It's a slow news day when...

The biggest event is that Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck are married. And oh by the way she's pregnant. Did they really expect that we hadn't noticed before now?

SO not what I expected.

Grad school has not ceased to amaze me. Some nights I revel in the intelligence and intellectual curiosity of my professors and classmates. Other nights I feel a personal attachment to the material. Then again, some nights just defy explanation.

Tonight we discussed an Australian wine case and globalization. Overheard in class:

"Who does the CEO remind you of? He reminds me of fat bastard."

"The other protagonist passed away shortly before this video was made, something involving a freak kangaroo accident."

I suppose that some of these comments and class antics stemmed from the fact that our newbie prof decided that an Australian wine case would be a good opportunity to BYOB. Yes folks, our core group of 75 people went through a few cases of wine between 8 and 10pm tonight, during our strategy class.

Things sort of took a turn for the worse when our token old guy lectured:

"White and rosee on ice is ok,
Red on cold is never sold."

Sometimes grad school isn't quite what I expected it to be.

Someone's got some 'splainin to do.

*** Warning - if you watch Six Feet Under, or plan to, there's a spoiler ahead. ***

So I'm watching Season III on DVD thanks to Netflix, and eagerly anticipating Season IV this August. Can someone please explain to me how in the last three episodes of the season they kill Lisa off, marry Ruth off and subject Claire to an abortion? WTF?!? I must have missed something.

This just in:

Tom Cruise has been further criticized for slamming the consumption of drugs used to treat depression during a recent TV interview - by the American Psychiatric Association (APA).

The mental health organization has accused the 'War of the Worlds' star of behaving irresponsibly for labeling anti-depressant drugs a "pseudo science" during an interview with Matt Lauer on the Today show last week.

In a statement, the APA says: "It was irresponsible for Mr. Cruise to use his movie publicity tour to promote his own ideological views... (and) deter people with mental illness from getting the help they need."

*****

As a person who has used anti-depressants for a number of years now (and taken a 6-8 month break in between to see if life truly was better without the chemicals) I'm really offended by pretty much everything that Tom Cruise has done in the last year or so. I once respected him as an actor and as a person. Sure, he has views that are different than mine, but I could always respect that. The fact that he now feels he has to cut down everyone around him, and lash out about things of which he has no knowledge really makes me angry. Hey Tom - you lost a fan of your movies. When you get pregnant and deal with raging hormones and depression, you give me a call. I'll cry you a river.

Administratum: The Heaviest Element Known to Science

Physicists recently discovered the heaviest element known to science. The element, tentatively named Administratum, has no protons or electrons and thus has an atomic number of 0. However, it does have: 1 neutron, 125 assistant neutrons, 75 vice-neutrons, and 111 assistant vice-neutrons. This gives Administratum an atomic mass of 312.

A force that involves the continuous exchange of meson-like particles called morons holds the 312 particles together.

Since it has no electrons, Administratum is inert. However, it can be detected chemically as it impedes every action with which it comes in contact. According to the discoverers, a minute amount of Administratum causes one reaction to take four days to complete, when it would have normally occurred in less than one second.

Administratum has a normal half-life of approximately three years, at which time it does not actually decay but instead undergoes a re-organization in which assistant neutrons, vice-neutrons, and assistant vice-neutrons exchange places. Some studies have shown that the atomic mass of Administratum actually increases after each re-organization.

Research at other laboratories indicates that Administratum occurs naturally in the atmosphere. It tends to concentrate at certain points such as government agencies, large corporations, and universities, and can usually be found in the newest, best appointed, and best maintained buildings.

Scientists point out that Administratum has proven to be toxic at any level of concentration and can easily destroy any productive reaction where it is allowed to accumulate. Attempts are being made to determine how Administratum can be controlled to prevent irreversible damage, but results to date are not promising.

***generously forwarded by a classmate of mine***

I GOT IT!

Ok the big news is that in two weeks (as of July 11) I will now be starting work at the Institute for Creative Technologies in Marina Del Rey. I'm super excited to begin work there. The only down side is figuring out how to resign here, but that's just a project to complete before the end of the day.

To all of you who have offered support and good words and crossed fingers - THANK YOU! Let's all go out and celebrate!

Weekend Recap

Well it's been too short, but not a bad weekend. Just a quick recap:

1. Friday night was a quiet night in - chatted with friends, watched a movie (First Daughter, starring Katie Holmes. It wasn't bad despite the fact that I'm on KATIE-OVERLOAD).
2. Saturday - I got a manicure and then hung with the parents. We went out to dinner, and then mom and I watched chick flicks and stayed up late.
3. Sunday - Field Day! The daughter completed her annual breakfast duties by getting bagels and rescuing dad from an overnight in a tent with a radio blaring morse code. Then I worked a few hundred contacts in the voice tent. Then new glasses, market, a long nap (the best part of Sunday afternoons!), some knitting and hanging with friends tonight.

Unfortunately that means Monday is tomorrow.... oh well. Next weekend is a long weekend! I can't wait!

Religion

Not much to report for this Friday, so I'm going to steal this goodie and give credit where it's due.

The little sis offered this one up: finally a religion I can believe in.

Whew!

What a day! Started out bright and early this morning with helping Statistics Students in the Global MBA program (I'm the TA!). Then moved on to the eye doctor where I learned that I really can't see the board very well - my prescription changed and I'm now legally blind. Well ok not quite, but I feel like it! Then headed back to USC for the Statistics Help Session, and then through classes for the evening. Now I'm home and relaxin' on the couch, enjoying just vegging to Law & Order.

Can't wait for weekend to catch up on quality knitting time. It's also Field Day this weekend. For those not in the know, that's the day where us "crazy hams" set up radio stations and operate on generator power for 24 straight hours. Not only does this help with disaster preparedness, but it's become a nifty contest sponsored by the Amateur Radio Relay League (ARRL). So I'm flexing the old pipes and getting ready to rack up those contacts. Anyone interested should let me know, and feel free to stop by!

Ok I'm getting off the hamster wheel of life for a few. Hopefully tomorrow I'll have some news to report!

Apollo

So I went to see Apollo tonight at the Kirk Douglas Theatre, the newest venue of Center Theatre Group. Essentially, Apollo is about the evolution of flight and space travel in the 20th century. Synopsis is as follows:

After World War II, in order to reach the moon before the Soviets did, America relied on scientists who had built rockets for Nazi Germany. Men like Arthur Rudolph and Wernher von Braun, became American citizens and, eventually, heroes -- helping to land astronauts on the moon and to create Disney’s Tomorrowland. Apollo paints the nation's fascination with space on a canvas tinted by human brutality and human brilliance.

My critique? Wonderful acting, some amazing stage/set work, particularly in the second act. Vivid imagery and lighting. But I'm not sure I cared for the play itself. Sometimes it seemed a little overdone, and in parts it seemed to drag a bit. All in all a good evening out, but not necessarily a must see for those in the LA environs.

Strangest occurence? A girl I went to high school with was the stage manager and has some pretty impressive credits in her bio - a big shout out to Winnie Lok!

Almost there.

So I had a super top-secret interview today, and I might hear something as early as Friday, but my Magic-8 ball and my sources say things are looking good.

Keeping my fingers and toes crossed and looking forward to July 4th BBQ's baby!

Blogsurfing...

So I'm blogsurfing tonight in a post-midterm stupor and I stumble upon someone who has catalogued the BBC's top 200 books of all time. I'm humming along, checking out what's on there, noting I've read approximately half of them, and heard of most of the rest and then it dawns on me that all 4 Harry Potter books are on there. Now if this is a list of the best sellers of all time, I'm all in agreement. But if this is the top 200 books of all time, as in the best of the best, I'm just thinking that not all 4 of the Harry Potter books should make the list. Somehow J.K. Rowling isn't quite the calibre of Charles Dickens, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jane Austen, William Shakespeare, etc. Any thoughts?

To see what's on there... click here.

***Update***

On second perusal I'd like to just say I don't know what kind of crack they were smoking but I only consider about 100 of these to be truly the best of all time. I love Roald Dahl, and I'll vote for one book (Charlie & the Chocolate Factory) but you can't convince me that he merits 4 or 5 entries in the top 200 of all time. I'm out.

Fluffy and the Pussycats

So a friend of mine linked to this interesting Band Name Generator. Ever wondered what kind of a band Fluffy might be in? Here's what they suggested:

* Fluffy of the Fission
* Fluffy Drummer
* Motivated Fluffy and the Blues
* Superior Fluffy
* Fluffy Distortion
* Fluffy Rigor
* Fluffy Lieutenant and the Flame

This is a very very very bad day.

It's Monday and there's another midterm. But my day isn't as bad as this guy's:

PINE BLUFF, Ark. - A vehicle went airborne Sunday morning after running off Highway 65 and plowed through a house, landing on top of a Pine Bluff man who was asleep in his bed, police said.

What a wakeup call.

I wonder what this means?

From my fortune cookie this evening:

"You are a happy man."

Last I checked I still had breasts and something else and a definite lack of a thing.

Holy Earthquake Batman!

Yup, that's right folks. At approximately 1:53pm the whole building shook. Neat huh?

***UPDATE***

Courtesy of Southern California Earthquake Center (SCEC):

A moderate earthquake occurred at 1:53:25 PM (PDT) on Thursday, June 16, 2005. The magnitude 5.3 event occurred 4 km (2 miles) NE (41 degrees) of Yucaipa, CA. The hypocentral depth is 12 km ( 8 miles).

Postscript

For those of you who are annoyed that I finish tests quickly, I offer this tidbit:

My groupmates set up a betting pool tonight on how fast I would finish the test. There were two categories (the under/over 25 minutes contingent, and the under/over 40 minutes contingent). I don't know how the pool is determined, nor how a winner is selected, but all I know was that it involved beer. Well boys, it was past an hour when I finally walked out.

A light at the end of the night.

So I had an INSANE midterm tonight. It wasn't that it was so hard, but the guy wanted pages and pages of calculations and there were 11 essay/calculation answer questions. (with multiple parts!) Anyhow, I was pretty wiped when I was done, and ready for home. An then something unexpected happened. A light at the end of the night.

On my way out, a classmate stopped me to chat about the midterm. During the conversation he thanked me for supporting him in class at the beginning of the term. I have only a vague recollection of this, but apparently he was making a point that the professor wasn't overly receptive to, and I jumped in and supported him.

For those of you who know me, I have my demons, and a rather large one is what others think of me. I'm basically an introvert who desperately wants to be an extrovert. Yes I'm outgoing and friendly, but inside I'm really just a girl who never quite feels like she fits in. I tend to opt out of larger social situations, because I always feel out of place. My mother used to tell me that this just made me appear arrogant and aloof (and maybe she was right), but what goes through my mind is anything but that. That said, the positive light at the end of my night is that a classmate of mine, someone I hold in high esteem (read: he's very smart) thanked me for supporting him. So I would just offer my thanks to him, for making me feel accepted.

Contextually appropriate...or not.

Do you ever get on the phone to make a call, and talk to someone without realizing what you're saying? Then you get off the phone and wonder if the comments you made were really contextually appropriate?

Example:

Other guy: "Good morning. How are you?"
Me: "Ok, how about you?"
Other guy: "Ok, but I seem to be getting a cold."
Me: "Ok. (pause) So I was trying to reach Ms. X."

Oops. Did I just jump ahead without saying "oh that's too bad" or "feel better"? Hmmm... and I wasn't even trying to be cranky.

Cranky

crank·y
adj. crank·i·er, crank·i·est

Definition: Having a bad disposition; peevish.

Synonyms: bad-humored, bearish, bitchy, cantankerous, choleric, crabby, cross, crotchety, disagreeable, grouchy, grumpy, hot-tempered, ill-humored, irascible, irritable, mean, ornery, quick-tempered, snappish.

Causes: Money, work, homework, annoying people, chores.

Proceed at your own discretion.

The War in Iraq

No, this isn't going to be a hugely political post, though I'm sure I can go off on the subject quite nicely. This is merely how the war seems to have touched my life, albeit in a small way. It is interesting to note that the US has more or less been at war with the Middle East since 9/11. Sure we've switched countries and "missions", but that is approximately 3.5 years of war. And what can we really say for that? We've destroyed Afghanistan, and now Iraq, but have we "won"? Has anything we've done been considered progress or even good?

In my MBA class we have a few military folks, but one in particular was a very dedicated member of the army until he returned to school. This past weekend he sent out an email asking for help. One of his fellow officers was killed in Iraq last week and leaves behind a wife and small daughter. What my classmate was asking for was not a donation, but for financial advice because he and the other officers wanted to start a college fund for this soldier's daughter. What he got was an outpouring of financial advice from a variety of students. And even though I barely know my classmate, let alone his fellow officers, it hit home. People like us are dying. And it's left to those of us back home to help people pick up the pieces and move on. I know one fund I'm contributing to, even though he didn't ask.

A Quote and a Link:

"To keep your marriage brimming, With love in the loving cup, Whenever you're wrong, admit it; Whenever you're right, shut up."

-Ogden Nash, author, (1902-1971)

And check this out - my former roommate!

First it was coupons...

Brand new coffee table
Originally uploaded by littledevilworks.

Now this. Not bad for a garage sale find! (P.S. I can finally stop eating off my lap now!)

A Picture is Worth 1000 Words

Wes's blanket.
Originally uploaded by littledevilworks.

Found a way to post photos from my Mac - thank goodness for the people at Google!

This is Wes's blanket - 6 months in the making!

QOTD:

"Love is an irresistible desire to be irresistibly desired." - Robert Frost

Justice at its finest.

"Nigerian police have arrested a cow that killed a bus driver who was urinating on a highway, a police spokesman said Thursday." - Yahoo News

One of the reasons why I will never have pets:

"Two kittens picked the wrong place to relieve themselves when they urinated on a fax machine, sparking a fire that extensively damaged their Japanese owner's house." - Yahoo News

The week in review...

TGIF! And oh what a week it has been. Just a bit of a recap (in no particular order):

• Obi Wan Ginobili, Tony Parker and Tim Duncan carry the Spurs to win Game 1 of the 2005 NBA Finals against the Detroit Pistons.
  
• The Michael Jackson trial has gone to the jury... it's anybody's guess how this one will turn out. Security standing by.
  
• Russell Crowe throws a hotel phone in the general direction of the concierge. Classy, really classy.
  
• In another name-morphing extravanganza Brangelina promote Mr. & Mrs. Smith.
  
• Not national news, but things for me look promising on the job front. Keep your fingers crossed that I'll have good news to report soon.
  
• It's midterms already dammit! Where is the summer going? Not to mention - I need a vacation!
  
• I saw a great movie last night, Kissing Jessica Stein. It was really sweet, charming, funny and well done. I would highly recommend it.
  
• I finished Wes's blanket! (at 1am this morning) Pictures to come soon.
  

That's all the news that's fit to print!

Another Candidate

For the Darwin Awards. Only this time... natural selection prevailed, and this guy was selected right out.

Kids - don't try this at home!

Who knew?

America Ferrera, star of Real Women Have Curves and the new Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is an International Relations student at USC. Who knew?

The Squirrel Wars

As many of you know, I have a bushy-tailed friend who likes to visit me when my door is open. Let me start at the beginning.

I live in a 70's style complex in Los Angeles. It's vaguely reminiscient of a Motel 6, except its an enclosed polygonal configuration of sorts. The three story building surrounds a central "plaza" that contains a swingin' 70's kidney-shaped pool, BBQs and laundry facilities. The complex is fairly lush and green. That said, we have a few squirrelly friends who join us in our daily life.

When I used to hang out up on the third floor, there was this adorable frenchman who lived in what is now my apartment. He was a pastry chef and spoke with a beautiful accent. He also had an annoying habit of feeding squirrels. Now when I say feeding, I don't mean leaving food out for them on the lawn, I mean he put food on a mat inside his door and encouraged the squirrel in for a visit.

This squirrel is one curious little shit. Numerous times I have opened my door to find him out on my doorstep, just itching for a chance to get inside again. If I leave the door open too long, he walks right in and starts exploring. When I first got my printer, I was on the floor setting it up with all the ink cartridges. I turn around and the squirrel is right over my shoulder watching, rapt in attention. A few weeks ago I was cleaning the closet in my dressing area - suddenly I notice some movement out of the corner of my eye. You guessed it...the squirrel is almost in the closet with me.

I chase him out every time, I throw markers and small objects in his general direction, I close the door, I yell at him, I stomp and generally make a fool of myself. And yet there he is, waiting for me, always outside my door.

The Squirrel Wars: Squirrel 1, Me 0.

A Pleasant Surprise

Well the world is full of pleasant surprises, and this weekend has held a few in store for me.

1. On Friday, my re-issued tax refund check arrived. Thanks to my educational deductions I got over $2K back. That's a pretty sweet surprise.

2. Today I was pleasantly surprised by excellent customer service. For anyone with a Toyota, or thinking about purchasing one, I would heartily recommend Miller Toyota in Culver City. I took my Rav4 in for its 30k service today and was treated like royalty. The service manager not only charged me the "Saturday special" that was $40 off the regular price, but arranged for a free loaner car for the entire day - I wasn't even responsible for gas used! Picking up the rental car was easy, and dropoff was even easier. My service manager greeted me with a smile and by first name when I returned, and thanked me more than once for my business. I can think of a lot of places that could learn a good lesson from Miller Toyota, including their nasty counterparts in Marina del Rey. If you end up over there, ask for Ken Moore in the service department!

Other than that, watching DVDs, knitting furiously, cleaning a bit and doing lots of homework. Have a wonderful weekend!

Hershey's Chocolate

Butterscotch Brownies are like crack - I can't stay away. I baked last night for my supervisor's birthday.

***We briefly interrupt this broadcast to lament the closing of the Ralph's market near my house. Ralph's is MY store. Never mind Vons which doesn't stock my favorite peanut butter, or Albertson's which pissed me off during the great supermarket strike. Now that Ralph's is closed I can't get anything I need.****

Anyway, I went looking for my special brownie mix and Nestle milk chocolate and peanut butter morsels. I didn't find either, but somehow came up with butterscotch chips and a different brownie mix. Well, who knew? I'm hooked. If you're in the neighborhood stop by. :)

Darwin Awards

If this guy actually wins his lawsuit, I'm going to throw myself out the window. This guy deserved to go out in a flame of glory... or shit.

Who knew pregnancy was a fad?

Well I didn't think it was, but apparently Britney does.

Now obviously here's a baby that isn't going to want for anything, but really, should your parents be referring to your birth as a "cool thing to do"?

Can't leave now...

Now I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm an absolute whore for good office supplies. Imagine my suprise today when I opened the Office Depot box to find out that my supervisor had ordered me a Swingline 67 Electric stapler. That's right folks - make sure your fingers remain outside the loaded implement 'cause this sucker just flies. With perks like these who could think about leaving?