Major in Fanfics & Procrastination, Minor in Sleep

Fun Day

2009-12-28T16:14:00.000-08:00

I went to Riverbanks Zoo today with The Flower to meet her boyfriend and a friend of his whom we were both meeting. She wanted my opinion on him (he's definitely awesome), and it was a good midway location with interesting stuff to do. I hadn't been to the zoo since I was about 10 or maybe 12 at the latest, so there were a lot of changes. It also seemed a bit smaller to me even though we went all over the main Zoo, but that might have been because we didn't go to the Botanical Gardens. I've been before, but it was too late by the time we would have gone for us to get back to our car before the park closed.

I want a Black Footed Cat!!!! Holy cow, there should not BE that much concentrated CUTE in an animal! The adults are only 2 lbs, and they have the big kitten eyes. They look a lot like small kittens, and were very playful today. The last time I was there the Zoo had just bred some of them, and were very excited because they're an endangered/rare species. There were 4 adults today, romping all over the small unit. Overload of adorable.

Lots of birds, lots of fun, good company, low crowds this time of year.

Reunion of the Reading Club tomorrow, and I'm looking forward to it. Monkey and I spoke with Le Batard and conveyed our displeasure with him and his actions, though I'm not sure how much of it he HEARD. He will probably be there tomorrow, so I hope we can exist in the same space without interacting much. We shall see; if I remember I shall report it.

Au Revoir

~Brilliance and Light

She only sees what she wants to see

2009-12-24T14:39:00.000-08:00

I find it somewhere between vaguely amusing and hair-rippingly infuriating the things my grandmother sees and says about my appearance.

For years she has nagged me -SO kindly, of course, you almost can't say anything because she's so well-meaning...- about my glasses. My black, rectangle-frame glasses, that look just like the ones before. "They hide your pretty eyes," she says, "You look like you're hiding behind them." She thinks I should get other glasses or contacts. No. They make it easier to communicate without words, they fit well enough, they match everything in my fairly utilitarian wardrobe, and provide me with adequate peripheral vision. And contacts dry my eyes out like mad.

My grandmother dislikes the way I have from time to time kept my hair in the past, short butch cuts that I used at school to swing around the gender-variant scale. I have had to pass these off as the result of a "$10 haircut," not a stylist who did just what I wanted, in order to keep myself in the closet to that half of the family. I finally have long hair again, and she commented this past weekend that I looked "So much better with your hair long, dear."

One of the main benefits of long hair is that it provides a veil, a shield to hide behind when I need it.

I want to scream.

In other scream-related news, Le Batard called me. I was not ready for this. I don't remember if I mentioned this here, but the last interaction we had before we left did not go well. Basically, he was an utterly insensitive, probably a manipulative jerk, did not pay attention to specific things I spent a long time explaining, and attempted to go against my wishes on a few counts. We had not spoken from before Sept. until yesterday, and I'm still not sure how to talk to him. I'm shaking and angry, even angrier after talking to my Dad last night pointed out a few more points where he'd been a jerk and I'd been too gracious to title it so at the time. Monkey and I are going to talk to him on Boxing Day, and I'm not sure how this will turn out. I don't know exactly how I want it to turn out. I wish he'd grow up and stop using people.

Wish us luck bashing his head in.

(metaphorically, of course.)

I'm also running at odds with my gender again, but not much I can do about that right now. 4 days of forced femininity have really warped my cycle of fluctuating gender ID & presentation. Whenever I've done this "forcing" before, it's rather fucked up my system, hormonally, but that's probably also due to the stress inherent in such exercises. I hope that a few days to settle down and let myself be 'male' or 'female' at will will reset me.

~Brill

Brains are leaking out of my heeeeeeeeeaaaaaaad

2009-12-23T07:00:00.000-08:00

I started to comment, but it was a little long for that.

Visit was good, overall. Our car is WAY too small to have that many large people in it at one time, but we handled it well, I think. We got to meet my uncle's fiancee, and she's a sweetheart. They're goofy; it's cute. I wasn't able to fit any of my work into the car, which rather bummed me out. Buster's portfolio is much smaller than most of my work, so he brought that. There's a decent chance that I'll be able to go with Da when he goes back in a month, and then I can take some work to show, as well as the Christmas present for the grands.

On a less overall upward note, last night I looked more into grad schools that I will be applying to next year. This is scary. As my wonderful friend The Flower texted me when she was sending off applications, "Don't apply to the scary grad schools!" There was more, which I believe waxed eloquent about the benefits of living in the Alaskan wilderness versus applying to grad school, but I've deleted to text since, unfortunately.

Of the ones I had looked into thus far, University of Oregon and University of Mass at Dartmouth looked the best, program-wise. I did some more picking around their sites and looked at cost of living in those respective places. People are crazy. I am not paying 600/mo. for a 1Bd/1Ba. It is something "up with which I will not put!" (A phrase from my Mum, which I believe she got from her Grandmama. Not sure.) Ugh. I need more than the two schools on my list, so I kept looking and found this and this. I've looked more at the former than the latter, but they both look promising. One of my main sticking points is that I am poor, and am not exactly going into a field that's going to make me rich anytime soon, unless I get unbelievably lucky, so I don't want to exit grad school with more debt than necessary. If I can I can get a teaching Fellowship, Assistantship, or whatever the school calls it, I would be very very happy.

Louisiana looks like a very good program, but I really don't want to stay in the South, much less enter more deeply. Edinboro has an added benefit of not being very close to any large cities, unlike U. Mass. (WAY too close to D.C. for my comfort). I want to visit these places, but I don't know if I'll be able to. I think 5 or 6 colleges on my list would be a good number. Some part of my doesn't want to go to grad school, but mostly that part is the over-analytical part that worries about money.

The rural mountain roads in NW GA are very pretty this time of year, if you are ever able to drive them. Of course, they're gorgeous pretty much any time of year.

I can't figure out how to interpret the thoughts in my head, so bye for now.

~Brill

Ook.

2009-12-19T06:10:00.000-08:00

Da, Buster, Klepto, and I are all heading down to GA today for a pre-Xmas family visit. We're leaving pretty much as soon as Da's finished getting ready. I am not quite sure how I feel about this. I enjoy visits, love my family, but playing 'good little straight conservative Christian GIRL' is exhausting. We'll not be the only family there; my uncle and his fiancee will be there, and probably my aunt and her new hubby. It's a happy thing and a stressful thing, this family-visit business.

I'm rambling. I should shush.

In other news, I pierced my ears. Rather odd considering some aspects of me, but I've been toying with the idea and decided to get it done last night. I will have pretty little white gold balls in my ears for 6-8 weeks, at which time I can switch them out for some of the others that I've bought in the past.

As much as I hate the movie West Side Story, this feels rather apt at the moment: "I feel pretty, oh so pretty. I feel pretty and witty and gay!"

Yes, Maria. Very gay.

See y'all later.

~Brilliance and Light

Wahoo!!!!!

2009-12-15T14:48:00.000-08:00

All my grades are finally in, and the nearly sleepless nights and hard work paid off! I have, for the first time in college, a straight run of As for every class this semester! I am so bleedin' psyched!

*happy dance, happy dance*

Let's see if I can do that next term, too, eh?

why, blood, why?

2009-12-03T19:30:00.000-08:00

I am starting to get rather freaked out. In the past 3 days (t/w/th), I have had 4 nosebleeds of not insignificant time/amount. The last one was tonight after the Christmas service on campus. I blew my nose -lightly!- and suddenly teh bluddz attaked. It took 15 minutes for the bleeding to stop enough for me to even try pinching it. I am going to the campus clinic tomorrow during lunch (and have been told by Monkey that if I don't go, she'll "bash you over the head and take you myself, Mmhm-mhmm.") I tried a number of methods earlier in the days to get them to stop, but apparently to no avail. I hope it's not serious. I had a cold at the beginning of the week, and I know it's partially connected thereto, but this didn't happen last time I got sick!

We'll see tomorrow.

On a lighter and less bio-hazardous note, the annual Holiday Art Sale is tomorrow (Fri), and I have 35 pieces up for sale in it. I've also finally joined the Art Club, and am helping out with the sale for most of the afternoon. Already one piece has been put on reserve for purchase tomorrow, and another girl was very interested in another when we were unloading work earlier. I hope I sell a lot of stuff, and that I can get feedback on my work from buyers, not just teachers and fellow Ceramics students.

Finals next week. I am SO not ready! GAH!

Sleep now, and another layer on my reduction linoleum cut tomorrow morning. My Women Studies and French professor has been very kind and is showing a movie all this week instead of work. I have a paper to do for the former and a brief oral interview/evaluation for the latter next week, but otherwise I get to zone and watch the movies. We're watching "La Vie En Rose" in french, and "Iron Jawed Angels" in WST. Both fabulous.

'Night, au revoir, auf weidersehen, et cetera, et cetera.

~Brill

As promised...

2009-11-22T19:26:00.000-08:00

...pictures from ATL Pride, in no particular order:

(I have 105 pictures, so this is simply a smattering.)

These guys and gals were marching with sings for "Save the Ta-Tas," "Domestic Partnerships/Benefits," "Gays in the Military," "Youth Pride," "Unity," and "Love." One of the signs has Trans-something on it, but I can't read my pic, and my memory fails.

(Sorry, I do not know how to do the wonderful "click to embiggen" that Java does so well.)

Fabulous rainbow peacock people. I did get a front shot, but this has the better view of the spectrum. (I am peeved that indigo is no longer in the rainbow. First no Pluto, now they're taking my colors away. grrrr)

...IDK. Seriously. But it was an interesting sight nonetheless.

More people with signs! Honestly, this section was one of my favorites.

These guys were with the same group as above.

Here's one of the better drag queens that was in the parade. There were 2 or 3 others with him, but this is the best shot.

Many, many drag queens, as well as some of whose gender of origin I was not certain. This made me happy.

The bar/club the Atlanta Eagle got raided less than a month before the parade. The manner of the officers towards the patrons was absolutely horrid, and their float focused on that.

Awesome rainbow skating super-dude! He was going back and forth from end to end of the parade the whole time.

I just realized this one is crooked. And I have no idea how to fix it on here. Oh, well, take a gander at (a sideways) St. Mark's United Methodist. Woot! The insie was decked out in rainbows as well, but my camera died before I could get a shot.

There are more, but "les devoirs et le deuxieme examen francais disent a moi, 'ETUDIE!'" ('my homework and the secon french exam say to me, 'STUDY!'" Review while blogging, probably not the best way, but useful!) It makes me sad that I can't get the accents on here with the same key combos as in Word.

Enjoy the pride-tastic pics.

Laters,

~Brill

Reconnecting

2009-11-20T20:03:00.000-08:00

I am a Ceramics III student this semester, the only level III student in a class of II, III, and IV. There are only 4 assignments for the entire semester, and Mr. Sir does not grade until the final day, so I have the whole semester to complete the requirements. The assignments are:

-Mix a glaze (he shows how, and then I mix another from the dry chemicals in the studio)

-One dinnerware set for two that matches/goes together. This includes 2 large plates, 2 small plates, 2 bowls, 2 cups, 2 saucers, and 1 or 2 something else (i.e. a casserole dish, a gravy boat, 2 tumblers, etc.)

-A sculptural series of four

-A choice series, number determined individually (I am doing 4)

Of these, I have completed the glaze mixing. Keep in mind that there are 1.5 weeks left of school, and I have 4 other classes to work on as well.

I have not been lazy. I have only the "something else" to do for my dinnerware set before it is complete. That life-sucking project has consumed the bulk of my class time since the second week of classes. I have accomplished a lot to that end, but at the expense of my other 2 projects. I started working on my sculptural series, trees, just after midterms, trying to use combined wheel-thrown forms that I then altered. It failed. At life. Repeatedly. I talked with a classmate from the IV class yesterday, and she suggested I try coil or slab methods of hand-building. (She's doing practically nothing but hand-building for her individual objectives, and has some fabulous stuff. I can't wait for the shows this year!)

I decided to give it a try; I've been doing nothing but wheel work for the last year, though I really enjoyed building things by hand. I tried a tree done with coil method, and Joy! Elation! SUCCESS! Something that vaguely resembles an arboreal entity! Not only that, but I really felt closer to what I was doing than I have for a while. Though I am focusing in both drawing and ceramics, recently I have felt a kind of malaise in ceramics class, closely linked with not producing anything I really felt "in to" or anything that could go towards my show next Spring. Working with the clay tonight, not trying to force it around on the wheel, I felt that start to dissipate; I felt excited and connected to what I was doing.

I hope I can keep this up, and finish my projects, but mostly keep that connection to my work that I seem to have strayed from. I knew the other methods were there, I just had spent so much time on the wheel that my brain wasn't processing anything else. I need to keep the cerebral cortex firing on ALL cylinders, and connecting thoughts. D'oh.

Night.

~Brilliance and Light

A very Proud Halloween, and religious sadness (but mostly rambling)

2009-11-06T18:29:00.000-08:00

Last weekend was Atlanta Gay Pride, and I had the opportunity to go. It was an absolute blast. Ally went as an organization event, and we stayed at the home church of one of the members and former officers. We arrived Saturday evening and got settled in, then everyone else went out to party a bit. I had some very interesting reading, was very tired, and had the suspicion -confirmed- that the security system might not be generous enough to let them in if they got back after midnight, so I stayed at the church. We all went to church there (Saint Mark's United Methodist) Sunday morning and then watched the parade. The route leads right in front of the church, so we got seats on the curb facing the church and had an excellent view of the parade.

Although I had a full battery when it started, my camera died right before the end of the march, so I missed a few good shots, including a man who'd painted himself into a rainbow and donned a suit of bubble wrap--JUST a suit of bubble wrap. I did get a picture on a friend's camera, though.

After the parade we went down to the park and walked the booths for a bit before heading back to school. All around, pride was amazing, hilarious, inspiring, and kind of sad in some ways. St. Mark's was very welcoming and open, had rainbows all over the chapel and had a speaker from the Human Rights Campaign. Even though the woman whose church it was had told us it was a welcoming and accepting church, I felt anxious before the service over wearing my "gay tag," a rainbow dog tag on a chain.

I am a gay/bisexual, trans-spectrum human being, predominately identifying as a female. I am a Christian. I feel that God loves me, and He/She will always love me and I should strive to live as morally straight a life as possible. Jesus said,

³⁰And you shall love the Lord your God out of and with your whole heart and out of and with all your soul (your life) and out of and with all your mind (with your faculty of thought and your moral understanding) and out of and with all your strength. This is the first and principal commandment.

^{³¹The second is like it and is this, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these. (Mark 12:30-31)}

And I try. And I often fail, because I am human, and I am a fallen creature. But He/She loves me anyway. Knowing that, I get little love from The Church. I felt honest surprise -joy, elation, relief, giddiness, a real sense of rightness, but also surprise- when the actions and words of everyone I heard in that church actually matched the professed acceptance. That church made me happy, but my surprise makes me that much more aware of how far I feel I have been pushed or have willingly retracted myself from the established church.

I loved church as a child, and still do to some extent. Though not by any stretch of the imagination a singer, my most earnest form of worship has always been through music. Whenever I have attended a church without a good music program, I have felt that my communion with God has been stifled or limited in some way. While I am not currently attending regularly, I make a point in my personal worship to listen and sing songs that seem to have a deeper spirituality. It helps.

{{This is where the pictures are supposed to be, but We are Experiencing Technical Difficulties. My camera would let me look at the pics, then it gave me generic icon images, then it died, so we'll see how generous it's feeling after a recharge and a stern talking to.}}

You'll just have to make do with pictures of protesters from another march/ pride/ something. I found this on Pundit Kitchen and it made me happy.

see more Political Pictures

This post was a lot more rambling than I intended, and didn't focus on what I'd originally planned on posting, but I've been meaning to do a post or two on religion (Cameron got a bug in my ear for that), so here you go. Deal with it, oh three people who read my blog.

~Brill

Art First

2009-10-31T11:06:00.000-07:00

I am an artist. I do things like stop in the middle of the sidewalk to stare at the spaces between tree branches. Yesterday I spent three hours in the early morning printing my lithograph with my professor for Print I, and, as I am a messy person, needed a bath after classes ended. In the shower I noticed that my arm had 2 intersecting lines of ink that had smudged in a very interesting way. Thinking it was a noteworthy design that I could probably recreate to good effect in a monotype, I automatically washed everything but that area so I could reference it later.

Then realized what I'd done, and nearly hurt myself laughing.

I am an artist, and I think the fumes are getting to me.

A brief note

2009-10-26T14:32:00.000-07:00

I scooted my chair forward and heard a clink. I checked the floor around my desk and lo and behold there were coins on the floor! I am now 56 cents richer. Go me.

Enh...and stuff

2009-10-25T19:31:00.000-07:00

Long time no blog, and all that. School hit me upside the watch like a ton of bricks, and what little time I have left is devoted to an intensive study of Lolcats. A flash-thru of my last few weeks:

--We've had midterms, and I have mostly Bs, though there's a possibility that I have an A in Women Studies and either an A- or B+ in French III, depending on what grades went in and how they were weighted.

--I like Printmaking. I feel as if I should do some kind of penance for uttering such blasphemy, but I like it. Mainly the monotypes, but the lithograph was its own brand of fun, even if I didn't sleep any time near the turn-in date. I want to take Print II next year. (Still feels blasphemous, mostly because the teacher is a taskmaster of epic proportions. Interesting, but assignment overload.)

--I have lots of work to do in Ceramics in the next 5 weeks. Most of a dinnerware set for two, a sculptural series involving the tree forms I've been developing for a few years, and a "choice series." A doodle carving I did on a pot out of frustration ended up pretty good, and Mr. Sir suggested working that theme into my set. I have started carving the cups, and already know that I'm going to have to let the other pieces I want to carve dry to bone dry before doing much if not all of the carving. It is too difficult to remove carving refuse on even a moderately damp pot, whereas I can simply blow it off of the dried pieces as I did on the sketch pot. Whee for process development!

--We have had advisement for the next 2 terms (January and Spring). I will have 6 classes and a lab, 17 hours, and somehow only one class M/F. This still confuses me, and I'm the one who did the schedule.

--The good news (is it good? idk) is that after this year, I will have only one more requirement that is not a studio class or is not directly related to my senior show/year (e.g. Senior Seminar classes), and that class is yoga. I finally got into a science class, though I'll be doing half my 4th Ceramics course as a sort-of independent study- leaving Ceramics half way thru to go to Astronomy, then coming back during free time to complete the 3-hour class time.

--In non-school related news, I'm going to Atlanta Pride for Halloween! Our magnificent, excellent, and never-sufficiently-praised Ally secretary got us free lodging, some meals, and possibly gas money. I love her.

--It was before BS/LS week when last I blogged, so I shall say this: I have awesome littles! The week was a bitch, and if I had it to do over again I would do some things different (like getting sick. Not very, but wouldn't do that again), but the awesome, amazing gals I now have as Little Sisters made it SO worth it.

--I spent the first half of Fall break at Cameron and Dream Weaver's house. We went to Pagan Pride in Clemson on Saturday and froze nigh to death, but it was very fun overall. I got to learn about a new (to me) clay body from another vendor. She uses paper fibers mixed into her clay, and it gives the clay an airiness that shocked me the first time I picked a piece up. And the second time. And the next. I really need to look into this for future reference. Getting to visit with Cameron and Dream Weaver was wonderful, as was communing with cats (though not having one bite my neck).

--Da visited yesterday. It was a good visit, tho not very long. He was on his way home from a business meeting, and stopped in. It was very good to see him. He was the happiest I've seen him in months.

--I get songs in my sleep. Usually I can't remember them by the time I wake up, but some days I remember some. Today, I actually managed to recall or reconstruct 2 verses. It's things like this that make my morning. I just wish I knew enough music to write down the tunes.

Brain wants to go do something else now, so au revoir.

~Brill

Geeking out here, move along, move along

2009-09-09T18:02:00.000-07:00

A few months ago (in a longer and meandering post) I wrote on here that I had finished a trilogy of novels by S.M. Stirling: Dies the Fire, The Protector's War, and A Meeting at Corvallis. I expressed annoyance with the ending of the third book. Or rather, a desire to inflict physical damage upon the author for ending such an interesting series on such a precipice, if he had to at all.
As with much of my life, I forgot the minute details of my own writing, and remembered those of others'.
Yesterday I received a message from Cameron, my friend who had introduced me to the series originally, saying that I had a comment here from Stirling. Of course I got the message at the beginning of a 3 hour long Drawing class, so it was harder than usual to hold still. I checked the post, and recalled my vehement wish to inflict harm. I was more than slightly embarrassed.
However, he did not seem offended, and I was informed of another book in the series, to my great joy.

Mr. Stirling, if you read this, I couldn't find your blog to post this on, but I wanted to say that you are am amazing author. Dies the Fire was so fascinating that it had my brain going too fast to sleep for days. Keep up the good work.

Happy, embarrassed geek.
~Brill

2009-08-31T16:42:00.000-07:00

The Awesome Suite-Mates of Namelessness are no longer afflicted by such a terrible crutch. With their consultation they have become... ZombE-hoff and The Brit.
Two freakin' awesome people.

And now to eat food I shouldn't.
~Brill

Kitteh and school

2009-08-31T16:08:00.000-07:00

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

This is Smudge. I swear, this looks quite a bit like her, and never have I seen as psychotic, fractious kitten. Every night around 9 or 10 she turns from regular ADHD kitteh into PSYCHO SHARP AND POINTY STALKER-HUNTER OF DOOOOOOM! and attacks our poor, defenseless chairs, blinds, dust bunnies, legs, you name it.
I love her.

I am back at school now. I am all moved in except for my loft; Dad fell and pulled his back while making it, and it is not yet complete. He will bring it up once he's recovered and finished it. I'm sleeping on a twin-size spring mattress. I haven't had either of those features in a bed since freshmen year, and it's difficult to adjust my mental perimeters to the size. I was losing covers and pillows all night.
Classes start tomorrow. I registered for 6 classes, three of which are studio classes (including the ominous Printmaking of Death and Sleep Deprivation (though only the first word is listed in the course catalog). It struck me as I reviewed my class schedule that I am crazy. No way in hell could I possibly keep up with the projects in my art classes and still complete the assignments for 3 other classes. (I'm also taking French for the first time in 4 years this semester. Is there a god/saint of students, because I'm gonna need it?) So, in the interest of seeing my suite/roommates at some point before fall break, I elected to drop one of my courses. The only non-major, non-Gen Ed course I was enrolled in was an Art History elective that would go towards a minor in AH if I chose to declare it. I got the Drop/Add form and filled out as much as I could, but I need Mr. Sir's signature. His class is my first tomorrow, followed (at a leisurely pace) by my Religion class, and then the scheduled time of the class to be dropped. I have enough time between my first and second class to drop my third class. Guh.

I get a Little this year! happyhappyjoyjoy. As a junior I get to adopt a freshman in the mentoring program here known as Big Sister/Little Sister. We chose Littles through a long, weird lottery process (not The Lottery, but bad enough in it's own right), then anonymously shower them with gifts, hints, and clues meant to confuse our identities for one week until we're revealed in a ceremony. I loved Big Sis/Little Sis my freshmen year, and I am so excited to be on the "giving and confusing" end this time around. Monkey and I have been shopping for Littles gifts since our freshman year. Awesome Suite-mates of Namelessness (I really need to fix that, don't I?) are in the same group of Bigs that we are, and we fully intend to us this to maximize the confusion. Mwahahahaha....er...you hear nothing!
AWA is 3 weeks from this weekend, right before BS/LS starts. I may get no sleep for a week or more getting ready for the two events and keeping up with classes, but I'm still hyperactively excited.
Woot!

~Brill

so much to do, so little time

2009-08-28T20:15:00.000-07:00

I go back to school Sunday. Tomorrow I will finish (read: do most of) my packing and Dad and I will pack up the truck with my new bed, stair-step bookshelves to get ON said bed, and way too many boxes, bags, and sacks. Move-in starts at 10 A.M. Sunday, and I want to be there BY 10 so that we aren't wading through lots of other people. In my experience, most of the students get there around 12 or 1, so we should get in a few hours of less-crowded work.
Monkey and I are living in the dorm RIGHT NEXT TO THE ART BUILDING! Much happy. Less hauling. Fewer hernias. That building is the one with the Jack-and-Jill style suites of rooms, with 2 girls per room, sharing the bathroom. Monkey and I will be in one room, and two of our friends who have also roomed together since freshmen will be in the next. (I will name them when I can think of suitable names. They are full of character and deserve consideration in the naming process. :) )
Because of our GPAs, Monkey and I got into the group of overachieving overachievers that gets to stand there and look pretty at the official College formal Convocation events; let's call them the Pretty Purple People. (Code name for "Long Boring Mandatory Ceremonies Where Too Many People Talk For Hours On End...Especially the President." We have to attend so many of certain types of these throughout the year, and write pledge slips stating we've attended.) Pretty Purple People also stand at every music event and hand out DIFFERENT pledge slips for the music students, who have to attend so many recitals per semester that they don't recognize any other buildings. (The music program, esp. music Ed., has so many hours that it makes my major look like a walk in the park. Eurg.)
The main thrust to the letter from Appointers of the Pretty Purple People was that I 'will be representing the College,' especially when I am 'wearing the purple and gold Pretty Purple People ribbon,' and should dress accordingly, e.g. an 'unpretentious' black dress. Unpretentious I can do. Black I do so much that my grandmother seems to think I'm a goth. Dress... not so much. The only black dress I have is VERY pretentious, purchased for Lip Sync last year and probably illegal in a few states. So I went shopping.
FOUR STORES AND TWO DAYS LATER... I have as unpretentious of a black dress as I am likely to find. I also have another black piece of spray paint masquerading as a dress. It called out to me. It said, "I am soft, and I am thin, and I will cause your parents to make very strained faces and funny whimpering sounds. Buy me."
I had to. The dress compelled me.

I got to spend time with E-chan and the Flower when they were here before I have to leave. the Flower attends school and has an apartment in Charleston, and E-chan has been in Japan for most of the summer, so getting to see them, even if not at the same time, was wonderful. The Flower and I also made plans for her to kidnap me during her fall break and return me during mine (hers is the Th/F and mine is the next M/Tu).
Monkey, E-chan, Editor Kay (another HS friend) and I all visited at the park and had lunch together a few days ago. It was lovely. We really need to spend more time together. Editor Kay and E-chan will both be at the same school (also mum and C's school) next year, and they also plan to come up to stay with us sometime after midterms. I look forward to it.

I have more things to...Oh! Buster is in college now! This is unreal, and slightly frightening, and really awesome. And lots of other adjectives! He's in art school too, for Graphic design. (but I think he'll be a bit more employable when he graduates than I will.)

I've been looking at graduate schools. Again. More seriously this time. I still need to talk to my adviser and ask about various career and grad school options, but I think I am going to go ahead and get my MFA in ceramics. I may starve, but I think I will be happier getting my MFA than I would getting an MAT. Of the schools I have looked at, I keep coming back to a program in Oregon. I don't like the thought of being farther than a few hours' drive from home/family, but I love what I've heard of the Pacific Northwest area and want to go there.
We'll see. I have another year to build up my portfolio, work towards my senior show, and decide on what grad schools and grad programs I want to pursue.

Tired. Anxious. Excited. Sleep is the best option.
Laters...hopefully sooner than later.

~Brill

Pink is just a washed-out red

2009-08-25T16:37:00.000-07:00

see more Lol Celebs

My feelings exactly.

So Tired.... And Rice Pudding.

2009-08-05T17:08:00.000-07:00

I spent a long weekend last weekend at Cameron and Dream Weaver's place helping them dig out and reorganize their shed and Cameron's studio. While I am not sedentary, I tend towards a slightly lazy lifestyle, and am not much for exercise per say on a regular basis. I enjoyed staying with them, talking and listening to music and hauling boxes like crazy.
(It actually got to the point where I, the bibliophile, responded the the announcement that there was another box of books with "Oh, fuck.")
I am sore, tired, and happy.

On another note, Da has made rice pudding. It's been since I was Klepto's age that I last had rice pudding, and I can't say that I appreciated it all that much then. The school does a poor, burned imitation of rice pudding on occasion, and I've learned to avoid it.
However.
This was delicious, rapturous, sweet and textured and fruity and nutty and NOMS!!!!

I am happy.

gnaw, ganw, gnaw

2009-07-27T09:31:00.001-07:00

...that is the sound of me gnawing on heads.

I had rather a bit of a post on my gender issues, thoughts, etc... and then I thought I saved it in drafts and shut down my computer last night for some much needed sleep. I get back on and there's the title, there're the tags, but noooooo post. Crap. Double crap. Scratch that, start over; I'll put it up when I get it done.

Gnaw.

They Keep Telling Me I'm an Adult, But I Don't Believe Them

2009-07-23T16:42:00.000-07:00

My twentieth birthday was last week. I am no longer a teenager.
Whee?
I feel like I'm growing out of the house; I've already decided I'm staying at College next summer and working as a counselor at the summer arts program they run for kids. I would have this summer, but chickened out/procrastinated (shocker, I know) and didn't get the application in on time. I won't be able to do the house-sitting for my Psych teacher as I have for the past 3 years, but the money and the DISTANCE and the autonomy are all greater at school.

I got very happy-inducing gifts: money from the grands, which will almost exclusively go to things of which they would not approve, but which I will couch in neutral terms in letters. GLBT fiction and non-fiction become "books," and the corset I have been planning for for a year is "clothing."
My Mum, wonderful creature, got me 2 farcical ("Farcical aquatic ceremony!") comedies: Galaxy Quest and Dogma ("Outdated imperialist dogma!"...I do love the peasant). It is absolute coincidence that Alan Rickman stars in both of these. Total coincidence. Happiest pf all, I now have my own Heather Alexander CD! I'm vaguely embarrassed of the noise I made when I opened it... but only vaguely. Dad didn't need those eardrums anyway.

**Spoiler alert ahead for Dies the Fire series**

I've finished the Dies the Fire trilogy, and now wish to hunt down S.M. Stirling and beat him about the head and shoulders for ending the books with a bloody funeral, wedding, and ominous vision. Seriously, there are too many loose ends! What's the next book/trilogy in the series? Grah!

**End Spoilers**

This past week I sat in at a counseling office as a stand-in receptionist/gopher/paperwork minion. It was interesting, enlightening, and slightly bewildering.
(The fax machine is an evil, evil creature, and We do not understand its devious ways. In fact, We think that it it took a long walk out a close window, the world would be a better place. But that's just Our opinion.)
Paperwork is much easier.

I've made mention of doing a post that delves into my internal gender issues, and I will. Just not today, and not until I have a much longer stretch of free time, and less S.M. Stirling eminently on the brain.

Laters.
~Brill

Double Take

2009-06-16T08:02:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I saw one of the most stupid vehicular decisions I have ever had the misfortune to witness. On the way back to the place I'm house-sitting this week, I came up behind an old, red, beat-up minivan that looked to be from the early 90s at the latest. It was going slower that I, and I was stuck behind it for a number of blocks. As it turned, I noticed that this old, beat-up vehicle -a van that had barely gone the speed limit if that- had a huge spoiler bolted onto the roof.
Wishful, wishful thinking.

Patched together

2009-06-09T15:16:00.000-07:00

I have a pair of pants I love. Several, actually, but this one of one of my oldest. I got it in my freshman year of HS and it was a second-hand acquisition then. An upperclassman friend of mine whom I'd known almost as long as we'd lived in town and whose family at this time attended the same church as mine often gave me clothes she'd grown out of, and we were fairly good friends. Still are friends, but she just graduated from the local college, and we've drifted apart as people do.
Back to the pants, these were a comfy canvas pair of cargo pants, khaki and baggy and heavy. I loved them, and wore them often in the ensuing 5 years. Flower (who shares the name of the giver of the pants, incidentally) wrote in one of the zip-up slits in the side "I LOVE YOU!" as she and other friends have done on a few pairs of my pants.
Well, canvas is tough, but it is mortal. This past year I have had to re-stitch both inseams to various degrees, and mend a rip parallel to the inseam. However, the fabric itself gave up the ghost this last semester, and the resulting hole in the uppermost inner right thigh was large enough for my entire arm to fit through it. So today while HyperSpawn was in Summer program and KleptoSpawn was having MORE psychiatric evaluations (be afraid, be very afraid), I fixed up a patch from some canvas-y stuff (two, actually... the first was too small) and fixed my pants. I am happy and feel both accomplished and very, very frayed.
This last is probably due in part to the return of my cycle, but though I feel and look fine superficially, I feel as though I am a dark and angry river, frozen on the surface to mask the frustration and undirected anger below. I am ready to lash out and consume the first hapless passerby to disturb my fictitious calm. I am confused and frustrated; I hate this combination. It is what made math Hell for most of my classes, and did the same for much of my early social interactions. Maybe I just hate people. Misanthropy is a pretty word -- words are nicer than people.
Guh.
I need to let off steam in a controlled way, not aimed at a live person. I have an idea from something I saw in a friend's LJ, sadly enough. I might go write anonymous angry things to myself until I feel better. It's worked before.

Later, hopefully not over a month again.
~Brill

I Winned!

2009-03-31T17:53:00.000-07:00

I won the ceramics prize in the Student Juried Art Show! Wheee! I have a pretty certificate and a $100 check on the way, which should cover art expenses with some left over to actually *gasp* save! AWA and Big Sis/Little Sis week are approaching very quickly.

Eep!

2009-03-12T12:31:00.000-07:00

Now, I may or may not have mentioned this on here before, but I'm an art major. Shocking revelation, no? Specifically, I am a Studio Art major, Bachelor of Fine Arts track. The BFA program has a much stronger focus on the studio time than does the BA degree. 30 hours more, to be precise, and all but one class of it studio. As a BFA student, I have to undergo a process of evaluation and validation (of my work) by art faculty in order to 'officially' be declared BFA. I have up 'til now been under the impression, given to me by members of the faculty and by students, that the BFA reviews were in the Fall or Spring of my Junior year (next year, NOT this). A few of us got an email this morning informing us that, Congratulations, we have reached the point where we are eligible for BFA review. Our submissions for the review are due (matted if 2D) on April 17th. (Incidentally, this is also National Day of Silence, in which I hope to participate this year).
O.O
urk. eep. ulp.
We have to have 10 pieces for the review. I don't know if I HAVE ten quality pieces, and DEFINITELY not matted. I have a lot to do in the next month. Mattboard isn't cheap, either, and I had gotten mine at cost from the school, but I'm pretty sure the Photo prof doesn't have any now.
I really, sincerely, and deeply hope that we have a glaze firing before April! I'm going to add independent handbuilding onto what I'm already doing in my Ceramics 2 class (throwing only) and hope I can get some more pieces done there in time.

In addition to the BFA review, this weekend is the submission deadline for the campus Student Juried Art Show. All 2D work (the only kind I have with me; 3D work is in Gwood) has to be matted, framed, and ready for hanging. Mine is only matted, and framing is pricey. This is the second show I was NOT going to be able to enter, when Monkey said her parents were coming down on Saturday and they said they would bring my work. Happyjoy! I'm debating on whether or not to put prices on anything or mark it all "Not For Sale." I will need some to enter in the BFA review, but I want to make back the entry price.... Decicions, decisions.

But I go for sushi tonight, so everything is copacetic now.
Laters. Much, much later.
~Brill

Close, but no cigar

2009-02-23T13:14:00.000-08:00

In regards to two posts ago, I missed it when I so wrongly maligned the smallpox vaccine. Wrong plague. It's Influenza.
"Influenza! Influenza! It's a virus! It's a virus! It's not the same as love!" (with best regards to Garrison Keillor).
You know, being able to quote La Influenza is probably the one bright spot in this whole shebang. Being able to research for the paper isn't because it's bloody depressing. My teacher (henceforth known as Rat Pimp...He's a Psychologist who breeds rats for studies; it makes sense to me!) wants one book source for the paper. He's only getting one source, because I went to the library, found one source, and went to the Dr., found out I had the flu and was contagious. Hence, we research tonight on Hogarth/Lappy.
My loverly friend Songbird (formerly and unimaginatively referred to as M, I think) took me to CVS to get my scrip filled. I saw her in the student center after getting my mail (I know I shouldn't have been in there, but my allowance was in the mail, and I needed that!), kept her away from me and through whisper and gesture explained the situation. She got her mail, I got shoo-ed/chased out of the center by 2 of Campus Life's staff b/c of my sick, and she and I went to CVS. She's a vocal major, and I really hope I didn't get her sick. The Dr. said I was one of the first cases of flu she's seen this year, but according to Songbird, our friend Lady (lives off-campus) has it, and a girl from work asked me to work for her b/c she's sick, and on the way back another girl called Songbird & said she was sick, and some of her symptoms matched. Guh. Thankfully Monkey and Sunshine don't seem to be showing any signs of flu yet. *knock on wood* I didn't have a flu shot in the fall, but after this I think I will next year. BLARG!!!!

(odd. Blogger doesn't like any "n't" contractions, but has no trouble with "BLARG")

I go die now.
~Very Dull Billiance

Oh, ow.

2009-02-23T10:36:00.000-08:00

My throat doesn't like me. My voice is completely gone, the throat is very, very sore to where swallowing is a delicate operation and sneezing has made me cry. Also, I've had sporadic coughing fits almost to the point to making myself sick, and all I've had to eat for the past 2 days is water or variations thereof, soda crackers, apple sauce, Gatorade, and a very misguided attempt at broth from bullion cube. I'd've had PB for (much-needed) protein, but it's crunchy. Usually a good thing, not so much now. I'm going to the nurse in half an hour.
I have a research paper due in Psych tomorrow on Thurstone, one early-20th century dude whose only works in the library on campus center heavily on math FAR above my sphere of experience. The on-campus periodicals all start just after the ones containing his articles were published, and JSTOR doesn't carry those journals AT ALL.
I have one book source, and possibly 2 others, but one of those is primarily biographical.
A partner and I have to present an oral report on him Thursday. See the voice comment above.

I wish I'd taken the Buffy the Vampire Slayer class.

~Grr

Variol-ee, Variol-ah, variola-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-aaah!

2009-02-21T17:06:00.000-08:00

OK, so maybe it's not smallpox, but I did manage to catch the Death Plague that's been going around. It's already picked off 2 in my ceramics class (the one Ceramics IV, and the one other Ceramics II...it's not a big class). I felt fine when I went to bed (too late) last night, but when I got up for the mini-retreat and on-campus training for my job, I felt like I'd just had a bad asthma attack: sore, rough throat and lungs that felt beaten up. I had a dry cough all through training.
After training, I took a shower hoping it would give me some much-needed humidity in the lungs, but no-go. I slept for 3 hours and woke up feeling worse. I had a fever, full-body aches so bad that clothing seams hurt like sandpaper, and a non-migraine, non-sinus headache. That last one feels weird, because I almost never have them, and it doesn't pulse or push, it just hurts.
(Side note: Blogger doesn't like the word "doesn't" until I type it about 5 times. It prefers it be "does n.")
The fever has come and gone, and I woke from the nap with my heart pounding for no apparent reason.

I want to be better. I have 2 papers due in the next week, (though one paper is optional; one now on one book or one later on another) and I need to do research. Gah!

~Light

Well, THAT was interesting!

2009-02-19T21:41:00.000-08:00

Never have I had anyone show such rapt interest in my legs as tonight. The (about) 4-year-old daughter of 2 of the music profs here sat beside me with her mother and played with my fishnets whenever she could. She was bleedin' adorable, and has about 1/2 the music school wrapped around her finger.
As to the act, it went off without a noticeable hitch, except for Le Batard falling off the stage at the very end, though apparently it looked planned.
The Finale was the Supremely Awfuls, a groups of professors who put up their act for purchase in a mortarboard auction last semester, and a group of us purchased it. MWAHAHAHAHAHA!
The final set-up of the act was Prof A standing out in drag and a bum-roll with "OMG, just look at her butt!" "I know! It's just so big..." etc. playing in the background (Prof A is a theatre prof and hammed it up rather a bit). From then, the line-up was "Fat-Bottomed Gilrs," "YMCA" "Space Cowboy" and "Wannabe." With, of course, 'appropriate' costuming for each act. Three of the 4 profs were, by the end of the act, in dresses, and the other ("Sporty Spice") wore a bra over a t-shirt. I think I cheered/laughed myself hoarse. The thing was horrily campy, tacky, and fabulous.
What was really cute was the little girl from earlier dragging her daddy's pants from where he'd tossed them stripping from one costume to the next and took them around the partitions in the back to toss them to her dad.

Bounty-Schmounty

2009-02-18T20:14:00.000-08:00

Tonight I gave bra-sizing and purchase advice to a professor. A male professor. Lip Sync does these things to people. If this show doesn't drive me to insanity or murder, it will be absolutely awesome!
Because I will be dancing around in front of rather a lot of people alternately pretending to stab and rub all over Le Batard in a dress that really limits my sitting positions, I thought I should attempt to make myself ...maybe not 'presentable,' but less like an art student with a month of roots coming in. So tonight I dyed my hair "Medium Golden Brown" (approximate natural color) from black...THEORETICALLY. What really ended up happening is that my roots got a little darker, and my hair has a very slight dark-dark red-brown sheen. Poo. If I don't want to live with roots until it grows out to where I can cut it, I'm going to have to go to a professional.
Silver lining: roots are not easily visible, or at least blend in to the rest of the hair, so it won't be a bother on stage.
I also really wanted to get rid of the various shades of blue and brown oil paint that reached to my *elbows* (I epitomize grace and neatness , and the Pope visits Stonehenge to honor the Celtic gods every Solstice). While the dye set, I worked on the paint (and dye that I'd splattered shoulder to elbow, nicely complementing the paint) with the school soap and paper towels. Really, Bounty has NOTHING on institutional paper towels. Even the Quicker Picker-Upper wouldn't have lasted through repetitive scrubbings of ears, whole arms, neck, hairline, and arms AGAIN on one towel without even starting to break appart. The things don't tear either, except when wet, and only then with great determination of spirit.

I THREW A BOWL! TWO!! No, not across the room, on the wheel. After two weeks I finally managed to make a bowl that didn't shuffle off this mortal coil and join the choir invisible in a very abrupt, centrifugal fashion. The smaller of the two has been trimmed, and the second one probably will be done tomorrow in class. I'm looking forward very much to the production and firing of products in this class, partially because then I'll get to see my work from LAST SEMESTER finally finished (Including Monkey's Xmas gift, sadly. Poor dear's been wonderfully patient.)
It's late, and tomorrow is more day than I have room for, even though one of my classes was canceled, and theh paper moved. I tried to think about what I'd do if all that had been tomorrow on top of everything, and started twitching.
Sleeping now. Typing later. Much later.
~Brill

It's ba-ack

2009-02-08T18:54:00.000-08:00

Oh, my. It has been quite a while since I posted. And interesting stuff has even happened! Oh well. My month in a nutshell: I passed my personal finance class better than I thought I would, though studying aspects of estates, wills, and estate taxes left me dreaming about how much of an inherited house (pretty one, too) was subject to estate taxes. I've just now started my second semester, and I think that, if my books get here and I can actually afford my art supplies, I will enjoy it greatly. I only have 2 studio classes (Ceramics 2 and Painting 1 -the expensive class), but I'm also in an Honors Psych class and an indulgent History class. The former is my final Honors class, save the Junior seminar, and I didn't need the latter but took it because I like history and I'd heard the teacher was excellent (so far, he really is). I've an Art History class as well about which I haven't much yet to say, but about which I'll probably complain later.
The largest item of note on the horizon is a Lip Sync show in which I will participate later this month. It's sponsored by the GLBT club here, Ally, and as a member (& VP) I'm not only participating but also helping with much of the set-up and take-down. I'm doing "Squish" from Cell Block Tango, a la Chicago, and Monkey and Le Batard are also in it. We did this show for the first time last year and while it was an absolute hoot, there were also some...learning experiences. Like not to put paper down on the runway, and that the stage set-up we used was not only the wrong shape, but also not the best choice of support (We used risers instead of an actual stage, and it had a runway theme that only worked for a couple of the acts but mostly stuck out like a sore thumb for the rest.)

Now, re: the title.......
I CAN PULL MY HAIR BACK AGAIN!
I re-acheived my mini-ponytail (affectionately named Robyn by Monkey the last time I grew my hair out) today. It requires the liberal use of hair clips, and whisps slip out of those, but it is Out Of My Face, and I've found 'my' face again. This may not make much sense, but though my hair's been short for rather a lot of the last 4 years, the face I mentally associate with myself has long hair. (It's also my natural color[s], which I haven't seen since, oh, this past summer.) I think many if not all people have an idea of 'self' with which they associate themselves, and mine has always had long hair, pulled back away from my face in a ponytail. It may sound odd, but I've missed my long hair, and have asked Monkey and Mum to remind me of this tedious wait for growth the next time I make noise about chopping the poor stuff off.

A friend and classmate of mine introduced me recently to a folk singer to die for: Heather Alexander/Alexander Adams. He's a FTM transgendered singer who, as a woman, was actually a very close ringer for the friend who introduced me to his work (there's no relation between the two). Look up his or her work on YouTube, no matter how long the bloody site takes to download; it's worth the wait. It's folk/folk based, and hence catchy as all get out, but really, really good.

Enough for now. I have actually finished my homework for tomorrow (as much as I can, cost and availability of painting supplies aside), and I want the sleep I denied myself the past two nights.
Au revoir,
~Brilliance and Light

Higher than the effing proverbial kite

2009-01-10T13:58:00.000-08:00

Well, as of yesterday morning, I am officially wisdom-less. Tooth, that is. Since I had my lowers out last year, there were only 2 left to remove, and this time we went to an orthodontic surgeon in Augusta who, while less convenient, apparently was much less expensive, especially after our dental coverage altered at the beginning of the year. This doc explained a bit more thoroughly than the other, and the staff was much friendlier during the process, at least as far as I remember. My surgery was at 11:15, and we got home around 2. Or maybe 1. I don't recall clearly, I was still coming down from anesthesia and better than half my face was numb. (On a side note, whenever I have had general anesthesia, whether independent of or in league with IV drugs, I have always regained feeling in the right side of my face much more quickly than in the left). I slept off and on (mostly on) for the rest of the day, until half-seven. I got up and since I hadn't eaten in almost 24 hours, had a bowl of applesauce, more Oxy, and a clindamycin (antibiotic, which should also knock out the slight head cold I woke up with on Thursday). Then around 8, my body decided that everything from my small intestine up needed to...relocate. Violently. This was my first negative reaction to anesthesia, and I would rather it never, ever, ever, ever, EVER happen again. What word is ever-er than "ever"? While usually when you get ill, throwing up relieves some underlying pressure, such wasn't the case last night. I cannot remember the last time I felt so miserable, possibly including my broken arm. I finally reached the point where I had been dry-heaving for about 10 minutes off and on, I was able to lie down and work on sleep. At some point during the night I woke up (assisted frequently by one or both of the cats) and was THANK THE LORD no longer nauseous.
When I got up I was so shakey I could barely walk. With preparatory assistance I had eggs, applesauce, yoghurt, and hot cocoa over the day.
Now I'm on my 2nd Oxy of the day, and anything more complicated than sitting on the sofa and keeping my head in generally one position is a liiiiiiiittle challenging. Da came by and started moving my head around, "It's fun to play with drugged people!"
I'll keep that in mind for next time HE'S on oxy. He's worse than I am.

I go back to school tomorrow, and I have to be back before 8 to attend the required meeting on Blood Borne Pathogens because some idiots in my dorm can't properly dispose of feminine hygiene products. Now, issues like this I might be able to understand in Middle School, possibly early High, but in College? Come on, people! That's disgusting!
Grr...[/rant].

Later, all,
~Brilliant

Charleston & stuff

2008-12-29T17:39:00.000-08:00

Whoo, lots of stuff has happened since I posted last! I'm kinda sorta moved into my new room where C & S used to live, and now that I got it painted something other than Krypton Green I can move more of my stuff in. However, it will probably be more my stuff being moved in while I am away for New Year's at Charleston. I'm got here yesterday with The Flower and her BF, and I'm visiting now while school is still out. I'll be back in Gwood on the 2nd most likely. I love Charleston, and I hate that I can't visit more frequently. The city is a huge 3D puzzle of buildings, old and new --though mostly leaning towards the former-- and the archetecture is so stately, so grand that I don't know where to look. The Flower and I were out walking for much of the early afternoon, and we walked across part of the campus. The Spanish moss hanging from huge oaks, framing stately old buildings and gateways made me wish so badly that I had not left my camera in my room for the break. On the drive down (until we got on the interstate) I kept seeing buildings or scenes that I wanted to photograph. I believe that if I ever get the chance, I will take a scenic photo trip down to Charleston, possibly by way of Aiken.

Monkey and I visited a friend from school in Aiken the day before I left for Charleston (also the day Indigo arrived, thaough I missed his arrival). We had a great time visiting with A and her cousin (who shares S's name). We went to see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button at the Aiken theatre, a rather good movie, and quite long for movies nowadays.

I have started to look up possibilities for summer internships, but it is doubtful I will get one this summer.

I can think of many things I have done or seen, and about which I would like to post, but my thoughts are not in a clear manner, and so I shall post them later if at all.

Bon nuit,

~Light

Stolen name meme

2008-12-16T15:29:00.000-08:00

Mememememeeeeeeee:

Witness Protection name (mother's and father's middle names)

Lynne Wesley

Nascar name (first name of your mother's dad, father's dad)

Joe Ollie

Star Wars name (the first 2 letters of your last name, first 4 letters of your first name)

Mc'Lucy (sounds like a fast food item)

Detective name (favorite color, favorite animal)

Black Cat (that's actually not bad...)

Soap Opera name (middle name, city where you live)

Faith Greenwood

Superhero name (2nd favorite color, favorite alcoholic drink, optionally add "The" to the beginning)

The Blue Rum

Fly name (first 2 letters of 1st name, last 2 letters of last name)

Lues

Gangsta name (favorite ice cram flavor, favorite cookie)

Chocolate Fudge American Crisp

Rock Star name (current pet's name, current street name)

Samhain Lawton

Porn name (1st pet, street you grew up on)

Clyde Smith (I don't think I'd make a very convincing male porn star)

2008-12-11T11:31:00.000-08:00

Monkey and my computer are waaay too evile!
She forces me to type. Moo. sdjgadailfghadfi shgvbnerfj dkjfvs vadf ig ivox goiddhvi oi gjclk vndfk acv n b bn nb c,n nv kn b n, b ,nb kjbvjk ckj;

this is monkey
Brill has suddenly lost her mind and will eventually return.

Brill here:
There's nothing sudden about my insanity.

Ironic

2008-11-21T20:39:00.000-08:00

There Are 1 Gaps in Your Knowledge

Where you have gaps in your knowledge:

Art

Where you don't have gaps in your knowledge:

Philosophy

Religion

Economics

Literature

History

Science

Do You Have Gaps in Your Knowledge?

I have one gaps.

Oddly enough, in the very discipline in which I am majoring, though I think my poor scoring is due less to a lack of visual arts knowledge and more to a lack of cinematographic knowledge.

On a slightly tangential note, I went to see Beauty and the Beast at Limestone College this evening. Overall it was an enjoyable performance, though there were many little things that picked poorly at my brain. My theatre teacher gets to read all about that come next week.
Tomorrow night I see the Mikado here on campus, and I'll probably go again on Sunday so that I have a better chance of seeing both casts. I'm looking forward to it.

I get to go home next Tuesday! Not much should transpire between now and then, and I really hope the time flies fast.

Au revoir,
~Brilliance and Light

I have POT (s)!!!!

2008-11-15T09:42:00.000-08:00

Not the psychoactive drug, CERAMICS!!!! (which are much better, IMHO).
And if I can get my computer to cooperate, you will have full-color pictures of what work of mine has come out of the glaze kiln.

This is my pitcher, in very poor light (unfortunately the only type I have, so the colors on these are rather washed-out on all the pots). The glaze on the top is Bauer Clear, and the bottom is True Blue, which crawled a lot on the bottom. It looks nifty:This is my baby. This is an extra credit project from an idea that came to me while reading a fanfic. My cababbage baby has taken on a life of its own and taken over my mind, and I'm currently working on 3 other pieces using the cabbage theme that will go with the teapot, 2 of which actually fulfill a project requirement (salt and pepper shakers). It is a functional piece, and hold about 3.5 cups of water. The glaze is Mauve all over, including the interior, and it broke wonderfully over the surface to give a range from almost white-green thru sage to a reddish-purple. My baby, and it's definitely going into my BFA evaluation next year.

These are my two reverse-glazed matching cups. The light, as I said, is REALLY poor, but the cup sitting up has Bauer Clear over the body and interior and Celadon on the handle, and the one I'm holding has the reverse. There's a little cube in the bottom of the Celadon-bodied cup, a fortuitous accident that came from playing around in the studio when Mum came one day.
Both glazes crackled, and look really cool.

I'm currently working on some more cups, and would like to continue in this series, though getting the foot on this style to behave was a bugger and has killed 2 other attempts.

MINIMINIMINI!!!! *cough* erm, I'm good now.
This is the model for my large pitcher, and one of the first pinch pots I made (actually, I think it was the first). Both have Iron Blue on the outside/bottom, and the mini has Bauer Clear on the top and inside (yeah, I used a lot of Bauer Clear. It is calm and neutral enough to go very well with a lot of things). The glaze on the inside of the pinch pot is allegedly Rhodes White, but someone had added red iron oxide to it in mixing, so it's not the color on the sample. I still really like it; it has a certain 'sandy' look to it, and it's not as high a gloss as a lot of the other

Here are two pots, one of which APARENTLY reveals very Freudian insights to my subconscious. The first thing Monkey's Big Sis said when she saw it was, "Oh my gawd, it's a vagina!" And then she proceeded to rant about the vagina pot for rather a while. I thought it was just her, and that she was stuck on vaginas since she accidentally signed "eating vagina" in ASL in an improv show last year when she meant "eating pizza." Another said it looked like a lemon, but I asked yet another friend of mine tonight (a student in the program for students over 24, who's been a good friend since I arrived), and all she did was close her eyes tightly and tell me I really shouldn't ask a lesbian. Well, phoo. The outside of the 'vagina-pot' is the screwy Rhodes White, and the inside is Tessha (which looks really cool while you stir it!). The flowery pinch pot is True Blue on the inside, Bauer Clear on the outside. The cobalt in the True Blue on either this piece or another nearby floated onto the outside, so the Bauer Clear has an interesting bluish tint, especially on one side.

The best part of all of this? I get a GRADE to do this! I get graded on having fun, learning how to do even more fun and imaginative stuff, experimenting with color and forms...and if everybody has a different answer, they can still all be right!!! This is awesome!
Clay is my crack.

~Brill

Haunted House

2008-11-13T19:16:00.000-08:00

Ally and Palmetto Players had their annual Haunted House on Halloween night, and this year I actually got to participate. The theme was "A Very Grimm Halloween," using the original stories from the brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Anderson. You know, the ones where the queen doesn't get insider info on Rumpelstiltskin, and he ends up killing her and taking the baby; or where Prince Eric is a fickle, weak-willed cad who falls for Ursula and dumps Ariel, who promptly died and turns into sea foam; or in my room, where the wicked, myopic witch really does eat the children who were stupid enough to trust a stranger who lived in a confectionary. That was fun.
Anyway, ignoring the scrambling confusion to find 2 people for my room who qualified as members of at least one of the clubs, the day itself was an exercise in frantic-ness. The Haunted House is set up in the Alumnae House, across the street from the school. We needed to get cardboard to make an oven big enough to shove 2 people into. Also, the room to which we were assigned was a bathroom. Small in the first place, but downright claustrophobic when you shove 10 people PLUS the three of us in there. (Most groups weren't that big, but there were some that made doing much more than standing in one spot difficult). We finally scrounged the cardboard day-of, then assembled the oven over the tub.
My scissors got commandeered to cut yarn, then something else, and now 2 weeks later I have no idea where or with whom they are.
Our room, as I said, was small, and the frequency of the groups dictated that we had to know cues from the room before us to set up our own act. The room also had in it a heater we could not turn off, and a window we could not open. Once we got the cues from the Ariel room right before us down fairly well, we spent most of our time in the large bedroom after us, hanging our the window and gulping cold air.
One group in particular left a vivid impression. If, once I had shoved 'Hansel' and 'Gretel' into the oven, the crowd didn't move along quickly enough, I would 'invite' them in to be cooked as well. That usually moved them along, with the direction of one of Monkey's Big Sisses who led the groups; however...
One guy took me up on it. I was getting tipsy from his breath.
He didn't climb all the way into the oven, though (thankfully). I think he would have brought it down on us. As it was we had to tape it back together after every go-through.

It was an exhausting, frantic, tiresome, exhilarating, and I can't wait 'til next year!

~Brill

Moneh moneh MONEH

2008-11-12T22:15:00.000-08:00

I got my very first genuine, authentic PAYCHECK today! As in, one for which I had to fill out a form a few months ago using Egyptian hieroglyphics and numbers that had absolutely no connection with their end use.
Anyway, it's not a ginormous amount of money, but it's more than I usually have in 2 months, so I get to do actual Christmas shopping as well as purchasing class supplies!
(Side note: I can't spell hieroglyphics right the first time, but the computer says 'ginormous' is an actual word. Go fig.)
Only a week and a half more of work and school, then Thanksgiving break, woohoo!

We did a pit firing today in Ceramics with our red raku pieces, and Mr. Sir said that the next pit firing (with the pieces that weren't ready today) we get to do ourselves. Wheeee! It was so much fun! Our 'pit' was a metal trashcan, and we used leaves from the parking lot and his house, shredded paper, and burnt down ...something from the last firing as fuel. My piece was in this go 'round, so I'll see Friday how that went. The glaze kiln also gets emptied tomorrow, so I get to see my ceramic babies on Friday. The problem is that we have to keep them in our rooms until December to free up space and prevent theft or breakage. Urg, to all who've seen my parts of the rooms. I need to clear off my desk in my free time tomorrow.

I'm rambling, and it's 1:30 A.M. Good night and sleep well.
Maybe next time I'm on here I'll talk about The Mumbler's most recent (evil) assignment in Drawing 2.

~Brilliance and Light

We are experiencing technological difficulties

2008-11-04T08:21:00.000-08:00

My computer is a hop and a skip away from the electronic equivalent of sitting in the corner and blowing spit bubbles all day. Piece of crap appliance!

You know, if a teacher has to put materials on reserve at the library, and his class is bigger and about 10, he should really, REALLY put 2 copies of the packet on reserve. I came in a few days ago and got started on the reading but the library closed before I could finish, and I had forgotten my laptop or notepad to take notes from the materials. So I came in today when I don't have class (although I still have 1 drawing to go, and it's the pastel one) and the kente cloth packet is checked out. I got most of my worksheet (i.e. mini-papers) done, but I need the packet to get the info about the meanings of the patterns and colors in the kente. Grrgnawgnaw.

Happy election day! Sort of. Not that I intended to vote anyway, but i just found out last night that when I registered to vote in the college Democrat/Republican voter registration drive, none of the paperwork for anyone got filed. Big OOPS for them. I'm just going to sit back and watch the history being made. It would have been nice to vote in the first presidential election I was able to, especially considering the historic importance, but oh well. I didn't get my absentee ballot on time anyway.

In ceramics news, teacher-person (Mr. Sir as one classmate calls him) is filling the glaze kiln, so soon I will have some FINISHED pieces! WOOT!!! There might x2!! even be room for my cabbage teapot to go in there! w00t!

Thanksgiving break is in, what, 3 weeks? Yeah. After we get back there is only ONE WEEK of classes, then exams. Holy cow, it's so close to the end! We're learning matting in Drawing 2, and I need to go get mattboard when my paycheck comes (end of next week, I think she said). All in all, I don't not enjoy working Phonathon. I'm basically a telemarketer (boo, hiss), but I understand the reason we're calling and I'd give to the college if I were an Alumna. That, and I get paid. Paid is goooooood.
My upper wisdom teeth are acting up, and I have an appointment over Thanksgiving to see the tooth-getter-outer to schedule a tooth-getting-outing during Xmas. Man, that's a mouthful!
Our Photo class is taking a field trip today, to document election day '08! (It also helps that he's scheduled us to have the Architectural & Historical project now.)
More on that later. Possibly. Probably.

~Brill

2008-11-03T18:34:00.000-08:00

This is me.

Or, at least according to Monkey, Sunshine, and our friend M from down the hall. Seriously, if you haven't checked out lolcats already you should. It's the ultimate in time wasters.
I have posts I want to write on the Haunted house and the Greenville Metropolitan Arts Council thing this weekend, which I will probably do AFTER Wednesday's Drawing 2 class is over. That's the one where I have 2 large, finished drawings due Wednesday, one of which I've not even started due to artist's block and not being allowed to work on my out-of-class assignment in class (duh, but that's 3.5 hours a-wastin').

more later, hopefully. Sophomores register for Janterm and Spring classes on the 5th ('remember, remember the 5th of November') and I probably won't get the last spot in the PE class I need in Janterm. Argh. For now I need to get down to the art building before it locks.

Bon nuit.
~Light

So special. Really.

2008-10-22T20:49:00.000-07:00

Outcast Genius

65 % Nerd, 70% Geek, 65% Dork

For The Record:

A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia.
A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one.
A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions.
You scored better than half in all three, earning you the title of: Outcast Genius.

Outcast geniuses usually are bright enough to understand what society wants of them, and they just don't care! They are highly intelligent and passionate about the things they know are *truly* important in the world. Typically, this does not include sports, cars or make-up, but it can on occassion (and if it does then they know more than all of their friends combined in that subject).

Outcast geniuses can be very lonely, due to their being outcast from most normal groups and too smart for the room among many other types of dorks and geeks, but they can also be the types to eventually rule the world, ala Bill Gates, the prototypical Outcast Genius.

Congratulations!

(I'm not linking to the quiz because Hogarth is about dead. The link is on Monkey's blog, though).

~Brill

Impacted

2008-10-18T21:08:00.000-07:00

This upcoming week is, for lack of a better word, Homecoming week here at school, during which the classes compete against each other in service activities, skits, and dance for points. This morning was Impact Day, a community service day where we break into groups and go around town doing good work (and sometimes keeping in touch). I signed up to go clean and do random tasks at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore (a wonderful, splendiferous place). We got there and were directed to reorganized their furniture display so that a) the display included the rugs available, and b) it looked like mini room displays, kind of like those in retail stores. We did, it was fun, and I got to browse some as well. The store has a random shelf of lids that includes a duplicate of that which currently tops our butter dish. When we finished that, they had us paint some dividers from black to white. Much fun, and I was very glad I had worn my paint pants. When we finished up and were about to leave, our group leader came up and said, "I don't want to alarm anybody, but that was lead paint."
Whee.
Lead paint all over our arms, some faces, clothes, and we hadn't worn masks or gloves, though the area had been ventilated to the extent that the door was open.
Thankfully, the group leader's father is a doctor, and he said that as long as we got it off pronto and didn't make a habit of using lead paint that we should be fine. We all used mineral spirits from the Printmaking room to get the paint off, and I am not sure whether or not to keep my pants (a favorite pair, and highly useful for art classes).
I go general grr, but on a happy note, Le Batard came by this evening and we all visited, he gave me a back massage, and then we went to the Opera Scenes on campus, all of which made me much happier than earlier today.

My head hurts and Monkey is waiting up for this post before making us both go to bed.
Bon nuit, mes amies.
~Brilliance and Light

Oops

2008-09-26T21:37:00.000-07:00

The Honors Program held its annual retreat this afternoon, and since I am in the program and didn't have any pressing homework (that I could do...more on that later), I went. It's just an afternoon affair; we went to the Milliken facilities, brainstormed for a slogan and logo, and then ate lunch and played Cranium until it was time to leave. When we got back it was still raining as it had been all day, and I decided to stay down in the art building (incidentally, also named Milliken) and work or my extra credit Ceramics piece.
I planned to stay a few hours there, and since I'd told Monkey I'd be back shortly after dinnertime and before a campus event at 8, I gave her a 'ditch call.' The ditch call originated last year when it was fairly late at night and one or the other of us had NO IDEA where our other half was, so idea-less called the other and asked whether or not she was in a ditch. I'm usually the one on the receiving end, so I figured I'd cut out getting clay on the phone later to answer it. Anyway, I told Monkey I'd be back around 9. Yeah, right. The next time I even looked at the clock was a quarter of 10, and I didn't leave until ten 'til midnight.
I got sarcasm-ed at when I got back.

On a lighter note, I love my pot! I'm doing a cabbage-themed teapot for extra credit and I think I've put more labor-intensive work into this pot than the assigned ones. The leaf-edges are so thin that I have to routinely coat them with slip to keep them from drying out too fast for the rest of the pot.

My hair has faded considerably from the hot pink of 2 weeks ago. It's current combination of colors and shades has been compared to tie-dye (me) and shrimp (a photo classmate). Maybe it's a tie-dyed shrimp....

I need 4 more rolls of motion photography, and it has been too wet to shoot at all today. I totally misplaced the roll of film that I shot during the field trip a week ago, and that rankles me greatly.

More whenever I feel like it,
~Brill

(key music)

2008-09-18T16:25:00.001-07:00

ToMOrrow, toMOrrow, I'll....... (dying notes)
...leave for Atlanta sometime after my classes have let out and HOPEFULLY make it in time to sign in at the hotel, get my ticket/pass at the con and still have time to rummage around in the dealer's room before keeling over from exhaustion or this migraine that's currently stalking me.
Man, that was a long sentence.
Anyway, everything is arranged, but not all the money is transferred to the people to whom it should be (namely me, except in one case). I really need to get together with those on campus who're rooming in the rooms I registered and get the money, or I will be walking around the con looking and not buying until I get paid back.

Photo class took a field trip to the park and downtown today. I hope the pics turn out well. It was fun, slightly informative in the photographic way, and highly informative in the I-know-where-more-things-are-in-my-own-town-now way. And he let us out 30 minutes early. Woot.

I went to an information session and signed up for an interview with Phonathon, the student-staffed calling center on campus that calls alumnae and parents with info on the school and solicitations for donations. Yes, I need a job that badly, but hey, I actually got off my rear and did something!

That's all for now, folks.
~Light

2008-09-12T06:19:00.000-07:00

Yes, I am still here, and I definitely have things to post about.

For one, I'm going to Anime Weekend Atlanta in one week!!! I enjoyed it a lot last year and have some money saved from summer work and savings bonds, so one week from now I'll be in Atlanta. I'm going with a bunch of other friends from school, including Monkey, and The Flower and her boyfriend will travel from the coast to go too, so I'll see them again.
A friend suggested that I cosplay the title character from an old anime, Revolutionary Girl Utena. The character has bright pink hair, brighter than I can get with straight-up dyeing my hair, so I'm going blond this weekend then I'll give the hair a few days and dye it pink. After AWA it's going to black or another dark color. I really don't want pink OR blond hair for any length of time. I've tried blond in wig form and I looked WEIRD. A few dye jobs, some short shorts, and a touch of tailoring on a secondhand blazer, and I'm ready to go!

In school news, I'm really enjoying my studio classes, though in the future I'll remember not to schedule any studio class right before another class! (I frequently end up going to Art History late and smelling of photo chemicals). So far I've taken a bunch of pictures, battled rather frequently with reels in the loading room; drawn hands, feet, heads, and some bodies without the skin on them; pinched pots and a teapot, and am now trying to make a large pitcher 'out of at least 2 basic (round) forms'... it's fun.
Mum came up yesterday for a visit; I was so glad to see her. We didn't spend as much time together as other times, because I had class but I'm very glad I got to spend what time I did with her.
The heat here is starting to get to me. It started to cool down, but now it's right back up in the hot and humid range. I want fall.

More later,
Brill

My Da

2008-08-21T10:24:00.000-07:00

more animals

In other news, manual cameras are ungodly expensive. I need a 35mm fully manual film (duh) camera for my Photography 1 class this semester, and after getting some pointers at a local film shop and doing some online searches, Da & I bought me a used Nikon F3 yesterday. Used price: $350, price new: about $1000. I quease. I'm really looking forward to the class though, even though this prof allegedly thinks his class is the only one you have, and gives you a workload appropriate thereof.

2.5 more days of packing left. Today I start disassembling things. Also, I have some work to do on my portfolio from Drawing 1; the drawings all slid & curled under at the bottom while sitting in the portfolio, so now I need to tape them by the cover-sheets to cardboard pieces and that should get them straightened out. Four of the pieces in particular I think are quite nice for beginner work, and I intend to submit the allowed number in the school's juried show in January.

~Brill

More lolcats

2008-08-19T18:15:00.000-07:00

more cat pictures

I have been renamed.

more cat pictures

Thankfully not on the listed side effects of any of my meds....

more cat pictures

And this is for Monkey (what I look like, not her).
I really should sleep, but this is so much more fun than some of my recent dreams.

What I do when I should be doing other things

2008-08-18T20:34:00.000-07:00

more cat pictures

This is me were I a cat, at least attitudinally. lolcats make me extremely happy, and it's a very good distraction from all the packing I should be doing.
School starts back on Sunday, and I'm only half packed. On a positive note, I'm half packed! This time last year I wasn't even that. Of course I also have a birthday party and a doctor visit in the interim, but it's still less.

The kids returned to school today, and it was blissfully quiet, and I got a massage. Le Batard has taken it upon himself to learn the art of massage, and both Monkey and myself have volunteered/were asked to be his practice dummies. I was quite happy.
Then I went to pick up Buster this afternoon. The High School decided that just before the year started was a great time to tear up a quarter of the main parking lot, right where kids usually wait. So now, instead of 4 lanes of traffic at the main pickup point and two lanes at the main road entrance, the whole shoot and match is now two re-routed lanes.
The people who drive in this town and especially at the school do not need this; the majority of drivers in that lot are blithering imbeciles who do not need construction to garnish their perfected massacre of the practice of driving.
I came down the road towards the school, had to pass two cars stuck behind another who refused to turn before I could finally get back into the correct lane, and pulled into the second (main) entrance. Buster saw me (our vehicle would be hard for a blind man to miss, it's so huge), and got in as soon as I stopped. The administrator they had trying to direct traffic motioned forward the car ahead of us. Nothing. More frantic motions. Nothing. The driver is sitting in the only lane in this direction waiting for his/her/it's spawn.
It's 20 minutes after school finished, but more people than usual still remain, and this car is holding up traffic. Finally another admin comes over and much gesticulation and exchange later, the car s l o w l y moves forward and trundles off into the doldrums of the parking lot.
I passed him/her/it and proceeded to freedom. Neither Buster nor I is amused at this point. Because of construction there's a large, very legible, noticeable sign that says cars in my lane must turn right, with adequate room given to switch around an island to the left turn. When I pass this sign, what do I find but a DIFFERENT driver from the original incompetent who decides that manners and common sense do not apply to him; his tail end is in front of me, blocking my escape from the hellgrounds when he noses his front in front of another oncoming car... and sits. Passes up an opportunity to go, and rather a lot of traffic goes by before he can next leave, freeing us.
Have I mentioned that I hate the HS parking lot?!?!?

Hazard pay

2008-08-07T07:28:00.000-07:00

Gently insert fingers into hair.
Massage lightly to ensure maximum intertwine-age.
Take a deep breath.
...
Let it out at the highest possible volume as you yank the ever-loving daylights out of your cranium.
Rinse and repeat.

Mum and Da left yesterday for a five day camping jaunt at a much higher latitude and elevation. Just the two of them, no kids. Well, plus the large group with which they're camping, but no kids for which they are responsible! And I'm in charge while they're gone.

Really Kleptomaniac Demonspawn isn't that bad when she's left alone, but Hypersonic Hyperactive Demonspawn sees it as his honor-bound duty to incite mayhem and discord wherever he walks... and he ran out of Ritalin.

We went to the library yesterday, all four of us, though Buster didn't get anything. Klepto continually confuses me. She's not at her grade level with reading, but was motivated (by forces unknown to me) to get a large book on the life and music of Beethoven and a slightly smaller volume on Harriet Tubman. And she's actually reading them. It's good; confusing, but good.
We all return to school at various times near the end of the month, and I'm having my belated BD party as well.
I'm taking the kids to a local river today to swim and, as Hyper said, "work off our energies!"

Laters!
~Brill

Hello? Anybody out there?

2008-07-21T12:40:00.000-07:00

I love A/C. Really. I just don't understand why the dash is in there....
Anywho, I'm house sitting again, a short span this time, and I'm bored enough to blog. There's only so much SciFi I can read before my mind starts shorting out.
However, I come upon the problem of having nothing of any import to report; all major events are covered in Mum's blog, or if I DO have something about which I think, "hey, I should blog that," I invariably forget.
High points in my life:
+I have fewer than 365 days left as a teenager. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Neither Mum nor Da could say, either.
+I may, possibly, if there's room on the schedule, have gleefully gained gainful employment at a local pizzeria. Until I have to move back to Sburg.
+I have enough money to go to Anime Weekend Atlanta in September! I still need to get the ticket/reservations, but baring unforeseen fiscal disasters, I have sufficient funds. Which means more specialty manga, T-shirts with smart (-ass) sayings --see Mum's blog on Dad's Xmas gift-- lots of sugar, and possibly posters. We (Monkey, S if he does actually go, and some other friends) will probably stay in the motel/hotel we did last year. The only problem is transportation, and that may be solved if our other roommate, Sunshine, goes.

I saw Le Batard recently. He's doing much better, has his back brace off, and has been working out quite a bit to get back in shape. He lost a lot of strength in the accident and has been building it back up. Done a good job, too. He, Monkey and I went to see The Dark Knight the day after my birthday, and it RULED. Took almost 3 hours to do so, too! I love long, intense movies (NOT horror, that's Monkey's department), so that was an excellent movie.

E-chan gets back from Japan on the 8th, and the Flower gets back into town from summer classes on the 13th, so I'm having a birthday celebration a month late. All my siblings go back to school 1 week before I do so I have a week in which to hold a demonspawn-free party. Woot.
I cleaned the living room recently and got the kitchen a bit tidier (uphill battle, that room), so if I can keep them clean I should be able to have said get-together at home.

Mum looked at my schedule for next year (5 classes, if you don't count the class I intend full well to drop) and observed that the entire semester is nothing but art. I made the darn thing and I hadn't noticed that. I have Theatre, Art History (NOT with the Monotonous Teacher from Heck), and THREE Studio classes (Photog. 1, Ceramics 1, & Drawing 2). I also have nothing before lunch on Tu/Th, and nothing after on Fri. However, I am spending a collective 19 hours per week IN AN ART CLASS. Having had two of these teachers before and having heard horror stories about the workload from the third, I don't know whether to giggle maniacally or start rocking back and forth muttering incomprehensibly.

Well, for nothing that filled up a lot of space. One day when I have a VERY long span of uninterrupted time I think I may assemble a post on the subject of the perfect house. There will be lots of pictures, probably from houses around town. As oppressive as the town is sometimes, it has some real gems of architecture.

Ta-Ta!
~Brilliance and Light

(BTW, Spellchecker says 'manga' should be 'mange')

So...Damn...Hot

2008-06-27T22:27:00.000-07:00

Well, our AC has decided to take its summer vacation again. For the past 3-5 days the entire system has been in an interesting cycle of Nada punctuated by burps of Semi-Cool.
Right now it's cooler outside than in here, humidity be damned.
Oh, and "nobody" broke the shower in the pink (hall) bathroom to the point where it won't go to shower mode all the way. C alleges that you "have to twist the middle handle, but not too far," and it will work, but so far that hasn't worked for me, so no cool showers to stave off the heat.

On a slightly less whining note, a good friend of Monkey's and mine from High School is currently on the other side of the planet. E-chan left for Japan Wednesday morning and won't be back until early August. She's staying with a missionary family, a career she herself has expressed interest in. (Japanese culture is another BIG point of interest for her, Monkey, and Monkey's and my future roommate, about as much as Harry Potter with me.) I'm happy for her, but all the same I'm going to miss her these weeks that she's gone.

The Klepto Demonspawn has managed a feat of epic and, to me, hilariously saddening proportions. She got herself kicked out of SUMMER SCHOOL. Tuesday morning I woke
to a call --on my cell phone-- from the school where the district holds the summer school program, informing me that me sister was in the principal's (or counselor's, I was a bit woozy) office. Said principal-or-counselor proceeded to rattle off an impressively long list of transgressions committed by said spawn that morning, including but not limited to death threats and written profanity. In her handwriting. That the woman on the other end of the line said, "looked just like her handwriting when she wrote, 'I did not write that.'" O. M. Effing. G.
Seriously, if you're gonna do something like that, child, learn to disguise your handwriting.
The phone cut out (Verizon: "You can hear me anywhere but your house or dorm room!") and they called the house phone. I had by this time woken up enough to wonder why that hadn't happened in the first place, but apparently the phone was busy.
Long story short, the principal-or-counselor talked to Mum, Mum got pissed, Mum picked up the miscreant, both Demonspawn have been hell for the ensuing time periods, causing much emotional, physical, and aural distress to all involved.

Tonight, Klepto got sick. I heard some weird noises from that end of the house (I'm on one end, though, so EVERYTHING is 'the other end of the house). Found out it was her. Poor thing. Projectile vomit isn't fun for anyone. I wonder what she ate.

Mum has given me a potentially VERY addictive link, so I'm going to stop there. I have more to say but it is less immediate, more nagging, and mostly less transient.

No, I'm not in a very upbeat mood, howdja guess?

'Night,
~Brill

I feel SOOOOOOO special

2008-05-21T12:10:00.000-07:00

Mum and I went out shopping this morning. Along with some clothes for the interminably picky Hyperactive Hypersonic Demonspawn, we got me 2 5-shelf cheap-&-nasty shelving units. I just assembled the permanently affixed elements of one of them. That included screwing in by hand with a teeny, tiny screwdriver fourteen screws and hammering in heaven knows how many nails to tack down the backing. I sat the shelf up to put in the second and fourth (movable) shelves....
And I'd put the sides of the shelf on VERY PERMANENTLY with the insides facing out!!!
I feel special today. I swear it took Da (the *design engineer*) a full 3 minutes to really stop laughing at me.

On the bright side, at least it's put together sturdily for a $25 shelf, and I know what to do on the next one!

Briefly

2008-05-19T13:25:00.000-07:00

I will post a longer update later about how it is a literal miracle that I can dress myself in the morning, let alone pass exams.

For now, I am turning into Monkey. Honestly. I even asked -nearly begged- Buster for permission to step on his foot last night, a quirk of Monkey's. Urg. Enh, The two Brain-halves will see each other tomorrow at reading club. Along with Le Batard, our friend SuB, and old teachers and former classmates we haven't seen in a while. But now I am procrastinating when I should be baking, so I will leave this at that and go make Peanut Butter Cookies.

They're spawning in my sleep!

2008-05-08T16:22:00.000-07:00

My Econ/History class this semester has required me to subscribe to the Wall Street Journal for various and sundry reasons. One of those was to, this past Tuesday, present my illustrious teachers with a set of 5 articles pertaining to the legacy of the Great Depression, through how either New Deal legislation or programs affect the economy today. My main topic was how the Fed has changed it's outlook and responses, but that's a whole different kettle of fish. My problem now is, What do I do with 13-plus weeks of the daily WSJ?! Due to the frantic scramblings that ultimately resulted in the location of said articles, the paper now provided a more than decent ground cover for the better half of our room, i.e., I could walk from about 3 steps from the door, all the way around the pile of packed junk (more on that later), and over into my closet...without setting foot on my floor. Today also saw the imminent due-ness of two 5-page papers, one in mine and Monkey's 10 A.M. class (That Which Is Greatly Depressing) and one in my 4 P.M. Shakespeare class. We both got to bed shortly after 3 this morning, and after a 4-hour nap I finished my paper...before class (It is crap, and right now I really just want to get it over with). Shakespeare didn't fare so well. Due to mis-planning on my part and (*%*&$*&$%$#^%#^#%$#$^-ing) mis-labeling on JSTOR's, a large part of the (admittedly small) time I scheduled to do the Shakespeare paper was spent frantically scrambling for references for my annotated bibliography. Grrrr. I turn the paper in tomorrow at 4.
This afternoon I finally got around to dealing with the papers slowly but surely taking over the room (...the dorm, and one day, THE WORLD!!!!). They filled a Sterilite container, and are currently attempting to ooze out of the recycle bin a a pace slow enough that no unsuspecting passerby will notice. I kept a few in a neat stack to use as padding when I pack the last of my frangibles. And then I sat down...and saw more under my desk! And on my bed! THEY'RE SPAWNING!!!

In more scholastic news, I have a final exam project in the PE & Health class to "design your own wellness plan" while "being creative," and those were seriously the only concrete guidelines I've been able to suss out in 3 weeks. And it's due tomorrow before 12 noon. Woot. Whee. Goody. Joy.

As happy notes:
I GET SLEEP TOMORROW!!!!
Also, Mum's coming down to take home stuff I've already packed and drop off boxes in which I can pack. While she's here we're going to see my Community Adviser (RA)'s Senior BA show downtown.
I also finally own a dictionary, and it was even free! the Math building is undergoing some major renovations this summer and next year, so the school is getting rid of almost all the books in many of the classrooms (Monkey got some free textbooks for future classes in one of her minors). I've had my eye on the dictionary that sat on the top shelf of one of the rooms since last year when I had a class there, and after double-checking I was told I could have it!!! <3 style="font-style: italic;">Webster's New International Dictionary, Second Edition, Unabridged. Sadly the first 30 or so pages are a bit distressed but the remaining 3,200 are fine. ^__^ The only fully missing page that I could tell was the one that told the publish date (I wanted to know), but the library has the same dictionary, and it says 1934. Monkey is used to my spasmodic happiness in regards to unusual or obscure literary or reference works, but our future other roommate got a bit disturbed by my spontaneous jig in the middle of telling her about it. Enh, well.

( In other news, the levels of sleep dep. amongst the interdisciplinary class have reached the point where everything is funny. One of the girls in the class said this morning that she was up so late last night that an empty trash can was funny. And I totally got it.)

Nodding off in the direction of the soda machine,
~Brill

2008-05-02T17:41:00.000-07:00

Monkey has threatened me with bodily harm if I continue to eat rice or Rice Crispie treats. She apparently has something against me disolving the lining of my digestive tract. I have slight gluten and rice sensitivities, and eating wheat, oats, and especially rice without a large portion of something else gives me heartburn.
I am a carb addict. This month I had a strong craving for Rice Crispie Treats, and got a box last time I visited Generic*Mart. Since then Monkey has harangued me every time I eat one (instances of which, I admit, I make sure she is aware).

Walking to class today, eating the last one from the box:
"Woah, it's making my tongue burn now!"...*munch*
"And you're still eating it?! I hope your esophagus melts!"

In other, slightly less harmful news, I will have 2 roommates next year. A friend of mine and Monkey's from the next floor up intended to get a single room next year, but so many upperclassmen went for them that even some Seniors didn't get ones. She also had an incredibly good lottery number (rooms are chosen by lottery), and Monkey and I are fairly certain we can live with her amicably. So we got a triple (in the dorm on the other end of campus from the art building, but on such a small campus it's still not very far). We went to see it and it looks really good; 2 rooms, 3 large closets, a ceiling fan (*insert Hallelujah Chorus*), and desks in that room come with hutches. Yay!

I'm currently (panicking about schoolwork) packing up some stuff for Mum to take back to the house when she comes either this weekend or the next. Both Monkey and I have a lot of stuff, and I especially have accrued a lot over the year by way of books especially (culled the clothes, though!). Don't really know where I am going to keep my stuff this summer since my room's become a storage room in part, but that will be worked out later.

Now to attack the mound of packing in front of me (and whimper at the mountain of assignments behind me).
~Brilliant...or something

It's okay, we're Art Students

2008-05-01T21:19:00.000-07:00

Walking down my hall this evening, I saw our CA (Community Adviser) with two of my hall mates. The latter two lay on their backs while she photographed the words she had Sharpie'd onto their feet. Oh, I think, It's an art project. Cool.
I went over and nosed around, then as I walked back to my room she called out, "Hey, can I borrow your body this weekend?"
My instant reply: "Sure."

Honestly, it all makes perfect sense.

Interesting to know, but still not on my weekend 'To-Do' list

2008-04-26T07:21:00.001-07:00

OK, so I took the quizzish thing from Mum's site, and aparently I'm more adept at merciless actions against kindergarteners than I thought:

24

Again, It's still not high on my priority list for the weekend. That list looks more like, "dig garden, plant seedlings, buy and lay linoleum...."
et cetera.

Au revoir.

Yes; I do, in fact, exist

2008-04-19T20:58:00.001-07:00

I know, I know, it's been forever, but it's been one hell of a BUSY forever.

FLAG, in cooperation with the Theatre club, are putting on a Lip Sync show on the 22nd, and as I am now (at least in name) VP I am very invested in this production. And a very last-minute production it's turning out to be. Urg, if this gets done again next year, a) we will advertise earlier than TWO WEEKS before the show, b) we will start planning a hell of a lot earlier than about a month before, and c) we will not hold it in the last bleeding month of school! [/rant]

On a happier note, I went to Le Batard's college this evening to see their theatre's production of Much Ado About Nothing. It was marvelous, hilarious, and as far as I remember from reading it early on in the semester in Shakespeare class, quite true to the text (with the exception of a slight dash of modern music and some men with twirlers...but they definitely added to it, IMHO).

I've picked out my classes for next semester (Fall '08) and will register on the 30th. I really, really, REALLY hope I can get into all of my art classes, especially the art history class. (It will cover a major requirement AND a separate Gen Ed requirement because it's a 'Non-Anglophone, Non-Western European' course. They have some SERIOUSLY odd Gen Ed requ.'s). Monkey and I get our numbers for the 'room lottery' this Monday. Honestly, I've had the system for room choice explained to me a few times, a few different ways, and it still doesn't make complete sense. I know enough to know that, as rising sophomores, we're screwed as far as getting our desired dorm. Or second choice. Or possibly third choice.

My philosophy for school work is "Don' worra boudit." This mainly pertains to my never-sufficiently-damned Econ and the Great Depression class, and somewhat to Shakespeare. Both have relatively intense papers due in, oh, 2 weeks I think. I only have one of the due dates burned so thoroughly into my corneas that it haunts my dreams while I try to sleep. Oh, and the final project for health class: "Create your own fitness program. Creatively." i.e. like a magazine, apparently.
Ignore the dull, repetitive thud-thump, it's only the sound of my brain bouncing against my skull as it pounds the wall of insomnia.
On a very slightly related note: While attempting to keep up with the economics prof in the foremost of the above listed classes, I found an exception to the grammar rule: 'i' before 'e' except after 'c,' or when sounding as 'ay' as in 'neighbor' or 'weigh.' The word: Efficiency. (although I suppose 'efficient' also fits the mould). This is what I remember most from practically all of 80 minutes of class. If it didn't also include history, I'd be screwed.

Monkey is hungry. Not an astounding, thought provoking statement, I know, but apparently the only sustenance sufficient for her is my thigh muscle. At least that's what she tells me. I make sarcastic references to 1800s Oregon Trail history and try not to fall asleep before she does.

It's 12:40 A.M. I need sleeeeeeeeeeep, especially if I am to attend church tomorrow. I truly, adamantly wish that the Unitarian Universalist Church was closer (were closer?) to the school so that I could walk there instead of to the nearby PC-USA. Even if they do feed us at the later. I want actual emotion in a service! If I wanted pseudo-wakefulness, I'd've stayed in bed and listened to the Prairie Home Companion on NPR. Even the old hymns they sing are not particularly good.
*le sigh*

Bon Nuit,
~Brill, who just realized her tag list is insanely long

(currently listening to the medley of Panic! at the Disco, Art Garfunkle, and C.W. McCall stuck in my head. I highly recommend it for anyone who wants the slow, colorful, winding path to insanity)

Meme of Bookiness

2008-04-06T13:36:00.000-07:00

1. Pick up the nearest book (at least 123 pages).
2. Turn to page 123.
3. Find the 5th sentence
4. Post the 5th sentence on your blog.
5. Tag 5 people.

Okay, the nearest book is David Sedaris' Naked, (a truly wonderful and entertaining piece of literature).
5th sentence, p.123:
"'No, really,' our passenger would say. 'She is my grandmother, I swear.'"

However, I will violate the final codicil of the meme, since the 2 people who a) read my blog with any regularity and b) still have their own blogs have already done it.

Straight lines, twisted brains, and winding infections

2008-04-06T11:55:00.000-07:00

In one respect, my household is primarily composed of two groups: punsters and those who give them incredible openings. Neither category is static, but some of the one-liners that pop up out of nowhere have literally left me on the floor. Case in point: last night.

C and I were in the kitchen while I made cookies and we bantered back and forth about random topics. I complained that I had trouble keeping up with the 83-year-old who did an aerobics class on campus. He said that he'd done a workout video when he still lived with his mother, "One by Crawford somebody."
"Cindy Crawford? You did Cindy Crawford tapes?"
"Yeah, that's it. Honestly, I don't know how my mother didn't know I was gay; what straight guy in his right mind would do Cindy Crawford!?"
The inflection...the tone...truly, I almost lost my balance laughing. And it took him a moment to figure out what was so funny.

Sometimes I think that Monkey and I are way too similar. It is a constant running joke between us that we tend to think of/say/write the same things/noises/motions at the same time. Earlier today, after a long quiet period of not doing anything even remotely related to the other, we both burst out in vocal remonstrations against thoroughly inanimate objects (she a brush, I a carrot) ...at the same time. By the time we graduate, we will have mastered the art of telepathy! (At least, I think that would be cool. 'Course so would telekinesis).

Spring break was partially successful. S and I got the kitchen organized while Mum and Da escaped for a few days, I didn't kill either of the dibbuns, and did get seedlings and seeds (now sprouts) set up in my room as it is still too cold to put them outside. I do not have a job for summer, though a friend of Mum's said she'd send my resume (*mentally add accent*) to people she knows who might be looking for assistants, babysitters, nannies, etc. I intend to do this ASAP. My only problem (which developed during break) is that the only computer on which my resume is stored (the home one) contracted a massive virus of insidious and access-blocking virus. Grr.

Mentally cogitating on the vagrancies of the English language,
~Brill

4 Things Meme

2008-04-02T06:39:00.000-07:00

Four Jobs I have had in my life: (for which I was paid)
Nanny
Babysitter
House sitter
"Freshman Orientation Student Leader" twice (Wherein I gave tours and small classes about adapting to high school in various ways to incoming freshmen. Honestly, it was a rather cushy job, but it paid well considering).

Four Movies I would watch/have watched over and over:
It's a Wonderful Life (courtesy of Mum)
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Pirates of the Caribbean (any)
The Incredibles

Four Places I have lived:
New Bern, NC
Easley, SC
Greenwood, SC
Spartanburg, SC

Four TV Shows that I watch:
CSI (Nevada only)
Law & Order: SVU
Food Network, pretty much anything
History channel, again pretty much anything

Four Places I have visited:
Orlando, FL
Richmond, VA
Dublin, Ireland
London, England

Four People who email me regularly:
Mum
Mum's Momma (chain emails typically)
My college (has the ability to distribute massively useless information with an alarming efficiency)
Da

Four Favorite Foods:
Chocolate (c'mon, seriously?)
Milk
Pasta
*good* cheese (Havarti, Munster, Brie... the list goes on)

Four Places I would like to be right now:
Colorado Springs, CO
Dublin, Ireland
London, England
Anywhere without pollen!

Four Things I am looking forward to this year:
Being able to work on a garden full-time over the summer
Seeing friends from other colleges
The end of school in general
The Bodies of Knowledge Symposium @ USC Upstate

Four People who should post Four Things:
Monkey
S
You have been poked.
Aaaaaaaand I know none else. Phoo.

Have fun! ~Brill

Duh(-ll)

2008-03-25T21:13:00.000-07:00

Apparently, I'm not imaginative enough. One of my friends overheard me referring(sp?) to my computer Lappy today, and began to sputter in indignation at the dearth of creative thinking backing the sobriquet. A short *discussion* later, my laptop is now Hogarth.

(On a side note, I loathe gerunds. They mess spelling up so very frequently.)

Only three short (and yet interminably long) days until Spring Break and relative freedom from scholastic endeavors of a strictly structured variety! Of course, I first have to survive
Shakespeare, Great Depression, and Western Civ midterm exams. I think I'll just go hide under the covers now, and try to get the 7-8 hours-per-night I'm supposed to. HA!

More as it develops and I grow bored,
~Brill

Humph!

2008-03-21T13:52:00.000-07:00

My college held a Girls' Day today on campus for a bunch (and I do mean BUNCH) of girls from around the community, about ages 5-11 or so. It was mostly in the central quad surrounded by the dorms, dining hall, and fine arts buildings. They had field games, relays, tag, etc., but one game in particular caught my eye as I walked through the two main groups. The leaders had a bunch of 5-8 year olds (I'd guess) playing a variation of tag; each girl had a brightly colored handkerchief/'flag' stuck in the back of her pants, and was running around trying to grab/pull the other girls' tails/flags/handkerchiefs out of their pants. Seeing that I thought, "We're teaching little girls to chase after and grab other little girls' asses. Damn, why did I never get to play this game!?"

Tidbits

2008-03-13T15:55:00.000-07:00

*LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*
That's what my New Deal program paper has done for the past, oh, week or so. It got really bad on Tuesday, since it was due this morning. Monkey and I both have the class, (though we focused on different subjects) and worked like little dervishes Tuesday and especially last night. I went to bed around 3 when I spent more time staring at the screen thinking about cheese and sleep, and less time staring at the screen wondering where I read that one random fact in the 20-odd double pages of photocopied, color-coded notes (it was never in the color-coded section, BTW). I finished it off this morning before class. I love the class, I learn economic & historical stuff & how the areas effect each other during one of (IMHO) the most interesting periods of American history, but DAMN if it isn't difficult to keep up sometimes. (No Block, Monkey!)
On a related note, has anyone else ever had trouble keeping within a word limit for a paper? This one was 1000-1200 words, and the shortest I could get it without doing some MAJOR limb-whacking was 1509 (incl. parenthetical documentation). I didn't even go into a lot of the political and civil rights influences because I knew I'd have to cut them. (I just realized I don't have a tag 'procrastination' on a blog titled procrastination. Go fig.)

As I mentioned in my last post, I was elected (in a very informal "Okay, who wants to run for [position]? Anybody got a problem? All in favor? All opposed? ...all abstaining?" meeting) VP of the college's Friends of Lesbians And Gays (FLAG) chapter. Flag is a Student Government Assn. group. I 'get' to go on the SGA retreat this weekend, Friday afternoon to Saturday evening. Thankfully I won't be alone; the Pres (apparently my 'owner') is coming too.

My friends have discovered, through virtue of my new haircut, the amazing somnolescent affect that 'scritching' my head has on me. Monkey likes to pet my hair, and a few other of our friends have recently taken to rubbing the hair as well (don't ask me why, I'm not complaining). They discovered at dinner tonight that scritching tends to put me into a bit of a trance where I lose concentration on all else. A number of them (one in particular who also likes to pick on my ADHD tendencies anent highly reflective objects) had fun.

Laters,
~Brill

Gone and Done It

2008-02-29T13:19:00.000-08:00

No, I am not making rather horrendous musical allusions again. At least not on purpose.

Gone refers to the hair. On my visit home last weekend I went by Great Clips and asked if they were partnered with Locks of Love. They are, and since I had enough hair to donate (and the intention of doing so) I got a free cut. Friends and I had previously worried that my hair might not be long enough to donate.
We needn't have worried.
12 inches and a trim later, the longest hair on my head reaches around 2.5". Mwahahahaha!

The 'it' following 'done' addresses my having finally bitten the bullet and done a few things: a) planned out a fairly comprehensive schedule for the next 3 years here, assuming I do the maximum number of things I want to, major/minor/GEP-wise; then I, b) took it to my adviser, got advice, and declared my major. I am now a Bachelor of Fine Arts major in Studio art (tentative concentration ceramics and photography) with an English minor. On top of that, I was elected the VP for next year for the FLAG group on campus (Friends of Lesbians and Gays).
Major hours: 73
Minor hours: 18
GEP hours: IDK, but there are way too many, IMHO. I hope they get reduced for the BFA students, so I'm not taking the less desirable ones any time soon.
I just hope I can keep up!

Talking with Monkey the last few days has left me nostalgic for both chickens and a garden. While zoning prohibits the former, our yard is more than large (and mostly unused) enough for the latter, providing my nostalgia can solidify and sustain until Spring Break at the end of next month. While getting a garden started requires more (productive) momentum than that of which most of the household is generally capable, I think that Mum, Da, or Buster especially could help maintain one if it was already started, and the Dibbonic Duo could definitely use a positive outlet for energy.
If Mum or I remembers to call the other later, I'll discuss it and, hopefully, get a garden started in late March. (Yes, Mum, as well as look for a summer job.)

I WANT FRESH, REAL TOMATOES!!!!!

From chicken houses and gestational periods spawn...

2008-02-20T19:54:00.000-08:00

Okay, I think I can stop laughing long enough to type now. Monkey and I were talking about a number of things (see the title of the post), and somehow got off on the topic of the mishmash menagerie that comprises my home kitchen. On this topic I observed that our hodgepodge even included a brain-shaped jello mold, which my dearest Mum has on a number of occasions used for Hallowe'en parties. Monkey (a pre-med biology major, mind you, who delights in what some would term the grotesque) inquired if there was actually gray jello, though, as the correct color and opacity are crucial to correct representation. I assured her that there was a method of producing such a color (quite a tasty one, too), though I did not know the method. Then the following conversation ensued:
Monkey: "But is there a way to make the white matter around it?"
Brill: "I don't know. I suppose."
M: "Because you'd need it for anatomical accuracy."
B: "True. Hey, if you made some white jello, chilled it almost completely, stirred it up, put it in a spray bottle, and thinly coated the inside of the mold, chilled it, then poured in the gray jello and let it set...."
M: "That might work....Did we really just have a conversation about that?"
B: "Yes."
M: "My Geekdom is solidified."

I love my roommate; she's awesome. Together we represent the Left & Right brains, according to a friend.

More laters, when I'm less lazy. Even though 2 of my classes in the next 2 days are canceled, I still have about 4 papers to either do or start. Fun.
Luvs,
~Brill

Snips and Snippets

2008-02-15T21:06:00.000-08:00

--I'm writing in the late night/early A.M. hours again, so in the event that I remember tomorrow, I'll have to revisit here and correct any egregious misspellings, sentence fragments, or dangling conversations.
Maybe musical allusions as well.

--One of the few things on my mind recently includes my hair, both literally and figuratively. It annoys me. However, it is by and large long anough to donate now, so very, very soon I will have spikeable-length hair again! (I have been a bit lax with the maintainance of regular trimmings, so the ends are a bit spare). A friend from class recently mentioned to me a barbershop in the area run by a lesbian and a gay man, and offered to take me there when i griped about my hair. I may go there, but from some of what she said I think it was one of the many barbershops not directly affiliated with Locks of Love, and if I am in charge of sending in my hair, I will graduate with that stuff still in a bag somewhere. Also, one of Monkey's "Big Sisters" (upperclassmen mentors) mentioned that if I get it cut at some places to donate, the cut is free. I am in college. I have no job. Free is GOOD.

--A local Presbyterian church offers free lunches after the late service to college students. I went with 4 friends last Sunday, including Monkey. It's been a while since I was in a Pres. service, but their Modus Operandi differed wildly from the church in which I was raised, and I don't think the differences were entirely PC/USA vs. PCA based. We, as far as I know, are going again Sunday.

--Mum is coming down tomorrow (today, by now) to see a cello concert at my college. She pays more attn. to some of the things at my school than do I. I look forward to seeing my Mum.

I had something else I wanted to say, but for the life of me I cannot remember what it is. My brain must be going in my old age...No, wait, that's just the ADD.

Au Revoir, mes amis,
~The Brilliant Procrastinator

(Oh, yes...I remember now.......
--In an astounding leap of boredom and procrastination, I spent a few hours this past week painting small, intricate patterns/images/scenes onto my fingernails with acrylic paint, with a protective coat of clear-coat over them. This is a matter of routine for me; whenever I am either utterly bored to the point of distraction (and will be for a few hours) AND/OR I have rather a lot of homework, typically of the reading/writing variety, I do the nail painting thing. I have yet to do my toenails in such a way, especially since I don't wear the one pair of open-toe shoes I (reluctantly) own. I foresee such an endeavor only in the event of an extreme power outage.)

Not the head!

2008-02-06T06:32:00.000-08:00

--Monkey has her block.
For about as long as we've been roommates, she's had a campaign to stop my use of profanity (we tend to pick up each other's words, so the campaign is fully justified...just really hard for me to do). Whenever I cuss, she mimes an overhand, double-handed throwing motion and screams, "Throws BLOCK at your head!" (or some variation thereof). We visited a friend's room the other day, and she gave Monkey a stuffed, one foot square cube. Which Monkey promptly launched at my head.
It now resides at the foot of her bed, glowering at me in cyan and cerulean menace.

--On a lighter note, Mum's back! *and there was much rejoicing* She mentioned something about possibly coming up to visit this weekend, so we shall (hopefully) see her. My winter term break ended right before she got back, sadly.

--I FOUND THEM!!!!! After searching 4 stores, 3 sections of the last one, and asking 2 different people for help, I finally, finally found those wire modular storage things. They are 14.5" square wire grids you connect at the corners by means of round plastic joiners with notches in them. They are truly handy little things, and I got 2 boxes of them, even though with the current room set-up only one fits (I really need to finish unpacking from Christmas break...).

A bientot,
~Brilliance & Light

2008-01-28T15:46:00.000-08:00

Monkey is HIGHLY entertaining. She's sitting beside me, attempting to "blind teh eyesh" with a makeup-less compact. It would work if a) the lighting in the room was worth crap, and b) she could get the angle right.

Aside from that monkey business, I have a few observations :

"If I can't tell what it is when it's on my fork, it shouldn't go in my mouth." (courtesy of the Monkey)
Both Saturday and tonight, the cafeteria served something. That, and the observation that it was probably originally an animal were all the we're certain of. In both cases, actually, none of the people at the table were able to determine whether it was chicken or pork. (Monkey after a visual study, me after eating the damned stuff!)

I have an astounding capacity for mess when it comes to art class. When we're working on charcoal, I've come in with the stuff smeared, streaked, or smudged pretty much anywhere from elbows down and shoulders up. I doubt I've ever washed my jeans with such frequency, either. Today we did wash drawings (NOT, by the way, my favorite technique thus far), which use ink. Black India Ink. SOMEHOW between 8:30 and 11:30 I got it in both cheeks, nose, and neck.
I blame art gremlins.

Finals are Wednesday, sketches, portfolios, and exhibition reviews due then. Urg.

Books

2008-01-26T16:19:00.000-08:00

I have finally finished a book Mum lent me...just after I left for college. It's From Boys To Men: Gay men write about growing up. A collection of short stories/anecdotes (truly the best kind for my fractured, ADD-type brain), one would think that I'd've finished the darned thing earlier. No, I got about 2.5 stories into it, got distracted by something shiny, and didn't pick it up again until this past week, mostly during car trips with Monkey or lounging around the dorm.
Due to the vast number of writers, the tone varies throughout the book from lascivious in few parts to precocious (especially those dealing with younguns) to heartwarming to even slightly haunting. I'm hooked on anthologies, especially gay anthologies. Mum still has (and hasn't, to my knowledge, finished) a collection I found in Barnes & Noble entitled Boys Like Us. I hadn't finished it either when I lent it to her. An end note in From Boys To Men said that one of the authors appears in both. I think I'll steal it back over break so I can finish it.
Another really good read is, well, anything by David Sedaris, IMHO. He's one of the ones on my Library Wish List, along with complete collections of Shakespeare (check, thanks to the wonderfulness of the Mum and Da), C.S. Lewis, and at least one complete set of encyclopedias. It occurs to me that I'm going to have a very odd book collection.

Continuing on the subject of books, I finally caved and bought some of the books for next semester. Since, as I said, I already have the complete Shakespeare, I didn't have to shell out $90+ bucks to the scalpers in the campus bookstore. However, I now have an interesting (USED!!!) tome entitled Birth, Marriage, & Death: Ritual, Religion, and the Life-Cycle in Tudor and Stuart England. Potentially fascinating, if it's not dry as dust.

I am being ordered by Monkey to do my laundry; apparently all the washers in the basement are empty, and she finds my method of carpeting-by-laundry unappealing. Alas and alack, I bid thee farewell, my laptop....

~Brill

2008-01-22T15:40:00.000-08:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUM!!!!!!!!

Je t'aime, mere. Bon anniversaire et bon voyage.

~ <3 Light

How To (Instalment the First)

2008-01-22T15:05:00.000-08:00

How To Electrically Shock Your Ear Canals:
First, you have to wait for winter. Oh, I know, the anticipation will practically kill you, especially in such a sudatory climate! How can you stand to hold off on such a tactile treat? Nevertheless, you must. After the arrival of the acclaimed and brief season, next don your most woolly, long coat or sweatercoat -the latter is most proficient in achieving the desired task- and a pair of rubber-soled shoes, and retrieve your digital portable music device (e.g. MP3 player or Ipod). Inserting earbud headphones -a most emphatically essential part of the process- into both the device and your own ears, place the device into the pocket of your coat or sweatercoat. Then set off on a brisk walk through the arid, wintery, statically charged environment, making sure that your coat rubs your body to build up a pleasant, tingly charge. Finally, if all has gone well, you should fell a series sudden, sharp buzzes in your ear canal as the static electricity leaps between the skin in your middle ear and the metal wires of the headphones.
The feeling is most especially strong if you wear another, similarly static-inclined shirt under the coat/sweatercoat, and take two off, thus creating sparks that may very well be seen in the next county. You may notice a tendency of said device to commit odd malfunctions later on. This may or may not be the cause of these malfunctions; please contact your local customer service representative at 1-800-66INDIA

My ears still hurt. This happened about 2.5 hours ago. (and no, I did NOT leave them in until I took off my coat, I forgot I had them in when I put it on to leave. Similar result: Deafer Brill than even typical)
~Brill ("eh, what's 'at?")

(If I ever use weird, large, obscure, or just unusual words in any of my posts, and you take it upon yourself to look them up, I have yet to use one that cannot be found here. My use of any of the above mentioned is primarily for my own edification. Thanks for your toleration).

1+1=2? Never!

2008-01-18T17:48:00.000-08:00

Monkey has a tendency to be very bright, and more far-seeing than I, particularly where I am concerned, so one would think that I'd listen to her, wouldn't one?
She told me to take my sleep meds with me on the trip home, but nooo, I'm not getting up for class in the morning, so why on earth should I take the thing that helps me get to sleep in the first place, especially since I have trouble sleeping when switching environments?
Again: gun, foot, bang.

However, I have learned some from previous restless nights, and carry earplugs with my in the Tank (my purse, spawn of an unholy union between a black hole and a button factory). They finally helped with the sleep. Then came the dreams.
Holy crap, some days I wish I could record my dreams and watch them again just so I could get a more cohesive grasp of the gnarled plot lines. Then write them down. But on an interesting note, a lesbian couple of whom I was (sometimes) part made its first appearance in my dreams, even if it seemed like one of the girls was trying to kill the other for the first half thereof.
And I think "Sweeney Todd" had a rather interesting after effect on my mental nighttime wanderings... mainly through the rather bloody sprouting of pointy objects in my poor main characters through one violent fashion or another.

OK, I have no idea whether that made any sense or not, and it is barely past 9 P.M.
Bon nuit
~Brilliant (-ly disturbed)

Meme

2008-01-15T13:23:00.000-08:00

1. What is in the back seat of your car (truck) right now? I don't have a car, but last time I was the main driver of a vehicle, the backseat was a mishmash of sloughed coats, clothes hangers (I found a half dozen at least), my youngest siblings' abandoned/'lost'/forgotten papers from school, a fire extinguisher, and a rather sad looking spark plug.

2. When was the last time you threw up? The last time I remember having done so was two January 1st's (or early A.M. the 2nd) ago. Sangria is NOT my friend.

3. What’s your favorite curse word? Fuckan'bugger!

4. Name 3 people who made you smile today? Monkey, Emily, and Mum

5. What were you doing at 8 a.m. today? Blunderingly attempting to get ready for my 8:30 class.

6. What were you doing 30 minutes ago? Sitting at the computer, reading either fanfiction or blogs.

7. Where were you born? New Bern, NC

8. Have you ever been to a strip club? Nope.

9. What is the last thing you said aloud? "Frick if I know!"

10. What is the best ice cream flavor? Either Deep, Dark Chocolate or Chocolate chip cookie dough...one of the few good things my bloody dining hall serves, if only on occasion.

11. What was the last thing you had to drink? Sprite with lunch, unfortunately.

12. What are you wearing right now? Black mock turtleneck, black leggings, and a long, loose black skirt. With black shoes and socks. Yes, I'm rather fond of the color, today because it attracts HEAT.

13. What was the last thing you ate? Pseudo-chicken tenders (that is, the meal exchange says they're chicken tenders) and lard-fries. About half of it is sitting here waiting for me to go toss it in the trash.

14. Have you bought any new clothes this week? I have too many already, why would I get new clothes?

15. Where were you last? In the hall outside my door.

16. What's the last sporting event you watched? Who won? On TV, Braves vs. somebody, heck if I know. Don't remember if they won or lost the last game of which I caught a snippet, though.

17. Who is the last person you sent a comment/message while blogging? Mum

18. Where do you live? In a dorm

19. What song are you listening to? I've got "Bustopher Jones" from the musical Cats running about my brain when it gets quiet, but Alanis Morissette on the computer.

20. Do you tan? HA! I am PASTEH!!! I barely burn when I try, and Monkey refers to me as the "Moon" when I'm on the laptop.

21. Do you drink your soda from a straw? Not unless there's a lot of (disgusting) ice in the stuff.

22. What did your last text message say? To me: "Glad. how ya doing?"

23. Who's your best friend? Enh, it's a toss-up between Monkey, The Flower, and another loooooongtime from young childhood.

24. What are you doing tomorrow? Class, and HOPEFULLY sending off that thank-you letter to my grandfather....AAH!!! And shopping for a friend's B-day on the 17th!

25. Where is your mom right now? Most likely, in front of the computer, blogging.

26. Look to your right, what do you see? A larger, old brown teddy bear that somehow came with me, seated beside a littler red one from an upperclass(wo)man

27. What do you think of when you think of where you live? SWELTERING, HICK-INFESTED HUMIDITY

28. Ever ridden on a roller coaster? Once. Dad apologized for the persuasion to so do.

29. What is your birthstone? Ruby.

30. Do you go in at a fast-food place or just hit the drive through? I loathe drive-throughs, and avoid using them -specifically, being the poor soul forced to attempt communication with the evil metal box- unless unavoidable.

31. What is your favorite number? 17. It's a pretty, dark, mesh of colors. Kind of Greenish Gray-Blue

32. Do you have a dog? Personally, no. I am an affirmed cat person, and typically tolerate dogs at best.

33. Last person you talked to on the phone? I forget, but the last person I remember talking to on the phone was Le Batard.

34. Have you met anyone famous? Not to my knowledge.

35. Any plans today? Food, or what will pass for it, then either fanfiction or possibly (rare glimmer of hope) an honest to God paper BOOK.

36. How many states have you lived in? 2, but only remember this one. Many, many houses in it, but just the one muggy state.

37. Ever go to college? Therein enrolled currently. The true question is, Do I feel like a college student (not really)

38. Where are you right now? In my bed, should be at dinner.

39. Biggest annoyance in your life right now? The looming cost of books, or rather WHICH books. (I thought I would never have to read Things Fall Apart ever again....*whimper*)

40. Are you struggling to forgive someone right now? Not that I can remember, so probably not.

41. Are you allergic to anything? Cats, the "cillin" meds, most everything that blooms between March and Decamber, and one other med whose name escapes me.

42. Favorite pair of shoes? The ones I'm wearing now. Black, I think the style is called mocs, but I'm not sure. They're slide-on-and-not-fly-off shoes required for a (practically useless) class my senior year of HS. Technically guy's shoes, they were the ONLY black pair in Generic*Mart that didn't have pink on them, and were close to my size (they're still 1/2 size too small at men's 8 1/2). I love them .^__^

Again...

2008-01-15T12:39:00.000-08:00

Well, I didn't wake Monkey up. Woke myself up, muttering rather loudly either admonishments or summons to the three siblings, who I also named. Sleep meds sent me right back to sleep, though, so I'm happy!
Ever gotten a song stuck in your head, but not been able to remember all of the bloody thing, so whenever you start singing it you end up stuck in some kind of verse-overlapping perpetual song loop? I've been that way with the Kingston Trio's "Haul Away" for the last few days. So very annoying.

Re: the current 12-ring monkey circus commonly referred to as the presidential races:
USAToday has a very interesting little quiz where you answer mult. choice questions and it matches you to the top 3 presidential candidates with whom your answers most agree.
(ooh, look! a long link:)
http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/candidate-match-game.htm?loc=interstitialskip

My top 3: Hillary Clinton. Barack Obama. Bill Richardson.
Richardson didn't creep me out horribly/disagree on a fundamental issue.
He's dropped out.

I have yet to register to vote (although I do have a voter registration form from last year, don't know if it works this year, too) and looking at the current lineup makes me want to go hide in a hole in the ground until everybody goes away.
*shuffles out of frame sideways*

~Brilliance & Light

The word "politics" is derived from the word "poly" meaning "many" and the word "ticks" meaning "blood sucking parasites."
~Larry Hardiman

Somniloquence, or Monkey's Ticked Off At Me Again:

2008-01-14T11:42:00.000-08:00

As I have frequently related here, I have a repeated issue with insomnia. As I have to get up at 7:30 every day during the week (at least this month), I'm medicated for it on those nights when I have to get up early. Lunesta is some good stuff, aside from the side effect of making everything I drink taste like crap.
However, that doesn't explain the annoyed-ness of the Monkey. Apparently Lunesta is better that I thought; it was strong enough to keep me sound asleep when, at about 2 this morning, I shouted, "I'm coming," and woke up my poor, long-suffering roommate. (and yes, I realize other interpretations of such a statement...I was very confused and startled when Monkey first told me). I've had a lot of dreams about home recently, so I guess I was answering an imagined summons.

Re: my posting habits...I really, really should stop posting in the early A.M. hours. Monkey (one of an estimated 2 readers) went back last night and read through a bunch of posts she'd missed... and caught a buttload of misspellings and other assorted typographical errors.
Brilliant. Really.

::*WARNING* Some movie SPOILERS for "Sweeney Todd" after this point::

Ooh!!! I got to see "Sweeney Todd: Demon Barber of Fleet Street" on Friday! I did (most of) my laundry, and when the last came out, we went over to one of the local cinemas and wheeeeeeee, movie! I'd been looking forward to this movie for a number of reasons: Johnny Depp, Alan Rickman, Helena Bonham Carter, and all of the above SINGING.
"Sweeney Todd" is a slasher musical.

When we got back, after watching Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett slitting/stabbing throats and cooking people in pies respectively, the only comment Monkey and I had was that the blood was not exactly realistic (she said it was too watery or inconsistent, I said it was too bright, and held up my BBQ sauce as a closer example).

A random thought: TV is stupid. Especially the commercials. One that just let up went like this: "We couldn't say it on TV if it wasn't true! Eat all you want and still lose weight!" and on and on ad nauseum about some or the other die(t) product.
Honestly, my first thought in response to their first sentence was, "Um, it's election year, what about them apples?"

I found someone from whom I can get a much cheaper copy of a book for a major class next year, so off I go to do that and check what else I'm gonna need for the other 4 classes for which I do not yet have books.

A bientot. (and again, I wish I could get accent marks....*sigh*)
~Brill

Gads.

2008-01-10T15:33:00.000-08:00

I so do not post often enough. I think about it. Seriously, I'll be walking to class or in lunch or in the shower or I'll just randomly hear something funny or interesting or something something-ish, and I'll think, "Hey, I should write about that in my blog!"...and then I never do. Grr.
Well, current/new things about me:
-January term class is in session, so I'm fitting 4 months of drawing into one month. This means my butt hurts. Not directly, but the benches in the classroom look like this:

l
l
l___________
l-------------------l
l...................l

WITH NO CURVE OR CUSHION!! (...and yes, that is drawn in l's & punctuation).
I go home next weekend. Hopefully, S can give my back muscles a massage. I hurt from scalp to sacroiliac.

-My laundry pile reached a new high (or low, in Monkey's opinion). I've been rather caught up in this fracking class, and hadn't yet unpacked my clothes from over break.... or done the rather massive amount of laundry that piled up as a result.
As of today, my laundry reached my boobs. I'm going down to the laundry facilities when I get off of here; it's sorted into piles on the floor, taunting me. Ideally, I'll do the impressive pile of dishes sitting on my counter when the laundry is in the machines. (I need to...I'm out of forks, most of my bowls, soup/cereal spoons...It's an early, long, labor-intensive class, and I'm an otherwise lazybum!)

-Monkey has discovered the investive potential of Roth IRAs. Or, rather, has recently further investigated them and brought them to my knowledge. Since my bank waives the fee associated therewith for checking account holders, I may set one up if I get a good enough job this summer.

-I am PASTY!!! Earlier today I was unable to determine if a dark area on my temple was a long smear of charcoal or veins under my skin. I think it's the later, though I'm still not certain.

-Oh, the first weekend (or any time, really) that the weather has finally been consistently precipitant... and our art class has to spray fixative on charcoal drawings before Monday, a strictly outdoor process.

-I saw this this morning:
http://www.comics.com/comics/chickweed/
It's the first comic in my lineup. Dr. Burber's comments just brightened my day, as usual.

I'm going to do laundry...and dishes...and then NOTHING PRODUCTIVE at least until Friday night!

The Return

2008-01-03T08:48:00.000-08:00

School again, School again, coughety-cough....
Well, I am back in College Town, with a rather persistent head cold from Mum. This will be the 3rd semester in a row that I've been sick the first week of classes. Thankfully I still have some nasal spray from last semester.
Christmas, New Year's home-cooked (and me-cooked) food...one would think I'd gain weight while at home, but nooooo.....The odd and rather inexplicable trend towards weight loss continues. Thus far since the commencement of my freshman year I have lost approximately 20 lbs., 5 during the winter break. This is friggin' weird. I need to find a way to give the extra weight to Monkey; she constantly complains of being too light. The girl almost never tips the 100 mark, and you can't give blood unless you're at least 110 lbs. (We had a blood drive here near the beginning of school, and each class got points for however many mambers would participate....poor Monkey.)
Speaking of Monkey, she got 3 presents thusly themed for Christmas, and told me that her mother and I almost got her the same thing! She and I went food shopping last night after we got in, cleaned the room, and unpacked. I'm reducing my meal plan ASAP because quite frankly, my dears, the food here sucks. They can't even keep the milk properly cold all the time! I don't think that there is a single consistently good menu item...I'll have to ponder that. So we loaded up on microwavable frozen pasta dinner entres that I'd had while house-sitting for a former HS teacher...really rather good ones... and other shelf- or freezer-stable items. I have food. I am happy.
We both learned from a friend last night that day classes do not start today as we originally thought, but tomorrow; night classes start today (Thursday). My art class is only M-Th. I HAVE NO CLASS UNTIL MONDAY!!!!!!!! WOOHOO! It rather saddens me, though, that I didn't get to say goodbye to Mum & Da before I left.
Our room is now pretty and clean and SYMMETRICAL (enough)!
we moved the desks to in front of the big window, back to back, and turned our beds to create a small walkway between those two items of furniture. The dressers are both still in front of the closets, and I now have the fridge at the foot of my bed. (so on cold mornings I can just crawl to the foot of the bed under the covers and root around for food! Brilliant! :P)
OHOHOH!!!! I saw Le Batard! he is WALKING, He is HOME (as in his house, not our town), and apparently he's coming back to school for the Spring term! Full recovery is still projected at around a year, but he's made an astounding recovery thus far. I'm so thankful!
OK, going away. I need to go and see if the others for whom I've made biscotti packages are here, and officially tell the cafeteria ~~that they suck~~....er, that I won't be eating there more than 12 times per week.
Au revoir!

~Brilliant (or something)

Insomnia Strikes Again, or I Can't Remember Jack

2007-12-28T22:22:00.000-08:00

My newest fashion accessory: the bags under my eyes. Insomnia (or internal clock set 4 hours west) and hair-trigger wakefulness (my squeaky bed wakes me up)= No restful sleep. It's 1:25 A.M. eastern now, and everything south of my head is very awake. I am exhausted, but due to my wonderful med separation system at college, my insomnia meds (not a nightly requirement) were not with the others when meds went into the suitcase. And Tylenol PM does squat for me. Soooo...Hi. These last 2 nights I devoted to the perusal of The Devil's Panties web comic (I'd been thru most of the fanfics I had been trawling...twice. I need new sites). It's one I've been meaning to get to, but haven't had the time. Whee, time.
Currently I'm sleeping (or, heavily and intermittently dosing) from between 2-3 A.M. and 10 A.M. to 12 P.M. (If I'm lucky). But as is usual, the time is full of some VERY vivid dreams (what Technicolor's role model wants to be when it grows up) with the most outrageous and sometimes disturbed plot lines. Sleep deprivation does very weird things to me, but chief among them is that it obliterates the last vestiges of the filter between my brain and my mouth, and pushes up some utterly oddball stuff from said brain. Things like "5-year-old found in grain of sand."
All of my dreams last night had the newest song from Nickelback, "Into the Night," as a background track. The last dream the day before before Mum's pounding got through the earplugs was Carolina Beach music my brain supplied (I loathe, abhor, disdain, and utterly despise Carolina Beach music) along with....graphics. Have you ever seen Who Framed Roger Rabbit? Imagine the cars, buildings, etc. in Toon Town the first time the detective goes in, when they're all singing and dancing back and forth. Now translate that to real life. I was rather glad to be awakened.

I WANT MY DELTA SLEEP!!!!
I'm going to listen to the Nickelback song in its entirety to see if that will get it to go away.

Ooh, now I have "An Englishman in New York" rattling around....

~I'm a BRILLIANT!
("A brilliant what?")

Regression

2007-12-21T17:29:00.000-08:00

OK, maybe not regression, per se. However, Monkey and I did visit our old HS Wednesday. It was their last day of classes, and our official excuse (used to get past the flying protocol-Nazi monkeys in the front office) was that we came bearing Frankincense, Myrrh, and color-annotated, time-analyzed maps of our county for our old Psych teacher. OK, maybe not the first two, but the last one we did have, courtesy of Monkey's Dad. They looked really cool.... Anyway, we had a note from said Psych teacher, and after I handed over my keys, they gave us passes and allowed us to proceed. Seriously, I can understand wanting to enforce stricter regulations, but some of the stuff they've started doing is just a bit oddball, IMHO.
We went up to see Psych teacher, then made the rounds and dropped off presents (biscotti for all from me, one specific thing to our old AP English teacher from Monkey).
It became a tradition of sorts in my freshman year to give each of my teachers a bag of biscotti, homemade, at the end of each semester. The first year Mum made it, but every year after I did. This came in handy (I suppose) last year when Monkey's and my Journalism class had a bake sale solely aimed at the teachers. We provided a menu of baked good available for order, then they ordered. Fairly straightforward. Except for the part where I got about a hundred pieces of biscotti worth of orders. Our illustrious teacher had shared his with two colleagues, and one afternoon we had entered the class to find the following written on the board:
"Can you freeze biscotti?"
I did not recognize this question for the imminent doom it represented. Having just thought of a perfect (for me) response, I walked to the board and wrote, "No, you have to boil it." When the teacher entered the room I replied that yes, like any other baked good it was perfectly freezable.
Doom.
When he handed out the baking orders (this was a self-funded club, hence the necessity of the beake sale), I got 2 orders for Devils Food cakes (Monkey, in her eternal wonderfulness, took one of those. I love her), somewhere between 21 and 32 orders of biscotti (of two DIFFERENT kinds, 3 pieces per order), and I also had to make PB cookies.
That's what I get for spreading around food for 4 years and signing up to make so much stuff(see 4th label).

Today, The Flower and I went over to the local rehabilitation center and saw Le Batard. He is WALKING! I had talked to him on the phone and he'd tod me this, so I knew it intellectually, but to see him walking, and (aside from being a bit more irritable and having braces on his neck and torso) back to himself is a whole different thing!
That, and he is still able to tickle attack me and make sexual jokes about everyone around him. He is definitely back to normal.

The Flower and I are going with her BF & friend to see I Am Legend now...Da saw it & I wanna...and I got the savings bond I was waiting on, so I have the money :D.

Au Revoir!
~Brilliance and Light!!!!

Stuff

2007-12-18T09:19:00.000-08:00

Gads, I don't post frequently. I would blame it on no time, as has been the reason most days, but as I spent ALL of yesterday (daytime) reading HP fanfics...that excuse goes out the window. Me being a lazybum again!
I have pretty words. I love large, abnormal, and abstract words. One of my goals is to have at least 2 bookshelves full of books by the end of my college career, though I don't know if that includes grad school or not. I am in a BA Studio Art program now, and after I graduate I intend to enroll in an MAT (or MTA...it's one of the two) program. From the description my advisor gave me, it's a teacher Masters program for those who don't get a BA in Education. The ideal career in which I visualize myself would be as a professional artist, but since I also like to eat, I'm going into teaching (it's either that or get a Sugar Daddy...:P).
I only desire to teach High School level; I despise, loathe, disdain, and abhor Middle School spawn, especially those of the female persuasion. They are vicious, conniving little things, and I think they should all be locked up at the age of 11 and released 3-4 years later...after much 're-education.' Nor do I have the desire to attempt to teach those spawn, commonly referred to as 'Elementary-age' which have not yet completely mastered the concepts of bladder control, peristalsis, or keeping their smaller appendages out of various and sundry orifices.
Opinions? Me? How dare you accuse me of such things?

On a slightly lighter note, I got my grades these past few days from my first semester as a College Student! They go as follows:
Art History: A
Yoga (history, concepts, principles, and practice): A-
2-D Design: B+
Precal: A-
Western & Eastern Civ: B
The most shocking of these (closely followed by Yoga) is my Precal. I seriously anticipated a B- or C+ in that class. Math is SO NOT my forte, and most of my quiz grades from the class looked like "2/12," "3/7," et cetera. I also didn't study for the final. At all. You can imagine my shock. Of the 3 test beforehand, all were high B's, but still....
As for Yoga, the only other solid grade I had in the class -as in on paper- was a C, and that was the midterm. Meh, I guess she liked my book review!
Both the W/E Civ and the Art History are the first half of 2-semester courses. Whee.
OK, I'll stop rambling about school...I am free of their clutches until early January.

Our Christmas tree went up last night, 8 days before Christmas. Two days before, I "minionized" (commandeered) Buster (aka Twitch) and we cleaned that blasted excuse for a living room. You can actually see FLOOR now! (Granted, it is hideous, mottled, dog-and-small-annoying-child-ruined carpet, but damnit, it is CLEAN dog-and-small-annoying-child-ruined carpet!)
Da said that he'd cut the carpet out after the tree comes down. I hope so, though I relish not the thought of what the flooring under the carpet looks like.

Hanging the ornaments last night I stumbled across a bell-shaped one with the quote, "Every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings." I showed it to Mum, and .... Have you ever read the children's book If You Give a Mouse a Cookie? Well, if you give the Mum an It's A Wonderful Life allusion anywhere near the vicinity of Christmas, you need the movie to play for her. I swear, the woman can quote the bloody thing front and back. Not that I criticize the movie; it is a wonderful piece of cinematic art and one of the few B&W movies that I truly adore (and one that I simply MUST get the Monkey and the Flower to watch, the poor deprived souls). Her devotion thereunto rivals mine to Monty Python and the Holy Grail, quote-wise.

OK, I shall now return to my lazybumness. The Kleptomaniac Demonspawn, aka Diva, is home from School today because she fell hard on her ribs at a party down the street last night and isn't feeling well. As it is doubtful that the boys will emerge from their room until I attempt to sleep (as they did last night), I am quasi-in charge.

A bientot, mes amis. (damn, I wish I could do accents on here!)
~I am Brilliant...or Something

Very briefly (but look what happened last time I said that)

2007-12-12T21:51:00.000-08:00

Exams are DONE (for me, at least). We leave tomorrow (wait, today) for home after the Monkey finishes her chem exam. Today was art for me...history (through Gothic) then 2D Design class. I finished that final piece about 2 minutes before the class started. I am very pleased with it, though. It has monkeys. And trees. And other rain-forest-y things.
Later (after sleep) I shall do laundry -I estimate 3 loads- and packing. Last time I went home it was a bit...nippy. I had neglected to bring anything warmer than a t-shirt. This time I am making a packing-to-go-home and a packing-to-return list this time. My track record just sucks that bad.
Having had crap for sleep and even worse crap for food for the past few days, I shall now depart for realms somnolescent, soporific, and possibly even somnifacient, if I am lucky. Given my propensities thereunto for a number of years, I may even practice somniloquence.
(I'm having fun with the online dictionaries, if you can't tell...I have no hardcopy version of my own, but online ones are a hell of a lot of fun).
~Brilliance and Light

(The last tag does NOT refer to sexual relations with books, regardless of what college classmates may imply).

I Hate SC Weather

2007-12-10T10:42:00.001-08:00

(Correction to previous post: It's not 'Badhanguliasana," it's spelled 'Baddhanguliyasana.' my bad. ...That was today's final, on which I think I actually did fairly well).
South Carolina has approximately 12 seasons, or 4 oscillating year-round. They are as follows: Summer, Almost Summer, Just After Summer, and Very Chilly Fall (aka winter). It is December the 10th, and SC is in a high snit of Almost Summer.
My college turned on the heat (or, switched the HVAC system from AC to H) about mid-November; before this occurs, the temp must have fallen below 30 for about a week, and once the system is set to Heat it cannot be turned back until the 'Spring' (see: "Almost Summer," above). We were (almost) all freezing, and very happy when the 'blessed event' finally happened. Howe'er. Today is December 10th (first day of Exam week, incidentally) and the high today is in the high 70's. Little to no cloud cover. The forecast reads the same for today, tomorrow, et cetera et cetera ad nauseum at least through my departure for Christmas break.
The typical SC year goes as follows (with few, though not non-existent, exceptions):

January: Mostly Very Chilly Fall, with as much as a week of Almost Summer.
February: V.C.F. Wet.
March: rapid oscillation between V.C.F. and A.S. Wind.
April-October: Summer (sometimes extending into early November).
November: Just After Summer, a sudden freeze that raises everyone's hopes, and then more J.A.S.
December: Usually V.C.F., but one can never be too certain. Don't pack the short-shorts and T-shirts too far away.

This year, as I'm sure many know, our Summer included a week of frost that killed most fruit in the region. Frickin' weather!

I have painting to do, but the weather just needed to be vilified.
~Brill

More procrastination

2007-12-09T13:45:00.000-08:00

It occurred to me to put something else up here while waiting for my final project to dry more (instead of studying for tomorrow's Yoga final....If I don't know what the benefits of Badhanguliasana are now, I doubt that 20 extra minutes of studying will help a whole hell of a lot) I should put up more random junk here that pretty much no one outside the people mentioned on it read.
I hate shopping for Christmas presents. I had to go to the College Town mall yesterday to get a present for my upperclass(wo)man mentor-person (she rules. Totally.). Any excursion off-campus takes almost as much planning as the military invasion of another country. I have no car. The car I drove at home was an unmitigated piece of shit and when I left would only accelerate over 35mph with a strong tailwind on a downhill slope (don't get me started on how many times I got honked at on either of the 2 -read them, 2- basic ways from our house to WalMart.) I could vent my spleen on that P.O.C. vehicular device until the next coming, but today I shall stop with I have no car here. *cries*
However, Monkey does poses (via parental units) a vehicle, and was willing to, yesterday, venture into parts infrequently traveled to assist me in the procurement of said gift. We arrive at the mall, go inside, and I immediately want to either find a nice, quiet bookstore or leave ASAP; however, Monkey had made me promise to not let her into any bookstores, so that option was out of the question. (Neither of us would leave for a few hours...she literally had to drag/push me out of the local B&N last time we went). Thankfully, we found the Bath & Body Works in the mall quickly (and no bookstore had yet reared its distracting, lovely head) and went in to get a gift.
Frickin'. Holiday. Shoppers! I seriously had to dodge around tables to avoid the hordes, walk stop-go behind people who stand on the other side of the aisle from the merchandise at which they look, and once I got my stuff was prevented from exiting by two guys (around 16 and 12, I'd guess) goofing around with sprays/lotions.
I hate holiday shopping. Last year I took the Hyperactive Hypersonic Demonspawn (8 at the time) to WalMart so that 'he' could get his Christmas shopping done (read: So that he could bounce like a BB in a boxcar off of everything/one and ask for a treat while I got presents to label in his name). on the 23rd of December!!! I am bloody suicidal. This year I am not at home (though I doubt the Dibbuns/Mum have presents prepped this early) and I got all shopping DONE save the one thing that needs to be bought fresh. (I do, however, still have to make rather a lot of biscotti for some friends here for whom I either could think of no present or could not afford a present).
Also, EGADS, the idiots to whom driver's licenses are issued! There should be reissued tests at regular periods to prevent people who should not be from driving. Of course, I also think there should be parenting licenses. (more on that later).

My back hurts. This chair is SO NOT ergo dynamic. Wood, pokey-into-backey, but it does rock! I think I'll need chiropractic help before I am 30. That, or a knee replacement. Ow. I just want to go home and sleep now. I still need to take exams (4 and a 'final critique') and pack...and make sure that I'm not leaving any food in the fridge or dishes around the room.
I did do three loads of laundry last night, and now it is actually possible to get to my closet...if you climb over the remaining laundry. I might need to cut out some clothes...
DINNERTIME! oh, Monkey's "5 Minutes 'Til Food" alarm went off. It's honestly not that good. I routinely make better, if not necessarily better of the same (without the gastro-intestinal side effects) at home.

I showed the Monkey my blog, at her insistence. Reading along, I noticed rather a few typos, mostly in the Oxycodone-influenced posts, but for those that exist, I am sorry. Most days I am just too bloody lazy to reread what I have written. Also, Monkey said she could hear me reading what was written...she says it means she's been hanging out with me too long. Fiddlesticks!

Au revoir.

~Brilliant (or Something)

I am a lazybum!

2007-12-07T11:57:00.000-08:00

...or so the Monkey readily and routinely informs me. She has been sure to do so recently, typically followed by "It's hip-high!" The pronoun antecedent there is my laundry pile. I have reached the point in my laundry 'cycle' where I am almost out of socks something that sould be difficult to do when you own about 60 pairs. It takes an hour and 40 minutes to complete a full load of laundry on the machines here, and although the washers are free and economy sized, I still have about 4 or 5 loads to do. As Monkey says...Lazybum!
I finished my last class today, so all I have left are exams (hunh, 'all'), so today and tomorrow are laundry days. I currently can't access my closet.... I finally got Monkey her Christmas present and 'hid' it in there!
You know, though, the benefit of attending a women's college is that pretty much nobody gives a rat's ass whether you come to class in a pantsuit and pearls or pyjamas and gnarly hair. I get the impression that quite a few of the girls don't change out of PJs unless they have to go off campus pretty much. ^__^

I have an extremely labor-intensive painting project due on the 13th. I think that by the end of my sophomore/early junior year, I'll have moved into the art building.

In continuing with my apparent theme of utterly random info blurbs, Monkey wrote a paper for a religion class illustrating how a sculpture, song, or other work of art (medieval/Renaissance) interpreted a book of the New Testament, and my wonderful science major person complained bitterly about "that's what I get for getting a liberal arts education" when she realized that she had basically waxed eloquent about a sculpture for 3 pages. I think it took me that many minutes to stop laughing at her.

I will probably put more up later when I should be studying Precal or yogic concepts (shrivels and dies)...and am being a lazybum instead.
~Brilliant (or Something)

Bouncy bouncy bouncy bouncy

2007-12-06T18:55:00.000-08:00

I have an extreme sensitivity to caffeine. I can't drink coffee (caf or decaf) at any time of the day, or Black Tea in the mornings due to a tanin sensitivity, so by default sodas provide my main source of false attentivity (izzat a word?), but only as a last resort. I had a huge project due today for my Yoga class, and another large assignment earlier in the week, so a few nights ago I bought a Coke from the dorm machine and slowly consumed about a third around 8. I went to bed at 1. Yesterday I lowered the level about an inch before going to a late morning class and was hyper-aware and almost vibrating until past noon.
Last night, working with a large sleep debt which has accumulated over a period of a few weeks, I chugged the last 1/3 of the coke at around 9:30-ish. heeeee...heeeeh....heh.
literally vibrating now...and singing along with Panic! at the Disco over and over and over...and then Monkey went to bed at 2 when I started randomly laughing at a high pitch like a mental case. I went to bed 2 hours later.

I wrote a paper today. I sleep tomorrow. None of this really makes any sense because my judgemental and reasoning capabilities are at the equivalent a drunk person. Wheeeeeeee!!!!!!!!
Godbye now.
~Br(rrrrrrr)ill (it's starting to act like December here)

Do I even need to say it?

2007-12-05T16:14:00.000-08:00

There's a reason I call Monkey Monkey.
Just now she looked up from her laptop, took off her headphones, and asked, "Do you ever use MonkeyNotes?"
Cue a very blank stare.
"I take that as a no."
"What is 'MonkeyNotes?'"
"It's like SparkNotes. It's on PinkMonkey-dot-com!" This last quite brightly and normally, as if she's stating that the weather is absolutely glorious (and monkeys abound as always).
Hence, Monkey.

She's drilled the blasted things into my head, randomly saying "MONKEY!" for no apparent reason. Guess what I'm painting on my final project for art class.
I should be finishing my first powerpoint presentation right now, but that little instance just had to be transmitted. Like an airborn virus. Maybe now the monkeys in my head will leave me alone.
~The Brilliant Procrastinator

He's Better, He's Better, He's Better!

2007-12-05T11:47:00.000-08:00

Le Batard is improving! His feeding tube was removed, he's been fitted for his back brace, and he's trying to squeeze his hands/talk (though it doesn't make much sense, according to his sister...so I definitely know he's getting better ^______^ ).

I have an entire PowerPoint to do and a paper to finish for my W/E Civ class (both. due. tomorrow.), so I update Le Batard and then go back to my happy caffeine high. Au revoir!

~Brill

A Christmas Quiz, edited slightly for blog format

2007-12-03T15:44:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the Christmas edition of Getting to Know Your Friends. Okay, here's what you're supposed to do, (Insert a bunch of email-related stuff that in no way interests me, especially on a blog. Re-posting this simply allows me to wax and rant.)

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Typically bags (I am lazy), but I used a lot of paper this year, as all my bags are 70 miles away and my unwrapped presents are here.

2. Real tree or Artificial? I prefer either a real tree or a 'homemade' tree. That last will require its own separate post. With pictures.

3. When do you put up the tree? It varies. The earliest was about a week and a half before the big day, but last time we had a real tree it was a last minute buy from the lot (surprisingly still well-populated...but then my family tends to buy the trees with...character.)

4. When do you take the tree down? Before it turns completely brown. I am not an anomaly in my laziness. We tend to follow the traditionally prescribed 12 Days of Christmas.

5. Do you like egg nog? Extremely. Never, to my knowledge, tried the 'real' stuff, but I love the storebought with a dash of nutmeg.

6. Favorite gift received as a child? I was incredibly fond of both my first CD player and my cell phone. Though I really do believe in the "it's the thought that counts" sentiment (in most cases).

7. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes, we do have a creche, somewhere. We might even have two. If the stars align and hell freezes over, the two might have a complete one betwixt them.

8. Hardest person to buy for? This year S and the Flower's brother (also a friend, and also dating another friend)

9. Easiest person to buy for? Da, followed closely by Mum. I've probably seen 10 things since October and thought, "That would be the perfect present for him!" (I've actually had his gift since AWA in September.)

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail. Definitely Mail. The only downsides I can think of are potentially illegible handwritting and postage, but I still feel it's worth it. I am making cards for my grand-people this year.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Heck if I know. Even the ones I don't like can usually be dismantled into parts and reformed... Though the things of Hellspawnness have regifted/handmeup'ed some truely... interesting stuff)

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? How the Grinch Stole Christmas or It's A Wonderful Life (that last is mum's fault...I swear the woman can repeat the damned movie word for word)

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? around Thanksgiving, but this year I completed most before...so happy.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Not that I can remember

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Mulled cider and gingerbread...but pretty much anything Mum makes :D )

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? A blend thereof.

17. Favorite Christmas song? "What Child Is This" at this moment, but it varies. I like the vast majority of the classic Christmas carols and hymns, and even a few of the modern ones, but the rest...*shudders*

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Stay at home unless we're visiting Mum's side of the family (more room, fewer old people)

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeers? Yes, unfortunately

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Crocheted lacework angel if we can find it, bow if not (seriously, we have a crazy vertically challenged attic and about 20 boxes of christmas shit piled up there ...at least I think it's up there; I'm not sure all of it made it up at the end of last year, and if not heaven only knows where it is now. I miss our old attic)

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? I prefer to open them in the morning... people are nicer then ^___^

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? Some annoyance stems from rude and/or pushy people, but my primary sources of pique are the untimely, cheesy proliferation of decorations (not. even. HALLOWEEN!) and the constant, unrepenting, aural assault that is bloody CHRISTMAS POP MUSIC!

23. Favorite ornament theme or color? Simple metallic baubles and balls... no neon-y-ness!!!

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? The oneyear we had goose...*sigh* That was the best stuff ever.

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? Peace on our street. Screw peace on earth, I'm not ready to deal with it yet. But aside from that I want Le Batard to get better.
Materialistically, I want my personal library expanded.

(insert annoying prognostication on email responses)
__________________________________

I'm watching Tin Man on SciFi right now (should be reading up and taking notes on the life of Christine de Pizan, but that's what commercial breaks are for). It's really interesting, and I hope beyond all hope that I have enough time to watch the other installments...I believe there are 2 more.
~Brilliance and Light

GaAaaaaaAAhhaaAYHHHHHHHhhhhhhhh!!!

2007-11-28T11:38:00.000-08:00

Or...something like that. The title exemplifies the current theme song of my brain. My delinquency in posting is not because of laziness or not caring, but because school has only 1.5 more weeks left, and teachers go *run students ragged!!!*

I got 4 hours of sleep Sunday night. I had 3 pp worth (first draft) of a paper comparing the visions and 'approaches to various authorities' of two Medieval Christian mystics for a Western & Eastern Civ(equivalent) class. (Freshmen requirement this year. Whoop. De. Doo. Interesting, engaging, but exhausting). Also, I had over half of a pattern project left to do for 2D design (very, very thankfully not due the next day, but I still had to have it mostly completed). I finished the 3rd quarter or the design proj. around 12am Monday. I began the paper at 12:30. I went to bed at 2, not even all the rough draft done. 6am I woke up and started typing, and was practically done by the time I had to leave for my 8:30 class. Worked on project during class break, and finished the draft over lunch (I rarely eat in the dining hall on MWF before dinner...I am a bad girl, but that's what they made PB and Butter Bread for).

That was Sunday P.M. and Monday. Tuesday (and as soon as classes finished Monday) was Sleep, Blessed Sleep. I am still working off a fairly massive sleep debt, compounded by:
Staying up until 3:45 A.M. in order to complete aforementioned pattern project.
Tomorrow is Thursday. I will Sleep. Maybe. Of course, I still have an entire book I have to read and compare to the ancient yoga Sutras & classic texts, et al. Friggin' Honors course is gonna drive me bonkers.

A happy note: Thanksgiving break enabled me to compile all of my music from my home computer login onto 4 CDs for transfer to my laptop, so now I have Panic! at the Disco, Carly Simon, Simon & Garfunkel, Superchic[k], and a bunch of other artists... in an extremely odd order, song-wise. Since I burned the CDs in the order in which I duped them onto the burnlist, one CD has the Nightmare Before Christmas soundtrack sandwiched between Carly Simon, Avalon, and Canyon. I barely remember how I got some of those songs in the first place. (There was NO OTHER WAY to transfer the music to my comp than the CDs...jumpdrives, MP3 players, etc. all required me to open My Computer at some point. Our home comp is a P.O.C. that froze so badly it required a hard reboot [i.e. I had to shut off the power strip for a minute or two...Ctrl/Alt/Del and End Program did nothing...buggering useless oversized calculator].)
But I have usic now, and also tons of stuff from Mum's collection. I *heart* Kingston Trio.

OK, I am going spastic. Au Revoir.
~Brilliance & Light

(P.S. The holes from wisdom teeth freak me out. I thought I had rinsed them out thoroughly, then last night I was rinsing with the syringe (that looks weird) and a little piece of broccoli came out. I haven't had broccoli since Saturday! Gah! Must. Go. Rinse. Holes-In-Head....)

Just a note...

2007-11-22T22:01:00.000-08:00

...because it's 1 am and I am tired. A bad idea for after wisdom tooth extraction: Getting the shivers. This causes the skin on the side of your face (you know, the tight, currently stitched-up-on-the-inside, swollen skin?) to pull in one direction. Ow.
One side of my face now looks like I have my typical straight-back angled jaw, and the other side is squared off. All in all, it looks kinda funny.
Oh, another annoying thing. Ever since before I was born, I have had odd bouts of hiccups. I get very strong, very loud hiccups for about 2-30 minute periods. Interspersed over 1-5 DAYS. It gets rather irritating, especially when I can't hold my breath the same way I usually do or open up the damned stitches.

However, today (or, yesterday by now, but you get my meaning) is a day of thanks, so I will ennumerate the plethora of things for which I give thanks:
I am thankful that my parnts saw fit to homeschool me when they did, otherwise I am certain I would have died of boredom.
I am thankful for medical insurance, without which we would be fucked.
I am thankful for the advances in medicine which have provided Oxycodone (I am wooooozy when high).
I am thankful for the medical advancements that have kept Le Batard alive, without which I am positive I would be down one very charming, if sometimes obsessive friend. That would not a good year make.

Sleep overcomes me, so to save my laptop from being inundated with drool, I bid thee adieu.
~Brilliant (or Something)

P.S. My Mum has made a few posts while in an inebriated state and has made comments about those providing more humor to the reader. I cannot and mayn't access alcohol, but mayhapse tomorrow I shall write an Oxycodone-inspired post. That stuff is good for what ails you, I'll promise you that!

I SO did not want to deal with this right now.

2007-11-22T08:39:00.000-08:00

They say that God never gives you more than you can handle, but sometimes I think He might overestimate me.
As I said in my last post, I had my wisdom teeth out yesterday morning. I am now on Oxycodone and Ibuprofen, in preeeeetty dosages. ( However, my reactions to the former do not amuse nearly as much as those of the Over-Engineered. He is a HOOT on the stuff. ) I have only regained complete sensation in my lower lip as of this morning. The right side kept ripping some and going *bleed, bleeeeeed.* Bloody annoying, that. Ah, but I digress.

Yesterday late morning (about 11a-12p) I checked the website where my friend who had the car wreck (who, for reasons totally and utterly unassociated to his current condition shall hereby be dubbed Le Batard...it's a looong story). Batard's condition had worsened, and he had twice almost passed on. Cue the hyperventilation. Thankfully the Flower was there as well, so I had a point of stability. We took the news to Mum and proposed a venture up to College Town to see him. She offered to drive that night if I was up to it. I was and we got there just as the last visiting hours ended, though we did get to see him. He so did not look well. He's now on a tilting bed to decrease the buildup of fluid in his lungs. Flower and I left notes in Batard's little visitor book, then we three girls went out for donut dinner. It was that kind of night.

All in all, for someone who had two hoiles carved in the back of her mouth 27 hours ago, I am doing extremely well compared to the males I know who had their W. teeth removed. I am not moaning on the couch for a week, for one. I also just now read an update on Batard's condition, and his lungs responded well to the new bed. This contributes greaty to my mental health and thankfullness. I'm really worried about him, and I am extremely thankful for any good news.

More later, if I can. On a side note, I currently weigh less than I ever remember weighing due to most of my diet for the past two days consisting of water and tea. Right now I have to go help set up for Thanksgiving Dinner. 8 people in a 5-or-so person house means we have to get creative about seating arrangements at times.

Laters,
~Brilliance and Light

Ooh, nummmmmmmb

2007-11-21T10:26:00.000-08:00

I had my lower wisdom teeth out today. Urg. I can't really feel anything from my lower ear down, esp. my lip. What I can do right now is taste blood and feel what will become pain soon if the Oxycodon (sp?) doesn't kick in soon. My friend the Flower is over here now and reading over my shoulder. (And correcting my typographical errors. They are many).
I keep rediscovering my tongue.

Thankfully I have pen, paper, and an approximately rudimentary knowledge of ASL, so do Mum, S, Da, and the Flower. (I have sworn to the Monkey that she WILL know at least the alphabet by the end of the semester. She at first scoffed...and now signs to me at times. Bwahahahaha!)

If all goes well recovery-wise, the Flower and I plan to take a trip up to my college town to visit our friend who is still in the hospital. I have not heard any updates on his condition.

Laters,
Brilliant or Something

What is this sleep of which you speak?

2007-11-20T09:41:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure myself anymore. Urg. I go 'under the knife' for wisdom tooth extraction in less than a day, no new news on my friend in the hospital, and one of my oldest friends from home whom I have known for most of my life called me last night from work with more bad news. Her friend (FOAF) who had been living with my friend's family to attend the local tech college had been summoned home by her perents earlier this year due to health concerns of FOAF (long hist. of health probs). She had intended to come back at the Jan. semester to live with Friend again. Friend called last night to inform me that FOAF had suffered severe kidney problems and was in Critical care at the hospital in her parent's town. She starts chemo today.
See point one of Brilliant's version of Buddhism.

I need to call friend back and get more details. She called me from work and the call was understandably short.

One the good side, I GO HOME TODAY! I want so much to sleep in my own bed, even if I don't really have a room of my 'own' in the house anymore. I haven't slept well in 2-3 nights, and I can't take a sleep aid that the Dr doesn't have me listed as having. Bugger. Am considering undertaking major belonging overhaul over Xmas break.

Crap, gotta go irritate the laundry. ^^ Need the laundry to be CLEAN before I pack it.
Later,
~Brilliant

Um, hello.

2007-11-19T16:16:00.000-08:00

Eegads, I hate initial posts. Such an awkward monemt. Ah, well. This is me, or the beginning of as much of me as will appear here. Blame my sudden emergence (in the blogosphere or otherwise) on my mother. I spend too much time on the computer as is, simply ask my roommate, and don't need another reason to be on here. Enh, read the title. 'Tis but the truth.

Thinking of the title, my brain goes off on a wild tangent (think stream-of-consciousness writers) about the origin of the title (accusations of aforementioned roommate) and veer off onto list of the accused from blog of the Mum, and I think that as soon as I regain power over my higher brain functions I will commence with the personalization of the blog.

For now, a few random observations (a.k.a. a summary of the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism. Really):
Life sucks.
Life sucks because you suck.
The sucking can end.
But only if you follow the Eight-Fold Path.

I'm really feeling the first one right now. A friend of mine is in the local hospital with MAJOR injuries from a car wreck (some S.O.B. hit his car, which was pulled off the highway, and ran off) and the most upbeat, optimistic prognosis I've heard is, if he's not paralyzed, he might be back after winter term. Bugger.

Well, I have homework, so I'm gonna go (that does not mean I will actually DO the work before dinner, note...)
~Brilliance & Light