don't bother with this contrived "let's just put the recap right into the script!" crap.)

Also, the first hour ended abruptly...or did it even end? We never found out who really committed the crime (was it the butler in the sitting room with the fireplace poker?). Not only that, but we never saw anyone all that invested in solving it. It's been established that Booth hates "privileged people" getting away with things. Wouldn't he be out there trying to prove the duke's guilt if he had even the slightest suspicion of his (the duke's) guilt?

And also, the lord was doing his sister? Gross. And yet, no one seemed all that upset about it - even the lord (and his girlfriend's) father, the duke. Are we supposed to believe that the British are just okay with incest for the most part ("Cheerio, this tea is rather cold, and that bloke shags his sister. Two distasteful things in one day. Oh, well.")?

Onto things I didn't hate quite so much: I could buy Cam sleeping with Grayson, and I could buy her feeling guilty about it. I didn't quite like the way things actually unfolded, but I can't put my finger on what it was I didn't like.

There were a few highlights of the episode, though. I liked Pritch (I'd seen the actress in something else - Bride and Prejudice, and it was nice to see her playing someone who wasn't a biznatch), and I wouldn't mind seeing more of her, although not as a love interest for Booth (not just because I love Booth/Brennan, but because I didn't think that he and Pritch had much romantic chemistry. Ian and Brennan had more, and I hated the thought of them together. I didn't like Ian all that much.). I thought the bells ringing when Hodgins and Angela kissed was cute and a nice touch. And pretty much everything with Sweets was good. (I'm one of the few who actually like him, I guess.) I was sad to see Clark - the new addition to the team - go, although I fully understand his reasons. There is far too much drama at the Jeffersonian. It's only a wonder that a smart man like him didn't figure it out way earlier - like last season, when he was there for Max's murder trial. He didn't pick up on the drama then?

All in all, though, it was a lackluster season premiere that hopefully is not an indication of the rest of the season's strength. I think that if the show doesn't get better, I'll have to place it's "jump the shark" moment at last season when they shot Booth. Everything went downhill after that.

But I'll be watching again next week. Hopefully I won't be disappointed again.

Stranger Things Have Happened...No, Wait, They Really Haven't

I wanted to write but nothing too noteworthy happened today, so I will instead make a list of bizarre (but absolutely, 100% true) things that have happened at the Basket.

1. A man walks into a Market Basket supermarket...
...wearing a business suit and wool socks. No shoes. Just socks. It had rained recently. There were puddles. I'm just saying.

2. What's the big deal, anyway?
I give a woman her change. This is our post-sale interaction, verbatim.
WOMAN: Oooooh.
ME: What?
WOMAN: You gave me a Canadian quarter.
ME: ...
WOMAN: ...
ME: Do...you want me to...change it?
WOMAN: Yes. That'd be great.
So I have to go to the signout menu, hit the "no sale" button, and type in my password just because this lady has a thing against quarters with moose on them. Let me tell you something, lady: no one else in the world cares whether your quarter is Canadian or not. It came out of my roll of quarters. It's fine.

3. Didn't I used to have another kid?
A woman just strolled out of the store without her son once. The poor kid stood in the front of the store screaming "Mommy!" I might be mistaken, but I think someone had to go chase after her to get her to come back. For HER OWN CHILD.

4. Gee, what's that sound?
Another one in the category of negligent parents: A woman just stands by as her son flips the handle on the emergency exit door, which results in a loud, piercing, and - most importantly - annoying sound. Said woman calmly collects her children and strolls out without so much as an apology to the employees trying to figure out how to shut the alarm off or a reprimand to her precious child.
I amended my customer "hello-how-are-you" speech from "have a nice day" to "have a quiet day."

5. Scoot off a cliff, why dontcha?
Third in the Parental Negligence Series: a kid (around ten, maybe) will sometimes come into the store around 8 at night and ride his scooter along the front of the store (inside, not out) for no apparent reason, despite the fact that he's been kicked out multiple times for doing so.

6. Could I change four ridiculous hissy fits for one full-fledged tantrum?
A man asked me to make change in fives for his twenty. I politely told him that I can't make change (it's against store policy/rules) and that he could get change at the courtesy booth. He promptly exploded all over me.
ME: I'm sorry, sir, I can't make change.
MAN: What?! Don't give me that! I can see in your drawer; you've got a ton of fives right there!
ME: I'm not allowed to make change, sir. You can go over to the courtesy booth...
MAN: I don't WANT to go to the courtesy booth!
Well, I don't want to be having this conversation. Life just sucks for us both, I guess.
ME: I'm very sorry, sir.
MAN: They make change for me all the time at the [insert name of other town here] store!
Does this look like the [other town] store?! No. I don't care about what they do at the other store; I care about what my bosses tell me to do HERE. And they told me not to make change. I value my paycheck more than your constant need to have things your way.
ME: I'm sorry.
But not really.

7. Yummy!
A woman came through my line munching on dog biscuits. I was rather alarmed. I've been informed since, by someone I know, that dog treats are actually quite tasty. I suppose they'd be sort of like meat snacks (like jerky or whatever), but I'm a vegetarian - what do I know?

I still think it's weird, though.

I thought I had more stories than this. Poo.

Rambling Before Work

Okay, real quick before I head off to work:

Did you know that Best Buy has The Hills filed under "Comedy Central"? It just struck me as amusing, considering that...well, The Hills claims to be a drama but all I do is laugh at it when they show clips on The Soup.

Also, something that has been bugging me about Katy Perry (besides, you know, her really irritating song): Her CD is called "One of the Boys" but her song is "I Kissed A Girl." Doesn't this totally void out the whole "shock factor" of "I Kissed A Girl?" It's not that big a deal for "one of the boys" to kiss a girl (and like it). So what gives?

Sorry for wasting your time and all, but I wanted to get that out there.

The Downside

"The other day, Jess and I were watching music videos, and this one came on and we thought it was Metro Station but it wasn't but then we actually saw Metro Station and they really needed to shampoo."
"I know. I read that in your blog."

"You know what? Your boyfriend was so desperate for a brownie that he tried to make out with me in order to take the one I was eating."
"Yeah. I saw that in your blog, too."

My conversation starters = fail.

Thanks a lot, technology.

In the Future, Everyone Will Critique Famous Things for Fifteen Minutes

August is depressing. It means that the summer is half over.

The summer is HALF OVER, and I've only been to the beach three times! (And of the three, I only actually went swimming twice, because the first time I went - with Maria and Ashley in June - it was raining and cold and we just walked along avoiding all the fishermen and then went out to lunch.)

So, to clear up the mid-summer slump, here are various opinions on various multimedia productions (TV shows, music videos, and movies).

Since Jess and I both had yesterday off, we got together to veg out since we haven't done the whole "we're-best-friends-so-let's-get-together-and-do-nothing" thing in awhile. Since one of us was broke and the other was stingy, we sat in my family room and watched TV/movies for five-and-a-half hours, whilst eating leftover stroganoff, DiGiorno pizza, and Betty Crocker brownies that we baked (using applesauce instead of vegetable oil because I didn't have enough oil left).

Anyway, we took in such cinematic gems as:

The Rescuers Down Under
Fun children's movie that we watched in order to fulfill our poking fun/reminiscing quota for the week. Joanna the strange lizard was creepy. Frank - the other smaller, less creepy, not-evil strange lizard - was rather annoying. I think kids would've liked him, though, which was the point I guess. The villain was one-dimensional and stupid, and are we really supposed to believe that his giant tree-crushing, cage-carrying vehicle (I hesitate to actually label it a "truck" because it was oh-so-much-more than that) somehow managed to escape the notice of the Australian authorities? Come on, now.

I liked the Australian non-mouse. (In lieu of actually figuring out what type of animal he was supposed to be, I just call him "the non-mouse.") And of course, I liked Bernard and Bianca simply because I liked them when I was a kid.

Jess and I decided it would be fun to count the Australian stereotypes in the movie. We got up to four and gave up because they were coming in so quickly that we couldn't possibly keep track of both the plots and the stereotypes. A few highlights, though:
1. Bad accents (or, in the case of the Australian boy, disappearing accents)
2. Non-essential shot of the Sydney Opera House
3. House in the middle of the Outback for no reason whatsoever
4. Stereotypical Australian hat for stereotypical Australian authority in the form of The Non-Mouse
5. There was lassoing involved
6. Cameo appearances by kangaroos, koalas, wombats (ahhh! so cute!) and other Australian animals that really served no purpose except to remind everyone that "hey, in case you guys forgot, we're in Australia!"
7. Excessive overuse of the word "mate" and phrases like "g'day!"
8. Even more excessive use of a didgeridoo. Like every three-and-a-half seconds.

Come on. I've done my googling; I know that Aussies have way cooler slang words than "mate" and "g'day." Although you probably can't use a lot of them in a G-rated Disney movie.

After the Rescuers had done all their rescuing to a rockin' didgeridoo soundtrack, we watched some music videos on MTVH. (I don't know what the H stands for. This channel comes somewhere in between MTV and MTV2.)

Selected commentary:

Veronicas' Song That I Forget The Name Of
Jess: They're twins. They look exactly the same...and they sound the same too. ... Wait, are they holding hands with that guy or with each other?
(In case you were windering...it was the latter.)

Katy Perry's "I Kissed a Girl"
Me (for the umpteenth time): This song is so stupid. I hate it. And everyone only sings those two lines -
Jess: "I kissed a girl and I liked i-it/The taste of her cherry chapstick..."
Tracey (having just come in): This is creepy. I don't like this.
Jess: But at the end she wakes up with her boyfriend, so it's okay.
...
Tracey: I don't like it. It's weird.

Video of Guys We Thought Might Be Metro Station But Turned Out Not to Be
Jess (making up her own lyrics): Oooh, we're greasy, ooh, we need shampoo-ooo...
Me: Is that Metro Station?
Jess: I dunno. They need to wash their hair.
Me (as video ends): Oh, that wasn't Metro Station.
Jess (as clip of Metro Station is shown): Doesn't matter; Metro Station needs a bath, too.

Miley Cyrus's "Seven Things" or whatever it's called
Jess: Eew, Miley Cyrus.
Me: Eeew.
Jess: This song is so spazzy.
Me: Huh.
...
Me: I don't want to, but I kind of like it. And I like her outfit. I want it. Especially those knee sock things.
Jess: She's not wearing knee socks.
Me: Whatever kind of socks they are. I like them.

The Pussycat Dolls' "When I Grow Up"
Jess: Look, it's their signature dance move: the Boob Thrust!
Me: The what?!
Jess: Well, what else would you call that?
Me: Yeah, you're right.

Alicia Keyes's "Superwoman"
Jess: Wait, I'm confused. Is she ALL of these people?
Me: Look, we know it's an Alicia Keyes video, because there's the piano.
Jess: Well, when your last name is "Keyes," if you're gonna play an instrument it sorta has to be a piano. ... At least this isn't as annoying as that song she sings, the one you hate because you say it sounds like she's straining her voice.
Me: No one, no one, no wuh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uhn...blech.
Jess: Ohmigod, they're REAL PEOPLE!
Me: That's so cool!
Jess: Wow.
Me: That was an inspiring music video. Good on you, Alicia Keyes.

Danity Kane's "Bad Girl"
Jess: They're just like the Pussycat Dolls. Look, they even do the Boob Thrust! Although, it's not quite as intense as the Pussycat Dolls'.
Me: That girl kinda looks like Christina Aguilara.
Jess: No, she doesn't.
Me: Yuh-huh!
Jess: Just 'cause she's blonde?
Me: She looks like her, okay?
Jess: Ooooo-kay...

Random Good Charlotte video
Jess: This had no plot. If videos don't have plot, I get really bored.

Girl Jess Thought Was Avril Lavigne But Wasn't
Jess: Is that Avril Lavigne?
Me: No.
Jess: I thought for a second this was "Sk8r Boi."
Me: It's not.
Jess: What is she wearing? I don't like it.
Me: I can't say as I'm a fan of her eye makeup. She's blonde and it's too dark.
Jess: I don't think she can pull off those aviator sunglasses.
Me: She just keeps striking out as far as eye fashion goes.
...
Me: She kinda looks like Christina Aguilara, too.
Jess: Do you say that about EVERYONE?!

Nelly's "Ride Wit Me"
Jess: Ride WIT Me. Not WITH me. Huh.
Jess and Me: ?
Me (on seeing one of Nelly's posse picking up a newly-married hitchhiker): Well, that bodes well for the marriage.
Jess: ?
Me: ?
Jess: What is this video even about?
Me: They're...partying...and blowing stuff up? Why?
Jess: You ever notice how girls in rap videos don't even have to be pretty, as long as they have this (gestures) going on?

Rhianna's "Disturbia"
Jess: Wow. This is kiund of creepy and...disturbing. I guess it goes with the song, then.

Kate Nash's "Foundation"
Me: OH MY GOD, I LOVE KATE NASH!!!
Jess and Tracey: ...
Jess (in reference to Kate's video boyfriend eating the decorations off her cake): That's so annoying.
Me: Just wait, she'll do what you've been wanting to do since you first saw that shot.
Jess: She slaps his hand?!
Me (as Kate slaps video BF's hand): There it is.
Jess (at the end): Wow, Kate Nash, tell it like it is.

Okay, moving on. Today I finally saw MAMMA MIA! It. Was. Awesome.

Everyone was raving about Meryl Streep's performance, and I was all, "She's doing a good job, but she's not above and beyond the rest of the cast or anything." UNTIL..."The Winner Takes It All." She was AMAZING. I got chills and teared up. Seriously.

Unfortunately for me - MAJOR SPOILER ALERT. If you haven't yet seen Mamma Mia!, don't read this paragraph. At all. So yeah, unfortunately for me, MICHELLE LIED TO ME. I asked her if Colin Firth is the gay guy, and SHE SAID NO. She lied. (Tracey: "In Michelle's defense, she doesn't even know who Colin Firth is.") Doesn't matter, though; I still loved him. The entire cast was fantastic, in fact. I haven't seen the show on stage, but I thought the movie was great - well-cast, fun, touching, and only a little cheesy (but every musical has its cheesy moments).

So, yeah, the only sad part was not being able to get up in the theatre and sing and dance along with the movie. When it comes out on DVD, I am totally having a viewing/sing-along party. Totally. I will even provide hairbrushes for my guests to use as imaginary microphones.

TV:
Tonight's episode of Psych was good. Not awesome. Too little Shawn/Jules stuff. And where was Shawn's dad? Besides the flashback at the beginning, he wasn't in the episode at all. I sorta missed the old killjoy. (Although, in his case, "killjoy" most likely translates to "voice of logic.")

A nice thing - I thought - about last week's episode was how they showed that they haven't abandoned the Shawn/Jules storyline, even though they didn't do much with it. However, "not much" is still better than the half-season of nothing we'd had since they'd almost kissed oh-so-long-ago. After that it was, what? One episode of awkwardness and then everything was back to normal, except there was no more silly Shawn/Jules banter/flirting. Sad.

However, getting back to tonight's episode, I must say that Shawn's speech at the end was good (even if it was just a teensy bit melodramatic). It's kind of cool how the show has been showing a more serious side of Shawn lately, what with his mom coming back and that whole thing with that girl he liked in high school. Veddy eeenterestink (bad accent).

That's about it. Things have been rather quiet at the MB, lately, so nothing much to report there. However, I am working four hours tomorrow before I leave on vacation Monday. Perhaps I'll go out with a bang.

Or maybe everything will go perfectly and I won't have anything to blog - or stress - about.

We shall see.