so this is life after school

there have been so many ways to occupy my leisure time (that's pronounced 'lezzure') that i haven't been able to stop and pay attention to all the thoughts floating in my head. which is why i am currently sitting in a cafe in rice village drinking sangria and trying to sift through concerts, movies, books i want to read.. for example, next friday the shining is playing at river oaks, and then saturday is lebowski bash. priority definitely goes to the latter.

two weeks ago i went to galveston and swam in the gulf. that in itself was an achievement because on my list of things i fear, getting caught in the undertow is just below being stolen. i also came back with a truly spectacular sunburn. the desquamation process is almost done (from the latin for 'your skin is falling off') and i am now not so lobster-esque. anyway, we built sand castles wonders of the ancient world.

a sphinx and a pyramid. it's almost like being in egypt.

i also had my first successful screenprint. it's not perfect, but i'll take what i can get. i am modeling for my future catalog, in case i leave science to start a t-shirt business. hey, what's over there?

i highly recommend checking out the speech accent archive if you're like me and are easily entertained, or if you've ever wondered what the difference is between a new yorker and a bostonian. the one from beaumont, tx is very similar to what you might hear around houston and in my opinion is a cool-sounding/non-obnoxious southern drawl.

possibility

my raw score

i'm thinking of giving this to dave to fill out. i figure we've been dating for over a year, this can be my annual performance review.

how will i do?
- doesn't like children: wow, minus 5 points isn't a good way to start off. (speaking of, should we have sent Crazy a mother's day card? ha.)
- goes to bed with curlers: actually, more like raccoon eyes. mascara eventually makes me look like i've been punched in the face.
- puts her cold feet on husband to warm them: it's like they know me!

hmm, not so good. on to the pluses:
+ has meals on time: wrong again! this will never ever happen.
+ can play a musical instrument: i knew ten years of lessons would come in handy for something.
+ jolly and gay: totally me. especially in the morning.

i can't wait to see my final score! good thing stuff like this exists or i would never know how i measure up as a girlfriend.

projects

guess who that's for..

a few observations

it's so hot that the candles on my dining table melted a little and fell out of their holders.

my mom sent me a huge package that included a monkey vegetable peeler.

i suck at wiffle ball. it's still fun though.

i hate to agree with pitchfork, but the new nick cave & the bad seeds album is really good.

outer loop crosstown

it's about time for another Bus Story, no? well, last week i was waiting by myself at the stop outside baylor when the medical center shuttle came by. i ignored it, because it only makes a loop around the whole area to stop at all the different hospitals, which is of no use to me if i'm going home. then i realized the driver had opened the door and was gesturing for me to get on. suspiciously, there was no one else on the bus. an approximation of what happened:

me: no thanks, i'm waiting for the 27.
driver: (arm waving/unintelligible speech)
me: (pointing to imaginary bus behind him) i'm waiting for the 27!
driver: (more smiling and gesturing)
me: I AM NOT GETTING ON YOUR BUS.

after a few minutes of this he finally shrugged and closed the door, like "your loss, i was going to put on some R&B, and take a romantic scenic drive around the med center, and we can get to know each other, and after i'll dump your body in the bayou". (i have a deep-seated fear of being stolen. this was instilled in me at an early age, and only made worse the time andie and i saw Hostel right before our trip to europe. she was convinced we would be sold into sex slavery.)

this has happened three times. even pretending to read a book does not dissuade him. yesterday i'm pretty sure he said "maybe next time" before he drove away. no, guy, there will never be a 'next time' when i want to take a bus ride to someplace that is NOT MY DESTINATION.

il papa

my sister is bringing me back something from assisi, italy that she describes as "slightly bizarre and almost creepy, but hopefully funny in light of where it came from". i have no guesses, but i'm looking forward to seeing whatever it is. she was also kind enough to get me a pope keychain on her first trip, which i am currently using although it is a little heavy. (with HOLINESS.) that was the next best thing to getting a pope hat. i found that the religious stores in vatican city don't really take kindly to the idea of a non-member of the clergy buying a pope hat. you have to have proper ID, and trust me, telling them you just really like the style is not going to change their mind.

it's too bad. it totally would have gone with everything.

the tourist traps

asking the lead singer of black rebel motorcycle club for advice on band names is sort of like asking helen keller to paint your portrait. but that's what we did the other night. well, mani did because he's the one with the nameless band. i just told him it was a good show and then suffered from a severe case of second-hand embarrassment* when another person in our group decided to bring up radiohead. that was our cue to leave.

could someone do a scientific study on why guitar players are so attractive? seriously. i would help but unfortunately i'm susceptible to the phenomenon myself, and i can't collect data when i'm swooning.


*this term refers to feeling embarrassed on behalf of someone else who is doing something foolish. it's the reason why i avoid watching american idol, or any high school talent show.

old hag

this weekend a few of my favorite people and i welcomed another year of my existence with mojitos and the world's longest dinner at la strada. on my actual birthday i got the greatest talking card from andrea and mike, and a phone call from my sister in sicily. that warmed the lump of coal that is my heart a bit.

so far 26 has been fine, with the exception of a little frostbite i recently suffered after a brief but expletive-riddled battle with some boxes in the -80 freezer. i really should have been wearing the big muppetish gloves we have for extreme temperatures, such as these:

they would have been nice to have back home during the winter, particularly because they're some of the only gloves large enough to fit my jack the pumpkin king fingers. ah but all that's in the past, because winter doesn't exist here. and now it's getting to be summer, which i know because it was 90 degrees last week, so most places have switched their AC setting from 'stun' to 'cryogenic'.

anyway, i'm going to cling desperately to this last year of my mid-20's, because everyone knows that late 20's is only a step away from your 30's, and after that you're pretty much just staring into your grave. according to mike, at least.

then can we deport her too?

houston, this is not helping your reputation.

good one!