Event Horizon

_eliza_b @ 2007-12-25T15:55:00

2007-12-25T23:57:01Z

It's snowing! Merry Christmas, everybody.

nooooo

2006-12-20T07:57:22Z

Must go to the DMV tomorrow. Shoot me, please.

ETA: Wow. Did they fire all their horrible employees or something? It actually wasn't that bad.

nyquil

2006-12-14T06:28:00Z

NyQuil is my new best friend. I only wish I'd discovered this wondrous concoction before I'd taken two-thirds of my finals...except then I would've fallen asleep in the middle of them...oh, well, you can't win them all.

_eliza_b @ 2006-12-06T22:35:00

2006-12-07T06:35:28Z

Not much to report. I turned in the paper on Mary Queen of Scots, which was the last assignment before finals start next week. This evening there was a short film on honor killings on campus, followed by a discussion with the director. It was pretty good, in a scary and "I-wish-this-wasn't-real" sort of way. Anyway, it's a small film so I'm not sure how you would get ahold of it, but you can google In the Morning, plus honor killings and short film, and find stuff on it.

Also, on honor killings:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honor_killings

...sorry if you already know about this/don't care, but I'm all worked up and indignant at the moment. It's so hard to believe that people can condone this.

rather pointless entry

2006-11-08T18:17:43Z

Wouldn't you know, the moment my boss takes her vacation the phone starts ringing off the hook. Clearly, fate/Imminent Reason/God/whatever has it in for me. Anyway, at least the library's internet is back up, so I don't have to do any more homework for the moment.

Anyone else read Sam Shepard, and think he's not all he's cracked up to be? Just curious.

Also: http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/42198494/
(funny comic about Marysues in the potterverse)

_eliza_b @ 2006-11-04T19:06:00

2006-11-05T03:06:43Z

Hm. They are scheduling entirely too many cool classes next quarter, including a Fiat Lux one on William Hogarth. How great is that? I can't really do 5 classes, though, because that would probably kill me (my GPA isn't high enough anyway, heh). There are way too many things I want to do before I graduate, so I'm thinking about doing a summer session this year - maybe I can get the French minor finished in time that way.

For some reason my boss planned to have four people covering the office on Friday afternoon, with the result that there are four of us sitting around for a couple of hours doing absolutely nothing. Mia and Mike and I were joking about how our jobs are basically sinecures, since they could easily be done by two full-time people, or the regular staff in the different libraries (instead of five part-time lazy students). UCLA is so terribly efficient.

Vicky is being horribly selfish and wants her laptop back now, so I have to go. Good night.

_eliza_b @ 2006-10-13T13:22:00

2006-10-13T20:40:05Z

Just got out of a Latin quiz which went less-than-brilliantly, but I think they drop the lowest grade, so that should be all right. Here I thought that in abandoning French I'd get away from annoying conjugation-type things, but of course they've been replaced by annoying declension-type things. I've taken to wandering around muttering the endings to myself, which probably concerns my roommates, but I'm still more or less sane. Really. Anyway, Latin itself is fun, of course, but the quizzes just make me panic.

Also, to whom it may concern, I know that "salve" means "hello". Honest. I was just really frazzled last night.

What else...things at work are kind of chaotic since we're getting all these new copiers, and no one knows where the keys to said copiers are. So we're having all sorts of fun.

Hope everyone has a nice weekend.

I have no shame

2006-10-06T16:11:46Z

So, Barghest will be on uclaradio.com tonight at 7:00 PM (Pacific standard time...something like that). Yay. If you're at all interested in Irish music or folk, please tune in! It should be a lot of fun.

_eliza_b @ 2006-08-24T20:27:00

2006-08-25T04:14:00Z

It's been three weeks, I think, since an update, so here I am out of some weird sense of obligation to lj, even though I don't have a whole lot to say. Is it odd to feel responsible towards a site? Anyway.

I'm currently reading "Ender's Game" (which is not as bad as some people would have me believe...I'm really liking it, actually), and "Swordspoint". The latter is okay, but I'm having trouble bringing myself to care about the nobles in the story. I'm very much looking forward to any Alec/Richard scenes, however, if that pans out as I think it will.

Am currently visiting my relatives in Portland. Medessa is doing well and the kids, of course, are doing one impossibly cute thing after another. Don't worry, I won't torment you with anecdotes or anything. except for one involving Nathaniel composing a cheer in honor of tofu...but anyway.

Fall should be a lot of fun, between all the fun classes and having an apartment. I'm afraid it'll also be awfully busy, with work and some very reading-heavy classes, but what can you do.

Thus concludes my lame entry. Good night, everyone.

_eliza_b @ 2006-07-20T23:32:00

2006-07-21T06:33:46Z

Uh-oh. I think I like Keane...what's next, Coldplay? How my standards have fallen.

new york

2006-06-30T08:05:58Z

Just some photos from my trip to New York. Well, okay, lots of (mainly pointless) photos. So you've been warned.

The tribute to John Lennon in Central Park.

Fountain in Central Park.

Random stuff at the Met.
Blind girl at Pompei:
Andromeda, I think.
There was this really, really awesome exhibit in one wing of the museum on armor and weaponry. Too bad the security guard wouldn't let me play with any of it...

The Black Knight ("I'm invincible!!!")

Medea, plotting.
No idea what's going on, but it's very pretty.

Oh my God - he's going to swallow that building!1!

OK, there's a funny story to go with this one. Vicky decided that she wanted one of those fake designer purses, so we went to this one neighborhood in Chinatown and were pretty much instantly approached by a random guy asking if we wanted a Chanel purse. Then we followed him down this alleyway, into a dingy building, and down a flight of stairs (I was muttering to Vicky by this point that this is how people wind up in white slavery). The guy does this secret knock on the door, says something in Vietnamese, and knocks some more before they open for him. And there's this whole beehive of rooms with illegal designer knockoff stuff. Also? Those people will not take no for an answer. They keep offering lower prices and eventually you just have to stick your fingers in your ears and walk away. Very funny experience, though.

Poor little thing...
Weird-looking cat.

_eliza_b @ 2006-05-24T15:42:00

2006-05-24T22:56:47Z

I wound up getting about five hours of sleep last night, but on the bright side, my paper proposal didn't totally bomb, so I'm actually pretty content. Inger and the grad students made lots of suggestions, but that's a far cry from hysterical laughter over my ideas. So that's nice. Also, Naomi (one of the students) gave a long presentation on the Society for the Reformation of Manners in late 17th/early 18th century England, which was actually fun. Believe me, it's much more interesting than I'm making it out to be.

After class I tramped around North Campus for awhile doing meter reads for the different copiers for work. The excitement never stops, I know. At least doing repetitive jobs like that allows you to zone out and think about other stuff. I'll be off work in a little bit so maybe I can get some sleep then.

Vicky will be eighteen in a few days...how weird is that? I still think of her as a kid most of the time. She'll be off for a ballet workshop in New York the day after her birthday. She's really excited about that. Still need to figure out what to get her for a present.

Getting out of the dorms next year will be nice. No more having idiot freshman run through the study room while they try and tackle their friend for some random reason. Well, hopefully that doesn't happen in the apartments...if so I might as well just move into the library. There are worse fates.

random fact

2006-05-10T22:53:12Z

I was reading this book for my Civil War class and came across a guy called Jubal Early. Seriously. I had to read it over a couple of times because I kind of thought I'd gone crazy for a moment there. So, I don't know if all Firefly fans know this already and I'm just out of the loop, but apparently he was a noted Confederate general...he didn't really have anything in common with Whedon's Jubal Early, but that's still kinda cool. Oh, and apparently Nathan Fillion is a distant relative of the historical JE (thank you, Wikipedia).

...this is why you should know your history. It'll make you better appreciate random science fiction shows. *nods*

_eliza_b @ 2006-05-01T10:36:00

2006-05-01T17:38:35Z

This weekend was pretty good. On Saturday I went to Griffith Park with Medessa and the kids. They have a bunch of old trains on exhibit there, so we basically followed Nathaniel around while he "fixed" them. The scary thing is, he's three, and yet knows more about trains than I ever will (he can identify the boiler, for example. Jeez). O.K., I'm done with the annoying anecdotes about my nephews, I promise.

That night Paula and Andrew and I went to the Three Musketeers dance in L.A. As usual there was a pretty skewed girl-guy ratio. Dancing with other girls isn't so bad, except that it's awkward when you're arguing over who should do the guy's part. Anyway, after they finished teaching the seventeenth century stuff the three of us tried out some swing and other modern dances. Also, this one semi-obnoxious guy that I know from Regency dances was there. I think he was going for a musketeer look, but he wound up resembling Zorro. i know, i'm a bitch.
I really, really wish I'd brought a camera.

Oh, and Adriana and I looked at another apartment last week. She wasn't very impressed, mainly because the outside of the building was kind of old-looking, but it's not like we'll be there permanently. So hopefully I can talk her into it, especially since it's relatively cheap. And more importantly, it's right by a grocery store. Yay.

_eliza_b @ 2006-04-28T13:04:00

2006-04-28T20:17:42Z

So. Very. Bored. Too bad the other guy in the office is just about as talkative as I am (that's to say, not talkative at all). I can never tell if it's better to leave people that you don't know very well alone, or try and talk to them and most likely weird them out. Especially with guys, since they just look blank most of the time.

Whats your inner animal?

Raven

Dark, mysterious, secretive, independent, intelligent

Click Here to Take This Quiz
Brought to you by YouThink.com quizzes and personality tests.

...cool.

_eliza_b @ 2006-03-05T21:49:00

2006-03-06T05:50:43Z

Phew. P&P didn't win anything. There's still hope for the world.

...oh, and Jon Stewart is pretty much God. That is all.

_eliza_b @ 2006-01-01T22:08:00

2006-01-02T06:07:58Z

Finally have my flute back, yay. I've been practicing various stuff with Paula and by myself; luckily I haven't forgotten quite everything. Besides that, I've just been visiting family and various high school people (which is, sadly, kinda awkward...oh, well). On Friday, Stephanie and Paula and I drove around looking at a bunch of vintage stores (following a great episode in which the car wouldn't start, but then worked fine as soon as the Triple A guy showed up. Go figure). Tonight we had vague plans to go stay overnight on Colorado Blvd and watch the parade tomorrow, but seeing as how it's rainy and miserable, that didn't work out.

On a random note, does anyone know of a good novelized version of Tristan and Isolde (Iseult, whatever)?

Hope everyone is having a nice New Year's (and last few days of vacation, for some of us).

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0422720/trailers-screenplay-E26091-10-2
...just about fell off my chair from laughing at this. 1789? What? Among other things.

_eliza_b @ 2005-12-16T13:06:00

2005-12-16T21:07:08Z

Yay, I'm done with finals. Oceanography went pretty well, considering the fact that I didn't study as much as I should have. Thank goodness they recycled questions from the midterms, that's all I have to say.

Kinda stuck here until this evening when my mom picks me up, but that's OK. Gives me time to pack and maybe get into AFFC again (I know, it's sad that I'm still working on it, but I haven't really had time to touch it since Thanksgiving Break. Paula's probably ready to kill me, seeing as how I borrowed her copy. Yep.)

I can't wait to get home...over break we'll probably be visiting Portland again. Also seeing people from high school and seeing lots of movies, I hope. How come there're long stretches with no good movies out, and then suddenly there are half a dozen you want to see? Sorry I'm rambling, but that's what sleep deprivation does to you. Anyway, Merry Christmas and all that to everyone.

Oh, and this makes me happy.
http://news.yahoo.com/fc/US/Terrorism

finals (happy happy joy joy)

2005-12-13T02:13:45Z

Two finals out of the way, two to go. I think the one for History 1C went pretty well...but then it is just 1C, so it would've been sad if it had been difficult. And Emmeline Pankhurst showed up on the exam...yay for militant feminists. Only kidding. As for the French exam, I can't really tell how I did, besides knowing that I passed. So now I'm free until Wednesday morning.

Yesterday I went to see Vicky in the Nutcracker - she was great, of course. Her head will probably never deflate after all the compliments she received, but oh well. I don't have pictures, unfortunately, since I stupidly forgot to bring a camera, but maybe I can borrow some of dad's and post them later.

Hope finals are going well for everyone...just four more days.

lame attempt to update

2005-12-08T07:35:06Z

So, my cold seems to have run its course, which is nice. Having four finals next week is not so nice, but then everyone else is in the same boat, I suppose.
All I want for Christmas is to have my flute back, but apparently the repair place hasn't finished with it yet. They did have a bunch of other instruments to get through first...but still, that was three weeks ago...oh, well.
ETA: My roommate has 17 hours worth of review sessions for her chem final. I am so happy to be North Campus.

Three things that scare me:
Math, being on stage, aggressive drivers

Three people who make me laugh:
Gabby, Paula, Stewie Griffin (they don't have to be real people, right?)

Three Things I love:
Books, rain, coffee

Three Things I hate:
Obnoxious people, traffic, pop music

Three things I don't understand:
Computers, bridge, sports

Three things on my desk:
Headphones, scissors, numerous books

Three things I'm doing right now:
Typing (yeah, really), procrastinating, listening to music

Three things I want to do before I die:
Write a book, become fluent in French, and...help people in some vague and yet-to-be-determined way. Yeah, that sounds good.

Three things I can do:
Write essays, imitations, drive

Three ways to describe my personality:
Shy, (very occasionally) clever, bookish

Three things I can't do:
Calculus, volleyball, calm down hysterical toddlers (it's not easy, believe me).

winter fell, but casterly rocks

2005-11-21T03:35:22Z

This weekend was a lot of fun. Homework-wise I didn't really accomplish anything, but oh well. Saturday morning Paula and I drove to Huntington Beach for an AFFC book signing...
Yeah, so we arrived kind of late and couldn't really see Martin when he showed up, since there were a bunch of tall guys in front of us (speaking of which, I hadn't realized that this series seems to have way more guy fans than girl ones. Something to do with all the sex and violence? Nah.) It was a lot of fun to hear him, anyway; he had a number of cool anecdotes. After he finished speaking we milled around before getting Paula's books signed, and Martin was nice enough to let me take a photograph.

...I know it's fuzzy, but I wouldn't make this up. Really.

Saturday night I went to see Goblet of Fire, which was really good. It left out a lot, and might've been confusing if you haven't read the book, but there's not a whole lot they can do about that, I suppose. Anyway, the scene where Snape goes around smacking Harry and Ron repeatedly was great, even if it wasn't in the book. Though it'll probably provide lots of fodder for Harry/Snape fans. Sigh. For those who have seen it, what did you think?

OK, I'm off to work on a French composition (read: stare at the computer screen).

_eliza_b @ 2005-10-26T20:24:00

2005-10-27T03:54:54Z

People seem to be celebrating Halloween five days early. Well, even if it is the wrong day, seeing a bunch of fairies and pirates in the dining hall is amusing. So is seeing the little kids they invite here to trick-or-treat.

The oceanography midterm was today - I did all right, I think. There's a paper due Friday, too, which is going oh so well. At least it's on the same stuff I studied a year ago in the GE Cluster class, so that helps.

I've been to a couple of Francophone club meetings, which were fun. This week they had this French director, Jan Kounen, answer questions about his movies (the guy really likes the sound of his own voice, if you were wondering). They showed a short film of his, too, which consisted of some weird looking guys chasing each other around on broomsticks. I kid you not. Fun stuff, if really random.

OK, I'm off to steal candy from some unsuspecting kid.

_eliza_b @ 2005-10-05T20:12:00

2005-10-06T03:35:25Z

There should be laws against sitting on the aisle seats when there are empty seats in the middle of a row. Why do people always do that?! Do they enjoy watching people who come later stumble over ten seated people? Must be.

So, today was my five-class day (shudder), but as it turns out it wasn't that bad. The history section actually went well - lots of other history majors in there, and people generally spoke up and got interested in the discussion. Anyway, no class tomorrow, so that's nice.

The Goblet of Fire trailer looks really good. Only a month until it's out, yay.

_eliza_b @ 2005-10-03T18:52:00

2005-10-04T01:56:43Z

Yay, I have a new nephew (Jeremiah) as of yesterday. Here are

. And there will be a quiz.

_eliza_b @ 2005-09-29T18:22:00

2005-09-30T01:40:47Z

Yay, my laptop is finally connected to the internet. I know it's not that exciting, but you'd be thrilled, too, if you'd been without a connection in your room for months. Anyway, I think I must be connected through someone else's wireless router, because mine was being stubborn earlier.

Today was the official first day of classes, but I lucked out and don't have anything until tomorrow. For once I'm being good and starting on the reading (let's see how long that lasts). We're doing Candide for Western Civ, among other things. For History 123A, we're reading some document on how to operate an 18th-century flintlock. Mwa-ha-ha.

My roommate, Adriana, seems very nice; same with a lot of people on this floor, actually. Last night I went and watched an episode of Lost with some people two doors down. The show's laughable, obviously, but at least I met a few people.

OK, theoretically I'm off to read some more now.