The Sound and the Fury

So apparently we have at least one female ginkgo tree on campus. You now officially haver permission to laugh at Beta (the frat) because the tree is in the yard of their house (the fruit smells like something rotting). However, I picked up a seed, which I believe should be viable, and am going to try to grow it. Hopefully I can pick up fertilizer and soil over spring break and have a repotting party when I get back to school.

I picked up my birthday present from Kristy the other day, and was surprised. It was extremely nice and very thoughtful. I could tell that she had spent a lot of time thinking about what was going to go in it, then a lot of time actually making what was going in it (2 mixes, a large card, and a photo album, among other things). In consequence, I know have yet another book in my reading list. I don’t mind though; I want to read them all. The newest addition from Kristy is Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott, a book on “writing and life.” I had to give up on Gravity’s Rainbow (I reached my renewal limit from the school library, and I lack the ambition to check it out again). I’m going to wrap up Lolita fairly soon, I have 50 pages left (you may owe me that $5, Kristy).

Things that make me happy: seeds, “Hide & Seek” by Imogen Heap, really pretty anime, my good friends.

Congratulations to Emma Burrows, the 2007 Marching Illini Drum Major!!!   I really can’t stress enough how awesome this is.  If you are not familiar with college bands, the Marching Illini is one of the best college marching bands in the country, at least in the top 10.  Becoming drum major is a huge deal, especially for someone who’s only going to be a sophomore.  I’m really excited for her.  Now I’m going to have to go to an Illinois game to see her do her thing (if I have a single free weekend during marching season).  She, out of anybody I know, would be the best at the position.  Best of luck to her next year, though she won’t need it, she’s got skillz.

My botany lab today was awesome.  Allow me to preface by saying that it was 70 today.  We took a short guided tour of campus trees, focusing on tree identification.  It was actually pretty cool, and a very pleasant day to take a walk.

So I had my meeting with Prof. Marcus, my Shakespeare teacher, yesterday about my non-prompt paper. I could have sworn that she was going to fail the paper, or at the very least give me 50%. However, it didn’t turn out nearly that bad. Instead she asked me why I didn’t write to a prompt, and explained how that wasn’t fair to the other students. Then she said that my paper wouldn’t take that much editing to make it fit a prompt, and gave me the opportunity to do that and turn it back in by the end of the semester. The end of the semester! She also said “there is nothing wrong with your writing,” and “I view you as a good student.” Then we talked about Chicago (she used to live there), and band (she used to play flute). All in all, it was the best possible outcome for the situation. One might even call it positive. I sure dodged a bullet on this one.

Next week I have an American music paper due which shouldn’t be hard, and I have a botany test, which should be hard. The think about botany is that the class isn’t that difficult, and I’m almost certainly going to get an “A,” but I actually want to learn the material, so that makes it a little more difficult. Let’s just say I’m very ready for spring break, though it appears as though none of my friends have it at the same time as me, which is unfortunate. Anyway, I need to go to bed now. Wish me luck in the next two weeks!

Listening to:  Black Foliage   The Olivia Tremor Control

Last night I ate at Quizno’s and finally met the legendary Quizno’s Manager. If you go to Vanderbilt you have no doubt heard about Tom, the Quizno’s manager who acts like he’s on speed. If not, here is a video of him. Yes, he actually acts like this, I can now say from personal experience. It made me really happy, even though my sandwich took forever. Afterwards, John, Levy, Erik, and I had an Age of Empires II lan party. Despite the fact that it was three against one, Levy pwnd all of us in the face. In a word, he nuked our bases, despite there being no nukes in the game. It was kind of embarrassing. I blame it on him turning off the cheats, because I can’t function without them.

John and I have been watching The Office, the American version. Despite my deep-seated hatred of Steve Carell, it is a very funny show. Also, I just watched all six episodes of Video Girl Ai. Don’t ever watch this series. It is shoujo at its worst. The plot is menial and tedious. The message, the ever-sweet “love prevails,” was obvious and overdone, even before VGA was made. I’m not wasting any more space on it. I watched Kiki’s Delivery Service for the first time on Thursday. It was cute and sweet. It was also extremely transparent and almost mechanical as it went through the paces of a very typical coming-of-age plot. You could tell exactly what Miyazaki was trying to with each plot point. Don’t get me wrong, I liked it very much, but it lacked the depth and complexity of most of his other works, even some of his earlier ones like Nausicaa, perhaps the best manga ever drawn. My Neighbor Totoro, which I watched last night, is better about this. The themes are more subtle and less simplistic. The totoro are also more iconic and memorable (don’t forget the catbus).

Tomorrow I have a meeting with my Shakespeare professor to talk about my paper, the one that I didn’t write to a prompt. This could be very, very bad. I don’t really want to think about it, but I need to think about what I’m going to say. How am I going to defend a completely inappropriate choice? Shoot! Spring break is . . . so . . . close . . . . Wish me luck.

If you are near to the dark

I will tell you ’bout the sun

you are here, no escape

from my visions of the world

you will cry all alone

but it does not mean a thing to me

knowing the song I will sing

till the darkness comes to sleep

come to me, I will tell

’bout the secret of the sun

it’s in you, not in me

but it does not mean a thing to you

the sun is in your eyes

the sun is in your ears

I hope you see the sun

someday in the darkness

the sun is in your eyes

the sun is in your ears

but you can’t see the sun

ever in the darkness

it does not much matter to me

.hack//SIGN    “Aura”

Listening to: In the Aeroplane Over the Sea Neutral Milk Hotel

Watching: .hack//SIGN

Reading: Lolita Vladimir Nabokov

For all you D&D fans and haters:  “I wanna cast ‘magic missle’!”

Here is a picture of a Korean ghost (Do Ke Bi) as drawn by Aspen, a friend of Kevin’s (I linked the image to her Deviant Art account, which is awesome). I hope it’s okay with her that I’m using it. It’s absolutely incredible; she’s very, very talented. I’ve always had an interest in masks. I think it would be cool to do an art concentration with masks. Maybe this summer I’ll make a cast of my face and actually do it. Speaking of this summer, I have to get a job. I’m hoping to work at the Deerfield Public Library. I sent them an e-mail last Sunday, and they haven’t gotten back to me yet. I’ll write them again tomorrow and keep bugging them until they get back to me.

In other news, I will be going to Acen this year! Yatta! Kevin will also be coming, and staying at my house for the two weeks between the end of school and the con. I’m really excited. I think I might even cosplay this year, though I don’t know what character I would be. If you have any ideas, suggestions are very welcome. It’s hard to find characters that fit my body type, though I would be willing to dye my hair for it. I’m sure there will be many updates on this in the future. If anybody reading wants to come they’re welcome to; we have a room (though the only people who read this beside Kevin wouldn’t really want to come).