29 November 2001

[Karma for a Buck]

all i can say is that i must be working off some seriously bad karma. i hope it's worked off by saturday, the day of my exam. i think i'm grinding my teeth again in my sleep; hell, i do it while i'm awake.

23 November 2001

[Drowning in My Beer]

let's see. over the last two days i have: celebrated the 24th anniversary of my birth; eaten way too much (on my birthday and thanksgiving); watched several movies; bought tomb raider on dvd; made some desktop wallpapers (at pyrrha.org/drowning); and last but not least, fretted about an exam i'm taking on december 1st - which i have yet to really study for. i have managed to spend my thanksgiving break like a gluttonous sloth. i needed it though. oh wait - that's not entirely true. i ought to talk about the bathtub, the bathtub which has never been clean, no matter what i use. anyhoo, i started cleaning it with oxy clean on the 20th, which i must admit, cleaned stains, but not the layer of yuck. you see, i have an "old person's tub" with the textured bottom to keep one from slipping. this damn texture likes to accumulate and harbor all sorts of yick. soap scum and dirt sticks to the cavernous grooves and breeds. while i was out doing the family thing, Tom scraped the tub with, get this, the fucking spatula (good thing i have two). he got up most of the yick. today we bought some comet and brillo pads and went at it, spent about 20 minutes or so just scrubbing the piss out of the tub. i must admit, it looks great, cleaner than it was over three years ago when i moved into this place. granted, to the average person, it prolly still looks dirty. i could continue and talk about the fridge i cleaned this week, the fridge that i never cleaned (because it was covered with magnets, report cards - two of which were undergraduate report cards from over two years ago - expired coupons, stickers, photos, a 2 dollar scratch off lotto ticket, a letter from steve chabot, and a coat of brown grossness from the time i caught a bag of popcorn on fire in the kitchen. great fun! think i'm gonna study tomorrow. despite the fact that i sooo need to do laundry. maybe i ought to while i'm on this cleaning streak.

17 November 2001

[Fiction Bitch]

i started trying to write some fiction yesterday, not that it really matters. i get so ahead of myself. i have great ideas - and i scramble to get all the brainstorming down. but after that's done, i'm too tired to put it together. yesterday, i wrote a solid three pages or so (yes lame, but i did it even with the distractions of high school students at work - so gimme some credit) of what i think is solid stuff. i read over it today after letting it rest for the evening; i really think i have something. my main character, is, of course a girl. she's had enough. she breaks things, rules. she kills, she starts fires. but she's still very dependent on others. my opening chapter actually takes place towards the end of the plot, sort of pulp fiction esque. if i can crank out 10 pages a week (a small goal, i realize, but i'm a busy girl), then i should have something within the next year or so. with spring semester coming up in january, i'll need to make sure i still pay attention to my studies. i'm taking shakespeare and feminist lit. lots of fun. it will be. i just need to put myself back in student mode.

12 November 2001

[Slashed Tires and Split Ends]

had my car looked at today. nothing a new transmission can't fix. too bad my car isn't worth the cost of a new transmission. s'pose i'll have to learn to love the way my car sputters when it hits its flat spot. it's funny - i can drive fast and nothing happens. it's driving within the highway speed limit that causes my car to act funny. but officer, if i don't speed . . . in other news, i created a li'l site. i'm calling it puella for now. it's a little hub for my cam, journal, and ecstasis. it's the first webpage i created using photoshop. ususally i slice images on my own. but i let adobe do it for me this time. i am impressed. quick, easy, and painless. of course, i tweaked the code myself a bit with some java for pop-ups. puella can be seen at www.pyrrha.org/puella. i'm sure minor things about it will change within the next few days or so. i was thinking about joining some cam portals. i checked out a few portals i like and downloaded banners. still haven't gotten around to getting a haircut. i guess i could get crazy and do some trimming myself to tide my urges until i have enough money to go to mitchells. the last time i actually went to a salon, it was because i had a gift certificate to mitchell's. the stylist did a great job. her name was jessica. if i go back, i'm definitely asking for her again. i really ought to get ready for work. the high school i work at is closed today, but i guess miami university is too good to close for verterans' day. my students are doing presentations, so i don't really have anything to do but just watch and ask questions. we had a few presentation last wednesday; i must admit - they were pretty damn good. on saturday, i sent my mt.dew wallpaper to pepsi, just for shits and grins. they wrote me back. Hello! Thank you for taking the time to contact us here at the Pepsi-Cola Company. It was very kind of you to share your wonderful pictures with us - you really made our day. Here at Pepsi, we work to insure that our products reach the highest possible standards of quality taste and enjoyment. That's why it means so much to us here to receive recognition from the people that matter the most to us -- loyal friends like you. Again, many thanks for thinking of your friends here at the Pepsi-Cola Company. We look forward to your continued support for many years to come! --The Pepsi World Webmaster webmaster@pepsi.com http://www.pepsi.com

08 November 2001

[Well, if you insist]

today has been interesting. basically, i've been reminded just how incompetant "professional people" can be. having a college education means jack. today (and tommorrow) a big chunk of the junior class is on a field trip to the library. about 2 or 3 weeks ago, one of the junior english teachers flagged me down and asked me sub for her during the days of this trip. while most of her students are gone, there are some staying behind for various reasons. plus, this particular teacher has two other literature classes with sophomores and seniors; obviously, these classes needed to be attended to. well, two days ago, one of the "less capable" teachers asked if could sub for her. she even acted suprised and dissappointed that my services were already requested by another. knowing that there was going to be a "sub" issue (because, well, three junior english teachers would be gone on this trip), she should have taken care of her dilemma earlier. perhaps it wasn't an issue of knowing there was going to be a sub issue. perhaps she didn't realize there was any issue. obviously, she doesn't realize her own incompetance, which really should be an issue because she's supposed to be sculpting the minds of future america (er, future incarcerated america is more like it). and here i go again. well, so she never found a sub. and she was irritated, like i needed to cater to her in this *monstrous* moment of need. and i did. rather than point out (again) that i was busy, i made arrangements for her remaining students to go to the high school library. i had to grovel. the librarian wasn't keen with the idea of me leaving a small group without a teacher. i explained my sitution. i also noted that i understood her feelings. but i made it clear, that i was in a pickle. i was told that the groups was small - only five students. i assured the librarian that these five students would be no problem. she agreed to take the kids for the bell. so, i ran back upstairs and walked the NINE kids down the library (clearly, the stupid english teacher cannot count like a typical 3 year old can). that college education did her well in life, didn't it? can't count but can thrown a hissy fit. hmmmm. luckily the librarian didn't say anything about the extra four students. i got the kids situated, signed them in, and ran back to the second floor where i then attended to the duties asked of me over two weeks ago. at least the students i left unattended were quietly reading. it's not like i had to abandon complete jerks to take care of the petty problems of the day. they were good. and that makes me happy. inept adults, on the other hand, make me frown. and our educational systems is surely full of them. oh woe. i guess i can't talk too much. i've put things off. and sometimes i am pretty inadequate. and when this happens, i don't whine hoping someone else will solve my problems for me. the work day is over for me. yay. the hallways are silent after the storm of students rushing to their lockers and running down the hall. i need to call firestone about changing my appointment to get my car looked at. i really want to get my hair cut today. i really need to get on the ball about studying for my comprehensive final. but dammit, i want a haircut first!

06 November 2001

[Geek?]

I AM 66% GEEK. Nerd, Freak, Geek, Dweeb. Sound familiar? That's okay, cause I will be the richest person at my 15th year high-school reunion. If a "con" isn't happening that weekend. and, i suppose this is a good thing. though i am sorta dissappointed that i'm not geekier. i think i lost my geek points for not being a virgin and for drinking. also, i'm skeptical as to whether spiderman can take on wolverine. ho-hum. the "interpretation" of geek, for me, is not quite accurate. i highly doubt that i'll be the richest person at my 15th year h.s. reunion. i think, however, that tacks on an extra 10 or 15 points for me. i'm not a geek for money - i'm a geek out love for the life. lord. you'd think a person finishing her second master's degree would make enough money to support herself without biting her nails when balancing the checkbook. why didn't i go into something practical? why didn't i get a degree which would guarantee my security after only four years of college? i guess i can question myself all day (i tend to do it a lot after i've just paid a schload of bills). am i happy? to a degree, yes.

04 November 2001

[Lubed.]

well, i shoulda left 20 minutes ago to get an oil change. my car is very thirsty. i have a few "free" oil changes at firestone, but it's not like jiffy lube where you're in and out in less than half an hour. i took my car to firestone yesterday and i would have had to wait three hours - perhaps if i felt like hanging out in media play for that amount of time, it would have been ok. but the fact of the matter was that, well, i didn't. yuk, i really need to shower. to be continued later.

03 November 2001

[New Video Card]

feeling a bit red. managed to get through the week with one hangover, a staff development meeting, and a confrontation with a xerox machine. but all is well now. last night i bought a new video card; my old one simply decided not to work any more. i had all sorts of shadowing lines on my monitor which moved in accordance to what was being moved on the desktop. so, i shelled out a little cash and bought a nice one. my eyes are so thankful.