I HAVE BEEN SO HAPPY THE LAST FEW DAYS.
I'll probably be laying off the livejournal for the foreseeable future and instead focusing on my tumblr, which is a bit more user-friendly. But I probably won't leave el jae for good considering I've been with it since June 2003 and came back to it even after I cheated on it with that whore xanga.
My tumblr: The Escapist
But I guess I'll still be posting here from time to time (i.e. every 3 months) about life in general. Tumblr is more reserved for random pictures and me kvetching about books and movies, I suppose.
But quick summer recap:
- Laziness I: Books, Netflix, Stilettos (13 May - 7 June)
- Florida (8 June - 12 June)
- Laziness II: Books, Random movies, sex tape (12 June - present)
My tumblr: The Escapist
But I guess I'll still be posting here from time to time (i.e. every 3 months) about life in general. Tumblr is more reserved for random pictures and me kvetching about books and movies, I suppose.
But quick summer recap:
- Laziness I: Books, Netflix, Stilettos (13 May - 7 June)
- Florida (8 June - 12 June)
- Laziness II: Books, Random movies, sex tape (12 June - present)
My family decided to put our oldest dog, Rieke, to sleep today. She was 13 years old. In the last year, she started to deteriorate rapidly -- she went blind (a process that started a while back), but, for a while, she stayed the same dog who barked at every visitor who walked into our house. She was still largely the same when I came down for April vacation, but, when I returned two weeks ago, she'd completely changed. She slept throughout the day, not even stirring if you nudged her. She would wake up at dinner time and walk around in circles, sitting only so she could begin howling. She would stand next to her bowl of food for 10 minutes before she would actually start to eat it. She became intensely clumsy, walking into everything, completely disoriented. So it was for the best today when my mom took her in for her annual check out and found out she had Alzheimer's that would only get worse.
Though I haven't always been that close to Rieke, I was the one who made sure she got a place in our household. Back in 1997, while we were driving through the Oklahoman countryside to retrieve our dog Snoopy (who died in January 2009) from the dog groomer, we saw her standing on the side of the road. My mom took her into the car and took her from house to house (relatively easy since very few people lived in the area), asking if anyone recognize her. No one did, so she took her home, where my dad said he didn't want another pet (this is his mantra with every animal my mom brings into the house). I threw a tempertantrum about it, and suddenly Rieke was here to stay.
The last year or so has been filled with a lot of death around here. Snoopy died in January 2009 of the same ailment that Rieke had, though she went at a much earlier stage of Alzheimer's; she was 15 years old. We had picked her up at a shelter in Oklahoma after we moved here. We had a dog back in Germany, Suzy. My grandmother planned on bringing her over with her when she visited the next year, as we wanted to get settled in the States before she came over, but Suzy died shortly after we left Germany. Snoopy looked exactly like Suzy, which I think was one of the major reasons that my mom chose her.
A few months after Snoopy died, Kansas, our 20-year-old cat, died as well. We had adopted her back in 2002 or 2003; she belonged to my mom's friend Kara, but Kara had too many cats to take care of. My mom gave Kansas back to Kara a week before Kansas died because she thought she might be happier there. I was never very close to Kansas at any point; she was always very aloof and didn't really care for anyone other than my mom. But, in her last year with us, she became very fragile and came to depend on others for help, making her more approachable. It turned out she was a very nice cat.
And now Rieke. We still have Lucky, whom we adopted from Kara in early 2009 shortly after Snoopy died. He's 8 years old, and I absolutely love him. He's friendly and approachable in a way none of our other pets necessarily are, and he's always perched on my bed (not always a positive considering how much he sheds). I only wish we'd had him sooner.
And there's still Fanblade (whom we've had since 2003), Romeo (~2005), and Whiner (who has frequently dropped by our house since 2006). Fanblade has gotten more aloof over the years, but Romeo still drops by my room a lot. Both Lucky and Romeo apparently love my room, an affection that, I think, developed once they realized that it was empty most of the year.
Anyway, death sucks. And there's been a lot of it recently -- even going beyond pets. Grandma Mary died in September. We were never especially close since I saw her so rarely -- the last time was in summer 2001 and before that summer 1995 -- but it's so strange to think about how many family members, both human and animal, have left lately. I guess I'm getting old.
Though I haven't always been that close to Rieke, I was the one who made sure she got a place in our household. Back in 1997, while we were driving through the Oklahoman countryside to retrieve our dog Snoopy (who died in January 2009) from the dog groomer, we saw her standing on the side of the road. My mom took her into the car and took her from house to house (relatively easy since very few people lived in the area), asking if anyone recognize her. No one did, so she took her home, where my dad said he didn't want another pet (this is his mantra with every animal my mom brings into the house). I threw a tempertantrum about it, and suddenly Rieke was here to stay.
The last year or so has been filled with a lot of death around here. Snoopy died in January 2009 of the same ailment that Rieke had, though she went at a much earlier stage of Alzheimer's; she was 15 years old. We had picked her up at a shelter in Oklahoma after we moved here. We had a dog back in Germany, Suzy. My grandmother planned on bringing her over with her when she visited the next year, as we wanted to get settled in the States before she came over, but Suzy died shortly after we left Germany. Snoopy looked exactly like Suzy, which I think was one of the major reasons that my mom chose her.
A few months after Snoopy died, Kansas, our 20-year-old cat, died as well. We had adopted her back in 2002 or 2003; she belonged to my mom's friend Kara, but Kara had too many cats to take care of. My mom gave Kansas back to Kara a week before Kansas died because she thought she might be happier there. I was never very close to Kansas at any point; she was always very aloof and didn't really care for anyone other than my mom. But, in her last year with us, she became very fragile and came to depend on others for help, making her more approachable. It turned out she was a very nice cat.
And now Rieke. We still have Lucky, whom we adopted from Kara in early 2009 shortly after Snoopy died. He's 8 years old, and I absolutely love him. He's friendly and approachable in a way none of our other pets necessarily are, and he's always perched on my bed (not always a positive considering how much he sheds). I only wish we'd had him sooner.
And there's still Fanblade (whom we've had since 2003), Romeo (~2005), and Whiner (who has frequently dropped by our house since 2006). Fanblade has gotten more aloof over the years, but Romeo still drops by my room a lot. Both Lucky and Romeo apparently love my room, an affection that, I think, developed once they realized that it was empty most of the year.
Anyway, death sucks. And there's been a lot of it recently -- even going beyond pets. Grandma Mary died in September. We were never especially close since I saw her so rarely -- the last time was in summer 2001 and before that summer 1995 -- but it's so strange to think about how many family members, both human and animal, have left lately. I guess I'm getting old.
Hmmm.
(1) I WANT A JOB PLEASE. PREFERABLY ONE THAT WOULD NOT INTERFERE WITH MY PLANS TO GO TO FLORIDA WITH CRAZY PEOPLE. I turned in a random application today and when I gave it to the manager, yadayadayada, when she asks me if I wrote down my cell phone number on the app (clearly a yes), I used the word "contactable" instead of "reachable" and worried on my way home that I had made up a word. Turns out, it is a word. Thankfully!
(2) I WANT MY LOWER BODY TO STOP HURTING FROM WORKING OUT WITH A PERSONAL TRAINER ON MONDAY. I'd planned on going every other day, but I couldn't go Tuesday and am probably not going to go today... which sucks cos I promised myself I would since I'm paying for it and since I have to look teh sexy for Florida (not going to happen). It hurts so much to move my legs. lolol
(3) I AM CONSIDERING GETTING ANOTHER KIND OF BLOG. Not that I don't love livejournal, but I have little motivation to update (especially when no one else has any motivation to do so either!). So maybe I'll get a blog. I just need a topic to write about consistently. Hmm. I was thinking a tumblr, cos they (can be) cute.
My brothers had their last day of school today, which means they're going to be around all the time now in the house. ARGH.
(1) I WANT A JOB PLEASE. PREFERABLY ONE THAT WOULD NOT INTERFERE WITH MY PLANS TO GO TO FLORIDA WITH CRAZY PEOPLE. I turned in a random application today and when I gave it to the manager, yadayadayada, when she asks me if I wrote down my cell phone number on the app (clearly a yes), I used the word "contactable" instead of "reachable" and worried on my way home that I had made up a word. Turns out, it is a word. Thankfully!
(2) I WANT MY LOWER BODY TO STOP HURTING FROM WORKING OUT WITH A PERSONAL TRAINER ON MONDAY. I'd planned on going every other day, but I couldn't go Tuesday and am probably not going to go today... which sucks cos I promised myself I would since I'm paying for it and since I have to look teh sexy for Florida (not going to happen). It hurts so much to move my legs. lolol
(3) I AM CONSIDERING GETTING ANOTHER KIND OF BLOG. Not that I don't love livejournal, but I have little motivation to update (especially when no one else has any motivation to do so either!). So maybe I'll get a blog. I just need a topic to write about consistently. Hmm. I was thinking a tumblr, cos they (can be) cute.
My brothers had their last day of school today, which means they're going to be around all the time now in the house. ARGH.
(1) For this paper about Jesus' Son to come to a nice, natural conclusion with a well-stated thesis and the whole shebang.
(2) For my summer plans to become more clear. Internship at Ledger, please? Summer job, please?
(3) For you to update your livejournal.
(2) For my summer plans to become more clear. Internship at Ledger, please? Summer job, please?
(3) For you to update your livejournal.
I should update. I've been telling myself that for a while, but I keep putting it off. I mean, these entries feel so inorganic, and, whenever I do finally convince myself to write them, I'm disappointed in them. But enough self-flagellation. Update time!
So, of course, second semester is almost over. I'm presently on break until 6 April, and the last day of finals is on 14 May. Of course, I have no classes with finals this semester, so I could conceivably be out at any time after the last day of classes, though the barrage of papers I have due will ensure that I won't leave early. And besides, I don't really want to leave too early -- it's going to be the last time I see some of the people at school for the next year or so. More on that later. Also, I may go on some kind of trip right after school ends, though this depends on whether my roommate Alex and I can corral some people to go somewhere with us.
I'm taking 5 classes presently, aka a full course load -- the same amount of classes I've taken every semester save for second semester sophomore year. I did make kind of a tactical error in that I'm presently taking 3 literature courses, which translates into an incredible amount of reading. But I'm enjoying myself for the most part. I declared myself as an English major last semester, and I also declared a politics minor a few weeks ago, which may turn into a major at some point next year. And I'm still considering the economics minor. Not sure.
Classes:
Intro. to English Literature - So, this is essentially AP Literature -- the only reason I'm taking this is that it's required for the English major. My professor is pretty amazing though; she's obviously very enthusiastic about the subject matter. Thus far we've mainly read texts I was already familiar with -- Frankenstein, King Lear -- but we're about to delve into some things I haven't read, which is always exciting.
American Literature in Crisis post-1945 - This is a pretty cool class. Very small and discussion-oriented. We've read some great, great works of fiction -- On the Road, Lolita, Ceremony, Beloved. My one qualm is that sometimes the professor overly steers the discussion. We never really get a chance to bring up stuff that interests us personally. Not that I would. I should really participate more. I try to say at least one or two things per class (true for all of the lit classes I'm in, I suppose).
German Language through Literature - I really feel like my spoken German has gotten so much more worse this semester. Oh well. I really like my professor (same one I had last semester), and I'm always learning more. We just got done reading Der Vorleser (aka The Reader). Though I still need to finish it -- shame on you, Sean. It's in my plans for the break. Aside from that, we've focused on short stories. I just wish I had a bigger vocabulary. I always have so much to say since we have to read the texts closely (since they're in a different language), but I never have the vocabulary to fully express my opinions. And I can't give my opinions nuance, which makes me feel like a jackass sometimes. But I tend to be too self-conscious about everything, so just scratch that.
The American Presidency - This class could be so much better. I like the professor personally (he's from Georgia!), but I really feel like this is such a fluff class. We're reading some very important texts in terms of presidential interpretation, but they don't feel very substantial. I think I was expecting for there to be more case studies involved, which we haven't really delved into very much... this is also the requisite class I have to take with my roommate. We've had at least one overlap every semester.
The Global Economy - Not a huge fan. I've gotten more adept at the subject matter, but the professor, who is visiting from Williams College, just isn't very good -- very dull, dry, and unengaging, and she seems more interested in the theoretic than presenting us with hard examples. The class I'm most worried about, grade-wise.
In addition to classes, I've stepped up my involvement with The Brandeis Hoot -- now the editor of the Arts section. It takes up a lot of time. In addition to the hour-long weekly meetings and seven-hour-long production nights, it takes time to write 1-2 articles per week (we always have an article shortage, so sometimes I have to step up production) and edit other people's work. BUT. It's very rewarding. I really enjoy it. I have a co-editor, Kayla, and I think we get along very well and do a pretty bang-up job each week. So yay for The Hoot.
Link to my page on their Web site: http://thebrandeishoot.com/articles/author/sean-fabery
Other enjoyable experiences @ Brandeis: visiting Bunker Hill, grabbing pizza in the Italian North End, going to a Celtics game, fetching Indian in Waltham, dressing up as a fingerstache for a meme party, celebrating Purim as Facebook. Fun times.
So. Presently I'm on break, and I'm actually relaxing quite a bit. I tend to be tense during my breaks, just because I'm worried about what's next, but not so much this time. All I have due immediately after this week are two paper proposals, for Presidency and Intro Lit. So, instead, I've been hanging out with Martina and Katie, watching movies (The Wolfman and Hot Tub Time Machine so far... with Wolfie being pretty awful and Hot Tub being stupidly funny), catching up on Lost and 30 Rock, as well as reading -- currently I'm engaged in reading American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House as well as wrapping up Der Vorleser.
I'm not sure what I'm doing this summer yet. I think some of us should go on a road trip, or to Florida, or both, or neither but something equally awesome. Please? I'm also hoping to have some form of internship, but my hopes of that are starting to fade... hoping to possibly get something at the Ledger-Enquirer, please and thanks? I have friends who are getting internships in DC and I am kind of jealous. Though a summer job would be nice as well, I guess. It's just that I fear that I won't find anything again, and I mean, I think I would make a good worker, right? And I should also keep up with going to the gym over the summer (I've been trying to go 3-4 times a week usually with my neighbors Ben and Frank), but I don't want to pay the $$ to get a membership anywhere. But I will, anyway. Sigh.
So. In the fall, I'm going to be studying in Germany as part of this European Union program, which examines the political and economic complexities of the EU. It sounds pretty nifty, it's located in a beautiful town near the border with Switzerland and France, annnd it involves a lot of traveling. Really looking forward to it. My Brandeis scholarship will cover all of it except for living expenses and the plane ticket there. From talking about this with my mom, it seems like I'll be going in mid-August -- a week or two early -- and staying with my grandparents and/or my cousins in north Germany and getting acclimated and such. And then afterwards, Alex and I have talked about meeting up in Germany (he's studying in Scotland) and then traveling around the Mediterranean for a week or so. Maybe? I think that would be really amazing. And then I could come here and celebrate my 21st birthday in style. :p
Also, I need to find someone special before I'm old and withered (I know, I know: "BUT YOU ALREADY ARE!" -- chorus of Meg, Katie, and Martina). Please?
On a more minor note, I also need new music for my iPod. I haven't really added anything new in ages, aside from some Vampire Weekend and Grizzly Bear I was trying out (more a fan of the Bear than the Weekend). Though I always have some wonderful This American Life podcasts to which I can listen. <3
I also need to see The Ghost Writer in the theater before it leaves town this weekend. Even more minor.
I'm rambling. And I need to stop trying to schedule my free time too frequently.
I'll try to update more often; probably won't happen. I'm kind of tempted to try out a tumblr just because I think they're fun looking. Maybe I should start blogging, but like... thematically blogging as opposed to blogging every 18 months about Sean, the human. Or is that burr? Blah blah blah.
And please update, you guys! Sean needs even more stuff to read.
So, of course, second semester is almost over. I'm presently on break until 6 April, and the last day of finals is on 14 May. Of course, I have no classes with finals this semester, so I could conceivably be out at any time after the last day of classes, though the barrage of papers I have due will ensure that I won't leave early. And besides, I don't really want to leave too early -- it's going to be the last time I see some of the people at school for the next year or so. More on that later. Also, I may go on some kind of trip right after school ends, though this depends on whether my roommate Alex and I can corral some people to go somewhere with us.
I'm taking 5 classes presently, aka a full course load -- the same amount of classes I've taken every semester save for second semester sophomore year. I did make kind of a tactical error in that I'm presently taking 3 literature courses, which translates into an incredible amount of reading. But I'm enjoying myself for the most part. I declared myself as an English major last semester, and I also declared a politics minor a few weeks ago, which may turn into a major at some point next year. And I'm still considering the economics minor. Not sure.
Classes:
Intro. to English Literature - So, this is essentially AP Literature -- the only reason I'm taking this is that it's required for the English major. My professor is pretty amazing though; she's obviously very enthusiastic about the subject matter. Thus far we've mainly read texts I was already familiar with -- Frankenstein, King Lear -- but we're about to delve into some things I haven't read, which is always exciting.
American Literature in Crisis post-1945 - This is a pretty cool class. Very small and discussion-oriented. We've read some great, great works of fiction -- On the Road, Lolita, Ceremony, Beloved. My one qualm is that sometimes the professor overly steers the discussion. We never really get a chance to bring up stuff that interests us personally. Not that I would. I should really participate more. I try to say at least one or two things per class (true for all of the lit classes I'm in, I suppose).
German Language through Literature - I really feel like my spoken German has gotten so much more worse this semester. Oh well. I really like my professor (same one I had last semester), and I'm always learning more. We just got done reading Der Vorleser (aka The Reader). Though I still need to finish it -- shame on you, Sean. It's in my plans for the break. Aside from that, we've focused on short stories. I just wish I had a bigger vocabulary. I always have so much to say since we have to read the texts closely (since they're in a different language), but I never have the vocabulary to fully express my opinions. And I can't give my opinions nuance, which makes me feel like a jackass sometimes. But I tend to be too self-conscious about everything, so just scratch that.
The American Presidency - This class could be so much better. I like the professor personally (he's from Georgia!), but I really feel like this is such a fluff class. We're reading some very important texts in terms of presidential interpretation, but they don't feel very substantial. I think I was expecting for there to be more case studies involved, which we haven't really delved into very much... this is also the requisite class I have to take with my roommate. We've had at least one overlap every semester.
The Global Economy - Not a huge fan. I've gotten more adept at the subject matter, but the professor, who is visiting from Williams College, just isn't very good -- very dull, dry, and unengaging, and she seems more interested in the theoretic than presenting us with hard examples. The class I'm most worried about, grade-wise.
In addition to classes, I've stepped up my involvement with The Brandeis Hoot -- now the editor of the Arts section. It takes up a lot of time. In addition to the hour-long weekly meetings and seven-hour-long production nights, it takes time to write 1-2 articles per week (we always have an article shortage, so sometimes I have to step up production) and edit other people's work. BUT. It's very rewarding. I really enjoy it. I have a co-editor, Kayla, and I think we get along very well and do a pretty bang-up job each week. So yay for The Hoot.
Link to my page on their Web site: http://thebrandeishoot.com/articles/author/sean-fabery
Other enjoyable experiences @ Brandeis: visiting Bunker Hill, grabbing pizza in the Italian North End, going to a Celtics game, fetching Indian in Waltham, dressing up as a fingerstache for a meme party, celebrating Purim as Facebook. Fun times.
So. Presently I'm on break, and I'm actually relaxing quite a bit. I tend to be tense during my breaks, just because I'm worried about what's next, but not so much this time. All I have due immediately after this week are two paper proposals, for Presidency and Intro Lit. So, instead, I've been hanging out with Martina and Katie, watching movies (The Wolfman and Hot Tub Time Machine so far... with Wolfie being pretty awful and Hot Tub being stupidly funny), catching up on Lost and 30 Rock, as well as reading -- currently I'm engaged in reading American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House as well as wrapping up Der Vorleser.
I'm not sure what I'm doing this summer yet. I think some of us should go on a road trip, or to Florida, or both, or neither but something equally awesome. Please? I'm also hoping to have some form of internship, but my hopes of that are starting to fade... hoping to possibly get something at the Ledger-Enquirer, please and thanks? I have friends who are getting internships in DC and I am kind of jealous. Though a summer job would be nice as well, I guess. It's just that I fear that I won't find anything again, and I mean, I think I would make a good worker, right? And I should also keep up with going to the gym over the summer (I've been trying to go 3-4 times a week usually with my neighbors Ben and Frank), but I don't want to pay the $$ to get a membership anywhere. But I will, anyway. Sigh.
So. In the fall, I'm going to be studying in Germany as part of this European Union program, which examines the political and economic complexities of the EU. It sounds pretty nifty, it's located in a beautiful town near the border with Switzerland and France, annnd it involves a lot of traveling. Really looking forward to it. My Brandeis scholarship will cover all of it except for living expenses and the plane ticket there. From talking about this with my mom, it seems like I'll be going in mid-August -- a week or two early -- and staying with my grandparents and/or my cousins in north Germany and getting acclimated and such. And then afterwards, Alex and I have talked about meeting up in Germany (he's studying in Scotland) and then traveling around the Mediterranean for a week or so. Maybe? I think that would be really amazing. And then I could come here and celebrate my 21st birthday in style. :p
Also, I need to find someone special before I'm old and withered (I know, I know: "BUT YOU ALREADY ARE!" -- chorus of Meg, Katie, and Martina). Please?
On a more minor note, I also need new music for my iPod. I haven't really added anything new in ages, aside from some Vampire Weekend and Grizzly Bear I was trying out (more a fan of the Bear than the Weekend). Though I always have some wonderful This American Life podcasts to which I can listen. <3
I also need to see The Ghost Writer in the theater before it leaves town this weekend. Even more minor.
I'm rambling. And I need to stop trying to schedule my free time too frequently.
I'll try to update more often; probably won't happen. I'm kind of tempted to try out a tumblr just because I think they're fun looking. Maybe I should start blogging, but like... thematically blogging as opposed to blogging every 18 months about Sean, the human. Or is that burr? Blah blah blah.
And please update, you guys! Sean needs even more stuff to read.
- Current Music:"Two Weeks" - Grizzly Bear
I will be so happy when I hit Thursday, after which I shant worry myself about another paper until next semester.
I'm going to try to make a concerted effort to start updating these things more consistently, as opposed to updating it months later about something I barely remember. Isn't that frightening? When something's JUST happened (relatively), yet you're already starting to lose your memory of it? That it seems almost like another iteration of you experienced these things? I mean, it's not quite like that -- not enough time has passed -- but sometimes it does seem like that.
So, summer.
Summer was nice, but disappointing in some respects. I wish I had gotten a job. I'm worried I'll never get any job experience. Sigh. If only I could have applied for things earlier, before everyone and their mother beats me to filling out an application; I also wish there were more internships for younger students in Columbus. Ho wells. So I pretty much spent the summer seeing friends (always nice!) and doing lots of reading. Amanda and I started talking after two months of not doing so. I saw lots of the Columbus High crew (and some random people I ran into at various places around town... and Jared Long at IKEA in Atlanta, weird). I also went to Florida, which was surprisingly nice (I didn't think I needed a vacation from a vacation... but apparently I did). I watched a puppy and mowed the lawn for money. I did a few tricks on the side. Not really. But I could have, I think. Or at least I'd like to think. I think every person likes to think that, hey, if I'm down financially, I could turn to prostitution and make it work.
It would be depressing if I were to become an unsuccessful male prostitute. Success, please.
So, school.
I'm enjoying the year so far. I like all my classes. A quick run-down of each:
Classic Hollywood Cinema - Okay, the class I enjoy least, but for some reason my film-loving, film-questing self hasn't been exposed to enough movies from the classic Hollywood period, so here I am. Of course, I've seen three of the four we've watched so far -- Citizen Kane, Casablanca, Gone with the Wind, and The Wizard of Oz (the only one I hadn't seen before). Entirely too much talking, and it focuses too much on the narrative aspect of film as opposed to the visual quality, which I think is kind of key to film. And the professor talks way too much and wears too many outrageous shirts, but I guess that's because he's Canadian, and they can't really help it.
Major British Novelists - Kind of love this class. Thus far we've read Emma (Jane Austen), Wuthering Heights (E. Brontë), and Jane Eyre (Charlotte Brontë). I absolutely love WH, perhaps one of my favorite books of all time. The characters are all so amazingly passionate, and the narrative structure (and the narrative itself) is to die for. These characters are just so wholly original; I mean, here's how I picture them -- Catherine gnashing her teeth as she fakes a seizure, while Heathcliff considers crushing the skull of his enemy's infant son. How's that for passionate? Also liked the other two, but I like Jane Eyre less than the first time I read it. And I love my professor. There's a really light, funny quality about him.
Intro. Economics - This professor is hilarious and way better than Mrs. Welles (sorry, Mrs. W). I'll give her some props though -- everything we've covered looks very familiar, though I think I have a better understanding of how it all fits together. First midterm on Tuesday. Exciting.
German III - Not a bad class. I've been keeping up with everything pretty well. I just hope it continues. The professor is nice and not so... scary and discomforting as Frau Randall. Sorry, Frau.
Intro. Comparative Government - I LOVE THIS CLASS. I love my professor (she's Danish). She's so knowledgeable and the content of the class itself is absolutely fascinating. I always, always look forward to it, and each class somehow goes by so fast. So far we've covered the UK and France, and we're working on Germany.
I'm kind of considering double majoring in English and Economics (or Politics). I'm not sure about any of that, though. I'm almost halfway done with my English major (after this semester I'll have taken 4 classes out of 10 required).
And I'm thinking of studying abroad one semester next year either somewhere in the UK or possibly in Germany or Austria. IDK. It's a long way off.
Enough about school.
I like my hall this year, for the most part. Well, half of the hall. The other half is either always gone or never leaves their doors open. I really dislike people who don't leave their doors open for part of the day. I think it's a very antisocial move. I feel like everyone I know from last year who lives on this hall leaves their door open, but the people I don't know (the n00bs in my book) are the ones who don't, and it makes it difficult to get to know people. But I've met some good people on the hall.... trufax. I haven't talked that much to one of my roommates, Charlie, who lives two floors down this year, which makes me feel bad for not going down there more and just chatting, but then I think about the fact that hey, he could come up here and talk to moi. So I don't feel that bad, but I definitely need to randomly stop down there sometime this week. My other roommate from last year, Zach, lives three doors down, so I still see plenty of him.
Speaking of roommates, my current roommate Alex and I get along very well. I think it's partially because we're very alike in our habits; we share some quirks (one of them being extreme cleanliness... I think we have the cleanest room at Brandeis). And, as he pointed out, I tend to kind of get along with virtually everyone, so I guess it would be unusual if we didn't get along. But he's a great friend, even if he has banned me from using the phrase "sad panda."
He's from Newton, which is like 10 minutes from where we are, sooo sometimes he has a car, which is great. Over Labor Day weekend, he showed me around Boston -- well, specifically Boston Common, which was very cool, as I've never seen much of Boston proper. But I got to see a lot that day -- which was neat.
Lol, yesterday I went to Conservative Jewish services with him, which, I have to say, was really neat and kind of beautiful. It was virtually all singing and chanting, which I wasn't quite expecting. Since it was in Hebrew, I was consigned to reading the English translation in the prayer book. Afterwards, we had dinner at Hillel with some of his friends (Shira, Stacey, etc.), which wasn't a bad dinner considering how often people complain about Hillel food. Last night was the start of Sukkot, which involves spending all your time in a Sukka (traditionally... not so much anymore), so we actually ate in a makeshift hut outside. The only downside was that it was a bit chilly... in the lower 50s. Afterwards, we migrated to another Sukka, where everyone sang and chatted for two hours. It was really fun, I have to confess, and maybe I'll do it again sometime this year (without the Sukka, though).
And now we have a 3 day weekend, which makes no sense cos Sukkot isn't really a majormajor holiday. But hey, I'll take what I get. I'm probs gonna go see Capitalism: A Love Story with people later. Should be good! I wanted to see Bright Star last weekend, but I talked myself out of it when I realized I had like 200 pages of Jane Eyre to read. Thanks for nothing, Jane.
And I'm also excited because I have pretty much no work for newspaper this week, as I'm covering a speaker event and not an actual news story. So that's wonderful, and it gives me time to study for my economics midterm and the Wuthering Heights paper that's due Thursday. Oh, work.
But there. I think I've covered the major points. I wish I could've gone more indepth with some of them... but now if I update consistently I can actually do that. Oh schnap!
So, summer.
Summer was nice, but disappointing in some respects. I wish I had gotten a job. I'm worried I'll never get any job experience. Sigh. If only I could have applied for things earlier, before everyone and their mother beats me to filling out an application; I also wish there were more internships for younger students in Columbus. Ho wells. So I pretty much spent the summer seeing friends (always nice!) and doing lots of reading. Amanda and I started talking after two months of not doing so. I saw lots of the Columbus High crew (and some random people I ran into at various places around town... and Jared Long at IKEA in Atlanta, weird). I also went to Florida, which was surprisingly nice (I didn't think I needed a vacation from a vacation... but apparently I did). I watched a puppy and mowed the lawn for money. I did a few tricks on the side. Not really. But I could have, I think. Or at least I'd like to think. I think every person likes to think that, hey, if I'm down financially, I could turn to prostitution and make it work.
It would be depressing if I were to become an unsuccessful male prostitute. Success, please.
So, school.
I'm enjoying the year so far. I like all my classes. A quick run-down of each:
Classic Hollywood Cinema - Okay, the class I enjoy least, but for some reason my film-loving, film-questing self hasn't been exposed to enough movies from the classic Hollywood period, so here I am. Of course, I've seen three of the four we've watched so far -- Citizen Kane, Casablanca, Gone with the Wind, and The Wizard of Oz (the only one I hadn't seen before). Entirely too much talking, and it focuses too much on the narrative aspect of film as opposed to the visual quality, which I think is kind of key to film. And the professor talks way too much and wears too many outrageous shirts, but I guess that's because he's Canadian, and they can't really help it.
Major British Novelists - Kind of love this class. Thus far we've read Emma (Jane Austen), Wuthering Heights (E. Brontë), and Jane Eyre (Charlotte Brontë). I absolutely love WH, perhaps one of my favorite books of all time. The characters are all so amazingly passionate, and the narrative structure (and the narrative itself) is to die for. These characters are just so wholly original; I mean, here's how I picture them -- Catherine gnashing her teeth as she fakes a seizure, while Heathcliff considers crushing the skull of his enemy's infant son. How's that for passionate? Also liked the other two, but I like Jane Eyre less than the first time I read it. And I love my professor. There's a really light, funny quality about him.
Intro. Economics - This professor is hilarious and way better than Mrs. Welles (sorry, Mrs. W). I'll give her some props though -- everything we've covered looks very familiar, though I think I have a better understanding of how it all fits together. First midterm on Tuesday. Exciting.
German III - Not a bad class. I've been keeping up with everything pretty well. I just hope it continues. The professor is nice and not so... scary and discomforting as Frau Randall. Sorry, Frau.
Intro. Comparative Government - I LOVE THIS CLASS. I love my professor (she's Danish). She's so knowledgeable and the content of the class itself is absolutely fascinating. I always, always look forward to it, and each class somehow goes by so fast. So far we've covered the UK and France, and we're working on Germany.
I'm kind of considering double majoring in English and Economics (or Politics). I'm not sure about any of that, though. I'm almost halfway done with my English major (after this semester I'll have taken 4 classes out of 10 required).
And I'm thinking of studying abroad one semester next year either somewhere in the UK or possibly in Germany or Austria. IDK. It's a long way off.
Enough about school.
I like my hall this year, for the most part. Well, half of the hall. The other half is either always gone or never leaves their doors open. I really dislike people who don't leave their doors open for part of the day. I think it's a very antisocial move. I feel like everyone I know from last year who lives on this hall leaves their door open, but the people I don't know (the n00bs in my book) are the ones who don't, and it makes it difficult to get to know people. But I've met some good people on the hall.... trufax. I haven't talked that much to one of my roommates, Charlie, who lives two floors down this year, which makes me feel bad for not going down there more and just chatting, but then I think about the fact that hey, he could come up here and talk to moi. So I don't feel that bad, but I definitely need to randomly stop down there sometime this week. My other roommate from last year, Zach, lives three doors down, so I still see plenty of him.
Speaking of roommates, my current roommate Alex and I get along very well. I think it's partially because we're very alike in our habits; we share some quirks (one of them being extreme cleanliness... I think we have the cleanest room at Brandeis). And, as he pointed out, I tend to kind of get along with virtually everyone, so I guess it would be unusual if we didn't get along. But he's a great friend, even if he has banned me from using the phrase "sad panda."
He's from Newton, which is like 10 minutes from where we are, sooo sometimes he has a car, which is great. Over Labor Day weekend, he showed me around Boston -- well, specifically Boston Common, which was very cool, as I've never seen much of Boston proper. But I got to see a lot that day -- which was neat.
Lol, yesterday I went to Conservative Jewish services with him, which, I have to say, was really neat and kind of beautiful. It was virtually all singing and chanting, which I wasn't quite expecting. Since it was in Hebrew, I was consigned to reading the English translation in the prayer book. Afterwards, we had dinner at Hillel with some of his friends (Shira, Stacey, etc.), which wasn't a bad dinner considering how often people complain about Hillel food. Last night was the start of Sukkot, which involves spending all your time in a Sukka (traditionally... not so much anymore), so we actually ate in a makeshift hut outside. The only downside was that it was a bit chilly... in the lower 50s. Afterwards, we migrated to another Sukka, where everyone sang and chatted for two hours. It was really fun, I have to confess, and maybe I'll do it again sometime this year (without the Sukka, though).
And now we have a 3 day weekend, which makes no sense cos Sukkot isn't really a majormajor holiday. But hey, I'll take what I get. I'm probs gonna go see Capitalism: A Love Story with people later. Should be good! I wanted to see Bright Star last weekend, but I talked myself out of it when I realized I had like 200 pages of Jane Eyre to read. Thanks for nothing, Jane.
And I'm also excited because I have pretty much no work for newspaper this week, as I'm covering a speaker event and not an actual news story. So that's wonderful, and it gives me time to study for my economics midterm and the Wuthering Heights paper that's due Thursday. Oh, work.
But there. I think I've covered the major points. I wish I could've gone more indepth with some of them... but now if I update consistently I can actually do that. Oh schnap!
I KIND OF NEED TO SEE THIS MOVIE NAO.
CAMPION + KEATS = <3
Bright Star
amazing international trailer
decent American trailer
And A Single Man, twos. I heart great trailers.
I would post a real entry, and I'm determined to do so... sometime this week (have next Monday off for Yom Kippur -- and a belated Shanah tovah for those who celebrate Rosh Hashanah!)... but not yet, as I'm presently up to my lederhosen in German (and the rest of me is trying to get all the reading I have to do). Alack!
CAMPION + KEATS = <3
Bright Star
amazing international trailer
decent American trailer
And A Single Man, twos. I heart great trailers.
I would post a real entry, and I'm determined to do so... sometime this week (have next Monday off for Yom Kippur -- and a belated Shanah tovah for those who celebrate Rosh Hashanah!)... but not yet, as I'm presently up to my lederhosen in German (and the rest of me is trying to get all the reading I have to do). Alack!
Week 1 at Brandeis has been surprisingly fulfilling. Always, always busy, either with people or work. And, alas, too busy to update LJ, though I will update this thing re: summer and the beginning of the school year. I WILL I WILL I WILL I WILL
But for now I won't. Herf.
But for now I won't. Herf.
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And you're not THAT old and withered... more like... perfectly aged old cheese. Or wine. But I'm Katie, so I'll stick with the cheese metaphor instead. :D…
I'm so jealous to hear about your Europe trip! But you definitely should do everything you're planning - now's the perfect time…
And I need to see A Single Man. Colin Firth = <333333
:P