Dear No One in Particular,
Odd, tangential, "why do I want to know this?!" news of today: one of my professors outed another faculty member. Thinking about it now, I vaguely remember hearing something about the newly-outed professor being gay, but nothing so concrete as it coming from another teacher.
For the record, it's not like this news changes my opinions of the professor. I still think he's a self-congratulating douche, only now he's a self-congratulating douche who happens to teach a very interesting class.
In the same vein, I ran into an old friend of mine today, and he outed another of my classmates. Not that I care, since the classmate is not someone I normally associate with, but it's strange information to hold nonetheless.
Why do people assume I want to know these things? Oh that's right: because I usually do.
--amanda
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
An eternal flame
Dear No One in Particular,
I am in desperate need of SOMETHING to motivate me through the end of this semestre. A week-long jaunt to the neighbouring Garden Isle isn't doing it for me. Not even the knowledge that I'm preparing my last Spanish oral ever can keep me motoring on.
So. Tell me something good?
--amanda
I am in desperate need of SOMETHING to motivate me through the end of this semestre. A week-long jaunt to the neighbouring Garden Isle isn't doing it for me. Not even the knowledge that I'm preparing my last Spanish oral ever can keep me motoring on.
So. Tell me something good?
--amanda
Monday, April 28, 2008
Terrorising my soul like Bin Laden
Dear No One in Particular,
Things are gearing up for FINALS WEEK (always in caps-lock, to mimic the terrified sound people make when speaking of finals), so I'm freaking out a bit. I've been doing really well so far, and there aren't many super-scary classes this semestre, so I'm not really too-too worried about the tests. It's the lack of time that's really killing me.
Quite a few interesting events have transpired here at the Casa de Amanda y the Boy:
-- The Boy's birthday was on Friday, and boy, was it a doozy. He wasn't feeling well, and we had to go to school, so he wasn't too happy about that. We did get to see Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay, which was pretty darn funny, even though it didn't stand up to the original. We had a nice dinner, and he had a delicious cheesecake as his birthday dessert, so those were also nice. The bad part? None of his friends called. NONE. I was so livid, I sent an angry letter to one of his friends, demanding that he give the Boy an explanation. He's still a little pissy , but he's getting over it.
-- On a happier note that I had meant to mention earlier: do you know about Mario Badescu's sample program? All you do is fill out the questionnaire I've linked to, and a couple of days later, they shoot off an email, asking if you would like samples of your recommended products. A few days after that, free samples appear in your mailbox! I usually believe that nothing's free, but man if that isn't the greatest marketing ploy ever. They sent me about 10 products to try; I've yet to test any of them, since my current skin care regimen is working so well. I am planning on giving my skin a breather soon, and slowly integrating the Mario Badescu products.
-- Also: my shoes came today! They're wonderful, and a tiny bit tight. They definitely need to be broken in -- they're the only shoes I've ever needed to use a shoehorn with. Regardless, they look great, and there's a nice walkable heel. I can't wait to put together a million outfits to wear them with.
-- I feel as though I'm about 4 years late to the party, but I finally understand the glory of Ebay. This may sound completely ridiculous, but I've purposefully avoided Ebay auctions. I may or may not have a shopping addiction that would only be exacerbated by something as exciting as Ebay. Also, I'm a very high strung lap dog, and if I were to lose an auction, I'd probably whimper until I won something else. That said, the Boy and I bought season 3 of The Greatest Show Ever aka Las Vegas. He taught me how to watch the last minute of the auction like a freakin' hawk so we were sure to win that precious box set for a measly $15. Fabulous.
-- Finally, my vision is getting worse as I get older. I can't even watch TV without wearing glasses anymore. I predict that if this continues, I'll be wearing bifocals by the time I turn 25. Which is in 3 years. Holy jumping Jesus.
--amanda
Things are gearing up for FINALS WEEK (always in caps-lock, to mimic the terrified sound people make when speaking of finals), so I'm freaking out a bit. I've been doing really well so far, and there aren't many super-scary classes this semestre, so I'm not really too-too worried about the tests. It's the lack of time that's really killing me.
Quite a few interesting events have transpired here at the Casa de Amanda y the Boy:
-- The Boy's birthday was on Friday, and boy, was it a doozy. He wasn't feeling well, and we had to go to school, so he wasn't too happy about that. We did get to see Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay, which was pretty darn funny, even though it didn't stand up to the original. We had a nice dinner, and he had a delicious cheesecake as his birthday dessert, so those were also nice. The bad part? None of his friends called. NONE. I was so livid, I sent an angry letter to one of his friends, demanding that he give the Boy an explanation. He's still a little pissy , but he's getting over it.
-- On a happier note that I had meant to mention earlier: do you know about Mario Badescu's sample program? All you do is fill out the questionnaire I've linked to, and a couple of days later, they shoot off an email, asking if you would like samples of your recommended products. A few days after that, free samples appear in your mailbox! I usually believe that nothing's free, but man if that isn't the greatest marketing ploy ever. They sent me about 10 products to try; I've yet to test any of them, since my current skin care regimen is working so well. I am planning on giving my skin a breather soon, and slowly integrating the Mario Badescu products.
-- Also: my shoes came today! They're wonderful, and a tiny bit tight. They definitely need to be broken in -- they're the only shoes I've ever needed to use a shoehorn with. Regardless, they look great, and there's a nice walkable heel. I can't wait to put together a million outfits to wear them with.
-- I feel as though I'm about 4 years late to the party, but I finally understand the glory of Ebay. This may sound completely ridiculous, but I've purposefully avoided Ebay auctions. I may or may not have a shopping addiction that would only be exacerbated by something as exciting as Ebay. Also, I'm a very high strung lap dog, and if I were to lose an auction, I'd probably whimper until I won something else. That said, the Boy and I bought season 3 of The Greatest Show Ever aka Las Vegas. He taught me how to watch the last minute of the auction like a freakin' hawk so we were sure to win that precious box set for a measly $15. Fabulous.
-- Finally, my vision is getting worse as I get older. I can't even watch TV without wearing glasses anymore. I predict that if this continues, I'll be wearing bifocals by the time I turn 25. Which is in 3 years. Holy jumping Jesus.
--amanda
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Feed me, Bubbe
Oh, and I forgot to mention:
The Boy's birthday is tomorrow, which makes the 24th an interesting day for the two of us. We decided to keep the birthday festivities going by heading to Bubbies aka THE Best Ice Cream Parlour Ever. It doesn't have the sophistication of, say, Fentons, but it far surpasses it in terms of flavour. I'm sure that many of my fellow Bay Areans* would be up in arms if they heard me say that there's a creamery better than the beloved Fentons, but Bubbies wins hands down. They serve mochi ice cream and orgasmic ice cream cakes which is what we usually get, but their fudge is AMAZING. Again, better than Fentons, in my opinion.
Anyway, to celebrate our birthdays we got the most novelty ice cream confection we could: the bathtub sundae. It's essentially a small sundae (1 generous scoop of ice cream, fudge, nuts/sprinkles, whipped cream, and a gummy bear in place of a gross plastic maraschino cherry) in a small ceramic bathtub. They also serve up a toilet version, which the Boy thinks is hilarious, but I find disturbing. I took a few pictures of the bathtub; they'll be up soon.
It was a nice way to round out my birthday and gear up for the Boy's. Plus, we now have a bathtub dish to commemorate our 22nd year.
--amanda
*how would one refer to people from the Bay Area? I'm genuinely curious.
The Boy's birthday is tomorrow, which makes the 24th an interesting day for the two of us. We decided to keep the birthday festivities going by heading to Bubbies aka THE Best Ice Cream Parlour Ever. It doesn't have the sophistication of, say, Fentons, but it far surpasses it in terms of flavour. I'm sure that many of my fellow Bay Areans* would be up in arms if they heard me say that there's a creamery better than the beloved Fentons, but Bubbies wins hands down. They serve mochi ice cream and orgasmic ice cream cakes which is what we usually get, but their fudge is AMAZING. Again, better than Fentons, in my opinion.
Anyway, to celebrate our birthdays we got the most novelty ice cream confection we could: the bathtub sundae. It's essentially a small sundae (1 generous scoop of ice cream, fudge, nuts/sprinkles, whipped cream, and a gummy bear in place of a gross plastic maraschino cherry) in a small ceramic bathtub. They also serve up a toilet version, which the Boy thinks is hilarious, but I find disturbing. I took a few pictures of the bathtub; they'll be up soon.
It was a nice way to round out my birthday and gear up for the Boy's. Plus, we now have a bathtub dish to commemorate our 22nd year.
--amanda
*how would one refer to people from the Bay Area? I'm genuinely curious.
Happy, happy birthday
Dear No One in Particular,
Yesterday was my 22nd birthday. I strongly believe that I've already passed up all the "good" birthdays, and have nothing but blah and/or scary birthdays ahead of me. There's something inherently worrying about that sentiment, and I know I'm far too young to be fretting about my age, but if I'm not anxiety-ridden over something stupid, I wouldn't be me, now would I?
Anyway, my Irresponsible Cousin called me at about 11 pm my time, and I spent a good hour talking to her about my birthday plans -- well, the lack thereof, to be completely honest. This was the first birthday I've spent away from home, so I was a little sad, but mostly nonchalant. Like I said, all the good birthdays are done and I really wanted something quiet. She convinced me to go to the beach instead of class, so that's what I ended up doing.
My mom called and woke me and the Boy up at about 6:30 in the damn morning to wish me happy birthday. After I hung up, we slept until about 10:30, which was soooo nice. I love sleep.
We made it to Ala Moana Park -- which, if you're ever in Honolulu and want to go to the beach, skip Waikiki and head to Ala Moana: it's always almost empty and so beautiful -- and spent a couple of hours there. I loved it. I'm not really a big beach person, but the weather was so magnificent, I couldn't help but be thankful for such a great day. It was about 82 degrees, with not a cloud in the sky, and the slightest breeze. I even got in the water! Which is huge for me, since usually it's too cold, and I have a minor fear of deep water. It was kind of neat, actually; it stormed a lot last week, so the beach was a little rocky, but there were little fish and tadpoles that swum really close to the shore.
When we got home, I picked up a package from my parents. Apparently, they sent me a huge gift basket like the one that Michael Scott gave to his former clients. I took a million photos of everything in the basket: caviar, coffee, caramels, truffles, 2 sparkling ciders, brie ... a ton of really yummy food. I've already eaten the caramels; they were perhaps the best caramel candies I've ever had. So. GOOD.
My mom also sent me a really beautiful bouquet Flowers are a huge tradition in my family; my dad sends my mom flowers for her birthday and their anniversary, and my mom has a history of giving me flowers on my birthday. Apparently, the bouquet was supposed to look like a cake with candles, but, uh, it just looked like a really pretty bouquet. Whatever, it was a nice gesture.
The Boy had taken me out the day before to get my birthday presents: new bras! I hadn't been fitted for a bra in about, oh, 2 years. I've gained and lost a lot of weight in that amount of time; plus, my normal bras were in really bad shape -- they were losing a lot of elasticity and were just awful. We went to Nordstrom's and I got fitted. Um, apparently, I was wayyy off ... about 2 cups off. Holy hell, I had no idea how great wearing a bra could be. Really, head to your nearest Nordies and get fitted. They have an amazing selection (Betsy Johnson's are the cutest damn things in the world) and fabulous customer service. Miles ahead of Victoria's Secret in terms of selection and service, Iamtellingyou.
We had a nice late dinner at Buca di Beppo. I'm always a little surprised at how amazing Buca's is; it's a chain restaurant, and a little schlocky, to be 100% honest, but the food there is amazing. We had chopped antipasto salad and chicken saltimbocca for dinner and apple crostini for dessert. Normally, I wouldn't pick out either antipasto salad and chicken saltimbocca -- they both contain ingredients that I wouldn't normally eat, but oh, are they heavenly. The chicken was so perfect ... delicate, perfectly balanced flavours. I dream of entrees so well executed. The apple dessert was not so delicious; the caramel sauce was terribly off, and it completely ruined the dish. The almond crust, though, was delish.
I had a great birthday, all things considered. It was nice and quiet, and I got to spend some quality time relaxing and just enjoying my time here in Hawaii -- something I don't get to do, since I'm always in school.
The downside: the Boy and I are painfully sunburnt. I normally don't burn, but in the past few years, I've been burning like nobody's business. The Boy looks terrible: his shoulders are lobster red. Just looking at him makes me hurt. I, on the other hand, have the strangest sunburn I've ever encountered. I thought I had tanned my stomach and legs nicely; but as the night went on, my skin started to burn and itch like it had been burnt. My skin is pretty tan-looking, although it's starting to get redder. The itch is unbearable, though; every time I scratch, though, it gets red and begins to burn like hellfire.
Ah well. I had a great birthday, and don't regret a thing! I will however, invest in self-tanners from now on.
Pictures are coming soon. There aren't many, but I had a wonderful day, and would like to post photos of the fantabulous basket and dinner I had. In the meantime, enjoy Bud Light's Real Men of Genius. My favourite is Mr. 80 SPF Wearer, but they're all winners.
--amanda
Yesterday was my 22nd birthday. I strongly believe that I've already passed up all the "good" birthdays, and have nothing but blah and/or scary birthdays ahead of me. There's something inherently worrying about that sentiment, and I know I'm far too young to be fretting about my age, but if I'm not anxiety-ridden over something stupid, I wouldn't be me, now would I?
Anyway, my Irresponsible Cousin called me at about 11 pm my time, and I spent a good hour talking to her about my birthday plans -- well, the lack thereof, to be completely honest. This was the first birthday I've spent away from home, so I was a little sad, but mostly nonchalant. Like I said, all the good birthdays are done and I really wanted something quiet. She convinced me to go to the beach instead of class, so that's what I ended up doing.
My mom called and woke me and the Boy up at about 6:30 in the damn morning to wish me happy birthday. After I hung up, we slept until about 10:30, which was soooo nice. I love sleep.
We made it to Ala Moana Park -- which, if you're ever in Honolulu and want to go to the beach, skip Waikiki and head to Ala Moana: it's always almost empty and so beautiful -- and spent a couple of hours there. I loved it. I'm not really a big beach person, but the weather was so magnificent, I couldn't help but be thankful for such a great day. It was about 82 degrees, with not a cloud in the sky, and the slightest breeze. I even got in the water! Which is huge for me, since usually it's too cold, and I have a minor fear of deep water. It was kind of neat, actually; it stormed a lot last week, so the beach was a little rocky, but there were little fish and tadpoles that swum really close to the shore.
When we got home, I picked up a package from my parents. Apparently, they sent me a huge gift basket like the one that Michael Scott gave to his former clients. I took a million photos of everything in the basket: caviar, coffee, caramels, truffles, 2 sparkling ciders, brie ... a ton of really yummy food. I've already eaten the caramels; they were perhaps the best caramel candies I've ever had. So. GOOD.
My mom also sent me a really beautiful bouquet Flowers are a huge tradition in my family; my dad sends my mom flowers for her birthday and their anniversary, and my mom has a history of giving me flowers on my birthday. Apparently, the bouquet was supposed to look like a cake with candles, but, uh, it just looked like a really pretty bouquet. Whatever, it was a nice gesture.
The Boy had taken me out the day before to get my birthday presents: new bras! I hadn't been fitted for a bra in about, oh, 2 years. I've gained and lost a lot of weight in that amount of time; plus, my normal bras were in really bad shape -- they were losing a lot of elasticity and were just awful. We went to Nordstrom's and I got fitted. Um, apparently, I was wayyy off ... about 2 cups off. Holy hell, I had no idea how great wearing a bra could be. Really, head to your nearest Nordies and get fitted. They have an amazing selection (Betsy Johnson's are the cutest damn things in the world) and fabulous customer service. Miles ahead of Victoria's Secret in terms of selection and service, Iamtellingyou.
We had a nice late dinner at Buca di Beppo. I'm always a little surprised at how amazing Buca's is; it's a chain restaurant, and a little schlocky, to be 100% honest, but the food there is amazing. We had chopped antipasto salad and chicken saltimbocca for dinner and apple crostini for dessert. Normally, I wouldn't pick out either antipasto salad and chicken saltimbocca -- they both contain ingredients that I wouldn't normally eat, but oh, are they heavenly. The chicken was so perfect ... delicate, perfectly balanced flavours. I dream of entrees so well executed. The apple dessert was not so delicious; the caramel sauce was terribly off, and it completely ruined the dish. The almond crust, though, was delish.
I had a great birthday, all things considered. It was nice and quiet, and I got to spend some quality time relaxing and just enjoying my time here in Hawaii -- something I don't get to do, since I'm always in school.
The downside: the Boy and I are painfully sunburnt. I normally don't burn, but in the past few years, I've been burning like nobody's business. The Boy looks terrible: his shoulders are lobster red. Just looking at him makes me hurt. I, on the other hand, have the strangest sunburn I've ever encountered. I thought I had tanned my stomach and legs nicely; but as the night went on, my skin started to burn and itch like it had been burnt. My skin is pretty tan-looking, although it's starting to get redder. The itch is unbearable, though; every time I scratch, though, it gets red and begins to burn like hellfire.
Ah well. I had a great birthday, and don't regret a thing! I will however, invest in self-tanners from now on.
Pictures are coming soon. There aren't many, but I had a wonderful day, and would like to post photos of the fantabulous basket and dinner I had. In the meantime, enjoy Bud Light's Real Men of Genius. My favourite is Mr. 80 SPF Wearer, but they're all winners.
--amanda
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
I'm glad it's your birthday!
Dear No One in Particular,
Last year, I had a furious dance-down* with my mom as the clock ticked down to midnight.
This year, I'm sitting in my underwear on my couch, drinking Red Stripe, and watching "The Golden Girls".
God, I'm getting old.
--amanda
*Like a countdown, but with terrible, overly enthusiastic dancing instead of counting -- get it?
Last year, I had a furious dance-down* with my mom as the clock ticked down to midnight.
This year, I'm sitting in my underwear on my couch, drinking Red Stripe, and watching "The Golden Girls".
God, I'm getting old.
--amanda
*Like a countdown, but with terrible, overly enthusiastic dancing instead of counting -- get it?
Monday, April 21, 2008
To hell with academic tone!
Dear No One in Particular,
I really want to name my paper "Clash of the Titanic Egos: Religion and Resistance in Colonial Literature" but don't think that my teacher would totally appreciate it. Yet, the more I read it, the funnier I think it is and the more I become convinced I should just do it.
In related news, does anyone know where I can find this thing called "boundaries"? I hear they're helpful in defining levels of appropriateness.
--amanda
I really want to name my paper "Clash of the Titanic Egos: Religion and Resistance in Colonial Literature" but don't think that my teacher would totally appreciate it. Yet, the more I read it, the funnier I think it is and the more I become convinced I should just do it.
In related news, does anyone know where I can find this thing called "boundaries"? I hear they're helpful in defining levels of appropriateness.
--amanda
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