11-28-03

This modern thought can get the best of you

I. Gus the Cat:


I had to dangle a whole lot of turkey in front of gus the cat to make him look at me.


My mom didn't feed him a single thing and he stared at her very intently for several minutes. . .


. . .and then he suddenly leapt to her shoulder.

II. The Mennonite world is a small one. My cousin (on my mom's side) brought her boyfriend to the festivities. He is from Indiana, but he worked with my dad's brother (who lives in South Carolina) in Albuquerque. My dad knows the boyfriend's parents somehow too, but I didn't really catch how.

The first time a boyfriend meets the whole big family (we have our dinners in my grandma's church's community center, which may sound sad and impersonal, but it sure beats the days when us kids had to eat in the garage) is probably stressful enough, but my dad helped the whole thing along by yelling, "WHAT, ARE YOU TWO PRACTICING WALKING DOWN THE AISLE?" at the two of them when they were both trying to walk back to the table without spilling their overfilled cups of coffee.

III. Who was that woman with my cousin? It wasn't that one that he married a year and a half ago. And it wasn't that one that had the baby last year. And was that baby that was with them his? I'm not going to learn any names until I see the same girl/baby combo twice.

IV. Dutch Blitz: the game that features Amish kids on the cards (demonstrated here by my cousins, although my uncle probably got a better picture with his bird's eye view), and which I unbelievably discovered is not solely an Amish/Mennonite pastime this summer when a friend from high school mentioned playing it. Who knew? (ps: i did not play dutch blitz as i was recovering from a rousing game of dominoes.)

V. I had more, but I'm tired and I can't remember.


np: the Shins-Young Pilgrims

12:40 a.m.

11-27-03

Dialup connection

1. My dad called my landlord for me, which should make me feel sort of like a loser ("daddy, can you please solve my problems for me, please?"), but I didn't actually ask him to (he volunteered. i hadn't even considered having him call.), and really, I am just quite happy that I don't have to worry about it anymore. He said that herr landlord thought that maybe he could fix the current doorknob, but he obviously has not seen that knob, as I smashed that sucker good.

2. My arms hurt so much.

3. Today I made church windows (which no one really likes (not even me), but we continue to make them every year) and pecan tassies (which are kind of like little bite-sized pecan pies). My aunt Pam usually makes the pecan tassies, but she isn't going to be attending the festivities tomorrow, and mine are so much uglier than hers usually are. I don't understand it. I thought that using the handheld mixer was making the filling airier and bubblier (and therefore uglier) than it should be, so I just hand mixed most of them and they all look the same. They taste good, but I shall have to serve them with a side of blindfolds.

4. This is the best bookmark ever:

The book he's reading is called The Ottersy. There was another one with a seal on it, and the seal was reading The Sealiad.

Ancient Greek literature and arctic sealife - together at last.


np: Johnny Cash-I Still Miss Someone

12:50 a.m.

11-25-03

Pavement

This seems so very U.S.A. (kind of reminds me of this, actually). I must say, though, that I am glad to see that others value convenient parking over art, history and culture.


np: work

7:49 p.m.

11-25-03

Morning adventures

So, right after herr landlord came and fixed the heat, I locked myself out of my room.

I saw his van driving away down the street.

Everything (phone, computer, shoes, clothes (i was am still in my pajamas), coat, car keys, money) was in my room.

I tried using various forms of flatware to pick the lock, but nothing worked. I remembered the time I was locked into the basement at my grandma's house and, with much coaching, I removed the doorknob from the door and was freed. I decided that getting the doorknob off was the answer, but was dismayed as I didn't have the right any tools.

I decided to sit in the living room and mope, and while I was doing that, I noticed that one of my housemates had left a dumbbell there. Inspiration struck, and I used that dumbbell to break the doorknob off of the door. It took a long time and my arm hurts, but it felt good to pound. Oh yes it did.

But now there is no doorknob on my door and I am afraid that I will have to pay 1 million dollars to have herr landlord fix it (although, when I think about it, repairing a doorknob shouldn't cost much more than repairing a window (once when my housemates were locked out, they broke the window in the front door so they could get in)).

In any case, I am going to go dye my hair now and try to decide if I want to tell my landlord about this now or when I get back from Thanksgiving. The whole time I was thinking that I could just have my dad fix it for free, but then I realized that he'd have to be able to get a doorknob that would fit my key. And that probably would be difficult.


np: Grandaddy-AM 180

11:53 a.m.

11-25-03

This is the stupidest house ever

The temperature outside is 27 degrees and the heat has magically stopped working again.

I am wearing pants, 2 pairs of socks, two shirts, a hoodie, arm warmers, a scarf and a stocking cap. At about midnight I was seriously considering going to the ol' 24-hour superstore and buying a space heater or an electric blanket or a heating pad or a boyfriend, something, anything warm. And then I realized that all that would happen is that I would go outside (where it is cold), get in my car (which would be cold and not have enough time to warm up on the drive to the store), go outside (cold) to get into the store (warm!), and then stand around there for a while realizing that only people with money can afford to have electrical heating devices and that people like me are forced to pile clothing in an attempt to not be frozen into a solid mass of flesh during the night.

So I guess I will go to sleep tonight and hope that I don't die (which, honestly, is how I go to sleep most nights) and tomorrow I will call herr landlord for the three hundredth time and tell him that our heater isn't working again, and he will come over here and do something to it that will fix it for a few days. And when I get back from Thanksgiving on Friday, the house will be an igloo.

And so, if you will excuse me, I am going to go put on my mittens and go to bed.





PS: This coldness is made even more irritating by the fact that it was sweltering in here last night and I slept with my window open.


np: the Decemberists-Odalisque

2:22 a.m.

11-24-03

Micro film

I just had the most challenging microfilm experience ever.

To move the page to the left, you had to go up. To move right, down. To go up and down, you pushed the backwards and forwards buttons.

I was just trying to center an article so that some woman could have printout that didn't look like crap, and I thought that either my head was going to explode or I was going to burst into tears from the frustation.

Neither happened, though, and I even remembered to turn up the brightness setting so that she actually got a page that wasn't too dark to read (the machine has a default setting of 40%, but nothing prints readably unless you change it to 90%).

So. Yay. Except that that little workout probably means that it will take even longer for my brain to turn into a Jello-like mush (which, judging by my recent choices in books, tv and movies, is what I am trying desperately to do).


np: work

6:42 p.m.

11-22-03

Sports freaks

I don't understand what drives people to be hardcore sports fans. Today was the big Ohio State/UM game, which apparently "we" won, since when I was downtown just now I saw a girl with a voice like a Hell House narrator (and full maize and blue face paint) screaming, "AWWWWWW, SUCKS TO BE LOSERS, HUH BUCKEYES? IT'S A LONG DRIVE BACK TO COLUMBUS! LOSERS*!" towards two middle-aged men in Ohio State sweatshirts. The girl's father said something quietly to her and she replied, "But this is the only day you get to do this."

And I guess I should feel better knowing that she doesn't go around yelling at people all the time, but I still kind of want to punch her in the face.

Also: tonight is the Pas/Cal show, which appears to no longer be the CD release party, which now is scheduled for December 20, when I will be in South Carolina. Bleh.





*Personally, I don't think that anyone who has painted their face blue and yellow for a football game (i think we can all agree that football is the most boring sport ever) has the right to call anyone else a loser.


np: the Delgados-Accused of Stealing

4:54 p.m.

11-20-03

Meeting

I had a meeting after work. I forgot about it until this afternoon, and I decided to go because (1) free pizza would be available and (2) I figured it would be short since it didn't seem like there would be much to talk about.

Somehow, though, it stretched out to an hour. There were only four other people there and I learned how to make an interlibrary loan request (for the forty-fifth time). The meeting was partially redeemed by the previously mentioned free pizza and also by the fact that my boss used the words "Debbie
does. . ." in conjunction like that. That kept me entertained for a good 35 seconds or so.


np: Mogwai-You Don't Know Jesus

6:43 p.m.

11-20-03

I'm not sure why more people don't take fashion advice from me. Oh,wait.

I'm not sure when it became acceptable to wear high heels with jeans*, but I am certain that I do not approve.





*maybe this has been going on a long time, but i live in the midwest and trends take a long time to journey across miles and miles of farmland. this afternoon was the first time i'd ever spotted someone wearing heels and jeans who wasn't on mtv (where i wasn't that concerned about it because i expect ridiculous and horrible things to happen there).


np: work

3:27 p.m.

11-20-03

I hope that things are better than they sound

One of my friends from high school fell in love during our freshman year of college. At first she maintained contact with me, but eventually she stopped writing back (the only contact from her I have received in the last two years was an invitation to a baby shower). Last year she had a baby and quit school. Just recently, she got married and moved to somewhere in Canada (where her husband is from).

And you know, at first I was upset, because falling in love doesn't mean that you just throw over all of your other friends (and family) for that one person. It bothered me that I was so easily forgotten.

But later, I just didn't care. It was sort of a futile attempt at retaliation: fine, see, I can not care a thing about you just like you don't about me. Once I even got her last name wrong when I was talking about something from our happier past.

Today, though, I found out some things that make me worry. Her husband is very controlling (which i knew before, but i hadn't realized the extent of it before) and I get the feeling that she probably couldn't leave even if she wanted to (but, there is no evidence that she wants to leave, as reports by people who have seen her recently say that she seems like a zombie version of herself, brainwashed and agreeing with anything her husband says).

Part of me feels bad for not caring before. And part of me wants to still not care, which makes me feel even more like a huge, compassionless jerk.


np: Ted Leo and the Pharmacists-Under the Hedge

3:12 a.m.

11-19-03

Dinner party

You should wish that you lived at my house, because tonight I made sweet potato burritos and black bean salad for dinner.

Also, we had a dinner guest, so we had to buy another plate, or else one of us would've had to eat off of a lid, which is how we ate for many weeks before we bought those two plates.

During dinner, some girl showed up at the door and said she used to live here. She told us that she had left some refrigerator magnets here ("old favorites," she called them) and wondered if we'd seen them. We told her that we hadn't. She seemed sad.


np: Super Furry Animals-Run! Christian, Run!

10:39 p.m.

11-18-03

Rainy days and

I'd be sad about the fact that I had to walk all the way to work in the rain, but I did laundry this afternoon and since our dryer doesn't actually make anything dry, all of my clothes were damp before I trudged 10 blocks through parking lots and puddles.

Also, when I got here I discovered that you can tell I am wearing a t-shirt featuring Boo Berry, Franken Berry and Count Chocula underneath my appropriate for work (but still very salmon-colored) long sleeved t-shirt (chosen because it was the most dry of all of my shirts that spent an hour in the dryer this afternoon), but you probably couldn't actually identify the characters. In any case, I am just going to pretend that there isn't a huge dark spot showing from underneath

And: my hand proudly proclaims that I am 21+ (a souvenir of last night's Shins show*). Does yours? i wish i wish they would not have to write on my hands with the most permanent of all inks.





*All day yesterday I was sure that the show was actually tonight. Luckily, my workday allows for an average of three and a half hours of internetting per every four hours worked, and I discovered my mistake.


np: work

6:29 p.m.

11-17-03

My phone will have to just keep playing whatever it plays now (I'm not sure what that is because it never, ever rings)

Last night I spent hours and hours trying to decide on a new ringtone for my phone, and just when I'd gotten it narrowed down to "This Charming Man" or the theme from The Twilight Zone*, I realized that no one ever calls me and that I should just save my three dollars for booze.




Also: two things that have taken up way too much of my time today: (1) make your own church sign (if i had come up with a really clever one, i would've put it here, but the best i could do was "All roads lead to pork" and that wasn't even my idea) and crab volleyball (you'd think that the fact that i lose every game (my high score is something like -5) with great speed would make me stop, but i have a remarkable amount of resilience when it comes to things like crab volleyball).





*Jessica had job interview today which she worried way too much about, but it led to this conversation, which, honestly, is very similar to most conversations that take place in my life:

J: Should I wear these shoes? What if those spots don't come out of my skirt? This book says that I shouldn't carry a purse, but I have to take something, so do you think this one looks better? What kind of questions did they ask you? Is there somewhere there that I'll be able to hang up my coat? What did you do with your coat?

K: My interview was in the summer. Why can't I get my phone to play "Wherever I Lay My Phone (That's My Home)?"


np: work

6:34 p.m.

11-15-03

Unconvincing

I fixed the internet at my house last night. And I fixed it by knowing exactly what was wrong with it and how to make it better. Really. I did NOT fix it just by trying a whole bunch of things until it finally worked. Nope. No way.





ps: i would really like to tell you that i am not wearing flourescent pink and silver arm warmers underneath my suitable for work long-sleeved t-shirt, but that would be a fib.


np: work

4:20 p.m.

11-14-03

Updating while my deskmate is gone is a race against time

Last night I accidentally crashed a private party. At first I felt scared and awkward, but then I was served a free burrito and I felt much better.

Afterwards I went to the store with the intention of only buying lotion for super-extra-dry-flaky skin (hooray! winter!), but all of my good intentions to buy only what I needed were for naught, as I left with half of the health and beauty aids department in my shopping bags. It is for the best, though, because the only thing that is keeping me from being radiant is that I haven't been using the right face wash.

And finally, the other night our neighbor came over and told us that he was having his roof replaced and that since his roof is very near our driveway, we might not want to park our cars there for a couple of days. We thought that it was very neighborly of him to not want our cars to be crushed by falling debris, but it has become more and more obvious that the real reason he didn't want us to park in our driveway is because it gives his roofers easier access to our back yard, which they seem to have mistaken for a parking lot.


np: work

10:20 a.m.

11-13-03

Snow

At first I was like, "Why is all of that lint flying around in the air like that?"

And then I realized that it was snow.


np: Travis Morrison-16 Types of People

1:30 p.m.

11-12-03

We will never be brokenhearted

These are sad, internetless days in this household. All of a sudden Monday night it was gone, but I insisted that this had happened before and that it would probably work again in the morning. And it did! I mean, when I took my laptop downstairs and plugged it directly into the modem. And then I'd unplug it from there and plug it into the hub and it still worked! And then I would take my laptop back upstairs (without unplugging anything from anywhere), and suddenly it wouldn't work again.

It is annoying. We called our ISP and they told us that everything is fine from their end and they can't do anything to help us.

And the scary, scary thing is that I am the most computer-saavy of everyone of this house.

No. Read that again.

It means that we are all doomed to spend the rest of the year paying for high-speed internet access that only one of us can use at time. And even if only one person is using it, they still might suddenly lose their connection.

Now that all of that is done, what I really wanted to write about was how happy I was when I found tiny little packages of sauerkraut that were only a quarter each. I pretended to be unimpressed with it while I was in the store (and by that I mean I only yelled "OH MY GOSH, WILL YOU LOOK AT THIS SAUERKRAUT?" at the person I was with one time. Or maybe twice.), but all I could think about was how I could put that little packet of sauerkraut in my purse and its airtightness would mean that it wouldn't leak on all of my sundries, and I could carry it around and, you know, take a shot of sauerkraut whenever I felt the need. It would be the opposite of a breathmint, for the times when I just want people to stay away.

But oh my gosh, it was the worst sauerkraut ever. Which, honestly, is okay, since carrying sauerkraut around with me would probably not make my life any better*.





*I've had some experience carrying around smelly food before, last year, when I snagged a piece of celery at the Cleveland SFA show. I kept that thing with me until it liquified. And I felt sad when I finally threw it away.


np: Ted Leo and the Pharmacists-Biomusicology

11:09 p.m.

11-10-03

Three misplaced happinesses

I am wearing a knee-length brown skirt, brown tights and brown shoes, but none of the browns quite match and that makes me happy.

Also, there is a hole in my tights which makes me even happier.

Some very loud feedback was just transmitted through the PA system. That made me happy because it reminded me that I am not the only one in this building, which is how I sometimes feel after spending 4 hours on the third floor of the library (which you may feel free to picture as a barren and windswept place).





ps: the word 'happinesses' reminds me of the other day when I was trying to convince someone that 'Snickerses' was the proper plural for 'Snickers.' "One Snickers," I said, "two Snickerses." "Two Snickers bars," they said. Bah.


np: work

8:48 p.m.

11-10-03

No weak heart shall prosper

Last night Ted Leo told jokes in an Irish accent (following each with: "Comedy is the new rock and roll!" and "Write that one down, that was a good one!") and played songs that are smart and I thought of how I have to sometimes consult a dictionary about words in his lyrics and how fun it is to see intelligent people make intelligent music (see also: Travis Morrison, formerly of the Dismemberment Plan).

I came home and was saddened by the fact that my copy of Hearts of Oak wasn't in its case. Never fear, though, for I found it inhabiting my Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots case (which is just as well, since I don't actually own a copy of Yoshimi anymore).


np: Ted Leo and the Pharmacists-Hearts of Oak

12:09 p.m.

2003-11-09

Moon me and a new home

You know that episode of The Simpsons where Marge buys a designer dress at an outlet store and then has to keep altering it and altering it so that they can keep being members of that country club?

Well, pretty soon all of the high society women are going to be clucking their tongues and whispering behind their watercress sandwiches about how I keep changingthis template.

What I really wanted to write, though, is that all week I had been thinking about the lunar eclipse, but by tonight I had completely forgotten about it, which made this conversation possible:

me: Hey, look at the moon!

someone else: It looks like an eclipse or something.

me: It is! There is an eclipse tonight!

But see, the joke is that right up until the point that someone else said the word 'eclipse,' I had just assumed that it was a weird phase of the moon that I had never seen before.


np: the Delgados-No Danger

4:38 a.m.

2003-11-07

15 more minutes

I am not going to see Belle and Sebastian, but I managed to dress myself in clothes that are such perfect Belle and Sebastian-wear that it makes me a little sad that they were wasted on a day at the library (although, really, my idea of ideal b&s clothes and ideal library clothes are pretty much the same thing).

I am tired of being at work. All I have done for the last hour and a half is make sure that this desk doesn't wander away.


np: work

8:46 p.m.

2003-11-07

Cold

It is 44 degrees outside, probably only 60ish or so inside, since our heater vents are once again spewing out cold air. I am trying to decide if it would be a total act of wussitude to wear my winter coat to work. I could probably get by without it right now, but what will the weather be like at 9 o'clock when I am finally released?

Also, I am a little dismayed because I am quite sure that I saw my scarf at my parents' house, which means that it is not here to keep my neck warm and dry. I left my hairbrush there too, but that really hasn't affected my life at all. Hmmm.


np: Gorky's Zygotic Mynci-Waking for Winter

12:20 p.m.

2003-11-07

Duh

I just realized that I sent out the payment for our cable/internet bill without (a) putting a stamp on the envelope and (b) putting the return address on the envelope.

I am bad at living.


np: King of the Hill

12:56 a.m.

2003-11-06

Humane society

I was at the humane society today and two women (also volunteers) were there talking about a mutual acquaintance's new condo. One of them said, "Do you know what I like the best? She has this cute little clock in her laundry room. That way, if you're in there folding clothes, you know what time it is if you have to go to work or something!"

She sounded so amazed.

Imagine! A clock in the laundry room!

Also, this dog has been there for many, many weeks, and I really don't understand it because he is sweet and adorable and very nearly still a puppy. He looks sadder and sadder every week.

And then as I was pulling out of the driveway, I almost hit a deer.

And I thought and thought about the irony.


np: Super Furry Animals-Lazy Life

8:58 p.m.

2003-11-05

Nutter butter

I don't know about you, but I don't think that it can possibly be a coincidence that the one day I don't bring any money with me to work is the day that Nutter Butter Bites* suddenly appear in the vending machine.

Never fear, though, some basic scrounging in the dark and disturbingly sticky bottom of my bag unearthed 3 shiny quarters. And yes, I probably should've saved them for laundry. But I didn't.





*the only peanut-butter flavored food that i like. i once spent 4 hours shoveling peanut butter in a factory (after spending 8 hours there doing whatever else it was that i did), and afterwards i thought i was never going to get the smell out of my clothes and hair. and since then, i really haven't cared much for peanut butter (i hadn't liked it much before, either), but the nutter butter exists in a realm far above the other available peanut butter snack foods.


np: work

7:21 p.m.

2003-11-05

Upcoming rock shows, or, a very boring entry of boringness

Here is the thing:

Tonight Jenny Toomey will be at the Detroit Art Space, but I will probably not go because if I go anywhere tonight, it will be to the Magic Stick to see The Rapture.

This Friday is Belle and Sebastian at the State Theater, but I probably won't go to that either, because the last time I went to see Belle and Sebastian, I ended up leaving in a state of anger never before (or since) conjured up by a rock show and spent the remainder of the evening searching the Detroit suburbs for vintage cola (it is a documented fact, but you have to scroll down to May 11). Part of the rage arose from the fact that it was expensive and I could barely see the band. I can only imagine that the same thing would happen this time, so I will save my money.

Saturday is Crooked Fingers at the Magic Stick and as of right now, I am unsure as to whether or not I will be attending. This is also a money issue, and while I'm sure the show is cheap, a show tonight plus a show Saturday plus a show Sunday would add up (ok, yes, so it only adds up to 30 dollars. but still.). And Sunday's show is not negotiable.

Because Sunday is Ted Leo (swoon!) and the Pharmacists (weeeeee!)!

Next Saturday is Duran Duran in Royal Oak, but I can't go because no one has donated $55 to the "Send Kim to see Duran Duran" fund (donations are still being accepted). I could console myself with Guided By Voices on the same night, but it wouldn't be the same.

Tuesday November 17 The Shins will be at the Majestic Theater. All signs point to go go go, for that one.

November 22, Pas/Cal has a record release show at the Magic Stick. It's cheap (wahoo), but I'll probably feel the need to, you know, buy the record, thereby making it less cheap. The last Pas/Cal record release show, though, included pi�atas and hors d'oeuvres. And if the $7 (plus $10 or so for the album) includes candy and doughnuts, I can save money by not eating the rest of the day.

Finally, the White Stripes have two shows at the Masonic Temple during Thanksgiving weekend. And even though I will be here, I see no reason to fork over 35 dollars or so for a ticket, because it seems to me that if you've seen one White Stripes show, you've pretty much seen them all.

What was the point of all that? Well, (1) I am at work and more than a little bored (although, diaryland says that it was 2:48 when I started this entry and it is now 4:30, so I must've been doing something) and (2) I feel that the amount of shows (that I actually want to see) in the upcoming month proves that rock bands care about me and are trying to keep me from becoming bored and depressed in the bleakness that is November. Too bad they forgot to factor in that money issue.


np: work

2:48 p.m.

2003-11-05

TV, a good idea, to-do list

What's fun to do is to watch old tv shows and solve all of their problems using modern technology. I was just watching The Twilight Zone and an extremely youthful Robert Redford was dying in a pool of blood, and I thought, "Well, if he has enough energy to squirm around and beg that woman for help, why doesn't he just get out his cell phone and call 911?" (But, as it turns out, he was actually the grim reaper, and that whole "I am a sexy young police officer" bit was just a ruse to gain access to the woman's house so he could kill her, so calling 911 wouldn't have solved anything.)

Oh oh oh, I cannot wait until the New Year's Eve Twilight Zone marathon*. My mom ruined the fourth of July marathon ("Hey, why don't we get up at 8am and go to your Mennonite grandparents' house where there is no tv for the duration of the two-day marathon! That sounds like a good idea, right?"). Dear Sci-fi channel, only showing The Twilight Zone at 1:30 am (on some days) and 5 am (on others) is really lame. And yes, I know you sometimes have it on in that five hour block during the day, but those are the hour-long episodes. And, much like Alfred Hitchcock Presents, the hour episodes just aren't as good. Too much filler. The half hour episodes are sleek and to the point. Love, Kim.

Also (I meant to mention in the weekend in review), on Sunday I stated that we should all start heating our homes with corpses. And while I still think that this is an absolutely brilliant idea, the venue in which it was presented (over Sunday brunch with my parents) was probably not particularly appropriate**.

Plan of action for tomorrow:

1. wake up (always a chore)
2. go to work (two days in a row? i'm not used to this kind of intense schedule)
3. find someone to go see The Rapture with me tomorrow night (shake dooooooooooooooooown)





*Everytime I actually have New Year's Eve 'plans,' I always feel like the whole thing is just a big scam. Next year will be the same as this year which is the same as last year. There's no reason to welcome it in with a big party, thereby making it feel special and important. (i am a bitter person.)

**My lighting fast response to my dad's request that I invent a new fuel and make a lot of money probably made my parents think that I am a ghoulish and morbid. I had never actually considered using dead bodies as fuel before, actually. It was an entirely spontaneous response. I guess that that doesn't really make it any better, though.


np: the Rapture-House of Jealous Lovers

2:04 a.m.

2003-11-04

Weekend in Review

I am still at my parents' house because, at 7:30 when I was going to leave, it was as dark as the blackest depths of hell* and raining. And I didn't want to drive in the horrible black rainstorm. So, if all goes well, I will get up early enough to be back in Ann Arbor by 1 tomorrow, meaning that I can drive across the state in the grey rather than the black. If there's one thing that is great about Michigan, it's that the sky turns the color of slate in November and stays that way until April**.

And now:

The Weekend in Review

Friday

1. Helped my parents set up their vcr/dvd combo thing. On one hand, I am proud of my parents for making that step into the digital video world, but on the other hand, why couldn't they just stay with their good ol' vcr? They really just need something to tape tv shows once in a while, since they almost never rent movies to watch.

2. Discovered massive stash of Cat Who books (acquired and read obsessively from the age of 12 until the age of 15 and recently returned from cousins). Weekend reading ensued.

Saturday

1. Followed my mom around while she was looking for a winter coat. Oh my gosh. I hate the mall on Saturday.

2. My mom bought me half price Halloween candy.

3. My mom and I don't really have similar tastes in movies. That fact, however, does not really explain how we ended up leaving the video store with a copy of "Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course." (But, like I said before, my parents hardly ever rent movies, so my mom had to set up a whole new account. That meant that she gets to rent things for half price for the next two weeks, so we got that sucker for 50 cents. And, honestly, I watch so much utter crap that it really didn't seem that bad. You have to hand it to Steve Irwin for trying to make people love the ugly and icky animals of the world.)

4. Forgot to watch OutKast on Saturday Night Live, which was the one and only thing on my to-do list for the weekend (I have a rough life. I really do.).

Sunday

1. Went to church. It was more like a Flaming Lips concert than church usually is. You know, with the people in bear costumes and stuff.

2. Was kind of disappointed with the season premiere (finally. damn baseball.) of King of the Hill. But I don't think that I've ever like a Boomhauer episode.

3. My dad looked for cheap plane tickets to South Carolina (my grandparents live there) for Christmas. None were found. Which means. . . .CHRISTMAS ROAD TRIP WITH THE PARENTS!!!! to visit people who I see so rarely that they might as well be complete strangers***. I wish they lived somewhere fun. Or pretty. But no.

Monday (not actually the weekend, but give me a break)

1. Discovered videotape (recorded sometime during high school) of Pulp performing "Common People" on David Letterman. There were other things on the tape, but they all paled beside Mr. Jarvis Cocker.

2. Never figured out how to turn the heat up. Baked cookies for warmth.

3. Found notebooks from highschool. In true Kim style, I only had one notebook each year, so it contained notes and information from all seven classes AND typical depressed teenage journal entries. So, it'll go from "I'm so sad. I'm depressed and no one likes me. Boo hoo." to 10 consecutive pages of elegant looking calculus homework. And in between all of that there is the rough draft of an essay about my favorite pants (chalk that one up to a not specific enough writing prompt) and a lot of false starts of a short story that I was writing for a creative writing independent study (the story was eventually thrown over for a very derivative morality tale about a stuffed owl being set on fire).



ps: to everyone who gets to this site by searching for "painless ways to commit suicide" - you might as well live.





*so, i was thinking, and the flames let off some light, right? so it was actually darker than hell.

**Of course that is hyperbole, but I am a little depressed that it gets dark at 5:30 in the afternoon and has been raining for the past two days.

***this is my dad's side of the family. i seem my mom's side much more often.


np: the Flaming Lips-How Will We Know?

12:54 a.m.

2003-11-03

My hands are numb

So. I am still at my parents' house (I have to go home tonight since I think I have to work tomorrow) and I had all of these things that I wanted to write about but (1) I've forgotten most of them and (2) I can't figure out how to make the temperature in the house be higher than 64 degrees. I hope my mom gets home soon.


np: Catatonia-Road Rage (taped off of Conan O'Brien while I was in high school)

1:43 p.m.

2003-11-01

The crying cows

I am at my parents' house and some of the little calves* from this summer have been sold. Their moms are outside crying.

It was really disturbing because when I first got out of my car and heard all of the noise, I was afraid that they were being slaughtered. But my dad told me that they were just sad. My dad should be a cow psychologist.





*I weirdly just almost called them the little veals. I think it is because of that one episode of King of the Hill where Bobby is going to be in a calf-roping contest at the rodeo and he says, "I like the part where I'm running around with veal." And then he becomes a rodeo clown.


np: the washing machine

12:08 a.m.

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