I never post here.

favor

Fri, 18 Aug 2006 10:15:05 GMT

So, I don't post for weeks, and when I finally do, it's to ask y'all to do something for me. Figures.

Does anyone in Berkeley have a digital camera that I could borrow briefly to take photos of stuff I need to sell on Craigslist? I can bake for you if you want....

Also, the summer term is over and none of the students actively tried to kill me. I'm calling it a win.

goddamnit

Tue, 01 Aug 2006 22:22:00 GMT

sick again. had to ask my TA to do lecture for me at the last minute (well 90 min., but still). i was always one of those people who never got sick, but not this year.

i hate you, california.

bureaucracy hurrrrrr

Thu, 27 Jul 2006 07:01:29 GMT

So, I need to fill out these silly forms so the logic group can have funding for stuff this year. Of course this year's version of the form (which looks like last year's, but with a different set of dates on it), isn't up on the website yet, so I went in to the GA to ask for the form blanks. The following conversation with the woman there ensued:

Me: *forms plz*
Her: "They're not going to be printed until next Tuesday"
Me: "You mean a week from today?"
Her: "No, Tuesday."
Me: "Today is Tuesday."
Her: "Yes..."
Me: "So a week from today."
Her: "Yes."
Me: *boggle* "But aren't they due Aug. 4?"
Her: "Yes"
Me: "Next Tuesday is August 1."
Her: "So?"
Me: *headdesk*

tasty.

Wed, 19 Jul 2006 02:43:19 GMT

I made some extremely delicious cookies today and sent most of them to southernkitten. I kept the last 2 trays (well 1.5 really) since they weren't cool yet while I was packing the box and I couldn't wait since I wanted to get to the post office before it closed. I hope they do not get smooshed or otherwise destroyed in the mail because these are some awesome cookies. I lessthanthree baking. And I only burned myself once, and very minorly at that, on my oven in the process. This is quite good for me as I typically burn myself at least once every time I bake anything. My right wrist is all splotchy from scars from doing this.

memeity meme

Thu, 13 Jul 2006 20:53:26 GMT

I've seen this going around enough that I had to be a sheep and do it.

(Click here to post your own answers for this meme.)

✓ I miss somebody right now. (Lots of people.)	✓ I don't watch much TV these days. (Haven't had a TV since I left the parents' house.)	✓ I own lots of books. (Tons. But most of them live in Rochester still.)
✓ I wear glasses or contact lenses. (I think they make me look smarter. Also the whole "vision" thing.)	× I love to play video games.	✓ I've tried marijuana.
✓ I've watched porn movies.	× I have been the psycho-ex in a past relationship.	× I believe honesty is usually the best policy.
✓ I curse sometimes. (What are you talking about? I don't fucking curse.)	✓ I have changed a lot mentally over the last year. (For the worse.)	× I carry my knife/razor everywhere with me.

* * * * *

× I have broken someone's bones.	✓ I have a secret that I am ashamed to reveal.	✓ I hate the rain. (When I'm outside. It's nice from inside.)
× I'm paranoid at times.	✓ I would get plastic surgery if it were 100% safe, free of cost, and scar-free.	✓ I need/want money right now.
✓ I love sushi.	✓ I talk really, really fast.	× I have fresh breath in the morning.
✓ I have long hair.	× I have lost money in Las Vegas.	× I have at least one sibling.
× I was born in a country outside of the U.S.	× I have worn fake hair/fingernails/eyelashes in the past.	× I couldn't survive without Caller I.D.
✓ I like the way that I look.	✓ I have lied to a good friend in the last 6 months.	✓ I am usually pessimistic.
× I have a lot of mood swings.	✓ I think prostitution should be legalized.	× I slept with a roommate.
× I have a hidden talent.	× I'm always hyper no matter how much sugar I have.	× I have a lot of friends.
✓ I have pecked someone of the same sex.	× I enjoy talking on the phone.	× I practically live in sweatpants or PJ pants.
× I love to shop and/or window shop.	× I'm obsessed with my Xanga or Livejournal.	× I'm completely embarrassed to be seen with my mother.
✓ I have a mobile phone.	× I have passed out drunk in the past 6 months.	✓ I've rejected someone before. (I hang around math and CS people all the time. You do the math.)
× I currently like/love someone.	× I have no idea what I want to do for the rest of my life.	× I want to have children in the future.
✓ I have changed a diaper before.	× I've called the cops on a friend before.	× I'm not allergic to anything.
✓ I have a lot to learn.	× I am shy around the opposite sex.	× I'm online 24/7, even as an away message.
× I have at least 5 away messages saved.	✓ I have tried alcohol or drugs before.	✓ I have made a move on a friend's significant other or crush in the past.
× I own the "South Park" movie.	✓ I have avoided assignments at work/school to be on Xanga or Livejournal.	✓ I enjoy some country music.
✓ I would die for my best friends.	✓ I'm obsessive, and often a perfectionist. (What, me obsessive?)	× I have used my sexuality to advance my career.
× I think Halloween is awesome because you get free candy.	× I have dated a close friend's ex.	× I am happy at this moment.
× I'm obsessed with guys.	✓ Democrat.	× Republican.
× I don't even know what I am.	× I am punk rockish.	× I go for older guys/girls, not younger.
× I study for tests most of the time.	× I tie my shoelaces differently from anyone I've ever met.	× I can work on a car.
✓ I love my job(s).	× I am comfortable with who I am right now.	× I have more than just my ears pierced.
× I walk barefoot wherever I can.	× I have jumped off a bridge.	✓ I love sea turtles.
× I spend ridiculous amounts of money on makeup.	✓ I plan on achieving a major goal/dream.	× I am proficient on a musical instrument.
× I hate office jobs.	✓ I went to college out of state.	× I am adopted.
× I am a pyro.	× I have thrown up from crying too much.	× I have been intentionally hurt by people that I loved.
× I fall for the worst people.	× I adore bright colours.	× I usually like covers better than originals.
✓ I hate chain theme restaurants like Applebees and TGIFridays.	✓ I can pick up things with my toes.	× I can't whistle.
✓ I have ridden/owned a horse.	× I still have every journal I've ever written in.	× I talk in my sleep.
× I've often thought that I was born in the wrong century.	✓ I try to forget things by drowning them out with loads of distractions.	× I wear a toe ring.
× I have a tattoo.	✓ I can't stand at LEAST one person that I work with.	✓ I am a caffeine junkie. (coffeecoffeecoffeecoffee)
× I am completely tree-huggy spiritual, and I'm not ashamed at all.	✓ If I knew I would get away with it, I would commit at least one murder.	× I will collect anything, and the more nonsensical, the better.
× I enjoy a nice glass of wine with dinner.	× I'm an artist.	✓ I am ambidextrous.
× I sleep with so many stuffed animals, I can hardly fit on my bed.	× If it weren't for having to see other people naked, I'd live in a nudist colony.	× I have terrible teeth.
× I hate my toes.	✓ I did this meme even though I wasn't tagged by the person who took it before me.	× I have more friends on the internet than in real life.
✓ I have lived in either three different states or countries.	✓ I am extremely flexible.	× I love hugs more than kisses. (Depends... are you a good kisser? ;))
× I want to own my own business.	× I smoke. (Rarely.)	✓ I spend way too much time on the computer than on anything else.
× Nobody has ever said I'm normal.	× Sad movies, games, and the like can cause a trickle of tears every now and then.	× I am proficient in the use of many types of firearms and combat weapons.
✓ I like the way women look in stylized men's suits. (Skirt suits are hotter though.)	× I don't like it when people are unpleased or seem unpleased with me.	× I have been described as a dreamer or likely to have my head up in the clouds.
✓ I have played strip poker with someone else before.	× I have had emotional problems for which I have sought professional help.	× I believe in ghosts and the paranormal.
× I can't stand being alone.	✓ I have at least one obsession at any given time.	× I weigh myself, pee/poo, and then weigh myself again.
× I consistently spend way too much money on obsessions-of-the-moment.	✓ I'm a judgmental asshole. (If you don't like it, you suck.)	× I'm a HUGE drama-queen.
✓ I have travelled on more than one continent.	✓ I sometimes wish my father would just disappear. (Anyone who hasn't thought this about a parent at least once is lying. Doesn't mean I think this most of the time.)	✓ I need people to tell me I'm good at something in order to feel that I am.
× I am a Libertarian.	× I can speak more than one language.	× I can fall asleep even if the whole room is as noisy as it can be.
✓ I would rather read than watch TV.	× I like reading fact more than fiction.	✓ I have pulled an all-nighter on an assignment I was given a month to do.
× I have no piercings.	✓ I have spent the night in a train station or other public place. (Vancouver airport!)	× I have been so upset over my physical gender that I cried.
× I once spent Christmas completely alone because there was a miscommunication on which parent was supposed to have me that night.	× There have been times when I have wondered "Why was I born?" and may/may not have cried over it.	× I like most animals better than most people.
× I own a collection of retro games consoles.	× The thought of physical exercise makes me shiver.	× I have hit someone with a dead fish.
× I am compulsively honest.	× I was born with a congenital birth defect that has never been repaired.	× I have danced topless in front of dozens of complete strangers.
× I have gone from wishing I was a girl to revelling in being a boy to feeling like a girl again in the span of five minutes, and not cared a whit for my actual sex.	× I am unashamedly bisexual, and have different motivations for my desires for different genders.	✓ I sometimes won't sleep a whole night or eat a whole day because I forget to.
× I find it impossible to get to sleep without some kind of music on.	× I dislike milk.	× I obsessively wash my hands.
× I always carry something significant around with me.	× Sometimes I'd rather wear a wig in day-to-day life than use my own hair.	× I've pushed myself to become more self-aware and thereby more aware of others.
× Even though I live on my own I still cry sometimes because I miss my mother.	× I hand wrote all the HTML tags in this document.	✓ I've liked something which a majority of people claimed was either bad or weird. (Math!)
× I have been clinically dead for a brief period of time.	✓ Instead of feeling sympathy/empathy with people and their problems, I simply become annoyed. (I have no patience for the emotionally needy.)	× I participate/have participated in auto drag races and won.
× I do not 'get' most comedy acts.	✓ I don't think strippers are money-greedy or slutty for dancing.	✓ I don't like to chew gum.
× I am obsessed with history/historical things and can't wait for someone to build a time machine so I can be the first to use it.	× I can never remember for the life of me where I parked the car.	✓ I had the TEEN ANGST thing going for at least 2-3 years. (Middle school wooooooo)
× I wish people would be more empathic and honest with each other.	× I play Dungeons and Dragons weekly.	× I love to sing.
× I want to live in my mother's basement when I grow up.	✓ I have a custom-built computer.	✓ I want to create a certain someone's babies, even though there's a 0% possiblity of ever achieving it.
× I would be in a relationship with one of my pets if they were human.	✓ I've gone skinny-dipping.	× I've performed in three plays.
✓ I enjoy burritos.	× I'm Irish and loving it. (Am Irish, but don't give a shit.)	× I have a thing for redheads. (Only 1.)
× I am a twin!	× Most of the times, I'd rather do something intellectual instead of doing something generically 'fun'. (Depends on the activity.)	× Once I set out to finish something, I always stay at it until it is completed before I move on to something else.
✓ I wish there were a way to erase past mistakes.	× I sleep more than 12 hours a day.	✓ I wish I could be prouder of what I've accomplished, but it's never enough. (If I can do it, it must be trivial, right?)
× I need more time to myself.	× I wish I was more open-minded.	× I hope that I go really prematurely grey.
× I download songs from the internet.	× I've just reenacted chapter 58 of Death Note with my best friend.	× I say random things to freak people out.
× I'm still a little mad about the ending of Death Note.	× I love playing Truth or Dare.	× I love listening to slow music, but I hate singing to it.
× Music helps me remember that I am not alone.	× Playing my favorite sport makes me temporarily forget my problems.	✓ I think this survey is particularly long.
× I prefer my LJ friends to my real-life ones.	× I can only hate someone that I love.	× I've ordered an extra two shots of espresso to an Americano at Starbucks.

restaurant recommendations

Wed, 12 Jul 2006 17:31:16 GMT

My aunt is coming into Berkeley tonight. Where should I go to dinner with her? I'm looking for moderately priced places (like $10-$20 an entree).

It had to happen someday.

Fri, 07 Jul 2006 08:50:21 GMT

Just got a notice from CMU Computing Services... my andrew account is set to expire on July 20. So I slipped under the radar for a year, but it's finally over. All good things must come to an end, I suppose.

:( :( :( :( :( :(

wooo $$$

Thu, 06 Jul 2006 22:47:08 GMT

I just found out I'm getting paid $2000 more than I thought I was for my summmer teaching. This is especially good since it is taking ALL of my time.

I want to have Neko Case's babies.

Wed, 28 Jun 2006 09:33:28 GMT

omgswoon that was so good.

Now I have to prepare some kind of lecture for tomorrow. My Day 3 topic list is the least complete of the first 8 days I have planned, so hopefully I will come up with something. I need to not talk too fast in class - it just makes me finish early but with no one having understood anything. Today (tuesday) was a lot better than Monday though.

PSA

Mon, 26 Jun 2006 03:30:21 GMT

You may have noticed that my LJ is starting to get more angsty/whiny, and will probably stay this way in the near future. Just wanted to mention that this is due to me deciding to actually post about my life more rather than to me actually getting more angsty/whiny. My mental state has been basically the same for several months now, I've just decided to complain more openly on the off chance that doing so will actually change something. :P

i am so much cooler than you

Sun, 25 Jun 2006 23:54:04 GMT

ugh since when am I one of those coffee/cigarettes/diet coke people, seriously. this is good for my productivity but very bad for everything else. must be from hanging around with philosophers last week. at least i'm still eating normally.

class starts tomorrow and I have to lecture LOLOLOLOL this summer is going to be hilarious.

also neko case tomorrow and/or Tuesday woo hoo!

also wtf at the "indifferent" mood guy smiling, that is dumb as hell.

also using also at every segue is such a good idea, also.

I do so have goals!

Thu, 22 Jun 2006 16:27:17 GMT

I just noticed that my passport expires on 20 August 2012 - almost exactly 7 years after my starting grad school.

Goal: to graduate before needing a new passport.

This is convenient since I can ask my parents to pay for a renewal as a graduation present, since it will probably cost like $300 by then, at this rate.

i'm outta here

Thu, 01 Jun 2006 19:53:34 GMT

Going to Chicago for the weekend for HSNCT. Will be hiding from life and not checking email or LJ.

still alive

Sun, 14 May 2006 02:20:41 GMT

Just a quick update to inform the world that I am in fact still alive - sick, but alive. After not being able to sleep very well for 3 nights and then not at all last night due to throat/gland pain (despite being exhausted), I went back to the doctor today and was given a 3-day course of prednisone. 3 pills today, 2 tomorrow, 1 Monday. The doctor said it would take up to 24 hours to work, but now, only 8 hours after the first dose, there's already a visible reduction in symptoms, literally - can actually see a space in between my tonils now. Am looking forward to actually sleeping tonight. Hopefully sometime next week I will be well enough to start thinking about work again.

shameless pity post

Tue, 09 May 2006 00:50:31 GMT

Continued to be useless and sleep a lot all weekend. After realizing during class that my lymph nodes were several times their normal size and that it felt like I had an ear infection coming on, I decided to go to student health to get something done about that, to avoid a 3rd round of ear-infection-induced incapacitating vertigo (first 2 were during undergrad). Thought I would be given antibiotics and sent on my way, but no such luck - I have mono. This timing is pretty spectacularly bad. We'll just have to see what happens with 225 final/seminar paper/prelim. At least now I have an explanation for why I've been sleeping 15 hours a day, getting exhausted from walking 1 mile, and have an enormously swollen neck. Will just have to wait and see how soon I recover - I haven't felt this drained by an illness since I had pneumonia (which was over 16 years ago). Blargh. The current plan is to stay home with tea, honey, and masses of ibuprofen. Goal #1 - swallow without wincing.

blargh

Sat, 06 May 2006 19:39:52 GMT

Why yes, Body, I do totally have the time and energy for a sinus infection right now, thanks for asking!!

Love and kisses,
Erin

At least I happened to have plenty of tea, soup, and oranges on hand.

stamps and inefficiency

Sat, 15 Apr 2006 02:14:46 GMT

I went to the post office to get $.02 stamps today, since I still have a bunch of $.37 stamps, as it takes me about 2 years to go through a book of stamps. The machine only sold them in lots of 40, however, and it was not worth $.70 or so to wait in line and get them from a person, so now I have waaaaaaay more $.02 stamps than I can reasonably use. So if you need any, let me know - I'll give you some.

My taxes are done now - getting over $700 back, which is nice. I have to rant, however, about CA state stupidity for a second. To file online in CA, you need a CSN, which is just another random identifying number. If you filed in CA the previous year, you can just get this online, but if not, you have to call in and get it. Here's how that went:
Me: *dials*
Voice: blah blah please hold
Me: *holds for 25 minutes*
Actual Person: Hi, how can I help you?
Me: I just moved to CA this year, so I need a CSN.
AP: Ok, SSN please?
Me: *says ssn*
AP: Do you have a CA driver's liscence?
Me: Yes
AP: Number on that please?
Me: *gives number*
AP: Name and address on the liscence?
Me: *gives name and address*
AP: Ok, your CSN is (#). Have a nice day.
Me: Thanks, bye.

WHY is this not automated?!?!?! Not that this was terribly painful or difficult or anything, but what a waste of time for everyone. Having this done by a human instead of a machine is both slower and more error-prone. The only reason to have this be done by an actual person is to create more unskilled government jobs. I know that in general this does not affect any one person very much but inefficiency REALLY bothers me (in case you hadn't noticed) and this is just one of many common situations in which its rampant.

I will welcome our future robot overlords, but I'll probably be ticked at them for not coming sooner.

this is so frivolous

Fri, 14 Apr 2006 06:35:15 GMT

So if abooth can write 3 paragraphs about shoes, I figure I can justify 1 about hair products.

Apparently they are no longer making/selling the type of hair conditioner I have been using for several years now (although the corresponding shampoo is fortunately still available). This is very annoying. All I want to do is condition my hair for $1 a bottle without smelling like fruit salad, is that so much to ask?!?

ugh, procrastination

Thu, 13 Apr 2006 03:14:08 GMT

I am already pathetic for not having done my taxes yet, so today was not a good day to finally get sucked into the vortex of Questionable Content.

Sadly, I think this should probably be included in some kind of "Guide to Post-College Life for CMU Grads".

It's funny because it's true.

Edit: Upon reading this, I feel obligated to argue that The New Pornographers, although definitely pop, is not especially weird or idiosyncratic in my opinion.

Edit 2: Nope, this isn't me at all... *whistles innocently*

nautiloids!

Mon, 10 Apr 2006 22:48:11 GMT

I was totally not excited about the new issue of Knitty until I got to the last pattern. These are just too funny. Who wants a knitted nautilus?

where have I been?

Thu, 06 Apr 2006 17:46:51 GMT

Since people seem to be confused, a quick rundown of where I have been recently/am going soon:
2 weeks ago today (Thursday): flew to Pittsburgh
The next day (Friday): drove to Grandma's place in the Adirondacks for a few days with the family
Sunday: drove back to parent's house in Spencerport; spent a few days with parents and friends
Thursday: drove to Pittsburgh; had an amazingly fun time seeing people from the philosophy dept. and WRCT
Saturday: attempted to leave Pittsburgh - flight was oversold, got a free ticket for staying an extra day
Sunday: left Pittsburgh for real this time. Got stuck in Denver for 4.5 hours on the way back; arrived at OAK at 3 am Monday
Thursday (today): leaving for Maryland to moderate at ICT (college championship quiz bowl tournament). Hey, free trip, why not?
Sunday: finally get back and stay here for at least 2 months; learn some model theory very very fast.

Whew!

denver sucks

Thu, 06 Apr 2006 09:08:22 GMT

I just realized that I have to go through Denver on both directions of my trip to Maryland this weekend, after being stuck there for 4.5 hours on Sunday night/Monday morning. Ugh.

Also, eigenvalue's journal is the most ridiculous thing ever right now. So much for starting my taxes tonight.

back in Berkeley

Mon, 03 Apr 2006 12:16:02 GMT

really really fantastic weekend

but

amazingly annoying trip back (see timestamp; I got home an hour ago)

actual update to maybe follow unless I forget

Leaving on a jet plane...

Thu, 23 Mar 2006 08:33:25 GMT

So I'm heading out to the airport in a few hours (why am I incapable of going to bed early argh). So I'll probably be slow to nonexistent in replying to stuff through Monday or so. I was going to write up this whole long cdbarker-esque review thing of the concert last night (it was fantastic), but I think I'm not going to because LJ has been eating my free time lately (this is mostly easwaran and quale's fault). Maybe I'll do it later if I get motivated to again. Also I joined the rest of the sheeple and got an iPod (bday/xmas gift from parents). My portable electronic device count is now at 2.

trip!

Wed, 22 Mar 2006 00:46:04 GMT

Yesterday, I realized that I actually had no classes or other have-to-be-there things happening in Berkeley for 2 full weeks. So, I decided to be spontaneous for once... I'm going to Pittsburgh on Thursday. My dad is going to pick me up there on Friday, I'll spend some time with parents/Grandma/Rochester friends for a few days, then I'm going to go back to Pittsbugh on probably Wednesday or Thursday (the 29th/30th) and hang out there until I leave on Saturday. Whee! This should be fun. It was fun calling my parents for the first time in 3 weeks (I am a bad child) and saying, "Hey Dad, you don't have any plans this week right? Can you pick me up in Pittsburgh on Friday?" I just need to get a bunch of random stuff done before leaving at the asscrack of dawn Thursday. I realized after buying the tickets that this means I will only be in town for 1 normal week before going to Maryland for ICT. Time flies....

But first things first: New Pornographers/Belle & Sebastian show tonight! shippo, are you going?