Black Hole Sun

Two days ago we left the house to head for the SUB for dinner, only to discover that a storm was moving in quickly. I mean, seriously. We looked behind the house, and there was this black wall of clouds reaching out and devouring the sky. Behind is, it was still blue, but in the time it took me to take this picture the entire parking lot had been covered by the clouds.



"We'd better hurry," Maddo said. And we all agreed, and fled for shelter and food.

Unfortunately, we can't really outrun the wind. By the time we get to Lawrence, the clouds have us surrounded, and are closing in ominously on all sides.



Once we get to the doors of the SUB, it's black as far as the eye can see, except for some light that's shining through on the horizon.



And, randomly, one area of sky that refused to be eaten. Maddo and I saw that, decided we'd seen God, and that He was blue.



We made it in before the rain, but people coming to dinner thirty seconds after us were not so lucky. Everyone else was soaked to the bone.

Evidently not.

Bored like whoa.

Enjoy the show. Listen for Sarah's cameo. (That's what made me laugh, you know.)

Peer pressure

They're still trying to get me to do a Comic House comic.

Daryl: "She's at RDG." (Campus dance troupe)
Me: "I can't believe you have to PAY to see your girlfriend dance, dude."
Maddo: *giggles* I know!
Me: "I'd be all 'yo bitch, show me the routine!"
Maddo: "Doing it naked would make it look better, anyway."
Me: "Shhhh, don't give him any ideas!"
Daryl: "@.@"
Sarah: "What sorority is she in, again? Theta...theta...theta?"
Daryl: "...Yes."
Maddo: "Is it really called that?"
Daryl: "No, but I can't remember it."
Maddo: "Man, you need to, or you'll piss off her sisters!"
Sarah: "Theta Kappa...
Maddo: "Delta Kappa Omega?"
Sarah: "Busta Kappa!"
Me: "I know a few I'd busta cappa."
House: "...XD"

My physical therapist is like an Ewok.

Cute, unassuming, probably cuddly...and as vicious as a motherfucker, let me tell you.

*winces and rubs her leg* We found a new place that was sore today, so we had to explore it for ten minutes to REALLY LOCATE THE PAIN. Between that and the controlled electrocution, it was like some sort of modern torture hour.
"Okay, now when your muscle is forced to contract, go ahead and contract with it. Oh, and lift your leg off the table for the duration of the current."
"Hmmm, does that hurt? Lie on your side and relax for me." *POKEPOKEPOKEPOKEPOKE* "Hehe, am I killing you?"
"That's one way to put it," I muttered. I secretly think he's healing me so he can attach me to The Machine and take notes on how it makes me feel.

Maybe he's a demon. He looks so sweet and innocent, yet does so much evil. It's a form of mental torture.

Oooh, he is CLEVER. - -;

T.T

Job hunting is exhausting. Half an hour ago I barely had any idea what was out there. Now, I have waaaay too many places to look. I suppose that's a good thing, though, because it increases the chances of me finding what I need.

I may not even have to look all that hard for myself. The barista job is back. This seems like some sort of odd fate. Security also asked if I wanted to be considered for a summer job, and I may also apply to be an office assistant. I already have the glasses, so why not be a secretary? >>

Just as long as I don't end up like this, everyone should be fine. (I love that movie so much.)

::EDIT:: Screw the barista job. Most of its hours fall under class time, and I don't want to work both weekend days to make up for that. XP*

::2nd EDIT:: I have a job interview Friday at 2PM. *dances*

Hair Dye and Ethanol

I'm blogging from Chem lab during experimental downtime. Next week, we will apparently be making ethanol. If you have any sort of chemical knowledge whatsoever, you should be grinning. MMMM, UPS moonshine.

Nesh: "I've been making wine and beer in my garage for the past 15 years."

Also, I'd like to go on record as saying I can't type on Mac keyboards worth a damn.

I redyed my hair last night, and since I have the pics online I figure I'll go ahead and share them here. I feel a bit more gothy than usual because the color is so dark. putting on my black shirt (I say that like I only have one) and a ton of eyeliner really didn't help matters, but ya gotta go with it, right?

If you don't like the color, blame Baron, because it was his idea in the first place. Personally I think it looks pretty damn good, but if I hadn't done the burgandy I think it would have been too dark.


My hair pulled up, with both colors visible.


The under layer.


The whole shebang.

*flees for freedom*

Sleep with one eye open, gripping your pillow tight

I got back from the physical therapist today. My knee, after a full eight days of medicine, icing, and rest, is still as swollen as it was initially. I've also lost some range of motion. Because of this, they want to see me three times a week for a month. Jason, my therapist, seems to be a little worried about the chances of my problem being fixed with therapy alone.

They know what did it, though. This is another problem caused from running, or in my case, stopping running (how ironic). My IT bands are at it again.

I'm depressed. Another week of vicoden and crutches, here I come.

::EDIT::
This is how I've made it through this semester so far.


Multitask like whoa. How many different things am I doing right there? XD

Of Penguins and Plots (Linkalicious)

Housies just got back from Comicon today. They came bearing presents. There are no words for mine, but a little context might make it even stranger. Well, it certainly does for me. I have a sinking feeling that for you people it might actually make sense.

"Wren, we all saw this and instantly thought of you."

Apparently the revolution has begun. We had no idea, though the URL stamped on the back of the seal may provide a clue.

I'm sure you all scrolled down and read the title of the pink book in that photo. Yes, Fuck This Book indeed. I have the postcards, too. And, as the back says, if you think you can do better...

Now that everyone has received their packages I can unveil the evil plots I've been working so damned hard on for the last week. Enjoy, folks.

Love Moose! ^^;

We're not sure why he does it, actually.

His worst nightmare.

There's one of Sarah in the works. Thanks to these sketches, she's trying to convince me to do a Comic House comic. It's not like I'd be lacking for silly material, but I am still thoroughly against the idea.

Pocket Dimension Open?

This weekend was something I've needed very badly. I've been able to relax and unwind and regain my equilibrium. I feel kind of like a new person, actually. I've been saying, and I know people agree, that it's about time I got a breather.

I feel hopeful. I'm losing range of motion in my knee, but I'll be starting physical therapy soon, so that should go away quickly. All I have to do is stay caught up in classes and figure out my plans for this summer. Hopefully that won't be too overwhelming. Now that I've had a mental break, I don't think it will be.

Oh, man. It is so good to finally have myself back.

Quotes that will only be funny to the people who were there.

"Eheheh...there goes our ride!" (Sora's best line EVER. OH MY GOD.)

"Aww, look! He's trying to hug your spine!" (Me. Don't ask.)

Sarah: "Do you mean Blind Riku?"
Me: "He had better NOT fucking be blind. He had the best eyes out of all the characters, and if I have to go the entire game with him wearing that fucking bandana I'll-"
Sarah: "Heh, it's actually sexy. Cuz you know they're there, and you want to rip it off."
Me: "'Hey, can I undress your face?'"

::EDIT::
Beast: "He used my pain, my sadness, and turned it into rage! He controlled me through my anger, and made me hurt my friends! AAAGH! *growls and raises hands to the ceiling*
Me: "AND IT MAKES ME SO ANGRYYYYYY!"
Sarah: *presses pause, glares.* "I can't play this game anymore! BAD WREN."

I have so much HATE for Squaresoft

30 minutes into Kingdom Hearts II?

Fucking REQUIRED minigames. I am sorry, but I do not play Kingdom Hearts to skateboard. I play it to hit the X button repeatedly and destroy me some bad guys.

Wren is somewhat less than amused. - -;

::EDIT::
I am making Roxas pants. And then wearing them. Oh bitches.

Yeah Right.

I'll never be your Maggie May
the one you loved and left behind
the face you see in light of day
and then you cast away
that isn't me in that bed you'll find

I'd rather take myself away
be like those ladies in Japan
rather paint myself a face
conjure up some grace
or be the eyes behind a fan

And so you go
no girl could say no
to you

There's the way we may appear
but that will change from day to night
would you ever see within?
underneath the skin?
could I believe you had that sight?

And so you go
no girl could say no
to you

I'll never be your Maggie May
the one you loved and then forgot
I'll love you first and let you go
because it must be so
and you'll forgive or you will not

And so a woman leaves a man
and so a world turns on its end
so I'll see your face in dreams
where nothing's what it seems
you still appear some kind of friend

And so you go
no girl could say no
to you

A Welcome Revelation

The 8-page midterm paper I wrote finally got given back today.

A-, bitches.

Fucktastic. I needed a bit of happy.

::EDIT::
PANTS.

The Verdict

I went to the doctor's today and received a diagnosis and a treatment plan, along with a worst case scenario.

Diagnosis: My left kneecap isn't sitting properly, causing the cartilage on one side to be compressed. Friday when I stood up from the coffee table and all these problems started, my kneecap popped out of position temporarily. What I am dealing with now is the injury this caused to the surrounding tissue, but the underlying cause of the problem still needs to be addressed, or it will just happen again later.

Best case scenario: I stay on crutches for the next 1-2 weeks to keep weight off the joint, and go through lots of physical therapy for the next month. We're talking heat, ultrasound, and electric treatments, massage therapy, and strengthening/rehabilitative excercises. When the month is up I go back into the doctor's, get checked out, and go on my merry way.

Worst case scenario: I do the same as above, but no improvement is seen, or I'm not completely healed within the month. Then I go in for an MRI, and we discuss the possibility of exploratory surgery to get a better idea of what exactly has gone wrong.

Gimp

I really hate not being able to get around on my own sometimes. >>

::Post-doctor update::

I've been referred to a joint specialist because they think I've done some damage to my ligaments. There's some swelling below my kneecap still, and that's the area that seems most tender. In the meantime, they've given me Vicoden and crutches.

I just hope I still have health insurance.

How the hell do I hurt myself this much by STANDING UP?

Sick

Last night I learned I need to chew my food better. Or, more specifically, my rice.

Today I work on finishing my evil plots, getting packages together, and homework. Hopefully I can do as little walking as possible so my knee gets better. It aches this morning.

Start over

This weekend has been the oddest combination of fantastic and terrible.

The breasts, they do nothing...

I've been e-mailing people who need subletters for the summer. So far it has been...interesting. For example:

"Natalie:
Hi, I saw your flyer around campus and would be interested in subletting for the summer. I'd like some more information about the house, and maybe to see it and meet the other people who would be living there over the summer.

Thanks!"

And the reply:
"Hi Wren,

sorry, but the landlord actually wants it to be strictly a girl-house.
I just found this out wednesday night, so I havent been able to reprint flyers. thanks for your intrest though!
natalie"

After blinking a few times, I sent back a reply:
"That shouldn't be a problem, since I am in fact female."

I mean really. How? How can "Wren" possibly be a guy's name?

Also, my left knee has exploded. It keeps giving out, and is now swollen and angry. I am back on codeine. You have been warned. Monday I'm headed in to the doctor's.

The Great Mitochondrial Rebellion of 2006, Bikebushes, and the Blob that Ate Everything

Cell Biology today freaked me out to no end. Ever since I was little I've had a marked distrust for all biological functions that occur on a cellular level, but this class is steadily making it worse.

When I was seven or eight I was a big fan of the trilogy that begins with A Wrinkle in Time. The third book is what caused my fear of cellular function (similar to Nice causing my eye phobia, now that I think about it. And they say reading is good for you?). See, the little brother of the main character gets very sick because his mitochondria rebel.

Now, that may sound ridiculous to you, but if you think about that after you learn about the Endosymbiotic Theory, you begin to fear. Mitochondria are not actually part of us. They're completely separate organisms with their own DNA, and they replicate on their own, which means they're not being regulated by their host cells (us.) Fun fact: all your mitochondria came from your mother. So we have these little beasts living within us, producing the ATP we need to keep all our cells functional and thus keeping us alive, and they're not even being controlled by us! How the FUCK is that not scary?

It gets worse. I thought learning about metabolism was freaky. We have to carefully regulate all the reactions we perform to metabolize glucose, you know. Because if we didn't? We would COMBUST. So what if an enzyme goes crazy and kicks up a reaction when it's not supposed to? FWOOM.

But today! I learned that inside the mitochondria there's something called an Fo/F1 ATP synthase that is responsible for creating all the energy we need to run things right. And it does it by SPINNING a protein complex around and "hitting" two other complexes, which change their shape and end up catalyzing reactions because of it. That's right. In every mitochondria in every cell of your body, there is something that is meant to do nothing but run into other things and make stuff. And I can't feel it, or control it, and if I hadn't taken this class, I'd spend my entire life NOT KNOWING THIS.

On another random note, in chem today we were discussing sci-fi movies and why organic lifeforms can't be silicon-based instead of carbon-based. See, the bonds between silicon and hydrogen or silicon and itself are too weak to stand up to light photons, so exposure to light would cause it to desintegrate. (Pitch Black, anyone?)

He told us about this one movie he saw, tho, involving a huge amorphous blob that was eating stuff. Chemists were battling it by hurling bottles at it from the stock room, and finally they found one that dissolved the entire beast.

The female chemist picks up the remains of the vial and reads it. "My God! You used the ACETIC ACID!"

That, boys and girls, is a fancy name for vinegar, one of the weakest acids out there. Oh, how we laughed.

I also wore the Sir-Mix-A-Lot skirt around today. The weather was perfect when I put it on, but the second I walked out the door the wind was zipping EVERYWHERE and making me feel like a really bohemian Marilyn Monroe. I hate dealing with odd weather in skirts I don't trust. It also rained while it was sunny, and then hailed. This skirt is evil.

Finally, a conversation between me and Eri. It is necessary to click the link for the proper frame of reference.

No Understandy: Drugs are bad, okay? XD
No Understandy: You're gonna turn into a bikebush.
Eri: Being a bikebush sounds fun.
No Understandy: I hate you.
No Understandy: *laughs hysterically*
Eri: Like being a ninja. They would never see me coming.
Eri: Only assume it to be a harmless bush.
Eri: On a bike.
No Understandy: O.o; A bikebush would be quite noticaeable
Eri: I'd just stop moving when people looked, so they'd think it just a regular bush.
No Understandy: you're on a BIKE.
Eri: Maybe they'd interpret it as a bike STUCK in a bush.
No Understandy: ....no.
Eri: Damn
Eri: So, in other news, how goes the skirt experiment?
No Understandy: it went well, except for the hail.
Eri: hail?
No Understandy: Yes, it hailed.
Eri: Is this coincidence or was it somehow caused by the skirt?
No Understandy: I think it was caused by the skirt. The weather today has been unusual.
Eri: And here I was thinking the most it could do was stop traffic. To affect nature itself? A truly powerful artifact indeed.
No Understandy: I wonder what it does to bikebushes.
Eri: My guess would be engulfs them in flames.
No Understandy: Awesome, I can kick your habit.
Eri: You can try ^^
No Understandy: I'll just addict you to something better.
No Understandy: Like trees.
Eri: ...I'm not sure that'd work.
No Understandy: You haven't seen this skirt!

Sarah and I have dubbed the dire combination of me, Baron, and Eri the "Triumvirate of DUMB". This is a good example of why.

Why I should not be allowed to speak in discussion classes

My Asia in Motion professor probably already thought I was weird, but today was the first time it actually disrupted his class for extended periods of time. From the time he walked into the door until class was over I kept interrupting him and turning the conversation away from the topic quite by accident.

For example. I raised my hand at the beginning of class because I didn't see him walk in with a stack of midterm papers to ask if he's managed to grade them. Unfortunately, his back was to me for three minutes, so he was already starting into the intro portion of his lecture when he finally turned around and noticed I was there.

So we talk about the paper, and why he's been so busy, and then I assume he's headed back into his lecture, so when there's a pause I yell out the word he started class with.

"SOJOURNING!"

He stares at me. "What?"

"...sojourning..."

"Oh. No, we're going to talk about your next paper instead."

>.<; Everything goes normally until we get into a conversation about language, and why different regions speak slightly differently, and Maddo makes the point that languages are subject to trends: if an important person uses a certain word or phrase, it becomes popular. (For example. Old king of Spain used to lisp, and now Spaniards can't pronounce their own language. >>;) She then likens it to trends in cars. Sometimes rounded is in style, other times square.

"Personally, I can't wait for the fins to come back in style." A few people giggle.
The professor blinks at me. "...Why?"
I blink at him. "Because I like them." A few people giggle harder. Unfortunately, one of those people was raising her hand, so the professor, in a desperate attempt to move on, called on her.

She bursts into laughter. "I can't even remember what I was going to say!"

The professor flounders, then doggedly moves ahead. I feel bad, apologize to the girl, and spend the next two minutes shaking quietly with laughter and trying not to make eye contact with anyone.

Not five minutes later we're discussing communication problems, and Maddo relates an anecdote where she and her roomie got in a fight because of a pair of "slippers." In Hawaii, that word meant flipflops. Here, they are houseshoes. I had a similar story, so raised my hand. "We'll let Wren have the last word," said the professor. (Big mistake.)

"Where I grew up, we called flipflops thongs. When I moved to Hawaii, that did not fly." Class busts up laughing. Girl two rows to left looks at me and goes "me too!" "I would say it, and underwear wouldn't even cross my mind" I replied. She nodded.

The professor, standing up in front of everyone, muses quietly to himself: "This is the first time in my teaching career underwear has been a topic of discussion."

And that is exactly why I should not be allowed to participate in discussions.

Insane in the membrane!

A year ago, Sarah's chem professor told the class that they would not do well in Ochem unless they were deaming about it. At the time, I told her I would have raised my hand and asked "Do nightmares count?"

I think my 12 hours of Cell Biology got to me last night. So much Ochem and other chem is involved in all the goings-on in your cells that I sometimes feel I am taking not one, but TWO chemistry classes. Which is why I dreamed I was a hydrogen in an organic compound last night.

When I woke up, Sarah and I had the following conversation.

"Oh my God, I am soooooo weird." *yawn, stretch*
"Why?"
"I dreamed I was a hydrogen atom."
"Is that good or bad?"
"Ask your chem professor."
"Aaaarrrrrgh."
"Mmmm, I don't want to get out of bed."
"Do you want me to come over there and jump on you?"
"Wouldn't work. I am a stable compound, and thus very comfy."
"Aaaaarrrgh."
"Are you an oxygen?"
"Yes."
"CRAP."
"Raaawr. Come make H2O with me, baby."
"I always knew you were slightly basic."

You know you live in a house of science dorks when these conversations don't even sound odd.

Happens every time.

Looking through people's chat logs to find addresses and other bits of information I need can be a very embittering experience.

I have six weeks to find a house and a job

You know it's been a long day when Daryl walking into the room and asking "is anyone else having cheesy bread?" almost makes you cry.

Then again, my brain seems to be broken. I'm not used to getting so much good news on the first Monday back from break. I got an 83/85 on my chem paper about the lab of doom, and an 85% on the exam. Then I got 80s on both quizzes I got back from Biology. So that was cause for a lot of happiness.

It has been an odd day, tho. Lots of odd conversations with people.

"I went camping in Death Valley and got so drunk I ran into a bush. *cue arm that looks like a small rodent gnawed on it.* Then I stayed up until 7 AM, passed out in my tent, and everyone played capture the flag without me."

"Make it your life's goal to have sex on every surface of your house!"

"Why is Baron terrified of me?!"
"Because you managed to spent almost 24 hours per day of the past two years with me."
"I don't see any problem with that."
"And that is EXACTLY why he is terrified of you."

And then lots of random issues that shouldn't be issues at all that I have to worry about. Tomorrow morning I'm waking up, going running, meditating, and then going to classes to get two more midterms back. I also seem to have a meeting tomorrow night if I decide to take that perspectives leader job, so I probably need to decide about that this morning so I can work that into tomorrow night's schedule.

Ugh, I have a Cell Bio exam Wed. That meeting has the WORST TIMING EVER.

Mmm, welcome back to Uni, Wren. It's amazing how busy you are, isn't it?

Time for shower, paper proofing, and then bed.

o.<

I need to stop accidentally sleeping with my knuckle jammed in my eye.

Back to Reality, oh, there goes gravity

"Lately I've been thinking
of combust-ication as a welcome vacation
from the burdens of the planet Earth, like gravity,
hypocrisy,and the perils of being in 3-D...
And thinking so much differently."

Mike went home yesterday, and I was left all alone for the duration of a car ride back to the house because Matt came back in by the time I got home. Before he went I dragged him off to Point Defiance Park and we took a walk on the waterfront because the tide was low and there was actually a beach in existence. We got some pretty good pics, too, when some little five-year-old bratling wasn't hurling rocks at us (long story.)





We have no idea about the second pic.

*sighs* So much more I want to blog about, but am very tired. I'll probably post more soon.

I hate Alloy.

So I bought this skirt.

Let me preface this with saying I always feel very self-conscious in skirts. I always have, and I always will. So needless to say, I am very picky about them.

So I bought this skirt. It came in the mail today, and I just went upstairs to try it on. I put it on, look in the mirror, and go "hey, cute!"

And then I turn to the back, and the only thing I can think of is this comic. See, the skirt is ruffled, but the ruffles don't start immediately, so the material over my ass is SKIN TIGHT. And it's worse because the loose part doesn't start until the thigh, so the curve of my butt is actually being accentuated. It is so wrong!

I CANNOT WEAR THAT IN PUBLIC AND FEEL COMFORTABLE BEING ALIVE.

I went downstairs and ranted to the boys about this for a bit. Eri was smartly silent. In fact, he may have hidden. Himi wants to see it. What he does not understand is that my ass is completely comfortable with being absolutely invisible to humankind.

- -;;;;;;

"Soul Calibur Tongue"= <3

Eri is finally listening to the 101 song playlist I made him last semester. It has been interesting seeing how far he can go without wanting to kill me. Once we get to the last song I don't think he'll be able to restrain himself. (Thank God we still have another 20 songs to go and I decided not to follow my first instincts and make it the FIRST song...)

Baron is on a plane en route to his Uni from Detroit. I got some goodbye pics of me and him before he left. (Eri has to go through the same ordeal tomorrow, unfortunately. MWAHAHA.) Here are the two that I like the best.



I'm glaring at him, and he looks like a zombie. This pretty much defines our friendship, actually. Which is what I was going for.

Here's the one where we tried to make the photo actually look presentable.

I look like I am baring my teeth. >>;;;



Now I need to go figure out what I am feeding Himi and Eri tonight. And probably have some more caffeine, because I am incredibly tired tonight. >.<;

We still don't know what the hell a "Pocari" is...

Baron finished off the Pocari Sweat this morning, for better or for worse. My sources say he has not gained a shield. And by "sources", I mean hands. And by "not gained a shield" I mean "Oh my God, did that actually hurt?"

If he were a Japanese man, this would probably be all over Tokyo.


We went into Seattle after that with Himi and had some lovely fish and chips and some gelato for dessert. Here's a really nice pic of the boys (and their faces, oh em gee!) ^^;



We were going to go to the aquarium, but there were SWARMS of bratlings as far as the eye could see, so we headed off to Pike's Place and got lost in there for a while. (On a side note: I just Googled "bratlings" and got a lot of responses of brat-lings. Think of brat the food. Little brats. Bratling brats? Brat bratlings? How interesting...)

When we came back we made fondue. They really seem to have liked it. After that they made me watch Blade Runner, for which I shall never forgive them. =_=;; ("The little voice, Eri.")

I learned not to teach other people Wrenspeaky, tho. Bad things happen. Bad, bad, bad things happen.

Poor Love Moose. D=

Shields up!

We had so much fun at Uwajimaya yesterday. I got some wonton wrappers, some red bean curd buns, chicken gyoza, some udon, pocky, gummi, green tea ice cream and candy, and some apple sencha (type of tea). Baron got some spicy tuna sushi but has yet to try it, and Eri got some gummi which, if the living room floor is any indicator, is mostly gone now.

We also had fun in the drink aisle. I got my lychee glass-ball-scary-opening device drink I always like, Eri got a scary melon soda, and Baron got some clear liquid called Pocari Sweat- ion supply drink.

"Maybe if I drink enough ions I'll develop some sort of shield!"- Baron, at 11:50 last night.

But does it WORK? We had to know.

Here's the experimental setup: one glass, one bottle of Pocari Sweat, and one test subject.


And the procedure? Take cup, pour out the strange, clear liquid, and taste it.


"Hmmm, grapefruit," he said. And did not die. I had to know for myself.


I didn't feel all that shielded. If fruit could sweat, tho, holy fuck would it taste like that crap.


Then we made quesadillas, watched Road to El Dorado ("You know that little voice that tells you to quit when you're ahead, Eri? YOU DON'T HAVE ONE."), scared Eri's housemates, watched Heat, and fell asleep far too late.

I fail to see what all the hype about Heat is. It's entertaining, but easily could have been much shorter.

Today we're headed into Seattle with Himi to play around on the waterfront. Wish me luck, because I do have a little voice, and it's telling me I'm going to die.

S.T. Strange and You

Yesterday Eri came into town. We temporarily lost him in the airport, but 15 minutes later I spotted him over by his baggage claim. Baron was not sure it was him, but I most certainly was, so I managed to stealth up behind him despite my freaking bright hair and grab him around the waist.

Bastard did not even blink.

- -;

And then we spent half the day finding replacement contact lenses for him because one tore on the plane. The only thing I am going to say about this is that Costco is a very scary place indeed...

They also met the rat yesterday. Or, shall I say, the rat met them. It was a very scary experience all around.

First the rat had to determine if the strange creature taking over his side of the house was edible. (Evidently not.)


Then he decided to get brave and go introduce himself to Eri.


These pictures make me go *squee.*

Today we're going to Uwajimaya, which cannot end well since last night I dreamed I got LOST in an aisle of pocky, was chased around by robotic UFOs carrying trained spyrats, voted sexiest girl in class (what the FUCK is my subconcious doing to me).

I really don't think I need any more sugar. Especially after making 20 of my donuts this morning. All of them are gone. ALL OF THEM ARE GONE. @.@

I'd ask how, but I already know. Boys.

z.z;;

I am so sick of being tired all the time, yo.

The first lesson of Spring Break is...

Do not leave Wren alone in the house for five hours when you've come to visit. Chances are she's freshly charged her camera, and that always equals horrible, horrible things when she's BORED OUT OF HER MIND.

This is Baron. See Baron sleep. Sleep, Baron, sleep. To the left are all the game systems that I now cannot play because of his awkward choice in nap area.


After he passed out I went upstairs, figuring he'd wake up in a couple of minutes (I mean really, look at his posture. OW.) I ended up falling asleep for a little bit and woke up feeling quite refreshed. I decided to go try to wake him up so we could do something/plan stuff for dinner. The following conversation, though I do use that term loosely, ensues:

Wren: *poke poke poke....POKEPOKEPOKEPOKE*
Baron: *flail* argaaaarrrgrgrgrgaaah...huh?
Wren: "It's almost five o'clock."
Baron: "You say that like it's supposed to mean something to me."
Wren: "..."
Baron: *snore*

Okay, fine.

So I took a picture to assuage my bruised ego. If he is not up in 15 minutes, it may be time to break out the Sharpies and make like Picasso.

(I swear to GOD, Eri, if you don't get here soon, the beanpole dies.)

::EDIT 5:34 PM:
No Understandy: why is his phone ringing?
Eri: I was waking him up :P
No Understandy: I HATE YOU.
No Understandy: I WAS SO ON MY WAY TO SHARPIE HIM.
Eri: You say that but you probably weren't. But I needed to warn him just in case. :P
Eri: He might not listen to me though.
No Understandy: No, dude, now I have to hide them.
No Understandy: >.<; hate hate hate
Eri: ^^
Eri: I'll make it up to you tomorrow then.
Eri: WITH A HUG
No Understandy: Touch me and become a woman. I'm like the Midas of estrogen.

I actually had free time last night!

And so I decided to shake things up a little bit. Usually I dye my hair purple or wine with a red underlayer, but recently I've been letting it fade as much as possible so I can move on to lighter and brighter colors. This is why last night I was able to do the reverse of my normal hair and do red on top and wine on bottom. Behold.



I keep forgetting that anything red instantly turns me into a VAMPIRE. >.< It is pretty awesome, though. The color isn't flat at all because of my natural highlights and the darker underlayer. You can't really SEE the darker underlayer in this pic (hate indoor pics), so for an idea I suggest you look at the tips.

When I pull it up it's red in front and purple in back and the tips kinda glow. This is a lot brighter than I'm used to. It's sunny today, so Imma try to get a good pic of it outdoors.

Take Control

Well, midterms are almost over, so I get to get back to figuring out what to do this summer. I'm really hoping the subletters start posting signs soon. I did find a sign asking for a female boarder in a house, but living with a family with a semi-private entrance doesn't seem ideal. Maybe I should look into it anyway, though. I can't really be all that picky.

I've filled out my summer finaid forms and checked the "give me a workstudy!" box. Imma turn that in tomorrow and see what happens. I also have a rough draft of my newest resume done and ready to be looked over so I can take it up to that cafe and introduce myself to the manager on Friday. It's like two blocks from campus and seems to be open until at least nine, so I'm sure the hours will be workable. Either way, hopefully I can end up with a decent job so I can have some money to spend this summer. I really need to start saving again, because I have officially exhausted everything I put away in high school.

I've chosen my summer classes. I'll be taking my first class for my Pre-Education focus, an oceanography class, and beginner's yoga (it's free because I'm enrolled half-time.)

Ugh, so tired. Why is thinking about the future so damned exhausting?

Feeling charitable?

New Orleans Public Library is trying to rebuild. They are now accepting books or money. I'm sure I have a few things I can send their way.

Also, here is the only thing I remember from my dream last night:
Wren: "I still want to make a red-and-blue rag rug for the living room. " (It's true, I do.)
Maddo: "Awesome! It will look like a boiler room!"

...Made perfect sense last night. O.o;

This made my stomach go numb.

Which means it is secretly LIQUID CRACK.

My computer is a work of art

I've always hated the way Windows looks. Unfortunately, I also hate Macs, and thinks like Linux are...COMPLETELY FOREIGN CONCEPTS TO ME. So over the past two years I've been trying to get a modified Windows setup I'm actually happy with, but there have always been a few problems. UNTIL NOW.

1) I hate the start menu, and I like docks. But I like the start menu systray and hate the dock taskbar.

2) I like the Windows clock.

3) I like my mail notifier and Trillian pop-ups.

So here is what I think is going to be a near-perfect solution:

The dock is at the top of the screen like I've had it for the past year. The start menu is forced to be always hidden, but is still accessible with the windows key when it's time to turn the comp on and off or find programs I just installed. In place of the windows clock I have that awesome semi-transparent clock that has fully customizable fonts, colors, locations, sizes, and transparencies. The CD case in the lower left is my iTunes interface that has hotkeys (which I can't yet get to work, but we can hope) and downloads album art for you (with 90% accuracy). My mail notifier still pops up when I get mail, as do my Trillian notifications.

The best thing about the desktop, though, is that moon. It's not part of the wallpaper. It's a program that shows the current phase of the moon. So it waxes and wanes. AWESOME.

I want to do one final thing to my desktop, though I am not sure I am crazy enough to do it. I want to take my current wallpaper and make 23 other versions of it with different light levels to simulate night and day, and then download a desktop manager to change the wallpaper every hour. I've been told by people that they don't think it's possible for me to do that, but it most certainly is. I can change the level and direction of the light, the hue/saturation, and brightness. It would be a pain in the ass, but SO TEMPTING.

Okay, time to go get to my WEEKEND OF DOOM. I have more homework this weekend...

A: Daryl

Q: "Why is the telephone in the fridge?"

Special Intelligence

Wren: also, thank god I quit the forum when I did. What the fuck.
Baron: yes, it has gotten horrible
Baron: I think I'm done with forum
Wren: LOL I AM CORPSE CHILD AND I HAVE A CAMERA, DID YOU KNOW THAT?
Wren: WTF, NO RLY?
Wren: (OMG U ATTENTION WHORE GO AWAY)
Wren: STFU, NAZI
Wren: - -;
Baron: it's like the past three months of forum posting condensed into four lines of text...
Wren: I know.
Wren: worst part is that took no effort at all.

The World is Evil

I was beginning to be worried about Fam, but I finally got ahold of her today so I could thank her for the zafu/zabuton money and my Valentine's Day gift from Harry and David (pears, apples, and three kinds of cheese. As soon as it all ripens I am feasting on a plate of slices of everything while listening to 2raumwohnung.) She's doing okay. Muttered something about finding a 25-year old cabana boy in Cancun who wants to do nothing but ravish her. I quickly filed that under "Things I never thought I would ever hear my Aunt say unless I was suddenly ported to an alternate dimension where I was a cat."

The conversation left me with a general impression that the world is evil, though. I've believed my entire life that people are genuinely good, but sometimes things come along and try to change my mind, and each time it gets a little harder to get over it. Because of this, I'm really upset and depressed today.

First, my uncle evidently does not want me to find out about the divorce AT ALL. He says that he's afraid it will upset me too much and I won't be able to focus in school. I told Fam "wow, he doesn't give me very much credit, does he?" I mean yes, I am upset, but I'm keeping it together, adjusting, and looking for ways to help out, like getting a job. I've been through worse, and I am by no means a delicate porcelein flower. It sounds like he's trying to look out for my best interests, but I wonder how much of it was really driven by cowardice. He's afraid to talk to me about it, and this seems like the most reasonable way to justify putting it off. But like I told Fam, "so when is he planning on telling me, exactly? It's not like I'm going to be in the area any time soon." She has no idea. I'm not holding my breath. The worst thing about this is I just have to wait and pretend to be completely oblivious.

Secondly...I'm almost afraid to tell people because of how much its upset me, but it's what is making me so upset. I'm not that close with my blood relations, but there are a couple who I remember liking. One of my cousins risked the wrath of the family and married a black man. I always admired her for how brave she was and how happy they were. She had a daughter by a previous marriage, who when I was 12 married a guy who was 20 years older than her.

Well, I found out today that the daughter's husband shot her and then killed himself. She was only 25. They had four children, none of which are older than four, who now have no parents. The four-year-old was the one who found them. My cousin and her husband are taking them in so they don't have to be separated, but that child...that's not something that's forgettable. The younger ones will be fine, but...just...the world is evil.

I wasn't told why he did it. Maybe there isn't really a why. And that's why I'm so upset. How can things like this happen? How can someone actually DO THAT to his wife, his own children?

It's fundamentally wrong. I can't imagine a mind selfish enough to be able to do that to everyone he knew. Because he didn't just kill himself and his wife by doing this. He killed his kids, his family, her family, their friends. He killed me. That may sound weird, but it's the truth. He ripped something vital out of everyone who knew them in the slightest and told everyone who cared just how worthless he perceived them all to be.

I don't just feel bad for the children, or for his wife. I feel bad for him. I feel bad for everyone else who had to find out about this and has to deal with it now. That's why it's hurting me so much.

Sometimes my brain scares me.

Wren: "That prostitute who was hospitalized and had two pints of semen pumped out of her stomach... sucks less than they do."

And, if that wasn't scary enough for you, behold the new sign for our door.

Karma Slave

Well, the ex seems to have decided to stop talking to me completely. I'm not really all that surprised, but I do have to say it makes me kind of sad. I am used to it, tho. I haven't had a single relationship end with me on speakng terms with the other person. Doesn't make it any less sucky, but at least I know how to deal with it by now. And, well... I won't have any guilt for moving on. He no longer has any ties to me at all, so I can't hurt him.

That makes a lot of people I have stopped communicating with this month. My uncle, him, Anna, and a couple of other people from Saint Louis. Nothing is tying me down anymore, so Tacoma no longer has to battle to be my home.

It doesn't really bother me, though. I'm not as sad as I expected I would be, which is a good thing, because if I were sad I'd become bitter about the friendships and relationships that I've lost. At least this way I can move on with no qualms and keep the good memories.

Actually, I feel kind of free. ^^;

Last night I seem to have gone insane

So I did almost all my homework and then went to bed at midnight.

And today I feel free. BWAHA.

On a more random note:

I have a new goal in life. I'm going to buy a ferret and name it Zsch.

The one thing I regret in my life is not flinging the pitcher of ice water on my doctor when I had the chance

...but that, my friends, is a story for another day.

I'm getting another infection in my right sinus. I'm more prone to them on that side since part of my sinus is missing completely, so everything just pools and is gross. If it gets bad enough, it basically spreads to my ear and over to my other sinus and then I'm just...basically drowning in phlegm. So...tomorrow morning I'm headed into CHWS to see if I can get some antibiotics and get this dealt with before Monday. If I leave it alone until then, I am going to be a very sick Wren, indeed.

It's been a pretty crappy day. At least Spring Break is all sorted out now. Tomorrow we find out if we got our Theme House renewed. If not...yay for a week of random and frantic house hunting.

The College Guide to Busyness

Too busy? Here's how a normal life gets sacrificed to find time for all those labs and papers.

Social Life
Shower
Food
Sleep
Health
Class
Sanity

::EDIT:: I'm not sure how, but I forgot to include showering. Which sparked the entire conversation, because Maddo and I were having a discussion about how sad it was we had to write showering on our to do lists...

Also, if "sanity" is on there then health should be, as well. Both decline steadily as things get bad, it is true, but I think there are measurable and specific times for when both just snap. So the snapping point is what I've got listed up there.

Why Yesterday Sucked: a long and likely esoteric essay

I have lived through days that were determined to suck before, but yesterday was the first time I felt the full force of the cosmos align and zoom at my face, claws extended, cackling like an insane witch on acid and a shiny new broomstick.

It started when I walked into Cell Bio. I was joking around and fake yelling at John for wearing a beanie when I had just given him my old hair glue and dyed his mohawk a beautiful and shocking shade of blue when I hear Das Uberbittchen say "Wren, good to see you awake!" I finish my sentence to John, wonder quietly to myself exactly when I became the star for the National Lampoon's-style sequel to Groundhog Day, and turn to reply to her. I was going to be polite, but something in me snapped when I heard her say to one of her friends "Wow, she NEVER hears me! Tee hee!"

My eyes narrow and become angry, so the rest of my face naturally follows ("I've seen your eyes try to kill people, Wren."- My chem lab partner. But I get ahead of myself.) She sees me, and begins to turn pale as she feels me hate at her with every cell in my exhausted little body. "Will you stop saying that to me?" It was not a request.

"...B-but I've only said it TWICE!"
"And it wasn't funny then, which magically makes it less funny upon repetition." With that, I storm to my seat and start a second day of notes on enzymes out with the phrase "STAB. FUCKING STAB STAB STAB."

After that, however, the day seemed like it was going to improve. Cell Bio was uneventful, lunch wasn't bad, and chem class was more review of stuff that had been pounded into my head Freshman year. So I figured I'd breeze through Chem lab, come home early, and work on my MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF HOMEWORK.

Okay, in all honesty, assuming that was probably my first mistake, but that doesn't make Chem Lab any less hellish in reality. It just means it was EVEN WORSE in the confines of my head.

It sounded like it was going to be fun. It was an acid-base titration lab which used common household products as the analyte, and it seemed pretty laid back...even, dare I say, interesting. (Which should have been my second clue. Ah, hindsight.) This was also the first year anyone had ever done or taught the lab.

Here's where the Chem jargon comes in, so bear with me: We had been told in class that we were supposed to use just enough analyte to get an equivalence point between 20-40mL of titrant. Under no circumstances were we to use more than 50mL of titrant because he didn't want us to have to refill our burets in the middle of the experiment. Unfortunately, he knows both my lab partner and I have taken the chemistry class that is ENTIRELY TITRATIONS. When it all started, though, we assumed we'd be operating under the same set of rules.

We chose two products to analyze: Coke and Tide. We've been told that if we dilute ~25mL of Coke to 50mL with DI water we'll get the equivalence point where we need it. Aaaand, we don't. We get one at 10mL. So we call over the professor. "Huh. He says. Okay, you need to use less. Try ~5mL." It never occured to us that he was going to be dead fucking wrong, so we remade out solution, reboiled some more Coke, and did the titration again.

And got an equivalence point at ~3mL. =_=;

So we tell the prof, and he says "Why didn't you tell me I was wrong?" "Because I assumed I could trust you, Nesh." So we do the titration yet again with straight ~50mL of Coke. By then, the first hour of lab has gone by, and we're getting a little stressed. This time, we get an equivalence point at ~10mL, so Nesh decides that no one is allowed to use Coke for titrations and tells us to start new with something else. Which means that we have just completely wasted our first hour of lab and have two hours to basically start from scratch.

At this point, the bitter internal monologue kicks in, and I start wanting to ask why not only were the recommended values useless, but was there an analyte that was impossible to titrate under the required conditions in lab AT ALL? I mean, seriously. If you're making a new lab, shouldn't you test it out before letting the students dive on in?

So we move on and titrate vinegar, which luckily happens uneventfully. At this point, it is four o' clock, and we have 50 minutes left in lab. We should be done, but because of the Coke fiasco we have to analyze one more product. So we take the recommended value of Tide, mix it into the DI water, and let it heat and be all stirred so everything mixes up properly. I'm sure you can imagine that it takes time to prepare the solution.

So it gets done, we run a test, and get an equivalence point at 45mL. The recommended amount of Tide was wrong again. So we had to mix up another solution using .50 grams less than previously, let it cook, and try again. At this point my eyes start trying to kill people for the second time that day, and I am so angry that my chemistry goggles keep FOGGING. Luckily, we get an equivalence point at 30mL this time, so we set up for our careful titration. It's 4:30, but we figure we'll be out right at the end of lab, no problem.

Well, we run the titration and get a short, but shallow equivalence point at 30mL. Nesh sees it and goes "No, no, you need to keep titrating. I want to see the pH down around 2." At this point, the pH is about 11, we're stuck in a buffer zone, and we have...5mL of titrant left to dispense?

"Refill your buret and keep going." My lab partner and I want to DIE, because it is now 4:45, and we should be cleaning up. But we do as he says and keep titrating, but the solution is EVIL. Finally, at 5:10 we have finished up the titration. There are no fewer than THREE equivalence points and we have used 100mL of titrant, and the pH is still above 2. Our graph looks like hell because every time we dispense some HCl, the pH of the solution will drop, and then spend the next 30 seconds to a minute slowly rising again. Unfortunately, we have to wait until the pH has stabilized to proceed, so we're stuck sitting there, STARING AT IT WITH HATE.

"I want to DIE," I muttered at one point, curled into a fetal position on the lab bench, goggles fogged, 400mL beaker of .10M HCl dangerously close, staring at the slowly rising pH on the computer screen.

"Why?" says my chem professor. I try not to fling the HCl at him-- or worse, cry. To him, what we were going through was oh so very fascinating, but all I could think about was why didn't you idiots test this shit out beforehand?!"

He finally lets us clean up, and before we go, he asks us about what we analyzed and takes notes. So we tell him that not only were the initial values we needed to make the Coke solution absolutely WRONG, but that it was also completely useless in the experiment. "We won't be using that again, then." Oh, and the Tide? The initial value was .50 grams too high, and there are three equivalence points, only one of which happens between the 20-40mL mark. You have to refill the buret to complete it. He writes on the chalkboard "3 eq pts?". "What, do you not trust our work," I ask? "No, it's just that I don't want to get yelled at if someone else does it and doesn't get three."

Oh, so it's just that you don't trust our work. Okay.

Then, as we're leaving, he says "I know you guys didn't want to stay late, but just think: You've made sure that this will go so much more smoothly for the other labs."

I am ashamed to say that hearing that made me even more angry.

So I went home, collapsed, and ended up playing KOTOR for three hours instead of doing homework. I woke up early today to get it done, and I'm skipping chem class to eat pizza and blog this.

And that, boys and girls, is the backstory to explain how it was even POSSIBLE for me to come up with "Darth Brooks."

I am a genius.

1. "Darth Brooks."

2. "I'm bilingual. Heavy on the bi, light on the lingual."

It's been a long day.

Angry Wrens

I think we are the only school in the NATION to not have President's Day off.

*gumbles and goes back to working on her paper*

This Is My Life, Rated
Life:	7
Mind:	8.2
Body:	5
Spirit:	9.6
Friends/Family:	3.5
Love:	7.7
Finance:	5.8
Take the Rate My Life Quiz

Yes, quiz.

Angry Animals

I was having problems falling asleep last night, and so found myself idly thinking what animals people I know resemble when they are angry. I finally fell asleep and forgot about it until this morning, when I walked into Cell Bio. An old hallmate of mine is in the class, much to my dismay, because early in my freshman year she decided I was weird and has since been an utter bitch to me. I don't really appreciate the way she acts like I'm going to do a trick every time I see her, either, so I can say the sentiment is mutual. - -;

Today, after hauling my arse through the wind and the cold (I want you to imagine the coldest gale-force winds you can and send them off the ocean at ME. THROUGH THE TREES, MOTHERFUCKERS.) Yes, as I was saying, wind and cold, I walk into Cell Bio, head for my desk, and hear Das Uberbittchen say "Wren, good to see you awake." In this voice. - -;

I learned something about myself at that moment. There are some people with whom I can have no sense of humor. Had anyone else said that to me, I wouldn't have cared, but she is not my friend, and thus had no right. Also, she wasn't being funny. It was malicious. Bitch, I don't need you to point out that I missed three classes because I have sleeping problems, now do I?

So I muster the most insencere voice possible and reply "Oh, ha."

And then the memories from last night came flooding back, so without futher ado, here's a list of angry animals and their people:

ME: Oppossum
When I get angry, my first instinct is to look as threatening as possible, and I also get prickly. Not literal prickles, but they're certainly there if you know the signs. If you've ever seen an opossum get angry, they open their mouths, hunch up, and become double row of TEETH. They hope that if they look scary enough the source of the anger will go away and leave them in peace. That's me to a T. I'm pretty sure I've bared my teeth a few times, too. >>;

HIMI: Owl
When Himi gets miffed, he hunches his eyebrows down over his eyes and scrunches up. With his hair, it makes him look ruffled, and so he reminds me of an owl. The owls I used to work with did that all the time and you wanted to pet them, but you know it will just make them more offended because they want to be taken SERIOUSLY, DAMNIT. And so he's an owl. Anna was an owl, too. I never expected to meet two owl people. I mean, do you know how hard it is to channel a pissed off, fluffy bird of prey?

SARAH: Cat
When cats get annoyed by something, they leave and deal with it alone. That's like Sarah. She will avoid a situation once it has made her angry and go off on her own until she has recovered. Very quiet rage. She doesn't sulk as well as cats do, though. Which is a good thing. ^^;

DARYL: Dog
He gets loud and angry and lets everyone know about it. Oh yes. Woof.

MADDO: Rat
Rats get angry defensively. Every little bone in their body radiates rage, but they won't do anything retaliatory unless they're provoked. They're very quiet about it, but also very intense.

MATT: ...
Matt's angry is sad. I do not think I have ever seen him angry once in the entire time I have known him. Which is actually very humbling...

Slowest week EVER

At least all I have to do tonight is chemistry homework. A lot of chemistry homework. A ton of chemistry homework. All the chemistry homework I didn't have time to do for the past three days due to Biology.

A also think I may have failed that frigging exam. I couldn't answer 2 questions at all, so that's 7pts off right there. I'll blame my being sick so much and not miss any more classes in chem or bio and see if that helps, because I was certainly busting my ASS doing the work for both those classes. And I have nothing to show for it. Fucktastic.

My zafu and zabuton have shipped, at least. So come Monday I'll have a couple of nice cushions on which to rest my arse.

Mmmmm, arse.

Happy Valentine's Day Massacre Anniversary!

Today I learned that people showing up unannounced at my house with lavender roses and dark chocolate make me a very, very embarassed Wren.

It was a nice break. I've been doing biology nonstop for most of the day. Tomorrow I get up at 8, study for my Bio exam until 1 when I go to Bio lab, then do lab, then study for exam from 4-6 over dinner, and then take exam till 8, and then DIE. And by die, I mean do the homework I need to do for Thursday...

I am also out of yarn, so may or may not be going through knitting withdrawals. MY SCARF IS SO AWESOME. It channels essence of teddy bear and leaves you WARM AND FUZZY.

Chicken Scratch

"Wren- you have r well focused response to the yenderic project afof Orrentaic Love, w/ y mun number if interesting questines. All you needed was just r bit more ckiity in following though w/ P. questions you rise. (Esk in the 2nd 1/2 of the 1st pgph.) These were the more control questions 1) was this knowledge purely instruentil? 2) is there a real ubsoluse difference, N s the absoluteness R fabriztition of ossenRlisn?"

TRANSLATION: I got an A- on my paper, and I have no idea why.

Good Deed for the Day.

So I get woken up at 6:45 AM today by a phone call from a number I don't recognize. I didn't answer it and went back to bed because it was from the same area code as Fam and Unc, so I figured it was one of them forgetting that I'm two hours behind them (yet again). I checked my messages later, and it turned out to be a wrong number. Unfortunately, it was a rather important message. The caller was someone from the Holiday Inn HR department. She was trying to reach a woman about a job, and was telling her how she should go ahead and fax in her resume so they could get started on the rest of the hiring process...

So I called back and explained what had happened to the HR lady. I wasn't about to just ignore it and possibly deprive someone of a job through no fault of their own.

The woman was estactic about it, too: "Oh my, you are so kind! Thank you so much! You are so kind!"

I hate talking to strangers on the phone, but for this...I really didn't have a choice.

Blue

Today was a very busy, exhausting day, but it was a lot of fun. I cooked dinner for the house and three guests and then we made the mistake of watching Vanilla Sky. @.@ Good movie, wrong time of day.

My housies got me a nice hand mixer and a set of mixing bowls. This thrills me to no end because now I can bake without killing my forearms/running out of bowls. They were afraid Himi would make them look bad with what he got me, but that was certainly not the case. Like I told my roomie, I'll be able to use this stuff for years and years, and it makes doing something I love a lot easier. Also, ceramic mixing bowls with non-slip grips=OMG LOVE. I have almost dropped mixing bowls so many times.

And here is where blogger deleted half my post. I am too tired to rewrite it, tho. So I'll report the rest later.

Time to collapse into bed so I can study for my chem exam tomorrow. Thank you to everyone who gave me a call or IMed me today. (Even if half of you WERE calling me an old biddy.)

NOTE TO SELF: Tomorrow, post pics of monster purse. It is more awesome than I can say. I have dubbed him "What's-his-face." You shall see why. XP*

o.O;

How can an "interest meeting" be MANDATORY?

My first chem exam is Thursday.

I was worried about it until he told us the keys to last year's exams are up on Blackboard. I go to check them out. They run about 6-8 multi-step problems, very simple, and the quiz I took last week and got a B on was two of the problems direct from the old exam...

So now I'm less stressed about the amount of time I need to spend studying on my birthday for this exam.

*force dances*

Got a big plan, his mindset, maybe it's right
In the right place and right time, maybe tonight?
In a whisper or handshake, sending the sign,
Wanna make out and kiss hard...wait, nevermind.

Late night in passing, mention it flip,
To her best friend. It's no thing, maybe a slip.
But the slip turns to terror and the crush to light,
When she walked in he froze up, leave it to fright.
It's cute in a way, till you cannot speak
and you leave to have a cigarette, and knees get weak.
Escape was just a nod and a casual wave.
Obsess about it heavy for the next two days.
It's only just a crush, it will go away.
It's just like all the others, it'll go away.
Or maybe this is dangerous and he just don't know,
You pray it all away but it continues to grow...

I want to hold you close,
Skin pressed against me tight.
Lie still, close your eyes girl.
So lovely, it feels so right.
I want to hold you close,
Soft breasts, beating heart,
As I whisper in your ear:
"I want to fucking tear you apart."

Then he walked up and told her, thinking maybe it'd pass.
And they talked and looked away a lot, doing the dance.
Her hand brushed up against his. She left it there.
She told him how she felt, and then they locked in a stare.
They took a step back, thought about it, what should they do?
Because there's always repercussions when you're dating in school.
But their lips met, and reservations started to pass,
Whether this was just an evening or a thing that would last...
Either way, he wanted her, and this was bad.
Wanted to do things to her, it was making him crazy.
Now a little crush turned into a like,
and now he wants to grab her by the hair and tell her:

"I want to hold you close,
Skin pressed against me tight.
Lie still, close your eyes girl.
So lovely, it feels so right.
I want to hold you close,
Soft breasts, beating heart,
As I whisper in your ear:
'I want to fucking tear you apart.'"

I want to hold you close,
Skin pressed against me tight.
Lie still, close your eyes girl.
So lovely, it feels so right.
I want to hold you close,
Soft breasts, beating heart,
As I whisper in your ear:
"I want to fucking tear you apart."

I also used to crochet and do needlepoint. XP*

Matt taught me how to knit-pearl stitch last night, so this morning I'm working on making a new hammock for the rat for my first knitting project. Maddo and Trevor walk in, and the following conversation ensues:

*me, knitting and humming to music at the dining room table*
Trevor: "Donnie Darko music? What a grim setting!"
Me: *chuckles*
Trevor: "You're sitting in the dark, listening to Donnie Darko, and....knitting? You are going to be the best creepy old lady EVER."
Me: "Exactly, which is why I am practicing now."
Maddo: >.<;
Me: ^^;

Worst bruise ever.

Weekend of Doom Post the Second: Fondue!

For Christmas my family gave me a nice red cast-iron fondue pot, so I got the opportunity to test it out and make a cheese fondue for dinner Sunday night. I don't know about everyone else, but I had a blast. I love cooking good food and sitting down with everyone and talking and eating and being relaxed because we didn't have to brave the icy winds of Hell to get food for once.

Going to the Melting Pot so many times has made me learn the finer points of fondue. For one: flour your cheese, because it keeps it from getting stringy. For another? Sharp cheeses+strong alcohol= SO MUCH <3. And I really do think the fondue turned out well. I was quite proud. Trevor helped me prepare it, actually, which was really surprising. He shredded a huge block of cheese and we joked around and had a lot of fun. I got to use both my knives, and let me tell you...that may have been the highlight of my night. The 8" cutter made cutting everything quick, easy, and tidy. We won't talk about how I was prevented from accidentally removing my uterus by my bondage belt (go go metal rings of deflection +5!). And the cleaver didn't so much cut the chicken as it did SURPRISE it into cubes. I served celery, broccoli, green apples, chicken, and french bread with a lime sorbet for dessert. Afterwards we all put on A New Hope and slouched around in a cheezy daze. (Except Daryl and Himi, who kept making jokes about the movie based on the first three. I swear Lucas, you managed to make the good ones SUCK by association...)

During fondue, though, I instituted a rule. When everyone sat down, I made them choose left or right. Most people chose right, so once the vote was over I told them what they had decided: If their food slipped off their fork, they had to kiss the person to their right. Ironically, I was the only person who lost any food legitimately during the evening, so Matt got a big Wren smooch to the cheek. Trevor was sitting to the left of Maddo, and made a big scene about making damn sure his food stayed on just to tease her. Then Himi started knocking people's food off intentionally and ended up having to kiss Daryl as punishment (I don't think Daryl was not red for the next hour from embarassment). Then I tossed a piece of celery into the pot as an excuse to mack on my roomie. We decided once dinner was over that the forks were too sharp to let any food fall off. It's true: they gleam with an evil, sinister light when not in use. But, it was still fun.

Daryl and I have decided to celebrate our birthdays together since his comes three days before mine. But, since we're all so busy, we probably won't have a party for another two weeks. I think I'm going to follow tradition and make it Daryl-and-Wren's-20th-Birthday-I-Hate-Valentine's-Day-Extravaganza. This has seriously been the month of breakups. All the people I know (save one) who were dating someone, and even some of the ones who were married are all split up now. So there will be a sinful chocolate fondue. And cake. And ice cream. And stuff.

It worries me that I don't mind my lack of free time. I wonder if I can keep this up all semester.

I wake up, go to class, come back, rest for an hour, eat, do homework, and go to bed. I only have time to relax on weekends, which have recently been as hectic and stressful as my weekdays, just for different reasons.

Right now I'm so worried about how much I have to get done tomorrow that I'm doing extra stuff tonight. Since when do I stay up late to do homework?

Then again, being so busy is a very good thing for me right now. I keep dreading my phone ringing because I'm afraid it will be Unc. But maybe it would upset me more if he doesn't call at all. Regardless...I really don't have anything to say to him.

I've had no will to meditate, either, which upsets me. I can feel myself getting more caught up in all the stupid things that distract me and piss me off, like the fact that I'm not meditating. Vicious cycle.

Essence of Comic House

This occured while walking back from dinner through Facilities parking lot, which is gravel, and damp due to rain.
*Daryl pokes me and Maddo*
*Maddo drops rest of Three Musketeers bar in shock*
Matt: "OOH! Holy resurrection!" *grabs it, blows on it*
Maddo: Don't eat tha-
Matt: *CHOMP*
Me: "You know, people spit on this.
Matt: *happily* "MMMHM."
Maddo: "It's like you're making out with the world!"
Matt: *choke*

Weekend of Doom Post the First: Attack Rats, Drunken Twister, and KOTOR

This weekend tried to eat me. But, since I am writing this, it is clear that I shall live to Wren another day. I am also very tired, but I think that's a given. I don't think many of us got much sleep, really.

Friday night was relatively calm. Himi came over, and we all fought over KOTOR. Sarah, Maddo, me, AND Himi have games going right now. (In fact, Sarah just yelled down the steps that even MATT has started a game...this house has been inundated by Star Wars geekery.) There was a short crisis where we thought the Xbox had overheated and the video card was EXPLODING, but it turned out to be my TV. I'm not too happy about it, since it's definitely too new to be pulling crap like this, but at least it's not the Xbox. The TV will flicker randomly, but if you switch it from AV back to TV and then back...it's fine again for hours. I was thinking I'd have to replace the TV, but if it doesn't get worse I won't bother. Also possible that it's some bizarre bleedthrough from the cable. We've had bad luck with boxes this semester.

Saturday afternoon I was attacked by S.T. Strange. I know some of you remember his earlier tendency to leap from the hands of random housemates and literally swan dive into my cleavage (9.5!!), but this is very different from a fully adult rat aiming for your FACE. Allow me to qualify this statement. Recently he has discovered that he can leap from the couch to the floor without killing himself. Unfortunately, he's a very big wuss, so he prefers to jump onto something that's not the floor. He's also learned that humans make very safe ramps down to the Carpet Wonderland.

So there I am, sitting about two feet from the arm of the couch, watching the rat run along the edge of the armrest trying to find a safe way to the floor. He stares at me, shifts back and forth like a cat, and then keeps running back and forth some more. I'm laughing at how cute he is when all of a sudden he LAUNCHES himself at my face. Time slowed down enough for the image of him flying through the air at me, fur puffed out, claws outstretched to gain purchase on me to be forever burned into my brain. Gravity takes over, and instead of landing on my face a la an Aliens movie, he channels Wolverine and latches onto my forearm, swinging around it to land safely. He's absolutely terrified from his mini-adventure, so I laugh and try to calm him down. My arm starts stinging, so I inspect it...

...There is blood oozing from no fewer than six cuts. The smallest two are an inch long, and the larger ones are paired and are about three inches long. Two of them actually criss-cross. I have no idea what the little bastard did to make such beautiful patterns, but my arm has been covered by Batman bandaids since then. It's actually kind of stylish if I don't think about how many people think I'm a cutter. =X

Then, on Saturday night we played Drunken Twister. At this point, most of us weren't actually drunk, but we'd all had two or three drinks, and that definitely made it interesting. I didn't drink much at all that night anyway, but Matt, Sarah, Trevor, and John certainly did. After Himi sees that I've posted these pics, he'll probably wish he'd had more than he did so he'd have an excuse for that pose.

All the pics of me ended up terribly blurry, but the boys seemed to get lucky (or unlucky) when it came to Sarah's camera.


Yes, channel that bad 80s music, Himi. XD


Butts! John, Daryl, and Himi, all just asking to be kicked. Or victimized by cameras.


Matt was booty dancing off camera. I am surprised he did not rip his jeans...


The Evil masterminds: "uh....right hand....foot...purple?"
"Purple is not an option, Daryl."
"RED! I meant RED."
No, that did not happen. But it SHOULD HAVE.


This is a good example of why I will never have children. I'd probably give birth to triplets who would act like these three for THEIR ENTIRE LIVES.


This is right after I fell over, so I figured I'd bunny ear Maddo in her moment of agony.

After Twister I stopped drinking and took a walk while Matt drank himself into oblivion with Trevor. John had a fun night between the alcohol and the porn I bought him from the porn store (no, there is no story behind this. Stop blinking like that.) I bought him a digest three-pack of erotica which I was initially going to give him in the middle of Cell Bio, but I decided not to once I opened the pack and took a look. The top digest was hetero sex...and the other two were incest mags. And they were really badly written. So now I'm even more convinced that I should publish my erotica. I mean really. How is the word "globules" sexy?

Needless to say, incest porn is a lot funnier when the two guys reading it aloud are drunk.

Trevor, apparently, was also the King of No Pants. We found this out when he left the bedroom at 3AM to go pee and announced it loudly to everyone. Sarah and I were in the hall, in a dark area where he couldn't really see us, and she didn't know he was wearing boxers. So she freaks out, sees Maddo in her room, and starts screaming "I didn't look! I didn't look!" Trevor comes back out, hears us laugh, and freezes in shock (think Kronk and his theme song.)

"I hear voices..."
"Go to bed, Trevor!"
"AAAAH!" *flee for bedroom*

Sunday gets a post to itself, otherwise there will be too much in this post. >>

My Asia in Motion Professor defies all scientific law

This guy, who I briefly mentioned looks like Alan Rickman, freaked Maddo and I out quite effectively today. Don't let that smile deceive you. This man has some sort of bizzare superpower. (Or is actually Snape.)

(pic has since been purged from the University Database. Just imagine a smiling Alan Rickman and you're FINE.)

Want to know how we know? Good, because I'm going to tell you. Take a good look at this picture.

This is Wyatt Hall. It's a three-story building with lots of pretty pretty windows. The wing jutting towards you in the pic are all teacher's offices. We were on the second floor of that building coming back from a visit with my Modern Japanese Lit professor when we see Snape head into his office. He unlocks the door, says hi, and settles down into his desk chair. We go out of the office wing, down one flight of steps, and out the double glass doors at the front of the building. As we are walking down those big cement steps in the foreground, we see Snape coming from the side path in front of the Office wing.

There are no doors on that side of the building. Or any flights of stairs. The only way for him to have gotten out there would be to have a) dove out his window, b) snuck around us while running full-tilt past us down a flight of stairs, or c) BY DEFYING THE VERY LAWS OF NATURE.

But it gets better. He starts walking down the path, just ambling along, off to get coffee or something. But within a minute he's gone farther than he should have going at that speed. It's like he was bending the world to suit his evil purpose. Soon, he was out of sight completely.

So yes. DO NOT BE DECEIVED BY THAT SMILE.

Homework

W: "Let's freak each other out by doing nothing!"
S: "Okay!"
W: *stares*
S: *stares*
W: ...
S: ...
S: "I think it's working..."
W: "Yes, yes it is."

Telemarketing Joy

This happened a while back, but I remembered it, and thought it was amusing, and figured I'd share. (Have a few ill-placed commas!)

Now, if a telemarketer is calling my cell-phone, I figure it's free game on whether or not I am being nice. Especially if they are calling me at 7:30 AM or right before I need to head out to take a Biology exam. Or, in the case of this one, when they simply will not shut up.

W: *ring* Hello?
T: Ms. Wren?
W: Yes, speaking.
T: Hi, I'm from *bla*, and we're calling to inform you that you're eligible for *coupons and gift certificates* for gas, groceries, and all this other stuff you don't need. All we need is your authorization to charge your credit card for shipping.
W: *warning bells* Oh, thanks, but I'm not interested, and I'm also on my way to an exam...
T: Ms Wren, we're offering you hundreds of dollars in savings from places like *insert big companies here.*
W: That's nice, but I'm really not interested, and I wouldn't use them.
T: Are you telling me that you don't shop at *insert company names here*?
W: Not really, no.
T: With all due respect, Ms. Wren, where DO you shop, then?
W: I'm in college. I don't. *click*

I feel no remorse, anyway, because I am quite positive she was a scammer.

New Semester Breakdown

I don't think I'll have to drop a class this semester. XD Here's what I have, and what I expect.

Cell Biology- Missed the first day of class today because I am sick, but I think it will be interesting and very hard. I really do prefer big biology. The labs are long, and supposedly hard, but also fun, and I've heard good things about the Prof. I think I can get a B if I apply myself. Not going to kill myself trying for an A, tho.

Fundamental Chemistry II Unless there is no God, I should have no problems with this. I've taken the harder version of the class, anyway, and have the notes. Just need to make sure not to slack off. Think I can get a B, which shows how confident I am, cuz normally in Chem I HOPE for a C.

Modern Japanese Literature- A small class of eight kids, mostly seniors, and the kid from my Japanese class who used to stare at me all hour. Spent all hour staring at me again in class, wanted to wave or say hi. Was just like old times. *rolls eyes* Professor is awesome, class looks interesting but time consuming. Not reading any Murakami, but I'll get over it. Pretty sure I can get an A.

Asia in Motion- Professor is a tall, short-haired Alan Rickman look-alike with a cheerful voice which makes the mean words he says seem less mean. Obsessed with 1" margins, adamant about class participation. "Rarely gives out As." So I'll get a B, then. XP* He seems like he could be a nice guy who just wants to sound scary, but I'm terrified that there's a good chance he is, in fact, evil like Snape.

January hates me

Come down sick the first day of classes, fight it off all day, then spend the night curled in a ball on the bathroom floor between dry heaving sessions when your immune system finally gives up that night? Oh, sure. I've already been sick, manic, and burdened with insomnia this month. Let's make me sick AND dip me into a depression cycle when I no longer have the time to deal with it!

A text message this morning brightened my day and brought me back steady for a while, but last night was hard. Tonight is doubly so, but at least with a stomach as rebellious as mine I can't really think for more than five minutes at a time.

My mom and my grandmother died in January. Sometimes I wonder if me getting so sick and so prone to swings this month is some sort of subconscious response. Then again, if I'm wondering... chances are I'm right.

Urk, time to go prove that it is still impossible to keep any meds down. At least I only have one class tomorrow, even though I'm not even sure I can make it at this point.

Missing the first day of Cell Bio. Fucking A.

NOTE TO SELF:

buy contact lenses.

why won't you play nice!

Past two days, have been unable to stay asleep, wake up at 6AM, finally go back to sleep at 7AM, and then *BANG*-- will keep on sleeping INDEFINITELY until someone/something wakes me up.

WHAT DID I DO?

So, it is now 7:37 AM. At 8AM I plan on sleeping until 1 or 2, packing my stuff, and then...who the fuck knows. Will I even be SANE by the time classes start?

Oh, right.

Well, I figured out why I haven't been able to sleep.

I'm manic. >.<

I can't believe it took me three frigging days to realize this. I can usually tell right away. Then again, it's manifesting rather subtly this time. I cannot stop PLANNING. Or messing with my clothes. Usually I do something much more active, like obsessively exercise or clean or write or reorganize.

...Then again, I have made my workouts a lot harder than usual the last two days. Maybe I just need to pay more attention to what the hell I'm doing.

I hope it's not getting worse as I get older. I really hate medicine, and so far I've been able to manage my swings myself. I'd like for that to not change.

Don't be surprised if I crash in the next two days, guys. It's how it usually works when I get insomnia this badly.

Sleep Deprivation+ Old Clothing+ Digicam= Post I'll Likely Regret Upon Awakening

So today I was looking through the clothes I left here when I went to Uni and I realized I have the SCARIEST CLOSET EVER. Want proof? Here are some pics, presented in order from least to most scary. At least I sized them smaller than I usually do.

First of all, least scary. I know you've all seen a modest pic of me in this, but I own a corset. WHY? Well, I know why. It was for part of an old Halloween costume, and I can make it look pretty classy, so I kept it around. But still. When you leave for Uni you can come back and go "Oooooh yeaaaaaah!" And then kinda wonder why.

*image deleted because people freaked out. - -;*


Second, we have a little vinyl number that I was told to never post a full pic of me in or people would die. So here's enough to give you an idea of the sheer SCARY. Yes, this is a nurse's outfit. Also bought for Halloween, but never worn for reasons of...I can't sit down in it without something to cover my legs, we'll just leave it at that.


Third most terrifying is this shirt. I think I wore it to a concert once. You have to peel yourself out of it like a banana and the necklace that holds the shirt up wasn't made very well. But...it cost $3. So it can basically do whatever it wants so long as it stays on and looks scary.



What could beat that shirt and be the scariest thing in my wardrobe? THIS, MOTHERFUCKERS.


And if you don't understand why "ICP" is scary, you need to click here right now. XD
(*sighs* I know what you're thinking, and the answer is no, I am not naked in that picture.)

I'm not even fucking dating you...

...which is why you've had the opportunity to stand me up four times. Because trust me, if I could break up with you, I would. I might frigging try, anyway.

I went to bed at 8AM, bitch. 8 fucking AM. And dragged my ass out of bed at 10:30 so I could shower, become presentable, and drive to pick you up. As I am heading out the door, I check my phone, which is what I should have done before even BOTHERING, because I know better than to trust anything we plan out is actually going to happen at this point. There's a text message from 1:30 AM.

"Agh, I just went to bed. Have to cancel."

FUCK YOU. And if you call me, prepare to face my exhausted rage, you fucking selfish bitch, because I was already angry at you. Now I'm pretty sure I fucking hate you and the air you breathe. So please. Stay asleep and don't even bother. You see me for like one week out of the entire year. How hard would it have been? Not worth the effort, evidently, which is why I feel dumb for even waking up.

I can't even go back to bed now or my sleep schedule will be even more fucked. So now I have to sit around the house trying to find a way to stay awake that doesn't involve raging.

You've gotta do the cooking by the book!

I am never letting that scary little girl in my kitchen.

This link is for Sarah.

Anyone else who clicks it will explode in fear and confusion.

A.A. hates me by now.

So, today I canceled a plane flight for the second time. American Airlines hates me by now, I'm sure.

I'll be staying in Saint Louis for the rest of break. I'll still be back at Uni on the 14th to get settled in and ready for next semester.

And the semester is officially over.

Grades are in. This is the first semester at Uni I can look at and not be ashamed of, even though I only took three classes.

Asian Art: I got an A- for sitting in that class with my head down and my headphones on drawing the Prince of All Cosmos. And occasionally turning in seven page papers on mandalas. I consider this like...the free cookie at the grocery store.

Ecology: I got a B-, which is actually slightly surprising, because I was pretty sure I was sitting on a solid C. I guess me busting my ass mid-semester to try to fix my grade paid off pretty well.

Japanese Religion: A-. I'm happy, because I wasn't sure if I'd earned an A or gotten a B+.

So yeah, overall this helped my GPA. Soon it will also be respectable. Frigging freshman year. >>

My quote of the day

Wren: "You mention sex more than a porn star at a job interview."

An observation from the Tea Way

"...[The] three most deplorable things in the world: The spoiling of fine youths through false education, the degradation of fine paintings through vulgar admiration, and the utter waste of fine tea through incompetent manipulation."

-Lichihlai

Motivation comes in stages

Working on a new AMV. Perhaps I should first finish the other one, but.

Let's bring in the New Year!

I didn't drink. There is no reason why I should have been woken up by how sick I felt at 5AM. There is no reason why I finally threw up 45 minutes later.

Now everything I drink tastes like liquid saccharine.

I'm afraid to go back to bed.

::EDIT 4PM::
Well, hopefully spending the first day of 2006 sick in bed just means I'll be healthier for the rest of it. It hasn't been too bad, tho; in times like these, having a laptop is almost as awesome as having 7-Up.