Tuesday, October 12, 2004
Mood: Annoyed
Music: Keane - Somewhere Only We Know

I don't claim to be an art expert, but I DO appreciate art. And I think that most modern art is absolute crap. A blank, white sheet of canvas does not have enough merit to sell for millions of dollars in my book. The same goes for "art" that consists of crap that looks like it could have come out of a 3rd grade classroom. I used to joke about running into a day care, stealing all of the kids' drawings, and then selling them for millions. Then I'd laugh in people's faces while all those poor children would sob over lost pieces of their childhood. Or some crap like that. ANYway, all of that was fun and games. Until Cindy sent me this.

Holy crap, it's actually happened. They're seriously selling a 4-year-old's paint splotches as "art." WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE WORLD?!?! Van Gogh is art. Picasso is art. Dali is art. Da Vinci is art. Who's the crackhead that decided that random globs of paint by a 4-year-old can sell for $40,000?!?! Excuse me while I go into a bitter rage about how a toddler could be making craploads of money by smearing some ketchup on canvas, while I'm waiting on a doctor of pharmacy degree to start rolling in the dough.

*Exhales*....anyway, on a lighter note, the weather's getting colder here! Woohoo! All I need is for Starbucks to put the Gingerbread Lattes back on the menu and I'll be in for some autumn/wintery goodness. :)

Cindy blabbed at 04:17 p.m. |

Monday, October 4, 2004
Mood: A little sick....bleh
Music: Keane - Allemande

Now introducing: The most ghetto way to get your car washed.

I live in an apartment, meaning I don't have a driveway to wash my car in. It was raining buckets today. I mean POURING like mad....to point where my power went out at one point. Anywho, my car was dirty. I'd just come back from driving to Houston, so I had dead bugs smeared on my windshield, along with a load of dust. After hearing a couple of really friggin' loud thunderclaps and having the rain pound on my window to the point that I had to raise my voice to speak with my roomie, I had the bright idea of taking my car outside for a bit. So I did. I drove it out of the parking garage, hung around right outside the entrance to the garage for a minute or two, and drove back in. And now my car's squeaky clean.

On a completely unrelated note, to all of you people who live in the states and are over 18 years of age, you'd better have registered to vote!! There were people swarming the campus to get people to register today....my friend Vince and I saw this guy with a "Register to Vote! Today is the LAST DAY" sign walk up to a stopped bus to harrass people to register. I thought it was freakin' awesome. I thought it was even more awesome when a man with a cane got off of the bus and asked the guy "Where do I go to register?" I don't know why, but it makes me incredibly happy and proud to see people so eager to vote....and I love knowing that over 90% of eligible voters in Travis county are registered. :) Rock the vote, kids. If you wanna keep Bush in office, vote. If you wanna get him out, vote. You've got your rights...you'd better use 'em.

Cindy blabbed at 10:25 p.m. |

Friday, October 1, 2004
Mood: Sleepy
Music: Ben Folds - Still Fighting It

Just a random conversation I thought of.

Me: So yeah, I feel weird without my watch.
Him: You mean your Timex?
Me: It's a Timex???
Him: Yeah, I think it is?
Me: *glances down at wrist*....holy crap, you're right! How come *I* didn't even notice it was a Timex??
Him: *shrug*
Me: *narrows eyes*....you're good....you're good.

I've cut out his name for the sake of privacy, but I'll just say that it's someone very dear to me. :)

Cindy blabbed at 01:34 a.m. |

Monday, September 27, 2004
Mood: Annoyed
Music: Radiohead - High and Dry

Wow.....so apparently our school's electronic ID system needed a security boost, so we're all required to change our UTID passwords. I got an e-mail about this new password dealie, and the requirements for the new passwords are ridiculous. I've copied and pasted word for word what was in our e-mail for password requirements, complete with my own comments in italics.

What are the new password requirements?
- It must be between 8 and 20 characters in length.
Okay, that's not too bad
- It cannot contain blanks.
That's do-able too.
- It must contain letters, numbers, and special characters. Special characters which are permitted are ! @ # $ % & * ( ) - + = , < > : " ' .
What the hell?? Special characters?? I had to randomly stick a $ in my new password...and even then, I'm thinking of changing my "special character" because I think it's too awkward to type in a $ in the middle of a word *grumble*
- It cannot contain any words found in our dictionary or common proper nouns of four letters or longer. In addition, common letter transpositions are not allowed (such as @ for a, ! for i, or zero for O).
This is by far the stupidest one out of all of the requirements. I had to re-enter my new password and change it numerous times because it kept on telling me that _____ was found in the dictionary. What. The. Fuck.
- It cannot contain your UT EID.
- It cannot contain your first or last name.
- It cannot contain your birthday in any form.
- It cannot contain your Social Security Number.
- You may not reuse any of your last 10 passwords.

Was our old system THAT bad???? Come on!! We can't use words in the friggin' dictionary, we can't use common proper nouns, and we have to stick in a number AND a "special character" somewhere in there. So basically, we have to make up a word, stick in a number or two, AND we have to include a freaky asterisk or whatever to completely fulfill the requirements for this new password. Eeesh. I think the makers of this new password system failed to see the importance of having a password that you can REMEMBER too. Blarglepoo.

Cindy blabbed at 05:27 p.m. |

Friday, September 24, 2004
Mood: Blah
Music: The Like - (So I'll Sit Here) Waiting

It's been a while, eh? Anyway, I've been kinda busy with exams, quizzes, projects....you get the drill. And I've been in a serious blogging drought too. Blargh.

Doe anyone else out there have a weird knack for finding worms in their peaches?!?!? I love peaches....they're definitely one of my favorite fruits. I love the way they taste, the way you can bite the flesh and it'll neatly fall away from the pit....but for some odd reason, it's a regular occurrence for me to find worms in my peaches. And it's FREAKIN' DISGUSTING. I'm usually fine with bugs likes beetles, ants, sometimes even roaches....basically bugs with an exoskeleton on them. But when it comes to those reeeeally gross lookin' lil' white semi-transparent worms where you can see their insides contracting when they crawl....ugh...I shudder at the mere thought of them. The reason why I bring this up is because I just found a worm in my peach yesterday. The situation usually goes a little something like this:

Me: *bites into peach*...mmmm...*looks down at peach*
worm: *Crawls absently on the pit*
Me: GAHHHHHHHH!!!!!
worm: *crawls even deeper into peach*
Me: *drops peach and flails arms frantically before convulsing and curling up into fetal position on the floor*

Blargh...the question I wanna ask is "WHY?!?!?!" Has anyone else had this happen to them MORE THAN ONCE?? Do I just have bad luck with peaches? Or are my peach-picking skills so good that I choose the fruits that even nature loves?? Nyargh. I'll continue to eat my peaches, but I'm really hoping that I can keep my worm-in-peach count under 5 for now. *cringe*

Anywho....in addition to being in a blogging drought, I'm in a music drought as well. I've updated the song at the top right, but that's about the only new stuff I've found so far. Soooo....please recommend music to me. Mellow stuff, rock/alternative-type stuff, and jazz preferred. I'll bake you cookies! Or um....I'll give you my utmost gratitude. :) Throw those suggestions my way, people. :)

Cindy blabbed at 04:57 p.m. |

Wednesday, September 15, 2004
Mood: Just woke up
Music: Squirrel Nut Zippers - Hell

This is war. So I've got this nice coffeemaker in my apartment. My room mate brought it in. It's supposed to be nice and it supposedly makes "coffeehouse quality" coffee because it keeps a heated water tank that uses the same temperature that they use in coffeehouses and stuff. And that thing hates me. It's a friggin' coffeemaker!! It can't be rocket science to work this freakin' thing!! Just a few incidents that I've had happen with this piece of crap:

• One instance where no coffee came out whatsoever. I put in the grounds, I poured in the water....and NOTHING came out.
• MANY instances where I ended up with WAY less coffee than I should have. I'd pour in one mugful of water, I got 1/4 of a mug of coffee back. Where'd it go? Probably into some sort of crazy vortex that's out to get me.
• TWO instances where I ended up with cold coffee. WHAT HAPPENED TO THE NICE HEATED WATER TANK??? Stupid !@#$%.

So yes. There's an ongoing war between me and my coffeemaker. Dammit, coffeemakers are supposed to like me. Anywho, my roomie and I are thinking about ditching this piece of crap and just getting a plain ol' coffeemaker without the fancy schmancy coffee-house caliber water tank. Pfffft.

New vulgarities in Italian! w00t!

Quel cazzo di ____. = That fuckin' ______. (insert your own object) So in my case, it would be Quel cazzo di coffee maker. *grumble*
Che cazzo dici? = What the fuck did you say?
Che cazzo vuoi?!?! = What the fuck do you want?!?!

I know it seems like all I ever learn in my Italian class is cuss words and other obscenities, but the best part of the class is that I really do learn legitimate Italian. It's just that my instructor Traci likes to pepper in other colloquialisms while we learn the basics. Which is great, because I've seen so many people come out of YEARS of foreign language training, and all they know how to say is textbook Spanish or textbook French. Learning the colloquialisms and the slang helps so much more if you actually plan on using the language, ya know? Anywho, time to go to class. Arrivederci!

Cindy blabbed at 09:14 a.m. |

Monday, September 13, 2004
Mood: Nostalgic
Music: Jay Chou - Clear Day

Random pic from my trip to Toronto:

I dunno why we all decided to get those weird little pill-shaped hamsters/cats/whatevers. We chose the most random item in the card shop, and then we took pictures with them. :P Either way, I miss my Canucks! Any plans for a full-sized Loveboat 2002 reunion anytime soon? :)

Cindy blabbed at 12:06 a.m. |

Friday, September 10, 2004
Mood: TGIF!
Music: Phantom Planet - Anthem

Ah, the joys of school. You have your blowoff classes (like ballroom dancing, languages of middle earth, etc.), the notoriously hard classes (like organic chemistry and analytical mathematics), and then you've got what I call the "Look-Smart classes". These are the classes where even if you have no idea what the HELL you're doing, an innocent bystander would look at your homework and think that you're some sort of supergenius. Here are some of the quintessential "Look-Smart Classes":

Calculus: Crazy numbers, graphs, and greek symbols. Even if you have no freakin' clue what the integral of x^4/5 is, you can show non-calculus-oriented people your scribbles and they'll think you're great for even sitting through a single calculus course. Sure, algebra used letters and you had the crazy quadratic formula. But but letters, numbers, AND Greek letters?!?! *cue Keanu Reeves voice*...duuude, that's hardcore.
Physics: I'm taking physics right now. Even when I get a problem wrong, I'll sit back, look down at my homework, and think "how the HELL did I do that?!?"....because I'll see crazy vector diagrams, equations involving numerous variables, substituted equations....and a wrong answer. But still, it LOOKS intelligent, no? At least until you turn your vector diagrams into little stick figures because you flat out gave up on your homework.
Organic chemistry: You draw molecules. You draw little arrows. Sometimes you draw little dots to represent electrons. Sure, there's not much (if any) math involved, and you could do some organic homework and come up with some sort of irrationally non-existent molecule that would probably self-destruct even if it DID exist (in other words, a WRONG ANSWER). But other people can look at all the little lines, geometric shapes, and random chemical symbols and feel pretty impressed. Have you SEEN what table sugar looks like?!?! It's nuts, I tell you! (and for those of you who ARE curious to know what sucrose looks like, click here)

AND, this stuff isn't strictly visual! If you wanted to REALLY make yourself look smart to those who are fortunate enough to never have taken the above mentioned courses, you could say something like "You know, I could probably try to take the integral of 3-methyhexane and derive the electric potential energy needed to accelerate it to the velocity of an electron." However, DON'T say this to a professor (or anyone who has extensive knowledge in any of the above mentioned subjects)....it'll make you look like a blubbering idiot with a serious case of ADHD. So, use these "look-smart classes" well, but keep in mind that they're double-edged swords. :P

Anywho, aside from that....time for today's fun Italian phrase! Repeat after me:

Che stronzo!

Got that? It's pronounced "keh STROHN-tso". And don't forget to roll the "r" a bit. What does it mean? It means: "What an asshole!" *grin*

Have I mentioned that I love my Italian class? :)

Cindy blabbed at 05:01 p.m. |

Friday, September 3, 2004
Mood: Just woke up
Music: The Darkness - I Believe in a Thing Called Love (ibelieveinathingcalledLOOOOOOOOVE!!! *grin*)

w00t....morning blogging!

So anywho...'fess up, people. Everyone has 'em. Those shallow qualities where no matter how much merit a member of the opposite sex has, they instantly send that person to the ranks of "undatable" and ultimately, "just friends". Those little qualities where you KNOW that they shouldn't matter, but they do. Hehe, anywho, I just thought I'd share mine...luckily I don't have too many of those, but here are the two forerunners:

• FOB accents: I think I've mentioned this before, but I don't think I could date someone with a heavy fobby accent. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind FOBs at all...I just don't think I could DATE one. If I constantly have to correct a guy's English, regardless of how kind, intelligent, and attractive he may be, he's already out of the datability ranks. Sorry, but "Ai laffu yoo" doesn't sound quite as meaningful as straight "I love you" in English. *Hangs head in shame*...like I said, it's one of those qualities where I KNOW it shouldn't matter, but it does anyway.
• Short in height (to a lesser extent than the fob accent): I think most girls have this one too. I think I'd be able to handle a guy shorter than me if he was only shorter by one inch or so....3 inches or more is more of an obstacle. Then again, I only stand at 5 feet and 4 inches, so this isn't much of an issue for me. But still...most girls I know tend to say the same thing about short guys....I can't help but feel bad for them. Eh, who knows....maybe all those Toms will find their Nicoles. Well, without the divorce thing. You get the idea. :)

So there are the shallow qualities that I shamefully admit will make or break the datability ranks in my book. Talk to me people....what are yours? :)

Cindy blabbed at 09:20 a.m. |

Wednesday, September 1, 2004
Mood: Amused
Music: Chantal Kreviazuk - Leaving on a Jet Plane

Gwahaha, more fun in Italian. So one of the questions written in our Italian textbook is "Is there a strike today?" So our instructor Traci was going through the questions in the book, and we'd reply with the appropriate response.

Traci: C'e uno sciopero?
Class: Uhhhh.....no, non c'e uno sciopero.
Traci: *snickers*...man...I know y'all probably wondering "when the heck are gonna need to know how to say 'is there a strike?'", but seriously, strikes are RIDICULOUSLY common in Italy. You'll be waiting for a subway and they'll announce "sorry, we're having a strike from 4-6, so you guys are screwed". I was stranded at an airport for 4 days once because there was a strike. I had these 3rd graders who moved to Italy e-mail me and tell me that their class held a strike for 3 days and shut down the school just because they didn't have a fire exit to the 3rd floor of the school, even though the 3rd floor was closed off and NEVER used. And you know how that strike ended? The father of one of the 3rd graders actually TACKLED the "head striker" out of these 3rd graders, and then the strike was over and school was back in session.
Class: *laughs uncontrollably at the idea of a parent tackling a 3rd grader holding a strike*
Traci: Yeah, so if a buncha 3rd graders can shut down a school by holding a strike, then you guys are gonna need to know the word sciopero more than you think.

In other news, I let a giant African millipede crawl around on my hand today. That had to be one of the creepiest/coolest things I'd ever seen. Oh, and if you're wondering how the hell I came across a giant African millipede, the UT insect club was tabling outside on the west mall and they had a couple of tanks with bugs in them for people to either scream and run away from or to approach and play with these friendly critters. :)

Anywho, I'm gonna get some homework done and then head off to work. Ci vediamo, ragazzi!

Cindy blabbed at 04:27 p.m. |

Tuesday, August 31, 2004
Mood: Awake
Music: Lit - Miserable

*poke*....anyone here?

*Ahem*...managgia! Sono incazzata nera!

Gwahahaha, that would be Italian for "Damn! I'm pissed off!" And no, I'm not really pissed off...it's just fun to say. It's so pretty for "damn, I'm so freakin' pissed". :P So anywho, school's started, so I'm gonna put the obligatory "First Week of School Review". Ready? Here goes:

• Computers and Writing: Seems pretty interesting....we walk in, and there's a laptop for everyone in the class. At first I was about to jump for joy and thank the gods, and then I realized that they're all Macs. Blargh. Eh, actually, I shouldn't hate on the Macs so much....they actually make pretty good laptops. Anywho, this class it supposed to teach me how to make websites accessible to people who are blind, deaf, and/or have motor disabilities. If I like this class, it'll be good. If I hate it, it'll be bad, because I'll want to take every blind person's walking stick and beat them with it. Let's hope that I'll like it. :P
• Economics: I HATE ECONOMICS. Hated it in high school, and I don't know if I'll learn to like it now. But my prof seems pretty cool so far. She's a young woman from Minnesota, and she's pretty casual about things. Kind of a neutral feel for this class so far.
• Italiano!: I absolutely ADORE this class. It's 5 days a week, and sure, it's a lot of work, but it's so much freakin' fun. My instructor's great, and the language just sounds so friggin' cool. Among phrases like "how are you?" and "what is your name?", we've also learned how to say "bastard", "idiot", and "hag". Fun stuff. So even if I'm completely lost in class, I can still sit there with a goofy grin just by listening to my instructor babble in Italian.
• Physics: My professor just LOOKS like a physics instructor. Your typical nerdy looking guy....it's almost endearing in a way. :) Anywho, my physics prof seems pretty friendly...nerdy to the point that it's cute. But he seems a little boring. I can imagine myself falling asleep in his class, but I'll hope that I can perk myself up well enough in the morning to learn about magnetism and whatnot.
• Physics lab: It was canceled last week. Therefore it's awesome. WAHOO!

So there you have it. And hopefully I'll have something more interesting to post later. Bleh. Sorry for the Interesting Post Drought, people. :(

Cindy blabbed at 10:13 a.m. |