Very Helpful

So to graduate, I have to submit a portfolio showing I'm not a total dumbass, and can in fact produce reasonably intelligent academic research.

Before this semester started, I asked the Person Who Should Know questions about the portfolio, including whether or not there was some sort of deadline.

There was no indication that there was a deadline, so I figured part of my Spring Break could be spent putting together my portfolio.

This afternoon I got an email from the Person Who Should Know "reminding" me that the deadline is tomorrow, and if I don't meet it, I'll be charged a late fee.

That's special.

And Now For Something Different

The ice pack is starting to thaw a bit, which means we're starting to see the surface of the roads for the first time in months. This means you can look forward to less bitching about the weather and more bitching about car-swallowing potholes from hell.

New Policy

If the professor can't make it to class because of the weather, neither can I. I don't care if the professor's peon can make it to class in the professor's stead.

No professor=no me.
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Additionally, the funniest part of the Jimmy Kimmel/Ben Affleck video has to be Josh Groban...unexpected and awesome.

1000!

Pete, you made the 1000th comment! You win...let's see what I have around here...you win a Hawkeye sticker! Congratulations, Pete!
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And, I took a stupid quiz...you can too!

Take the Quiz

Strange...

...what is this strange white stuff falling from the sky? I have not seen such a sight in...days.

Local weatherman says up to 4 inches. Weather channel says up to 6 inches. I hope the local guy is right.
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So I made the mistake of going to petfinder.com and looking at all the bebes who need "furrever homes"...and I want to buy a farm and adopt them all! Except the snakes. And the rodents. But all the big black dogs and the ginormous parrots/macaws who will live 100 years. Maybe even some goats and a 1000 lb. piggy and 14 longhorns.

The big black dogs with their sad puppy eyes who've been mistreated make me cry. As do the parrots who plucked out their feathers when their owners left them (sometimes for a nursing home--parrots live forfreakingever). Poor bebe! I'll loves you!

Why would a big black dog be the last dog adopted? Especially a lab mix? I don't get it. I'll take a giant mastiff/great dane/rott mix over some little Yorkie anyday. I'll be the pack leader, no problem. Poodle. Feh.

(Although, obviously, Lhasa Apsos are the most awesomest lapdogs ever.)

"But I have a small house, I don't have room for a mastiff," you say. Are you kidding? A mastiff will lie on the couch all day. He's not running around unless you're running with him!

Anyway, where was I?

Oh, yeah. Go adopt a pet. Because I can't.

Also...

When did Angelina start dating Robert Redford?

The Greatest Thing Ever

I got carded today. First, she asked if I was 21. I was surprised, and managed to answer in the affirmative. She must not have had much faith in the answer, because then she asked to see my ID. She managed to look surprised herself when she saw the DOB.

Awesome.

Camping?!

I had a friend in junior high and high school who was not exactly what you'd call "outdoorsy"...I made the colossal mistake of taking her camping one year when we were 13. She was harassed hourly by vicious attack fish, bugs, and woodpeckers. My dad actually had to yell at her about not screaming in the lake unless she was drowning. Fish kept "touching her" and she'd scream in terror. When a bug got caught in her hair and started a monumental hissy fit, one of my uncles looked at me like, "what kind of sissy girl did you bring up here?" As someone who prides herself to this day on being a tough-it-out camper, that was quite shameful.

The woodpeckers were interesting. See, I was sleeping in our tent one night (like you do if you're not paranoid), and this girl (let's call her "Rachel") woke me up and hissed, "Is that a bear?!"

I lifted my head and listened, hearing nothing. "I don't hear anything. Go back to sleep."

Rachel would not be soothed. "I hear a bear!"

I sat up, listening more closely and heard...nothing. No rustling raccoons...no wind blowing through the leaves...just nothing. "Rachel, I don't hear anything."

"There is something out there."

I got back in my sleeping bag. "If you hear it walk by the tent, let me know." This probably wasn't the most reassuring thing to say, but I'm not great when people wake me up for stupid shit.

Just as I was falling back asleep, Rachel informed me she had to go to the bathroom. We had already established that I must chaperone her for any midnight meanderings outside the tent, and since she was already alarmed, I knew I had no choice. I got up, grabbed the flashlight, and headed outside the tent. I surveyed the campgrounds, and gave the all clear. She ran out of the tent with the lantern and bolted to the outhouse.

I stood outside the outhouse while she did her business, and when she came out I told her I'd go too--since I was already up and all. This did not go over well, as she could not walk the 20 feet to the tent by herself, and I wasn't allowing company in the outhouse. As I tended to my bladder, she stood outside the door and kept whispering for me to hurry up.

When I came out of the facilities, she took off for the tent like a family of grizzlies was behind her. I followed at a more leisurely pace, flashlight turned off, and happened to glance up at the sky. The stars were amazing. I'd never noticed before how you could see the whole Milky Way from our campgrounds. She dived into the tent and told me to hurry up so she could zip the door shut, but I stood staring up at the sky. "You have to see this."

"Get in the tent! Bugs are getting in!"

"No, seriously, you have to see this. Look at the stars!"

"I don't care! Mosquitos are going to come in here!"

I got in the tent.

Sometime around dawn (and therefore around 4 hours before I'd normally wake up), Rachel was hissing at me again. "Do you hear that?! It's the same thing I heard last night. Is it a bear?"

I listened, and in a few moments heard a tap-tap-tapping noise coming from high up above in the trees. "I don't think so."

"What do you mean? You're not sure? It might be a bear?!" Rachel was nearly hysterical.

"Well, it could be a bear tapping his fingers. But I'm pretty sure it's just a woodpecker."

Today, Rachel lists her outdoor interests on an online profile as "camping, cycling, and walking"...I guess people change.

A Word About the Weather--UPDATED

Y'all think I'm whining and carrying on, but it must be said that this is the 3rd worst winter on record for the town I live in.

And the parking lot is a frozen lake. The last two days we've had some sunshine to get some melting going, and when the sun goes down, refreeze. Add that to the blocked drainage due to giant piles of snow all over the place, and the water/ice is staying in the parking lot. And getting deeper. The lowest ground has been cordoned off.

We all got emailed instructions on how to make claims for damages to flooded cars, if that helps you get a little insight to how bad it is.

The next town over ran out of sand and salt a couple weeks ago. The U has been using their remaining supplies sparingly since the beginning of the semester. The service that does our apartment complex is also extremely low on the stuff, so walking from my car to my apartment is an adventure.

I'm not kidding when I say this winter sucks beyond all reason. For reals.
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UPDATE 2/24: Bring it!

...WINTER STORM WATCH IN EFFECT FROM MONDAY MORNING THROUGH TUESDAY MORNING...

A WINTRY MIX OF RAIN AND FREEZING RAIN...WITH SOME SLEET WILL DEVELOP OVER THE AREA MONDAY MORNING. THIS WINTRY MIX WILL CHANGE TO A HEAVY... WET SNOW MONDAY AFTERNOON. SNOW... HEAVY AT TIMES...WILL THEN CONTINUE THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT BEFORE TAPERING TO FLURRIES EARLY TUESDAY MORNING. THE POTENTIAL EXISTS FOR 4 TO 8 INCHES OF SNOW...

Fatty Fat Fatso

So, also in the conversation with my sister (who is 7 months pregnant):

Sis: So did you hear about my car accident?

Me: No, all I ever hear about is how fat you are.

Sis: (laughing) Thanks, Mom.

Me: Hey, it's a nice change of pace from hearing about how fat I am.

Sis: (laughing)

Me: It's like, 'Let's talk about how fat you are, Mom.'

Sis: (not laughing anymore) No kidding.

Me: Okay, got that out of the way. Tell me about your accident.*

My mom is seriously preoccupied with weight, as I believe I have mentioned before. She was 95 pounds when she graduated high school, and 105 pounds when I was born. I always want to say, "Yeah, well, you weigh more than twice that now, so nobody cares."

Plus she obviously did not gain enough weight when pregnant with me, but we won't get into that.

I have a cousin who is naturally very thin...her mother is naturally very thin...it's not anorexia or any real diet-and-exercise regimen. They're just bony little people. Anywho, this cousin who normally might break the 100-pound mark after a big meal was pregnant and the matron of honor at her sister's wedding 2 weeks before giving birth. The seamstress did some weirdness with the dress to let it out in front, and gathered it below the butt in back.

So my mom says to this 8+ month pregnant girl, who already felt like a blimp and self-conscious enough in the nightmare dress (and who actually looked completely gorgeous)..."Did they try to distract from your stomach by making your butt look huge?"

The look on my cousin's face would have been priceless if I hated her. But she's one of my favorites, so I was just horrified. Another cousin quickly jumped in and said how beautiful she was. But Mom just doesn't think about how people will take her remarks like that. Sure, the cousin obviously did not have a big butt, but maybe in her hormone-addled and larger-than-normal state, she felt like her butt really was huge.

The moral of the story is, even pregnant girls don't get a pass from the fat filter through which my mom views the world.

Also, the next time I hear the details about some insane Beyonce maple syrup diet or similar, I am just leaving the house. Walking out of the house of crazy and returning to my quiet sanctuary where I eat sensibly and exercise daily and have low cholesterol and excellent blood pressure and don't ruin my health with fad diets so I can look like Keira Knightley.

* She's fine, but some lady rammed her driver's side making a left turn on a red light. A military guy witnessed it and freaked out a little when he saw it was a pregnant lady who got hit.

Teenage Rebellion

So I wasn't kidding about the purple hair. We're trying it out in an inconspicuous manner right now...maintenance is the issue. If the color holds up for a reasonable amount of time before re-coloring, there may be a move to increasing the amount of purple hair on my head.

I was on the phone with my sister, and talking about plans for a new tattoo...then telling her about my hair situation. I told her whether or not I go for more purple depends on how much I feel like annoying Mom by the time of my next visit.

I was probably only half-kidding about that. I said, "Talking about a new tattoo...purple hair...I'm totally regressing! I don't wanna grow up!"

So usually breakups cause me to do drastic things to my hair, but in this case, I think it's graduation. My last hurrah before I dye my hair back to natural and get a job and maybe think about being a "normal" adult for the rest of my life.

Questions

Do you think someone at a mega media conglomerate in, say, NYC has a job where he/she has to sit online all day, googling "X sucks"? (X=whichever one of their channels they're researching at the time.)

I'm guessing they must, because if you are at the parent company of X, googling about how X sucks...that might be problematic with your boss.

So...does that job fall under marketing research?

I Love Snow and Cold!

I've changed my mind about moving south. The cold weather is just fine by me. Keep it up, Mother Nature!

Why the change of heart? Oh, no particular reason...

As climate change warms the nation, giant Burmese pythons could colonize one-third of the USA, from San Francisco across the Southwest, Texas and the South and up north along the Virginia coast, according to U.S. Geological Survey maps released Wednesday.

The pythons can be 20 feet long and 250 pounds. They are highly adaptable to new environments.

I don't care if they are "not considered a danger to humans"...I'm not trying to find 250 pounds of snake in my backyard. (I'm assuming I'll someday have a backyard.)

UPDATE 2/22: Semi-southern Shank responds.

Improving on the Original

Reese's peanut butter cups. Delicious, yes? But you know what's even better?

Reese's peanut butter eggs.

No paper making the bottom greasy. No ridges to fall off and melt on your keyboard. Slightly better ratio of peanut butter to chocolate.

Mmm. Perfect.

Assisted Navel Gazing

I have a friend from back in my dropping-out-of-college days who I don't keep in very close contact with...we talk every few years, and that's usually when one of us runs into a mutual acquaintance. (It's usually the same acquaintance--one who worked with us and has a bit of a clusterf*ck of a personal life--that we like to gossip about.)

So now and then I get an email with the subject line: "Hey you old bat!" And I always know who that is...although one of my email addresses has stayed the same for all time, other people seem to like changing theirs. Whatevs.

Why the love in the subject line? Because back in the day, I was dating this (other) guy and he cheated and we broke up, and we all worked together...and since I was 19, I was super immature, so there was a lot of backstabbing and general fun times going on between the two of us. So one day the ex-bf was talking to my friend (we'll call him "Rick") about me, and quite angrily called me an old bat. At 19, I was an old bat. He was 26, btw. Well, Rick found this hi.lar.i.ous. and has never gotten over it. We have to relive the moment every time we talk.

So I get the email and his latest phone number, with instructions to call. After we went over the clusterf*ck girl's latest escapades, we started on other topics. His wife and kids, and my lack of husband and kids, and what we're up to otherwise...and I told him about the blog, and how it's the Kevin Pickett memorial website lately, and he's seen the show, so knew who I was talking about. Then that got us onto tattoos, and that led to Miami Ink, which led to me mentioning that Ami James is yummy.

So Rick says that Ami and Kevin are both kind of the grumps on their shows, and observes that I've always gravitated towards the grumpy young men. I can't deny this--I tend to get along with (male) people who hate people. So Rick says I don't hate people, so he wonders why I would find common ground with the grumps. So I say, "I don't know, Rick, why don't you tell me? You've always been pretty surly."

So apparently I'm nice and I don't treat people like I have ulterior motives, plus I don't try to be cool, and this appeals to the guys who hate people. So basically I'm some kind of pollyanna geekshow, is what I got out of the conversation.

But it's true about me and surly boys. The bartender who pretty much hates everyone in the bar? Gives me free drinks and hangs out, talking to me. The guy at work who spends all his time grumbling about everyone and says he hates everyone to some degree? Says he hates me the least, then when I leave the job, admits he didn't hate me even a little and begs me to come back. The grumpy uncle who thinks everyone is a pain in his ass? I'm his favorite niece.

And Rick said something that makes me get a little misty-eyed, that someone would think I'm that kind of person...he said that he thinks I subconsciously just seek out the people who need a friend, and become their friend. That may be the nicest thing anyone ever said to me, and I'd like to think I'm that person, but I'm not so sure...

Heat Wave!

It's up to 8 degrees. -2 windchill.

I'm thinking I might have to go outside after all...

Mostly because I have decided I must dye my hair. Purple? Red? Black? Only time will tell, my friends. Only time will tell.

I have a limited amount of time where I can look anti-social before I must get a paying job. Seize the day!

Actually, I'll probably just get a haircut. Ya know, a trim. But I could go crazy and regress to myself at age 14. You don't know.

Blue Moons and Purple Toes

So with the bad winter we've had, I've previously mentioned classes have been cancelled twice. That is a rarity indeed, my friends, and I'm convinced they only cancelled them because they were worried about getting their asses sued off for all the slip-and-falls. Cold weather leading to frostbite? They don't care. Snowdrifts in the middle of the sidewalk and unplowed streets? They don't care. Ice? Hmm, maybe they'll think about caring.

Anywho, there has been conversation amongst the powers that be about improving/clarifying the cancellation policy...both times that classes were cancelled, it was after the earlier morning classes had already started. Now, like many other, more traditional students, I personally avoid scheduling any classes before 10:30 if I can possibly help it, but even the best of us end up in a 9:30 from time to time. And the crazies sign up for those 8:30 abominations. (I did that once...my first semester out of high school...that was the end of that.)

Now, views on cancellation vary widely amongst the professors. Like this fool:

[The U] could revert to the old policy of never canceling classes - to which one faculty member enthusiastically nodded his head in agreement

Notice he goes unnamed. We wouldn't want every student until endtimes avoiding taking his classes, now would we?

The other end of the crazy-professor spectrum is best represented by one of my current profs, who has twice not made it to class herself but sent her teaching assistant to lead class--which we were expected to attend. WTF?

For the most part, the U's unwillingness to cancel classes puts the responsibility on the individual professors...and some of them cancel their individual classes. When you have 3 classes, and 2 are cancelled, you're still expected to make it to the 3rd. So that has its own degree of lameness. Plus, professors let you know about cancellations through email. If you're on campus for an uncancelled class and not checking your email regularly, you may not know about a cancellation until you show up for the newly cancelled class and get lonely.

Whatever they do to the policy, there will always be unhappiness...but at least maybe they can clear up some of the confusion. And let people know the whole U has cancelled classes before all the support staff and half the student body show up.

Like I Said...

...I'm going back to bed. It's -9 degrees (wind chill -27) and I have no seriously pressing matters to tend to.

I may try again later...I may not...I can't face another hella-cold morning, though. If I wanted to deal with this crap on the regular, I'd live in Duluth.

How It Works

A comic...

(clicky to enlargey)

(H/T: Seen first at Savage Minds.)

Neverending

Awesome.

...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT TO 12 PM CST WEDNESDAY...

SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW WILL DEVELOP ACROSS THE AREA LATE THIS EVENING. ALTHOUGH SNOW AMOUNTS WILL BE GENERALLY LESS THAN AN INCH...STRONG NORTHWEST WINDS...FROM 20 TO 30 MPH WILL CAUSE CONSIDERABLE BLOWING AND DRIFTING OF THE NEW AND EXISTING SNOW. IN ADDITION TO THE BLOWING SNOW...WIND CHILLS WILL BECOME BITTERLY COLD. THE COMBINATION OF TEMPERATURES DROPPING INTO THE RANGE OF ZERO TO 10 BELOW AND STRONG NORTHWEST WINDS WILL RESULT IN WIND CHILL INDEX READINGS AS LOW AS 20 TO 30 BELOW ZERO LATE TONIGHT INTO WEDNESDAY MORNING.

Tomorrow's high is looking to be about 7 degrees.

Chance of me leaving my bed tomorrow? Let me consult my syllabi...ah, chances are not good, people. Not good at all.

Indulging in the Crazy

I haven't forgotten you, Matt...

I should really be studying something...else...

This is my desktop wallpaper. For reals.

Click for supah-size.

New "Trick My Truck" Crew

Normally I'd leave the television blogging to the experts, but I'll make an exception for the premiere of the 4th season of Trick My Truck...

For the first time ever, Ryno helped with teardown! And it was pretty funny. He jumped in like he was going to do something, then just stood there and said, "I don't know how to do this." Later he was messing with the hood/grill, and saying to himself, "Righty-tighty, lefty-loosey." Gotta love Ryno.

Also, why did Ryno ask for the keys? Ryno can't drive the trucks unless he just learned. I read an interview or something with him saying he had to have someone else pull the trucks into the painting bay because he can't do it.

Oz is still around!

I don't want to badmouth the new guys, since it's not their fault they're not the old guys. They seem a little bland, but that's probably nervousness that will work its way out eventually. Also, one or two of them talk like they have a mouthful of marbles. They all seem really nice, though...and sincerely interested in doing a great job for the drivers.

Overall, the episode seemed to focus on Ryno and Rob--they were the ones greeting the driver at the end, etc.--and that was probably to help ease the transition. Everyone already loves Rob and Ryno, so it makes it harder to dislike the episode if they're the ones you're looking at most of the time.

In the end, they produced a pretty cool truck. "Wide Open" was a racecar inspired truck--appropriate for today, obviously. Strange that they didn't fix up a truck "in need" though...losing the emotional punch of helping those who need it will be the biggest loss of all if this is a permanent trend.

# 50 (now with updates!)

Daytona 500! Wooo!

I'm at work, my pants are wet (from snow, don't be gross), and there should be no one around for a few hours...must be time to watch the 50th running of the Daytona 500.

(No, I don't know how my pants being snow-wet ties in with that, but I wanted to get my whine in about the weather. Subtle, eh? Yeah, I'm smoooth.)
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People like to surprise me. Yesterday=no snow=no visitors. Today=crap weather=lots of visitors. People need to get home and watch the race. Fools.

UPDATE 3:55: Inexplicably, they keep coming in. This is the busiest we've been in awhile. Some little kid who just left with his dad said, "Goodbye, nice lady!" Heh. Beat it, kid. I have a race to watch.

I ordered sammiches. Mmmm, dill pickle. Every day is better with a deli-made sandwich. Especially when you get a tasty whole pickle on the side. (And I tipped the driver $5+ for venturing out in the blizzard.)

UPDATE 6:01: Poor Jeff Burton. But hey, let's be honest...as long as a Busch brother didn't win, I'm not gonna be too upset. :-D

Money = Educamation

So, if you have $25000 a year for tuition, you can totally go to grad school even if you were a 2.50 GPA kinda student.

Good to know, even though I'm a higher than 2.50 GPA kinda student.

End of the Rope

Yes, I am inside and online on a Saturday night. Why?

Up to half an inch of ice and up to 9 inches of snow.

God damnit, I am so moving south after I graduate.

Why Did the Pickett Brothers Leave "Trick My Truck"?

Judging by the sudden searches on the subject (new episode tomorow, so fans are noticing the change), people wants to know.

This is what Ryno says about Rod and Kevin leaving...and all the other changes. (No more Bryan, CB, etc.)

UPDATE 2/17: It was pointed out in email that Bryan isn't actually mentioned in Ryno's blog entry...from what I understand, Bryan is the owner of 4 States Trucks, and so there may be some hard feelings between him and the Picketts, Ryno, and Rob. That is only speculation on my part, anyway, so take it for what it's worth.

Another UPDATE below the fold...

UPDATE 2/19: Bryan has his say here, which I will pullquote because it doesn't look like it gets archived:

It was a quite an opportunity to be a part of the TV series 'Trick My Truck'. We had the chance to be featured on 41 episodes over a time span of 2 ½ years! CSM feels privileged to have been able to play a part of showing viewers a glimpse of the American truck driver, and educate them on the sacrifices and dedication involved with being a professional truck driver. We are dedicated to this great industry of ours and have always strived to improve and promote the positive image of trucking. However, we have declined the opportunity to participate in season 4 which will most likely air sometime in 2008.

Several factors led us to this decision:

- CSM does not approve of, or endorse the new 'Trick My Trucker' series that was aired on TV recently. It is my opinion, that it tends to make our industry and essentially our customers look a little ridiculous and encourage a stereotypical public perception of drivers, which is in contrast to our efforts to promote trucking and truckers in a positive and respectable fashion.

- TMT was drifting away from the ‘big trucks’ which is our primary focus at 4 State Trucks/CSM.

- We could no longer insure the quality of the work done to the rigs on TMT, and we will not jeopardize our reputation for top-notch work by having trucks out there with our name on them that may not be built to our standards. We will not compromise our reputation.

- There were several instances of styling and creative differences of opinion between show management and CSM, regarding the projects on some of the truck builds.

- CSM is proud to reserve the right to deal with, and provide work for, anyone we choose and was not willing to be directed as to what companies we can endorse or affiliate with.

And I don't have a link to provide, but have been told that the Picketts will be spending more of their time focusing on their drag racing/motorsports enterprise. That news is not from the Picketts, so take it with a big ol' lump of salt.

UPDATE 3/5/08: Ryno has responded to Bryan's post. The first line:

I first want to start off by saying I have no hard feelings and all the respect in the world for Kevin, Rod, CB and Scrapyard for their decision on not coming back for another season and I wish them all the best!!

So there ya go.

Smallish UPDATE 3/29: Rod says:

“We had a great time,” says Rod Pickett, “but we really needed to get back to what we do best, big rigs. This is where we feel most comfortable, in this shop, and this is where we do our best work. This is what we love to do.”

NOTE: I close comments on old posts to avoid being overrun with comment spam. If you would like to comment, please email your comment to: jenelle.spinster@gmail.com with an appropriate subject line. Thanks!

100 Years

In keeping with the outside world focus (a rarity around here)...McCain says we could be in Iraq for 100 years. Well, duh.

The U.S. doesn't have the best of luck fighting wars against insurgents who are willing to employ suicidal methods. Look at Japan...once the Japanese got so desperate in WWII that they made suicide missions a regular part of their battle plans, the United States got awfully nervous about continuing the fight to the Japanese mainland with traditional means. So they dropped a couple large bombs and took out a couple medium-sized cities, civilians and all.

(Then some other countries got The Bomb, and it wasn't so easy to drop those anymore. Repercussions, you know...)

Since the United States after Vietnam does not have the stomach for casualties on its own side, and since it does not want to mow down civilians in a country it "liberated", what are the options here? Leave, and abandon the Iraqis who support and want us--and depend on us for protection. Or stay, and try to protect the democracy we attempted to install.

If we stay, the United States needs to have clearly defined objectives and policy. We can't waiver back and forth with the political tides. You can't look at a town like Fallujah, harboring terrorists, attack it, pull back when it's too hard, promise not to attack it again, threaten to attack again, warn of attack, attack when all the insurgents are gone anyway, come in with promises to rebuild what you just leveled, then attack again a month later. That doesn't make friends on either side.

I don't have the answers, but the problem is that I don't think Washington has the answers, either.

And thus concludes my political post for the year.

NIU

If you pray, this is a good time to do it.

CNN waivers between 2 and 3 confirmed dead...up to 18 shot...a student was interviewed by phone, and apparently they don't have a campus alert system. After VaTech, my U got one, and it is a little over-efficient, but that's better than inefficient.

Scary.

NIU is only a couple hours away, so we play them frequently in sports. Plus it's a U that I grew up fairly close to, and have always had an affinity for...so this one hits a little closer to home than usual.

UPDATE 4:55: As happens, the numbers keep changing...here is a link to the local hospital, saying they've gotten 13 patients.

UPDATE 5:11: CNN reporting 17 injured, 3 dead. NIU released confirmation that the killer suicided, holding a press conference at 5:30.

UPDATE 5:30: The hospital has seen 17 injuries, no fatalities, 3 are critical--2 of those transferred out for trauma care.

UPDATE 5:51: The only fatality at this time appears to be the gunman. The reporters asking questions at the press conference are dumbasses. This happened 2 1/2 hours ago, and they want to know if the professor had any run-ins with the shooter, if anyone failed the class, etc. Give law enforcement a chance, jeez. They're saying the gunman wasn't a student, and I think that if it was a random member of the public wandering onto campus, that makes it worse somehow.

UPDATE 6:21: Trib says 5 dead.

UPDATE 7:57am: Now 7 total dead, including the gunman. Someone IRL asked why I felt compelled to update this so many times, and all I can say is that had I graduated from high school in Illinois, NIU probably would have been my next stop on the education train. A lot of the kids from my Illinois school ended up there, and I always kind of assumed it would be my college before I was uprooted to another state. So even though nobody is checking my blog for breaking news...I just felt, well, compelled to update it anyway.

UPDATE 11:00am: 6 dead, including the gunman.

Happy VDay

Happy V-Day as I put the finishing touches on my V-J Day paper.

I did not stay up all night. I got almost 8 hours of sleep. Not very good or restful sleep, but sleep nonetheless.

Very Bad

I'm writing a paper right now that is due tomorrow. It will be double ungood if I end up staying awake all night...as I also have an exam tomorrow.

This paper has a "suggested length" of 2000 words. I'm thinking 1200 will be sufficient. :-p I'm up to 400.

Papers would sure be a lot easier if I could just write them without the pesky citations slowing me down. Damn you, academic standards!

Shame

Apparently not everyone appreciates the presidential humor like I do...

Parental Relations

I occasionally tell the story about my first word. It was "dada"...and it came out one evening after my dad got home from work. I was babbling, "dadadadadada" over and over, and he didn't notice. And I tell this story because I think it pretty much sums up my relationship with my dad.

Now, to use the same thing on the other parent...one night after a family meal (must have been a holiday dinner), my brother, sister, and I were all doing dishes and cleaning up the kitchen. My brother made some ridiculous statement (like he does), and I said, "I may have been born at night, but not last night, baby."

My mother overheard this and said, "You weren't born at night. You were born in the afternoon."

And that sums up my relationship with my mom. She doesn't get me.

Feeding the Animals

Made the BLT version for the fam this weekend, and it was a big hit. My nephew loved them, and he had spit out a plain cherry tomato he wanted to try. I made them on Saturday, and he begged me all day Sunday to make more for him.

The recipe doesn't give real amounts...I was able to make about 2 tomatoes per strip of bacon, and I used just enough mayonnaise to moisten the bits up. The advice to cut the bottoms off and stand them on their tops is definitely the way to go.

It's a Damned Shame

That this show (Pickett Brothers alert) apparently never got picked up. I'd have watched it just for the outfits...the schoolboy outfits slay me.
_____

Alright, kiddos, I am off for the weekend. Going to visit the fam, so my internet capabilities will be severely handicapped until Sunday. The parents still have dial-up, and who can be bothered waiting for that crap? (Asks the girl who kept dial-up until about 2 years ago.)

Someone Prettier Than Angelina

It took me a couple minutes to decide who was prettier in this picture, but I have to go with the marine. Rawr.

(click to supah-size if you wish)

Sweet

Classes have just been cancelled for the 2nd time this winter...it is incredibly rare for the U to cancel classes, so this is a special moment.

I am going to celebrate by going back to bed.

UPDATE: It's cool they cancelled classes and all, but the U went a little crazy with the emergency notifications. Cell phone call, home phone call, and 3 text messages besides the email notice and homepage newsflash.

Oh, and I did go to bed, but I didn't fall back asleep. Listened to music for awhile as I snuggled in my warm bed. Niiice.

Presented Without Commentary

Got an email from the instructor of my late afternoon class: because of the expected snowstorm, she won't be coming to class today. She'll have her assistant lead the class and the lab for us today.

The snowfall predictions are at "6-12+ inches" right now.

This Isn't Where I am Supposed to Be

Where I am: At home, in one of my favorite oversized, heavy sweatshirts and plaid pajama bottoms.

Where I should be: At work, in my other favorite oversized, heavy sweatshirt and jeans.

Why I'm here and not there: We shut 'er down early. Between some sort of national sporting event going on later that the other employee needs to watch and drink beer during, and the TWO INCHES OF SNOW* that fell in less than an hour, it was decided that remaining open was unnecessary.

Between walking from the front door of the building to my car, I was covered in snow. My navy blue sweatshirt looked white. Which is why I had to change it, since it is now wet.

* I am not impressed by two inches of snow...unless it falls very quickly when we were only supposed to get about an inch anyway. It was so thick you could barely see the road...so I am happily home now for the night.

Dear Winter,

I am officially totally over you.

Love,
Me

UPDATE: (10pm) 8 inches!

P.S. Yay, Not-the-Patriots! Something about half that team makes me want to kick their teeth in.

Current Money Problems=Gone

Guess who won $2700 yesterday?

Hint=not you.

UPDATE: The deets are, I was dragged to the casino last night. My luck is notoriously and epically bad, so I may as well set my money on fire rather than gamble with it. But I gave in.

I hit $420 on the first machine, then made a little more. I put the $400 plus my original starting cash away, and figured I'd goof off with the rest. I was down to $4 on a machine that allows you to play 25¢, 50¢, or $1 (x2), and on a lark, I switched off quarters to dollars to blow my dollars on two plays. I hit an $1800 jackpot on that. Had to give up my tax info and everything.

Then I made my way around a few more machines, making at least $150 on each. The only machine that didn't give it up was a penny machine. All the dollar machines were my bitch.

So after taxes and everything were taken out of my $1800 win, I walked out of the casino with $2700 more than I went in with.

I fully expected to die in a fiery car crash or something on the way home, just so my luck would return to its natural equilibrium.

I Am Not a Babysitter

...but I can be for a price.

At my work, there are meetings and events. And normally the adults partaking in these meetings and events leave the kids at home unless it is appropriate to bring them here.

On the rare occasion (like today) when a parent thinks their kids can entertain themselves here while Mommy attends a two-hour meeting, I become a babysitter. Because no kids related to each other can entertain themselves in a work environment for two hours.

I basically get paid to sit on my ass, doing homework and getting up only on the rare occasion I need to help someone...but helping little kids not die of boredom is not on my list of duties. If someone throws a few extra dollars my way, I'll put on a puppet show or something, but until then, they can continue to lie prone on the ground near death from the tediousness of it all.

At least they're not acting up. Good kids, dying without a whimper. I almost like them.

Didn't See It Coming

Before I went to bed last night, I checked the weather to see how early I'd have to drag my lazy ass out of bed for work this morning.

Looked good...10% chance of tiny snowflakes in no danger of amounting to anything.

Somehow, that became 4 new inches sitting on my car when I left for work...and more coming down.

I was 5 minutes late, since I hadn't calculated needing time to brush off my car or the slower traffic progression....but no one but you will ever know, because the other person working today was 10 minutes late. Sweet.