better luck next time, 2008

best songs....
m83 - kim & jessie
black rebel motorcycle club - weapon of choice
cat power - metal heart (redone for jukebox)
department of eagles - phantom other
lil wayne - mr. carter ft. jay-z

best albums....
atlas sound - let the blind lead those who can see but cannot feel
department of eagles - in ear park
nick cave & the bad seeds - dig lazarus dig!!!
karl hector & the malcouns - sahara swing

best movies....
the black knight, pretty much by default. i can't even remember seeing anything worthwhile this year.

resolutions....
listen to more music
read more books
not lose my shit once the cockroaches return in the spring

unfair

there should be a law against having a gym and a chik-fil-a in the same plaza. i walk through the parking lot and all i can smell is heaven, also known as french fries. do not sap what little willpower i possess, aggressively-hyphenated fast food chain!

all y'all

i spent my first christmas here with two australians and buck the texan on the back patio of mcelroy's pub. it felt like any other day, really.

my little tree. can you spot the theme?

i figured i'd keep one tradition alive, which is cranberry scones on christmas morning.

a present from my family.

and finally, my favorite christmas song.

	Tom Waits - Christmas Card From A Hooker In Minneapolis
	Found at skreemr.com

how to start the day

i just got a fist bump from a little old man wearing a kangol hat and sunglasses. AWESOME.

use it in context

this morning i made a peanut butter and fluff sandwich (official state sandwich of massachusetts of course) to share with my australian friend michelle. she had never heard of this combination, whereas spaghetti between two slices of bread is normal.

it was glorious. it tasted like home. then as i left work tonight, it started to snow. i got confused. this is still texas, right?

this is not what i signed up for. yesterday it was 70; let's do that again. everyone is freaking out about the roads, which is hilarious to me, so i've decided to stay at home under my blanket and edit the following video. it's short (the rest of it shall remain shrouded in mystery), but it is a classic: andie being andie, dave complaining about massachusetts, mike being informative, shady 'yeeeeee'-ing in the background, and me just laughing.

over- lefts

my house has turned into a canine rest home. i dogsat over the weekend for two little old men; oliver looks like a baby wolf but is actually thirteen years old, and bentley is pretty much geriatric. they are just like that gay guy from boondock saints: they just want to cuddle. it made writing my statement of purpose a little more tolerable.

this scarf was a christmas present for my mom... two years ago. i just finished it... yesterday.

guess what's making a comeback? oh yes. the hamburger shirt. saved from the goodwill pile back in mass. i will wear it to torture dave.

in no particular order

i'm thankful for:

prosecco and blood orange juice, parents who would do anything for me including listen to me ramble about nonsense late at night, a sister who still laughs at my lame jokes, a boyfriend who supports me through all my craziness, mint chocolate chip ice cream, a hard drive full of good music and pictures and movies of people that make me smile when i'm down, route 9 between dalton and amherst, waking up after a late night out to get breakfast tacos, friends here and around the country, my work-in-progress apartment, live oaks, the security guard downstairs who wears a newsboy cap and always says 'gooood mornin!', and my down comforter.

the league of unfortunate names

today's "really? REALLY?" news is brought to you by the lesser simpson and guyliner's choice in baby names, bronx mowgli.

this is my announcement to bronx, all celebrity offspring in general*, children of hipster parents who mistakenly thought that, like trucker hats and PBR, picking a name like butch would be ironically cool, and tom thomson who gave a talk at baylor last week: i feel your pain. trust me. my parents too suffered a severe lapse in judgment. any situation that requires giving my last name followed by my first fills me with dread, because it usually ends in 'who's on first'-style 'hilarity'. oh ha.

so my unfortunately-named comrades, i propose we start a club. together we can overcome. or at least beat up the people who make comments. strength in numbers, you know.


*except frances bean; i kinda like that one.

my name is judge

mock trial!! where was this when i needed it? it has made my day.



i am feeling a bit under the weather. perk up, immune system, because tomorrow's Q Tip and the greek festival! i won't be able to eat a metric ton of spanokopita if i'm still perfecting my napping technique on the couch.

come on!

it took us a while as a lab to have our own reliable source of coffee. bob was kind enough to bring in his old but very fancy coffee maker, and then it was at least a month before we actually found a place to put it, got filters, etc. etc. so as of today we have used it exactly twice.

this morning we went to the break room to use it and it was gone. ok, excellent. we asked the front office, and they said they'd do a search. a half hour later they called to say they'd found it.

the entire coffee maker was IN THE DISHWASHER. not just the coffee pot. the whole thing, including the cord.

really? REALLY?

what frightens me is the high probability that whoever came up with this brilliant idea is down the hall mixing hazardous chemicals or using radioactivity. i'm not sure what makes me angrier: lack of coffee or lack of common sense.

the cherry on top of this sundae of idiocy is that after it was found in the wash, it was stolen. i just don't understand.

death of coffee maker + having the sanford & son themesong stuck in my head + leaving my umbrella on the bus = crabby