Lazy Days Off

It seems that in the last day and a half, amazing, awful things have been happening to me.  Last night I found out that Phantom Planet (known mostly for their theme song on the OC), my favorite band, whose concert in New Haven, Connecticut was my first ever, is breaking up.  Or rather, going on an "indefinite hiatus".  Like my sister said, I hope they pull a 7th heaven.

Of course, today I also found out about a hold on my college account because I forgot to pay the $4,000 and so dollars I owe them.  Which is usually paid for by loans, but stupid me forgot to apply for another loan for this year.  

However, the day hasn't been so bad.  I've managed to play hours (and literally, hours) of Singstar on the Playstation with my little sister and my best friend Carrie.  I've eaten food I haven't tasted in three months.  Spaghetti just tastes so much better here.  As weird as this sounds, I also got to hang out with my cat.  I don't know about any other pet lovers out there, but leaving my cat for three months is a really hard task.  Who else would come sleep in the nook of my bent legs in the middle of the night?  Nothing at school would do that, let me tell you.

In other news, my cell phone completely dried out, saving me $60 and making me eternally grateful for all these gadgets I own.  I do evil, evil things to them, yet they remain alive, for some weird reason.

Now, I get to wake up and watch the Macy's Day Parade (which I inevitably will get bored of halfway through and do something else).  I hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving and eat well!

Water and Phones...Not a Good Mix

I am not always the smartest person.  You can ask anyone that knows me and they will tell you just that.  But usually, the things that I'm stupid at are small, insignificant things, like getting sayings wrong (I've said "flipping over a new leaf" instead of "turning over a new leaf" before).  However, there are those other occurrences that happen to get in my way.  

There was last year for instance, when I accidentally spilled Yoo-Hoo all over the front of my laptop.  Nothing was broken permanently, but I had to go quite a while without any Rs in my words.  You have no idea how hard it is to have a conversation without that letter.

Today, I washed my laundry.  I was so happy because I finally did it before it was way too late, but, when I approached the machine, I saw something I really wished I hadn't.  I had thrown my sweatshirt in at the last minute without a care in the world.  But, my phone, unbeknownst to me, was in the pocket.

It was one of those moments that I had to slap myself on the head, mostly because if i had just felt through my pocket, it wouldn't have happened.  So now, I get to wait through the night, hoping that my phone will dry itself out.  Which it should, because it still turns on.  And lets me text.  It just won't let me call anyone.

Math Sucks...

When I came to college, there were at least three things I was excited about; getting out on my own, meeting new people, and never having to take a math class again.  When I was in high school, I managed to get the credits necessary to fill that gen ed requirement.  

I kept telling myself that I needed to find a job that wouldn't take a toll on me with the whole math thing.  I was never amazing at it, but I always passed.  However, in class yesterday, I was forced to take a math test because even though journalism sounds like math shouldn't be necessary, it is.  I was happy because I got everything right (after a whole year of no math whatsoever, I felt awesome).  We were then instructed to go to the website and try to take the entire test.  Needless to say, my elatedness about doing so well quickly was penetrated after I got a grand total of 5.  Out of 13. Now I must go and brush up on my skills or I will be...(how do I say this?) screwed.

Plays and Hiatuses

For once in the past two weeks, I can finally breathe a sigh of relief (small, yet definable) to actually write on this thing.  I've been constricted with papers, tests, and the like, leaving me with very little time to do anything but.  The thought of trying to write anything worth reading for this made my head want to explode, literally.

I'm not going to pretend I didn't slack off however, during this time of no postings, but usually it had something to do with mindless games, music, or food.  All of which are things that require no activity whatsoever in  my brain.

I did want to say something about a play I managed to see last week for my English class.  Anna in the Tropics, set in the 1920s at a Spanish cigar factory in Tampa, Florida, was played at the Capital Repertory theater in downtown Albany last Wednesday.  

In the beginning of the semester, when my professor proclaimed his interest to the class, everyone agreed.  He then proceeded to count said people who wanted to go.  At least 20 hands were recognizable.  However, when I walked into the doors of the small, cozy, theater, only four other students were sitting there ready to watch the play.  One of those four wasn't even from our class, but instead someone who was accompanying another.

Throughout the entire performance, I was very pleased.  The story was just so much more magnificent in person rather than on pages in front of me.  I walked out happy.

The actors, while some weren't what I expected (like the man who played Juan Julian.  He was supposed to be sexy and debonair, but instead reminded me of Sacha Baron Cohen in Borat) but emotions were intensified as affairs, arguments, and cigars rolled on by.

I would definitely recommend the play by Nilo Cruz.  It won a Pulitzer Prize in 2003, which has to mean something.  I don't know how good each performance of it however, in different venues would be.

When we finally started talking about it in class, we realized how bad it actually was.  Some costumes, props, and characters were done completely wrong.  A classmate remarked about how a picture that was supposed to be Juan Julian was in fact a baby photo.

It was still enjoyable, though.  I'm not a very good critic when it comes to plays, mostly because I love the atmosphere too much.  

Probate Court

I've always heard grand stories, either on television or in books, of people gaining huge inheritances and sums of money after a relative died.  It all sounded so easy.  Someone croaks and gives something super valuable to someone they cared deeply about.  In those stories, there was usually some person who had been unknown to the family, like a mistress or a hidden friend.  

However, I was never aware of the annoying process that goes into wills, mostly because, at my age, there is definitely no need to have one.  I don't own anything halfway decent enough to be passed along and even if there were, I wouldn't know who to give it to.

We were assigned to blog about probate court, which, though it sounds completely boring, can be really important later on in life.  First off, probate sounded completely foreign to me when I started looking this up.  I had never even heard of this word before, but it means "legal acceptance that a document, especially a will, is valid." (I should probably cite this, but I don't know how, so I will just tell you where I found it.  The Credo Reference tool on the University at Albany website)

What happens after someone dies usually involves a court, namely, the probate court.  There, administrators and executors hand out the appropriate objects and properties, and the validity of the will is examined.  For those who don't have a will, they try to figure out where everything should go.  There's really not much else to it.  But the question remains, why is this important, at least, for those who aren't dealing with getting anything?

Let's just say someone died who had been highly influential, but at the same time, highly secretive?  Not only is there a listing of assets, but withstanding charges on bills, taxes, and credit cards also came along.  That right there could be an amazing discovery.  You never know if a forgotten relative or a hidden child could be getting something either.  Things could be found out about people that were never known, giving a clearer insight about them.  

Class Assignment

Saw V

Numerous times, I have remarked about my distaste for horror films.  I hate the fact that they scare me for longer than they are supposed to.  I hate the fact that when I am laying in my bed at night, if I hear anything that isn't normal, I freak out.  I cower under my blankets and I usually lose some amount of sleep for the night.  

When I saw The Ring, I was terrified if I heard a TV come on to only white snow, which happened quite frequently after a VHS tape was over (yes, I still use them).  I honestly didn't want a girl coming out of my television.

I even was scared of the hit show Supernatural, which airs on the CW.  The depictions of horror on that show were supposed to be mild, at most.  However, similar to the situation of The Ring, one episode featured Bloody Mary in mirrors.  I'm sorry, but if I ever saw some creeper come out of my mirror, besides the girl coming out of the television, I might just die from fear.

Which is an amazing reason why I am a fan of the Saw franchise.  While they might be lacking in depth (at least according to many critics, while I honestly believe the story goes together quite well.  There is definitely more to it than gore), they get by with clever intertwining elements.  For example, the fourth movie was supposedly happening at the same time of the third.  Many different characters were connected in strange ways, and even though no one deserves death, the victims did something that enabled them to be players of the game.

Saw V definitely delivered mild thrills and gore wasn't the top priority.  The first scene was a little twinge worthy, but the rest of them weren't as bad.  I managed to walk out with few scars and I definitely wasn't terrified through the night.

 Agent Strahm, played by a favorite of mine, Scott Paterson, put together all the clues of Jigsaws infamous ruses, making him the ultimate good guy.  The victims committed acts that you wanted to punch them for, such as the young millionaire's son who freaked out a little too much, which you can see as the plot plays out.  In the end, someone gets framed, someone escapes, and some people die.  Not telling who, though.

If you have seen the other films, this movie, while lukewarm compared to them, will definitely pose as a good sequel.  I am slightly clueless on where they will be going with the next one, though.  Hopefully not to a stupid place.

Are We Really Changing?

This week, when Obama was elected President, I was ecstatic for our country, as was evident by my last blog.  However, the next day, I suddenly realized that as far as this nation has come, there are still so many obstacles that I feel will never be leaped over, such as Proposition 8 over in California.

Now, this is something that doesn't really affect me personally but rights are being taken away from people and that bothers me.  It's just so hard a concept for me to understand why people are so reluctant to let members of the same sex marry.  It's so easy to understand a normal marriage and sometimes they are just as uncomfortable to bare as people are saying same sex marriages are.  

Prop 8 is the amendment in the California constitution that doesn't allow same sex couples to marry and that only a man and woman would be considered a legal marriage.  Not only is this very old fashioned, but it's also very discriminating.  Why should any one person not be considered as much as a citizen as the next?  When divorce rates are growing each and every year, it seems that sometimes same sex couples deserve it more.  Love should be the everlasting bond that connects two people, no matter what gender each of them are.

Some people are scared that their children will grow up and learn that same sex marriages are right.  But as my sister and I discussed this, we both realized that not once did we learn about regular marriage in school, so why would children be learning that?  Aren't we supposed to be teaching children to respect everyone no matter what their religion, race, ethnicity, or beliefs are?

  I have friends that this might affect in the long run and the thought of them not being able to live the same way I can makes me want to run up to uncomfortable conservatives and punch them in the face ( and I'm not a violent person!)

When Barack Obama stood in front of the huge crowd of supporters, I thought people were getting used to change.  I felt that that was what they wanted, especially now.  I've learned though, that people aren't really ready for change.  They just want to feel safe again.  After a devastating war and a terrifying economic crisis, who would blame them?  But when will everyone grow up and accept those who are different?  After hundreds of years battling this sort of ridiculousness, shouldn't it be time for us to unite because of our differences? After all, we pride ourselves on the blend of cultures that are in this country.  

Our new president

As I sit here in my seventh floor room, screams are roaring throughout the quad.  I honestly thought someone was dying near the dining hall when I first heard the sounds.  After those initial screams, someone below us blew an air horn. But, what everyone is screaming about is something so much bigger (well, maybe not someone dying, but you get the picture) than anything else.

For the first time in our nation's history, a black man has been elected into office (biracial to be correct).  Not only is this a significant step in textbooks, it marks the start of change, of something new.  For the first time in my life, my voice counted as something.  It's the weirdest feeling in the world.  Chills go up and down my spine as I know what this means for our nation. Who knows what will come next?

Rocking the Vote

It seems almost unreal that in two days, the election for the next president will take place.  For months now, I have watched debates, learned about the issues (and where I stand), and anticipated the day.  I have seen skits about both candidates (er, well maybe just about McCain and Palin) and I have watched people go crazy about which side they were on.  Needless to say, I hope people actually take the initiative to vote this time, instead of just hoping that the right candidate fills the position.  

I get really angry at the people who always say that their vote doesn't matter.  I've heard it plenty of times, from students in classrooms to adults who've had the same attitude about it their whole lives.  For once in our daily routine, we get to have a say in what's going on.  We live in a democracy, not a fascist regime.  If one person thinks their vote doesn't matter, there sure are going to be a heck of a lot more thinking the same thing.  That's why I love it when celebrities and the like do commercials about it.  I feel a lot more people are going to be willing to vote when someone they admire so highly tells them to.

I have been quite amused about how many companies are providing free things on Election Day.  Ben & Jerry's is giving out free ice cream cones.  Starbucks is giving out free tall cups of coffee.  I plan on going to each coffee franchise I see (I know of four) and getting an amazing flavor of ice cream (last year, on Ben & Jerry's Birthday, they gave out free cones, and they didn't disappoint.  They gave us a normal amount of ice cream, instead of stupid small samples, like Cold Stone did.)  I know it seems crazy that I am dreaming of ice cream right now, given that it's twenty nine degrees out, but if it's free, it's cool.  College kids love free things (Well, ok, I don't know of anyone who frowns upon free things) so when the opportunity arises, we take advantage.  Last year, we had free iced coffee day at Dunkin' Donuts.  I will never forget how happy I was about having that cup placed into my hands without needing to give anything.  

So this year, maybe elections will mean more to everyone.  Our economy is failing, a war is occurring, and people are losing hope.  It seems like a pretty important time to get your voice heard.