100th post!!

And it only took almost four years. No, I am not the best blogger in the world. I can live with that.

So i turn 35 tomorrow and have been having a minor milestone-birthday freakout. Just the usual stuff, but I'm already pretty down in general, so it's been weepy time around here. Oh well, I'll just go back to flirting on line with 25 year-olds. Apparently that makes me a puma. Neat.

In other news, well, I'm not in school right now due to a financial aid snafu, and I'm still not sure I'll be able to go back in the spring. Other than that, I'm really depressed right now and nothing seems to be helping. Light box, new meds, all for naught. But we're working on it, so hopefully it will turn around. I have been making self-destructive lists in my head, though. Pros and cons, mostly. OK, let's be honest, mostly cons. And no, I'm not whining, just having a pity party. There's a big difference. Really.

Wow, this is really negative. I suppose I should be glad to still be alive after 35 years. In caveman times I would've been dead by now, so I guess I'm doing pretty well, all things considered. Enough of this maudlin post. I'll come back another day when I don't feel quite so much like a dinosaur. TTFN!!

I am NOT getting sick...

I mean it. I don't care that my TMJ is acting up, or that I had a migraine today despite the fact that I've been on daily preventative meds for almost a month. I will NOT get paranoid that I haven't had an H1N1 shot yet. I WILL NOT GET SICK.

That is all, as I'm going to bed so I don't get sick.

Keara's (VERY partial) rules for the appreciation of rock & roll music, Part 1

This is mostly for Cory, but I figure it applies to everyone, so here you go...

• AC/DC is always cool. No matter what.
• Led Zeppelin is almost always cool.
• Pink Floyd is apparently only cool if you're stoned, so in your case, Pink Floyd is NEVER cool.
• Metallica WAS cool until about 1989. Anything before the Black Album is cool. The Black Album itself is not particularly cool, but it was crazy popular, so if you have to listen to a song, just act like it's lame. Anything after the Black Album is strictly forbidden. (Load is the most appropriately named album in the history of music.) The jury is still out on the new album. (Edit-so far the new one seems OK, but it will require more listens to be sure.)
• Judas Priest is cool, unless you're at a gay bar, in which case it's sort of ironic and still OK.
• For some reason, Whitesnake is always cool.
• Hairbands from the 80's, in general, are severely uncool. The problem is they are fun to listen to. You'll have to use your best judgement.
• Buddy Holly is the supreme King of cool. If anyone tries to disagree, they know nothing about the history of rock & roll. Therefore, their opinion is inconsequential.
• Elvis, Johnny Cash, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, and Jimi Hendrix are always cool. (This is just an example. Ask (someone who is not your mother) if you're not sure about other artists.)
• The blues are cool. Stevie Ray Vaughan, B.B. King, Muddy Waters, the list goes on.
• The Beatles are cool. There are some Beatles songs, however, which are not. Use your best judgement.
• Oldies are goodies. Don't dismiss something just because it was made before your parents were born.
• The Rolling Stones are cool. Mick Jagger, however, has done some pretty uncool duets. Avoid them at all costs.
• David Bowie is cool, even when he's not. Which, sometimes, he really really isn't.
• In general, artists who write their own songs are cooler than those who don’t.
• Punk is rock & roll. Don’t let anyone convince you it’s not.
• Pop, in general, is not rock & roll. (I’m looking at you, Nickelback.) Not that there isn’t cool pop out there, because there is, it just isn't rock & roll.
• Disco is neither pop nor rock. Unless you're at a wedding dance, disco is pretty much the least cool music there is.
• Jazz can be the coolest thing ever. It can also suck. Ask someone who knows.
• Elvis is cool. Bloated, jumpsuit, Vegas Elvis is hard to love, but still cool. Elvis Costello is also cool.
• Boy bands are supremely uncool. Fun to sing along to, but uncool.
• You can listen to music that isn't cool, just try to do it when no one is around. If you want to listen to uncool music in public, you have to commit to loving it so much that it becomes cool. Anything (except disco) can be made to seem cool if you pretend hard enough.
• Sometimes songs are so uncool that they are, therefore, actually cool. This rule can never apply to disco.

7000 Year Flood?

So the world is ending, apparently, and I got another week off of school. Which is nice, because my "vacation", while thoroughly enjoyable, was not particularly relaxing. I will recount my travels at a later date when I can back it up with pictures. We really enjoyed Eastern Utah. Cool stuff there.

Saw Watchmen the other night. I'm really glad I took Shawn's advice and read the book first, because there are a lot of characters to keep track of. I really liked it and was surprised at how faithful it was to the book. Of course, they left some stuff out, but it would've been an eight hour movie if they hadn't. I thought all the important stuff made it in, although I would've liked a little more Minutemen action. Oh well, that's what my imagination is for, right?

I'm getting ready to register for Summer and Fall semesters, and I'm really excited because the summer class I'm taking is scheduled for the first, shorter session, so I'll have most of the summer off! Of course, this is dependent upon NDSU not being under water, so we'll see.

Much existential angst and self-defeating inner monologue has been going on the past few weeks, but it's all boring and the same old crap, so I'm not going to discuss it. Hoping the weather improves soon, though, or we all might go nuts. Anyhoo, that's enough for now, hope everyone is staying dry! TTFN!!

I bought geeky t-shirts!!!

From ThinkGeek:






Go me!!

I are suck at blogging

But you all have figured that out already, right? Anyway, I haven't really had much to blog about. Classes are going pretty well so far, the shelter is still there, and winter sucks much harder than in recent history. Spring break is coming up, though, and I am headed to Arizona. Mom & dad have been down in that area since the beginning of February and I'm flying to Phoenix to meet them and then drive back with them. I'll be gone for a week and a half, so I should be able to get my fill of warm(er, anyway) weather and NO SNOW!!! I'd say more, but I have about nine million things to do before I can leave and not nearly enough hours to do them. Aah, procrastination, how I have missed thee. TTFN!!

I suck at picking winners

Cardinals lost, Federer lost. Poo. Oh well, the Wild won last night.

A couple more movies:

• Stargate: Continuum - 5/5
• Copenhagen - 4/5

Sick and tired of being sick and tired

Bleh cold bleh. I hate being sick when you're not REALLY sick. Not that I like being REALLY sick, but... Anyway, the hockey game was fabulous. I wasn't as close to The Great One as I thought I would be, but I saw him, so it was cool. Also, we were really close to the ice (3rd row close!), so it was pretty exciting. The glass bends a lot more than I thought when they smash into it. No fights, but lots of goals and some good hitting, so all in all a great success. Had sushi with Cory beforehand, so 2 of my favorite things at once! School is going well so far, lots of reading to keep me busy.

I've just begun a Netflix subscription and I've decided to post the rating I give each movie I watch. So far there are only a few:

• The Jacket - 4/5
• Stargate: The Ark of Truth - 5/5
• Waitress - 5/5

So far I've gotten good ones! Anyhoo, it's too cold to write more, so TTFN!!!

I'm going to see "The Great One"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, that's right boys & girls. I have tickets to see the MN Wild take on the Phoenix Coyotes at the X on Tuesday night. I will be no more than ten feet from the greatest hockey player in the history of the world. And the moon. I will, in fact, be breathing the same air as one Wayne Gretzky. Go me! OK, so maybe it wasn't the most prudent use of student loan money, but we can't all be perfect now, can we? I will be attending said event with my favorite person in the world, Cory, so all will be joyous and magnificent. Those of you who saw my dorm room freshman year at UMD will know of my obsession. I actually still have that poster but it's pretty ratty at this point.

In other news, there isn't much. Just been on break from school for a while. I got 2 B's last semester, which I am absolutely thrilled with. I've been trying on bridesmaid's dresses for the upcoming wedding of Ethan & Becky, which is always interesting. There are so many styles and the samples seem to only come in a size 10. If you know me you know I haven't been a size 10 since about the fifth grade. Anyway, dress shopping is hard. I am thrilled to have been asked to participate though, so I'm happy to do it. I start back to school next week and I'm looking forward to some new classes. This semester I'll be taking Medieval Philosophy and History of Christianity, which is a retake of an unsuccessful first attempt at the class. I'm excited but a little nervous because it's been a while since I've taken a philosophy class. I like the professor, though, so it's all good.

Well, I'm actually going to retire early tonight as I haven't been sleeping well lately. Hopefully it's just a temporary thing. Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and that the new year will be filled with all kinds of good things. TTFN!!

How could I have forgotten...

...how much finals suck? Granted, I only have the two and one of them was take-home so I really only have the one, but still. Suck. I'm not going to dwell, though, because unless the planet tips on its axis I should be able to get an absolute minimum of a C in both classes. I'm expecting it to be two B's or possibly an A and a B, but the absolute worst would be a C. Which is average, and considering how I've felt the last month or so, average is totally awesome.

I'm listening to "Behind Blue Eyes" by The Who, and Roger Daltry wants me to stick my finger down his throat. I don't think I know him well enough for that. Also, he's old enough that he should know better than to swallow evil things, anyway. Right?!?

Anyhoo, I really need to get these index cards ready for my final tomorrow. So TTFN!!

Sooooooo lazy

So, secret admirer. Somewhat unusual, especially in this age of instant information. Well, mine was not actually all that hard to figure out (sorry, dude, if you wanted it to be a secret you should've picked someone who's actually dated more than half a handful of people). Anyway, his name is Mike and some of you may have actually met him. We dated briefly when I was living in Fargo and he came to visit once during my second attempt at Duluth. In the interim, he got married and had a kid or so. Fast forward to a couple of months ago, apparently he decides to google me and see what I'm up to these days. Lo and behold, I'm still in the area and still single. So he decides to get in touch with me. Neato.

Then comes the big news: he's still married. His wife has a boyfriend. Etc., etc. Drama worthy of a Jerry Springer episode. Whoo. Which brings us to now. We're going to be pals for now, with the dating thing to be possibly revisited at a later time when his life begins to resemble a slightly less "blender full of crazy" type of situation.


Wow, I'm tired now. I think I'll go eat some ice cream. TTFN!!

Dirty looks in the library

I has them. I should know better than to look at LOL stuff in here, anyway. This one is mostly for Shawn, although I'm not sure he'll know who this is ;-)


see Sarah Palin pictures


Another site full of funny, funny stuff.

Lazy and bewildered

Quite a combination, eh? I know some of you are probably waiting to hear more about my "secret admirer" which is the bewildered part. It's all kind of weird and trippy in a very Jerry Springer-like fashion. I will write more at some point, but now enters the lazy portion of the equation. That, and I have 2 papers due in 2 weeks, neither of which I have even started. Oh well. For now, though, I must listen to some medieval history, so TTFN!!

Babies are sooooooooo cute!

Short snippet today. My new baby arrived on Monday. She weighs in at 4.5 pounds and is machined from a single piece of aluminum. Even the box she came in is cool. I talking, of course, about my new MacBook. Go student loans whichiwillbepayingoffuntili'mdeadanyway! So I should be up and running and back on the interwebs for absurd amounts of time very soon.

Went to see Pride and Glory yesterday. It could have been good, maybe even great, but they just went a little too far and wrecked the whole thing. What a waste of perfectly good Ed Norton. One side note, whoever was done costumes on this film should be shot. He or she put jeans on E.N. that gave him total squishy girl butt. Now, I realize he doesn't always look like he did in American History X, but he does not have girl butt, dammit. That is all.

Otherwise, just going to school and having a very trippy experience with my very first internet stalker. OK, not really a stalker, but still, it sounds cooler to say stalker. More on this as events unfold. TTFN!!!

So, rabies

I suppose I should do that one first. Last Thursday I was doing my usual shift at the shelter and got bitten on my right ring finger by a fat cat who was wedged underneath a shelf. No biggie, right? I just slapped on a band-aid and went on with my life. Well, I got home that night and as soon as I removed the bandage the finger started to swell. Pretty soon I had a red, throbbing sausage attached to my hand. Now, I know infections from cat bites are the nastiest thing next to infections from human bites. So, did I go to the ER? Oh heck no. I think there was a Wild game on or something, and I didn't want to go out. So I wake up Friday morning and it still looks awful, so I call the clinic to get an appointment and called my English prof. to tell him I wouldn't be in class. When I did get to the clinic I got a bunch of disapproving looks because I didn't take care of this as soon as it happened. Anyway, my NP looked at it and then called in the Internal Medicine MD that was there. He told me to get a dog because they tear when they bite so they don't usually get infected. Other than that, I got mega-antibiotics and instructions about soaking and going to the ER immediately if anything changed. I went back to the Dr. on Saturday and Monday mornings. Whee.

Anyhoo, the cat that bit me was a stray who hadn't had any shots from us yet. Super. So the cat had to go to the vet to be euthanized so samples of her brain could be sent to the U of M for testing. The rabies test came back negative, though, and everything looks peachy. At this point you can't tell that boo-boo from the four hundred other boo-boos I have because I'm a klutz. So that's the story of how I didn't get rabies. Exciting, right?

More coming. Don't worry. TTFN!!

I don't have rabies!

Which is good, right? I know I have been blog-less for quite a while, but this school thing has been harder than I expected. The good news, though, is it's midterm time and I have an A and a solid B so far. I'm just posting a teensy bit today, but I should be getting my own computer back sometime this week, so I'll go crazy then. I'll make a list:

• The rabies thing
• School
• Shelter
• Family
• Whatever.

I promise by this time next week you'll be so sick of me you'll want to hide in the corner. Alas, I have to go to class now, so farewell. TTFN!!

OMGWTFBBQTMNTAFLCIO?!?!?!?!?

Is it just me, or is Trent Reznor way less angry now that he's famous? I heard one of his new songs in the car and he's all, "man, this sucks I should really do something about it lalala," (or something like that) when in the past he would have been all, "man, this sucks and I'm going to kill everyone I see until I feel less empty which will never happen so fuck you all lalala," (or something like that). Maybe he's just growing up, or maybe having lots of money makes you less angry. I wouldn't know.

I started my history class last night, which is going to be interesting. I think I'm going to like it, but I don't think I'll be talking much, since about 90% of the class are history majors and have a better understanding of context, etc. We'll see. My English class starts tomorrow, which I'm really excited about. The professor is one I've had before, and he's charmingly odd. He's got long white hair and a beard and he always looks surprised to see that there are students in his class. He carries around a briefcase overflowing with stuff he doesn't actually use for class. And he wears corduroy and hiking boots. Win!

Other than that, not much happening. Except me being lazy about blogging. But hey, my thyroid ultrasound was normal, so that's good. TTFN!!

Memeage (aka two posts in two days wtf!?!)

But first, a few thoughts. First, yes, I have seen The Dark Knight. Twice (so far). I am not going to go into it, but if anyone wants to sit around and squee about the awesomeness that is this once in a lifetime cinematic event, just let me know. I'm pretty sure I could go on and on and on and...well, you get the picture.

Second, I saw The Pineapple Express and it is hella funny. And Huey Lewis and the News do the theme song! (And no, it isn't "I Want a New Drug".)

Here's the meme part. One of my LJ friends picked seven interests off of my profile. I can has telling you about them nao, k?

gopher hockey - I *heart* hockey. In the context of hockey, I *heart* college hockey. In the context of college hockey I *heart* WCHA hockey. In the context of WCHA hockey, I *heart* several teams, but the Gophers are the ones I can actually watch on TV, since I don't live close enough to any other team and they are the FSN North team. (I suppose I could watch the Sioux, but that would make me an evil person with a heart as black as pitch, so why would I? (Why does anyone?))

it's happy bunny - I swear, I liked Happy Bunny before it showed up on every teenage girl's backpack. I love the combo of the cute bunny and the horrible, horrible things they say. I have a sign book which I have in my cubicle (when I have a cubicle) and I have gotten many notes on my desk from people on other shifts who admire and adore the Happiness as well.

lupus - And/or Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. I am interested in it because I have it. Right now, I am pretty asymptomatic (without symptoms), which is great, but can change without much warning. It's kind of like living with a bomb that could go off at any time and really fuck up your shit. So far I have only had one really bad flare, but most of the time I live with aches, pain, random swelling, rashes, extreme fatigue, depression and all kinds of other fun stuff. Lots of Lupus patients end up needing kidney transplants, which sucks, but so far I haven't had any kidney involvement, which is great. The thing that's really hard is that I don't know when I go to bed at night what I'm going to feel like in the morning. I mean, I can kind of gauge from how I've been feeling, what I've been doing, and what I've been eating, but to a certain degree it's always a surprise. But like I said, I feel pretty damn good right now, so I'm just going to go with it. It's all good.

Hoban Washburne - Mmmmmmmmmm...Firefly... I love ALL the Firefly folk, but Wash is the one I think I'd get along with the best. He has all the best lines in the show. We have a very similar sense of humor, although I have to admit he's better at witty retorts than I am.

David Hewlett's heart-shaped ass - I saw this on someone's profile and thought it was hi-larious, so I stole it. I do like Stargate Atlantis and Rodney McKay and David Hewlett, but I've never been particularly obsessed with his ass, heart-shaped or not. Not that it isn't nice, because it is.

Philip K. Dick - One of my favorite sci-fi authors. I bet there are lots of you reading who are more familiar with him than you think. His stories have been the basis of tons of movies. Like Minority Report, Paycheck, Blade Runner, Total Recall, just to name a few off the top of my head. I like his stories because they always contain an unexpected element. I also like his version of the "future", which is clean and sleek. As with all sci-fi, the stories are really about society or some universal truth, but he disguises it better than some.

King Arthur - I don't know what to say, man, I LOVE this movie. I've never been into the whole Camelot thing, but this movie! Yummy boys in tight pants with swords?!?!?! What could be better? Yes, the acting is a bit much, and yes, the story is terribly predictable, but WHO CARES?!?! Ioan Gruffudd and Clive Owen in TIGHTS, people?!?!?!? Need I say more?

Anyhoo, that's about all of that. TTFN!!

Whee

Two posts in one week?!?! What is the world coming to? I have news, though. My baby brother is officially engaged. It's crazy, right? No word yet on dates/etc. for the wedding, but I would guess sooner rather than later. His fiancee's name is Becky and she's pretty awesome. I definitely could have done a lot worse for a sister-in-law. So think a good thought for them. Or at least for Becky. If she's marrying my brother, she's going to need all the help she can get ;-)

I guess this officially flings me into old maid territory, huh? That and Shawn saying he only has one bachelor party left are really making me feel old. Also the fact that I know what that new JCPenny commercial (the Breakfast Club one) is referring to.

Congratulations to Ethan and Becky!!

I'm lazy and I just don't care...

AKA, the title of the book I'm going to write just as soon as I become motivated and interested in stuff. I'm not dead, just resting. I will talk about my trip to Michigan at some point, but not right now. In lieu of a real post, I'm going to post something from failblog.org, which is one of the best places to find funny shit. Viola:

see more pwn and owned pictures