Snnnzzzzrk?

My main activity since Wednesday has been sleeping. It has easily taken up more than half of my time, and I am just now starting to feel halfway healthy.

This will be the last week of class. Finals are next week.

I'm behind.

Time to get busy.

Tomorrow.

'Night.

Disturbing Quote of the Day/Week/Month...

Clearly my dreams about Steve were misplaced at best:

I am ready for bed. I will think about W.C. Fields when I get between the sheets.

Horrifying visual, that.

*I'm* going back to bed, and will pray not to have any nightmares.

Hope For Hypochondria

Because if it turns out I have the m*mps tomorrow, I swear by all I hold dear that my pillow will get the biggest beat-down of its life.

Slightly symptomatic, slightly achey and swollen in the jaw area, slightly pissed off, and slightly sure it is somehow all in my head. It would be seriously f*cked up if I did somehow manage to be one of the tiny percentage to get 'em, and it honestly doesn't seem likely. My luck, it'll be something completely different--and more serious.

Now if you'll excuse me, I am off to take a nap.

UPDATE, 3:00 a.m.: I feel a lot worse, but no additional swelling, so I really don't think it's m*mps. Also, my fever went down. Took NyQuil, going back to sleep soon.

UPDATE, 2:00 p.m. Friday: Cancelled the appointment, mostly because I wasn't interested in staying awake long enough to go. If I have 'em, I'm spreading 'em around. Pretty sure it's something else anyway. I've been awake for about 10 hours total since Wednesday. Bleh.

Talking to Myself

Here I thought either no one was reading, or maybe comments were broken and keeping you from commenting.

And all along, you were just waiting for me to post about something controversial like...learning Latin.

I don't get you people.

I'll Asplain

Re: Latin.

I am a history major. I concentrate on U.S. history, but I have a good core of Medieval history under my belt as well. IF I ever want to get an advanced degree in History, I will need to show proefficiency in two foreign languages. I have that for French, and Latin would be a second.

The reason they want History majors to know foreign languages is because historians need to work with primary documents. Why take someone else's translation--or mistranslation--at face value? Make your own mistranslation.

Latin education in most colleges (including mine) does not involve spoken Latin at all. There is little practical use for that. However, you do learn how to translate, and that is the vast majority of your coursework.

Everyone feel better?

Ahead of Schedule

My senioritis, that is. It's a full year ahead of schedule.

Everything else is behind.

Especially the research paper that is due tomorrow...that I have barely started research on.

And the sun is shining with nary a cloud in sight.

*sigh*
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In other news, I have decided to learn Latin.

I Hope I Can Pass

There were lots of openings in gym classes for the summer term, so I'm all over it.

Technology is Our Friend

I'm digging the MP3 player. I haven't read the instructions yet, so I haven't been able to delete the crap they pre-loaded on there, but I have a bunch of songs on it already. I think the delete function has to be done through the computer, and I haven't loaded the software yet. I'll get around to it...probably when I need more space for songs.

I may have to turn into one of those people who can't make it from one campus building to the next without ear buds or a cell phone stuck to my ear. Then I too can be anti-social without looking like it's on purpose.

But we all know it's on purpose. God forbid you have to make eye contact and say hello to strangers!

Anyway, I should have conformed and bought one of these sooner.

UPDATE: Duh, I can delete files from the player just like any other computer file if it's hooked up. Done.

Perks

What's better than a bagel slathered with cream cheese? A free bagel slathered with free cream cheese.
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In other news, I am finally an owner of an MP3 player. I'm not sure why, and I am less sure what to do with it. But I wanted a portable radio (with the radio for news, in case I'm, say, ever stuck in a building during a tornado warning and no one knows what is actually going on outside) and it seemed silly to buy the plain old radio when the MP3 version wasn't all that expensive. And I like the small size. Could get a smaller MP3 w/ radio tuner than a plain old radio--because they have to shove junk like a CD player or tape player (can you believe it? Tapes?!) onto it. I didn't care for the plain old, plain old radio tuner thingies I found, either.

So. Now I shall stare at the package and decide whether to open it or return it.

Can't beat that for Friday afternoon entertainment. Can't beat it with a sack of wet cats, I say.

No, I have no idea what that meant.

Shiny

The Boy: "You have a lot of jewelry."
Me: "Define 'a lot'."
The Boy: "I never see you wear the same jewelry twice."
Me: "That's not true."
The Boy: ...
Me: "I wear my gold hoop earrings, my gold spiral thread-through earrings, and those silver artsy earrings all the time. Or at least frequently enough that you've seen them more than once."
The Boy: "Which ones are the 'silver artsy earrings'?"
Me: "They have the blue and white stones...they're kind of curled around the three stones?"
The Boy: "Okay. But you still have a lot of jewelry."
Me: "Hmm."
The Boy: "Where did you get all of it?"
Me: "Is that really a road you want to go down?"
The Boy: "No."
Me: "Thank you. And for the record, my mom bought those three pairs of earrings. Well, I guess not the silver ones, but she was with when I bought them."

So, like all boys, he had to replace some of the offending jewelry. (That's why I have so much. Boys be competitive.) And I have new sparkly earrings, a bracelet, and a pendant. Nothing over-the-top, just silver. And he did really well on the pendant--it has daisies on it. Yay, daisies.
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There is just one degree of separation between me and the mumps. And if I get the mumps between now and Finals Week, someone is going to die. And it won't be me, I'll tell you that much.

A Pox on Google

My Sitemeter has been overrrun with Google searches. I don't mind having 10 visitors a day when I know half of them are Paul, but it irks me to have triple that number and the additions are Googlers.

And yes, my stats are pathetic and sad, but I don't exactly advertise, so it's all good.
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An update on tornado stuff (because I have a one-track mind)...

I'm not linking the source to this (the college paper) because they require registration. You'll just have to trust me:

Federal Emergency Management Agency officials updated the number of households affected by last week's tornadoes Wednesday - more than tripling the previous estimate.

FEMA assessors originally counted 305 households affected during the April 13 tornadoes, but a second look showed 1,061 houses were actually affected.

Also, our tornado was clocked around 150 mph and was classified an F2. Here's the difference between an F2 and F3, and I think we could make the argument it was a weak F3:

• F2: 113-157 mph. Considerable damage. Roofs torn off frame houses; mobile homes demolished; boxcars overturned; large trees snapped or uprooted; light-object missiles generated; cars lifted off ground.

• F3: 158-206 mph. Severe damage. Roofs and some walls torn off well-constructed houses; trains overturned; most trees in forest uprooted; heavy cars lifted off the ground and thrown.

I think the age of the buildings that lost walls worked against us.

Tornado Safety

If a tornado is right over your (expletive) house, why are you calling 911 and demanding that a police officer come right over? What do you think (s)he will do? Shoot it? Get in your basement or an interior room, cover your head and neck, and stop bothering people.

(The 911 tapes have been released. People are fun.)

And to the jewelry store owner who demanded an officer go make sure his store was secure during the storm: human lives are more important than your inventory. Even police officers' lives, you schmuck.

Playing in Dirt

I have an opportunity to do an archaeological field school this summer, but I just can't bring myself to commit to sitting in a hole from 8am to 5pm Monday through Friday. Even though it's only 3 weeks.

The biggest non-sitting-in-a-hole-at-8am drawback is the havoc it would wreak on my actual paying job. As in, I'd have to only work weekends for 3 weeks, and that's not many hours.

Now it's your job to talk me into sitting in the hole for 3 weeks. Go.

Bulimia Coming Along Nicely

Not on purpose, I assure you. Bucket on standby.

A few years ago, it was pretty noteworthy if I emptied my stomach in reverse. Never happened. Then I was given medication that made me do it regularly (side effect)...now it seems like it happens a lot just for the hell of it. Every 3 months or so.

I don't care for it.

You're welcome for sharing.

Big Deal

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes had their baby, possibly in a "silent birth".

Big whoop on both counts.

Especially the silent birth. If I ever have kids, I'd like to have a silent birth. You don't do a lot of screaming when you're knocked out on a drug cocktail.

Yay, medical science.

Yay, Brooke Shields having her baby...a child with a better chance at a normal life than Suri Cruise.

Tourism Down

The lookey-loos from out of town have trickled off, letting the rest of us drive around in relative peace.

Still noticeable debris lying around everywhere, and the State Patrol is directing traffic in intersections that lost their traffic signals. Most roads are open, except the residential areas that got nailed.

The constant din of chain and electric saws has replaced the sound of emergency vehicle sirens. Lots of plywood covering lots of holes.

The windows were blown out in buildings across the street from where I was at, so I'm feeling even luckier than I did before.

My roommate was caught driving in it, and debris hit and blew out her driver's side window. She drove past the Dairy Queen right before it disappeared, so she's feeling pretty lucky, too.

It was an F2, and they tell us we had 3 of them that night.

Recovery is happening, slowly but surely. It's not like a Hawkeye ever lets a Cyclone bring 'im down.

Briefly...

Anyone who wants to make a donation to the area Red Cross can do so here.

Why?

Because:

At least 212 homes were affected by the storm in Iowa City, said James Moody of the Johnson County Emergency Management Agency, citing Red Cross volunteer estimates. Of those, 14 were destroyed, 96 sustained major damage and 110 showed minor damage, he said.

The Day After

Not that anybody reading this actually cares, but here's an update anyway...

Insulation and roofing material are everywhere, along with tree branches and whole trees (including roots). We were the lead story on Good Morning, America, I hear. Street signs are also all over the place, although a lot of that sort of thing has been cleaned up now. The traffic signal poles that came down yesterday were cleaned up overnight.

There was some looting, but it mostly consisted of dumbasses going into damaged buildings to raid the alcohol cooler.

The parking ramp I park in about half the time was hit, and cars inside were thrown around. One of them had a big steel beam sticking through its windshield. Glad I parked in the other ramp last night.

This morning, a lot of streets were still blocked by debris, but the main roads seem to be fine now. Can't vouch for the side roads.

No serious injuries in our area, apparently. Which is amazing considering not only the damage but the Idiots Out Walking Around.

The U has photo galleries up.

Our Turn

We got hit by a tornado(es?) tonight. The constant sound of emergency vehicles can be heard not that far from here. Many car insurance claims will be filed tomorrow for hail damage, including my roommate's. A Dairy Queen is gone and either a WalMart or Menard's lost its roof, according to what I've heard on the radio. Lots of power outages with traffic lights being out of course, leading to accidents.

I was on campus when the first sirens went off around 8:00, and we went downstairs. There's something alternately comforting and scary about being in a century-plus old building during a tornado. The rain and hail stopped and a friend and I decided to walk to my car, which was thankfully in a parking ramp and under a roof. As we were getting there, the sirens went off again and we saw a really scary cloud really close. We went into the Student Union, where they had everyone packed into the downstairs hallway. It was really hot, so we eventually made our way to the door at the end of the hall, and stood outside. We ran into a guy from my class there, who had planned to leave earlier but changed his mind, so we hung out with him again. It was on the north end of the building, so we were fairly sheltered from the wind and rain. After everything really seemed to clear up again, we left, and I drove my friend and her roommate to their dorm before heading home myself. The sirens went off again for a town north of here as I was coming home, but it is all over now.

Well, all over except for the clean-up. Sounds like there will be a lot of that. Supposedly we had six touch-downs. I'm sure there will be more complete information and news tomorrow.

UPDATE: Just so you don't think I'm imagining things...news:

Twisters have been reported in Tama, Linn, Muscatine and Johnson counties, including one that hit the University of Iowa. The National Weather Service says other parts of Iowa City have sustained major damage, including crushed cars, downed trees, at least one destroyed home and major damage to a store. It is unknown if the tornadoes have caused any injuries. Officials have reported another large tornado in Muscatine and there has been hail as large as baseballs.

Further updates below the fold...

More news:

At least four tornados touched down in eastern Iowa while heavy hail and rain pounded the area this evening, weather officials said. One twister hit the University of Iowa and others were reported in Tama, Linn and Muscatine counties, said Rod Donavon, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Des Moines.

The Iowa City Press-Citizen reports the worst of the storms struck the heart of Iowa City, sparing most of the city’s north side. The wind, rain and hail made the downtown look as if a riot swept through, the Press-Citizen reports.

The Press-Citizen reports the worst of the damage happened on the town’s east side. The storm completely demolished a Dairy Queen, flipped cars at Dodge dealership and snapped trees in Iowa City. Cars along Burlington and Capitol streets were completely overturned.

It is unknown if the tornadoes have caused any injuries in eastern Iowa.

Half of the roof of the St. Patrick’s Catholic Church downtown has been ripped off completely, the Press-Citizen reports.

Onlookers in the pedestrian mall are being evacuated because of gas leaks from damage to Martini’s and Union bars, the Press-Citizen reports.

Terry Smith of MidAmerican Energy says that 5,000 customers are without power.

Riverside Drive and Governor Street in Iowa City appear to have sustained the worst damage. Downed power lines, traffic signals and debris litter the streets as hundreds, if not thousands, of university students roam the streets inspecting the damage, the Press-Citizen reports.

The east wall of the Alpha Chi Omega house collapsed, ex-posing the rooms to the elements, and the gazebo at College Green park was flattened, the Press-Citizen reports.

Another large tornado was reported in Muscatine, the National Weather Service reports.

Donavon said other tornadoes are possible throughout east-central Iowa for much of Thursday night.

‘‘It’s still dark outside,’’ Donavon told The Associated Press just after 9 p.m.

‘‘We’ve had large hail up to baseball size.”

Classes cancelled for tomorrow:

11:30 PM
University of Iowa President David Skorton has announced that classes are cancelled for Friday, April 14, because of safety concerns on campus and in Iowa City following the tornadoes and thunderstorms Thursday evening. President Skorton urges all faculty, staff and students to avoid the areas affected by the storms to allow emergency personnel to help those in need and take care of other related emergencies storm clean-up activities.

Largely due to gas leaks and downed power lines/trees, I would think.

The student paper is posting pictures here. The overturned car is 2 blocks from where I was at. There were also roofs torn off in that area...the ped mall and the church nearby. The first building I was in is 2 blocks from the car, and slightly closer to the ped mall. The second building we went to is just down the hill (not even a block) from the original building.

First reported fatality.

Round Round Get Around

I get around.

All around campus, that is, chasing after history professors. Seems like I spend entirely too much time doing so, too.

I'd write more, but I have to go chase after a history professor now.

Obviously.

The Key to Good Reviews

Is to say something complimentary about the reviewer first. Then you get lovely compliments in return.

Reaching Out and Touching...

...Paul. He sounds about like I thought he would. Even-keeled, pleasant, maybe attractive. I might be projecting on that last part, though. He also sounded surprised. Like I was going to say I'd call and then not call. It's not like he's Shank or someone else I don't really want to talk to.

I kid.
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I am so freaking tired, I can't stand it. I've been hanging out at the library entirely too much lately. Practically had the 5th floor to myself this evening, though, and got lots done. Now I have to transfer my written notes to Word. Bleh. I'll get up early and do it tomorrow.

A Step Above Crayons and Elmer's...Barely

I must conclude, after observing an admittedly small sample, that undergraduate college students have very little design sensibility. That, or they're just lazy.

The class with the posters met Thursday, and mine and another student's poster were the only two with any sort of design sense. One student bragged about how she bought the rainbow assortment of Sharpies to make her poster beautiful. It was very...colorful. She wrote her various sentences in all the different colors. Of course, with a color printer, she could have done the same thing on a computer...and used spellcheck.

Another student must have used a whole roll of scotch tape. And I know this, because we could see the tape. It wasn't even doubled over to go on the back side...just plopped onto the papers she taped to the poster. The papers fluttered away from the poster board, making it hard to see what they actually said.

One poster actually had a color scheme, but the writing was too small to read. It was probably 10-point font. These were posters that we had to hold up in front of small groups to complement a speech about our topic. I was the only one who didn't use flimsy posterboard (I used foamboard), and I was therefore the only one who didn't have to fight to keep my poster from rolling up or falling down.

Lesson for all you kids out there: having a well-designed, well-thought-out poster will make you infinitely more comfortable when you make a speech or presentation. The last thing you want to do is be worrying that your prop(s) will fall apart or fall down. It will make you that much more nervous. Plus, it is just plain unprofessional...something you should care about even if it's just college. You'll also be more comfortable if you dress nicely, but I realize that's a lot to ask of many of you.

And Here Comes the Train

It's not even 6:00 a.m., and I am up making a research poster for a presentation.

Yay me.

(Regarding the title, there is a train track nearby.)

If I drank coffee, I'd be ready for a cup or two now. Gonna be a long day.

***UPDATE, 8:20 a.m.: Poster's done. Yay, pretty graphs. 2.5 hours, so it's probably crap, but it looks spiffy. Now my fingers are sticky from the spray adhesive. Since I scrapbook, I had all the mounting and paper supplies I needed--just had to buy the posterboard.

***UPDATE 2: Okay, it's not actually crap, because I wouldn't purposely do a presentation with a crap poster. But the assignment was very vague, so I went with a generic sort of research poster. Not a whole lot of info on it...but there will be lots of info in my little spiel. There are 3 graphs, a map, and a picture of a murderer, as well as a couple bullet-point lists of important points. I think it's pretty decent, but since the assignment was vague...dunno.

Small Bills

Got my monthly university charge bill in the mail...I owe $1.56. Had a frappucino once and no cash on me. It's the smallest bill I've had this year. I have an irresponsible urge to go buy DVDs or something at the bookstore.

Speaking of DVDs, why didn't anyone tell me Little House on the Prairie is available on DVD?! I may never leave the house again.
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Went to the post office to mail my bi-monthly package to Iraq. The parcel post option was $10.something, and the priority option was $12.something. I had 11 single dollar bills, and I wanted to get rid of them, so I picked the parcel post. Is that bad? I don't think it really matters with military mail anyway...it'll get there when the Army feels like getting it there, no?

What I need to do is get those flat rate boxes, but they're smaller than what I like. If I send anything really heavy, that'll be the way to go. Like a box just full of wet wipes or something. Or canned goods. Or books. Or porn magazines.

Just kidding, you can't send porn to Iraq.

A Bit

Which John Cusack Are You?

I Love the Book Store

Barnes and Noble is one of my favorite places. It's not a place I frequent often, because it has a way of taking all my money, but today I decided to splurge.

I saw Instapundit's book, An Army of Davids, and I picked it up and browsed. I might have bought it, but it was $24.99. (You can get it at Amazon for as low as $12.49 at the moment.) I saw someone else pick it up after I moved on, but he must not have wanted to spend $25, either.

Instead, I bought:
The Batman Handbook
The Annals and the Histories
How They Met
Adult Only Blonde Jokes
The Good, The Bad, and The Mad, and
Ellis Island Interviews

Two of these books are going to Iraq. You can speculate as to which.

Spring Motif

100% of readers named Pete do not care for the new design. What about the rest of you? Only those with Curlz MT (the font in the title graphic) will see the design in all its glory. The rest of you get a slightly less-girly version.
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I got a "B" on a paper today, and felt like crying or throwing up. Must be what those overachievers experience. Normally I wouldn't react that way, but it ruined my straight "A"s so far in the class...a class I'm actually purposely being competitive in.

Normally, regarding grades, I tend to think "B"s are just fine...I'm a well-rounded person, after all, and well-rounded people don't have time to obsessively study. Graduate schools, if you're into that sort of thing, generally require a minimum 3.0 average for admissions. Keeping to that is respectable, in my opinion.

To be honest, I tend to lose points on my grades for that pesky "attendance" thing. Spending 50 minutes watching some TA struggle to get students who are not me to participate is not my idea of time well spent. When I attend class, I'm often the only one who actively engages in discussion. If I have something better to do, like work on a paper or other project, it is possible I will not go to class. So I get points deducted for attendance. I tend to calculate how many points I can afford to lose that way without sinking past whatever grade I want.

Meanwhile, some moron who can never answer a question correctly in class gets an "A" for attendance. It's like extra credit for people who suck on the tests.

Good Morning, Hamas

I peruse my spam folder frequently to delete the junk and rescue the occasional non-spam. This morning, one item caught my eye amidst the penis enlargements offers and threats from Chase Manhattan to suspend my non-existent bank card with them. The sender name was "Hamas" and the subject line was "Hamas". The previewed text was Arabic, so who knows what it said.

I wonder if I got some kind of Palestinian hate mail, or maybe they're looking for donations.

Either way, deleted it with the rest of the garbage.

Love is...

...raspberry sherbet delivered to my door.

Some boys are useful.

"Storms May Contain Tornadoes"

Rocky night ahead. And me with no ice cream in the house.

It's super-thundery out, which finally led me to check the weather in the first place. Not much rain, but nearly-constant thunder.

Really put a damper on my nap.