Suchie's Clear Spot

Now for Me

2008-08-13T20:26:00.001-05:00

So I'm starting med school now, and orientation has been pretty hectic. i'm having lots of mixed feelings. the most abundant feeling i've been having is one of loss. 2008 has thus far been a year of loss for me and those close to me, mostly of important things, like people and places, but also some other shallow things, like the comfort zone/cushion of undergrad.whatever it is, the feeling's compounding and feels awful. i think the only way to stop this cycle of loss is to start fresh. i can't be who i was in undergrad (awkward slacker) and still expect to do well in school. i need to work as hard as possible from now on, and be confident, at least in my interactions with people, if not much else. i have to focus. so i'm getting rid of some things in my life, and i think this blog is going to be one of them. it's not like i've been doing anything with it anyway.it's horrible.
i will say that i do have a glimmer of hope- that i may actually possibly have a chance of doing something useful with my life. and that possibility makes up for a lot of what's been keeping me down this year. i want to leave with some last recommendations. Music- Check out Johnny Flynn and the Sussex Wits. Really clever and much different from everything else i've been listening to lately.
I'm not sure if they are mentioned elsewhere in the blog but- EDITORS, EDITORS, EDITORS. i didn't give them a fair chance and refused to jump on the bandwagon when they were a buzz band back in 2005.i found the 'munich' video quite strange, in fact. but in 2006 i saw them on jools holland, back when we first got hdtv. i was mesmerized by the band playing 'bullets' and that song still affects me every time i hear it. it's like a release for me. when i was in australia, i won a signed poster and new album, thanks to an explanation of why i love that song so much.
TV- The Mighty Boosh. I was definitely ahead of the curve on this one, at least for an american. bbc america (which i don't receive) only started showing it maybe in 2007, and i never met a soul before then who had even heard of it.brilliant and makes me laugh even when i am not actually watching it, just at random times, remembering something goofy from the show. i made sure to buy the 2 seasons that were out when i was in oz, since they still aren't in region 1 dvd. my laptop dvd player is still set to region 2, 8 months after returning home, just so i can watch boosh.i'm trying to figure out how to get the 3rd season dvd for my birthday.if you don't understand or like the boosh, you probably wouldn't get me either and it would be best to cut off all ties now. just kidding ;). not really though.
ok, bye blogger world, for now.

Internet for Me

2007-09-22T08:20:00.000-05:00

I finally got internet at my apartment here in Oz. But it's severely limiting. Like 15 GB a month shared between 5 people. I used to use 3GB a day at school. and unlimited at home. dang it. but anyways, I've decided not to use blogger to post about Australia cuz it lacks a certain privacy and i wouldn't be able to post all the pics and stories i wanted to. I am using another site, so if anyone wants to view it, just ask me for the address. I still log onto this blog once in awhile, as well as myspace. and facebook everyday almost. Recommendations...well, i saw superbad last night. it was pretty funny, but I mostly enjoyed the friendship between the 2 main characters. I wish I could have that.if I was still in the states, I probably would have recommended Hot Rod. just based on the fact that it is all Lonely Islanders. But I haven't seen it cuz it doesn't come out here till October something. and movies are expensive as crap here. i don;t ever pay to see movies in chicago either. only blockbuster ones, like Harry potter or Pirates. everything else is free screening :). ok i g2g get some fruit to eat...

Leaving for Me

2007-07-03T19:13:00.000-05:00

So I should be packing as I type this. I've gathered up most of what I'm taking, just haven't organized it in any decent way. I've made another blog just for my trip, because I think my experiences will be completely different from what I normally write about on this blog (complaints, recommendations, etc.). It'll be mostly stories, photos, videos. I wish I could have a better template but I know next to nothing about coding. Hope it all turns out well. The address is: http://www.suchiesaussiespot.com
So my last recommendation for awhile, at least non-Oz related, will be the band GoodBooks. I have no clue how I found out about them. I'm pretty sure I just stumbled onto their myspace. They are on a major label and from the UK (as my recoms usually are). They seem pretty young, and they sound different from what I normally listen to, more experimental/retro? I don't know, but I do know that once I gave them a chance and listened to "Leni" a few times, I couldn't get it out of my head. That was a few months ago. Since then "The Illness" and "Walk with Me" have also become faves. And "Turn It Back" especially. I hope they come to Aus this semester or to Chicago next semester, but I reckon they haven't toured anywhere near me yet, so more waiting. Some of my favorite bands of all time (like Travis, who stopped touring years ago, right before I moved to the city) are playing in Chicago this summer and fall. Crap. I guess I was bound to miss some good concerts while I was gone. Ok, back to GoodBooks. They're excellent. Songs are 3.6-3.85 on the catchie-riffic scale. Hope you enjoy, and I'll write a post from Australia soon. Till then, G'day!

Horoscope for Me

2007-06-27T02:02:00.000-05:00

I don't know much about astrology (or astronomy for that matter), and I tend to be as pragmatic as they come, but while flipping through the TV Guide which covers the next 2 weeks, I happened to glance upon my horoscope, Virgo. Now, the majority of horoscopes I have read have all said the same sort of things, about doing well at work, or finding a new flame. They don't sound right to begin with, so of course,these things don't happen, not to me, in the last 20 years anyway. But the one in the TV Guide, well, it kind of does apply. At least I think it will. Here goes [with my commentary in brackets]-
Virgo:
You may not be the most adventurous member of the zodiac [I'm not, but this bit could apply to anybody],
but for the next few weeks you'll be remarkably daring.
[This part MAY actually be true. In 2 ways. First, it's remarkably daring, for boring old cornfield me, to do this whole study abroad thing on my own. Second, what I plan on doing once I get there could also be interpreted as daring, at least for me. Bungee-jumping. Or I never in a million years thought I would snorkel or scuba, cuz, well, fish freak me out. Those mouths and scales, yuck. I've had plenty of opportunities (Bahamas, Hawaii, Fanning Island,Cali) but never even considered doing it because I'm chicken. But it's going to be offered at my upcoming Oz orientation, at the Great Barrier Reef, and I've slowly been working up the courage to take the leap, literally. I've been watching lots of nature and travel shows with diving involved. Sure, the sharks leaping out of water to eat seals aren't helping to calm me, but I'm accepting that this is something that will push my boundaries and change me and I cannot pass it up, so I'm actually planning on doing it. eek!]
According to the planets, your fortune lies in a faraway place.
[Now, this part is a bit freaky. What are the chances they knew I would be daring... in a faraway place? I could just as well be daring in the cornfields. And fortune? As in money? or will I find real happiness, a much better fortune to have, in my opinion. So yeah, this part caught my attention]
If you go there, you may not come back.
[Since they used 'may', I'm not too worried about this part coming true. My ticket is booked. But if it was true, in what capacity would I not come back? Would I just die over there, or would I, like, defy my parents and refuse to ever come back to the States (the defying would probably be scarier than death hehe). I had better have one hell of a time, to not come back home. I'm counting on it ;) ]

Surveying for Me

2007-06-12T09:58:00.001-05:00

Yea, wendela's back!! Sort of... ;) . So I will do her Hump Day survey a day early.
1. Where were you an hour ago?
Sleeping on the couch in the family room.
2. Who will be your next kiss?
A stuffed animal? Maybe my family at the airport.
3. What kind of deodorant do you use?
I'm in between a definitive brand.
4. Are you wearing socks right now?
Nope.
5. When was the last time you went out of the state?
Last summer to SF
6. Have you been to the movies in the last 5 days?
Nope, but i just rented the original Hills Have Eyes and Underworld Evolution. Both were just OK.
7. What was the last thing you had to drink?
I think a Mt. Dew last night.
8. What are you wearing right now?
Pajamas Pants and a T-shirt
9. What was your last purchase?
I bought chicken, eggs, and yogurt for my older sister to make tandoori (i don't eat meat though)
10. Last food you ate?
A piece of my little sister's graduation cake.
11. Who was the last person you talked to on the phone?
While I was driving (scary), to my little sister.
12. Have you bought any clothing items in the last week?
Nope.
13. Do you have a pet?
No, unless you count the rabbits or chipmunks in our yard, whom we sometimes feed.
14. What's the last sporting event you watched?
The beginning of the Men's French Open final. Damn you Nadal...
15.What?
Huh?
16. If you could be anywhere right now, where would you be?
I think India, even though it would make me very sad.
17. What is the last thing you purchased online?
Tried to get contacts but they said I needed a new prescription. Like I can addicted to contact lenses. Extremely annoying. But I did successfully help my little sister get an mp3 player (iRiver Clix) for her graduation.
18. One thing you hate about yourself?
Just one? Well, right now I hate that I did not talk to (ie stalk) my professors enough.
19. What's your favorite soup?
I guess some sort of Broccolli/Cheese combo.
20. Who do you love?
Family. God? But I think those are kind of innate.
21. Last play you saw?
I think 'The Cripple of Inishmaan,' at my college, freshman year (hello, extra credit). It was very funny though.
22. What are your plans for the day?
Chores, Errands, Bug Extermination
23. Ever go to camp?
Does strings camp count? It was at a college, not the woods. We stayed in dorms instead of cabins.
24. What do you want to know about the future?
I guess knowing exactly what I should or should not do, in order to succeed, would be quite helpful.
25. Are you wearing any perfume or cologne?
Not at the moment.
26. Where are your best friends located?
Wish I knew...
27. Do you have a tan?
I'm dark-pigmented in general. But the sun does make me darker still, even though I don't want to tan.
28. How soon do you want to have kids?
I'm still trying to decide, minus the 'how soon' part.
29. Last person who made you cry?
Myself.
30. Do you have any tattoos or piercings?
One piercing per ear.
31. How do you like your soda?
Cold? I guess refrigerated, rather than ice.
32. Do you like hot sauce?
Sometimes, but I can't tolerate spiciness that much.
33. Next time you'll take a shower?
After I run on the treadmill today.
34. Do you know anything about Quantum Physics?
A little. I think I knew it well enough to get an A on my physics 2 final, which helped me get a B in the class, rather than the C I deserved.
35. What is your mood?
Apprehensive
36. Are you someone’s best friend?
Highly Doubtful.
37. What did you do/get for Valentine's Day?
Nothing, for both parts.
38.. What are you doing right now?
Worrying.

Good and Bad News for Me

2007-05-14T23:11:00.000-05:00

So the good news is that the semester is over, and I think my classes went well. I hope A's. We'll see. And I did get into study abroad, yea! I'll be leaving for orientation in Cairns in the first week of July. I am incredulous. I walk around with a stuffed koala who has velcro arms on my wrist pretty much all the time-that is how much I cannot wait. And the less-than-two months will go by so quickly, just like this semester, heck, this whole school year did. I'm taking a group flight. I hope it will be fun (since I'll be traveling 14+ hours, and that is just from LA, not Chicago), and that I meet nice people. The ticket was ridiculously expensive, but convenient. And I have a stopover planned for Auckland before I come back home in Dec. I think I may have to shorten the length of that stay down to a few days instead of 11, though, especially if I don't find anyone else to travel with me. That will cost more, of course. Crap. I don't know where I am going to live. There's no campus housing available, but Australearn offered pre-arranged housing. It's too far from campus (30 min.) by walking, and it is inland. I figure if I am going to have to walk 30 min, I might as well be closer to the beach. But I think it would be more reasonable to live near campus. The other kids in my orientation are like me, with no housing yet. So I hope to meet at least one other nice person that I could look for a place with. Eek. There are pretty much only 2 or 3 things I am really worried about, concerning Australia. The money I am making my parents spend, the level of difficulty of classes, etc. I sure hope it will all be worth it. Onto the bad news. I took the MCAT, and I know I did horribly. I even think one of my essays wasn't saved by the computer. That can't help my score. It should take only 30 days to get my score, but it still hasn't been put up. That is fine by me. Though I would like to know if I have to take it again, instead of just waiting for my doom. I have to finish the first part of my med school app. before leaving. So the other major bad news is I have no frakin clue who to ask or how to get letters of recommendations. I made a list of possible profs and TAs (who I will probably end up asking) and it all just seems so unreasonable, to ask people I really don't know well. Other than brown-nosing, there's nothing else I could have possibly done to get to know profs better. 90% of my classes have been huge lectures. I don't stick out from the sea of students. I am incredibly blendable. I also think it is stupid to waste the prof's time and be annoying, if I understand the material fine and am getting an A. Some profs make it painfully obvious that we are wasting their time by just breathing. I also don't know how to ask for one. I have no clue when office hours are, so that leaves e-mail, which seems rude and impersonal. like "hey remember me, this font should remind you of my face and that i was in your class" Another problem with meeting them in person is that I am back home now, hours from Chicago, and it is really difficult to just up and go there. I would have to coordinate it all in one trip- asking 3 people for recommendations, that is. Clearly impossible. I'm screwed. Oh and my med program never got back to me. So maybe I need not bother with the MCAT, the apps, the recoms; all of it would be utterly pointless if they haven't fixed their problem with me. I have been waiting since Dec. for all of this to clear up; that is a long time to wait when one is in absolutely no way at fault, as is my case. I really hope that music prof does not have tenure and they fire him as soon as possible. He has almost single-handedly ruined me, with the help of some other lazy school workers, and I did not do a damn thing wrong, besides go to class every day and get an A. Pardon me. I feel so hopeless; I am surprised I did not run away from this accursed school sooner (we're talking strictly undergrad here). This school is so frustrating, for me, for everyone that has ever attended, and not in the academic sense. In the administrative sense. Everyone gets screwed in some way. Did I mention that my little sister so stupidly decided to attend the same school as me? She is a fool if I ever saw one. Can't say I didn't warn her. I did my part by exhuding three years worth of complaints, and she seems to have not taken any heed. Fool, I repeat. But I really know nothing about her major or anyone that has completed that degree, so maybe she'll be ok. I only know sciences (and psych). If she was doing those, she'd be guaranteed to be fudge- muffined. But I guess it's worth a crappy school, to be able to live in Chicago. We'll see.

Brilliant for Me

2007-05-08T22:59:00.000-05:00

So I just saw a free screening of the movie 'Once' and it was bloody brilliant. The director describes it as a "modern-day musical" and I agree. I don't normally get into movie musicals. I still haven't seen Moulin Rouge or Chicago (even though I love my town, I don't really think Ashlee Simpson should have anything to do with it). But this movie was completely mesmerizing and I wanted so badly to sing along to the songs, but I probably just hummed along (don't worry, no one was sitting close to me). Even on my way back home, waiting at a few bus stops, I would hum the melodies as loudly as I wanted, until someone else came to the stop. The story, I imagine, would be relatable to most everyone, and it takes place in Dublin. And as is obvious, the music is fantastic and simple and catchie-riffic as anything else I've written about (3.89 on the c-scale). But what took the movie-going experience to the next level was the fact that the director and 2 stars were actually there! They did a Q&A and sang 4 songs. Just Brilliant. I was in the 2nd to front row, cuz I ran late as usual, so I had to see their backs when they performed up on a different level of the theatre. Otherwise I would've taped it on my phone. I did take a pic of the 3 during the QnA. They were all funny and refreshingly non-Hollywood. The male lead is actually in an Irish band called The Frames, whom I have heard of, but never listened to before. I may just start now, if it is anything like the music from the movie. The 2 leads actually made an album together Before they ever shot the movie, so that may be worth picking up as well. For sure, I will buy the soundtrack. And I Highly recommend all to see this film. There's a wee bit of cursing, but otherwise completely decent and just a sweet little indie film. It won the Audience Award at Sundance.There's a chance you too can see them. They are travelling on a promo bus, which I got a pic of, and will be in the Midwest, South and West in upcoming weeks. Click here for a link to get passes. I think the movie comes out in regular theatres on the 25th. So go see it!!! And I will post all about study abroad as soon as my final is done on Thurs. I have to sort it all out in my own brain first. I have a very limited brain capacity, contrary to what scientists say about most other humans.

WTF for My Blogger Buddy and for Me

2007-05-02T16:39:00.000-05:00

Oh no!!!!! I just saw that someone stole wendela's blog. What the heck???!!! I was tempted to curse them out in the comments section, but this person must know someway to hack into people accounts, so I didn't. What a loser. I hope she didn't lose all of her past posts. That would upset me, because that is a lot of work wasted. Someone hacked into my myspace about 2 or 3 weeks ago, and tried to send spam to all my friends, so I cancelled the account. It was funny spam too. It said "Hey Hey Happy Easter. Here's a Starbucks gift card". First of all, I'd never say "hey hey," second I didn't even know it was Easter since I'm not Christian, and third I don't ever drink coffee, let alone evil starbucks. And they sent it out at 10 AM on a Friday, right when I was in my mandatory psych discussion. So there was absolutely nothing Suchie about the spam. I don't care too much cuz I didn't do any work on the page, besides listen and comment to bands, but it still stunk. I hope they kick this Lloyd jerkface off, and that wendela can use her account again. : _ ( I'll write a longer post later.

Coffeehouse and Tangents for Me

2007-03-11T00:06:00.000-06:00

I'm still not done with that paper. woops. but my preceptor hasn't e-mailed me asking where it is. So I doubt he noticed the due date even passed.He's the Head of Ultrasound or some other department at the hospital and probably teaches at the med school. He probably has better things to do than wonder where my rough draft is.thank god. But I can't stand looking at it anymore. It needs to be out of my sight. I am going to attempt to smush it together by tomorrow morning and e-mail it away.
I caught Kyle Andrews's acoustic set at Mojoe's HotHouse, a coffeehouse that is somewhere northwest of where I live. I still don't know what neighborhood I was in. And it was scary going there in the dark, alone. But I'm still in one piece so it turned out ok. I think I recommended Kyle's song "Amos in Ohio" sometime in the summer. I've listened to the rest of that album since then, and it is just as great. I think it would be a good album to listen to while driving, if I ever got to drive anymore. Instead, I am stuck with the glorious CTA. As usual, I was running late and had no sense of direction. Mojoe's is pretty small, and the stage faces the entrance, so I was mighty embarassed to have to open the door as he was playing a song. I sat at a back table, in front of this sleeping kid on a couch. Here is what I think was played:
K.A.'s Set List
Song I missed ?
Song I don't Know
Moon Tea
Your Tester Bunny
22 Boxes
Give up the Anger
Sushi
I heard the couple next to me say that kyle played 6 or 7 songs total. Meaning I may have missed only one. I hope it wasn't 'Amos in Ohio' cuz that would be depressing, just barely missing it. I didn't know the one he was playing when I walked in. And I hadn't heard 22 Boxes before. Sushi sounded so different live (slower) but good.
Next up was Horse in the Sea, a Chicago band. I had listened to their myspace songs for a few weeks before the show, and Loved "I Order the Sun." It is at least a 3.9 on the catchie-riffic scale, and even more on sunny days like this. Did i mention that Chicago was actually warm today? Hot, even. I had forgotten how to sweat. I was wearing my winter coat and was so hot in my psch lecture that i fell asleep every few minutes. it didn't help that i had only slept 2 hours this morning (studying for a genetics lab exam). I was sitting in the 4th row and our prof. notices Everything that goes on, so I had to shake myself awake so he wouldn't see me and feel badly. Then about half way through, he all of a sudden declares "You know what? We already took the quiz, and I am Really Hot, so let's just quit for today" and their were cheers of joy all around the room and we headed out into the whimsical afternoon. Ok, that's enough for this tangent. Back to the band. They are great live. They have a banjo and everything! I'll definitely listen to the album once it's released. Oh and Kyle Andrews produced it. There was one song in particular, besides "I Order," that was funny and highly enjoyable, called "I Can't Talk to Girls." Too bad I can't write, because my song would be of the same sort, but about boys. After their set, the next band set up. Then I realized that the lead singer of HitS had just sat next to me, since there was nowhere else to sit and my table was free. i wanted to tell him i liked his songs very much, esp. the 2 i mentioned above, but my jaw was wired shut. with gum. granted, i have been trying NOT to talk or open my mouth cuz my wisdom teeth have been acting horribly this week. But I probably wouldn't have said anything even if they were fine. I need some courage. like the Lion. Or like Dr. Zoidberg in that Futurama episode with the "what if" machine. I think I relate to him more than most characters on TV. nobody gives a crap about him. AND he's a doctor, an internist to be specific, like my pa. Zoidberg is a horrible one though. nothing like my pops. Or me, hopefully. I'd like to be good at my job. Bad tangent, bad!
The last band was The Great Lakes, consisting of 2 guys. I couldn't find anything about them before I went to the show. Turns out this was only their 2nd show. No wonder they didn't have a myspace page yet. But they were good for being so new. They did mess up on a few songs, but I didn't care. They even had a sing-along. I didn't sing, cuz i have no courage, remember?
It sounds like there is a werewolf outside my window. excuse me, lycanthrope. I watch too much sci-fi. like the dresden files. I can't really tell if this show is good yet. I mostly watch it cuz it takes place in Chicago. Oh, and Special Unit 2, another show on Sci-fi. the most cheese-tastic show you'll ever see, but again, I watch it because of Chicago. too much loyalty, I tell ya. But both of those shows, I'm pretty positive, are taped in Vancouver. sheesh. ok back to the show, again. I am glad I saw all 3 bands. I hope they all play at similar-sized venues again soon. Mojoe's was quite comfortable. I felt mellowed out. I wish it was closer, I think I would actually study there.oh well.

Hysterical Moments for Me

2007-03-08T21:38:00.000-06:00

So I just got done laughing hysterically for at least 5 minutes non-stop. Tears and gasping and everything. And it the most enjoyable thing I could ever feel. I can only remember laughing this hard 3 times this school year, which is a far improvement from last school year. And not because anyone I actually know is THAT funny. They are all relatively boring. Relatively, I said. No, all of these times occurred because of TV. So here are the 3 occassions that made me forget all the worries in the world, in chronological viewing order:
1) Michael kissing Oscar on the Office. I was literally sliding off my chair waiting for it to happen and shrieking at the same time. And when it happened, I could not stop myself from laughing so loudly, I think my neighbors next door could have gone deaf.
2) Ari firing the mailboy on Entourage. I didn't start laughing until after Ari left, when we realize that poor kid had no clue what the hell just happened to him. And he stalks off saying "My life is over." and I kept repeating that in my mind and could not stop laughing about it for at least a half hour straight.
3) In a case of mistaken identity, Andy's poor old father-in-law gets beat up in the parking lot by crazy Lew Staziak, with Simon cheering him on, on Andy Barker P.I. Nothing like geriatric duels, though this was more of a one-sided fight. This show is pretty funny, with lots of movie references for nerds like me, and a bunch of the episodes are online right now.
Ok, I have a paper due tomorrow. It is just the rough draft, but it should still be somewhat coherent, right? My goal is to get around 3 pages done tonight, and the rest done tomorrow by midnight. That is what happens when you are allowed to e-mail assignments And there is no particular due time specified by anybody involved in the seminar. Sneaky, huh?

Band-age for Me

2007-02-25T00:25:00.001-06:00

(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

2007-02-14T17:07:00.000-06:00

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

2007-02-04T20:53:00.000-06:00

I am really tired of being disappointed.

Decision Time for Me Part 1

2007-01-25T01:48:00.000-06:00

So Study Abroad has been plaguing me since November. The school makes you attend a first-step meeting, and only then can you get an application and everything. The First-Step meeting actually made me feel hopeful, like "wow, i think I really can go" and that there won't be massive amounts of obstacles. Wrong. So after the meeting was done, I picked up brochures for tons of countries. Then over break, I poured over everything, and painfully narrowed it down to 3 countries. I say painfully because I absolutely suck at making decisions. Especially about something that could even remotely make me happy, like getting the heck outta here. So I narrowed it down to three countries: Australia, New Zealand, and Scotland. I threw out the rest of the catalogs. Then the problem became: which company do I go w/? Because these programs are set up through outside companies that have deals with the university, and the university approves unis only through those sanctioned companies. So for Scotland, IFSA-Butler was the only choice. [In fact, pretty sure I am only interested in University of Glasgow. Glasgow has the best music scene, from what i've heard. Prob even better than Chicago (blasphemy! i know...) ] For Australia and New Zealand, there was CIEE, IES, and Australearn. Well, I think I have eliminated IES and CIEE. They give pretty good discounts off their published fees if you go to my unviersity, but the totals fees are still more than if I just go with Australearn, who have a lot more unis to choose from also. But it all just keeps getting harder. I have to make sure the universities have classes I could take. I need to take about 6 classes to graduate, and they are all specific classes for my major, not elective crap. So some unis got kicked off my list, for not having Bio or not having Psych. Then I compared climate (not scenery or attractions, because I am sure all 3 have fabulous things to see and do). Since I want to go for fall semester, Scotland will basically have the same crap weather that Chicago has in fall. But maybe wetter... So that's not good. And Oz and NZ, who start school in July, have their seasons backwards from us, so it will be winter there. I've asked around and researched and apparently winter means wet and cold there too ;) , so that stinks. From what I've found, it gets worse the more south you go. People have told me that my best bet for warm weather is Queensland, Australia. The main reason the warm weather is important to me is because I will come back to Chicago by January and I don't want to have 2 winters in one year. One is bad enough. And I want to surf. Really Often. In warm water... So I started looking in particular at Queensland unis, while not ruling out Glasgow or NZ. One problem has arisen with Glasgow. Their semester is Sept-Dec like ours BUT they take finals in January after break. Well, the study abroad program has sent us home by January, so we can't take finals. Apparently, we do extra assignments for the classes, and still only get 80% of the credit hours that we take. So if I take a 15 credit load, even though I do all the work plus more, I'll only get 12 hours. That sounds like a rip-off. I think I would really love Glasgow, but I don't want to be ripped off. What if their weird 80% rule somehow messed with my getting credit for a class I really needed. I'd die from anger. So it is probably safer for me not to go there. But that doesn't mean Oz and NZ educations systems aren't worrying me. Everything sounds harder than here!!! They rely more on essays and finals, and not on things like quizzes and midterms, which the American system cherishes (makes things a hell of a lot easier, I'll give you that). What if I am just completely incapable of getting good grades there? I can't let my GPA drop cuz of my med program. I have to get at least Bs while there (this tricky damn school won't let us take pass/fail classes while abroad, so Everything Counts). Oh, and I'd have to apply to med school way earlier than normal, because I'd leave in July. Getting applications done and begging for recommendations, yuck.Anyway, back to weather. From what i've read, NZ will be pretty wet/cold in their winter months, and so will Southern Australia. Queensland is like tropical. And has really good surfing on the coast, in particular the Gold Coast. So I'm considering Griffith Uni there. There's another one that sounds nice, called Bond, but is really darn expensive cuz it is private. so out of the question. Sydney is also an expensive place to live, so all the unis there are out. And Melbourne/Adelaide. So basically that leaves Perth unis and other more rural unis. The only thing that worries me about Perth is not being able to travel easily. I am positive there's tons of stuff nearby, but Perth is pretty isolated from the rest of Oz. So I think I would prefer East Coast, but again I could be wrong. There is another University, about an hour south of Sydney (convenient) called Uni. of Wollongong. Cool name. I think it will be colder there than in Queensland, but just as good surf. It is a rather small town, so I worry a little about having enough things to do. But still sounds pretty positive. So thus far, the only particular unis I have considered are Wollongong and Griffith. But I don't even know how compatible there are with me, other than weather and surf :). I don't know if they have the classes I want. I've tried looking it up and just get really frustrated because all of the courses are named something completely different from here and I can't tell which, if any, are the ones I need. And I talked to Cameron last week about NZ, and he mentioned Uni of Otago on the South Island was good for medicine. The campus looks really really great, and the town is really student-friendly apparently. And Victoria Uni in Wellington sounds really good too. But again, I was kind of scared away from both by weather. I have for sure eliminated Auckland and Christchurch from the list of cities in NZ (money and snow, respectively). There are a couple more rural unis I haven't eliminated from there though. So basically I first haven't been able to pick a country and then i haven't picked a city and then I haven't picked a school. So I am going to put up a poll for the first decision, which is country. I'm going to list all 3, even if I am doubtful of Glasgow. I'm pretty sure I've written all I know about each above. After a country is chosen (either by me or by the voting results, whichever one is quicker), I'll put up a poll of cities/universities located in those cities, to vote on. Not every single one of course, just the ones I have barely been able to narrow down to. I forgot to mention, this other company ISV has been going around our campus about volunteering abroad in summer in places like Oz and NZ wouldn't ya know. But it's only 4 weeks. 2 weeks volunteering (which I don't mind) and 2 weeks outdoor adventure. If you know me, I am not particularly fond of being forced into outdoorsy activities. Never rowed a boat, that I know of... The NZ one has some form of rowing on over half their adventures. The Oz one actually sounds better, cuz u get to surf...but only for 2 days. AND I'd be stuck w/ kids from my school and other American unis. I feel like I wouldn't really get to explore and get to know locals, so what is the point? It'd be a working vacation than an actual living experience. I don't even think I could get college credit (which costs extra) for it, like they claim.And the normal cost seems kind of much, but so do the programs I talked about above. (Keep in mind, I haven't factored airfare into any of the above discussion.) And if I did this in the summer, I couldn't go to summer school and then I'd be stuck here till May 'o8 anyway. I say, if I am going to have to graduate in May, I might as well spend a much longer time abroad, and do things more independently. If I don't go anywhere, I'd save a ton of money. Period. And I could graduate in December, move back home and do ? for six months before med school started. It sounds like a lazy plan, but it is actually the best one for my family...but they don't see it that way. They really want me to go, and I feel uber-guilty about agreeing (however begrudgingly I did), and not just about money issues. Oh well. I have a lot of garbage to sort out with this Study Abroad stuff. The final applications are due on Feb 28th. But I need to make some decisions now, so that I can get signaures, look for scholarships, etc, etc... Oh yeah, and start doing my schoolwork and MCAT preparation, both of which I have essentially put on hold.

NFC Champions for Me

2007-01-21T18:01:00.000-06:00

So Woo-Hoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Da Bears are going to the Super Bowl and I can not be more excited!! Granted, I don't watch football as much as basketball or tennis, but there is only one team I would ever root for. The last time the Bears were at the Super Bowl was in '86, right before I was born. So this has been a long time coming. I really want to be in Chicago on Feb. 4th to watch the game w/ my fellow Chicagoans. The only problem is that I need to go home to pick up some stuff I forgot (like my cell phone charger, my phone is dying. and my shoes for snow, which we have a lot of now.), but home is pretty far from Chicago. However, I have crazy Bears fanatic parents. My dad can't handle the stress of watching the game, and will probably hide away (like right now,my mom told me he's w/ patients at the nursing home, instead of the hospital, where there are plenty of TVs around), and my mom will be praying/screaming the entire night, right in front of the very nice Super Bowl capable Sony HDTV we have at home. But then all the sports bars across the street from my apt have plasmas too. I just want to be able to go out on the street and scream my head off and give hi-fives to people driving in cars, like we did in 2005 when the White Sox won the World Series. And I don't even care about baseball. It's harder for me to root for a baseball team since Chicago has 2, and technically I live on the South Side, but I do find the Cubs' North Side appealing as well. So I can't really pick a team. Back to the Bears. I need to find a way to go home and get back to Chicago in time for the game. Since the game is at night, it would not be practical to watch the game at home and then make my parents drive 2 1/2 hours to drop me off and 2 1/2 hours back. Maybe I can take a train Sunday morning. That sounds like a good plan. Hopefully the train tickets won't be sold out. The game is in Miami, so I can't imagine why there would be much crowding here. Normally, I would just go home this upcoming weekend, But I had to open my big fat mouth and agree to volunteer at night at the museum... On a Friday that I have NO classes and therefore could easily have gone home on Thursday night. Damn me and my charity. There's no point in going home for basically 24 hours on Sat./Sun. and then come right back to Chicago. So this weekend won't work. Sheesh, I'm in a pickle. And I haven't even factored in schoolwork. I did start studying for the MCAT. So technically all I did was open the book and read Chapter 1:Preparing for the MCAT. But it is a start. Ooooo I can hear people screaming and honking outside on the street right now, yea! Back to classes. I think my classes will be fine. I purposely tried to take easier classes this semester in order to concentrate on the MCAT. I didn't factor in all the work that applying to Study Abroad takes, and apparently I have to write some huge paper for this Indepedent Study Seminar for my med program. So it probably won't even matter that I tried to take a easier courseload, there are other things to make up for it. Damn. But the Bears winning the Super Bowl will be the highlight of my semester (as well as getting a good study abroad program and getting the score I need to get on the MCAT, that would probably trump the Super Bowl because the odds of it happening are much more faint than the Bears winning, which is unfortunate for me) Ok, got to go... Do the Shuffle!

Winter Break (?) for Me

2007-01-08T01:17:00.000-06:00

So my break has been exceptionally ruined by various circumstances. I spent the first of my 4 weeks off waiting for grades. Checked online probably 5-10 times a day. Finally the unofficial ones came out and I was bittersweetly surprised. In my 2 hardest classes, I thought I would get C's because the finals seemed horrible, and it turned out I was Completely wrong, which was exciting. My easiest class, Music 100, turned out to be the most pain-inducing of them all. My grade was posted as an F. As soon as my eyes fell upon this heathen of a letter, I almost screamed out loud a huge "WTF!!!!!!!!!!" but not in initials, if you catch my drift. Luckily, I held back because my mother was in hearing distance. I waited one night to see if it would change and then e-mailed my teacher. No reply. Then I e-mailed again 2 days later. no reply. Then the Final grades were posted and it still was the horrid letter. I literally had nightmares, which i never do, and couldn't get to sleep for nights.So I sent him an "urgent" e-mail, the day after christmas.I suppose he wasn't checking his e-mail till x-mas was over but, quite frankly, I could give a shit less about his damn convenience, not when it comes to my grade. You have to understand, I was expecting an A, and would even now be cool w/ a B. According to his "grading system", if u can even freaking call it that, w/ what he explained to us in class, i could fail the final and still get a B-. I only missed two classes, so no attendance problem there. I explained all these things in the e-mails.Finally, he wrote back after the third one, claiming I hadn't turned in the second paper. I just about had an aneurism. I had the paper in my music folder, which i thankfully brought home. I scanned copies of the graded version he gave back to me in class, a ungraded version and even a receipt for the event the paper was based on. All the Fucking Proof one would ever need. If he so much as claimed that he never graded it and I made it all up, I was ready to get a handwriting analysis done. It helps to have a sister who worked at a law firm all last year and started law school this year. She could probably get me connections. Anyways, he wrote back quickly, apologizing, so I guess he realized what a god-awful mistake he made. Then he claimed he would turn in a grade-change form to the school (still don't know the grade I really got). That e-mail was sent over a week ago, and the grade has still not changed. I sent him another e-mail, in case he did forget to turn in the grade change form. So basically week 2 of my vacation, ha!, was spent trying to contact him about his heinous mistake, checking my e-mail 20 times a day, having horrible sleep, and week 3 was spent checking the grades online a dozen more times, having a recurring stress headache, and still not sleeping normally. Now normally, one would just wait to get back to school to clear up this bullshit in person. But I cannot afford such a luxury. His Fucking F has lowered my GPA so significantly, I will get kicked out my med program, through the US Postal Service most likely. It would be one thing if I had gotten those C's and deserved what was coming, but I did nothing wrong, and could still get kicked out because of his irresponsibility. Granted, he has to change it sooner or later, cuz I am not afraid to litigate, and my program would have to un-kick me in (litigation people!) but all the fucking hassle of bureacracy that I have so far gone through and would have to go through, if they did kick me out, just does not make sense to me. Do your fucking jobs right people. If u expect me to turn my shit in on time, at an A quality nonetheless, I expect u to fucking have the thing graded in a timely manner also, and recorded down correctly, so as to not ruin my life. Is that far too much to ask??? Also included in week 3, the soul-killing decision of whether or not I should study abroad next fall. My main cons are money, money, money, and grades/classes. I have kinda sorta narrowed down the countries to Australia, New Zealand, Scotland, and maybe non-London England. After that I am stuck. I can't afford to fail classes in an education system that is way different from ours, and I really need to get some major requirements done, so I can graduate on time, but not sure any of school's have the exact classes I need and can transfer. My alternative to study abroad is graduating early and then proceeding to do nothing for 6 months (I doubt I could get a job in my town, even w/ a bachelor's. Even the food service jobs are taken by teenagers) At least I would save a bunch of money being home. I don't know. I have no idea what decision to make. And so begins week 4. Oh yeah, I was supposed to start studying for the MCAT but this grade issue has completely thrown me for a loop and I have been virtually stuck, just waiting... Oh, thought I should add some new recommendations. I found a bunch of cool bands during break. the Only positive thing that has happened, dang it. Anyways, one that is definitely going to blow up HUGE this year, at least I think so, is the Glaswegian band Popup (click to hear tunes, can't stop listening to the first 2). They are big overseas already, of course, like all good bands are. I can't find any stuff about them by Americans, so hope i am one of the first. They are booked through freaking October. This quartet will be playing at SxSW which is a really good predictor that they will be huge. Too bad they are not stopping by chicago. And knowing my luck, it'd be a 21+ show and before september anyway. The second band are Liverpudlian's called The Wombats, who churn out really good danceable indie rock. When I first stumbled upon them, I feared they were emo or warped tour-y, cuz they look rather young, but then I listened and was gravely and happily mistaken :) The woo-woo's and ooo-ooo's are some of my favorites. They're touring extensively in the UK, so I'll probably need to wait a while for them to come here. Hope you enjoy these 2 bands. They'd be huge, if it were up to me (incorrect english, I know, but it's from some song I like).

Two Things for Me

2006-12-04T23:02:00.000-06:00

So I know I haven't written a proper post in forever, but this has to be brief because I have lots of things due tomorrow, and a quiz and blah blah else. I am just too excited to wait until finals are over. First, one of my quotes got on Overheard in Chicago. Click here to see! I was walking slightly next to the girl on the phone, on the way to my music class, and when I heard her say it, I sped up because I could not stop my face from grinning and I didn't want her to be upset. Then I thought, "hey, this might be funny enough to submit" so I did and voila! Second, I just saw a free screening of The History Boys and I highly recommend it. It goes at a fast pace, like all British stuff does, but it was funny and I loved the settings and the Music (!). And, of course, the Boys. (I'm writing this 2 hours later. Let's just say I got distracted) I think I would've loved the play. I'm assuming it never came to Chicago, and if it ever does, it had better have the original cast. I don't see plays that often, not since high school. I just watched them though, never part of drama club or anything. Edward Scissorhands is playing across from my sister's apt. in SF, and I am jealous, cuz it looks interesting. However, she can't go cuz of finals too. Finals ruin everything. And that is an understatement. Anyways, the movie's in limited release but if you have a chance, go see it.

Pointless for Me

2006-10-11T02:46:00.000-05:00

So there isn't going to be a point to this post. I am getting pretty sick, probably with a cold, hope not the flu. This goddamned school still has the AC on 60 degrees in all of the lecture halls. I literally tried not to breathe in the cold air in class today, because I knew it would cause the sickness to go from my throat to my nose. And it did. This is the one year I completely forgot about getting my meningitis shot, and the flu shot my dad usually insists on me getting around this time of year. But there were more important health issues going on in our lives before I left for school, so it is pretty understandable why we forgot about them. Well anyways, this can only be expected. I get severely sick at least once a year at school, usually winter (I'll have to look back at old posts). There was this potbelly incident that ending up grieving me for several days last school year. And my freshman year I had pretty harsh flu symptoms, fever and all. It's sad but I can't remember that far back. So I'm writing the post right now cause I am hopped up on the "daytime" cold pill I took at 10 pm. I'm pretty sure I would normally be falling over if it was this late and I was this sick but this pill won't let me. It's supposed to only last 2 hours. And it is making me hungry. So I have one test and one quiz on Thurs. I've done minimal studying for them. Story of my life. I had the extreme midterms 2 weeks ago. My personality psch midterm went really damn well, considering I missed at least 4 lectures (9:30 am class doesn't work when u sleep after 5 am). My physics grade was what I expected it to be, for the amount of work I did (more like didn't) do. Oh well. I was really disappointed with my cell bio score though. It's the lowest I've ever gotten on a bio test. I refuse to get anything less than an A in that class. Quite frankly, I can't afford it. But here I am, already behind in every single subject. I am really itching to go to a concert, but I am making no effort towards choosing one. I think I should be punished for the craptastic situation I have put myself in, with the resonating effects of spring semester and the repetitiveness of those mistakes again this semester. Anyway, not sure what to recommend. I'll do something besides music, since my life will be devoid of it this semester (not counting my actual music class, plus all the music I still listen to outside of concerts, but damn it I need to exaggerate the extent of my pain). Ok, I will tell you that I am obsessed with watching TV shows online, and in the legal sense. I am still watching a bunch of new things on actual TV, so the online stuff is what doesn't fit into my schedule. Here's what I am watching (right now, but if any of these shows turn to crap, I'll drop them so fast...): On CBS.com I watch Jericho and The Class (I would watch How I Met Your Mother, but I've got no clue how last season ended). On NBC.com, I watch Studio 60 (wish it was funnier), Kidnapped, and 30 rock. On ABC.com, Ugly Betty (endearing) and Six Degrees. On Fox.com, Vanished (hope it doesn't get canceled, and really really hope Kelton is not, woops, don't want to ruin it for you). Now Fox has some deal-io (i know, i know, i'll never use it again) with myspace, and so I watched all of The Loop on there. I think Chicago as a setting is the best part of the show, but it can actually be funny, esp. Mimi Rogers and Russ the Boss. I think you can watch the whole season of these shows on CBS , ABC, and Fox while NBC only has the latest week's. Ok gonna go eat something that won't kill my throat. Later.

Na Na Na Na Na Na, Na Na for Me

2006-09-13T22:24:00.000-05:00

So I know this post was supposed to be about SF but I want to see if there are cool pics on my home computer so I must wait till then. So this will be (relatively) short. Since my last post, not a lot has happened. I'm no longer a teenager,which is weird. (The post's title is supposed to be the intro guitar part of a relevant Beatles' song). The only advantage of becoming older, as far as I can tell, is being able to get into clubs to see great bands. Alcohol, you say? Snore, I say. Gambling, you say? With what money?, I say. Renting a Car, you say? I'd rather own one, I say. Going to the Thunder Down Under, you say? No thank you, I say. So here is who remembered my birthday and called: My mom, dad and lil sister at midnight (I didn't go home cuz school had just begun, but we had cake before I moved). Then my 3 aunts (mom's side)from India, in the morning. Then my roomie and I went to this quaint breakfast/lunch spot on Taylor (pretty near to Little Italy) called Demitasse. The decor was artsy but not overkill. Prices weren't that bad either. I had the belgium waffle with fresh strawberries, bananas, and whip cream. Best thing I ate in weeks. Then my older sister called from SF. My mom two or three more times (she felt guilty) and our good family friend that was visiting our home that day. That's it, no one else. I just chilled in my apartment the rest of the day, playing Sudoku (which I learned in August) and listening to my super-favorite music. I know it sounds boring, but oh well. I hate my birthday. It has always been a pretty miserable day. Always. And I don't even purposely make it that way, other people tend to do it for me. I don't even bother mentioning it to anyone. It does help me judge who my real friends are, and what a crappy-feeling method it is. I think the last birthday I didn't mind was my 16th, cuz I got some snappy surprising presents, like a Kwik-E-Mart visor for tennis. But I really have no right to complain about my birthday. I should just be thankful for all that I do have. The real point of this post was to make recommendations. The following 2 artists are the first ones I've ever discovered through a blog, and it is called Sixeyes. First up is Kyle Andrews. I am in absolute love with the song "Amos in Ohio" (3.86 on the Catchy-riffic Scale) The chorus describes my current state, perfectly, except "in Chicago." He is, in fact, from Chicago, but now resides in Nashville, I think. Click his name to read the Sixeyes interview and press the little play button to hear the song right there on the page! Genius! Next is Tobias Froberg (there should be 2 dots above the 'O' but I don't know how to do that on my keyboard), also discovered on Sixeyes. Click his name to read their review, and press the play button for "When the Night Turns Cold," a well-written quirky song. He is from Sweden but has a bunch of US tour dates this month and the next. Guess who is less than one year too young for his Chicago date?

The Mall for Me

2006-09-01T00:40:00.000-05:00

I just finished the first week of school, no classes friday ;). it was wretched, but everything has been this way for awhile, one of the reasons I haven't been keeping up with my blogging. So this post takes us back to July, to the Woodfield Mall in Schaumberg where I first got to see OK Go. It took me a crapload of time to get there, the Blue Line plus a really long Pace Bus ride. And the band started earlier than I expected so good thing I, for once, got somewhere around on-time. Before OK Go came out, they had these other MTV VMA Insider things going on, but I wasn't interested. I am not exactly outgoing enough to interview people on MTV, especially since I don't like the majority of people that do show up on MTV. Anyways, they had some ex-Road Rulers there, not anyone I wanted to meet. Finally OK Go came on. It was an acoustic set, something I had never heard OK Go do, since I haven't been to their concerts and I don't watch the live videos on YouTube. It was different but I enjoyed it.I stood in the fourth or fifth row, pretty close to the temporary stage that was low to the ground. Damian cracked jokes in between songs,acted a little strangely (I don't think he was drunk or anything but what do I know), and he kept mentioning how they had never played at a mall before. I am not sure how they felt about playing there. Malls don't exactly give one's band street cred. I think they were pleased that their fans had shown up (I might have been the oldest fan, not counting people's mothers), but I think it would suck being told where to play by your corporate sponsor (JCPenney's, where I do shop, and will do moreso now that that Goddamned Macy's pillaged my beloved Marshall Field's.sob.not that I get to shop that often, but still...). Anyway, he did put down his guitar and walk behind the audience, where he proceeded to jump up on a table, scream the lyrics, and then walked right throught the small crowd to get back on stage. Girls were shrieking while he did this. I probably did to, I admit it. I know for sure that I touched his upper arm, which was cool. I haven't attempted to touch band members before, I will let them put their arms on me for pictures though. I am not positive on the exact set list, it's been months and I only caught some of "You're So Damn Hot" on my camera, and "Oh, Lately" on my cell phone. Here is what I remember them playing, not in this order probably:(something is wrong with my stupid blogger, and i can't put spaces or even commas between the songs, I am sorry)
Get Over It,
You're So Damn Hot,
Oh Lately It's So Quiet,
A Million Ways,
A Good Idea at the Time,
Crash the Party (maybe?),
The Fix Is In (maybe?),
Some Old Rock Song Cover,
Invincible (maybe?),
Do What You Want (maybe?),
The House Wins (maybe?),
It's A Disaster,
.Who knows what the real list is. Maybe I am just doing some Freudian transference of what I wanted them to play. But I would have chosen other songs, so that doesn't make sense. Anways, the last thing they did was the dance for A million ways, which I caught on tape. after they were done playing, people set up a table and we waited for them to sign stuff (again, not sure how enthused they were about having to sign a ton of stuff). I had nothing with me, but the JCPenney/MTV people gave everyone an official-looking band photo. When it was my turn, I asked the people behind me to take my camera, and asked Damian if I could take a pic, he said sure and I went behind their table. The pic turned out pretty well, everybody was smiling. Then they all signed the pic. When I got to Tim and Dan't end of the table, I got some nerves and spoke up. I told them how I had been waiting to see them since I was a sophomore in high school. Dan asked me how old I was now, and when I told them I was junior in college, they were both shocked, like "what the hell took you so long?" I mumbled something about living in a rural area (true) but I didn't tell them that everyone in my town listens to crap and had probably never heard of OK Go till 2005 (also true)so there would have been no way to get to their concerts. No way was I going to ask my parents to take me to a night concert in Chicago (too much traveling time). They would have thought I was insane. Tim told me that I need to come to a real concert to see them rock. I said ok, thanks, and then I left that area of the mall, and when to Auntie Anne's and got pretzel sticks. They were disappointing, and I shall stick to the cinnamon pretzels from now on. I walked around the rest of the behemoth mall since I'd never been. But I didn't want to buy anything.I saw a line standing outside some clothing shop, and I remember hearing some girls at the OK Go set saying they were there to see Yellowcard also, so I think Yellowcard was doing some in-store appearance before a concert in Chicago that night. Yuck. I don't care for them (or most other warped tour bands, for that matter). Finally I got back on the Pace bus, with an incredibly rude driver (not to me, but to the nice-looking guy in front of me), and then back to school. It was a tiring day. I guess I am glad I went. I still would have rather seen them back when I was in high school. Don't get me wrong, I think Oh No is an excellent pop-rock album, but the first album's songs will forever be my favorite, and I would have much rather heard them back then. I guess I just like firsts. Ok, next post will be about San Francisco. Then probably a post of just videos, from the WAS, Figurines and OK Go concerts, and some July 3rd (the big city show) and 4th (smaller Navy Pier show) fireworks. After that, I am not sure what to write about. I have deemed school and all things related to it unworthy of blogging about (since nothing interesting ever happens within the vicinity of campus). But then that leaves nothing. pathetic. Here are some photos:

Damian

Dan

Andy

Tim

Two More for Me (Part II)

2006-06-29T00:21:00.000-05:00

So on Saturday night, I went to see Figurines at Beat Kitchen. It was a pretty late show, 10:30, and guess who still managed to be late? Tardiness seems to be my only talent. Anway, the show was held by Chicago Innerview magazine, as a sort of Post-Intonation Fest Bash. I don't think the 3 bands played at Intonation. Since I was late, I missed all but 1 1/2 songs of the first band, The Modern Temper, but I liked what I heard, so I will research them more. Here's a pic: Next up was by far the most energetic act I have seen thus far, called Skybox. I have no clue how to describe their music. I guess it is safe to say rock, country,disco, blues, the Charleston?, probably some jazz/soul, etc. And it works. These 5 guys have great stage presence. I'm not sure I would have given them a chance if I just heard the songs once. I probably would have thought it was too experimental for me. But since I was so entertained by their live show, I went back to their myspace and I think it is safe to say the music is eccentric but hugely catchy-riffic ("Various Kitchen Utensils" a 3.8 on my scale), so I am glad I know who they are. A photo (see the bongos!): Finally, Figurines were on. As you can see, nobody was really adamant about being in the front row, so when Figurines came on, I took some initiative and stood in the front row, kind of where that kid in the blue shirt is. I don't think I have made it to the front before, just because all the other shows I've been to were a lot more crowded. I don't think there were more than 50 audience members for this show.What a shame. Now I can tell my grandkids that I stood in the front row of a Figurines concert. I am pretty sure they will be famous in no time.
I enjoyed the set thoroughly. They played almost a lot of the songs off their second album, Skeleton, plus some from the first album, Shake a Mountain. I was a little sad that they skipped some of my favorites. They were the headliners (their record label Morningside's site said that this was their first US headlining show, which makes it even more awesome for me), but I think they had been openers on the rest of the tour, so the setlist must've been short for those shows, and they just didn't expand it for this show. However, they played my 3 most favorite songs in a row, so my head was ready to explode from the excitement. I'll have a video and set list later. They don't talk much in between songs, lots of "Thank you"'s. Their harmonies were as great live as on the albums. I sang along with everything, probably did a little head bopping and feet moving, otherwise known as "dancing."
After the show, I first went back to the merch table. The only things for sale were the album (which I already have from SonicStage) and a t-shirt. I would have loved to get the t-shirt but it was white, which I don't wear. White only makes chubby Indian girls look darker and chubbier, plus there's that whole widow thing. But they did have free posters and postcards, so I took those. I forgot to check out the merch of the other bands, woops. Anyway, I told myself that I had to be brave, so I went to the front and waited behind 2 girls that were getting their pic w/ the drummer. When it was my turn, I said "Hi, could you sign this?" and handed him the poster. The drummer, Volde, was such a sweetheart. He asked me if I wanted the other guys to sign it too, and then he actually went and got them! Who does that? What a nice fellow. So all 4 guys (Claus-guitar, Mads-bass, Christian-vox/guitar) signed the poster, and I made sure to thank everybody. They seemed a little bit shy even. Then another man, I'm guessing their tour manager, saw my camera and asked "Do you want a picture?" and I said "Sure!" and then I heard him say something to Christian about how they have to show love to "early adopters" and I thought, yep, that's definitely me. So he took a pic of me and the lead singer. Thanks, tour manager! I am not sure any other show will ever beat this one for me. I am so glad I went. Here are some photos:

Volde

Christian

Mads

Claus

Figurines

Volde reminds me of a werewolf

That's all I have for now. I hope I can edit down all of the clips from the last two concerts into two videos, by the end of this summer. Right now, I only plan on going to the Taste of Chicago, on the 4th (lord, will it be crowded), just to see Ray Davies...and have some food. I don't know a lot about the former lead singer of The Kinks, except that he is mentioned as an influence to basically every single singer/songwriter I have ever read an interview of (damn prepositions), so I am pretty sure I won't regret seeing him live. Supposedly, OK Go will be at the Woodfield Mall in Schaumberg, IL on the 8th. I am wary of this though, it seems way too good to be true. I can't find anything else confirming their appearance there, aside from it being listed on the band's website. It would take me 1 1/2 hours to get there by public transportation (my bane,or maybe the instrument of my tardiness talents). I think it would be worth it. I have never been inside this behemoth of a mall. And I have never seen OK Go, whom I have been listening to since before my junior year of high school. Two birds, one stone? Plus, I need new sneakers for the fall. Sure, Michigan and State are only like 15 minutes away from my apt., but...I need to justify 1 1/2 hours. Sigh.

Two More for Me (Part I)

2006-06-25T21:15:00.000-05:00

So I've decided this is the summer of concerts. Every time I open a newspaper or check a website-there's another band I want to see that is coming to Chicago. Thank God, some of the shows are 21+. Normally, I would complain, but this is a good thing because it forces me to back down from going to those. whew. And I'm not going to any of the great festivals this summer. I could have gone to Intonation, but I really don't think I would've been comfortable going by myself for 2 whole days, when I think it is bad enough for 3 hours. Plus I only really listened to maybe 4 or 5 of the acts. The Pitchfork fest and Lollapalooza, coincidentally, both occur AFTER I am done with summer school and my housing contract is up, and hence I have nowhere to stay in Chicago. Oh well, maybe next year. I'm too cheap to go to Lolla, especially since I'm not earning money. This past Wed., I went to the We Are Scientists concert at the Metro. I arrived later than I wanted to, but still about 15 minutes before start time. I got off the bus and started walking towards the Metro, looking down as usual. Then I heard a voice that I thought sounded familiar and when I looked up I saw Keith, the lead singer/guitarist, and Chris, the bassist!! They were talking to two girls, right there on the sidewalk. I'm surprised I didn't shriek or something. I wanted to stop and talk to them so badly, like get an autograph or picture, but I thought it would have been terribly rude of me to interrupt the conversation, so I just walked past them. I was an inch away, wow. The first band up is called Au Revoir Simone. They are 3 women, who play keyboards, tamborines, and assorted sound machines, of which I do not know the name. I liked them a lot, compared to most other girl "rock" bands, whom I won't even bother mentioning. The only song I had listened to, before the concert, was called 'Hurricanes.' All three girls share vocals, and they stand in the same line when they play, like a united front. Pretty cool. They have kind of a bohemian sense about them. Maybe I am wrong. I don't know anything about fashion,obviously. Here are a few (as always, low-quality) pics:As you can see, I was probably in the 7th or so row. The thing I hate about the Metro is the pushiness of it. I don't listen to moshing bands for a reason. I think I am pretty claustrophobic, and I hate being pushed or touched, but this is what happens at the Metro. Sure, I like to stand closer to the stage, but I'd rather find a way to sneak closer myself, than be forced. For the second act, I had snuck up to maybe the 5th row, but by the time WAS came out, I had been squished into the 3rd row. I still like the Metro for its architecture, and this time I didn't see a single smoker. This may have been because it was an all-ages show (you could tell it was all-ages because of the squealy groups of teenagers). However, when I came outside, I still smelled slightly of smoke, so I am pretty sure that ban hasn't taken effect at the Metro yet. Less than 2 years to go, yea! Sure, I'll be done with college, but I am pretty sure I will still be in Chicago, so the ban works for me. Next up was The Double, from New York (all the bands were from New York). The only song I can remember them playing is called "Idiocy." These guys also use a lot of keyboards, but have your 'traditional' instruments, as well. I liked their set, but for some reason, the music on their myspace doesn't seem like the same music that they played at the concert, but for that one song. I probably wasn't paying close enough attention. My feet had started to hurt by then. I had asked my mum to get me earplugs, but she got the kind for swimming. I am pretty sure they kept no noise out at all. Aside from money and time spent, the other reason I need to slow down with the concerts is because of my hearing, which is very precious to me. Anyway, back to the band. Here are some photos: Finally, We Are Scientists came out. They played almost all of the songs off of 'With Love and Squalor,' except maybe 2, plus several older songs. I sang along and even found myself bobbing my head and moving my feet a little, which is my version of dancing. It was a lot of fun. They had some witty banter in between songs, a few mishaps even, but in the end, the show rocked. Here are some pics, which were not helped by the damn smoke machine they insisted on having: I was definitely closer to the stage than what the pics indicate. I was smack dab in the middle of the 3rd row. The lights at the Metro would shine out over the audience (too often I say, kind of blinding), so I wonder if I was seen, by either Michael (drums) or Keith. Chris was off too far off to the right.Everyone screamed for an encore, to no avail. I figured it wouldn't happen. Ted Leo is the only encore I have seen so far, one reason he is so dear to my heart. After the show, I was tempted to buy some merchandise, especially a t-shirt. But one shirt was a really light cream color, the other one was a perfect gray, but it had the hand of a lady smoking something, so of course I am not going to get it, and the third one was a good navy blue, but every single person was buying it, so I am pretty sure they wouldn't have had my size left by the time I got out of the cue. I did stand outside the Metro, with just about everybody else, waiting for them to come out, but that also was to no avail. It's ok, I guess, they are pretty major now. It would take them forever to sign stuff and take pictures. I should have come to the show way early, damn me and my lateness. But the evil-looking security guards yelled at all of us to go away, after like 20 minutes,using some unnecessary foul language. It's not like it was a freakin Limp Bizkit? concert, nobody would've argued with them or run a muck, so there was no need for rudeness. But something interesting did happen while I was waiting. I saw a couple of guys leave the Metro store, after buying some merch, I assume. Well, technically the first thing I saw was one of the guy's T-shirt, since he was so freaking tall, then I saw his face. He looked so familiar! Then I saw the third guy and I definitely recognized him. And believe it or not, I said "Hey, do you work for Threadless ?" And he replied "yeah", and then one of his buddies came back and said "hey, you got recognized!" and then I had nothing else to say, so they left. Hehe. Threadless is based in Chicago, which is the only reason my brain put 2 and 2 together. It's not really like they were celebrities. I haven't the faintest clue what their names are or anything. I just really want the Bunnies shirt, and that Summer shirt, maybe for my birthday? What was exciting to me about this whole episode was not that I saw the guys, but that I actually had enough nerve to speak up and say something to them. Yea for me! Ok, I am going to put together a video and set list of the WAS part of the concert later on. Part II, which will come soon, is all about The Figurines concert I went to yesterday.

Another Concert for Me

2006-06-05T00:29:00.000-05:00

So I went to the MOMN show at the Beat Kitchen on May 30th. Sleep Out was playing also (the 2 bands share a band member), as well as another band I knew some songs of, The Friendly Lens. There was also a band called Signsedso, whom I did not know. I was tired before I even got there, and in another one of my worry-wart modes about classes, so I wasn't as excited as the first time I saw the bands. But they all did a fine job. Signsedso was more hard rock compared to the other bands, but nothing I couldn't handle, pretty good stuff. In general, it seemed more relaxed than the last show. There were no ties to be seen. MOMN played a ton of new stuff, so I was sad that I only knew the words to a few of the songs. But I did like the new material. Sleep Out was good,I think I am liking their music more and more each time I see them. And I enjoyed the Friendly Lens, they are funny. I had a good time, but I was distracted. It just sucks that I do Everything and go Everywhere by myself, and look like a loser, just standing there alone. I don't talk to new people. I am painfully shy, and equally unapproachable. Seriously, rarely do people approach me. I don't think I walk around with a scowl on my face... Maybe my smile looks like a scowl, I don't know. And I am pretty sure it doesn't help my situation when every single person is drinking or smoking but me. Oh, my third most favorite thing about concerts (with the music at #1, seeing the bands at #2) is, after getting to my apt, ripping off my clothes and leaping into the shower in a desperate attempt to wash the smoke smell off my skin and hair. Did you know that second-hand smoke not only irritates your throat, but makes your eyes burn? I only learned this at the concert. Back to whatever I was saying before. If I have to choose between looking like a loser or staying cooped up for the rest of eternity, I guess I would choose the former. Anyway, I will post my Sevens lists soon, I promise. I just have a limited memory and I have to research my past ;) Oh, I want to make a recommendation, since I haven't made one in months, and that was the whole purpose of the blog! Silly me. I think you all should check out Figurines. I believe they will become famous (here) at any time now. They are a crazy Danish band, with pretty good videos, and catchy-riffic(3-4's people!) songs. I can't get the chorus of "I Remember" out of my head, and the middle of the song reminds me of the music of a certain youngster Norwegian songster. So please, click on the link and watch the video for this song. I hope you enjoy...

Hiding Out for Me

2006-05-17T14:42:00.000-05:00

So I've been hiding out from the world...not really. I have been on break for about a week and a half, and I have another week and a half left before heading back to summer school. damn. i have to go a wedding right before school starts. It should be nice, since their sibling's wedding 2 years ago was very nice, as well. Tons of food! which will just make me fatter. damn. So yeah, this past spring semester royally sucked. Something needs to change, and that something is me. I can't afford to waste time doing completely unnecessary things, like facebook and sitting around with other people doing nothing useful and absolutely nothing fun while we're at it. What is the point? If it's not productive or interesting to me, I won't be doing it. Avoidance is the key to my success. I was so freaking studious my freshman year, and it payed off. As of now, the only breaks I have planned will be for concerts (I already bought a ticket for the WAS concert in June, and I might go to another MOMN concert at the end of May), and I may take advantage of some of the summer festivals Chicago has to offer (like the Taste and the Outdoor Film Fest). I wanted to get a job, but I have given up on this idea, since I should really just concentrate on getting As from now on. I also wanted to volunteer over at Rush starting this summer, but I should probably drop this idea, for now. It takes them weeks just to get paperwork and other things sorted out. I think I will continue to volunteer for the Museum, but not quite so often. I also think I will continue to blog, and read blogs, since it is something I find insightful and amusing, but I should cut down on the time I spend on it, as well. Did I mention how much I hate school? I think it would be hard to find someone who hates it more than me, yet still wants to be in it for another 6 years. Maybe I won't hate med as much as undergrad. Sure, it will be a hell of a lot more difficult, but at least I will be digesting useful information, instead of what the freaking Wittig rxn is, which I still don't know and sure as hell don't care. And this is all assuming I don't fuck up my GPA enough to get kicked out of my med program before I even get to med school. At this point, I can only pray, and pray I do. P.S. I'll post my Sevens lists in a little while ;). I refused to read wendela's comments section for her Sevens post because I didn't want to steal anybody's ideas. This is a challenge I am excited about.

Playoffs for Me

2006-04-24T22:10:00.000-05:00

I am so depressed, not because of school, other people, or general nuisances (which certainly don't help matters). It is the Bulls and the Playoffs that are causing this particular depression. I've been to 2 games, none this year (insert tears). We (I am, apparently, a part of the team) made it to the playoffs for the second year in a row, but we are playing the damn Heat (what an awful name, can't even make it a plural). I didn't watch the first playoff game, but we lost by only 5 points. Ahhh! I did watch tonight's game. Damn it, we were sooooo close. I swear, those refs are blind! All those fouls! Shaq is a monster, so we can't get enough rebounds. And Wade, that cocky (insert curses), completely tried to murder Kirk Hinrich (my favorite player, mind you) in the 4th quarter. I hope something changes by Thurs. I won't be watching...paper on influenza and WW I. At least I think this is what I am going to write about, by Friday. Less than 2 weeks and I am free, for 2 weeks. Then back to summer school. The only good news about this is that they opened up more seats for the class I was absolutley desperate to take in the summer (genetics). The bad news is that I now have organic chem lab scheduled for 8 AM (*faint*) twice a week. It had better be worth it. Go Bulls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Update: We won the 3rd game!! Guess who missed it? Update 2: We won the 4th game!! Guess who missed it?

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