Obligatory countdown post.

Well I'm now 1/5 of the way to becoming a doctor.* The end of the semester was rough but ta-da, I'm finished.

*That's an optimistic estimate and also when I run out of monies.

Things that have happened since turning in my last paper:

My brother graduated from college.

OMG!

Also, John McEnroe was there, but we weren't quick enough with the camera to get a shot. He was looking quite dapper.

Upon returning, Fletcher, my sister, and I went shopping, baked cookies, and watched The Incredibles. A highly entertaining flick, and a very fun weekend.

Also, Fletcher told me that strawberry blond is in this spring, so:
New season, new color.

Pomp and Circumstance

As every blogger does from time to time, I've been distracted. I could make up some lame excuse, but the reality is that I've been busy. With life and shit. On the positive side, I graduated yesterday so now I have the distinct honor of of putting a whole gaggle of letters after my name. Seven to be precise. And a comma. I'm the fucking bomb. The best part is that no one is ever going to know what they mean. Making me a man of intellectual mystery.

All in time for my five year reunion. Awesome.

In other news, I am also sticking around NYC for work, so we may have to legitimately rethink the title of this here blawg.

Alberto Manguel reflects on his books.

A 30,000-Volume Window on the World - New York Times:

"I chose the place because next to the 15th-century house itself was a barn, partly torn down centuries ago, large enough to accommodate my library of some 30,000 books, assembled over six itinerant decades. I knew that once the books found their place, I would find mine.

My library is not a single beast but a composite of many others, a fantastic animal made up of the several libraries built and then abandoned, over and over again, throughout my life."

"The only book I ever banished from my library was Bret Easton Ellis’s “American Psycho,” which I felt infected the shelves with its prurient descriptions of deliberately inflicted pain."

Ruh-roh

So internets...what's this shooting pain going up the front of my leg, from ankle to knee? Why is it uh shooting pain when I am not using it?

People who have had shin splints, tell me I don't have them!

Best practices.

The key to staying up past your bedtime is staying hydrated. If you have to pee, there's no way you can doze off. It also does wonders for your skin.

While you are sleeping.

I will be finished with schoolwork on Friday, but until then I intend to keep up my vampire schedule--waking up at noon, going to sleep after 4:00 am, etc. YES this is embarrassing to admit and YES I understand it's not normal. Fortunately this summer will correct this nasty habit as I will be waking up before 9:00 (the horrors!) to attend Spanish class. So two more nights burning the midnight oil. Over the past few weeks, I've discovered a show that always seems to be on when I want it to be (aka after midnight) and in turn I can't stop watching: Jon and Kate plus 8.

The 8 are their children. Because after they had twins (via IVF) they decided to have one more. But that would make plus 3. Instead, Kate had 6 fucking children. At once. Good god. I can't even imagine the horror. In fairness, sometimes I think Jon and Kate can't either. But the children are adorable (probably cause they're not mine!) and the show focuses mainly on Jon and Kate's reflections about what was going on that particular day. There's something super compelling about watching this all unfold. Kind of like they got shat on but are making the best of it.

Update: it's on TLC, natch.

I feel that this may explain my current mental abilities.

"The National Park Service closed Fort Reno Park in Northwest Washington today to investigate a report of unsafe levels of arsenic in the park's soil, officials said."

Really? I'm not even sure that I can count the hours, nay weeks, that I have spent in Fort Reno. From pee-wee soccer to summer concerts, I logged quality hours on those fields and around those few trees.

Thank god the lead water-mains in my neighborhood counterbalanced this other poison.

Viva les professeurs et viva le babel fish!

Srsly, let's here it for my high school French teachers because good lord, it's been eight fucking years since I took it and I can still read it...you know, mostly. It's a little frustrating because my brain wants to read it without having to translate it--it's familiar enough that it knows it should be able to, but it has been so long that it can't. So I have to directly translate every sentence, but every so often I get the general gist without having to stop.*

*And then I look up words on babel fish and realize I didn't actually get the general gist. errr rewind.**

**Also babel fish? This shit was not around when I was in high school. Maybe that's why I remember it so well. Anyways, back to le travail!

Update: sorry, most of you have no clue why I'm reading french essays (on American imperialism to be exact). I'm trying to pass my language exam and simultaneously write a final paper on cold war historiography. Uh bonne chance.

My brain don't feel too good either.

It took me two whole days, $250 worth of retail therapy, and the purchase of tickets to go on vacation (San Francisco!) in June to overcome the mentally and physically draining all-nighter I pulled on Monday-Tuesday. But now I'm back to work with two papers left and an ambiguous end date, though I'm aiming for a week from today, seeing as Friday evening I a) pick up 80 10-page college finals to grade and b) drive up to Saratoga Springs to watch my brother graduate from college. Anyway, there's really no way to transition to the following local commercial that I just saw. I will say though that I'm not the only one who saw it and then looked for it on YouTube. Also, there are several others.

My brain don't feel so good.

Yesterday, I had the joy of indulging in immense amounts of asian food. Forget to bring lunch to work? No problem, head out for some katsu from Go Go Curry. Hmmmm, dinner you say? How about NY Noodletown for some BBQ baby pig and salt baked shrimp? Sounds awesome.

Then the brain starts to feel funny. Not drunk, but....can the umami really mess with you?

Today, the answer is clearly yes. Because I was hung over like a mo-fo.

A first.

I've been wearing my new glasses pretty much all the time--it's amazing to be able to see well, but I'm always cognizant of the fact that their on my face. Until tonight when I actually got into the shower with them on! Glasses people: is this common?