What can I say? I'm hopping on the bandwagon. I just moved to North Dakota, and along with getting my life back together and focusing on my career, I'm going to try to reconnect with friends from years past via the internet. Plus, you know, I like to talk about myself and stuff.

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

I

This will be a short post, because I'm such a politics guru that I'm completely fascinated by this article in Rolling Stone by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Yep, I really am that lame.

Anyway, my thoughts on slate.com are two-fold, specifically, I love two of its writers.

First, the obvious (and shorter): John Dickerson. He writes about politics and while I get the sense that he is liberal, he does a good job of hiding it, and presents a sort of outsiders view to the goings on of Washington, D.C. Today (6/20/06), he posted about the Democratic primary in Connecticut, where Lieberman is dangerously close to having to bail out because he is too centerists. My thoughts on Lieberman are not especially warm, despite him being a supposed Democrat. Still, the article was articulate and interesting, and I don't even get to vote on the candidates. Awesome.

Second, the goofy religious guy: David Plotz. About a month ago, he started this project called Blogging the Bible. I am a religion minor so I am curious about religion, if I'm obviously not too religious myself. What I like about Plotz is he doesn't critisize the book unfairly, wherever something seems to be contradictory, he asks for insight from scholars. Wherever he finds a legitimately good moral or message, he is quick to give it credit. Plotz also looks for the practices that Jews and Christians still do in modern society. It is terribly interesting. Plotz literally started at Genesis and has made it to the middle of Exodus so far if you want to catch up; he does a few chapters at a time and posts every other day or so. I am thinking that if he keeps this thing up until Proverbs, I may pick up the Bible again and try to read it again.

Anyway, again, today was a great post. He said that there is a part of the Bible that seems to say abortion isn't the equivalent of killing a person (which just so happens to be right above the "eye for an eye" part of the Bible). He also compared Aaron, Moses' brother, to Fredo in The Godfather. It's deep and shallow at the same time. It's totally me. I highly recommend Slate to all. And to all a goodnight.

Friday, June 16, 2006

99 Problems (But a Bitch Ain't One)

I find that when I have the least amount of things to complain about, I always find more to whine about. Isn't that weird? Might I be the most annoying person on the planet?

It's Friday and I'm already stressed about my upcoming week and the work I have to do, but I'm such a forward thinker that I'm not worried beyond Tuesday. Of course, that's when all the big stuff will start happening (it's really only a guess, but it'd also be my luck). And the flip side is that I have some direction now on where I want to go on a nerdy column.

My day on Saturday is shaping up to be nearly as busy as a work day, considering the vast amount of things I'm hoping to accomplish. Since one of them is planning a budget because I'm extremely poor for the next three months, I'm a little on edge. I also have to do some mild construction on my futon, which is just a recipe for disaster. As if my finger doesn't already look like it's going to shrivel up and fall off (see other post about 2nd degree burns), tomorrow is my chance to chop it off with a saw.

I have about six friends/family that I haven't talked to in months that I should really put a call into, but chances are good I'll only make one of them (Shayna - you're probably owed the most since you requested it via this very blog).

Well, I have another ambition of walking to the bar tonight, which means I should probably head out now if I want to make it by 10ish. But I should mention that I finally (finally!) saw O Brother, Where Art Thou? Again, it's one of those I should have seen ages ago, but no surprise, I was impressed. Can someone please explain to me the significance of so many characters being blind or partially blind? I noticed it a lot and am sure there's a reason but it's one that is above me (Schreiner, I'm thinking you'll have an answer that sounds good even if it's not entirely accurate--oh god, this reminds me, I should totally read your blog; I'm an ass).

Wow, I'm still rambling and I really only started this post so I could use my clever title. I'm lame.

Thursday, June 15, 2006

Knowledge is Power

As this week begins to end, I must reflect on the numerous things I've learned this week:

1. Credit card companies are dumb, but I'm dumber. For three weeks I've been getting calls from a restricted number that never leaves a message. After three weeks, this started to bother me and I became convinced that there was a crazy person out to get me. It turns out I'm an idiot who forgot to pay a bill on time. While they should have left a message, I probably should have answered the phone at some point and learned that I had nothing to fear but fear itself.

2. There is a word that is discreet, and there is a word that is discrete. There is a difference between these two. Discreet is the one I use most often, it's like when you're able to hide things well, or according to dictionary.com, it's "self-restraint." Discrete, on the other hand, means separate or disconnected. I actually like the meaning of this word and intend to use it. I just hope I don't mix up the spelling.

3. My second word of the week is really a Latin phrase which is "ipso facto." This means the fact in itself. It probably could be over-used easily but it is a good Latin phrase to be able to throw around.

4. My iPod kicks so much ass, and when I put it on shuffle, it really likes to play either "One" or "Pride (In the Name of Love)" by U2.

5. Meeting people on myspace.com isn't always bad. I talked with this girl via myspace. Tonight we actually met, and it turns out she's actually as cool as I hoped she'd be. I mean one good date doesn't mean it's fate but it was pretty nice to meet someone new in Dickinson and really relate to them. I also learned that I can have fun bowling and that pitchers are only $5 at the Paragon bowling alley. If I bring my own pitcher on Wednesdays they're only $2.50. Ah, sometimes the world is a beautiful place.

6. I can see why Great Grandad used to drink on election night. It is kind of stressful. But all in all, I survived and I am looking forward to covering the state races when it comes time in November.

7. Lastly, I learned that second degree burns hurt like a son-of-a-bitch and they don't look too pretty either.

Anyway, even though I have a semi-shorter day today, it's been a long week, so I am off to do a crossword puzzle, drink water and fantasize about what I'll do this weekend (instead of planning a personal budget, cleaning my house, getting groceries I can't afford and paying bills).

Thursday, June 08, 2006

That's So Raven!

I finally did it. I caved, and I shouldn't have, and I couldn't be happier!

With my tax returns, I seriously bought an iPod. Welcome to the 21st century, Christinia.

The perks of waiting this long are this: I've learned from others that I didn't need the biggest one; my iPod was seriously engraved; it's skinnier than previous incantations; and it's black.

I love this little bugger and it's been in operation for all of 36 hours.

I'm not going to lie; I had some help in getting it set up with my computer but since I knew it was coming, I spent a weekend downloading the most important CDs from my collection. During the course of the next few weeks as I re-alphabetize (and update my database), I will probably add more.

I am so f-ing excited. My life is now complete.

In an unrelated matter (this phrase will probably be on my tombstone, considering how much I use it in my commission articles), I watched three movies during the past three days. They are as follows (with short reviews):

1. Uh, The Enron Documentary, whatever it's called, something about the smartest guys in the room -- While I can't say I was kept in rapt attention, I definitely found the whole story interesting, especially given how little I knew about this huge scandal. It'd be neat to go back in time and re-read some of the later articles I read on it now that I have context. I recommend it to anybody who cares enough about figuring out what the hell happened to sit still for 1 hour and 45 minutes. If nothing else, there is one "dramatization" scene where you see strippers.

2. The Secret Lives of Dentists -- It's been on my list for awhile, since Nate recommended it, but I finally got around to it. I must admit that there was some heavy-handed use of symbolism with the rings being in every shot. Of course, for a movie about marriage and adultery, I guess there should be some mentioning of rings. There is a limit, though. Anyway, I don't want to ruin it in case there are other people interesting in seeing it but I'm not sure I agree with the ending but I don't think it should have ended any differently. For those of you confused, Campbell Scott thinks his wife is having an affair; he then creates an alter-ego to deal with it; he then acts a little bizarre (of course, having a breakdown will do that to you); and then he, his wife, and their children all get the flu.

3. Annie Hall -- Okay, spare me the lecture. I know it's pathetic that I've never seen this movie. That's really all I can say. I know everyone has seen it; I knew from what I'd heard about that I'd probably like it; why did it take until I was almost 25 to finally sit down and watch it? I don't know. Favorite scene (at least on the first watch): when they make a lobster dinner together. Adorable.

Anyway, thunder's rumbling. This means I should shut down my computer in case the lights go out. That and it's almost bed time. Night night.

Monday, June 05, 2006

Pookie, Shayna and the Slow Kids

This Saturday, I told my first absolutely hilarious story in a very long time. I can't repeat it now, because the circumstances were such that I brought in numerous conversations from the night and expanded into this ridiculous story. The things I can tell you are that it related to my cats, me in relationships and the line "Oh, Bunny, we do not lick our butts during dinner."

First, I was very proud of myself. I told a story that had two of my co-workers rolling, and I wasn't even trying that hard to be funny. I was just being my goofy-ass self. After the pride wore off, I was bummed. Not because of Cindy or Stefanie. They were awesome and I was glad they were there, but I was sad that all of my college friends weren't. Making each other laugh is really what I miss most about my friends.

While I still spend time with friends (both old and new), I find myself less inclined to be in symposiums. I miss symposiums.

Anyway, this post is short and melancholy. My next post (hopefully this evening) will be absolutely fantastic.

Oh, there was one more thing I wanted to mention. Something not melancholy but rather a mid-year resolution. I have been trying new things lately. And by trying new things, I mean eating fish. I used to not like fish. Then, I started to gather recipes of non-fishy-tasting fish. And now, I like fish. There is no doubt in my mind that I am missing out on other wonderful things that I'm either convinced I won't like or haven't tried before. Hence, my mid-year resolution is to try new things.

Number one on the list is probably golfing. Mostly because Cindy and Stefanie do it and are convinced I would like it. Whacking up divets does not sound that entertaining but one never knows until one tries. I am open for other suggestions.

Things that will probably not cross over to my "now I like it" list are mushrooms and Pink Floyd.

Anyway, I must continue to prepare for my fun time surprise later.