update by vynda, 0012.04
update by vynda, 0011.07
How to take care of a fish the Vynda way:
1. Get bowl, marbles to go in the bottom, Beta fish, Beta food, and Chlorine Detox for the wonderful city water we have here at the dorms.
So I did get a new beta (apparently the water here is non-fish-friendly, so I got some Evian too). And I'm having a contest to name him! Just go here and leave a name in the comment box (be sure to include your e-mail addy). If yours wins, umm...I'll be very happy.
update by vynda, 0010.30
Been superbusy lately. Not much time to update.
update by vynda, 0010.18
Just rearranged the links and modified the quotebook a little bit.
update by vynda, 0010.18
We changed our dorm room around today. We now have excellent Feng Shui. New pictures will be up on the college page (again, I refuse to link it. If you know it, then you know it.) shortly.
update by vynda, 0010.17
Added "The Olde Headboard" by Rasputina (which has a SGC2C reference in it) and "Possession" by Sarah McLachlan to the lyrics page.
update by vynda, 0010.15
Added some pictures from home to the college page. Don't know where that is? Too friggin bad.
update by vynda, 0010.13
Friday the 13th is *always* a good day for me.
update by vynda, 0010.11
I had Lucky Charms for dinner again. Soylent Green doesn't sit well with me.
update by vynda, 0010.10
The juice boxes got cool. Not cold as I'd hoped for, but cool. This tells me that December brings us ice cold beverages and closet space where they once dwelt lukewarm.
update by vynda, 0010.09
Maybe it's just me, but everytime I visit this page it's either bolded or italicized or underlined and there is nothing wrong with the code and everything's typed right so why is it doing that? Say that really fast and people will stare.
update by vynda, 0010.08
It's tourist season again.
update by vynda, 0010.06
moved the last "what's up b?" to here so i could bitch a little bit more about things bothering me around campus. but first, after an ill-fated attempt at being a switchboard operator (i told you guys i hated talking on the phone!), i am now a mailroom clerk at college. i can just hear reythe laughing...
2. Run the gauntlet of unusual names for your Beta, decide to go with Dali.
3. Get back to the dorm, wash the bowl and marbles off very well so the fish doesn't get sick. Worry you haven't washed it enough, so wash it again. And again. Dry bowl with paper towel.
4. Put marbles in bottom of fishbowl. Make sure their even. Watch friends laugh at your anal retentiveness. Tell them to shut up.
5. Put water in fishbowl. Put a drop Detox (2 drops per gallon, I only had 1/3 a gallon at best) into the water and let sit for a few minutes. Put fish in.
6. Put fishbowl on mantle of fireplace. Feed fish. Admire fish. Tap on bowl. Go play with new Sims expansion pack.
7. Add Becky to room. Have her sit on your bed going, "Vyn, your fish is dead," ad nauseum. Tap the bowl to show her she's wrong. The fish is not dead, just mopy like it's owner. Tell Becky if the fish dies that you're holding her personally responsible.
8. Go to bed thinking about your wonderful fish.
9. Get up next morning, run suitemates out of the bathroom so you can take a shower. Think about feeding your fish before you leave for class.
10. Walk back into room. Listen as roommate tells you your fish is dead. Remind her that didn't work when Becky said it and that you're not amused. Listen to her tell you that the fish really is dead. Walk over to tank. Tap on glass. Poke fish with pencil. No movement. Resort back to moping.
11. Walk to bathroom with dead fish in bowl, roommate and suitemates in tow. Flush fish down toilet. Feel very guilty and morally irresponsible for flushing fish down toilet. No tears, just a lot of guilt.
12. Remind roommate and suitemates that this is why you should never have children.
13. Analyze what you could have possibly done wrong. You did nothing wrong that you or anyone else can see. Entertain the idea of getting another fish. Decide that maybe it's best that you don't name the new fish (when and if you do get it) after a dead person.
14. Coil in morbid disgust at the Salvador Dali print on your wall, thinking of the dead fish and how you could have possibly killed it (if it wasn't sick when you got it in the first place).
15. Become disillusioned again and wonder why it is the fish had to commit suicide. Remind self why you're single and misanthropic. Eat lunch.
The most interesting thing that's happened around here since last I updated is that we had a fire drill at four in the morning last week. This occured because (i kid you not) a spider web blocked the light to the photosensitive cell, causing the alarm to think it was supposed to go off. Just so long as it doesn't happen again I'll be fine.
Other than that it's been midterms everywhere. All work and absolutely no play. Well, maybe a little play. Very little.
I ended up sleeping a total of eighteen hours on that medicine the nurse gave me. And even then I was still tired. I'm actually afraid to take another one even though I'm still sick.
Umm...that's reallt about it. Seriously.
It's odd medicine day today.
I got up at three this morning and couldn't get back to sleep because I was really sick. And I had a math test this morning too, which really didn't help the situation out. We found bees in our room last night, so we thought maybe I'd been stung and having an allergic reaction. So I went to the nurse and she gave me some wondeful stuff called Phenegren. The nurse told me it was an anti-nausea medication (no, it's not working) and that it would put me to sleep. What she didn't tell me is that it's the nicer stepsister of Thorazine and it's used as an anti-depressant and tranquilizer. It put me to sleep from noon till 6:30 p.m., and I'm still tired (I have to take another one before I go to bed). Apparently, I'm quite a show when I sleep. Rahda said I was answering the phone when it rang (not physically answering) and talking to myself (apparently rehearsing "Life of Brian"). I don't remember any of it, but I'm still sick.
So after I woke up, Becky, Kelly, and I went to go forage for food. While at dinner, Becky tells us of an interesting pasttime in her hometown: gigging. Woe to those of you that either know what this is or have actually gone out and done this. She explained it as going out with a sharp stick, spearing a frog, and taking it home to eat it. I'm glad I am naive to this practice.
Went home for the weekend. The 'rents went to a yard sale while I was over at Balth's watching "Psycho", and picked me up a set of three coffee mugs, each one depicting something british (double-decker buses, beefeaters, and buckingham palace guards), and a 45 of R.E.M.'s "Where Captain Kirk?". Pretty cool, albeit very punkish.
Two DVDs you should see: High Fidelity and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. High Fidelity has a whole bunch of deleted scenes which appeared in the book (by Nick Hornby, definitely a good read). RHPS is awesome. It's a two disc set with the US and UK versions of the film, the audience participation version (a soundtrack with people yelling at the screen accompanies the film), a multi-view theater version (you get the movie and the people acting it out in the theater), the pop-up-video version, the sing-a-long version, documentaries, and interviews. Definitely worth the watch.
Today I got a package. I got two headbands (a bat and some bat ears. I'm getting bat wings soon.), some bat socks, a black thermal shirt (i don't need it anymore, it's warm again), and some candy. Oh yeah, and I got a rock. That's a joke btwn me, dad, and Charlie Brown.
We had a real fire today. You never know how stupid those fire drills in school are until everone's nonchalantly walking out while the building's on fire. I don't know how big the fire really was. It was in the building where all the classrooms are. Apparently, someone was smoking in the bathroom. I don't understand why. You can smoke here, you just can't smoke inside the buildings (Florida Clean Air Act, I think. I like the rule. I'm very allergic to smoke.). So why smoke inside? It's a beautiful day. Oh well. I don't want to know why.
Does anyone remember that old Disney cartoon with the bear and the park ranger and the ranger's trying to get the bear to pick up trash and he sings that stupid, "first you pick the trash, put it in the bag, bump, bump," song? At first I thought I made it all up, but I don't think I'm that incoherent. Anyways, I went to the outlet mall the other day and passed by the Disney store. And there, for $1.99, sat a beanie baby of that damned ranger from that cartoon. I bought one. See, here's a picture. Also at the outlet mall, a vaguely dim light bulb went off in my head. I read ThoughtViper's The Sisto Files before I even put up this page, but never really got the Gloria Jean's coffee reference in Sisto I. So there I am, heading to Pacific Sunwear, and the big Gloria Jean's sign just jumps right out and hits me. Literally. I ran into the damn thing. So, now I've got a bruise, but at least I don't have to pretend to get the joke anymore.
In a week or so, our floor is supposed to give out candy to trick-or-treaters from the School for the Deaf and Blind. That's pretty darn cool, IMHO.
Speaking of Halloween, I still need to get my Sally Bowles costume. Balthasarr asked me to help him find a costume. I'll go home this weekend and do that. I do, however, doubt Balthie will be in much of a mood for helping me pick out bustiers for my costume.
Today it was warmer. I bought a shirt that says "Girl Scout Dropout". The manufacturers don't know how true that is.
I'm going to go get my God on and play "The Sims" for a while.
Today is my "lucky day". Don't ask. Things are going pretty damn good. It'd've been better if they had french toast sticks in the dining hall this morning. Went to classes and worked in the mailroom. I'm beginning to see why postal workers get that whole hostile reputation. But, hey, I actually enjoy it. It's not a huge amount of labor, and I get to listen to my walkman (today's selection: the crystal method with "deep blue day" by brian eno tagged on at the end). So that's always cool.
I told myself I'd study today. Ha! I've got a speech test tomorrow that I do need to look over the material on, but I've been too tired to do much of anything. I'm still waaaaaaaaaay behind on catching up with math (Vynda no do math. That's why she's a Communications major.)
I need to get out of here and do *something* constructive. Too overcast for photography, too cool to go to the Castillo, too social to sit out in the breezeway. I could go read the rest of thet McCartney biography, but I don't feel like sitting still. Eh, screw it. I'll just grab the walkman and take a walk.
It got cold. Yesterday I was studying in the field next to the Castillo de San Marcos, today I'm wearing my heavy coat. And they have yet to turn the heaters on. It's interesting: the girls dorms have no air, but they have heat. And those on the second (me) and third floors get toasted.
So this morning I get up only to find that someone left the bathroom window open (there's five of us in one bathroom, only two of us are actually in my room). So the bathroom is like ice.
At least it gave me an excuse to wear those pleather pants.
All of my winter clothes were in my trunk. So I go to grab something warm, and everything smells like cedar. There's nothing worse than a freezing bathroom first thing in the morning and smelling like a hamster cage.
The day really didn't get much better.
I had a psychologist appointment this afternoon. I got stuck with this appointment after my grandmother died and I (being all distraught, not to mention feverish and quite sick) went to get an extended excused absence. Not five minutes after meeting the dean, she tells me I have "issues" and sends me to the psychologist. Well, the psychologist finally gets around to seeing me today.
I'm fine. It's everyone else that has problems.
Luckily it's all free. After paying as much as I did for tuition, it should be.
So, yeah, it's cold. I'm wondering if I put a juice box on the outside windowledge if it'd be cool enough for human consumption tomorrow morning. It's worth a shot.
I make it a point that whenever I'm traveling I don't act like a tourist because locals hate tourists. Well, locals that aren't making a profit off of them. Even then, some of those loath them too. Because I go to college in a beautiful national historic building (and I really wouldn't trade that for anything), we are constantly baraged by tourists. And they aren't nice tourists. They're annoying tourists. They stand in the way when we're trying to get to class, they don't know how to cross the road, and they have their own weird language. There's a huge sign that says "NO VISITORS BEYOND THIS POINT! BOARDING STUDENTS ONLY!" Apparently in Tourist-ese, this means "Please go over here. This is a magical fun happy place that contains the meaning of life. If you don't go here, you'll miss out." Everyday I fend for my living area with senior citizens inspecting the woodwork on the second floor rotunda and not understanding why the "FEMALE STUDENTS ONLY" door only opens to beings with breasts that carry identification cards. It's amazing. And you can usually spot them around here 'cos they wear bright orange stickers. And they get in everyone's way. And they like to take pictures of Rahda and I. That one I'll never figure out.
alright, on with the bitchfest. i can't stand people who are desperate for attention so they try to offend everyone in the room just so people will notice them. first day of computer class (i have to take it for my major. it's all about saving and formatting and easy stuff like that), this girl starts off by telling everybody that she has seven e-mail accounts and a webpage (she didn't give out the address, i'm still trying to find this nugget of webdom that i'm convinced doesn't exist). so everyone else confesses that they're either web-addicts or novices. i guess she felt we weren't paying enough attention to her, so she busts out with, "i hate computers and the internet! it's making people not think for themselves!" haha, okay. that's great. you hate computers. you're in this class and just said that you have seven e-mail accounts and a webpage. that makes so much sense. so then she starts in on how noone has written anything intellegent and thought-provoking since computers have become an everyday thing. she starts citing how there are no more thoreaus or einsteins because of computers. okay, there are no more thoreaus and einsteins because they accomplished their goals for their times. there is no more slavery to write about and no more calculus to invent because it's been done. there are plenty of articulate and passionate writers and thinkers in this day and age. and some of them are internet based. just because someone's ideas aren't taught in school doesn't mean that there are no more brilliant thinkers out there. check out the brat queen's columbine rant, thoughtviper and jetwolf's experiences at work, or the misanthropic bitch's ideas on religion. these are people expressing their ideas, whether you agree with them or not. and, gasp, shock, and horror, they're all on the internet. so, of course, we bounce her words back on her and ask her why she has so many e-mail accounts and a webpage if she hates it all so much. she then begins an "ummmmm..."-filled speech full of things like, "well, i like to be able to talk to people," and "how else am i going to get my ideas out to people?" honestly, how do you expect to rally anti-technology people through a website?!? maybe this girl'd be better off amish, if a butter churn isn't too high-tech for her liking...
oh, yeah, and we have to do technology current events for this class using an electronic database. she wasted 30 minutes of class time because she refused to follow the directions and got her current even straight out of a magazine instead of spending the five minutes required to find, print, and summarize and article. apparently, she thought she could get the teacher to bend the rules for her, but when the teacher said no, the girl told the teacher that she had to accept in and that the girl had to get a good grade on it because technically she did the assignment. no, honey, technically you didn't follow the directions outlined in the syllabus and made about thirty people laugh their asses off at you. ^_^
