10/30
I am SO happy I gained an extra hour of sleep last night. I really needed it after such an eventful weekend. After waking up feeling well-rested, I drove to my sister's house to help her and her fiance pack their belongings up (they're moving into a new house tomorrow). A friend of the family, Carl, came over later to help also. We worked really hard all day, and by the time we were done, there were about five enormous bags of garbage to take out of the house. While I was in the bedroom packing clothes, my sister's fiance came in and asked my sister and I to grab the garbage bags in the kitchen since they were the lightest. I agreed to and proceeded to walk toward the garbage bag. As I put my hand on the bag, it sprung to life as Carl jumped out of it. Needless to say, I screamed bloody murder and had everyone else crying with laughter. I guess it's all in the spirit of Halloween. Although it made me look like a fool, it gave me something good to do to my roommates. We're in the middle of a prank war (involving partially ruined reputations, nasty banners, condensed milk, and mice) and I'm on the losing end, but hopefully not for long!
10/25
I've always had a hard time analyzing a poem, no matter what kind of poem it is. No poem is really straight-forward. A poem is based on how different individuals interpret them. If a group of words has only one meaning I wouldn't consider it a poem. With that said, William Carlos Williams' piece of writing is definitely a poem. I don't see how anyone could determine a clear-cut meaning from it. To me, it's about individuality and straying from the norm. A red wheelbarrow among white chickens couldn't help but stand out. I'm not sure if I really like this poem just because there doesn't seem to be much talent to it. While reading it, I felt like I was just standing in front of one of those art paintings that is considered a masterpiece when it's only a few colorful splatters across a canvas. I don't really understand why this poem has been remembered for eighty years.
10/19
Halloween is right around the corner and I'm stumped on the subject of costume ideas. I've lived in Hickville, USA (aka Stormstown, a village outside of State College) since I was two. For the past four years my friends and I dressed in camo from head to toe and spent the night riding around in a convoy of pick-up trucks, occasionally being the innocent trick-or-treaters but usually reeking havoc on our poor, innocent town. We've never really been caught doing anything, but last year a couple of my friends were close to it. Supposedly a John Kerry sign was paintballed and the ball ricocheted off the sign and hit the owner in the face. Needless to say, I did not take part in this particular event.
The next day, the incident was broadcasted on the local radio station and Channel 4. My dad, being the conniving person he is, came home the next day from work and told me the victim of my friend's "innocent" attack was hit in the eye, blinding him permanently. Of course, a terrible sense of guilt overwhelmed me as I realized I probably could have stopped my dumb friends from paintballing the sign in the first place. My dad let it go on for a couple hours before telling me there had been no serious damage, but to me, the damage had been done. At least he knows how to teach lessons. For some odd reason, I feel like steering clear of pranks this Halloween, so I have no need for my camo garb. I thought of going as Tom Brady but realized I would rather come home with all my limbs in tact. I need some ideas!
10/17
Eating at restaurants is overrated. I just got back from wing night at Champ's and realized why I stopped going in the first place. First of all, Champ's is expensive and the service is terrible. I feel bad because every waitress I've had has tried to do a decent job but they just don't seem to keep up. Once we got the check (which we wanted to be split, but they didn't) we were charged for two extra drinks and it took us twenty minutes to round up the money for the meals, tax, and the 18% gratuity they charged. It would have been less stressful and less costly to go to Giant, buy a bunch of good steaks, and cook them ourselves. Instead, we ate lousy wings. Dining out is supposed to be relaxing and tonight was just annoying. I guess that I am just venting over a meaningless incident, but when you're stressed out as it is, the little things get to you.
P.S. I'm going to start using my other screen name,
Trin48. I've had the other one since I was 12 and that, along with everything else, is annoying.
10/16
What a long weekend! My computer started to freak out on me again a few days ago so I couldn't post any blogs because letters were appearing as numbers on the screen. I left for Virginia for my cousin's wedding on Thursday and there was no internet connection at the hotel. Although it was a pain, I have to say that being computer-less was a relief. It was nice to be with my family. My cousin's wedding was really sweet. It was pretty small since only sixty people attended (this is shocking, I have a big family, but the sixty people were pretty much all of them. I guess the groom didn't have much family to invite). Throughout all of the hustle and bustle to get everything together beforehand, I think I decided that if I ever get married, I'm going to elope and save everyone the trouble. My aunt, the bride's mother, was going crazy because these yellow ribbons hadn't arrived and the reception would NOT be the same since all the chairs would be ribbon-less. The rehearsal was a total disaster with the music skipping and playing at the wrong times, the wind blowing the walkway over (it was an outside wedding), and the bridesmaids and groomsmen forgetting when to walk and where to go. All in all, the wedding itself went smoothly, but I still think there was too much stress involved prior to the big day. Weddings are nice, but they should be the prelude to a relaxing life, not a frustrating one.
10/13
Well, my roommates and I finally decided to get off our lazy bums and decorate our living room. It turned out quite interesting. We went to Ross's, that new place by the mall, and found some killer deals on curtains, a shelf, a wooden design, and half of a genie lamp (it's hard to describe). Anyway, we left with $102.00 worth of CRAP. Once we got back home, I realized this. I mean, sure it looks nice, but none of it was necessary. The only thing we all had our hearts set on were curtains, and once we put them up (which took two hours and a couple friendly neighbors) they looked terrible. We have decided our theme is now rustic/egyptian/ghetto-fabulous. I have to go play some more Mario on Nintendo... In my opinion, it should be a sport. Goodnight!
10/9
I was browsing through articles online and the one which seemed very informative, if not disturbing, was
http://www.ppu.org.uk/genocide/g_cambodia1.html∞. It's unnerving to believe that over two million people were killed and I have heard the event mentioned maybe three times in passing conversation. Granted, America has their own problems, but I couldn't imagine living under such conditions. The scene that the article described was Hell, pure and simple. I can't imagine conditions getting worse than that. People were dying because they wore glasses, and it represented being intellectual? How could a government do this? Maybe I'm naive, but I cannot believe this could happen in the world today. Learning about the Holocaust and Vietnam was part of history class. How could The Khmer Rouge slip through the pages? Or am I so ignorant I didn't notice it was there? Either way, I feel guilty that I had no real knowledge of this.
While I think of the terrible things that are happening overseas, I also wonder how much energy we should put toward other nation's troubles when we have so many of our own. Then again, if we spend too much time focused on our troubles, the ones of others may grow until, eventually, they become too big for us to deal with when we are forced to. I feel a little better knowing I don't have to make decisions like this, but at the same time, I hope that the people who will make these decisions (in the future and the present) know what they are doing.
10/8
I can't believe what I just witnessed. I went into this game believing that Ohio was going to completely dominate us. I had zero faith in Penn State; well, maybe I had a little, but it was fake. I went tailgating and while I was walking, my friend was behind me yelling at Ohio fans, saying, "You're gonna lose!" I turned to the guy next to me, thinking he was part of my group of friends, and said, "No they're not." As the words left my mouth, I looked up to see a man decked out in red from head to toe. He pointed at me with a statisfying "HA!" and I tried to cover it up by screaming, "you're going down!" but I was too late, the damage had been done. But what a beautiful game! Now I feel like an even bigger idiot. GO PENN STATE!
Oh ye of little faith. Well, faith was hard to draw upon, considering Penn State's record of showing up with a horrible team one week, and a rose-bowl quality team the next. But, I don't think you are stupid, because even if you didn't believe, you still cheered (I hope you at least cheered!) for THE team. -
CarpeDiem
10/6
Yesterday my place looked like gorillas moved in. There was crap everywhere. I live with three girls and you would not believe how messy it can get! We have twice as many glasses as we need, and yet we still never have anything clean to drink out of. We began to just go by the old visual-method of eating off of dishes: If it doesn't look dirty, then it isn't. No need to smell it... if you did, you probably would be eating with your hands. Anyway, when I came home today I was astonished; my roommates actually cleaned! What a beautiful thing. I guess it's because we have about fifteen people staying in a four-bedroom apartment. Things are gonna get a little bit crazy this weekend, hopefully in a good way! Well I gotta make like Tom and cruise.. Smallville's tonight, and until then, I'm gonna try to beat Mario Bros. Three once and for all.
10/5
So I guess my computer decided to cease with its tantrum and all is well again. At least for now. As of this moment, I'm torn between finishing a paper for my deviance class and playing Mario Bros. on Nintendo. I'm not talking about Game-Cube or 64, either. We have old-school Nintendo, and I wouldn't want it any other way. I spent probably 2 hours with one of my friends playing Nintendo last night because we were stuck on a ridiculous level of this Lolo game. Looking back, I can't believe I wasted two hours of my life worrying about how to beat that game. Personally, Im still all about Super Mario Bros. 3. I have become obsessed with it again, for the first time in eight years. That and Tetris. What a fantastic way to spend your free time. Who needs XBox?? I, for one, am not ashamed that I'm still in love with the original Nintendo.
10/5
SO my computer was working FINE when I Got hOME
AnD aS
SoON aS I tRIED To starT TYPing A PAPER THIS IS WHAT happENED> I haVE nOT
PResSED THE SHIFT KEY OR THE Caps lOCK key once. This is jusT
FantastIC!! I DONt
EvEN KNOW HOW TO GO ABOUT FIXING this probleM> if ANYone has had somEthing liKE this happen or knows What I CAN DO< please leT Me kNow!! i dont exactly undErstAnd COMputers all that mUCH. if i can"t fiX It SOon< jusT bEar with me.
10/3
It still surprises me that Summer is really over and we have all completed one third of the semester. I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing yet, but I guess I can't do anything about it now. As with the changing of the seasons, I always get a little upset over this every year. It seems that I always forget how short Summer feels as it rolls into Fall. I found out that I'm not the only one whos mood changes with the seasons. My sister works at a Psychiatrist's office and she told me that they sent 4 people to the Meadows (a rehabilitation facility for the mentally ill) in one day. Before that, they only sent one person in five months! I know I don't get crazy enough to get help for it, but still, it sucks that Summer really is over. Seeing how it's October 3rd, I guess I'm realizing this a little later than usual.