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Caitlin Woods

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(no subject) [Nov. 21st, 2009|01:27 am]
Saw 2012 tonight. Since, you know, last week it was really, really sold out, and the line to be seated (45 minutes in advance) took up half the length of the theater. No way. (We actually got tickets for the last showing, but . . . seriously, with lines like that . . .)

It was neat, as far as disaster porn is concerned--just a lot-lot-LOT of stuff getting destroyed, which is more or less why I went to see it. Probably all the best stuff was between 30 and 90mins in, but there was a bunch of good destruction after that, too.

The underlying message was a bit odd, though. I got a huge sense of the bourgeois vs. the proletariat, and a whole lot of the concept of hope and wishful thinking triumphing over ruthless logistics. Which baffles me. Look, you're NOT going to save everyone, it's not a government conspiracy to rid themselves of the lower classes, and it really doesn't matter who decided DaVinci was more worthy of saving than whoever else . . . the fact is, the whole entire world is gonna be destroyed, resources are limited, and decisions do have to be made. The cast not making these decisions--or rather, making them stupidly--really should have resulted in the entire human race dying, and it seems like the height of contrivance that they did not.

So, yeah. Good disaster porn, weird political message.



The most exciting part of the evening involved a dead deer.

There was a big ol' dead deer in the middle of the road. Bill noticed it just before we reached it. We weren't in the same lane as the deer . . . but unfortunately, the person directly beside us was. Bill says that in deciding to run over the deer rather than sideswipe us, he probably took a lot of damage to his car, and he did exit immediately after . . . but on the other hand, he didn't hit us, which makes me really glad.

Bill realized that this deer in the middle of the road was probably going to kill someone. So he pulled into the breakdown lane, reversed, pulled behind the deer, and dragged it out of the road. (While I stayed in the car.) Ick. And he didn't get to wash the blood off of his hands 'til way later, which was probably a heaping helping of gross.

But on the other hand, the deer was out of the road, where it wasn't likely to hurt anyone else. I have no idea why the person who originally hit it wouldn't have done that--I mean, don't you need a police report to file an insurance claim, anyway? Just driving off with a totaled car after leaving this dead deer in the middle of the road seems . . . really tacky. And did hurt someone's car, and could have gotten Bill and I pretty hurt as well.

In short, I guess what I want to say is, "What a dickweed."

But Bill's a good guy, at least. And marginally insane.
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(no subject) [Nov. 14th, 2009|10:46 pm]
I'm getting dead sick of Hollywood Video. That is to say, a good portion of the DVDs we get from there skip, and some are downright unplayable.

Makes me kind of wish we still did VHSes, though I realize from playing Bill's parents' old collection that tracking becomes an issue after many replays (as you might get in rentals). But still, you can watch a movie with tracking problems! Agh.


In any case, what's up with me? I got all the classes I wanted. Haven't started on the second half of my presentation yet, but I figure I can start that tonight or tomorrow. Busted my ass Friday morning to finish the homework I neglected over the week only to find that my teachers pushed back the date or didn't check for it. Agh. But at least I did it. :D

Made a WONDERFUL breakfast this morning. *mmm* That is to say, easy to cook, but . . . well, I tried some different cheeses with the eggs this morning, since the pepperjack went moldy. (I don't use it for anything but scrambled eggs!) Mixture of Velveeta and cheddar ended up working REALLY well . . . with bacon-bits in. Pretty damn good, and not nearly as much work as cutting off chunks of pepperoni.

Low-fat Bisquik tastes about the same as regular pancakes, from what I can tell, and won't go bad. Rock on! I put blueberries in. It was neat. And then I finished it all up with an orange, which was good.

And I did the dishes immediately after, which is better.


Bill's gonna be staying at the farm all next week 'cause there's a lot of work to be done. :( Oh, well. It's only a week. I'll see him after that. :D


Anyway. What else?

Not much, I think.
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(no subject) [Nov. 12th, 2009|10:19 pm]
I've decided that my group project is now a solo project, and I'm pretty sure the professor is on board with me.

That is to say, I've tried to meet with my partner four times and failed to do so. Bill says that with the time I've wasted trying to meet with his sorry ass, I could have done the other half of the project myself. I'm kind of inclined to agree.

I've only got about a week before I'm due to come up. This is imperfect. But I can do it. And it'll probably be a better presentation than otherwise.

Screw it. I'm done.
LinkHum a few bars

(no subject) [Nov. 5th, 2009|12:23 pm]
Thanks to everyone for birthday wishes. :) And a special apology to Dad for never replying to his letter from last week--I swear, I can't think of anything! But I shoulda sent SOMETHING.


Been a weird couple of days. I accidentally helped two people cheat by copying the boy's paper for the girl--thought they were working on a group project until, in the midst of her profuse thanks, the girl mentioned that the boy had saved her butt by letting her copy his English paper. Made a mistake in telling her not to mention my name in connection with this, which reveals guilty knowledge if it comes out--but then half an hour or so later I told my advisor, so, er, hopefully it all comes out in the wash. Though now I feel crappy for possibly initiating the expulsion of two kids, one of whom was just trying to help his friend--expulsion is what they generally do when you're caught cheating, right?

. . . well, it's not like she wasn't going to get caught, anyway. The writer being male comes up a few times during the paper, and halfway through the semester your professor probably knows your writing style. From there it's a matter of simplicity to connect with the other English teachers to see who turned in the original. So whatever was going to happen probably would have happened even if I didn't squeal.

But anyway, if there's one thing that Dr. P has stressed, it's that my integrity is one of those things that I oughtn't give up for anyone, 'cause a record of unethical behavior makes anyone's name mud. These two kids--who, from what I can tell, don't attend class often, waited to copy this paper until five minutes before class, and don't write very well--aren't worth compromising that. So the only thing I'm really ashamed of is having, y'know, not thought about it harder in the first place.

Ah, well. We learn.


Today had two interesting things in it.

FIrst off, my project partner didn't show up. Which isn't generally a big thing, except I'd told him on Tuesday to have his outline and questions done by today so we could meet in the library and go over our stuff. Worked my butt off to get mine (mostly) done in time, in fact. We've only got two or three chapters before we're supposed to go, and while each of them CAN take two class sessions, that's not worth betting on.

(T/R class, if any of you wants a better idea of the timeframe.)

So, uh, yeah. If this guy didn't have a tendency to skip so many classes that some people thought he'd dropped, I might have a little more confidence. But he does, and I don't.

I'm mostly worried about losing points if I do the whole damn thing myself, since it's a group project that stipulates that both partners have to participate in both the writing and oral presentation parts. But what the hell. I think I'll write both parts, and just not tell him I did it if it turns out he's got one. Maybe I'll get really lucky and he'll miss the presentation day, taking all responsibility for his conduct whatever off my shoulders.

I doubt I'll be that lucky, but hey, a girl can dream.

I'm not really worried about the effect on my overall grade, the fact that it's 15% notwithstanding, 'cause the professor has a policy wherein if you do better on the final exam than the course, he'll use the exam grade. So there's a limit to how much he can drag me down. But on the other hand, he has ANOTHER policy wherein if you get an A in the course, you don't have to take the final exam, and I'd really like to use that.

(Put like that, it seems kind of hard to fail Dr. P's class. But then, I guess most of the students don't have as easy of a time with the tests as I do.)


Also, I spent fifteen minutes of today's presentation running all over campus looking for my purse, even filing a report with the lost and found . . . only to discover at the end that it was hanging on the back of my chair.

Dear GOD was that not my best moment.


But in any case, it's my birthday. I'm 23, which means that Bill no longer gets to be older than me. (That is, I've been counting his birthday in hex and mine in dec . . . which means he's been 23 for three weeks now! Weak.) And class is over. Fuckitall, I'm gonna enjoy myself. ^_^

I think I'm first going to enjoy myself with a hot bath. I'm cold, and I just walked ~2.2 miles home, and I stink. A bath will be the best thing ever.

With the possible exception of home fries. Mmmmm home fries.
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(no subject) [Nov. 4th, 2009|01:29 am]
BOOYAH! Joseph Chilleli, one of the local county legislators, was defeated by about 50 votes this election.

I feel rather petty for opposing him, but I did. Largely in connection with two Utica Observer-Dispatch articles I posted about about a few months ago.

The reasons I dislike him are as follows:

1) He seems to have his own pet advocacy group, "Concerned Citizens for a Better Herkimer County."
2) He and his advocacy group conducted a survey about whether Herkimer County citizens want a new jail. Which is all well and good, except that CCBHC is largely focused on the idea of being against a jail--making any survey an extremely doubtful proposition. I found it not only dishonest, but insulting of my intelligence.
3) "To me, it is cheaper and less costly to the taxpayers to keep using the present facility and board out the rest." This is NOT A MATTER OF OPINION. YOU MORON. And, moreover, contrary to what I understand the situation to be. (Especially since the county is technically using the current jail well past when it was originally supposed to be shut down, and is only being granted extensions based on good-faith efforts. This has been going on for 10 years.)
4) This is a very minor thing, but the signs that say "Vote for Change, Re-Elect Joseph Chilelli"? Are the stupidest things ever.
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(no subject) [Nov. 2nd, 2009|01:39 pm]
Oops. I, er, forgot there was a test in Intro to Law today. So I didn't study.

Still open-note, so I still had the vast majority of the information I needed already. So I'm not especially worried, just not sure that I've got the highest grade for this one. I'd be surprised if I didn't pull at least a high B.

Business Law test on Wednesday; I seem to be a bit weak on remembering what all the exceptions to the Statute of Frauds are, but Prof. Dusseault also has open-note tests, so I don't really foresee having a problem. Besides, I think just going through it twice more should make it really solid in my head.


I read through the Casanovia brochure yesterday. Dear God, was that a disappointing, somewhat enraging piece of drivel. They don't have a math or a science course of study, and the vast majority of their courses that I saw could be accurately described as "Finding Something ELSE To Be Pissed Off About." With the exception to the Equine Studies courses, I guess. But . . . man, why the hell would you pay to attend such a place?

When I complained to my Lit teacher about it, his response was ". . . it's Casanovia." So at least it seems to be already regarded as a fluffy, non-teaching piece of shit college. Still, how the fuck do you get accredited that way?

(He said I shouldn't be considering Casanovia, which I already was figuring not to. But he seems to think I should try to get into really high-end private schools, which . . . isn't happening, either. There's not selling yourself short, and then there's selling kidneys.)

(Actually, my current plan is to get a job after getting my A.A.S., because there's a limit to how long I want to be a leeching waste not actually, y'know, doing anything. But I should probably think about a four-year if I ever want law school to be an option.)


Anyway!

I wanna go to bed now.
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(no subject) [Oct. 27th, 2009|10:21 am]
So, the NYC trip the Art Club is planning seems to not have enough people to go yet. (Possibly because it's a school day, possibly because the bus leaves at 6:30 AM. But hey, long bus rides are specifically FOR sleeping, right?) I'd previously put it under "unfeasible" due to the aforementioned school-dayness . . . but when I asked my professor just now (I only have one Thursday class), he said to have fun and that he wouldn't miss it for the world. And Bill's willing to come (and buy the seats), so . . . even better.

And, you know, it's on my birthday. Birthday in New York? Score! The Art Club is gonna focus on the Georgia O'Keefe exhibit, but that's not going to take up the whole day and isn't required anyway. (I said to put me in for the O'Keefe guided tour; don't know much about O'Keefe, but on the other hand, I like art, and it's not as though it's hard to ditch a voluntary tour if you get bored.)


So, yeah. I think it'll be fun. Go me! I've never been to NYC before. Or, really, any major city besides DC.
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(no subject) [Oct. 26th, 2009|09:20 pm]
Re: English Lit

I fail to see how Death of a Salesman is an effective argument against capitalism. I see a man incapable of running his own life, neither able to reach his goals nor able to even tell that his methods aren't even getting him any closer, who substitutes the vague ideals of what he thinks society thinks for his own judgement, and who seems incapable of discerning the truth even in his lucid moments. I fail to really see how this speaks to capitalism at all, unless capitalism beat him over the head and forced him to not, y'know, think.

And incidentally, I don't think he was fired because he was old--I think he was fired because he's crazy, self-destructive, and not able to do much in the way of selling. If not giving money to people who don't actually help you or your goals in the least is commoditization, then I'm curious to see what other plan you've got.

I also fail to see how borrowing $50 a week from your neighbor (which you will never be able to repay!) is any less humiliating than, say, accepting a job from your neighbor for $50 a week. Yes, it'd still be given out of pity because you're fucking useless, but unless you're going to actually figure out some way that you can actually be of benefit to somebody, those are your options.


I dislike Willy Loman. I dislike pretty much the entire cast of that play, except Bernard. Bernard, who actually tried and did his homework and kept his eyes on his goals and did something. (Charley's okay, but still grates on me somehow.)

Uncle Ben has potential, too. That's sort of the epitome of keeping your eyes on a goal and doing something--wherein that goal was, y'know, surviving, but I think he got a diamond mine out of it. I'd need to know more; he's more of a nonentity, a symbol of what Willy gave up, than a character.


Glad to be more-or-less done with that play.
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(no subject) [Oct. 25th, 2009|12:29 pm]
Lots of stuff to do today--I've decided to stop putting off all the house-stuff I need to do, since it's Sunday--and absolutely no desire whatsoever to do it.

Okay, the only things I'm really listing as REQUIREMENTS for today are dishes and laundry, but dear GOD is every surface in the house filled with crap. Oh, and I've got some reading to do for English and Intro to Law, but I'm not too worried about that--waiting for laundry will be the perfect time to get that done.


At least my day has shifted earlier--it used to be that it was 2 before I'd even start angsting about all I have to do, and given the amount of time laundry takes, earlier is better.

And it should get better after today, 'cause Bill and I are going to go through all the clothes, see what doesn't fit/we won't wear in a million years, and get rid of it (probably donate it). And then stuff all of our summer clothes in boxes, 'cause I think the warm weather is, y'know, not coming back. (Keeping out a few t-shirts in case, though. And a few cute skirts, 'cause sometimes it's worth it to suffer. In an extremely temporary fashion.)

We've got another hanging shelf--we found it in the old stuff we took up from Mom's house--so I think we've even got enough space for all of our clothes. (Assuming we don't want to hang anything, but hell, what really needs to be hung?)


I'm hoping the white potatoes I bought a few weeks back (two?) are still good--probably--because I want to make an absolute mess of fluffy, cheesy mashed potatoes tonight. Probably with steak. I'll have to remember to thaw that.

I also need to use the chicken and pork sometime, but I don't really feel like either of those. Broccoli will probably be my vegetable; I threw out all of the fresh for brownness, but I've still got a big ol' bag of frozen.


I don't want to do it now (though making plans for how much better everything'll be after is encouraging), but I know that it'll be enjoyable as I do it, and feel really good to be done. It's not even going to be particularly hard, but I'll be all like, "Yeah, in one afternoon/evening, I've managed to fix EVERYTHING hanging over my head, and now it'll be way easy to maintain." Bwahaha.

I kinda wish I had an indoor washer, though. 'Cause then I wouldn't have to keep one pair of socks out of the wash to not freeze my feet on the way to the laundromat. I seem to remember having similar problems with thermal underwear last winter (having had only one pair), but fortunately the weather isn't that far gone yet.


I guess that carving the pumpkin is also technically hanging over my head, but I'm okay with that. I think I'll carve it at the farm tomorrow (assuming that carved pumpkins transport easily--but my worktable's there)--Bill's got an excellent, evil idea that (while I was at first reticent) I can't wait to put into practice. Mwahaha!


Now if only I can come up with a comic to draw . . . :P Ah, plenty of time on other days for that.
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(no subject) [Oct. 22nd, 2009|08:52 pm]
Oh, neat. When I learned the law professor is the only one, and teaches different classes depending on the semester, I thought, "Aw, darn, I'm not gonna be able to make it out a semester early." (I didn't decide I wanted to until about a month in . . . after the late sign-up time was done.)

Looking through the Paralegal requirements, though, I was wrong. What I didn't realize was that there are only two fall legal courses I'm missing.

It's pretty easy to piece together from there. Assuming that the rest of the courses (accounting, science electives, phys ed, etc.) are held every semester, and that Keyboarding and Computer Applications are offered during the winter and summer (they seem like naturals for that--Keyboarding has a test-out option, anyway), I can do it in two more semesters after this one without taking on more than 17 credits in any one semester.

(And I'm really treating that 17 as a 15. I hear Accounting really isn't as hard as you expect a 4-hour course to be, and beyond having to actually truck it to the gym three hours a week, Phys Ed doesn't count.)

And, y'know, New and Improved Caitlin seems to have the study-skills to pull that off.


So, yeah. It's probably gonna devastate my full academic transcript (I think I left with a 2.0, and I'm going for 4.0 here), but my time at MC is really helping me out here; that's twelve credits I don't have to take.
LinkHum a few bars

(no subject) [Oct. 21st, 2009|07:33 am]
Is it just me, or does the "Alcohol Awareness Fair" sound like just about the least fun thing ever?

And does riding a children's tricycle around an obstacle course while wearing "drunk goggles" sound like it has absolutely nothing in common with driving drunk?

*sigh*
Link4 lyrics|Hum a few bars

(no subject) [Oct. 19th, 2009|01:28 pm]
I spent the weekend at the Rhinebeck Sheep & Wool festival, mostly helping Bill's mom run her stand. It was fun, I enjoyed it. That said, dear GOD was I dead at the end of it. But I was determined to wake up and go to school today, anyway.

. . . well, until I got up at five-thirty and threw up twice. After having thrown up at four. Sent e-mails to my teachers saying I'd be out, except for the one who specifically stated he didn't want e-mails, turned off my alarm, and went to bed. And of course, I feel fine now, and haven't been vaguely tempted to throw up since. I think that means I should have gone in, but what the hell, I know that now.

It's sort of funny, because it had been eight+ hours since dinner. I think I overate, or ate too greasy, but . . . does that really take eight hours to take effect? Oh, and I had an entire two beers, I suppose.


There are a few things that stand out about the festival. The first is set-up and take-down. The set-up, I suppose, wasn't as impressive, because everyone arrived at different times--it was a tad more relaxed, and there was a lot of standing around in all the booths as people figured out how to set things up. (The people who construct a wooden frame for each show assumably didn't need to spend much time on that.) But the take-down?

The show ends at five o' clock. And I swear, at five, the vendor stands become an anthill, with everyone breaking down their stands to nothing quickly and efficiently. What had an hour ago been essentially a bustling shopping mall becomes the empty buildings and barns that had stood before. Instant ghost-town.

It was neat.


There was quite a kerfluffle at the time, though. You see, our building was an open-sided barn, with clear plastic weatherizing material on the sides. A few years ago, somebody cut a slit in the plastic to get in and out--and the show sent a message to everyone: Anyone who cuts the plastic is not going to be invited back. Which, given that Rhinebeck is the biggest sheep-and-wool festival in New York, near as I can tell, with a giant waiting list; it's certainly the biggest one Bill's mom does. No skin off the show, much skin off the vendors.

This year, while unloading, one of the stands across the way cuts a giant hole in the plastic, to take their stuff out to the truck parked beside the building. It crossed a post. And then their neighbor decided to do the same thing.

The first stand also has a giant moving truck. They had tried to get it into the building at the beginning, finding out by contact that they did not have the clearance. While leaving . . . they backed into the corner of one of the buildings, doing a fair amount of damage to the roof.

The plastic is a permanent fixture, rigged with a system to draw it up and down as needed. It apparently cost $15K a building to install. I get the impression the roof is a pretty permanent fixture, too.

So anyway, I think some waiting-list people are in luck. And some former vendors are going to have some pretty big bills.


In any case, it was a pretty good show, and I enjoyed myself.
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(no subject) [Oct. 11th, 2009|08:10 pm]
I'm a tad burned out recently. Totally blew my sleep schedule, feel tired even when I can't sleep, angry at nothing, and having trouble getting myself to even study. Gotta recharge somehow.

On the bright side, I got a bunch of fresh eggs from Bill's parents' chickens. Meant to make breakfast with it today, but couldn't quite work up the effort. Tomorrow, I think. Should be good.

Plus, I remembered to wear my totally neat fedora, which is good as well.

Drawing a few comics again, too, even if I don't like them very much so far. We'll see how it goes.

And we went for totally awesome sushi yesterday.


So, yeah. Guess I gotta just focus on that stuff. It'll work.
LinkHum a few bars

(no subject) [Oct. 11th, 2009|01:09 am]
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(no subject) [Oct. 9th, 2009|06:04 am]
So, if you count a certain way, Bill and I are both turning 23 within the month. :D Thinking of holding a joint party for it. Should be fun.

(His parents are also turning 1,000,000 in June or so, which is a really cool number . . . but possibly cruel to point out. :P)


What ain't so cool is my decision to go to school early today, get some stuff covered. That is to say, I think I could count the hours I slept with one digit . . . in base three. Ah, well. It's why coffee exists.

Later.
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(no subject) [Oct. 8th, 2009|10:22 am]
I made a new icon! Because "Smile Time" is ranking right up there with Farscape's "Revenging Angel" so far as "favorite episodes of a TV show ever". :)

No school today--my Real Estate Law professor's at the doctor's. Let's see what else I can do with the day.
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(no subject) [Oct. 7th, 2009|09:54 pm]
Found myself inexplicably enraged due to an off-hand comment between classes today, so I spent much of the day trying to work off my frustration.

First, I took a bike ride.

Then, I took a nap.

Then, I cleaned the kitchen.

I was unpacking a box when Bill came home. I feel rather better now, in any case, in large part because the kitchen is mostly clean. (I only picked up the floor, rather than swept or mopped, which is the main standout.)

And now we're having bean dip for dinner.

Life's okay. :)
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(no subject) [Oct. 4th, 2009|11:52 am]
Yesterday was pretty neat.

Made canned cinnamon rolls for breakfast, which were a bit over-sweet, but went well with water. Then Bill dropped me off at the school's Fall Fest.

I do wish I'd remembered to bring money--the farmer's market, in particular, caught my attention, with pumpkins of various sizes. I think I want two of the small, 1x1 or so pumpkins--I think that'd suit me very well, and I wouldn't feel so bad when I totally mess up cutting a face into it. (Note to self: Get pie recipe for the innards.) But I guess I'm also glad I didn't buy one, since I ended up walking home and lugging a pumpkin, even a small one, might not be fun.

The tiny little gourds (I don't know if those are also pumpkins) also just made me fall in love. Two for a dollar, there. Awww! I also have a tutorial for how to make candles out of those, but I don't think I'm gonna try that before I try to make anything more conventional.

And in any case, there was also free cotton candy, free nachos, free milk, and various members of the International Club had made food for everyone. (I came too late for India, but I did get the others.) Let's see . . . I got to watch fuzzballs coming off of the sun, courtesy of the Mohawk Valley Astronomy Club. (I wish I could remember what those were called!) The classic car show was neat; there were a lot of really shiny cars in lasting styles, many of which looked as though they were specifically designed to chew up and spit out lesser cars.

I didn't use any of the inflatable games--everyone using it was shorter than four feet tall, so I figured they weren't for me.


Anyway, there was really only so much to do, and so after a while, I walked home. Took a nap. Then Bill came home.

It was a REALLY nice day. So Bill decided we should ride bikes up on the trail by the canal. It was awesome! I mean, small grade-changes still are REALLY noticeable, but it was mostly flat, and totally enjoyable, and really pretty. I hope we get at least one more pretty day, 'cause we both seem to enjoy riding. And we definitely felt as though we'd been exercising after.

On that note, I'll have to take him to the school's indoor, heated pool at some point. (Non-students have to pay $2 to use it, and it's got funny hours, but I figure we can work that.)

It was really nice, in any case, though one of Bill's derailers sticks rather a lot--he thinks he'll have to change it. We got new seats, because biking makes our crotches hurt, and he got a new helmet, because getting the cheapest one last time resulted in a helmet he could never, ever forget he was wearing.


We also went grocery shopping.

I forgot the list, but we picked up a lot of non-perishable stuff, and some perishable stuff--for instance, potatoes, with which I made some awesome home fries this morning. Basically, we're gonna be doing pretty well for a while. Forgot to get pancake mix (I always let the buttermilk go bad, so from-scratch is turning out to be uneconomical), but I do believe we remembered everything else . . . it's good. No excuse not to make food now, in any case.


We then went to see Surrogates. Which failed a bit on internal consistency, as far as I'm concerned, but I really enjoyed it as a what-if. Ignore the plot and just conceptualize what's happening that ain't being covered by the movie. Surrogate insurance policies, for instance. I enjoyed it. :D

We also saw twenty minutes or so of Zombieland while waiting for Surrogates to start (I don't think we were technically supposed to do that, but we did), and have decided we need to see that. Possibly on video, though.


It was rather a full day, but I had a lot of fun. So did Bill. And then I made an excellent breakfast today.

So, y'know, go me!
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(no subject) [Sep. 29th, 2009|10:58 am]
Aw, man, I ruined my streak; there was a pop quiz in Real Estate Law I wasn't prepared for. I'd read the chapter, but I'd done it about a week and a half ago ('cause zoning and easements and other ways your property isn't yours . . . interests me, I suppose is the word.) Five questions; I got 80%. Which is still apparently the best grade in the class.

He says they won't be weighted much . . . unless everyone does poorly consistently, in which case they'll be weighted more. In any case, I intend to be prepared. If he says we'll quiz on most chapters, I'll assume that'll be eight or so quizzes (of ten chapters)--and I'll ace the hell out of them. (He's not trying to trick you, just make sure you read the chapter thoroughly, so I think I can probably manage hundreds.)

Dunno why the concept of pop quizzes didn't enter my mind, especially since all of my syllabuses say that tests don't need to be announced.


"Fall Fest" is this Saturday. It seems like it might be fun. The schedule, in any case, is here. Hope Bill's willing to come, and I think I'll also invite Mom, Megan, Cali, and Rich. (It doesn't really seem like Rich's sort of thing, granted, but hey.)

I wonder if they provide the kites for the kite flying, or if you have to bring your own. I've never really been kite flying. Bill used to like to do it, though.

What really interests me is "Nature Trail Hikes (on your own)". Er . . . the nature trail is RIGHT off campus. I can perform a "Nature Trail Hike (on my own)" at any time I want to. (I guess it might be easier to get others to go with in these conditions?)

Anyway, seems like fun, and a possible way to meet more classmates.


Today, I wanted to get home early to start laundry. But it's raining. So I'll wait for the bus to get here at 1. Plenty of things to fill the time in between with . . . though I figure I'll mostly read for my other classes. I'm not gonna let a pop quiz take me by surprise again. :D
Link1 lyric|Hum a few bars

(no subject) [Sep. 28th, 2009|11:26 pm]
Got a 101% on my Real Estate Law test. That is to say, got the two questions on pocket-veto wrong (I ought to have gone with my initial impression rather than what I thought the prof was trying to say), and one on case law. But then I got all five extra-credit points, and the professor gave everyone two points because . . . well, because the pocket veto questions were vague.

All in all, I'm pretty pleased.


Spent tonight copying all of my Real Estate Law notes into neater handwriting, more because I had some sort of tension in my stomach than it really needed done. I figure it can't hurt, though.


I also got to serve papers again. That is to say, I spent a bunch of time waiting for a notary, signed some stuff, then dropped some document packages in the mail. It was still neat.


Stayed up WAY too late watching Taken last night. Can't seem to sleep when a movie's on, regardless of intentions. Nevertheless, Liam Neeson has a voice to die for. And I haven't seen something I could really call an action movie in a while. (I doubt it was called action, but I associate "action" with "violence the writer doesn't try to make me feel sick about, preferably involving awesome moves" more than "explosions, high technology, and saving the world.")

That said, it's basically the same movie as this one Steven Segall I saw recently--"Out of Reach"? But this one was less cheesy, so that's something.
Link1 lyric|Hum a few bars

(no subject) [Sep. 26th, 2009|04:52 pm]
Reading comments to a (friends locked) [info]journalists post about covering poverty. One of the pieces of advice is this:

"Talk to the public defender's office. Crime finds the poverty-stricken easily, and often it provides the means to money otherwise denied them."

(Note: I should not be posting quotes from behind a flock, but 1) Two sentences seems minor, 2) I do not identify the commenter, and 3) Friends-lock on a community just means you have to join to see it.)


Ignoring whether this is good advice or not (I figure it probably is) . . . "money otherwise denied to them"?

( Continued under the politics!cut. )
Link4 lyrics|Hum a few bars

(no subject) [Sep. 25th, 2009|01:49 pm]
Pretty sure I aced my Intro to Law for Paralegals test. I mean, it's always a bit anxiousifying when you're the first finished (technically second, but it still makes me anxious 'cause I was reviewing my answers when the first guy handed his in) . . . but on the other hand, I had the proper notes to reference on the things I was not-quite-sure on (mostly terminology specifics), and I was pretty damn sure on everything I didn't look up. Aside from the extra-credit, there are very few questions I had much in the way of doubt on.

So I'm pretty confident.


The extra-credit involved my sister filing a malpractice lawsuit, and all of the stuff she was intending to do toward this end. (For example, lie about following doctor's instructions, asking me to sign a written affidavit saying I'd accompanied her on the doctor-instructed walks she never took, etc.) The first question involved what I should say if she asks me for legal advice, which is a bit of a no-brainer, but the second . . . when she hires my law firm, what, if anything, am I obligated to tell them about her situation?

I eventually, after a few erasures, answered that, due to my closeness to the case, I could not represent the client's interest above all others (I didn't mention that this is because I want to slap her upside the head, even if she IS in a walker)--and so I'm obligated to wall myself off. Thus, not talk about the case at all.

It doesn't feel right, because this involves me saying nothing about my sister intending to commit a crime (perjury). On the other hand, that ethical rule applies as an exception to the fiduciary relationship--which I did not have with my sister at the time she asked, or (in case of conflict of interest) ever. It also seems wrong because I don't see how representing my sister is a *conflict* of interest--I get the impression that the idea of family relationships ISN'T that you're likely to, for instance, be petty.

So I'm not remotely sure on that one. But on the other hand, it was extra credit, so I'm not all that worried.
Link3 lyrics|Hum a few bars

(no subject) [Sep. 24th, 2009|01:18 pm]
96% on my Real Estate Law exam!

Now, he did add 9 points to everyone's grade, so I actually earned an 87%. But on the other hand, 87% is still a good grade, and I did score second-highest in the class. So, you know, go me! :D

Tomorrow's my Intro to Law class, which I'm not as sure on as Business Law and Real Estate Law. (Mostly because it's been kind of boring, so I haven't been looking into it for fun. But I'll review everything tonight.) I'm pretty confident, though.


I managed to water-damage all of my books, make some of my notes unreadable, and basically everything else associated with leaving one's backpack in the rain overnight. Agh! At least I've already taken most of the tests those notes related to.

Went to the Part Time Job Fair after school. The job at AAA's call center seemed most appealing, to be honest. But it's all in Utica. Sigh. Still, I'll totally have to check with Working Solutions--Working Solutions seems to be getting the government to find you a job. (I think they also do classes and might connect you with money for training, too.) Regardless of whether I think it should exist, it'd be just stupid not to check it out.


Raisins go very well in oatmeal.
LinkHum a few bars

(no subject) [Sep. 24th, 2009|07:00 am]
Left my backpack in the bed of the pickup overnight. Whoopsie, but, y'know, no big deal.

. . . 'scept it rained last night.

Haven't opened it up yet to have a look inside, but . . . goddamn it. Ah, well.
LinkHum a few bars

(no subject) [Sep. 23rd, 2009|07:30 pm]
Oh, and I got 100 on my Business Law test.

98% on the t/f and multiple choice (got one question wrong), then got the essay wrong, but the essay was extra credit, and he for some reason gave everyone two points on that. I thought that giving a flat "wrong" on a single piece of information was a bit odd for an essay question, but on the other hand . . . it WAS extra credit, and he gave me two points anyway. So the room for complaining is limited.

(I thought "$1000 is a little low. Would you be willing to pay $1200?" was a counteroffer, and interpreted the rest of the question on that. It wasn't.)

It still seems weird to have the essay be extra credit, but . . . well, whatever, man. Works for me. :)
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