Saturday, June 24, 2006

They have claimed hockey as their national sport, but haven't taken the Cup since 1993...Granted, most of the Canadian team's players are from Europe and most of the players on the US teams are Canadian, but it's still awkward to think of Canada not being dominant in the sport.

I blame this on Murphy's Law. It seems that whenever a country loves one sport too much, something happens to bite them in the ass. For even more evidence, we can go stateside.

Baseball is still called "America's Passtime" despite the fact that almost no American kids play anymore and most of the love of the game has to be imported from Central America and the Carribean. And, for some reason, we call out national championship "The World Series" despite the fact that only American teams play. Well, we finally decided to take our national passtime on the road and play against the rest of the world, hoping to show that Americans still love their baseball.

Naturally, Japan won.

Let's also not get started on the basketball. Now, I don't follow basketball too much (can't stand the sport in fact), but I seem to recall a little something taking place during the last Summer Olympics...What was that again? Oh yeah...I think it was something to the effect of the US team suddenly realizing that many it's most talented NBA players were imported from other countries. In short: Fuck.

We're just bringing it on ourselves. You can't claim a sport, without invoking Murphy's law! Meanwhile, there's the World Cup. Nobody claims to own soccer, and they all play together. Maybe that's why we couldn't give a rat's ass: We can't even pretend to have cornered the market.

In conclusion, countries need to stop proclaiming "national sports." It will only lead to heartbreak and tears. In the meantime, I say we in America tap in to our fast natural resource of fat peole and begin training Sumo wrestlers...then those bastards on the other side of the Pacific can see how it feels....

Music: Ben Folds - Still
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First of two entries tonight. This one's gonna be a "my life" roundup, so bear with me.

Good news and bad news. I had another practice LSAT test today. I've been studying my ass off, so I was pretty confident about my score going up. I had it all together before the break between the third and fourth sections. I was confident and focused, but it's the fourth and fifth sections that really count, because you know both of them will be scored (usually, the unscored experimental section is hidden amongst the first three)

Section four: Logic games. My Achilles Heal. I ended up leaving an entire game blank, but what I did, I was pretty sure I did well. I was stocked for the fifth section, Logical Reasoning. This has been my bread and butter since the first time I took the LSAT. I'm about three questions in when it starts...

Apparently the people in the classroom next to ours were having a great time...because we heard every yelled word of their conversation and their hysterical laughter. This went on for about 30 minutes of the 35 minute section. All of us taking the test were distraught. We couldn't leave the room to yell at them, but it was impossible to concentrate. I thought the one girl was going to cry. It took me twice as long to read the questions, but I just couldn't hear myself think.

So...After all of my hard work and practice...I got the same exact grade as my first diagnostic test. The thing is, I showed improvement in every other section, but not being able to concentrate on that last section KILLED my score. Sure, that won't be a problem on the day of the real LSAT, but it still ticks me off that I have absolutely nothing to show for my work so far.

Grrr...

This transmission logged byErisSaid on 8:10 PM

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Friday, June 23, 2006

I...
I am: ambitious
I love: bubble baths
I hate: haters
I fear: constantly
I hope: for the best
I hear: my hard-drive trying to stay functional.
I crave: chocolate
I regret: a few things, but not much
I cry: at all the wrong things
I care: too much sometimes
I listen: when someone needs me to
I hide: lots of things
I drive: well, I think
I sing: poorly
I write: for fun
I run: only under extreme circumstances
I miss: things prematurely
I feel: headachey
I say: nothing too shocking
I dream: almost constantly
I wonder: what's going on
I want: to fufill my potential
I have: a good life
I fight: when I need to

Favorites...
bands: too many, but I've been on a Tom Waits kick for awhile
music genre: Anything really unique
cereal: Golden Grahms
color m & m: orange
day: thursday
month: October
season: Fall
shoes: sneakers
person to talk to online: I don't go online much...stupid computer

This or That...
boxers or briefs? boxers
plaid or striped? Plaid
alt or rap? Alt
salt or pepper? salt
coke or pepsi? Coke
Sprite or 7-up? 7-Up
okay, ok, or o.k.? Okay or ok. The dots are dumb
shake or stir? Stir
bright colors or dark colors: bright
sunshine or rain? Sunshine or raging thunderstorm. I like my weather to be decisive
silver or gold? Silver

Short Answer...
left handed or right handed? Righty
are you smart? I think so
whats your middle name? Ann...what a cop-out
tattoos? none
do you read your horoscope? Don't go out of my way to
can you do a cartwheel? Yes.
can you drive? Yes
do you keep a journal? ...Yes...This one
what do you sleep in? Huge t-shirts with either pj-pants or boxers
how many pillows do you have? Two
is your room messy? As messy as it's allowed to get.
do you sleep with a stuffed animals? There's one near by...just in case
are you ticklish? yes
are you a morning person? NO

Hard Questions...
if you had to dye your hair right now, what color would you make it?: I always thought I'd make a good redhead, but Blue could be fun too...
if you had to get a body piercing right now where would it be?: Teeny stud in nose or upper ear.
if you had to get a tattoo right now, what would it be?: There's a symbol I really like and have been considering.
Spell your name backward: htebazile
If you could have any animal for a pet, what would it be? A doggie! Maybe another cocker spaniel or another little doggie.

Describe your...
Pillow cover: White-ish.
Favorite top: Navy blue halter top.
Cologne/Perfume: Still like my Gaultier
CD in stereo right now: Haven't used that thing in ages
Stereo: silver and wood
Wearing: black pj-bottoms w/ pink college shirt
hair: ponytail
height: 5'3 3/4

Either/Or...
tea or coffee: tea
cats or dogs: Dogs all the way
pen or pencil: Pen
gloves or mittens: Gloves
cassette or cd: iPod

You...
want: my heartburn to go away so I can sleep.
want to be: travelling!
you are: sleepy

This transmission logged byErisSaid on 12:25 AM

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Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Music: Carbon Leaf - What About Everything?
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I did it. I defeated unemployment. I have a job! And a good one. Starting soon I'll be kind of a fake paralegal for a small practice's Dover branch. I'll finally get to start using my spanish again while seeing exactly what a law office does from the inside. I get the impression that the woman I'll be working for makes kind of a habit of hiring young women who hope to someday go to law school but are taking the time to earn a little money first. Nice to know.

On top of this, I've been studying my ass off for this LSAT class. I'm going above and beyond the requirements for the course and doing absolutely everything the syllabus suggests. As far as I'm concerned, the LSAT nothing more than a barrier. A nuisence that I need to get around to get where I need to be. It's not a test of whether or not I should be going to law school. I know I belong in law school. The LSAT is just trying to stop me. When the diagnostic test indicated that 10 additional hours a week of study outside class wouldn't be enough to get the score I want, that was just another challenge.

I think I've gotten myself up to about 20 additional hours a week. I barely see people anymore and sit in my room all day on top of the headaches I'm getting, but this is what I have to do.

I'm serious about this. For some reason, a lot of people have gotten the impression I'm a flake (my parents among them). People pass judgement when they can't see you working. All they see is that I'm in my room all day and they assume that I'm slacking off. I'm pretty sure people back at Bucknell were under the impression that I never worked too. Is it because I'm too calm or something? I don't talk about schoolwork because, well...it's a dull topic of conversation and why would my friends care about all the government documents I'd just finshed paraphrasing for a paper. I'm also organized enough that I can postpone certain work in favor of hanging out whithout falling behind. Basically, by having my shit together I think I gave everyone the impression that I'm a fucking debacle of a person.

Now, if you'll please excuse me, I have the next two and a half hours blocked off for study and may need an extra half an hour to get pizza before people come over to visit

This transmission logged byErisSaid on 5:05 PM

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Monday, June 19, 2006

Music: Bjork - Hunter
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Something I realize more than ever is that sometimes I just have to ignore my dad. He's been telling me that my laptop is "fine" and I "don't need" a desktop computer. Meanwhile, I'm asking desktop level work out of this piece of crap and it's freezing more than ever. Sometimes in the middle of homework assignments! Mom and I talked yesterday and I think we're just going to go over his head on this one. If he complains about not being able to get the woreless connection to go down in the basement (it barely reaches my room two doors down), we can just get the company to come put in a hard-wired connection in the back. So, basically, I'm going to be getting a real computer soon. Then I can finally get all this crap off the laptop and let it run properly again.

In other news, still no callback regarding my interview this past Friday.

And I STILL have homework to do. If it wasn't such mind-numbing formal logic exercises I might be more interested, but it's dam hard to stick to the task at hand when I could be watching another movie or...well...writing a pointless blog entry.

Missions for the day: Finish homework
Start practicing Arabic again
Find my fuckin' comic books....damnit...

This transmission logged byErisSaid on 12:57 PM

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Friday, June 16, 2006

Music: Guster - Amsterdam
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I had my first interview today. I think it went pretty well. The lawyer said she was interested in bringing me in for the year, but she needed to evaluate whether or not there was room in the practice for another helper. I'm really crossing my fingers on this one, because it seems like it would be a really good job for me: a chance to use my language skills, and get a view of a small law practice at the same time.

On the LSAT front, I had class again tonight. My diagnostic test went much better than I'd thought. I think I really have a chance to get a good score. That door being open, I can go where I want...Now I just have to figure out where that is.

In more topical news, "Save The Internet" has an excellent video on its front page which explains the necesity of net neutrality very clearly. It's kind of a difficult issue to explain, but this little low-tech video does a good job detailing just what's at stake here. If you're still unclear just what the hell everyone's up in arms about, let youTube help you out.

This transmission logged byErisSaid on 12:34 AM

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Wednesday, June 14, 2006

Music: Green Day - Whatsername
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I really wish I could feel like a grown-up. But that's *really* hard when your mommy still goes through all of your stuff in the name of cleaning up.

I did a little experiment before going away to Spain. I asked my mother for an opaque Rubbermaide containter to put things in, and asked her to promise not to go in to it. I didn't really put anything in there. Just a pair of old jeans and a few DVD cases that were sitting around. Then I put it in the closet to test my theory that she was physically incapable of leaving it alone.

I was right. When I got back, the jeans were ironed and hanging in my closet and the DVD cases were gone.

This isn't the only thing that's proven how she can't leave things alone. I'm CONSTANTLY looking for my old comic book collection, and my bag of manga has been missing for almost a year. My mother is like the OCD Mafia: Things just dissappear.

I feel like I've earned the right to hang on to my things and not have my privacy violated over and over and over. I mean, shit, I'm almost 22, a college graduate and soon I'll have a full time job to go with it.

Speaking of which, I'm kicking some ass on the job hunt front. I went around Morristown with copies of my resume and started handing them out like candy in every building I saw with the words "Attorny At Law." Apparently I'm awesome, because it's only been three days since and I already have two interviews and have had another interested call.

Go me. Now can i please keep whatever I want in my fucking room?

This transmission logged byErisSaid on 6:40 PM

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Monday, June 12, 2006

Stole a survey from V

Open iTunes and fill out this survey, no matter how embarassing the responses might be.

How many songs: 2569

Sort by Song Title
First Song: #1 Crush - Garbage
Last Song: Zoot Suit Riot - Cherry Poppin' Daddies

Sort by Time
Shortest Song: "Zee Germans" (Film Dialogue) - Jason Statham
Longest Song: Mogwai Fear Satan - Mogwai

Sort by AlbumFirst album: (Last Night We Were) The Delicious Wolves - Hawksley Workman
Last album: Zoot Suit Riot - Cherry Popping Daddies

Top Five Most Played Songs
1) Cherry Lips - Garbage
2) I Started A Joke - The Wallflowers
3) I Fought The Law - Green Day
4) White Flag - Dido
5) Restraining Order Blues - Eels

First song that comes up on Shuffle: Out Of Control - Super Furry Animals

Search the following and state how many songs come up:
Death - 7
Life - 29
Love - 138
Hate - 25
You - 244
Sex - 3

********
Your Life: The Soundtrack
Opening credits: John Mayer - Bigger Than My Body
Waking up: Dave Pirner - Tube of Wonderful
Average day: Ani DiFranco - Little Plastic Castle
First date: Tori Amos - A Sort Of Fairy Tale
Falling in love: Nick Drake - One of These Things First
Love scene: Theivery Corporation - Lebanese Blonde
Fight scene: Yeah Yeah Yeah's - Tick
Breaking up: Save Ferris - Goodbye
Getting back together: Save Ferris - Nobody But Me
Secret love: Weezer - El Scorcho
Life's okay: The Verve - Bittersweet Symphony
Mental breakdown: Catatonia - Do You Believe In Me?
Driving: Tom Waits - Kommienezuspadt
Learning a lesson: Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet - Our Weapons are Useless
Deep thought: Sigur Ros - Starálfur
Flashback: Ben Folds 5 - Kate
Partying: The Von Bondies - C'Mon C'Mon
Happy dance: John Lennon - Instant Karma
Regreting: Guster - Demons
Long night alone: Floggin Molly - Death Valley Queen
Death scene: Dropkick Murphys - Forever
Closing credits: Tom Waits - Alice

This transmission logged byErisSaid on 12:38 PM

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Sunday, June 11, 2006

Goddamnit, Rodney...

This is exactly the kind of shit that makes me hate politicians so much. Face it, folks: We live in a world where our thoughts, emotions, and preferences are sold to the highest bidding corporations.

The whole point of the internet is that it's a primordial soup of thought. Good things, bad things, everything gets vented out here. Sure, most of the "discussion" that goes on through the internet consists of calling people and their mothers disparaging names, but you really can learn a lot if you have access to all of the tools.

I don't like to think that I'm being denied something that can further my knowledge. I can't fathom being blocked from Wikipedia, or having Google load at 28.8 speed just because they didn't pay their protection money on time. I'm not an alarmist by nature, but DAMN this scares me.

I've been raised with a near X-Files-level paranoia regarding media companies (want to sit in one spot for a few hours? Ask my dad what he thinks about the telecoms.), and this just proves it for me. Ted Turner and Rupert Murdoch will be able to decide which news I get on the internet now, instead of just on TV. I stoped watching TV news for this exact reason, choosing to read around three news sites a day to try and balance everything out.

As I've said, I'm not an alarmist, and I'm not a partisan. I hate both political parties equally and the fact that Net Neutrality got voted down by plenty of people from both sides supports my cynicism. In the end, they're all for sale regardless of their campaign promises.

It's still got to pass the Senate, so there's still time. I'll try a combination of email and telephone this time. I know it's like throwing a rock at an atom bomb, but I can't give up on this country yet. There has to be someone out there who remembers the people who voted them in to office...If I give up...Then I've lost before I started...

This transmission logged byErisSaid on 2:13 AM

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Saturday, June 10, 2006

Music: The White Stripes - Offend in Every Way
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I think I think too much about things. Things that seem simple. For example, what movie could possibly be more simple and without depth then Napoleon Dynamite? But lately I've been thinking...



What if Napoleon Dynamite is actually a loose, modern interpretation of the classic story of Don Quijote?

Stop laughing. I'm serious.

It all started when I was watching Robot Chicken. One of the sketches was "Napoleon Bonamite." It was really funny by itself, but eventually the Pedro parody says something to the effect of "You could be emperor, maybe. I don't know. As long as I get my mule."

That's when it hit me...Napoleon Dynamite, the character, basically spends the movie trying to show everyone how awesome he is and win a lady's heart. This is pretty similar to Don Quijote, who has plenty of ambition to change the world, but mostly just want's to be awesome and noteworthy. They are both characters living out of their time, and failing to reconcile the differences.

Then there's Pedro. He's really what got me thinking. The thing about the mule, specifically. Sancho Panza basically has two goals: Get more livestock, and become king of his own island. Instead of king of an island, Pedro runs for class president with the help of his slightly loopy leader.

I'm not crazy! The paralells are there. Especially in that they don't win. That's everybody's big mistake about Don Quijote. People who think they know the story but haven't read the book don't seem to realize that Don Quijote and his idealism don't win out in the end. He fails. Just like our movie characters.

I can't possibly be the only person who thinks this way. After all, the Robot Chicken guys put in that line about the mule.

::transmission ended::

This transmission logged byErisSaid on 4:10 PM

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Friday, June 09, 2006

Music: Tom Waits - Alice
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IT'S ALIVE!!

Yep. I'm going to try and get back in to this whole blogger thing. I have a lot of things that I want to be writing down and the MySpace format just isn't working for my anymore. Besides, I like this template a whole lot more. I feel like it's just more appropriate to how I write.

I just got back from Paris last week and one of my favorite parts was writing in my journal every night. Basically, writing is fun. Blogging is fun. Especially since I can add fun pictures like the Robot Chicken.

Thinking about what I'm going to do with this Blog...I think I'll be a bit more versatile with it than I have been in the past. I might use it to go off about movies or music I've been listening to. Books, too. I've been reading a lot lately.

So yeah. That's me for now. Let's see when I get back to this.

This transmission logged byErisSaid on 6:29 PM

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