Here's some news

Friends,

I just handed in my last paper of college.

Ever.

Peace for now,
mittens.

It's been a while.

http://thehathorlegacy.com/midweek-media-brontesaurus/

went to the gym

@ 6 am today.

boo yeah.

thesis

84 pages and counting :-(  So short, but it's in French, so that's good.

morose mittens meow.

and the push begins

4 miles.



UPDATE:  it's all lies!  6.5 miles. 

and, to bed!

but not before a nineties flashback.  My favourite song from when I was still in my single digits!

awwwwww

Friends,

the cutest old couple just walked by my table.  Both had hair of shocking white, and they were all old and wrinkly, and moved super slowly. But they were holding hands.  How adorable.

P.S. Albondigas and Fencer:  I wore my engagement ring today, but on the right hand lest anyone become confused... :-)

soccer

Friends,

I just played a pickup game of soccer for the first time in like 6 years.  It reminded me how much I like organized sports :-(  Maybe there's a volleyball league in London?



mittens

I feel like a dog.

Friends,

you know when dogs fixate on things?  They're all like "throw the ball, yes, throw the ball for me, I want to chase the ball, chase the ball, chase, chase sooo excitteddd for the balllll". 

That's the sort of impulse that I feel for every activity that isn't a thesis activity.  I'm sort of like "go on a walk! I want to walk outside! outside of the library! walkkkkk."

So, to conclude, after my coffee (coffee!  I want to drink my coffee!), I'm going to take myself for a walk.

I promise not to pee on any bushes along the way.

Attention span crisis for now,

mittens.

no way.

yes way.

Friends,

You're not going to believe what I did today.  I read a book not related either to my thesis (due in 6 days wassup) or my two final research papers.  Instead, I read the book of an author coming to give a talk tomorrow.  It's about the cult of sacral queenship in medieval france.

Talk about the mother of all procrastinatory events.

muah,
mittens.

hilarious

oh, XKCD.  you are my 1  +/-  1 true love :-)

thesis presentation

in 12 hours.

ruh roh.

If it is 20 minutes long, that means I can say it 5 times before grabbing a few hours of sleeperoo, and then 3 times tomorrow before class.

I'm so incredibly fucked.

-R

random impulse

All of the sudden, I *really* want to walk across ireland. 

back @ college!

Finally !!!!!

exhausted....but there's no place like home :-)

stuck in boston

because i missed the last bus by 15 minutes :-(

so yeah.  It's been a long, long day.  And the thesis presentation is on wednesday.  And I'm abysmally behind in EVERYTHING.

Don't expect to see a smile on this awesome (read: haggard and stressed) face of mine until....the 6th of June.

miserably yours,
mittens

shock of the century

Friends,

I usually travel on Air Canada, but today I'm traveling via American Airlines.  I'm waiting for the plane to board @ Boston Logan.  And SHOCK: the american airlines concourse is SO MUCH NICER than the air canada concourse. Who'd have thunk?  Except for maybe all of you.

peace
mittens

huge news

Friends,

Yet another reason why scientists should have groupies.
They're awesome.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-13362927

-mittens

Good bye!

Friends,

I'm going on a plane tomorrow, and since I have an irrational fear of flying even though, rationally, I should be more afraid of the bus that I'm taking to get to the plane - though that's why they call it an 'irrational' fear - I wanted to take the opportunity to say that you're all awesome, wonderful people.  I'm not being morbid (though if I die, that would be sort of weird), but I just want to have all my affairs in order.  I love you all: my littles were a surprise and a half; my friends made my birthday as good as it could be under the circumstances; Paulson, you're wonderful; I'll blog when I get back from Michigan!

Feel free to email me while I'm away...I don't know what my schedule will be, but I know that I'll miss you all tremendously.


xoxoxo
mittens

so much to do

and yet I'm blogging.

Oh, the irony.

happy birthday to me

I've been in the library so long that I thought I saw a pigeon committing suicide by jumping off the roof of the next-door building.  Alas, pigeons have wings, as Adams thoughtfully reminded me when I shrieked and pointed to it.

my international friends and/or stalkers

Friends,

This is what you look like!  (I have a count of page visits, but I don't want to embarrass anyone...)

eek! Summer Planz

Friendz,

My father sent me my plane tickets today, meaning that my planz are finalized.  If you're near to any or all of these places, come find me so that we can chill before I skip across the pond and North America loses me foreverrrr...or at least until September :-)

June 12: Graduation with all of you!
June 13: homeless (for realz....can I stay with one of you?)
June 14-20: Chicago/Peoria/Chicago with the parental
June 20-25: Ottawa with Spam!
June 25-28: Montreal with the BFG
June 28: A plane with some strangers. 
June 29: London with Paulson

If I don't know you, please don't use this information to stalk me kthx. 

mittens

I'm surrounded!

Help!  I'm surrounded by...ghosts from the middle ages! 

Gotcha.  I bet you thought I was surrounded by assassins or ninjas.

It's just 21 books, all of which I have currently checked out under my name.

(Sort of makes me think that tomorrow I should check out one more book for a grand total of 22)

-mittens

beautiful sunset!

And the 5th floor of the stacks is the perfect place to see it.

-mittens

UPDATE:  my favourite thing is when there are streams of light that flow through a low ceiling of interrupted clouds.  And when those same clouds have vibrant golden edges, and the rolling hills beneath them are etched in royal purples.  Seriously.  Just look outside.

procrastination is fun

Friends,

How AWESOME is this?

and, on a related note, THIS?

as one comment aptly points out, cats are starting to evolve!  Run for your lives!

cats for now,
mittens

general life advice

Friends,

I've recently discovered the freedom in letting go of anger.  Yes, injustices hurt.  Yes, you might not think you deserve the pain that someone delivers to you, inadvertently or otherwise.  But I think I might just have begun to understand the power of forgiveness. 

Maybe...

lighthearted for now,
mittens

Thank you!

Friends,

My semi-surprise birthday party was wonderful :-)  mmmmmmmmmmmmpizza.

Best friends ever,

mittens

funny AND die

Friends,

Funny or die is so last week. 

I'm a big kid now

Friends,

Since I'm all grown up, I decided to send the Egyptian a well-deserved apology.  Just because I don't like him anymore, doesn't mean I should send him awful rants that are full of hatred.

Am I apprehensive about his response?  Yes, but it was the right thing to do, so I'm just going to have to deal with the consequences.

Maturity for now,
mittens

If you don't know me

Strangers,

I appreciate that you've googled something (maybe with the word graduation in it?  Who knows) and have clicked on this link out of curiosity.  But if you don't live in the USA, Canada, or the UK, then I don't know you and you shouldn't bother reading this page.

I'm looking at you, random people from Germany, Singapore, and Russia.

mittens

my littles continue to astound me

Dearest little sister(s) :-)

Your gifts are chosen with so much thought that I'm flabbergasted.  I kind of want to marry you, especially if you're the one who has been giving me those delectable massages.  And since Paulson doesn't want to get hitched, I'm sure he won't mind.

So, what do you say?  Will you whisk me away? Shall we set the date, à la Will & Kate, and jauntily saunter down the aisle?

Peace for now,
mittens

update: thesis and other random things

Friends,

My thesis presentation is May 18, and the final deadline for the thesis is May 26.  And so, today, after much deliberation, I've come to the conclusion that I don't have enough time to get it done.  This is a sad fact, but a true one.  There just aren't enough hours in the day. Oh, well.  Who needs to graduate with honors anyways?

Also, side note, I hate the stacks.  I'm on basement floor A if you want to come chill, though :-)

with much love,

mittens.

Thesis

gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

my new career goal:

Air Traffic Control officer in Spain:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article6991798.ece

Osama is dead

The CIA, under direct orders from the President, launched a convert operation based on human intelligence of Bin Laden's location in August of 2010.  Last week, with the help of the Pakistani governmental counter-terrorism office, the information was deemed strong enough to act upon, and early today, Obama gave the order to storm the mansion where Osama bin Laden was hiding, in a small Pakistani city near the capital, Islamabad.  Fire was exchanged between the mansion and a small, highly specialized US combat force. No US citizens were harmed, and Osama's body was taken into US custody.  His identity was confirmed, and President Obama addressed the nation at 11:35 ish pm EST relating what I have just summarized to you.


But, unless you've been living under a rock, you already knew this.

Long live the USA. 
mittens

Nouveau Riche

Friends,

As a fledgling member of the Nouveau Riche  (given my university's generous grant of $5,500 for post-graduate study), I have been exploring places in which to invest my moneyz.  Having a healthy fear of the stock market given its tempestuousness in recent years, and not wanting my money tied up in long-term government bonds, I've decided to invest in property.  I was thinking about a flat in London, a loft in Manhattan, a ski chalet in St. Moritz (and Whistler, naturally), and a castle in Ireland.

It has been suggested that my grasp on how far this money will go is tenuous at best.  However, I think my plans are reasonable.  They're even more reasonable if I cut back on the Manhattan loft.  As much as I want it, I think that 5,500 will probably only cover the cost of 4 properties, not 5. Oh, inflation.  

peace for now,
mittens.

Willow Smith

sneaky nice people

Friends,

Is pairing sneaky and nice an oxymoron?  Not anymore.  After my recent post, I went to get a drink of water. I was gone from my spot in the stacks for under 2 minutes, and this is what a sneaky nice person wrote in my browser URL:

Was it you?  Was it a rando?  Maybe I'll never know......

Ooohh Mystery for now...

mittens

Holy crap!

Friends,

I just won a university senior fellowship, meaning I get $5,500 to fund my escapades next year!!!

Last time I checked, that translates into roughly £3,000 after tax...that's a helluva lot of strawberry jam.  I'm rich!

Peace for now,

mittens 

my little sister(s) is(are) awesome

Ahem Ahem:

A Paris beret, strawberry jam, chocolate soy milk and mint chocolate Lindor chocolates means that you most definitely read this blog.  Adams: seriously.  I mean, don't confirm it because I love myself some surprises, but...it's you.  Right?  Yeah, I'm pretty sure about this one.  Unless it's a double bluff.


-R

p.s. after meetings I had some of the soy milk, with a side of...jam.  Is that weird?  Don't answer that. 

my boyfriend is awesome

That's all :-)

xoxo

mittens

Things I learned from a pregnant, Catholic, "feminist":

Friends,

Today, two fellow FemWord authors and I went to listen to a pro-life speech given by a self-proclaimed "feminist".  The speaker, Erika Bachiochi, structured the speech around the personal experiences that made her transition from a pro-choice college student to a pro-life married Catholic with 5 children.  Her address tackled the most controversial issues possible; in 45 minutes, she summarily dispensed with all opposition to divorce, contraception, sex before marriage, and - most notably - abortion.

While a seemingly educated woman - she obtained a master's in theology from Boston College and a law degree from Boston University - her rhetoric was 100% party line, no more and certainly no less.  Some of her arguments crystallized the omnipresent and seemingly uncrossable abyss between the pro-life and pro-choice camps.  Her assumptions were frustrating and she seemed completely unwilling to consider alternate positions, in spite of having been vehemently pro-choice in college herself.

Erika started the debate by saying that she was going to argue the case of abortion from a non-theological standpoint.  Statistics about perpetuating cycles of poverty, single-parent homes, and depression were loosely thrown around.  She suggested instead that society should become more 'motherhood friendly', so that there is no stigma or social consequence for a woman having a child.  I think that this is a great point, and I initially appreciated that her speech was not ostensibly centered upon Catholic dogma.  But when I brought up the fact that there are countries - i.e. in Scandinavia - where abortion is legal *and* maternity is supported with access to child-care, generous financial support, and excellent parental (i.e. maternal AND paternal) leave, all of her carefully constructed statistics, social arguments, and policy points went out the window.  Her response?  A fetus is a baby and a life, and abortion shouldn't be legal because we can't kill babies.  *sigh*  It's funny that, no matter the debate, no matter the arguments that are used to dress up one's position, the fundamental point of contention is always the same.

Erika didn't just discuss abortion, though.  Her views on contraception were, well, "Don't Use Contraception", even in marriage, in spite of this: (98 percent of Catholic women use contraception banned by the Church).    I  found this segment of her talk much more insidious and harmful than her typical abortion mantra.  It should be noted that she was speaking to the epicenter of the Catholic community on campus, the 40 most devout Catholics on campus ( about 30 of whom were young women).  She said that, when a married couple has no desire to have a child, they should abstain from all sexual activity - no surprises there.   Her premise was that, when a couple followed this tenet of the Catholic faith, a man could respect his wife by allowing her the choice to abstain from sex.  She continued to say that, when contraception was available, a man wouldn't necessarily show his wife the same respect.  One of the other editors of TheFemWord asked Erika whether she was implying that men, with the option of contraception, would force themselves upon their wives.  She hemmed and hawed, and ended by saying that she *hoped* that men with access to contraception wouldn't do that...though her tone of voice, raised eyebrows and overly-dramatic side-glances to the rest of the audience were clearly meant to imply that contraception leads to unwanted, forced marital sex.  In other words, spousal rape. Her scare tactics were truly deplorable, and while I can respect a couple's decision not to use contraception choice, I cannot under any circumstances condone scaring a room of women by suggesting a preposterous link between contraception and rape.  Shame on her.

Her divorce argument was standard.  Studies show that children of divorce have problems with depression, self-esteem, poverty, blah blah blah.   Similarly, abstaining from sex before marriage was a textbook "why buy the cow" argument.

There was a facet of her speech that I've neglected to explore, and that's how she considered herself to be a feminist in spite of her Catholic dogma.  I think I'll save that for a later post.....

Peace for now,

mittens

infiltration

Friends,

Pre-median, Rapster and I are going to infiltrate the pro-life rally on campus.  Will report back, but probably on the other blog, later this evening.  Meanwhile, feel free to check out the most recent post by Premedian, which was also posted @ feministing.com.

thefemword.blogspot.com  Take a look!

Peace for now,

mittens.

2 weeks

Friends,

I've finished my two weeks of vegetarian try-out.  Aren't you all curious about whether I'm going to continue? 

Well, the answer is.......(drumroll please?).......yes!  For now, anyways.  I think I like the two-week goal; it seems achievable and gives me room to change my mind/modify if things aren't going well. 

Another thing that's two weeks away is my birthday :-)  So maybe I'll treat myself to a birthday steak?  Hm...we'll see.

Peace for now,
mittens.

2 glasses

Dearest friends,


The first graduation cocktail hour is over (48 days to graduation!!).  I had my two glasses of champagne, and (wisely?) decided not to eat any hors d'oeuvres because I couldn't balance a plate and a glass.  So, I'm (also, wisely?) going to take an hour or two to 'lie down' before heading to the library for a night of studies.

Cheers,
Mittens.

dinner

Friends,

I just made a tofu/broccoli/pea stirfry for dinner.

Feel free to ask me who I am and what I've done with the real me.

more veggies for now,

mittens.

QUARANTINE!

Friends,

Do you know how the quarantine started?  In Italy (or somewhere near what would eventually become the country of Italy in the 19th century), sailors were kept on their boats for forty days  - quarenti giorni - after docking in order to prevent the 14th century outbreak of the plague.


Unfortunately, it didn't work, and millions of people died.  Oh, the Black Death :-)  (Too soon?)

My situation is somewhat different, in that I am not infected with a lethal disease (hopefully), it is self-imposed rather than compulsory (phew), and I'm not in Italy (unfortunately), but my quarantine is nevertheless in full swing.  I've secured the furthest table from people at the university cafe, and have reserved a study room for me, myself, and I for later in the afternoon. So to all you uninfected people out there, you're welcome.

hacking cough for now,


mittens.

still awake :-(

In my haste to meet That Short Asian for dinner, I think I took dayquil instead of nyquil and am consequently still wide awake :-(  Oh, well.  Hopefully waking up @ a reasonable hour tomorrow morning will get me back onto a normal sleep schedule.  On the bright side, I'm now completely caught up with how to make vegan paella, Kate Middleton's genealogy, and the game of tetris. 

Sleep for now?

mittens

Thanks to adams!

Friends,

Adams told me that I looked pretty today :-)

Thanks Adams :-)

xo
mittens

Things I've learned about the vegetarian diet

Friends,

A week and a half into my veggie trial, and I'm picking up on some of the essential tips for going veg.

First, there are three types of vegetarian diet:  Vegan, lacto-vegetarian, and lacto-ovo vegetarian.  We are all familiar with vegans...they don't eat animals or any animal byproducts.  Lacto-vegetarians don't eat animals or eggs, but will still eat dairy.  And lacto-ovo vegetarians (me!) are the most 'lenient', and eat eggs and dairy, but no animals (i.e. no meat, fish, or poultry).  I'm lactose-intolerant, so I don't eat a ton of dairy, though cheddar cheese is naturally low or free of lactose, and especially now that I've gone veg, I try and include an 8 oz glass of lactose-free milk (either lactaid or soy) to help bolster my calcium and vitamin D stores.

Vegetarians have a different food pyramid from the omnivores of the world:

And it can be particularly tricky to get enough protein, iron, vitamin B12, calcium, and zinc.  A great tip I've found is to make sure my morning cereal is fortified with some extras.  For example, one serving of honey nut cheerios (clearly the best cereal in the history of the world) with skim lactose-free milk contains:

• 35% B12
• 30% zinc
• 25% iron
• 25% calcium

Not bad for the smallest meal of the day, right?

Another important thing to consider when going veg is to make sure not to fill your calories up with foods high on the glycemic index (GI).  This basically means that you shouldn't replace your meats with starchy white breads, pastas, or potatoes.  I did this for the first day or two, and felt awful - remember the odd fainting episodes?  Basically, your body breaks down and digests high GI foods quickly, releasing a lot of glucose into the bloodstream in a short amount of time.  Glucose levels can then 'crash', leading to a sluggish, tired feeling.  Lower GI foods release glucose into the bloodstream more slowly and consistently, resulting in less of a crash, and a more stable overall glucose level.  So, choosing whole grains over white breads not only fill you up longer, but they also keep you feeling energized and happy!  For the most part, my diet consists of important staples such as: apples, bananas, orange juice, spinach, carrots, barley, nuts, tofu, peanut butter, eggs, lentils, and kidney beans. 

It's weird, but going veg has made it easier for me to understand dietary lessons from high school.  There seems to be a bigger - or maybe just more discernible - impact on my level of energy/happiness/whatever on a daily basis if I choose lower GI carbs, and make sure to eat enough leafy greens, calcium, and legumes to meet my other dietary needs than when I was eating meats.

Have you guys tried eating veg before?  Did you notice any differences in your health/well-being?  Do you think I've gone cray-cray?

Veggies for now,
mittens

My nose

Friends,

You'd think that my nose would be too big to get super stuffed up.  Alas, that doesn't seem to be the case. 

BUT to make matters worse, I went to the fridge in the kitchen, and people had eaten my cheez and breadz, drank my milkz, AND left my chocolate syrup out on the counter.  It's supposed to be in the FRIDGE!

Silly foodz thievz.

-mittens

The Gods of Laser Tag

Friends,

The Gods of Laser Tag are vicious.  I'm currently lying in bed with aches, pains, and this awful, owchie cough.  Anyone wanna bring me dinner and a bucketful of sympathy? I feel icky.

Sorry about the whining....

miserable for now,
mittens

one week down

Friends,

My first seven days of vegetarian eating comes to an end after dinner tonight.  It went well; actually, the transition was smooth, probably because I eat far less meat than I think I do.  Seven more to go and then I'll reevaluate.  The only thing I really miss is eating fish...

peace for now,
mittens.

laser tag!!!

Friends,

When I was younger, everyone was really into having laser tag birthday parties.  Alas, my parental unit never let me go because it was too 'dangerous'.  So to this day, I've never been laser tagging. 

Tomorrow, my university is holding a building-wide laser tag event.  And I've never been so excited for anything in my entire life. 

Star Wars for now,
-mittens

done!

Friends,


I finished my paper with 30 minutes to spare. 

whew.

Peace for now,
-Mittens

FYI

Friends,

So everyone knows, Paulson is now reading this blog.  I know, I know.  I'm just as shocked as you.

On a completely unrelated note, check out these Tiffany earrings.... ;)

http://www.tiffany.co.uk/Shopping/Item.aspx?fromGrid=1&sku=23577682&mcat=148204&cid=287464&search_params=s+5-p+3-c+287464-r+201432141-x+-n+6-ri+-ni+0-t+-k+

sneaky for now,

mittens

lethargy

i.e. beginning the 4th week of term.   Can you believe it's going by so quickly?  I mean, I've been ready to graduate for most of the year, but it doesn't mean that it's not scary.  I have plans for the summer, but NOTHING yet for my gap year.  Ruh Roh.

new survey: consoling thoughts for the year to come. ------over there --------->

WOW!

Friends,

I had an awful hangover this morning slash afternoon.  It was really, really bad, and I took one Tylenol.  I've always been an Advil person, but a friend gave me the Tylenol, and I feel *so much better* that I may well have just been converted.  Apparently Acetaminophen > Ibuprofin.

the things you learn

Friends,

While procrastinating the writing of my french paper (a comp lit piece between 20th century feminist literature and a text from the middle ages WTF), I stumbled across a report stating that my hometown, Ottawa, is the 3rd cleanest city in the world, and has the 2nd highest quality of living in the Americas.  I feel proud, even though its cleanliness is probably related to its boringness and smallness :-)

http://www.mercer.com/qualityofliving#top5

Peace for now,

mittens

That Short Asian + me + jam = a wonderfully sticky time.

Friends,

That Short Asian was recently let in on one of my odder qualities: my love (yes love) of strawberry jam.  I love it in all its forms.  I'll accept shitty reproductions of jam and treasure it as though it is luxury stuff.  I'll eat it with just about everything.  Yesterday, That Short Asian and I were eating chocolate chip cookies, and I whipped a one-serving sized jam container out of my coat and dipped the cookie in.  It was delicious.  However, if I'm ever in a non-dorm-room place (ahem, Paulson), I always want to have a jar of high-end strawberry jam on hand.  You know, the kind that has the chunks of delicious strawberry and isn't too sweet....mmmm....

At any rate, That Short Asian sent me this beautiful picture of a strawberry jam slash rhubarb tartlet.  Thanks a lot; looks delish :-)

i'd just like to point out...

that I posted the Kate and Wills a cappella vid 2 days BEFORE the bbc did :-)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-13089240

meh

Friends,

Just came back from step and sculpt, and instead of feeling exhilarated, I just feel sort of sad.  I called Paulson, but he wasn't there :-(  It was probably for the best, though, because it's late in London, and I don't really want to bother him.  I mean, I do but I don't, you know?

Maybe a warm shower and some coffee will perk me up. 

Onwards,

mittens

UPDATE: I called him and we had a great convo.  He seemed happy to talk, in spite of the lateness...maybe the awkwardness is over?

step and sculpt

today.  Wouldn't it be great if exercise had automatic results (both good and bad)?  So, if you do an hour of step and sculpt you're a size 2 for the day, but if you eat an entire pizza, you're 200 pounds?  That way, there would be immediate positive and negative reinforcement :-)

Oh, well.  It was my choice to be a bum in college and study and eat (and study [and eat]), so when I feel the burn, I'll just keep telling myself that this is what I need to do to get skinny.

Peace for now,

-mittens

weird?

I love spiral staircases.  Also, I look for property online sometimes, because it's fun, and the property is pretty and...DON'T JUDGE ME!

so here's one with a beauty of a wrought iron spiral staircase (well, actually it's helical but whatever).  pretty south london flat (aka apartment)

To my little sister(s):

I know you read this blog, because you knew about my fascination with Wills & Kate...which narrows it down to 3 people.  In no particular order, the front-runners are:  Adams, Albondigas (otherwise known as the Blonde Mexican Wannabe), and Fencer.  Hmmm...let the detective work begin! 

Also, I looooved the gift I got from you tonight.  There's nothing I love more than surprises, and when the surprises are gifts, it makes me extremely happy. I'm going to keep the copy of the William & Catherine memorial magazine for years to come :-)  And the cider was stellar, thanks so much.  FYI, I'll waive my 'no desserts' vow if you get me something desserty.  Not that you have to, but dearest little sister(s), I'll drink/eat/do anything you want me to.  Insert sexual connotation here. 

Beaucoup de/Mucho Amour/Amor
-Mittens

UPDATE: I have been reliably informed that I don't know what I'm talking about!  The identity of my little sister(s) is still very much a mystery :-)

oddly drunk

Ladies (and Mr. T)

One beer and I feel oddly out of it.  Did one of you drug me tonight?  J/k, j/k.  I had a wonderful time.  And a twoderful [tudor-ful?  oh double puns].

Also (and no jokes please) my jaw is really sore!  I think I may have been clenching it while I was doing squats @ kickboxing tonight, but only one side hurts.  Oh weird exercise problems. 

Best ratatouille ever

I think I've finally got this recipe down :-)  And...I think I'm gonna do two weeks of power vegetarian eating.  It's healthier, and I'm working so hard in my PE classes that I don't want to waste the effort by not eating healthily.  And 2 weeks seems like a good time period.  So yeah, no meat, no dessert.  Wish me luck!

Oh Canada

Courtesy of Paulson's younger brother via fb. hehehe. 

Ontario Closer to Legalizing Marijuana.

the worst thing EVER

Friends,

You know when you get a nice, firm apple and then it ends up NOT being crunchy?  Sort of just a soggy bite of browning goo?  It is the worst thing ever.  It makes me sad.  So if my apple can make ME sad, then I'm sure as hell going to make IT sad.

Take that, Malus domestica. 

UPDATE:  My second apple of the day (yeah, I'm eating healthily, nbd) was much, much better.  It made me happy.   Positive reinforcement ensued:

Important: please read

Friends,

I have to make an important decision, and I'd like your advice (please vote in the anonymous survey to the right of this blog).

I need to get a haircut before this conference I'm going to.  Please vote on the appropriate choice for my face and skin tone. I'm sure you all appreciate the importance of this issue, and how it could negatively impact national security if undertaken without due consideration.

Peace for now,
mittens.

my childhood dreams will be dashed

On April 29th, when Will and Kate tie the knot. 

As a result, I can commiserate with the guys in this video  (though, obviously, it's Will I pine for.  And elm for.  And maple for.  [see what I've done there?  it's a tree pun]). 

If you like a cappella, you'll like this. It really gets going @ around 1 minute, so give it time.    ENJOY!

 

(s-note:  isn't it weird how, as a group, these guys are really ironic-yet-cute, but when they do the individual shots, you realize that all of them are super-dorky?  At any rate, I was happy to have found this video). 

9 weeks to grad

Holy shit. 

Also, my blog is now incorrectly named, but I like the name, and it refers to the time that i started the blog, so nostalgia dictates that the blog name shall remain for all eternity (or until I get bored of it).

Goodbye my lovelies; time to get my ample ass to step and sculpt (I didn't take kickboxing yesterday in an attempt to stave off shin splints....ruh roh). 

I don't agree...

...but I couldn't not post this wonderful Canadian flag from Rock paper cynic : 

guess who I saw?

The Egyptian.  Proud that I held my head high and walked straight ahead.

Oh, it didn't hurt that I looked faboosh :-)

the weather is confused

that is all.

i shouldn't.

I really shouldn't.  But it's too hard to resist.  [the wonderful rockpapercynic.com strikes again.

 UPDATE:  Not at all along a similar vein

awkward turtle

I'm editing a book; for a professor of mine; and this one author; uses a ridiculous; number; of; semicolons.;;;;;;;;;;

like that. 

Anyways, so I sent one of my favourite blog posts (How To Use a Semicolon)to my professor, mocking the author of the article by saying "[Author] needs to read this blog and learn how to use semicolons!"

And...the prof got back to me with this email:

"Dear[mittens]
I have already edited this article, and I added many of the semicolons myself.   Please let me know which ones you feel are used incorrectly.

Sincerely,
[professor]

hugs

Friends,

If you, like me, are craving hugs, the next comic will make your insides smile :-)

From the wonderful Rock Paper Cynic, as usual (rockpapercynic.com)

food I like

Friends,

I love to cook, though I hardly have the time here (groan.  you know what I'm talking about).

But here's a recipe that I really want to make over the summer:  Leek and Haddock Soup

also, here's a great site for succulent (and I mean succulent) pictures of wonderful food (thanks to Fencer for the tip).  foodporndaily.com 

everything is fine

Friends,

Thanks for the supportive blitzes :-)  They meant a lot to me!  Also I think things are going alright...for now.  The real test will be what happens next Saturday! 

Alright, I promise that there won't be any more angsty posts for a while :-)

In keeping with that promise, guess what?  Happy News!  My birthday is coming up! (I won't say when, but you can all facebook it).  Yay for getting older.  Last age of my life that I'll be a college student....

aaaaahhhhhhhhhh

the talk...

Friends,

Conversation with Paulson in T-9 hours (far too long from now...I just want to get it over with).  He's expecting me to have made a decision.  How can I choose a course of action when I don't know anything about what he's thinking? 

I think I should try and sleep a bit.  Maybe inspiration will come to me in the night.  Maybe I'll have figured out how to figure him out.  And why everything has changed so suddenly.  That Short Asian thinks he's stressed about his work, and that as a result, he's retreated into himself, sort of unknown to him.  She thinks that it's unintentional at best, and at most somewhat insensitive.  Pre-median thinks it's much, much worse; we've all come across the "take-for-granted" boy in our time, haven't we, ladies?  And as for me, I think that it's far more sinister a beast...as you all know, I'm the Queen of impossible relationships.  The only question that remains, the one I have to answer before 10 am EST, is: if I'm the Queen, is he my King?  Or is he the usurping bastard that kills me and takes my crown?  [okay, the metaphor may have broken down a wee bit, but I'm studying the medieval French Capetian kings for my History midterm on Friday...judge me accordingly.]

peace for now,

mittens.

screw it

I'm going to watch Pride and Prejudice :-)

a pie chart

to explain what I'm trying to say:

And in a Long-Distance Relationship (yes, the capitals are necessary), all you have left is:

so maybe the real problem lies in the fact that the sharing of food is gone?  Hmmm something to consider.

i hate myself

why can't I be happy in the present and the immediate future?  Why do I have to screw up every good thing that happens to me?  Paulson's perfect (for me, not in general lol), so why can't I just wait until the end of June when I get to see him?  I'm insanely unreasonable, I know, but a part of me is saying that if he really wanted to be with me, he wouldn't even let me consider breaking up.  And I honestly believe that he's trying to do what's right, and let me choose what I want, but this long-distance thing is so hard that I don't even know what I want.  I can't always be the strong one, especially when both my personal and academic life are in shambles.  I need him to fight for us, and he isn't.  I wish I could let him know that I need him to tell me that I'm being stupid, that I'm making the wrong decision.  He needs to call me up and refuse to accept me breaking up with him.  He needs to tell me that I'm just being unreasonable or hormonal or something,  and that he loves me and that, come June, I'll be so happy that I stuck with this thing, even if long distance is shitty.

But life is no fairy tale and he won't call me to tell me that, because he wants to respect my decision. Because, chances are he loves me more than I realize, and I just threw that away.   

Which is why I hate myself.  QED.

something that annoys me but shouldn't:

Paulson and I usually talk at the same time on Saturday mornings, but he didn't call me last weekend until I sent him an email saying that we hadn't spoken and that I missed him.  After that, he called and I sort of got mad (whoops) because we only talk on the phone once a week, and if we're going to do this long-distance thing, we should try and speak once a week, right?  He said that he understood where I was coming from.

I was still fairly annoyed after that conversation, but That Short Asian calmed me down, saying that when she'd met him, she'd never seen anyone look at their girlfriend with as much love as Paulson had when he looked at me.  So I was assuaged.

But THEN, he didn't call me today!  I don't know what the freak is going on with this guy.  I thought everything was fine with him and me, but two weeks ago, things completely changed and he's been super distant.  So I called him (Side note: he usually calls because he has free long distance and I have a shitty plan) and the conversation stayed on topics like the weather and what he was in the middle of cooking.  I got so frustrated that I couldn't stay on this trivial conversation any longer, so I told him that I had to go to lunch and I hung up.

This was an hour ago.  I'm torn between stewing in my own anger slash frustration, knowing that he doesn't know I'm mad, or calling him and trying to explain why I'm mad, knowing that he won't get it.

A smarter girl than me would probably just get over it.  We'll see if that happens, though chances are that when I post this, I'm going to call him back and ask him what's going on.  I can already feel myself regretting this decision :-(

sad for now,

mittens

my favourite site

for grammatical FUN!  (and no, that is neither a mistype nor an oxymoron)

GRAMMAR IS FUN

Yoda's sage advice

Friends,

Have you ever thought that Yoda's advice could be compiled into a never-ending scroll that keeps unraveling until the end of time (or until the end of resources needed to make the scroll)?  Well now you have.  That's the power of suggestion.




But that's not my point.  I stumbled upon a wonderful comic owned by the fine artists at rock paper cynic summarizing what I think is his most valuable point.


Truly a genius, Yoda is.

 

 Peace for now, 

mittens

it took me 8 weeks

to translate 20 pages of this book.  And I'm going to translate 5 pages tonight.  Ready? Ok GO!

UPDATE:  4 pages woot!  impressed? well you should be.

college profs can be great.

Alternately, they can suck ass and randomly "lose" the files exempting you from a prereq and tell you about it 9 weeks from graduation, when the time to enroll for classes has already ended.  Conclusion?  I CAN'T GRADUATE.

Fuck that shit.  Watch them try and stop me.  Meeting with the registrar tomorrow to push until they overrule the secretary (not even a professor) in my department  who holds my future in her petty, irresponsible hands.


WAR for now,

mittens

take my poll

because buttons are fun to press.

walking down stairs

Pre-Median and I are both hitting the Gym quite a lot these days.  Unfortunately, the Gym is hitting back.   While all forms of movement are tricky and are wont to inspire flashes of searing pain in previously undiscovered muscles, we've found that walking down stairs is the absolute worst. 

I just thought I'd share that with you. 

Peace for now,

Mittens

worst fight sequence ever

Friends,

There are no words.  Watch....just watch.

Live Long and Prosper,

mittens

For Pre-Median (my 1/4 armenian friend)

Friends,

Since I embarked upon my fitness extravaganza, I've been thinking a lot about ways to make exercise more fun.  Exhibit A: instead of kickboxing, CAKEBOXING!  Imagine that, an arm's length away from you, there's a gigantic cake, and it's your job to extend your arm as quickly as possible, grab some cake with yo' fist, and then retract your arm equally quickly, subsequently stuffing aforementioned cake into your face.  Switch arms and repeat. 


I'm also taking "Step and Sculpt", which, presumably, is making some sort of claim about increasing the chiseling of my muscles.  But how cool would it be to step, and then ACTUALLY sculpt something?  You know, have a small platform with some clay that you can only sculpt for 2 seconds at a time before stepping off the platform and then back up.  Those sculptures would probably be shit, but it would be a fun way to spend an hour.

Any other fun ideas for exercise? Let me know. 

Peace for now,

Mittens

who knew?

Friends,

I just took my first kickboxing karate class.  The first 30 minutes were hard but doable (oh, with the exception of the 50 tricep pushups).  The next ten were way too hard, and I started slacking off because I just.couldn't.do.it.  The last 20 minutes....how do I describe them?  She was asking us to do stuff my body physically couldn't accomplish.  I currently feel like spaghetti.  Step and sculpt aerobics tomorrow.  Check back for more!

Peace for now,
xo

ohhh shit.

So I guess I should talk about me.

The most important thing right now is that I'm moving to London in June to live with my wonderful, albeit clueless boyfriend.  The weird thing about us is that it took us 6 years to figure out that we were madly in love because we're Just. That. Awkward.   But don't worry about us.  We didn't pine for one another à la melodramatic 3 pm Soap Opera.  I dated people in college, and he dated....algorithms?  Whatever, he's crazy smart.  And a few years older than me.  And taller. My math skills are remedial at best, but the last time I checked, smart + older + taller = hot.

The point is that I'm going to London for the bf, who we'll call Paulson after the notable hedge fund guy. Paulson just moved into a new place in London.  I'm excited to see it, and it's in a better area, which is good.  But I actually liked his old place in SE1.  The coffee shops were independent, and not Starbucks/Caffe Nero/whatever.  There was this cute deli on Bermondsey street that makes excellent pastrami sandwiches...though they're a little light with the gherkins.  And Bermondsey Street Coffee is amazing. GO THERE if you ever find yourself within a reasonable distance.  You can define reasonable yourself...feel free to stretch the meaning of the word. Also, Time Out London put Zucca (which means pumpkin in Italian, go figure) on their "best London restaurants" list: http://www.zuccalondon.com/  Why is this relevant?  Because it's right across the street, more or less.  That's right.  I almost feel like starting a spitting contest between North Londoners and Southwark people, but I'll refrain out of common decency, and because if anyone actually reads this blog, it'll be my American friends.  Who will inevitably then start a NorCal SoCal debate.  So I'll quit while I'm behind, shall I?

 Hm. Other things, other things...well, I'm going to be taking Latin in London, which is exciting because I love languages, and I need it for PhD programs, so it's fun AND functional, so basically, my summer is like this coat:





















But not this coat:

Though my good friend John Adams would probably like it.  What say you, John?

Peace for now,

mittens

A brief explanation...

Friends,

With graduation swiftly approaching, I wanted to reflect, and improve, upon my life.  I want this blog to keep me accountable and truthful.  Radical honestly.  I also want some dairy-free ice cream but the cafeteria is too far away....university life is hard.

So, what else do I want?  To graduate with a baller thesis.  (which means that I'll have to work more on it hmmmm).  To lose weight.  Well, that's actually a lie.  I want to be strong.  I want my body to like me again, and I want to be amazed by what it can do (I signed up for kickboxing and an aerobics class, which both start this week).  To make sure my good college friends are my great life friends.  To listen to Adele as much as humanly possible.

I guess that part of doing well this term involves me posting this and getting on with my life, namely my presentation tomorrow!  It's on medieval France circa early 12th century.  It's actually pretty good. Socks will be blown off, etc.  Wish me luck!

Peace for now,

mittens