Things to Know

This comes from a token person, and you are reading it as a punishment for something you did wrong.

1. What is the geekiest part of your music collection?
The Dixie Chicks. I never want anyone to see that on my iPod on the train.

2. What do you eat when you raid the fridge late at night?
I don't raid the fridge at night, but if I do raid, it's almost always for some sort of pizza-related product.

3. What is your secret guaranteed weeping movie?
I only cry at commercials, not movies.

4. If you could have plastic surgery, what would you have done?
Have my penis removed.

5. Do you have a completely irrational fear?
Stairs and escalators. Don't know why.

6. What is the little physical habit that gives away your insecure moments?
I guess I fold my arms. I pace too much and talk too fast when I speak in public, I don't know if that's nerves though.

7. Are you a pyromaniac?
No, my mom taught me that if you play with fire, you'll wet the bed. She's a smart lady.

8. Do you have too many interests?
Is this possible? I wish to have more interests.

9. Do you know anyone famous?
Not yet.

10. Describe your bed?
Full-size. Excessive pillows.

11. Spontaneous or planned?
It depends on what. When it comes to hanging out, spontaneous is totally cool, but I find that it takes some planning to get more than two people in one place at a time these days.

12. Who should play you in a movie about your life?
Winona Ryder. Without the stealing. That would be my brother.

13. Do you know how to play poker?
Yes. and Euchre too, but it doesn't mean I want to play.

14. What do you carry with you at all times?
Herpes. (some of these I just have to go for)

15. What do you miss most about being a kid?
The simple pleasures like getting a kick out of spinning around until you get dizzy and fall down.

16. Are you happy with your given name?
Yeah, and people have always told me they can't imagine me with any other name.

17. How much money would it take to get you to give up the Internet for one year?
I don't see how this is possible.

18. What color is your bedroom?
What color is laundry?

19. What was the last song you were listening to?
David Gray, I forget which song.

20. Have you ever been in a play?
Yeah, you could say that.

21. Have you ever been in love?
I suppose.

22. Do you talk a lot?
Less than I write.

23. Do you like yourself and believe in yourself?
I'd like to say yes here and move on, but...

24. Do transient, homeless, or starving people sometimes annoy you?
I like the approach of pretending to be ingrossed in fingernails, an iPod or the road ahead.

25. Do you consider yourself to be a nice person?
Typically.

26. Do you spend more time with your girlfriend/boyfriend or your friends?
Uhhhh...?

27. What is your ideal marriage location?
Not doing that.

28. Which musical instrument do you wish you could play?
The piano. That would have been more realistic than the guitar.

29. Favorite fabric?
Velvet. Like on the art posters.

30. Something you both love and hate?
Money.

31. What kind of bedding do you use?
I'm not sure what this question is getting at. Should I say hay?

32. Do you tell your friends about your sex life?
Ha! ...Friends!

33. What's the one language you want to learn?
Spanish. After so many semesters of it, you'd think I'd have a better handle on it.

34. How do you eat an apple?
Baked. In pie.

35. What do you order at a bar?
Killians or Rum and Coke.

36. Have you ever pierced your body parts?
Just my ears.

37. Do you have tattoos?
Yeah. love it.

38. Do you drive a stick?
If you define "drive a stick" as "ride the Metrorail", then sure.

39. What's one trait you hate in a person?
Passive Agressiveness.

40. What kind of watch(es) do you wear?
$9 Target kind.

41. Most frivolous purchase?
Pedro the iPod. So totally worth it though.

42. Do you consider yourself materialistic?
Well comparitively no, but I've been told otherwise.

43. What do you cook the best?
Mexican. Love it.

44. Favorite writing tool?
Keyboard?

45. Do you prefer to stand out or blend in?
Blend baby.

46. Would you ever go out dressed like the opposite sex?
I was a man for Halloween once. That was fun.

47. What's one car you will never buy?
Is this question real?

48. What kind of books do you like to read?
Something that will change my life.

49. If you won the lottery, what would you do?
Make some arrangements.

50. Burial or cremation?
Whatever's cheap at the time. Is there a cupon?

51. How many online journals do you read regularly?
sixish?

52. What's one thing you're a sore loser at?
Getting my way. hah!

53. If you don't like a person, how do you show it?
I don't need to show anything. If I don't like someone, they are removed from my life.

54. Do you cry in front of your friends?
I just started doing this recently. I'm such a baby.

55. What kind of first impression do you think you give to people?
I think the size thing gives everyone the idea that I'm really butch and tough.

56. What's one thing you like to do alone?
Shower.

57. Are you a giver or a taker?
I give a lot and as often as I am able. I also ask for a lot from my friends.

58. When's the last time you cried?
It's been a while. I'm spent.

59. Favorite communication method?
Words?

60. How many drinks before you're tipsy?
Beers=3 or two tall and a short Liquors=3 shots

61. Do you think you're cute?
I think I'm funny.

62. Do you have problems changing clothes in front of friends?
I have trouble changing my mind in front of friends.

My Adventures in the Real World

Let's face it, no matter what you do, the first week of work totally blows. You could love everything about your job, but until you know how to do it, it's absolutely miserable, and 5pm can not come soon enough.

Started my new job this week- Monday was a very important day of signing one paper and meeting several people then heading home after an hour. Tuesday was a different story. The group from California was in town for a meeting, so obviously, in my first three hours of work, I sat in taking notes. I have only ever taken notes for Campus Programming Board. And maybe Show Choir. I had no idea what they were talking about (what is it with the corporate world and their acronyms?) so I wrote down everything that I could. Reminded me a lot of college. After that, I was relieved by the woman I am replacing (she's still around for another month so that I get training) only to sit for the rest of the day with pretty much nothing else to do. I explored the company website.

Today was slightly better in that there was a little bit more structured training. I actually got a job description and started on some online training modules. I have so much to look forward to tomorrow.

I finally felt like I belonged in the city today. I left for work and got in the elevator with four other people who were dressed exactly like me. I walked to the train and sat with other people who got off at the same stop (or a stop or two before) as me. I took lunch in a break room. I couldn't get onto the first train home because it was too busy, and when I finally did get on, I had to stand the whole 25 minute ride home. I have a plastic badge with my picture that I wear on my belt and I sit in an office area that is essentially a classified cubicle. The only thing that was missing from my day was a conversation around the water cooler about last night's episode of Big Brother.

I am an adult... until happy hour.

Forwards 101

Story in Tampa Newspaper

Will we still be the Country of choice and still be Americaif we continue
to make the changes forced on us by the people from other countries that came to live in Americabecause it is the Country of Choice??????
Think about it . .

All I have to say is, when will they do something about MY RIGHTS? I celebrate Christmas, but because it isn't celebrated by everyone, we can no longer say Merry Christmas. Now it has to be Season's Greetings. It's not Christmas vacation, it's Winter Break Isn't it amazing how this winter break ALWAYS occurs over the Christmas holiday? We've gone so far the other way, bent over backwards to not offend anyone, that I am now being offended. But it seems that no one has a problem with that.
This says it all!

This is an editorial written by an
American citizen, published in a
Tampanewspaper He did quite a job; didn't he? Read on, please!

IMMIGRANTS,
NOT AMERICANS,
MUST ADAPT.
I am tired of this nation worrying about whether we
are offending some individual or their culture. Since the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11,
we have experienced a surge
in patriotism by the majority
of Americans. However, the dust from the attacks had
barely settled when the "politically correct" crowd began complaining about
the possibility that our patriotism was offending others.

I am not against immigration, nor do I hold a grudge against anyone who is seeking a better life by coming to America. Our population is almost entirely made up of descendants of immigrants. However, there
are a few things that those
who have recently come to
our country, and apparently some born here, need to understand. This idea of Americabeing a
multicultural communit y
has served only to dilute our sovereignty and our national identity. As Americans, we
have our own culture, our
own society, our own language and our own lifestyle. This culture has been developed over centuries of struggles, trials, and victories by millions of men and women who have sought freedom.


We speakENGLISH, not Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, or any other language.
Therefore, if you wish to become part
of our society, learn the language!

"In God We Trust" is our national motto. This is not some Christian, right wing, political slogan. We adopted this motto because Christian men and women,
on Christian principles, founded this nation, and this is clearly documented.
It is certainly appropriate to display it
on the walls of our schools. If God
offends you, then I suggest you
consider another part of the world as
your new home, because God is part
of our culture.

If Stars and Stripes offend you, or
you don't like Uncle Sam, then you
should seriously consider a move
to another part of this planet. We
are happy with our culture and have
no desire to change, and we really
don't care how you did things where
you came from. This is
OUR COUNTRY,
our land, and our lifestyle. Our First Amendment gives every citizen the
right to express his opinion and we
will allow you every opportunity to do
so. But once you are done complaining, whining, and griping about our flag,
our pledge, our national motto, or our
way of life, I highly encourage you
take advantage of one other great American freedom,
THE RIGHT TO LEAVE.

It is Time for America to Speak up
If you agree -- pass this along;
if you don't agree -- delete it!

AMEN


Dear Dad,
Thanks for the email. I’ve been thinking about it a lot and the man who wrote it is right. I should take more advantage of my freedoms as an American. That is why I have decided to move to Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada with my Arab immigrant boyfriend. We have decided to marry there as soon as we are able to obtain our greencards (and of course once his assault charges get cleared). This should not take more than a few months since Canada does not have as much useless red tape as the United States. I guess this is what you face when you move to a country with no prejudices against people from other countries. I was thinking that I’ll be happier there anyway, and maybe I could take some of my liberal, left-wing feminazi friends with me in order to open up more jobs for the people of his country who believe in just the ideals the man in Tampa is writing about. In Canada, people are against gun violence, for marrying whomever you love no matter what, and have no enemies in the world who are wanting to bomb, invade, or otherwise obliterate the country. I know that, as a loving father, you are worried about my safety, and to return the favor, it only makes sense for me to move to a safer place where there is no danger of a building falling on top of me. So dad, thank you, as always, for shedding some light on the country’s values and your own. It has allowed me to see exactly my place in the country. Tell grandma hello.
Love,
Megan

Just Read The Post Before This Instead

Been trying to be more regular with this thing (regular like Mylanta) to make up for horrendous oversight during a particular "moving" time in my life. Not much to mention, except I met my friend D. for a drink on Thursday. We went to college together and had a lot of catching up to do. We're hoping to make some sort of Happy Hour Habit a reality.
I got a job. It's at a fancy company, that I'll wait to tell you about until I'm more familiar with it and I know whether or not I'm going to be defaming it on the internet. Monday is my first day anyway.
I saw Crash (I realize I am about 5 months behind here) last night which was good. We held hands the whole time and they weren't even too clammy. Anyway, this was a great movie and well worth the $1100 (or thereabouts) I paid for it. I highly recommend seeing it if it's still in a theater near you. We saw it at AFI Silver too which made it even cooler- that place is so sweet I don't feel bad about the grand it costs to get in.
Anyway, that's the news, I suppose. Please make sure you did not miss the post below. If it moved you, write your senators, this is something they mostly don't care about.

Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor, Your Huddled Masses ...Unless There Are A Lot of Them

As if hating the government weren't easy enough...

So I'm here in D.C. with a few of my old students (who now, joyfully, are actually just known as people) and I've been keeping in touch with them here and there. Most of them are international students (for reasons that are obvious to some) and therefore have particularly interesting stories. Let's take one friend for instance, we'll call him Apu, because if you knew who he was, it'd be funny.

Apu has had a rough year; aside from the general senior year wastedness and I.S. trgedies, he's had to deal with a very sick mother who recently passed away after several months of touch-and-go. Because of the family's religion, she had to be buried within 24 hours, making a trip from D.C. to Pakistan in time for a funeral out of the question. Not only that, but had he been able to afford the ticket and make it there in time to be with his family, there was a chance that he would not be allowed back in the country. You may find this absurd, but it's entirely possible that at any moment Condosleeza Rice (or whoever's actually in charge of this) could determine that we cannot allow any more foreign nationals from a country like Pakistan into the states, regardless of whether or not they were already there before. On top of all of this, Apu was reduced to dealing with the death of his mother (the most important person in a young Pakisani man's life) thousands of miles from home and completely alone.

Several days later, things began to look up for him when he was offered a job with a major company, let's call it Blackboard, Inc., because that's actually the company and I'd like to smear their name now. Blackboard was going to offer him a fantastic salary and benefits (way WAY more than what one would make, in say, Student Affairs, their first year out) and not only that but they would sponsor his H1 Visa application. [An H1 Visa would grant a nonresident alien (for example, an international student who just graduated from college) work status, allowing him or her to work in the U.S. for three years. After three years, the nonresident alien may apply for a different type of Visa (for example an F1 or student Visa) or reapply for H1 status. Having a Visa is different than getting your greencard, as Visas are for temporary things and greencards grant you permanent residence status. You can apply for your greencard under a number of conditions which remain confusing to me. You can get more about greencards and Visas off the Wikipedia, and I can move on with the story.]

This of course, was a wonderful turn of events for Apu and he rounded out his temporary position with some random company, and headed off for a short vacation visiting family in the country, a welcome repreive, I am certain. Apu returned this morning to the news that as of August 12, 2005 the H1 Visas had reached their cap. Meaning there are no more. Fucking hell. The application and $1000 fee were returned to Blackboard and Apu was politely (?) told to try again next year. Which he may do, but will still have to return home during the time his current status (also known as his Optional Practical Training) ends and the H1 begins. This amounts to about 3 months. Not so long unless you are the company who is waiting on your brand new hire to come back from a (seemingly) 3-month vacation. Needless to say, Blackboard's interest in Apu waned, and they rescinded his offer. Apu sits home now, in Prince George's County weighing his options: marrying an American or going to college in Canada. I don't know which is worse.

It's Not Just About the Hott Uniforms

I feel that as a captain of the Rythm N Blue Dance Team for two years in a row, that it is important to write about this story. My sisters in pom poms, we salute you!

Cheerleader chant helps cops nab crash suspect

Girls repeated license plate number of car that left scene of accident

Home of the Penguins

the view from the living room

Lenny Can't Help You Now

So, funny story.
We're driving back to Silver Spring when all of a sudden my brother's car exploded.
Let me start at the beginning.

Thursday afternoon on our way back from El Canelo (my last cheese dip in wooster, so sad) when Danni made the realization that on the way back from Silver Spring on Sunday, she would be driving by herself for 6 hours. Most people would be like, man, this is a huge bummer, but I guess I can sing along as loud as I want to the radio now. Not Danni. Danni falls asleep in the car. Even if she's the one driving. Plans, henceforth changed and Kate, darling that she is, borrowed her parents van to take all of my stuff out in. Upon realization that said van would not, in fact, hold all my stuff, plus my brother's stuff, plus four of us, I quickly called my dad to see if he would be willing to drive my brother out in addition to us taking the van. Needless to say, he suddenly had to work on Saturdays and could not get away. So my brother agreed to take his car (despite its unreliability) with all his stuff. We tried to talk him into meeting us in Wheeling rather than driving the 3 extra hours out of his way to Wooster, but he's afraid of getting lost (understandably) and so followed us from Wooster on Friday morning.
So things were going along nicely (ok, we did leave Wooster an hour later than planned, but whatever) up until about 5 hours into the trip. We were maybe less than 2 hours from Silver Spring when my brother's car, which I was riding in began to smoke. We quickly pulled off at exit 68 (on I-68, mind you) to inspect. It appeared that several quarts (that's possible, right?) of oil had exploded all over the insie of my brother's car. Fuck. We stood around for a few minutes trying to decide what to do- Danni called her husband and I called my dad, whereupon we determined that it wasn't oil on the inside of the car, but dirty antifreeze. Apparently this is better. Kate and my brother rode up the street a bit and went into a gas station to get the lowdown on garages. Fortunately, Danni, making up for her need to ride in the car with at least one other person, revealed that she had AAA. We called a tow and waited 2 hours (it was dark at that point) for him to arrive.
AAA let's you have 100 miles of free towing. It was very tempting to try for Silver Spring, but we settled for Gaithersburg instead (which is a town I will never return to.) We reorganized stuff into my brother's car so that the two of us would fit in the van on the short ride from G'burg to Silver Spring. Upon his arrival with the giant semi-esque tow truck, the driver looks at me and says, "So, where are we headed?" This to me seemed an odd question, and I immediately thought I'd say "Uh, gee, I don't know sir, aren't YOU the driver." Thought better of this since there was a good chance he was a killer and would stab us at some point on the two hour ride. Very good chance of that. We called AAA, who refused to give us directions because the drivers dispatcher should have given him that information. (Yes, AAA, we agree, but that doesn't really help the situation. Thanks for the great customer service.) Eventually, we got some directions out of them; that's their job, right, their M.O.? We followed these to the T, with Kate and Danni leading in the van. Naturally it brought us to a dead end street in some neighborhood. Genius.
Long story short (is that still possible at this point?) we dropped the car off randomly at a service station we saw along the way (the driver had called the dispatcher, Lenny, again, and got us back in the general direction of where we wanted) and made it into Silver Spring (which was apparently less than 15 minutes away at this point) no less than 6 hours (and .4 mi. left to go) after our intended arrival time. And then we unloaded the van.
Worst moving experience ever. No one was hurt though, just really tired. The moral? Broken down Dodge Neons named Iris will get you $650.