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Friday, November 28, 2003
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I've had a headache for the past 2 days. I've been trying to relax, but of course in this house, it's impossible. There's been a 2-day West Wing Marathon on Bravo, but of course we only get Bravo here downstairs (on the 64-inch widescreen TV, not that it isn't cool) and in my parents' room, so I watch downstairs. But then my sisters and my cousin and my godson come down here and make a lot of noise and I turn up the TV and it's loud and my headache doesn't go away. I finally broke down and bought some Excedrin today, but it hasn't helped. Now I have a one-year-old climbing all over me. *sigh*
I went into the city today. That was not a lot of fun, but at least I was able to find my way around! Tricia, Daven and I went shopping along the Magnificent Mile (Michigan Ave). Given the cold and the people and the stroller and my headache... yeah, not so much fun. Had their been no stroller or had my cousin not been complaining about claustrophobia or had I been by myself.... maybe it would have been okay. In any case, I bought wine at Marshall Field's and that was cool.
Tricia and I had a conversation in the car about how my parents' cooking is really good, but sometimes way too complex. It's like flavor overload. Everything has so many flavors going on that you can't truly enjoy them all. We started last night's dinner off with pumpkin bisque, which filled me up before the real meal (and this was after all these appetizers, including cheese with proscuitto and basil, smoked salmon with some sort of spread, my mom's crab dip and brie and brown sugar and walnuts encrusted with crescent rolls). Real meal included deep fried turkey, bourbon sweet potatoes with walnuts, stuffing with turkey sausage, baked ham, mashed potatoes (that had more than potato flavor), etc..... For dessert there was carrot cake, key lime pie, pecan sweet potato pie, fruit cake, chocolates and of course my mom's pumpkin struessel pie. Note the absence of regular pumpkin pie, cranberry sauce, candied yams.... yeah, you get the idea. The sweet potatoes are a good example - I love them, but I'd love to have some regular candied yams, too, you know?
Whatever. I guess I should enjoy it while I can. Back to my Marathon.
- Lizzardie, at 7:43 PM
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I am a very self-doubting person. No matter how confident I am on the outside, there is always some little bit of me that wonders what the hell I'm doing and why I would possibly think whatever-is-going-on-at-the-moment could be a good decision. I also have a great fear of people not liking me, and continuously wonder what the hell my friends see in me and why in the world they would actually want to spend time with me. So when I am given an actual reason to think someone doesn't like me, I panic and dwell on it.
One of my friends has decided to jokingly (I think) stereotype against me because I tend to be politically conservative. Jokes about how I club seals, hate poor people and minorities, and keep a rifle under my bed. Since I'm pretty sure he's joking, half the time I make a sarcastic jab back, and half the time I defend myself because of course a little part of me is afraid he's serious. So yesterday, I went to the airport to pick up my cousin, and on the way back, he made what I think were blatantly racist comments. I was appalled. I live (Ithaca) in a pretty tolerant place, so it was quite a shock to my system to hear these sorts of things again. Now, I've always thought that my family was at least a slightly bit stereotypical bordering on racist. But this was just insane. And of course it has nothing to do with politics or education, since I have no idea what my cousin believes politically, and he's in college. So in addition to the horror I felt at hearing this, I immediately jumped to these comments as of late accusing me of feeling these same things. I'm so afraid now, that people might actually believe these things about me. I really hope that's not the case, but given that it's me, until I hear otherwise (and maybe after that) a little part of me will wonder.
- Lizzardie, at 1:49 AM
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Tuesday, November 25, 2003
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I'm at home now. I wish I could sleep... but yesterday the whole house got up early, causing me to get up early with nothing to do (I later took a nap) and now today I have to go pick up my cousin from the airport so there's really no point in going back to bed....
The last week has been pretty crazy, what with all the traveling I've been doing. Boston last week was a lot of fun. I didn't want to leave, so that has motivated me to start looking for jobs again. Only I have yet to have time to do that. Hehehehehehe. Later today, maybe. I hung out with Herb and Jeff - we did Herb's laundry, went to 1369 Coffee Shop, S&S Restaurant, back to the apartment, then picked up Rebecca and purchased UpWords. So the night was spent playing board games and drinking wine. I enjoy the fact that Herb came in last in UpWords (I came in second). :-)
Wednesday was the meeting with the Analog Devices people. Their foyer is nice, though they had fish in a pond that was way too shallow for them. I don't think I learned all that much from the meeting, and it went on and on and on... at this point, I just want to get the data and jump right in - I think that's what we need to do. I think it would be really great if we were able to find out some really cool things about the data and the company just by doing straight, plain analysis instead of going in with pre-conceived notions about what we should find. The one other person in the group who's taking data mining is cool with that idea, but no one else is. They seem to need to get all these questions answered, and I do not see the point in that. I also don't WANT to know the answers to all the questions they are asking, because I think they'll taint our results. Ahh well. And despite how nice the hotel was (full kitchen and living room), I did not sleep well so I was way tired. After the meeting, I went back to Herb's and we went to make copies of something for me to give to Will and got McDonald's. I was going to head back to Ithaca after that, but I was about to fall over and would have had to drive in rush hour traffic, so I stayed and layed down for about an hour and a half (the idea was a nap but I couldn't fall asleep again). I then hung out while Herb and Jeff discussed their bar plans (which was interesting at first but now they've gotten into nitty gritty details and I say just build the damn bar), stuck around for the West Wing (which is good because the episode was so good and Cat forgot to tape it for me), then headed back to Ithaca. I got home at about 3:30am.
Thursday I got up and started running around. I bought wine, went to watch presentations for Inventory Management (note that I never actually gave a presentation for inventory management, since my group had to go on Wednesday without me), held my office hours (which were super-busy - I'm glad I normally hold them on Wednesdays), went home for a few minutes just to learn I needed to run another errand right away, went to Colloquium (they all seem the same after a full semester of these lectures - this one was on biomedicine), went home and then left right away to go to Syracuse to see A Perfect Circle. Jamie, Anubhav and Kristen (Initiate) and I met up with Bolcar in Syracuse for the concert and it was really really good. I'm sad they don't have more music yet, because it was kinda short, but still good. Definitely worth going to Syracuse for. It was 11:30pm when I got home, and we were leaving for Charlotte at 5:00am. Needless to say, I didn't sleep. Between packing for Convention, packing for Illinois (since I was getting home from Charlotte late Sunday and leaving for Illinois Monday afternoon), debating my political views with Herb for 3 hours (though when am I not doing this) and trying to get some work done on the Inventory Management written report, I was up the whole time.
Paragraph transition doesn't seem appropriate since I didn't sleep, but whatever. Friday early morning started the trek to Charlotte. We took Kathy and Chris's cars (yay for my car not going) and Dana's car left several hours later. I actually managed to sleep for 7 hours in the car - this is mad impressive for me since I usually cannot sleep in a moving car (or a car in general). Before lunch, we stopped at a wine store, which was fun. :-) I then drove after lunch until we got to Charlotte. It was quite warm in Charlotte, which was really nice. Friday night involved the bazaar.... I bought kazoos which don't work but are kazoos, a knit hat that has Phi Sigma Pi in Greek letters on it, and Kathy and Chris bought me a godfather shirt (it's from two chapter's founders day and says "Ten years in the family"). Then there were silly regional activities.... the highlight, though, was that our region's poster was really cool. It had all the chapters listed by Chapter name and school, and then had some sort of PSP gang sign, and read, "Gangs of the Northeast." Then at the bottom, it said, "We'll keep each other warm at night." Someone from Delta Alpha did the artwork, and it was really really good. I even heard some of the staff commenting on how good our poster was. After all the official stuff, the real fun began... our chapter found some Alpha Rho brothers to hang out with (courtesy of Cynthia, who had met them when she was still at her other chapter), so we kinda followed them around to various rooms, drinking their alcohol. We ended up in one of Gamma Epsilon's (University of Florida) rooms, where I stayed for quite awhile until I remembered that it's no fun to be sober when everyone else is trashed and screaming and there are far too many people crammed into a small hotel room. So I went back to our set of rooms to greet the rest of our party who'd just arrived, and then I went to bed.
Let me take a minute to tell you how nice the Westin was. You know how when you stay at a hotel the blankets and comforters on the beds are pretty thin and unimpressive? Well, in addition to sheets with a high thread count, these beds first had a down blanket, then a regular acrylic blanket and then a cushy comforter on top of that! In addition to about 10 pillows on each bed. The rooms had mini-bars, too (don't worry, we didn't open them). And the food... I'll get to that later.
So Saturday morning was a small breakfast and then some conference stuff. There was the State of the Fraternity address, which was hopeful, realistic and motivating. I think Tammy did a good job with that. There was also a keynote speech by an alum from the Sigma Chapter who's now 88 years old. Though it had nothing to do with Phi Sigma Pi directly, I thought it was cool to hear about his life (though okay, maybe it was a little long). There was a leadership workshop that I slept through half of (I have a short attention span) and then a workshop about alumni, during which I realized I lost my Service Key, so Cat and I left that to go and find it - luckily we did! Lunch for me was the VIP/Alumni Luncheon, which was my first experience with the food. Yummy salad and cheese ravioli with a pesto sauce and grilled shrimp and vegetables to top it. And cheese cake... mmmm. The portion on the main course was quite small, though. Decent portions on everything else. During the lunch our table talked about the role of alumni in chapters. After lunch was my committee meeting that didn't happen, because for the second time in a row, I was the only person to show up! So then Demetri and I went to try and get the internet working in the hotel room so we could do work, but that failed so I took a nap on the cushy bed (I had slept on the floor the night before). The banquet was nice - the tables only had 10 seats so I went and sat on my own, which meant sitting with people I know from Delta Alpha and Epsilon Alpha. I think the chapter was bothered that I ditched them, but whatever. Maybe they should start getting used to not having me around. And Delta Alpha won an award, so it was nice to be by them when that happened. Banquet food was good, too, of course - more salad, roasted chicken and green beans and garlic mashed potatoes, followed by this mocha cotta thing that was half gelatin, half mouse in texture with a strawberry sauce - that was REALLY yummy. And the best part of the food... Tim (DA) and I got tea, and the way they brought it to you was really cool... you got a mug of hot water, and a plate that had two Tazo tea bags on it (so you had a choice between black and herbal tea), a small personal jar of honey and a slice of lemon. It was classy. The afterparty followed, and I danced some, but you all know me and dancing - when I do it, I get bored after 20 minutes. Kathy and I walked a little outside the hotel - we found a strip club with purple neon lights on MOREHEAD AVE, which was exciting. We took a picture of the street sign and then went back to tell everyone we went to a strip club, even though we didn't go inside. I then wandered between the dance and our hotel rooms before settling on sleep. I got more sleep at this convention than any other one, probably because there was not a whole lot going on, and this year, unlike last year, I did not know as many people.
Sunday, we drove back. I drove for about 8 hours. I was also a travel nazi while doing it. I insisted on leading, since Chris is kind of an erratic driver, but he kept passing me until I called and yelled at him. I then got a call requesting that we stop at a Waffle House, so I started looking for one and got kinda excited about the idea of going to one. But 10 minutes later, I got a call saying we had to stop right away, because the other car has no willpower as far as eating and using a restroom. So I reluctantly stopped at this Pink Cadillac Diner, which was disappointing. Ironically, though, as we were finishing our meal, the other car, which had left earlier than us since they like to make more frequent stops, walked in! No communication and they chose the same place! We got back on the road, and half an hour later, Chris insisted that we stop AGAIN to use the bathrooms. So I got off the highway in a place where there was nothing and kept driving and turning, and the other car decided that I was driving into the countryside so that I could kill Chris, chop him into a million pieces and they wouldn't be found. Eventually, though, I found a Dairy Queen, which made Kathy really happy, and we then got back on the highway. Now, there hadn't been any Waffle Houses for miles, but of course, all of a sudden they appeared again. Kathy and I commented at every exit for several hundreds of miles. I was tempted to stop before we got out of Virginia, then I was tempted to stop at every exit in West Virginia (only 30 miles were in WV), then I was tempted to stop at every exit in Maryland (only 10 miles were in Maryland)... each time it was too early for dinner. I was sure that I wouldn't see another Waffle House once we crossed the Mason Dixon Line, but miraculously, there was one, and it came not too long before I was planning on finding a place to stop anyways! Kathy and I started screaming "WAFFLE HOUSE!!!" and I slammed on the breaks. I think the other once again thought I was going to kill them. The Waffle House was definitely NOT worth all the hype Kathy and I gave it, but at that point, we had to go. Kathy drove the rest of the way, which let me rest my eyes (though not really sleep).
Getting home was kinda welcomed, though I was immediately overwhelmed. For one thing, Anthony pretty much pounced on Cat and I the moment we walked in the door about taking out trash. I refused. If he'd waited an hour or so, that would have been fine, but right when we walked in the door? Let me settle in first! I felt bad, because Cat did help out, but I just wasn't up for it yet. And come on, I try and do what I can around that apartment. I'm the only one who's ever cleaned the bathroom (and we've lived there how long?). I clean the kitchen fairly regularly, both with cleaning dishes and taking out garbage and whatnot. I try and keep the living room in reasonable order. I open up my room to people. And Cat and I have definitely taken out the trash without Anthony before. If it was such a big concern to him, he could have done it himself anytime over the weekend. Whatever. I also came home to several emails from various group project people, wanting me to do some things that night or the next day. I did what I could that night, and then I blew off everything else. I actually made a pretty big effort to make sure that my not being around that week would not be that much of an impact, but I obviously failed. Ahh well. I ended up missing a problem set that was due Monday, because I thought it was going to be due the FOLLOWING Monday, silly me. Those things happen, though.
Monday was okay. I went to one class, and then skipped another because Andrew swung through Ithaca on his way home from Syracuse (he ditched Convention this year to go to Beta Epsilon's formal). It was good to see him, and his friend Meredith, who's a BE alum now at Cornell's Vet School, is really nice. We ate at the Pita Pit, which was apparently very important to Andrew since he ate at the Pita Pit in Syracuse over the weekend and they screwed up his Pita. After lunch, I went to another class, and then packed up my stuff to leave. I only forgot a few things. :-) I made it to my Aunt's house in record time, sorta, since I got lost as she now lives in a very busy part of town with lots of stores and it was sleeting sideways and there was lots of traffic so I couldn't find the street! I only missed it by a little bit, though, and was smart enough to turn around not long after it. Tricia and I then descended upon Illinois, and got in around 2:00am CST, which isn't bad.
And that brings us up to my arrival in Illinois. I'll post later about this actual visit, but this entry is long enough as it is!
- Lizzardie, at 9:06 AM
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Sunday, November 16, 2003
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On a daily basis, I anticipate disappointments from certain people. Typically, my friends exceed my expectations and the things that I think that they'll do to hurt me (without their knowledge, mind you - they aren't doing it on purpose) don't actually come to fruition. This weekend was not one of those times. :-/
In other news, I've gotten through a reasonable amount of work. I'm considering not handing in game theory this week to ease the burden. We'll see how tomorrow goes. I'm going to go to the PSP elections - why, I don't know. I haven't been to a meeting in 3 weeks, though. I think I've convinced Demetri to convince eboard to not elect the Alumni Advisor tomorrow, which buys me some time. I wish it was an easy decision. :-/
Ohh, and Scott from PSP is going to ride home with me in December, and possibly back to Ithaca in January, depending on if he can find a way to New Jersey to visit Julie, since the dorms won't be open when I have to be back. That'll make the trip easier and please my parents, I'm sure.
Bedtime.
- Lizzardie, at 3:50 AM
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Friday, November 14, 2003
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There's a lot to do. I've basically considered my productivity potential after Monday night to be nil, so I need to get 2 problem sets and a project/presentation done by then. Great. No 8am meeting tomorrow (because we spent 3 hours today grading exams) and I managed to get this week's homework done (I even think I did well on my Time Series homework - that would be a first)! Tomorrow I'm going to get new CDs as a pre-award for all the travelling I'm going to be doing. I have decided that I'm going to buy the new Sarah McLachlan CD, because I have a Sam Goody gift certificate and maybe something else there, and the two A Perfect Circle CDs because I'm going to see them in concert on Thursday in Syracuse. I figure I should know their music a little better by then, and those 12 hours to and from Boston should give me plenty of time to listen to them. Having them might also get me to do my work this weekend. Maybe.
I also need to decide if I'm going to run for Alumni Advisor of the frat, by Sunday. I've pretty much made up my mind, but I need to get one thing (that I'm pretty sure I know the answer to) confirmed before I do. Whoever thought making this decision would be so difficult? I can tell you that 8 months ago, when I was pretty sure I'd be here this year, I certainly didn't think it would be a hard decision. So much has changed since then.
I'd like to know why I spend my time exhausted during the day and wide awake once midnight, 1:00am hits. It's now 2:00am, I've gotten through all the work I wanted to for the evening and here I sit. Not sleeping. Wanting to stay awake. Last night was even worse. I had been so so so tired all day, exams had worn me out (freakin' 3 hour Inventory Management exam - yuck) and yet I laid in bed for a good 2 hours before falling asleep, and even then I didn't sleep well. Ahh well. That's my life, right?
- Lizzardie, at 2:03 AM
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Thursday, November 13, 2003
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Thanksgiving plans are settled. I'll be driving to Illinois with my cousin and my godson on Monday, November 24th, arriving sometime in the late night (not late for me, really - 2am, I guess). So, if you live in Illinois and will be around for Thanksgiving, and would like to hang out on Tuesday or Wednesday or Friday or Saturday (I'll be coming back to New York on Sunday), drop me an email or IM, or give me a call. I'd like to think I still have some friends left back home, even though I've dropped off the face of the earth. :-)
- Lizzardie, at 2:44 PM
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Sunday, November 09, 2003
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It's Saturday night (Sunday morning now). Demetri pointed out that I'm very analytical about my work. This is probably because earlier in the evening, I mentioned that for my Time Series homework, there were 6 problems and I planned on doing one every night through Thursday (the problem set is due Friday) and for my take-home Linear Algebra prelim, there are 8 problems, so I plan to do 2 every night through Tuesday (it's due Wednesday morning). So far, so good. I have no idea when I'm make time for Game Theory homework (due Thursday), studying for Inventory Management (prelim Wednesday) or the ridiculous amount of work for the ADI project (teleconference Monday plus the upcoming trip to Boston). Let's throw in that I have a very important second-round interview Monday that I'd like to do a little bit of prepwork for and I'm not really sure what to do with myself.
Normally I'm not so analytical about my work. In fact, I put it off way too long. But I'd like to make more of an effort as the semester comes closer and closer to being over, and well, my study habits and work-ethic are really due for an overhaul. Plus, with the upcoming travel (Boston, Charlotte, maybe Chicago) I'd like to get as much work done BEFORE then so I'm not worrying about it during my travels.
I've lost all of my identification, though. My bank card, my 3 credit cards, my driver's license, my student ID.... I had them all last night when I attempted to go and buy wine (liquor store was closed) and this afternoon I couldn't find any of them. I've cleaned my room and the living room and nothing. I've checked my car. The only thing I can think of is that they fell out at Dana and Alexis's, but so far, they haven't seen them either. I'm such an idiot.
When I was working on Linear Algebra, it took me 4 hours to solve the first problem I attempted. I then solved the second problem I attempted in 20 minutes. I hate this class. Demetri asked me if I am taking any classes that don't involve formulas and calculations. That would of course be a no. He mentioned that this means that I am unable to b.s. answers. Fudging numbers, though, that I can do..... my life is sad.
- Lizzardie, at 3:31 AM
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Saturday, November 08, 2003
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Ahh, Friday night. I actually did go out for awhile, so I'm not an entire loser. My well-thought-out plan of getting a ton of work done tonight, though, has not materialized. Ahh, well. There's always tomorrow. This is the first weekend in awhile that I've had nothing scheduled except doing work, and boy do I need it. I want to get all caught up for the week where I won't be here (due to Boston and Charlotte - how fun will it be if I end up going home for Thanksgiving, too - that's a lot of traveling in about 10 days time).
So anyway, my week has been pretty uneventful, so that's good. Today was kinda exciting, kinda depressing. I came home from class, and there was a package waiting for me! I love packages. It was from my aunt in California, which meant that it was going to be a good package. So I opened it up, and she was very good to me with the belated graduation gift. I got some money (much needed; now I don't have to ask my parents to pay my car payment this month) and a very pretty Tiffany bracelet. The bracelet is large sterling silver beads and it is a very good fit for my small wrists. I like it a lot, and because it's silver, I can wear it often instead of putting it away for special ocassions, which is what I tend to do with gold jewelry.
So the arrival of shiny jewelry brightened my day (as a side note: on Sunday, while souveneir shopping in Toronto, Jeff and Herb were making fun of my fascination with shiny and sparkly objects - I do have a polished rock and gemstone obsession but don't tell them that - and Herb commented that I was going to be one of those wives where my husband will be able to bring home jewelry and thereby get away with anything because my anger will instantly dissipate. I guess I'm not doing very well at proving that wrong). I felt the urge to call my mom, so I did, but not after mailing the boxes I had here for her, since I was supposed to do that months ago and felt I shouldn't call her before I had that done. When I did finally talk to her, I got all the news from home. Update on my grandmother: things are not so good. Apparently after waking up, she fell back into a coma due to a staph infection, which might have affected her abilities to wake up and go to sleep. So now we wait. I also learned that my uncle's dog, Margo, died on Wednesday. She was 13, just like Chloe. And my mom had a conference with Emilee's teacher today, and Emilee apparently hasn't been able to concentrate as well and has been really lethargic lately, starting apparently around the same time that my grandmother went into the hospital. So between the combination of the dog dying, my grandmother being in the hospital and my mom not being around much because of that, it sounds to me like Emilee might be having a hard time. And my mom is taking the loss of the dog really hard - apparently she still thinks that she sees her pretty often. Life is not very cheerful in my family lately.
My mom sounded upbeat given the circumstances, though. My parents are going to Mexico in January, but can't afford to fly me home for Thanksgiving, so in that respect, things are as normal. My mom wants a Christmas list, which I might actually be able to give her this year, and wanted to know when I'd be home for the holidays. For once she didn't talk a lot about work, except to mention the Christmas party, though I guess she's had other things to deal with. And my sister did not give my dad the message that I called on his birthday. Thanks, Rebecca.
Back in Ithaca, things are.... going. It's amazing. It seems like I shouldn't have a lot of work, but I do. And one of my classes is ending! Besides concentrating on classes and my project, I'm trying to just survive here. Big interview Monday, so I'm a bit nervous about that. And I have a bad habit that I really should break that's affecting pretty much everything I do, but I won't go into that here. Except that bad habits are what they say they are - bad.
I guess I'll do some fun Inventory Management reading now. Or maybe work on my take-home prelim for Linear Algebra! Whee, my life as a student is exciting.
- Lizzardie, at 1:20 AM
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Monday, November 03, 2003
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Ahh, so a real update. I hope you have all been well, because, well, my life is weird.
So where were we last? It was late Wednesday night, into Thursday morning. I was done with my angry burst about one of my friends, my grandmother was recovering well from triple bypass surgery and I was still waiting to hear about my M.Eng project. How things have changed.
So, Thursday the 23rd of October opened nice and late for me, I remember that. In my inbox was my M.Eng project assignment! Yay! My M.Eng project will be with Analog Devices, Inc.. I will be working with 4 people on the project and we will be analyzing how data mining might be useful to ADI. The company is headquartered in Norwood, MA, but the people we will be visiting are in Wilmington, MA. So I get to go to Boston a few times this year and that is exciting as well. :-)
So the day was going pretty well. ADI was my first choice for my project (we had to rank them, I'm not sure if I ever mentioned that), no problem set due that day, earlier week stresses were done. Of course, all of that had to change around 9:15pm that night. My mother called me and as it turned out, my grandmother's surgery had not gone as well as they had thought. There had been problems with oxygen when closing up her heart, causing brain damage and she was on life support. They didn't expect her condition to improve, so the family was going to take her off life support if she didn't make it through the weekend. My mom wanted to know if I wanted to come home. I said yes, find me a flight home. I was upset about my grandmother, upset because I wouldn't be around for Homecoming weekend (Helen, Vinny, Herb and Bolcar were going to be in town), in limbo as far as how I would handle it academically (I had group members to be concerned with, as well as my own stuff), etc, etc, etc. I stayed up so late that night because I was just in shock and kinda upset at myself, as I always am, about the way I grieve.
My mom failed to call me back about a flight that night, which kinda bothered me, because I was in such limbo. I went through the motions of going to class the next day; still no call. I came home and talked to a few people, told them I'd probably see them that night because it didn't look like I was going home that day. Still no call. I took a nap. Still no call. When I woke up, the one good thing that could have happened that day, did - I got a second round interview with a consulting company in Boston, so I was glad to have a little cheer, but really, not thinking about it so much at that point. Still no call. Saw Vinny. Still no call. Finally, at 6:00pm on Friday my mom called me. My grandmother had woken up! I was very happy, my mom sounded so much better and it was not necessary for me to go home. Everything was going to be okay. I felt so much better.
So Homecoming weekend happened. I didn't get a lot of sleep, but had a good amount of fun. There was poker and wine and catching up with my friends and a party and a football game that I didn't pay attention to and brunch at Ruloff's, so all in all, a good weekend.
I think things started to go wrong again on Tuesday, though I am not sure. Tuesday was the day my car was towed, which is really annoying. They do a lot of street work in Ithaca, and even though I had checked on my car Saturday night (hadn't had a reason to move it), they are only required to post the signs 24 hours in advance. So they posted the signs at 7:30am on Monday (keep in mind that I have no reason to go past my car unless I'm going to drive it) and towed my car Tuesday morning. Stupid street parking and city of Ithaca. Luckily, Jamie was able to help me out and it didn't cost as much as I thought it would, but still a dent. I bought wine as a present to myself.
Then came Wednesday. I had my first meeting with my team for the ADI project and our advisors. We are going to Boston on Wednesday the 19th of November. Now, I can drive myself up there if I want, that's not a problem. But here's what is. We have to be in Boston that morning (Wilmington, really, but same difference). On the evening of Tuesday the 18th, I had a concert ticket to see Ani DiFranco at the beautiful historical State Street Theatre. So yah, I can't exactly drive to Boston in the middle of the night, so it looks like I'm not going to the concert. :-( Kathy has found someone to buy the ticket from me, so that's good, but I sure am disappointed. I feel like I'm being punished for something because all of these setbacks keep occuring in my life. Everyday there's a new one and it's kinda ridiculous.
So on Thursday, I was lamenting my sucky life to Herb on IM, which was starting to wear his patience. I finally stopped and went to get a cup of tea. I came back and said, "I now have tea with cream and sugar; maybe my life will get better." Coincidentally, 5 minutes later, Bolcar IMed me and invited me on the trip to Toronto with Herb and his family to see Eddie Izzard (Bolcar had an extra ticket)! I got to go away for the weekend! So Friday early afternoon I left for Toronto, meeting up with Bolcar and Herb and Jeff in Rochester. We had a fun 3-car party across the border. :-) Friday night was the performance, and we all (including Herb's mom, two sisters, Dawn and Donna, and Donna's friend Mark) went in costume, which was pretty cool. I was a sexy/slutty cat (lots of black and leather and fishnets, complete with tail and mask with ears and whiskers), Bolcar went as a green belt in Tai Kwan Do, Herb was the Devil's Advocate (complete with horns), Jeff was a sheriff, Herb's mom and Dawn were both witches of some sort, I don't know what Donna was, and Mark was Calvin from Calvin and Hobbes. It was a lot of fun! I really enjoyed Izzard, which is good, because apparently Herb and Bolcar quote him a lot (they were actually so surprised that they had never made me watch a tape of Izzard). The rest of the weekend was spent sightseeing, including the CN Tower, playing poker, eating, learning Magic (not my idea) and not a whole lot of sleeping. Saturday was Donna's birthday, so we all went out to eat to this restaurant called Barberians. They had a 60-page wine list, which I now have a copy of. They keep their wine in a cellar that holds 18,000 bottles (they are going to be building a bigger one). We got a tour of the cellar. The steak was amazing (it was a steak place). Lots of fun. I then got to witness the Wilmoth/Spina birthday tradition which was quite an adventure, but lots of fun, complete with cake. Ohh, and I shared a hotel room with Herb, Bolcar and Jeff which probably sounds sketchy, but wasn't (what gentlemen those three are).
So yeah. It was nice to get away for the weekend. I think it was much needed, given the stresses I've been dealing with, so it was good fun and I'm happy that Bolcar invited me. :-)
Now back to my regularly-scheduled week. Prelim Wednesday, Matrix Revolutions Wednesday, who knows what else. If it's boring, I'll be happy. :-)
- Lizzardie, at 4:37 PM
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