Politics as usual

So, as with everyone else in America, I am actually interested in this primary election. Intenseley interested, actually, to the point where I feel sick to my stomach at the thought of Hillary winning the nomination. It's strange that I've waited for so long to vote for a woman, and now...it's almost as if its too late. Things in this country need to change. Maybe even beyond what Obama can accomplish, but at least its a start.

I just watched Michael Collins...you know, with Liam Neeson and Aidan Quinn and Jonathan Rhys-Meyers when he was like 12 years old? And I never quite caught it before, but at the end, when the footage of the Big Fella's funeral is rolling, the subtutles or whatever say that he was 31 years old when he died. Thirty fucking one years old. And so was deValera and Harry Boland and all of them. They WERE the government. They made the country, they ran the country. They were the status quo. In their THIRTIES. And it started me thinking...since when has it been ok for a rich, old, socially conservative, entrenched in a corrupt political establishment white man to be the figurehead of my country?

I feel as though we've been lulled into a false sense of security. Something has been rotten in the state of Denmark, and we've just gotten used to the smell.

When I lived in DC, I always loved the Jefferson Memorial, even though it was a bitch to get to. What I loved most about it was the engraving around the inside of the rotunda - "I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man."

Every form of tyranny...including those so insidious, you don't notice until its too late.

Also? Dunkin Donuts has pissed me off. They have officially become a part of the dumbing of America with their new ad, "We can't pronounce latte, so it must be elitist snobby crap from one of those dirty european countries, drink OUR coffee, it will turn you into a plain english-speakin', all american, cord-fed buffer. It will turn you into Peyton Manning!!"
You can't pronounce latte? Espresso? Look it up in the dictionary! God forbid we learn to speak another language!! God forbid we learn something new! God forbid we learn what DECENT coffee tastes like!

Ugh. Nothing pisses me off more than ignorance unless it be pride in ignorance.

Let me explain...no, there is too much. Let me sum up.

You know, for the longest time, I looked forward to all the time I would have during my summer 'off' from MABA. I am only going to work 40 hours a week! I am NOT going to pick up extra shifts! I am going to relax! Lay by the pool!

Ahhh, the best laid plans...In reality, I have been working overtime...again..., have not relaxed - if fact, I have had to resort to mass quantities of coffee to keep myself on the rails. As it were. And marathon training has been spotty at best. Which is not the best way to prepare oneself for 26.2 miles.

My brother and Alli are now safely ensconced in their new Park Ave. abode, and my cousin gets married this weekend, so that is two of the summer's BIG EVENTS in one week. It never fails to amaze me how much we New Englanders can cram into the woefully short summer we are afforded.

The thesis putters on. Well, actually, to be completely honest, I think it has pulled over to a rest stop. I'm stuck in a couple procedural points which are proving stickier than I had anticipated. The thing is, when I iron out the theory, the actual practice should be fairly easy. I am having to put the cart before the horse. If I actually successfully defend this thing next year, the drinks are on me.

Also, I have been spending a lot of time rereading Harry Potter. I am so sad! I can't accept it is the last one. My mom gave me the first book when I left for Ireland (the 2nd time). I read it on the plane to Dublin, then when I landed, immediately went out and bought the second at...Eason on O'Connell St., and read it in the hostel. I took the bus over to Galway and bought book 3, but then I had to wait for about 8 months for book 4, which was brutal. I bought it in a Wednesday, I remember, because I had the day off, and I spent the whole day in my flat, reading it. Books 2 - 4 are cool, because I have the Bloomsbury editions. I bought the black and white 'grown-up' cover of book 2, which I especially love. Book 5 came out when I was in DC - I walked up to Union Station and got it at B. Dalton. Book 6 I bought in Maine when I was living there, and book 7 was bought at 1 am in Framingham, MA. These books were such landmarks on my 20's. Maybe that's why I'm having a hard time with the END.

I'm back

Here you go, Dana.

So...it's been a year. I feel like I have finally resurfaced and am starting to tread water. For the past 12 months, I have been 1. working, 2. slogging through grad school, 3. doing research for other people, 4. doing my own research, 5. sleeping. It's been swell. But the end is in sight! I have the summer off from classes! I have a procedure for my thesis! It's warm outside, and the kids are a little more manageable! All happy news...

In other news, I have begun training for the MDI marathon in October. This should be interesting. I have thought about doing one for the past few years, but always put it on the 'to do later' list. We shall see how this goes. I'm cautiously optimistic.

And finally, since my classload is a little lighter these days, I am watching TV again. The Deadliest Catch is possibly the best TV show ever. And I have learned that I cannot watch American news programs anymore. It's painful. It's like the entire nation has been compressed into one brain - and it's stuck in the sand like an ostrich. I watch the BBC when I can, and read the Irish Times and Le Monde. It's amazing that a country as large as ours can be so insular.

But enough of the political rant. (Actually, I didn't even get started.)

After Several Gin and Tonics on the beach...

...this seemed like a good idea.

And it was a good idea until dad took a sharp turn and headed back out into the middle of the pond when I thought he was going in. I bit it pretty hard.


So it's been a while. Short version? Work, Overtime, School, Work, Overtime, Running, New Mormon Roommate, Research, Work...piece of shit Toshiba notebook breaks...Cursing, Cursing, Yet more Cursing, Feel bad about cursing in front of new roommate, Curse some more anyhow, Decide to ante up and find peace and comfort at the Apple Store. Am now the proud new (in hock up to my eyeballs) owner of a pretty black MacBook. Sleep.

Do you hear that? That's the sound of complete musical freedom...

So I finally have an iPod...a very aesthetically pleasing, sleek black and silver thing that will house all the music I could ever think of. Heh. I once had a friend who eschewed the traditional candy-apple red and bought a black Swiss Army knife because it was the "aesthetic choice". But I digress. I have about half my music loaded on to it, and have so far managed not to f it up. Yesterday, iPod and I made our first foray out into the wide world. We hopped on the train to Boston to get my Northeastern ID, and pay a visit to the MFA.

I found that the best music to listen to on the train is Death Cab for Cutie or Radiohead. Nice and contemplative for staring out the window at the countryside (or suburbs) rushing by. (Incidentally, the best book to read on a train? Atlas Shrugged. I read a large part of it on a train I took with Lindsay to Baltimore for a conference I'm sure neither of us really remembers.) The best music for walking the streets of Back Bay? Interestingly, Eve 6. Most of the songs on Horrorscope have a beat that apparently matches my pace. And the best music I forgot I had? The Afghan Whigs. I bought a couple of their albums back in the late 90's, I think because they were on the My So-Called Life soundtrack. I remember they opened for Neil Young and Crazy Horse at Great Woods the summer after my freshman year, but we missed them because we were trying to find parking.

That is all for now. I have a date with Chapters 3 & 4 of Verbal Behavior by my new best friend, B.F. Skinner. Get it?

I'm irked

Rapidly approaching the top of my "annoying" list...

Dudes who go to the gym and take a stroll on the treadmill. Or worse yet, STAND on the treadmill and watch tv. If you don't have cable, that is not my problem!!! The gym is for WORKING OUT. I am here to do some MILEAGE. I just spent 20 miserable minutes on the elliptical, which I am apparently not coordinated enough to do because it makes my toes numb, while four such assbags wasted treadmill space.

In other news, I went to Hamden to see my bro this weekend, and he, Chad, Alli and I went out in New Haven. On the way in, they were talking about taking me to the "pirate bar", and how much fun it was going to be. We walked into this place, and Chad and Shawn told me that you can buy beer by the yard here. It comes in these ginormous glasses with wooden holders. I looked dubiously at this contraption and thought that I'd best start off with a pint. But still....it WAS Saturday night... And then, Shawn and Chad told me that the great thing about this bar is that the bartenders won't serve you if you just order a "yard" of beer. They'll pretend they don't understand you. You have to order a "yarrrrrd of beer" in the pirate voice.

Of course, I think this is awesome, and definitely would have ordered it in the voice, but I really just wanted a pint. Chad and Shawn are all disappointed and go to order our beers, while Alli comes over to me and says, "They decided it would be a good idea to institute the standing $10 stupid bet, like on Ed. The winner of the bet tonight was going to be the one who got you to order a 'yarrrd'. This is a Yale crew bar, not a pirate bar..."

What is sad about this is, if I had been a little bit thirstier, I would totally have done it.

I still want to go to a pirate bar.

231 years ago tonight

"Listen my children and you shall hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,
On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five;
Hardly a man is now alive
Who remembers that famous day and year.
He said to his friend, "If the British march
By land or sea from the town to-night,
Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry arch
Of the North Church tower as a signal light,--
One if by land, and two if by sea;
And I on the opposite shore will be,
Ready to ride and spread the alarm
Through every Middlesex village and farm,
For the country folk to be up and to arm."

Only 25 miles (and 231 years) away...

This is the year Shawn is going to come visit me and read his minuteman poem on Concord bridge.