Thursday, October 30, 2008

anger

im just going to vent.

scenario: me in bed taking a nap because i got 5 hours of sleep last night

lynsey walks in "hey can i open the blinds to let some light in here?

me: uhhh sure

i fall asleep and have been sleeping for about half an hour

she comes in and leaves our door open to our bedroom where everyone else is out and around our apartment being loud. she sits in bed, opens her computer, turns on the music pretty loud.

i wake up from this, and try and doze back off which i do.

lynsey's friend karen comes in "ohh hey lynsey how are you" clearly i am asleep in my bed they sit down and have a conversation.

karen asks about lynseys paper and lynsey says ohh we can talk later. then a few minutes later she is like ohh well we can just talk about it now.

i lay there for a minute, and ten cant stand it anymore.

i get out of bed grab my computer.

lynsey: "ohh sorry we woke you up" karen "ohh yeah sorry" i walk out

lynsey: "ohh do you think you could shut the door behind you.

i slam it. righteously pissed.

this is not the first time it has happened, this is about the tenth or eleventh, always when im napping or going to sleep. but usually it involves her turning on a light, turning on her music, and having friends over in our tiny bedroom while im sleeping. FREAKING GO IN THE LIVING ROOM. its huge, spacious, be as loud as you want for all i care. leave me alone!

i know i should have probably confronted her the first time. you think shed get the point after i wake up and storm out of our room frustrated ten different times. i just dont care anymore. just a month and then some. i have to survive.

Friday, October 24, 2008

to sit by the hottie or to not sit by the hottie

im in arizona now and it is hot hot hot. the plane ride here was good but i had an interesting thought. it was one of those planes where you get to chose where you sit in order of boarding by letter group. i walked on the plane and most seats full except middle seats. now here is the strangest process. you walk down the aisle evaluating each person you see to decide if they are worthy of sitting next to. are they old and smelly? do they have a crying child? are they a bit overweight? are they middle aged and talkative? are they young and attractive perhaps? and if you think hes attractive does he think that you are attractive? would that just be awkward the whole plane ride. hmmmm and even though you are evaluating people they are evaluating you right back. even as i sat i watched each person hoping that certain people didnt sit next to me.

in the end i sat between an older woman and a sorority girl. it was a silent flight but it went by rather quickly.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

The Cup

Im sitting in the only open seat I could find in a crowed coffee shop on Pearl Street in Boulder. The "paradoxical mix of left-leaning politcally-correct environmentalism and yuppiedom" how much do you love that last word? Its the only place I could find with wireless internet so I compromised. Apparently I picked a bad seat. The entire time I have been sitting here I have been dive bombed by dangerous flies. There are about 6 of them that are flying around in circles around this little area and the girl across from me and the man beside me and I have been desperately trying to swat them away. So far, no use. I came here to study for midterms and instead I am being attacked by flies.

But other than that the day has been good. I love having my alone days. I got home this morning and packed up my stuff that I would need to study for the day. I drove over to boulder and went to the campus. I sat in the shade beneath a beautiful big tree but it was windy and millions of leaves kept falling on me so I decided to head for the library. Here I felt like a real student studying at a table, even though I had such a problem trying to find the entrance. But once there I accomplished a lot. Is it strange to go study and hang out by yourself at a university that you dont even go to? Gosh Im such a poser. After that I came over to the cafe where I have been since and am enjoying studying at my leisure. Just because im lacking friends right now doesnt mean its bad to hang out by myself. Im making the most of it. I just wish these flies would go away.

Saturday, October 18, 2008

what sound does an elk make?

Yesterday Aaron and I drove up to Longs Peak and Estes Park. They are about an hour north but yesterday was the perfect day for it. The weather warmed up a little and it was a blue sky. We drove up the mountain to the Longs Peak trail head and walked around that area for a bit. It was so full of trees and a beautiful view. From there we drove down a little to get a better view of Longs Peak and the "Diamond" Face as they call it.

After this we drove on to the little mountain town of Estes Park. A complete tourist community but it is still pretty and kind of like downtown Anchorage, lots of t-shirt stores. We wanted to find a local spot to eat. So where else would the locals go in this tiny town. Well McDonalds of course. While leaving here this family came out and started pointing at my license plate and yelling and talking. They looked as if they wanted to ask me questions so we drove away as fast as possible. Why is Alaska still so mysterious to people? We are not a foreign country okay....

So from here we drove a bit and then saw a group of people gathered watching a huge herd of Elk on the golf course. We parked and joined them. Elk make the strangest sound. It sounds like either a bird, a dying cow, or a screaming child. We walked along a pretty trail covered in leaves and then by the reservoir with the bluest water ive seen in a while. On our way back to the car we stopped to watch the elk one more time. Here we learned that it was mating season... The one head hancho elk would spot a fine lady, keep her in sight, slowly sneak along behind her, and then try and mount her before she had time to get away. A few of them bolted but we did have the chance to watch him find his match. I was grossed out as were some of the families around me, so we left and laughed about it all the way back to the car.

So what sound does an ELK really make?

Friday, October 17, 2008

ohh and one more thing

just because i thoroughly enjoy SNL Weekend Updates pre-election

check it out

Blog Makeover

Round three, lets see if I can keep it up this time. I added some different colors so I figured it might help me stay a little bit more interested. So on a blog I suppose I'm allowed to say what I want and comment on what I want and analyze what I want how I want. Well here is an article that I read from the Anchorage Daily News about the target that just opened which I found extremely disturbing and Im sure any of you who live in a state that have target will agree with me that it is slightly disturbing. Im starting to worry about the fate of my fellow alaskans.



Long wait is over for Alaska Target shoppers

After trial opening for VIPs, two stores open today

By JULIA O'MALLEY
jomalley@adn.com

Published: October 7th, 2008 10:39 PM
Last Modified: October 7th, 2008 03:12 PM

What is it about Target, that everyday Outside shopping fixture, with its acres of parking, wide aisles and discount swank, that makes Anchorage people freak out?
Is it the knock-off snakeskin handbags? The Chihuahua-sized Halloween costumes? The mod bottles of environmentally friendly, lavender-scented toilet scrub?

There were no real answers Tuesday night as the first batch of VIP shoppers flooded into the chain's new east-side store, only awe. For the first few minutes most people -- they were a group made up of specially invited community members and relatives of employees -- pushed their apple-red carts empty as Alaska band Pamyua played tribal funk from a spot cleared out near kidswear.

"It was like they were giving it away for free, how excited I was," said Deirdre Cronin, running her hand down the soft cotton of a little girl's shirt. At first she couldn't decide what to buy, there was just too much to take in.

"But I'm over that," she said, gesturing to a blouse and pair of jeans in her cart.

Before 6, as a giant Target-red hot-air balloon inflated in the parking lot, the much anticipated retailer cracked opened its doors to an eager, shivering crowd. The store and its Wasilla counterpart officially opens this morning at 8. Long lines and crowds are expected.
Before the shoppers came inside the perfectly organized, untouched Anchorage store Tuesday night, the "team members," as salespeople are called, did a few warm-up cheers in their red shirts embroidered with Alaska flags and Target bull's-eye logos. A manager yelled, "You want to ask them what?"

In unison, they called back: "Can I help you find something?"

The store is 172,000 square feet (about four acres), parked on what was once woods off the Glenn Highway near Bartlett High School. Between 350 and 400 employees have been hired to work there.

Tuesday's shoppers strolled by little tables stocked with appetizers -- meatballs near the shoes, tiny desserts by the detergent aisle, "Targetinis" (a mix of sparkling cider and pomegranate syrup) by baby accessories. Each would leave with a swag bag decorated with Target-logo salmon and containing a stuffed Target dog wearing a kuspuk. At one point, someone in the band started singing "We be shoppin', we be shoppin,' " to the tune of Bob Marley's "Jammin."

Is it risky to open a new store just as the national economy is sinking, when consumer confidence is down and people seem to be shopping less and saving their cash? No, said Brie Heath, a public relations person in from Minnesota, who surveyed the sea of customers. The store has low prices, making it attractive to shoppers when budgets are tight. Their stylishness helps them draw customers over the competition, she said.

Linda Thompson walked with purpose to frozen foods. She was in the market for beef enchiladas, she said. And kale in a can. You can't get that anywhere.

"We've been waiting forever," she said.

Debbie Boland, a little breathless, stood at the head of a line for a Nintendo Wii, holding a slick "Wii Fit" used for workout video games. It was the newness that people wanted; they wanted different things to buy, she explained.

There was something validating about having another major chain store, many shoppers said. As if a Target made Alaska less remote somehow. As if being able to buy what people Outside could buy shortened the distance between here and there. As if, somehow, access to stylish discount housewares meant the city had arrived.

"It's huge for Alaska," Boland said, just as another shopper, sipping a Targetini, rolled by.



Target has VIP's now? "We be shoppin" Targetini? Come on....