Band-age for Me

(This post was written at different times, so it's not chronologically cohesive) So I just got back from another MOMN/Sleep Out concert. I had not seen either band since May, and I haven't been to a real concert since summer semester (saw a bunch of mini-recitals for music last semester. fell asleep in every single one. i couldn't help it. 5 am sleep time + Schoenburg's twelve tone = my head falling forward. hope the performers didn't see me, that would've been embarassing) Oh, and the show was free. And I didn't go alone, for once. I dragged by roommate along. And there weren't a lot of people there so there was plenty of space to move around, which is good cuz I tend to get claustrophobic. There were also 2 other Chicago bands there, Rollo Tomasi and Dialogue. I don't know if I would normally listen to RT, because they're a bit on the heavy side. But they are good at what they do. The other bands also played well. Dialogue has a female cello player, which reminded me of one of my fellow violin-playing (i quit though) friends from grade school/high school. Anyway, Dialogue was nothing like that, so I was pleased. And I've decided I like blue drum kits...Lots of new songs from MOMN and Sleep Out, so I was a little sad at not getting to sing along a lot. I think I had a good time overall. My feet hurt now. But more importantly, it feels like there is fast-growing void in my stomach and heart (it alternates) because I should be studying instead of doing frivolous things. I'll never learn, even after I fail...crap! I did surprisingly well on my first midterms in 2 classes. I actually allowed myself to grin about it. But not in a boastful kind of way, more like a "holy crap, how did this happen?" way. I'm still pissed about my genetics lab exam grade though. That test was tricky as hell, and they were not graded all that fairly. And then I go and use numbers in equations that shouldn't be there. Like I used a 5 that was only there to tell me how many points the question was worth, as in: What is the probability that the family has all boys? (5 points). I spaced out and did (1/2) to the 5th power, even though the question's intro said there were 7 kids in the family. That was one point off. And believe me, I could use all the points I can get. I'm not one of those annoying kids who wants an A ++ , to prove the teacher wrong. I just want a better grade than the crappy one I got. Ok, only one possible thing for me to recommend this post : OFFICE. They're a Chicago-based band (woo-hoo!), whose name I had breezed by so many times in local papers' music sections and who are going to SxSW that I figured they were already huge (like several notches below that suburban emo band, who shall remain nameless on this blog, equivalent to Voldemort in my eyes. But that doesn't really narrow it down. could be any number of bands. Fine, their initials could be taken as an insult to our sea-faring immigrant friends) and I just ignored the possibility that I might actually like them. Well, I stopped being stupid and listened to their songs. I Love their tune-writing abilities. For example, "Oh My" is a song I cannot stop playing over and over again, and I rate it a 3.95 on the catchie-riffic scale. completely relatable chorus... unless you've had a significant other since birth. Only reason the song didn't get a perfect is because of a small part of the lyrics that are not entirely appropriate to show to, say, my parents, and would make me blush, if I could. My face will feel hot when I am embarrassed but no discoloration. My nose can turn pink when I have a cold, but that's about it. Anyway, i have this unbelievable urge to dance in my chair, everytime i hear that song. sure, it looks ridiculous, but nobody's watching. i have limited myself to 5 plays a day. I am on 3 right now and it is only 3 AM. Crap. And the rest of their songs are just as good. ok gotta go waste time elsewhere.

Decision Time for Me Part Deux

Ok folks, So I think I am going to go with Australia as my final country. I know the poll was not at all in favor of it, and I am still a little iffy. I was even willing to overlook crappy weather, because I know all of the countries are great regardless of precipitation. So it all came down to what courses the universities offer. I have to graduate by next May, no exception. I don't want to leave all my requirements to the last semester, so I would like to take at least 1 Biology (for my major) and 1 Psch (for my minor) class while abroad that would definitely count towards my degree. I would even be happy with just one Bio. These are the classes I need to finish in order to graduate: One Psych class, Two Bios Laboratories, 5 Hours of 300+ level Bios (the labs could count toward this), and Bios 240, which is homeostasis: animal and plant physiology. now, it has been near impossible for me to tell which classes abroad match up with the ones I need. No luck in getting an advisor's help either. A lot of the classes I could have taken in NZ are offered only in Semester 1, which is Feb. and not at all in Semester 2 which is July, when I can go.The universities in NZ that may have worked are: Massey Uni, and Uni of Waikato. I really don't want to deal with the screwy non-finals, so Scotland is out of the picture. :( And in Australia, there were 6 universities that I had "narrowed" it down to. My top 2 choices are Griffith University-Gold Coast campus and University of Wollongong. Wollongong has more choices available for my minor, but Griffith had a lot more Bios available. So I went with the school that had the better probability of being useful. I figure I should just worry about getting at least one requirement done while abroad, so that my last semester is slightly less stressful and I will for sure graduate on time. And when I met with my advisor, she sounded slightly more favorable/enthusiastic about Griffith, because she already had 2 students over there this semester. She hasn't sent anyone to Wollongong (what a cool name, eh?) in like 4 years. I figure she will know the ins and outs of Griffith, which will be more useful to me in the long run. And who are we kidding? I should thank my lucky stars that Griffith is in the city of Gold Coast. It sounds fantastic. I turned in all of my application materials today. Sort of relieved, but nothing is over yet. Now I have to get a course approval form from my advisor, and then take it to the different departments and get the classes from abroad approved. This seems like the trickiest part of all. The people in the departments for my major or minor had better approve at least one useful class. I sure hope they do anyways... The rest of my classes will be electives like Australian History, which, I hope, are not at all migraine-inducing. There was one school in Perth, Edith Cowan Uni, that offered surf science. How awesome is that? See why it is so difficult narrowing down schools? I guess after the course approval form is turned in, I am supposed to make a budget (eek!I don't want to take out a loan :( but I can't honestly demand my parents pay the ridiculous program fees), and then I just wait to hear from Australearn on whether or not I am accepted. I don't see why I wouldn't be, unless something went horribly wrong on my transcripts or something, like they never changed that damned music 100 grade from an F to an A. But my online records indicate it changed last month, so why wouldn't it change on my transcript also right? I am just being paranoid. Oh, no one has gotten back to me about my med program status. I contacted them 3 weeks ago, and last week. I don't think the lady ever checks her e-mail. It's too late today to call her... forget about people working weekends. The advisors from the bio department skip work on tuesdays that there is too much snow, even though the rest of us are forced to attend classes, that's how lazy these people are. I guess I will just send another e-mail. I honestly don't understand how long it takes to say "Oh, look at that, the grade changed. Guess we made a mistake. Let's change her status." A month? That is bureacracy for you. Speaking of bureacracy, have you seen that Futurama episode with Hermes and the bureacracy inspection? A hilarious episode. Highly recommended. I will leave you with another recommendation as well- Locksley ,a Brooklyn-based band that is eerily Beatles-esque, British Invasion-y. Multiple singers, the hair, the suits, the catchy tunes, even their moves. Scroll down their myspace and watch some of the videos. But it is all in good fun. I'm not entirely sure how much I like this band yet, so no catchie-riffic rating will be given. They're going to be on Jimmy Kimmel soon, and SxSW so I imagine they'll be on TRL in no time. Oh well. I'd better go crack open that MCAT book. T minus 6 whole weeks !?

Nothing for Me

I am really tired of being disappointed.