Something I Learned Today...

Cobra Skulls/Teenage Bottlerocket/Lawrence Arms show was last night and me and Julie went. I started out, like I do at most shows, as super socially awkward girl but eventually got to the point that I was dancing along to the random songs inbetween sets by the end. At least I had a friend with me this time. See? I learned something. Hooray!

And I learned that Anaheim is full of a bunch of stiffs! I mean, I know I was in the back for most of it and all, but at least I was MOVING somewhat. I was standing next to one dude during Teenage Bottlerocket, he just stood there completely still. How can you not move? Are you dead? A statue? Souless? Jeeeeeez... come on, Orange County! At least bob your head up and down. Something?

But the music was good (like I knew it would be) and Julie enjoyed it which I was concerned about. She even thought Brendan was funny, the "illegal" circle pit was hilarious, liked Devin's hair, and said that Chris has a good voice and is cute. She did also say that she couldn't really hear what anyone was saying and after the Cobra Skulls she added that they "might as well be speaking Spanish."

I laughed sooooo hard, you have no idea.

Anyway, this was the first time I ever had to use earplugs. And my ears are still kind of ringing. Yikes. But it was worth it. I got to hear "Thicker than Water" AND "Problems With Preconceptions" from the Cobra Skulls set; and then, later, back to back, "Recovering the Opposable Thumb" and "100 Resolutions" from the Lawrence Arms, my two favorite FAVORITE songs of theirs. I can officially die happy and fulfilled. Seriously, my fucking feet were off the floor. It was awesome. Though I was surprised at how many slower songs they played. I mean, I like "The Revisionist" as much as the next gal, but also had to work before the show so I was already plenty tired. I wasn't bored by the songs, but really exhausted in general by then.

I also converted into a Teenage Bottlerocket fan; their songs are so fun live!

We left early mainly because she had to be back on campus and ready to entertain her Jumpstart student by 8 'o clock this morning and she was my ride, so I didn't catch the encore, if there was one. I'm pretty sure there was one--they hadn't played "Like a Record Player" yet. Ah, well. Still awesome and the perfect way to end a pretty great week.

Next time we do this sort of thing it's going to be interesting: it's Julie's turn to pick the show.

My weekend has been amazingly productive. Went on a date yesterday, came home and have basically sat around watching various episodes of Torchwood ever since. Well, Doctor Who too, but mainly Torchwood. See? This is what happens when I read blogs written by Watchmen fans. I get reccomendations. I'm also a day late on this one. Anyway, that's all I've done and I've come to the following conclusions:

1. It is basically Fringe with a lot, a lot, a LOT, more sex, better looking guys (so good looking in fact, they can't keep their hands off each other,) cuter girls, more tragic drama, a dash of humor and the best part: it doesn't have that annoying blonde chick as the lead!

2. I hate Gwen. Tosh, Owen and Ianto all die. Jack kills his grandson AND has Ianto die in his fucking arms after Ianto tells him he loves him. But Gwen is virtually unscathed? And this is fair how? You can make the argument that's it's all in the name of "hope" for a new beginning, but please. They probably did it so they can write her in as Jack's love interest if they make another season.

3. Holy shit. That's Spike from Buffy.

4. I had this whole thing about Ianto's death all planned out. But, really, all I can say is this: it made sense and didn't make sense at the same time. Yes, I understand it was a ploy to get him to kill his grandson. However, it seemed like a cliche, so it was hollow and kind of senseless in that regard. Besides, what's Jack going to do now? Ianto was his tether to his humanity. It's like if you were to watch House and Wilson (who I think is in for a rough season since he still so very mired in grief. He has a freakin' Amber shrine. Hey! My random Twitter posts probably make more sense now haha) was suddenly given a terminal cancer or killed in some sort of accident. House would lose his tether to most of the outside world and just be so lost.

5. Next pet I get is getting named Ianto because that is a badass fucking awesome name.

I don't know; it made sense in my head and I could probably elaborate more if I thought on it more. But it's bedtime and I have work in the morning and a Lawrence Arms show to catch with Julie after that. Hooray!

Item the first: IF you're ever going to do a Pitchforky-ADHD-Ritalin-lacking psuedo-version of yourself for your "Imagine Who" assignment, at least get the Pitchforky bands right. Sleater-Kinney? Fine. Fugazi? Fine. Off With Their Heads? Off With Their Heads?! What were you thinking?!? You dolt: you should have said Vampire Weekend. Or something! That's what I get for trying to play it safe instead of letting my imagination run rampant. I should have. It's what the internet's for. For 10m dash running imaginations. Augh! Fail! Fail! Fail!

Item the second: I found my guitar picks on the top shelf of my closet, where I keep my workhat and other assorted knick-knacks. I have no idea what they were doing up there.

Item the third: Rodrigo y Gabriela, ftw!

Thank you, that is all.

I can't cross my arms anymore.

It's negative body language and we're not allowed to do that in Drama. I put them on my hips when I don't know what else I'm supposed to do with my arms. Now I'm stuck; it feels weird whenever I do cross my arms.

We did warm-ups in class and I've been hyperactive ALL frickin' day. ALL DAY. Usually, by this time, I'm halfway to being passed out on my bed. I have my first choir class tonight and I'm looking into learning how to swing dance just because I can.

And I'm happy, dammit!

This writer's block makes me want to say (and seriously, this is what this makes me think of. Sorry:)

"Go carpe your diem and shut up."

I don't know. I don't  really make "connections" with teachers and I've never really been inspired by any of the ones I had.

My ultimate goal: survive the class.

Okay.

Winter quarter, I'm changing my major and everything to the following: Anthropology major/Drama minor.

That's exactly what I want. This way, I get to mix my awe of society with Stoppard (and Albee... and classical... omgomgomg!!!) plays. This makes me stoked. All I have to do is make sure I don't fuck up the Intro to Acting class I signed up for, and I should be golden. I'm already on track for Anthro. Then I can take one of the Drama/Comparative Lit. classes about the different types of drama winter quarter. God, I'm so excited! I haven't been this excited about school since... fucking sophomore year of high school! Even if I tank the acting class, I'm taking the 40 series. See? No harm done and I just won't go for the minor.

Between the acting class and the choir class I originally signed up for, I'm invigorated and scared absolutely shitless. I'll be out of my comfort zone--and good riddance to it! I need to make a change, so I'm fucking going for it. I thought I had before, but this time I'm actually going to try in a Theater class. 

I'm tired of being too scared to try the things I want to do. I'm tired of telling myself I'm not fucking good enough to even try the things I want to try. That's it; I'm done. To hell with it.

Life's too fucking short. 

UPDATE: Aw, fuck... now it's sunk in. Ahhhhh!!!!!

Oh, Sarah Palin... you never fail to provide the lulz. I'd like to believe that it's a fan in charge of her fanpage on Facebook, but something tells me I'd be wrong.

Okay, now look: I'm not as versed in Obama's policies as I should be. It's sad, I know. I'm another apathetic idiot that has no idea what the fuck is going on. But, after reading up on the "death panel" thing, and ignoring the fact that it isn't in the bill, I was curious:

"The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down Syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama’s “death panel” so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their “level of productivity in society,” whether they are worthy of health care. Such a system is downright evil."

Aren't the insurance companies/current ways of getting health care already doing that? Qualifications and pre-existing conditions? Caps on care (just ask my mom about her prescription coverage?) Hello? 

I know this has been plenty covered on the Daily Show and the Colbert Report but come on now. This is inane.

No wonder why I'm an apathetic idiot; it beats hearing this sort of crap.

Click!

I get it now, though I'm still not much of a fan of Agony and Irony. I've been addicted to Goddamnit for the last couple of days and I've picked up From Here to Infirmary and I've liked what I've heard so far.

Should be good times...

I think it's funnier when I tell my friends what I DO like and they have no idea what I'm talking about. Though, to be a stickler to the prompt, I'll try to answer as honestly as I can:

TV Show: Looking back on old episodes of Friends, I can't believe I ever liked that show. Monica, Ross and Rachel are all so annoying! I can't really get into Lost very much, much to my mother's chagrin. Monk is okay, and I should be more of a fan, considering. I don't really like the Office. I don't remember the last time I watched Supernatural. I loathe Smallville. Maybe I should just stick to Scrubs and shut up. I need to catch up on Flight of the Conchords. Ugh. Typical hipster response. No wonder I have issues.

Band: Uh... that's hard because I don't really know what's super popular at the moment. So, I'm just going to look at KROQ's site, let's see: I don't like the Killers. I hate Metallica. I think Coldplay is as exciting as watching rust form on a pipe that's been sitting outside in your backyard next to a dripping garden hose for five months. I'm very disappointed in the new Green Day single, which is kind of sad. It's Green Day! The go-to band when nothing else fits! Geez..

Book: Uh, besides Twilight I can't really think of one. I don't really read a lot of new stuff because the university likes to focus on the old stuff, and I just don't pay attention. The last hyped up thing I read was Watchmen and that's at least 20 years old. I also didn't dislike it. But, Twilight? I read a good four chapters of that book and I was laughing hysterically the entire time. It was that bad. And don't give me that, "but... you've never fallen for a person like that! You can't relate!" BS. If that's how I'm supposed to act, then I'd rather marry Aaron the iPod and I'm glad I missed out.

Hey, wait. That's a lie. I did finish the latest issue of Cometbus (who my iPod is named after. Hee.) That's contemporary; it's not popular either, nor, again, did I dislike it.

Other: Anime. My roommates are all anime buffs. They like comics and cartoons in general too and that's awesome. We actually kind of bonded over Watchmen. But not anime. I've tried getting into it and with a few exceptions, I can't do it. I don't know if it's the aesthestic or whatever, or if it's something about the one's I've stumbled on, but I just don't like it.

Dear Zack Snyder,

I'm not supposed to walk out of Watchmen thinking:

"Daaaamn! The Comedian is hot!" or "Holy moly!!! Patrick Wilson!!!!! Squeeee!!!!"

Thank you. That is all.

On another note, this quarter is almost over for me, thank god (or whoever?) If I weren't a Spanish major, I'd never take another Spanish class again. That bothers me. I loved that subject. I was good at it. Now I'm disillusioned. Thanks a fucking lot.

It'll be worth it next quarter when I can take that history of 20th century music class, though. It's got to get better, it just has to. I start upper division next quarter for Spanish. It's a literature class, which is going to make or break me since, lately, I've only had enough of an attention span to handle reading Cometbus and I can barely do that sometimes. Great.

It'll get better. It'll get better. I'll just have to keep lying to myself until it's true.

Valentine's Day can suck it. It needs to end so I can download Scrambles.

Yes, I've already pre-ordered it.

Today my roommates and I went out to get pancakes at IHOP. Then we played Rock Band. I also finished Cometbus #47, a feat which left me relieved since I haven't finished a book or anything in fucking months. I'm going to start A Prayer For Owen Meany next, after I finish my Spanish homework.

I miss reading.

No, that is NOT Dave Grohl.

Rock the pop. Bailaremos.

Word. Viva la Mountain Dew.

I've been looking at other schools, just to see. What I've come to notice is that, all the Spanish programs at Southern California universities (and colleges) look freakishly similar. The only one with an actual emphasis (read: more than a certificate, though most schools didn't have that) on translation was CSULB and I don't really want to go there. I have my reasons. I'm going to keep looking. I might suck it up. Or I might just suck it up and stay here. I'm still thinking about it, but I'm not too sure yet. I think my parents think (or want me to think) I want to go back home and go to UCR. I don't know. I think I just want to leave, but I've said that before.

Here, have a video. Derek Perry breaks hearts:

I'm keeping February 7th open. I'll seriously call in sick. I mean, I'll request it off when I get to work today and I haven't been scheduled to work Saturdays lately, but just in case! It couldn't hurt.

I'm serious this time.

There's simply no acceptable excuse to miss Andrew Jackson Jihad AND a new Jesse Michaels band (haha... I just checked the Classics of Love page. I, apparently, can't read.)

Anyway, consider me stoked, regardless of the deja vu involved.

After class, I went down to Old Town Orange. I needed to get out of Irvine and change my scenery a little; it took about an hour on a bus. Lot's of antique shops, though there was a neat record store that sold old vinyl records. Really, really cramped, but literally covered wall to wall in vinyl. The coffee shop by Chapman University is neat, too. It's kind of like the Coffee Depot out in Riverside, but smaller and more intimate. And it's called the Ugly Mug. Anyway, I sat outside, with a chai latte, and did my Spanish homework on a antiquey looking black iron table and red plastic chair. I got distracted by the cars passing by and down the street, a little annoying, but relaxing all the same from my brick-walled perch. I was content. It's funny, my grandparents live about five minutes away from there, and I've known of the area my entire life, but I've never actually been there. It's not the most extraordinary thing someone can do, but, hey, I got out of the apartment.

Anyway, enough of that rambling crap. I've been addicted to this song lately:

This song makes me happy. It's kind of a downer, lyrically, but I like it. It makes me dance:



Jeff Rosenstock is the man.

Oh! And whoever convinced me not to download everything from Quoteunquote is hereby fired. Starting now. I'm behind on free Matt Kurz One awesomeness, dammit!

And Keanu Reeves is a terrible actor (yeah, yeah. Duh. Whatever.) My dad's watching Johnny Mnemonic (with Henry Rollins AND Ice-T!) and yeah... it's just all bad.

Remember that advocacy essay I was talking about finishing a few posts back? The teacher finally posted the grades for it.

I got an A- on it. It's the first time that's happened in a couple of quarters, and especially taking this last one into consideration, I was pleasantly surprised. My grades have been on a pretty slippery slope lately. But, I really think the best part is I didn't even agree with what I was arguing about. Awesome.

Now all I have to do is hope to come out okay in Spanish and Linguistics. Spanish I should pass and get the minimum to get into the next level, no problem (which is a D-). It will be a miracle if I somehow manage to pass Linguistics though. Oh well, at least it's P/NP. Whatever.

That's probably a very bad habit to get into. I should probably care a little more.

Yeah, right. Like that'll happen.

I'm going home this weekend, and I think I'll be able to get the next week off. That'll be nice. I'll get to see some friends, some family, sleep in a little more, and not deal with nit-picky customers. It's a win-win situation.

ADVOCACY ESSAY'S DONE!!!! Now I can sleep soundly tonight, after I edit it and (hopefully) print it out. If Julie's printer says, "okay, fine. Do what you want..."

You can finish the quote if you want. But don't do it around me. *rimshot*

Yeeeahhh... anyway, moving on.

But, starting Saturday and ending on Tuesday, I go a full four days of straight work, work and more work, so studying for finals is going to be a bitch! And so is Monday. I go from a final to work, pretending to be happy and jovial and jubliant and upbeat and peppy. Ick.

And this is also kind of a bitch:

1. I thought I heard about this somewhere before. So it sounded familiar, but I wasn't thinking (I sound so stupid or shy or stoned on the phone. Or like my mom, but mostly stupid. I don't know which is worse...) Hey, look! A green show flyer:



2. Cobra Skulls are playing with the Briggs at the Knitting Factory the same day. But, no car (duh), so that doesn't even matter.

The thing that sucks is that even if I didn't have to work that night, I couldn't go to the Dead to Me show if I wanted to. I'm totally broke, which sucks 'cause I need to pitch in for groceries and I don't know when my tuition payment's going to go through so I can't just yet. No ticket money, and sure as hell no money to get my butt out to Riverside.

Oddly enough, the idea to split groceries four ways for $25 bucks a week was MY idea. Dammit. Fuck. Expletive, expletive.

Oh well, there'll be other shows. There'll be other days to pay for groceries (and other paychecks.) I'll just have to sell my soul to Elizabeth to make up for it. The important thing here is that I finished my advocacy paper. One thing at a time, right?

I'm updating the sign that's going to be hung around my neck for family functions:

"Hi! Life is good. My roommates are good. UCI is good (even if I'm thinking about transferring out.) I'm working. No, I don't eat meat. No, I don't have a license, because, honestly, I don't really want one right now."

I love my family, even if they think I'm weirder than my "kooky" aunt Kit (who, to be honest, is not that weird.)

Anyway, hanging out with my friends yesterday was fun. We walked around the mall on Black Friday (or Buy Nothing Day; or buy a strawberry shake at DQ and laugh at the people with bags and bags and bags and bags of stuff day.) and talked and acted like a bunch of dorks. You know, the usual thing we do.

Now, if I can just skip the next week, everything'll be good. No papers, no tuition, no rent... just calm before the shitstorm of finals.

P.S. How can something including Tommy Stinson be so ridiculously bad?

I wish I didn't have to work on Saturday so I can go home and go to Back to the Grind that day. But I can't.

Well, I get to see Japanther on Friday. That should be good. And it's free! 'Cause they're playing on the Student Center Terrace Stage! Where no one will give a crap except the people who have subscribed to the Acrobatics Everyday mailing list.

I seriously feel bad for every band that plays those free shows at UCI. People just walk by. It's disheartening. I like Japanther.

Does anyone want to write my Spanish paper for me? It's on Spanish/Latin American indie rock. It's due tomorrow. If you write it, I can translate it!

Ugh.