Don't you hate days when everything goes wrong?

Perhaps it's no coincidence that my religious beliefs are so closely tied to the idea of guilt, because sometimes it feels like that is the emotion I feel the most, and most powerfully.

Right now Vivacia is upset with me because today we celebrated her birthday and I'm pretty sure I royally messed it up.

My parents are irritated because I saw them for the first time in weeks and I couldn't even let them take me to lunch or really do anything but talk to me for two minutes and then go.

Closer is probably more than a little pissed at me because I messed up his surprise that I didn't know about and that didn't happen anyway for reasons unrelated.

Ryter will probably feel like crap if/when he finds out about any of this because it's all tied up in his wanting to tag along and get to know everyone better.

I try to make everyone happy and this shit happens. If I don't try to make everyone happy they all get mad at me. I can't do anything right and I don't know why I bother to try.

I have 38 hours over the course of an entire week when I am not sleeping, eating, in class or doing homework. Of that there are actually only two blocks of time, Friday night and Saturday, when I am free from a long enough amount of time to make planning something feasible. Meanwhile Vivacia's usually on duty during those blocks Everyone wants my time, it seems, and half of them don't want my time with them to overlap with my time with anyone else. Ryter just wants me to spend time with him and he wants to spend time with Vivacia and Closer, but my parents think I need to spend more time studying or come home more often (my mom was upset that I didn't come home this weekend), and Vivacia wants me to spend time with her without Ryter being around.

I don't know. I posted more of this in my livejournal, because it's all very emo and LJ is better for being melodramatic.

Busy busy busy

I haven't been writing because I have an Organic midterm Friday and I've been assembling my costume, which requires lots of sewing on the cape. On the plus side, I have all the pieces and it will be awesome.

Sometime soon I will write about my trip to the ocean for lab.

I have an odd affection for that picture.

I will tell you all about my trip through College Woods to hug trees tomorrow, but for tonight, I have a Biostats paper I just finished and two epodes to translate so I'm afraid you'll have to settle for something random.


Well, I warned you it was random.

If I type "Lee Bog" enough I'll get even MORE visitors!

No real blog entry tonight, I had a big paper for Ecology. I do find it interesting, though, that in researching this paper, which is about Lee Bog, I typed "Lee Bog" into Google and got... my own damn blog.

I appear to be the foremost authority on the ecology of Lee Bog. At least according to the Internet, which we all know is God.

I only wonder if my classmates got shunted here as well. Don't rely on me! I'm not as smart as I pretend I am!

Sorry

No post tonight. I have an exam tomorrow.

Nothing induces a desire to diet like watching extreme weight loss shows.

I had a weird dream last night, in which I was slowly losing my vision. I thought, in the dream, that it was just a question of my sight getting blurry, but someone explained to me that I was also not seeing in as many wavelengths of light as was normal. This was then proved to me when I started to be unable to see objects and even people. At one point I took out my contact lenses and looked at them, only to learn they were broken in several places. I stumbled around without them for a while until I realized I was dreaming-- always a good sign-- and made a new pair appear in my pocket. I have no idea, by the way, why I didn't simply fix my eyes.

--------------------------------------

I went over to the high school today to try to find the job list. They didn't have anything I was interested in-- just yardwork and baby sitting. I figured I would also see my old guidance counselor while I was there, since she asked about me when she saw my mom and she stitched a picture of me into her quilt and all. But she wasn't there, either, so I'm going to see her at 10:15 tomorrow. And I'm going to the gym. And I have to leave town to head up to Dover by 11. I'd better head to bed soon...

Facebook is extreme college!

Floralia continues:



Also, it is Shrewd's birthday today, thus making her OLD. She's 22. That's not really old, but I'm going to pretend it is because she's my big sister and it's my job.

Also born today, though many years ago, was Catherine the Great, who is much more important than Shrewd. However, Shrewd is much less likely to wage war on the Ottomans. She is more likely to wage war on ottomans, though.

Other pertinent things that happened today in history:

1808: The Peninsular War: The people of Madrid rise up in rebellion against French occupation.

1863: In the American Civil War, Stonewall Jackson is wounded by friendly fire while returning to camp after reconnoitering for the Battle of Chancellorsville. He succumbs to pneumonia 8 days later.

1885: Good Housekeeping magazine goes on sale for the first time.

1933: Gleichschaltung: Adolf Hitler bans trade unions.

1945: World War II: Fall of Berlin - The Soviet Union announces the capture of Berlin and Soviet soldiers hoist their red flag over the Reichstag building. German forces surrender in Italy. German forces surrender to the New Zealand Army in Trieste.

# 1946: "Battle of Alcatraz" - Alcatraz Federal prison, San Francisco is taken over by six inmates following failed escape attempt

1953: Hussein is crowned King of Jordan.

1964: Vietnam War: An explosion sinks the USS Card while docked at Saigon. Viet Cong forces are suspected of placing a bomb on the ship.

1982: Falklands War: The British nuclear submarine HMS Conqueror sinks the Argentine cruiser ARA General Belgrano.

1995: During the Croatian War of Independence, Serb forces fire cluster bombs at Zagreb, killing 7 and wounding over 175 civilians.

2005: Airwork Flight 23 crashes after structural failure.

Trend? What trend?

------------------------------------------------

Anyway, in other news-- I am swamped with homework and will write more tomorrow. Possibly Friday, I have homework tomorrow. Possibly Saturday, there is a party on Friday. No, Marx will not be there, and he will not have a lampshade on his head.

Ryter finished book # 5 today!

Today is the first day of the seven-day-long Floralia, a festival to honor Flora (Chloris), goddess of flowers. She was a fairly minor goddess but was strongly associated with spring, so it was appropriate that she have a festival at this time of year. Flora was the wife of Favonius (Zephyr), the god of the gentle west wind and (appropriately) of spring, which he was said to bring. In Greek myth, their son was Carpus, god of fruit (NOT god of fruits, that's Ganymede), but I don't know if that part of the myth carried over.

Anyway, today was celebrated by theatrical performances, circus games, and, in the evening, offerings of milk and honey to Flora. Hares and goats were released to run the streets and various beans and legumes were thrown to the spectators. The whole city was decked out in flowers-- even temples were covered in flowers, though only white ones. The people dressed in bright, colorful clothing instead of the customary white and there was much dancing and drinking. Great fun.

Incidentally, Roman prostitutes considered this holiday to be their own. I'm guessing it's all the drunk guys wandering around with flowers on their heads needing to prove their manhood, but that's just speculation...

---------------------------------------

Okay, I found something that amuses me greatly. It's an emo bunny complaining about how he can't get laid. I really like that song, despite the fact that the lyrics are kinda weird. Warning: The only really easily decipherable phrase is "Everybody else has had more sex than me" so you might not want to watch it when that would start an awkward conversation...

You know, you'd think it would be easy for a bunny to get laid. They're freakin' rabbits.

---------------------------------------

Ryter: So what did you do today?
Basiorana: Tore open the sternum of a pigeon with my bare (well, gloved) hands.
Basiorana: You?
Ryter: Finished a novel.
Basiorana: Mine's creepier.

Yeah, we were dissecting in Bio lab today. I asked my lab partner if we could do the pigeon, on account of the rats being a bit too well preserved-- they looked like they would get up and walk around. Well, until they were cut open and their guts were splayed everywhere.

Nothin' like a dissection to bring out the perversion in people, though. Honestly. One guy took a pair of scissors and lopped off the pigeon's head; the guys in the back were tossing a rat brain around... Yeah. And just think, most of us are pre-med or pre-vet. Comforting, ain't it?

---------------------------------------

And in other news, the English portfolio looks like it will be fairly easy, maybe an hour's work tops. Everything else still looks impossible. Oh, and I forgot to mention the paper on Kinorhynchs I have due next week... Joys.

Life, tube. Aquaint yourself with it, it's where you'll be headed over the next couple of weeks.

I would be crying right now if I didn't think it was a waste of time.

I can't take the classes I wanted. Again. As in, I was flat-out informed that I was required to take three lab sciences a semester. Yes. Three. As in, I am not allowed to take fun classes. I'm allowed one non-major-oriented class a semester, and this upcoming semester it will be Horace. I was also informed that Honors students aren't bad at math, all evidence to the contrary, and I already took a test that I specifically remember not taking, thus proving that I can handle Calculus in the Spring and that I don't need Analysis. Instead, I am to take "Applied Biostatistics I" in addition to my Organic Chemistry, General Ecology, and Advanced-level Latin. Because rather than having about four gen eds left, turns out I have two-- Psychology and Fine Arts. And if I take Fine Arts in the Spring when I'm struggling with Calc and all I can take Psychology my senior year, and Greek next year.

"Take APs," they said. "It will give you more free time in your schedule," they said. Well, whoever "they" are, I'm hating them right now. If I didn't have those APs I would have so many more options for non-science courses. Instead I'm to consider myself lucky that I have the minor to do, and at least one semester will be all science courses.

ARGH!!!

------------------------------------

So, what else is bothering me lately... Bisobrina really, really wants to come up and visit me here at school, and she's on vacation this week. Of my remaining weekends, this is far and away the best for that, despite the English portfolio/final thingy I have due next Thursday and the meeting with my fellow TV announcer (for the Bio Lab presentation) I've already set up for 10 on Saturday morning. Plus the Latin presentations start next Friday and I'm praying I can beg my Latin professor to put mine off until Monday; I also have a Chem test next Friday and I absolutely HAVE to take the make-up test for Bio before the reading (for me, studying for the Bio final) days on the 8th and the 9th; I need to get that done next week, preferably Tuesday, possibly Wednesday if Tuesday is ABSOLUTELY undoable...

Okay, let's look at my due dates over the next couple of weeks.

Monday the 30th, Latin quiz.
1st or 2nd, need to take that Bio test.
3rd, English portfolio is handed it.
4th, Chem ACS exam (like a final only not one of his tests, so harder); also, Latin presentations begin (I haven't even started mine).
Monday the 7th, Latin presentations continue.
8th, dry-run of the performance for Bio Lab.
9th, we actually DO the performance.
10th, Bio Final.
11th at 5:30 PM, I get kicked out of the dorm and summer begins.

That's what my life will be like. So obviously if Bisobrina's coming up, it has to be this weekend.

I'd really rather she didn't. I want to see her, but honestly, I wish she'd come visit me over the summer, and I could take her down to the Cape for a weekend and we could chill out on the beach and do cool stuff there, because there's always cool stuff to do at the Cape. But she wants to come here, to UNH, and hang out on campus. Next year she'll be off to school in Connecticut and won't be able/want to visit me here. I'm just worried she wants to be doing cool stuff, like going to parties or something. Which I don't do. So if she's expecting me to have anything exciting planned, she's got another think coming. I don't think there's that much to do otherwise, either. I mean, I guess we could go to a dorm social or something... maybe hang out with Mistake, if she's not too busy with her own crazy study-fest (which seems likely)...

Sigh.

------------------------------------

Oh, and I was supposed to go see my therapist today, but I had a Chem test. So I moved the Chem test to yesterday. Then I was going to have to take the Calculus pretest, so I had to cancel anyway. Upset as I was with this turn of events, imagine my emotions when I went to my meeting with the adviser this morning (right after the bus left) and I was informed that I wouldn't be taking that exam, after all, as I didn't need it... So basically, I missed the appointment for nothing.

------------------------------------

So I'm starved for time and deprived of sleep; I'm scheduled up the whazoo with projects, presentations, and exams; I can't stay awake long enough to study/work on said projects, presentations, and exams; I'm going to be entertaining a high school student who has declared that she wants to meet all the "hot UNH boys" this weekend; and oh yeah, I just learned it's going to be even worse next year...

I need pie.

"I bring you love, peace, and pie."

Nate is a Blog is back! Or... it was back, for a while, but I didn't know about it. Anyway, hopefully we'll get to read more of his funny stuff since he's no longer 1 of 1.5.

------------------------------------

Today was a good day.

Why was it a good day?

Because I didn't finish studying last night, of course, so I took my biology test today vastly underprepared. And guess what? According to Mistake, who has some friends in the class, Bio review wasn't canceled-- it was at 7 instead of at 5. So I could have gone. Grr.

Anyway, after failing that test, I headed over to the library to work on my English essay, still unfinished. It's already eight pages long and I still haven't even gotten near the end. This is frustrating.

Caught the bus over to Dover and went to Store 24 for some food. Alas, they were out. Yes, of food. There was nothing I could eat in the whole damn store. Finally I grabbed a frozen chicken pot pie and decided to hope for the best; my therapist's office has a microwave.

Half an hour later, I'm still trying to nuke the damn thing... It wouldn't cook the crust properly, so I ate it doughy. Not a great idea. The texture made me nauseus so I set it aside until my therapist attempted to stick it in the toaster oven. It cooled as I talked and then I wolfed it down before running to the bus-- literally, I would have missed it if some dude hadn't seen me sprinting up the street, waving my arms frantically and trying not to kick my laptop bag so hard that it wound up in the street.

Now there's an image for you.

I got more of the essay done on the bus. Want to get carsick? Type in a moving vehicle. Ugh. I got back to campus, staggered back to my dorm, started printing what I had of the English essay and proceeded to throw a coughing/gagging fit. Then, calmed by Coke and some deep breathing, I arrived ten minutes late to class and realized I hadn't done the workshopping I was supposed to do on this girl's paper, so I did it as we discussed it and hoped for the best.

Good news? They liked what little I had finished of the essay...

Post-class, 3:30, back to the dorm to finish the lab report I hadn't even started that was due at 6. Because I am a terrible procrastinator. With some help from Maritima, who is way too patient with me, it was completed in time, though I didn't get to eat dinner and subsisted instead on popcorn and Ramen. We then did a gaseous chemicals lab and I totally inhaled (there goes my political career), returning my nausea/headache in full force.

Got an A on my chem test, though. She handed them back during lab. That was pretty awesome.

Then I got back after lab and realized I screwed up my housing stuff, but thankfully that was worked out with my hall director fairly easily. I just was rather panicky for a little bit there.

Anyway, normally after one of these days I'd come back here, write a blog entry about sucky dayness, and then curl up in bed thinking, "It will be better tomorrow. It will be better tomorrow." But I totally didn't have to do that today, I just had to come online and talk to Ryter, and he basically managed to say everything that I needed to hear but don't trust if I have to ask for.

And that's why it was a good day.

Today was ctenophoriffic!

Stupid English essay is hella time consuming, and I have a headache from staring at polyps through a microscope.

Bisobrina, my second cousin (name just means "bi," two, and "sobrina," cousin on the mother's side), wants to come up and visit. Awesome! This weekend. Not so awesome! I have NOT got the time for visits this weekend, I was figuring my only real study-break would be Friday night going out with Writer Guy. Only I have discovered that Bisobrina is one of those "no is not an option" girls and I am powerless against her mighty will. I only hope that her boyfriend and ride (she doesn't have a license) will hear this plan of hers and say, "No, I don't think I want to drive two hours to pick you up, then forty-five minutes to UNH, just to go see your second cousin and eat in a cafeteria."

Please, Maine-dwelling boyfriend of my second cousin, have sanity!

I Am 59% Addicted to the Internet

I'm somewhat addicted to the internet - but who isn't? I can keep it under check, and I'm by no means a hermit.

Are You Addicted to the Internet?

Damn. I forgot to eat dinner.

Okay, so I FINALLY have time to actually sort of write something, for a change.

I have crazy homework this week. Most people were dumped with exams and what not the week BEFORE vacation, when midterms were going on, but no, my professors waited until after I was in post-break mode to dump me with two exams, both in science; an essay, a translation, a quiz for Chem and a presentation on kinorhynchs.

Plus I'm kinda really distracted, anyway. Schoolwork is in the farthest reaches of my mind right now, pushed aside for more important thoughts like how I have a boyfriend and he's very good at distracting me from important things like homework and driving on the correct side of the road (yes I made that mistake, shut up, there weren't any other cars on the road) and blog-writing and sleep.

And besides, I started this half of the semester with a wake. The wake was nice but Grammy greeted Shrewd and me with tears and that was disconcerting; then again, she's now the eldest sister, so I can't blame her. Shrewd is officially not allowed to die until I'm dead or senile. Since she won't want to see me die, either, I think this means that we'll have to be completely bonkers by the time we move on.

But there was a bit of a bright side. I met my second cousin again! I met her the first time at her grandfather's funeral, and then again at her grandmother's, so she's becoming a bit of a funeral buddy since we're the same age and we hang out together after we're done telling the old people about how we like our classes and we're doing quite well, thank you. She's still in high school (she stayed back), but she's fairly close to Durham so I've decided she needs to come visit me. Last time we promised to keep in touch we exchanged a couple of letters then gave up, but hey, we were ten. Now the wonders of the internet mean that I might actually keep my promises to stay in touch. Hopefully.

I Know a Lot About Blogging

I got 5/8 correct! I'm not a total blogging geek yet... give it time.

How Much Do You Know About Blogging?

Not much time

Today is the Minervalia, a festival honoring Minerva/Athena, goddess of wisdom and war. It was celebrated by flutists dressing in long robes and masks wandering the streets of Rome playing their tunes, to make up for some long-ago sin by the Roman people against them.

It's also the Quinquatria, a festival honoring Mars/Ares, god of war, and Minerva. For this festival the Salii, priests of Mars, danced before the pontiffs and the tribunes, in order to gain Mars' blessing. Despite it being a day honoring two war gods, it was decreed that no blood could be shed on this day as it's Minerva's birthday.

Happy birthday, Minerva, I'm sure you look as lovely as ever. Being as you are immortal. And all.

-------------------------

Much too much last-minute crap to get through to post more tonight. A real entry tomorrow... maybe. Maybe Wednesday. I'm having a hectic couple of days.

Oh, and "not a serial killer" wasn't an option on this quiz...

What Kind of Serial Killer Would You Be? Your Result: Organized and Goal-Oriented You're a planner. You'd carefully plot each murder, and carry it out methodically. You'll kill them in one location and move them to another later, and you'll study up your forensic science. The good news is, you're much harder to catch. You won't kill for the person, you'll kill for material gain. Your goal is finance, not a psychopathic compulsion- but you have absolutely no problem killing as many people as necessary to get what you want.
Organized Visionary
Organized and Mission-Oriented
Organized and Hedonistic
Disorganized and Gain-Oriented
Disorganized Visionary
Disorganized and Mission-Oriented
Disorganized and Hedonistic
What Kind of Serial Killer Would You Be?