Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Christmas is coming...

Wish list: (about 3 weeks late, I know.)
Large purse, black or red
Black blazer to be worn with strapless leopard print dress, among others
Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, James Brown records
Well written, readable novels (esp. any Salman Rushdie, besides Enchantress of Florence which I own)
New computer
Hair cut/mani/pedi
World peace
First 2 seasons of OC, Gossip Girl, all seasons of West Wing
Stroganoff

Friday, December 19, 2008

Home Free

I'm back in the UV, and it's crazy. So far I have:
Trudged around the U of U campus with my neon green and hot pink zebra-striped duffel bag
Enjoyed a 3-hour Food channel/VH1 marathon/nap
Eaten wheat crust pizza at Sicilia Pizza
Rewatched Slumdog Millionaire
Spent an inordinate amount of time dealing with public transportation (So much simpler in Utah)
Eaten Sunrise Spuds at Ruth's
Opened all of the cupboards, the refrigerator, and the freezer, just to see what's hoppin
Watched several episodes of "Twee and Twah" (Lu and Lo's new funny movie series)

I'm trying to catch up on all of my internet activities... since my computer stopped working I've sort of given up on this blog, but now I have access to a beautiful new mac (my mama's, not mine...) so I'll try to keep it up.

It's weird to be back. The kids seem so huge and independent--Lula was telling me the she and Lola were going to have a sleepover with the house to themselves until midnight, when Lola's parents are coming back. Cecily just put a huge coat on all by herself (she's dressing up like a teenager so that she and Maude can pretend to be "boys who are on a stage and doing rock"). It's weird that their lives have continued without me.
And yet they are all still the same lil peeps.
I think the current plan is to eat at El Salvador and then chill with the homies (Kat, Ilona, Hill'ry...) tonight. It's all somewhat overwhelming, especially with my killer cough (TB?), but I can't wait.
Missing my Barnard people already--how odd not to be able to stroll two doors down the hall and burst into Anners' room without knocking.
But the clean, warm, pressure-free home on Locust Circle is even better than when I left.

Tuesday, December 02, 2008

switcheroo

instead of 20th century poetry or symbolic logic, I think I will be taking a Bible as lit course from the same prof that taught my first year seminar course. I'm kind of excited about it.

Saturday, November 29, 2008

Head ache

Tentative Spring Schedule:
Hindi
CompSci JAVA (again...)
First Year English (Legacy of the Mediterranean, I think)
PE (tai chi? it comes highly recommended...)
and either 20th Century Poetry: Race, Gender, and Poetic Form
or Intro to Symbolic Logic

What do we think???

P.S. Watched American Chopper tonight. I would recommend that show to anyone with a spare hour. It was highly enjoyable, and the commercials were top notch.

Friday, November 28, 2008

Stinky Subway Riders

I have been sitting next to some seriously questionably-smelling fellow subway passengers lately. But it's all worth it because Em and Bam are here, and we're having a MARVELOUS time!!! Here's what we have done:
1. H + M, Sephora, wandering through and admiring Em's old stomping grounds.
2. Thanksgiving hamburger/rueben (who knew I liked Saurkraut??? That is definitely not how you spell it)
3. Secretly learning new things about the subways, but pretending like I already knew them.
4. Eating at a CRAAAAZY chinese restaurant with roasted ducks, heads still attached, hanging in the window, and a painted roasted duck with its head still on decorating the big mirror at the center of the far wall.
5. Watched "To Be or Not To Be" with Em--forties comedy about naziism in Poland. Very good, and inspiring.
In short, just admiring the city. Each time someone visits I notice new things about the city. I really love it here, even though my complainy posts may suggest otherwise.
I've just been reading the Village Voice (we're supposed to be too cool for it, but I feel like they have good suggestions, even if the writing is a bit on the cheesy side. And free will horoscopess! (Marni turned me on to these)
I'm not even going to try to make that paragraph grammatically correct...

I haven't posted in forevs (or at least a little while) because my computer is broken, and though my new iTouch (thanks m and d!!!) is fabulous for many things, it is not a very good instrument for typing long-winded blog posts.
So now I am posting on a TOTALLY PUBLIC, Dell computer (dell = really loud/slow typing), and probably someone is going to come up behind me at any moment and read all of my secrets, and then life here as I know it will be over. Like Harriet the Spy, only not really like that at all.
Speaking of Harriet the Spy... ROSIE!!!

That's all I have to say on the subject.

I did my laundry today, I would like you all to know. It was very responsible of me, until I forgot that my clothes were still in the dryer and left to meet Bam and Em in China town. But no one is here, so aside from being slightly wrinkled (I'm too cool to wear wrinkle-free clothing, anyhow), I'm sure they will be fine. Also, I'm making a start on cleaning my room (Slow and steady wins the race. Wouldn't want to shock Rupert the fish after his recent move, anyhow...)

Everyone who reads this should comment and say how much they love me and their fave things about me, because I'm feeling a little lonely and out of touch, what with all of the Barnard students being in Long Island and everything.
Love you!!!

--Sneevs

Friday, November 21, 2008

LOL

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/29205

Okay, this is getting out of hand.
I'm going to read Malcom X.... Now.

Things you didn't know about me:

What is more fun than answering endless questions about your own personality? Answering endless questions about your own personality and then being told awesome things about yourself that you never knew before!!!

For instance:
I have a 51% addictive personality.
My "love number" is one, which means I am stubborn, loyal, and wise (so true!!!).
I have low self esteem 24% of the time.
My taste in cupcakes is not exactly an accurate representation of my personality... (vain, shy, and restrained? I don't think so.)
However, my PBJ sandwich indicates that I am gluttonous, laid back, flexible, and a little trashy (definitely accurate... right?)


Ugh. Definitely bored with my life right now. I need to get out more, not only when people come to visit. Some of the girls and I might hang out down town and watch Slumdog Millionaire (again) tomorrow. But it's usually almost impossible to transport a large group off campus. Aren't other people as bored as I am with Morningside Heights???
Apparently not.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Tiger Balm

I wish I could bathe in it.

Monday, November 17, 2008

taytay

Tay's visit was amazing, of course. Spent two full days in Brooklyn, doing hip things and eating excellent food. Wandered around harlem, ate indian food, watched Slumdog Millionaire (best movie, everyone who reads this must watch it. It was a crier, for me at least. Wade remained disappointingly stoic...)
We ate Elvis sandwiches at Peanut Butter and co (Tay was brave enough to try hers with bacon) and had some crazy good american food while talking american politics (or listening to Karen and Wade talk American politics). We went to the whitney and saw a new photography exhibit (I can't remember the name of the photographer, but he was really good) and then I went downstairs to the Calder exhibit which was obviously mindblowing. Totally reminded me, Tay, and Wade of Macky.
I'm sure I've left a million things out, but that was the jist of it (gyst????????).
Ask Tay to tell you about our crazy cab times.

Today I failed (or at least did badly) on my Econ test. I'm going to have to start turning in my problem sets this week, even though they are tedious and the TA apparently has a bone to pick with every undergraduate econ student. We were moving so slowly for the whole first half of the semester that I figured I would be fine just reading the book (which I learn much more from than I do from lectures anyhow), but it's pass/fail so I should still be fine.
I've never been this stressed or incapable of doing what I need to do in, but I feel like I'm learning more than I ever have in my entire life. I think that failing at things is maybe good for me in a whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger/thomas edison sort of way.
I have to choose my classes for next semester, and I think I'm going to take another computer science course, and drop the Econ thing. Do you think I could major in lit and minor in computer science? And then go on to become a helicopter pilot for the Coast Guard?

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

knock 'em out

Met with Prof Cannon today. It was not as scary as I thought it would be, but also not successful on the downloading eclipse front. When this computer dies I'm swearing off Macs for the rest of my life.
At least I have one, though. A girl on my floor doesn't have her own computer and so she ends up spending a million hours in the lab and no one on our floor besides her roommie has ever spoken to her.
I did better than average on the midterm, though. So at least I am not BAD at compsci.
I keep thinking I'm going to just work on my assignment until I've finished the half I'm s'posed to have done tonight, but there are so many easier, less interesting options such as posting in my blog and looking up all of my profs on facebook.... which was actually very easily the best thing I've done with my night.

I'd suggest you all try it.
The other fun thing I did today was make crayon rubbings of leaves and various baby chewing toys with Baby Girl. She was very nice up until the last 20 minutes when she decided that she needed to go outside. She kept giving me the keys and trying to get Baby Boy in the stroller, but there was no time, and she already had a cold, so I turned on Beethoven instead.
Beethoven just isn't as good as Bach, and she started pushing Baby Boy again... I'm going to bring CDs next time. Here's my question: Why do people think that babies should only listen to baby music and Baby Genius music? Baby music isn't even good, except for Raffy.

HINDI IS SO HARD!!!

Lucky you!!!

Okay, so I actually still can't sleep, so you guys get to hear even more fun stuff about my life!!!
Maybe it would be better to focus on the positive this time. And PIXXX!

Okay, list of happy peaceful things that I usually like when I'm stressed and it's not almost dawn:

1. Yummy Hungarian Pastry Shop!!!



I usually make them make me steamed milk even though it's not on the menu and they put in honey and almond extract.

2. Duck Pond!!!



This was the only picture I could find of the Morningside duck pond so you can't tell that there's actually a waterfall there. And the goose in the picture has a broken wing. I probably should have just put a generic duck pond and pretended it was Morningside, but I have too much integrity. I went there with the babiez the other day and it started pouring, so we had to run for cover, and guess what happened to be the nearest cover?! Well, nearest cover with cookies and steamed milk...
That's right! The pastry shop! It was a double whammy, plus rain, which I always love.

3. Playing The Beatles on my Record Player!!!



But I can't do that right now because my room mate is sleeping for once in her life. She is a crazy studier and makes me feel like such a slacker!!! But now I am not only a slacker, I am a slacker who sleeps even less than she does!

4. & 5. San Pellegrino from the vending machines!!!



This one counts for two because I always get the Sparkling Orange AND the Limonata (or however it's spelled). I would do this one now, but I don't have any dollaz.

6. Singing along to Sounds of Silence!!!



Baby girl only likes to hear Simon and Garfunkel on my iPod, and this is the only song I can sing along to even though I don't know the lyrics. It's nice because we both sing along and so I don't have to feel self-conscious because she doesn't know the lyrics either.

Well, I might be tired now, but either way I'm gonna lay (lie?) back down because I have to wake up in a couple of hours...
Love you guys!!!

complainy

1. It is 3:37 in the morning, so you know, and this not sleeping thing is seriously getting serious. Mama says it's no good to just lie there in bed stressing, though, so I thought I would just let you all know that you are free to contact me at any hour because staying up late is NOT as fun as a barrel of monkeys.
2. I am still lying (laying?) down in my bed, though, and still stressing because I have to play with the babiez tomorrow and I have to get up early so I can shower and eat first so that I will be cute and peppy in the morning, or at least wearing make-up because:
a. I have to ask the babiez' mommy if she will be a rec so that I can get fancy shmancy jobs on the Upper East Side who pay for take-out and cabz.
b. I have to be cute for when I meet with my prof tomorrow. But not in a creepy way.
c. I haven't showered in too long, and I can't even get away with it anymore because it is so humid here (TMI? That's what blogs are for.)
d. What if I run into rohan/john/actorboy/alex/cute blonde boy who I see walking around on campus all of the time and make eye contact with but haven't spoken to yet in the dining hall/on my way to office hours/class?
4. OMG, a million things to do, such as:
a. Compsci homeworks. That is plural on purpose.
b. ECON MIDTERM on Mon.
c. Hindi exercises so that my prof definitely doesn't think I'm a slacker and doesn't change his mind about letting me make up all of my sick days, and so that I don't forget every single word/conjugation. Also, just noticed that there is a conversation portion on our final ) :
But I'm not doing them because they will just make me MORE stressed and prolly more unable to sleep.
5. Ugh, I"M SO HUNGRY all of the time because even though I eat so much, it's not that good, so I don't even feel like I've eaten. Except when they have baked MacNCheese and collard greens at JJ.
Plus I ran out of the bananas that I stole from the dining hall to eat with my peanut butter.
Plus I practically lost my appetite today because I had to eat with this anorexic girl who had bran CEREAL for dinner WITHOUT MILK and DIDN:T EVEN FINISH IT!!! And then she was mean and said my food looked gross, so I had to eat it with even more gusto, because it was actually pretty good, at least the salad, and it was totally AWK at the table I was at so I didn't want to look up or have to talk or anything.

It'll be okay, though, because guess who's coming to visit in 2 dayyyyzzz!!!
BFF Taylor Jacobe!!!!

Too bad I will be a crazed zombie by the time her plane lands.

Sunday, November 09, 2008

this love has taken its toll

I am having a seriously unhealthy Maroon 5 addiction right now. It is going along with my week-long boy crazy throw-back-to-middle-school time. Let me tell you about some of the boys who I have crushes on:

(in no particular order)
Adorable! crush: John computer science boy. He wears glasses sometimes so that he can see to the front of the classroom and it's totally nerdy and hot. However, I just learned that he is a frat boy.
Admiring crush: Alex. He is SO RIGHTEOUS. Plus he always invites me to all of the church activities and reminds me to come to institute and likes museums.
Mad Hot Crush: Rohan. I think we've spoken 4 times because he lives on Rian/John's floor. But I mentioned to my roommie how I had a Mad Hot Crush on him and she said she was fb friends with him so I friended him and he accepted within a day, which everyone knows is probably the beginning of a whirlwind romance.
Actor Crush: This boy who goes to Columbia and I forgot his name, but in the play he was in his name was Marshall and he was a dead husband. SO CUTE!
Professor Crush: Prof Cannon. He is always sipping a coke and has food storage which might lead you to believe that he is a mormon, but I don't think he is. What he is is HOTT!!! Which means that when I go to office hours to get my midterm and ask about assignments and stuff I'm gonna be all blush-y and awkward. Plus one time I said hi to him when I saw him on campus before I remembered that he has no idea who I am because I am in a 200 person lecture class and also I usually don't speak or ask questions.

So now you know. Maybe this is what happens to a person when they live at an all girls school. Or "all women institution" which makes us sound like crazy people, but who's counting.

Oh, and in other news, my orchid got sunburnt and died. Let this be a lesson to us all. About sunscreen and cancer and everything. Because of my carelessness I have nothing left to put on top of our fridge except for bananas.


Okay, so to be honest with you, the real reason that I am posting right now is because I have to write this paper and I totally don't want to do it, but I'll buck up now so that I can actually wake up on time for Econ tomorrow.

Friday, November 07, 2008

!!!

http://www.bwog.net/articles/obama_mania_on_broadway

That's what I was up to until approx. 3 am on election night...

What did you guys do to celebrate (/mourn... but I don't think I actually even know any McCain supporters, so nvm.)

Also, my texting stopped working so I called pretty much everyone in my phonebook because... it just seemed like the thing to do. I was talking to Gian in California while we were waiting for all of the polls to close, I talked (or rather screamed) to my mom while I was in Harlem, I got an email from my grandma the next morning. It was nice to feel connected to so many people--people who I've never seen or spoken to who live just blocks away from me, and people who I know and love who live thousands of miles away.
I figure everyone has the right to get a little cornball at such a special time, so that's my little Obama victory story.

In other news, I just paid a $7 copay for a 10-day bottle of penicillin at the Barnard Student Health Services clinic, which is conveniently located in the basement of my dorm. With all of the free cable, abundant lounges, and people to clean the bathrooms they're going to have a hard time getting me to move out when the time comes.

Tuesday, November 04, 2008

Good day with the kiddos...

I really feel like I had a fun and productive day with the babies I sit. Baby boy is one, and Baby girl is 3--I stuffed them both into a large orange stroller (built for one, but they are tiny babies) and took off for Riverside park. Baby girl had other ideas, though, and directed me to a much smaller, cozy little park on Riverside and 122nd. She tore off her bright green parka and jumped into the sandbox. The main play equipment was a set of two swings. There was also a lump in the ground carved like the back of a turtle that served no particular function that I could think of.
Baby boy learned to like the swing after a couple minutes of fussing, and Baby girl spent 10 minutes yelling at a squirrel to "Climb up that tree!". The squirrel thought she was saying "I have pieces of bread for you in my pocket!" which is what most kids at the park say to squirrels, and so he crept closer and closer to her. I could tell she was getting freaked out so I chased it away, but it was pretty sweet (to me, at least.)
We stopped at a cafe on our way home (the man at the counter had to help me pull my stroller into the cafe--"two kids, that's tough," he said) and I bought a cookie for each of the kids and a soda for myself. I finally got Baby boy to sit in the stroller with his sister again, and the walk home was blissfully silent. I got to really take in the beautiful buildings and the sky. I said to baby girl "Look how pretty that old building is," and she said "Yeah. It's pretty cute."

Sunday, November 02, 2008

Inferiority complex

As Mackenzie and I are the only ones of the post-walden clan who seem to be (somewhat) faithfully posting in blogs, I can't help but feel that we are in direct competition. And that I am losing by a wide margin.
So I've decided to step it up. Also because it is 2:30 in the morning and this whole long weekend/sickness thing has caused me to develope serious nocturnal insomnia (I have no problem sleeping in the middle of the afternoon...) (neither of my parents should feel obligated to call and lecture on this subject.)

So, first thing's first. Here is what I did the night before Halloween:


We got all dressed up to go out together because a couple of my friends were going out of town the next night (real halloween) and every other respectable college student in the city would be at the village parade on halloween, so we figured we would hit some college parties (which, we thought, were sure to be happening since no one has class on fridays and it was Halloween weekend...



This picture is mostly about our various legs. As you can see, Anna has fabulous red pleather boots, and Joanie has some very nice gay-pride socks, and, as you cannot see, I have Anna's fabulous zebra-striped pumps. Nico, the one taking the pictures, had a hard time aiming. I cut out about 2 inches of ceiling in this pic.



Unfortunately we ended up spending the best moments of the night in our hallway. This is me and Anna (greed and lust). We are pulling out of a hug which is why our arms are so weird (I hope). After we left the dorm, the night was all downhill. We checked the Lerner party space, east campus, even frat row, and not a single party was to be found. After an aborted trip to Tom's Diner (Seinfeld! Expensive milkshakes!) we wandered home to collapse in our respective beds.

Here is what I did not do on Halloween:



I was too depressed by my pre-halloween-non-party experience to get all dressed up again (slash ill from an upper-resperatory infection that seems to be attacking not only my lungs but my social life), so I skipped out on the parade and spent a lovely night in bed with General Tso's Chicken and the fourth season of Desperate Housewives.

Thursday, October 30, 2008

P.S.s

1. I forgot to mention I am fat now. As evidenced by photos of me, available on Facebook. This may have been implied with the whole milk-chicken thing. But I just want to keep you posted.

2. Daddy's release party! For reals! Post!

3. Comment if you want Christmas presents from me and tell me what you want! I probably won't forget you, but I might... And because of budgeting/packing concerns, I have to start planning early this year.

not a lot, baby girl, just a li'l bit...

the time has come, the walrus said,
to talk of many things.
Even though my stomach is about to cave in and the sweet and sour chicken (disgusting, but somehow irresistable) is calling to me from the minifridge.
The first item of business: Hallowe'en. That word was on one of our 5th grade spelling list and apparently everyone in the US except for Mrs. Rhodes' class spells it wrong.
Anna, Joanie, Julia, Rachel, Anna's man, and I are being the seven deadly sins. Minus gluttony. Cheesy? Yes, probably. Hott? Definitely. I am greed--which means a short gold dress (with leggings!!!) and way too much bling. For some reason zebra striped pumps seemed to go well with the ensemble. Julia is envy, which is the same, only sans zebra stripes and with a green dress instead.... and the list goes on. Pride is actually gay pride... because, you know...
My room mate says she doesn't know what she's dressing up as, but she will probably end up as judy garland, because, you know.... I didn't tell her that I actually didn't know. Maybe because she has red hair. Did Judy Garland have red hair?
Now I need to know what all of you are dressing up as. Do they have Hallowe'en in Brazil? Germany? BYU? I wouldn't know.
Also, the reason I haven't been posting: I've caught my death of cold (is that a real expression? did I muck it up? it can't possibly be correct....) which means that I've spent every spare moments, and some non-spare moments, in bed. Not to worry, though. I still did well on my CompSci midterm (I think. Maybe I shouldn't be cocky.) and managed to do my babysitting job--although their could have been mishaps I overlooked while I was blowing my nose and drinking orange juice.
Oh, and one more thing. It's cold!!! I finally get to wear my new puffy marshmallow coat (which goes all the way down to my knees, and is quite fashionable, actually), and scarves, and hoodies, and hats. And also, my obsession with steamed milk is in season now! (it is the only thing I drink anymore. no water for me, thanks. i'll take a large(venti?) steamed whole milk--hazelnut. as much foam as you can muster.)
I'm looking forward so much to seeing all of you at christmastime!
xo

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Daddy's new cd

Is amazing. I so wish I could've come to the release party. It sounded like a lot of fun (that was a hint. to be more clear--post about the release party, please.) My favorite track is Product of Broad Gales and Dim Cradles.
I rearranged my room yesterday, and got a magnetic bulletin board to put pictures of the littles and the campbells and the friends up. I lost the picture I had of Ing, so I'll need to find something for that, and while Dad's CD cover is serving as my picture of him, I am still lacking one parental image.
I haven't showered in a ridiculous amount of time. It his hard to get motivated when the bathroom window is permanently open and letting in a refreshing breeze all of the time.
But I will overcome.
Love you guys!
Eva

Friday, October 17, 2008

HIGHLIGHTS!!!!!

Salsa dancing in 5 hours.
Cookie dough in the fridge.
Memory chip in my phone.
Gorgeous weather.
RECORDS!!!

Lows:
Pimple.
Homework.
Hair.
Hungry.

Friday, October 03, 2008

She's fine and she's pretty.

My hair is black now.
I feel like a new person.

All of my body parts are sore.

Wednesday, October 01, 2008

It happened again. With the polenta and the cod and the brisket and the japanese noodle soup thingy. Unfortunately, the japanese noodle soup thing was closed by the time I got there, but I got lentils and couscous instead.
Would you say cream of Broccoli soup is a salad course?

Anyhow, I am also having white bread toast with this excellent butter they have here.
It is a rare treat to be able to use all three utensils at one meal. It is no wonder I am getting fat.

Ugh, also. CompSci boy has my sweater in his room. It is my favorite and only cardigan.
I'm always liking people one minute, and then the next minute they make me pissed off every time they speak. I think it is because when I was very young and vulnerable the family of goldfish living in my room died unexpectedly. And now I am afraid to get close to people.
I need to do art or something.
Maybe rake leaves for old people.

Also, I forgot to mention there is squash involved in this meal.

OH, and ALSO, everyone go out to your local videostore/netflix and get Straight Talk. You will thank me after you have watched it. But press mute when Dolly Parton starts to do her fake laugh. It is only going to get higher and squealier.

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

I shouldn't already be thinking about my birthday

but I am.
Can anyone think of any fun things that I could do considering how I don't have friends?
Maybe I'll get my eyebrows waxed again.

Monday, September 29, 2008

There was this thing the other day that people were calling fog, but it was obviously not fog. It was like fog, but in palpable droplets. You can feel each distinct cluster of water molecules, but they ain't goin anywhere. They just sort of float. Sometimes horizontally, if the wind is moving, sometimes in one place. Like helicopters or something--speaking of which there were two today. Standing perfectly still in the sky, like magic.
What do they use helicopters for? Besides fire-fighting and transporting famous people? Maybe something weather-related?
Anyhow, I've gotta get a start on my compsci reading.
And simultaneously watch the new Gossip Girl.
Send me emails.

Eva

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Curly

I am frustrated with how I can't write anymore. I am also frustrated with my hair. I won't cut it just yet, but I'd like to.
I would like straight hair with bangs, but it will never happen.
Although I wonder about chemical relaxers.

What if I was one of those people who straightened their hair EVERY DAY?
I did today--because I had a dream last night in which I had blond, straight hair, and it was the most relaxing, beautiful dream of my life.

I'll be heading down to Hewitt soon. Food is impossible here. I never feel satisfied, I never have real food, and it's catching up. I got sick this morning and missed Econ--which is not the end of the world as we are STILL reviewing algebra...
But.
I've got the day off tomorrow (I need it after the Hindi quiz that I positively massacred, or, more aptly, that positively massacred me today).
I hope my hair doesn't get curly overnight like it did last time I tried straightening it. And I hope my room m. doesn't get sick of me asking to borrow her straightener.

I am sick of texting.
Too bad my minutes are running out.

The theme of this post is: Complaining. But then, what is ever the theme of my posts?

Bernard Malamud wrote this book. It is called The Assistant. Don't read it. You will want to harm yourself.

Sunday, September 21, 2008

New York, New York

The boys here are flaky.
The croissants here are not flaky.
But you can get a bagel here for 95 cents and they will pile so much butter on it that it soaks through the layers of wax paper and you have to lick it off your fingers. Or use a napkin, if you are a civilized person.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

TGIT

There is an old saying over here at Barnard/Columbia. It is called "TGIT", or "Thank Goodness It's Thursday". People say this because nobody has classes here on Fridays, so Thursday night is party night.
Not for me, though.
I am at our campus cafe drinking steamed milk. Steamed SKIM milk.
You can imagine how upset I am.
Here's the plus, though. I got a bbsitting job, tomorrow, and will have a fresh batch of $50 by the time it's over.

Let me tell you about all of my classes--I rock them.
Except that I was late for Hindi today because it was in a different building and I couldn't find it. Which was embarrassing, but I made up for it--I made hindi vocab flash cards, and I can read practically any word in hindi, and quite a few in sanskrit.

Also, CompSci boy is cuter than ever.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

What I think about as I drift off to sleep at 3 am

1. Various positions I could lie in in order to maximize the amount of my flesh that is exposed to the fan.
2. Whether I'm allowed to embed While Loops within other while loops.
3. Buying nail clippers
4. Pan fried pork dumplings.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

And Baby I Love You

For once in it's sad old life, the Hewitt Dining Hall was brimming with excellent food. My dinner consisted of (in this order):
Stir fry on rice noodles with broth and lime.
Carrot Cake.
4 fairly large pieces of brisket with gravy (so good.)
"Confetti" rice pilaf (not good.)
Salad with too much blue (bleu?) cheese dressing.
"Rosemary" polenta with tomato sauce.
To be fair, I didn't eat much salad. I did eat way too much of the bad pilaf, though, before I realized there was polenta to be had. But even still, I think Mackenzie would've been proud.
Now my dilemma is what to do next. The theme of this entry is: It Never Rains But It Pours. For the last few days I have been bored senseless. Bored to the point of cursing loudly alone in my room... But to be fair, not to the point of cleaning my room.
My to-do list today is as follows:

(Old things I have been putting off:)
Go to B.Babysitting office and find job.
Fold laundry.
Acquire fridge.
Clean room.
Clip fingernails (**acquire nail clippers)
(New things--assigned today:)
Switch stupid CompSci book for newer, bigger, 160 dollar Textbook entitled "Big Java".
Do first Econ problem set (algebra, mostly).
Read last 200 pages of Ragtime.
Fix painfully long Hindi assignment from last week.
Memorize Hindi vocab--pronouns and corresponding "to be" verbs.
Read first three chapters of OTHER compsci textbook.

And, last but not least, watch House season premiere at 8.
And also... buy Hindi books.
Crap.

Tuesday, September 09, 2008

Things

1. The cafeteria people are beginning to recognize my face. I'm the girl who always asks to try a little bit of every single entree and also has the shamelessness and time to return for seconds on almost every single meal.
I try to make up for it by stacking all of the extra plates onto my tray when I send it into the kitchen (there's a conveyor belt that is too big to send a plate down, but some people don't bother with trays and so they just leave their dishes next to the conveyor belt), but they probably just assume they are all my dishes.
I also eat alone. With a book and headphones.
2. My internet doesn't really work. I have this system whereby I reboot it (quit out of all of my windows and turn the airport off and on), but I'm not sure whether it actually helps.
3. I don't have a hamper yet, so I use my desk. I don't think my room mate approves, so I'm going to start using my bottom drawer.
4. I've eaten dinner 3 times so far tonight.
5. Gossip Girl last night. So good.
"I think she saw herself in me. Or rather, I recognized someone in her."

Sunday, September 07, 2008

P.S.

a $50 iTunes gift certificate would be greatly appreciated.

A note about the wildlife here

So I keep seeing these large, funny-looking nocturnal squirrels with naked tails. It turns out they are rats. You here stories about rats here swimming through sewage pipes and popping out of people's toilets and heating vents, and you think--There's no way. Well there is.
These rats can run faster than I can. They can jump from tree to tree with the greatest of ease. For that matter, they can climb trees.
I have never been so impressed with any species as I am with NYC rats. They truly are a species to be revered and emulated by rats and rodents everywhere.

I think my RM friends have ditched me.
But I have the Spice Girls on my iTunes now, so I'm over it already.

Saturday, September 06, 2008

Not enough people have blogs.

Taylor, Liza, Mikele. This means you. Stop wasting your writerly talents.

Rainy day in New York. It's beautiful. Girls are running around with garbage bags held over their heads like coats and little kids are splashing around in ponchos.
It's a good thing I bought two pairs of boots yesterday (for 13 each) because I at least am anticipating quite a few more days like this. I left my window open this morning (and by morning, I mean 2 pm) not anticipating that the sky could possibly have anything left to offer after the storm we had last night (the quad lawn was completely flooded. The Utah in me is very concerned about the quad lawn grass. It has not been treated well these last few weeks.) But it did.
Rian and I were at Nussbaum and Wu's, a deli with amazing bagels, fresh-squeezed oj, and not-so-amazing croissants (I don't think people here understand croissants. I keep buying them expecting something amazing, but they aren't even buttery. They're just sort of like rolls.) I made Rian sit outside with me, and our pants and the outside half of our clothes got soaked, which was ok because then we had to walk back to school, and all of our clothes got soaked.
I finally made a donation to the Barack Obama campaign. A bunch of DNC people were canvassing on Broadway, probably making use of the poor-little-me-stuck-in-the-rain factor, which worked. I donated 28.50-- 1/1,000 of the national limit for individual donations.
I may or may not get around to renting a fridge today. My Hindi homework is calling out to me (everyone pray for me to get into a PE class so that I can drop that mother like a hot potato). Milo is coming to town today, so I guess I'll probably be occupied tonight. Last night was a hanging-out-in-the-lounge-eating-chinese-take-out-and-watching-Failure-to-launch/whatever-was-on-TV night. I made a friend named Aleah (Who knew there were two people in the world named Aleah?). She had colorful puma's and helped me eat my Moo Shu Pork. I am hoping to someday return the favor. Food here is so good.
I'm excited to wear my new skirt and boots to church tomorrow. I will have to not eat today, though, because the skirt, as it turns out, is about 2 sizes too small for me, and, after the chinese last night, is probably now more like 5 sizes too small. I have completely given up on eating well balanced anythings anymore--although I did buy a box of tomatoes at the farmers market yesterday and ate them raw--but I still think the walking is going to balance it out. And the fact that they only feed us twice a day here.
I've run out of things to do.
I shall have to retire to my Hindi homework now.
Email/Call/Comment me!
Love,
eba

Tuesday, September 02, 2008

I realized why nobody reads my blog. It is because I keep calling everyone and telling them everything so that their interest is no longer piqued by my exciting New York life.
I will stop doing that now.

Sunday, August 31, 2008

I am updating too often.

I missed church today and was depressed. Which is an odd feeling.
Usually sleeping through church is always exactly what I want to do.
Sleeping here is impossible, though. I'm going to need to buy a fan soon or else start sleeping outside.
I went to Riverside Park, though (it is definitely Riverside and not Central--I saw a sign. Apparently there is more than one large park in Manhattan.) It was meditative-ish. I spoke to Taylor and sat on a nice bench. I hadn't realized how much I missed grass and trees and plants and dirt until I got there. There was a lovely breeze and people jogging and families picnicking (apparently that is a real word). Very Sunday.
I met a couple of RMs in the dining hall tonight, as well, so I feel as though I've had enough spiritual experience today to practically have gone to church. One of them had gone on his mission to the Ukraine and the other to Hong Kong. They were both very friendly and not in the least creeped out when I asked them if they would show me the best way to get to church next week.
I might want to walk a few times though--from what I could gather from Mapquest, the walking route goes through Central Park.
Sorry this has been dull. I'll try and come up with something a little more entertaining next time.

Saturday, August 30, 2008

Some uncommon facts about NYC:

1. There are dudebros a-plenty.
2. Shampoo costs approx. 1/3 more, which is fine when you're buying shampoo which, in Utah, costs 79 cents.
3. People, at least college people, will look you in the eye.
4. Everyone here has an innate sense of which direction to walk when you are about to run into another person. I do not, unfortunately, which makes for some embarrassing run-ins.
5. Most people here have good hair.
6. Everyone here has good clothes.
7. Most Barnard people own horses. Either horses or two houses.
8. Citibank is cute, but when people here want STRENGTH they go to JP Morgan.
9. People here are on first-name basis with JP Morgan Chase bank.
10. Walking barefoot here is never, EVER an option.

College Post numero dos

I become more and more anti-social as the hours go by. Am looking forward to figuring out how to do my laundry and going to my "RA Night Out" which will hopefully include free ice cream or something similar.
I explored the neighborhood a little bit today--checked out the menus posted at nearby restaurants, sampled a few cheeses at the Westside Market, looked through a couple of used books at a nearby bookstore, and just generally embraced New York.
It really is an amazing place--not to sound trite or anything. I'm blown away every day by the variety of people I see. Charline taught me a game that she plays here called "Hip or Scary." That pretty much sums things up pretty well. There are also beautiful people everywhere. I don't know if it's the nice clothes or the moisture in the air, but I am constantly blown away by how attractive everyone is. Of course, no one so far is as beautiful as all of the people I left behind, but the average here is very high.
Anyhow, I am literally shaking right now because I haven't eaten anything except for salad today--there was some sort of Hillel meal going on in the dining hall today, which I didn't realize, and I felt too guilty to eat any of their food besides the salad. (Obviously I've never felt guilty enough to turn down food all together.)
So I'm going to go find something to eat. I have been frequenting the cheapie soft serve place a block down, but I figure the amount of meals that I miss and the amount that I've been walking will balance that out.
I actually have lost a little weight since getting here.
I love you all and miss you.
Keep me posted, and give me links to your blogssss!!!!!!!!!
Eva

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Sweat

I am putting off a shower right now. It is very unpleasant, but unfortunately necessary, to take showers here. There are only two on our floor, and they are both very low pressure. There is no shelf on which to place your soap, shampoo, conditioner, etc. and negotiating the temperature of the water is time-consuming and confusing. It is much too hot these days to take a hot shower, but then cold showers are always unpleasant. Our showers don't really do the in-between thing, so... I usually just switch off.
I just had my adviser meeting this morning. Neither of us had much to say--I'm pretty happy with my schedule this semester--but he seems pleasant and advising isn't required, so I assume that he's pretty willing to help out if I ever need it.
It's been challenging to make friends here. I guess we're all just in the 100-words-or-fewer conversation mode right now and moving from that to doing-activities/exchanging-phone-numbers level is nigh-on impossible, for me at least.
I'm really just biding my time until classes start. I feel like having a topic of conversation aside from a/c or lack thereof in our dorm rooms and the hypothetical awesome-ness of working as a "Barnard Bartender" will be helpful in making real friends.
I've seen Rian a few times since I got here--it's been comforting to know someone here, even if they are across the street and much busier/more talented at making friends than I am. I've met a few interesting people, but like I said, it's hard to really gage how interested I am in a person who I've only spoken to about air conditioning.
CC, SEAS, and Barnard first-years are all going to Victoria Gardens tonight, so maybe I'll meet some people there. I'd better getting around to showering about now, though, because I have to go to a health forum (again) in a few hours and I have to stop by the bank before I do.
Wish me luck!

Sunday, May 25, 2008

plagiarism

I graduated last night--Read a poem to ab. 100 people I didn't know and a few people I did know, received a diploma and tossed my cap.
My Senior Portfolio Presentation is this Friday--I will be presenting what there is of my cookbook so far (Mackenzie and I got an offer from an upstarting independent publisher, and are composing a query letter to send out to several other potential publishers) and several paper cuts that I've done in the past couple of months. We also had a service portion that I completed by scrubbing floors, organizing libraries, cleaning, and moving with the school, and an internship requirement that I fulfilled by prepping and teaching for over 25 hours--English lessons to the youngin's and a few hours of teaching test prep to the underclassmen.
I will try to post photos of both fairly soon.
In other news, my job at Lon's is going fair but not well. He is being a little stingier with my raise than he had implied, and there have been a few odd conflicts between managers and my coworkers. But it looks like everything is going to work out anyhow with funding tuition next year, and I just spent the night sketching out a tentative class schedule for next year (Mathematic methods for Econ or Intro to Comparative Politics; Intro to Computer Programming in either C or Java; Hindi/Urdu or Arabic; and for my required First Year Foundation course, either "Philosophy of Love"--which I'm not that into, but which my mom is rooting for, and which might be redeemed by readings by Turgenev, Tolstoy, and Chekhov (I've always been fascinated by Russian literature) and by Sophocles, Plato, Euripides, Confucius, Freud, and readings from the Bible--or "Ethnicity and Social Transformation, with readings by Malamud, Philip Roth, Cristina Garcia, Julia Alvarez, Langston Hughes, Malcolm X, Toni Morrison (my favorite author), and others.)
If you made it through that tentative class schedule, I am very proud of you. I'm pretty intimidated by it myself, and I just spent hours reading through advice from professors and students at Barnard, explanations of graduation requirements, and course descriptions. More than intimidated, though, I am ecstatic. The professors and course offerings at Barnard all seem so fascinating that I was tempted to try a full--18 credit--schedule next semester. It is strongly discouraged, though, for incoming freshmen, so I managed to cut it down.
There is also a program for incoming freshmen the week before Orientation that I am planning on applying for--Columbia Urban Experience--that is only $300 for a week of accommodations and activities in the city--including social activities such as Latin Dancing and a walking tour on the Brooklyn Bridge, and community service activities such as teaching classes at the Harlem YMCA and hand delivering meals from the "God's Love We Deliver" program to disadvantaged New York residents with HIV, AIDS, and other chronic illnesses.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Senioritus

I worked on my creative portfolio for 2 hours today. It really frustrates me to know that anything I do right now is going to be practice and nothing more. I can't even bring myself to buy acid-free paper so that the project I am doing lasts, because in 2 years I'm just going to think it was really stupid. This is basically how I feel about my life right now. When will I be a real person, and not just be practicing for the "real world"?
I'll tell you when--when I graduate from college in 4-12 more years.
Sigh.
I don't want to work anymore. I am soooo excited for my day off tomorrow. I feel like I've been working at Lon's for my whole life already, and it's only like my third week.
Anyhow.
I'll say interesting things later.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

The Shack

Mrh.
That is my word of choice right now. I just got back from my place of employment, so I smell like smoke, but it's okay because I got $5 dollars in tips. Not usually an accomplishment, but my place of employment happens to host many poor tippers, and is in Utah where people don't tip anyhow, and I have to split it with everyone even though I am the one who cleans a lot of the dishes, buses the tables, takes the orders (drive-through and otherwise), and sometimes takes the food out to the customerios.
They call them "friends". I think it's creepy, but they think it fosters a spirit of comradery. Or something.
Alice and Jim are staying here, and I've been starved for intelligent company since every single one of my friends went to Turkey, so I've been hanging around listening to their adulty conversations, and probably being really annoying, but quenching (somewhat) my thirst for... You know, smart people.
I'm tired.
Ilona's B-day is on thurs (well, her party), and then it's dad. I have to buy presents still (with my five-dollar tip) and take her out to dinner, so that will mean an awkward money-related convo with the elders.
Sigh. Sigh, sigh, sigh.
On the bright side, Anthem and Shorty (Shawty?) Low played in a row, and are my favorite songs on the radio. If you say that out loud it rhymes. Or if you say it in your head.
I will leave you know, with those thoughts.
Must do laundry and organize my closet. Straightened my hair today, which means no shower/hair doing tomorrow morning.
Hooray!
Eva

Monday, March 10, 2008

First Post

What do I want this blog to be? Who do I want to read it? Etc.
I hear about people getting rich off of blogs, gaining huge followings, etc. I just wanted to read my friends' blogs, to be honest. And I wouldn't mind getting rich.
What would life be without a little out-loud navel-gazing?
Not as fun, that's what.