This post brought to you by the number three....

Because 3 is the total hours of sleep I have had each night for the last two nights. It is also the number of states I got to snog a lovely boy in yesterday, the number of cups of tea I had in Manhattan, the amount of hours I have been watching television for, the glasses of wine it takes to get me drunk after so little sleep, the number of classes I had today, the number of papers I have yet to write before the semester is over, and the number of minutes until I will be sound asleep in my bed.

If you thought I'd take your hurt away I'm sorry

1.53am.... not long now.
Because I am the Best GF Ever (tm) I am off to the Big City in a little over one hour. Yes, the Boy from Texas is off to India Friday week, and needs to get his visa. So, we're leaving at 3am to drive to NJ, park the car somewhere and take the tube to NYC (cos driving in Manhattan is about as much fun as a tumour) to get to the Indian Consulate at 8.15am, which is when they start accepting applications. At which point we will find ourselves a nice cafe (I'm shooting for the one at the Central Park zoo; they have nice hot chocolate and on study breaks I can go visit the penguins) where we will spend the day studying/doing homework/grading papers etc until (hopefully) the visa is ready to be picked up about 4pm. Then its back on the train, back to the car, and back to this armpit town. Fun times.

Hahaha, I think its dead funny that I'm going with my Indian bf to the Indian embassy.... but he's not Indian Indian, hes the other type of Indian. Ok maybe that's just funny to me.

Its better to die on your feet than live on your knees

I have approximately a gajillion (read: 32) essays to grade before the end of Wednesday and a paper to rewrite and resubmit so what did I do this evening? I wasted time on the intertron, I drank 2 glasses of fairly average red wine, I graded 2 papers, I talked to the bf who came over for a wee visit (sigh) and I watched Heroes. In my own defence, I actually saved time watching Heroes, because I had recorded it and could therefore fast forward through the ads. Holy shit....Niki?!?! Jessica?!?! Haha, Ben you will love this. Get downloading! Next week is the last one until January. Heroes is the shiznit.

I was having all sorts of ridiculous thoughts in my head (as opposed to the thoughts one gets in one's elbow.....) about the Boy from Texas and about how it was this and that and the other thing and then he came over today and I saw him and went SIGH and gave him a big snog and then we had a conversation about our mums and how cool they are (true story) and I realised that most of the time I need to not listen to the shit that my brain comes up with and just trust in This Thing because It Is Good and I'm convinced if I ignore my ridiculous residual psychological defences for long enough they will give up and go and live with someone who appreciates them because I am sick of all that shit about insecurity and stuff and things, and what is best is to just have A Little Faith and not be Miss Overanalysis and continue to wait for the other shoe to drop or whatever it is that drops when they show their true colours and leave or smash you into little pieces or hurt you in ways you can't describe in a family-friendly forum such as this and to appreciate the present and not compare it to stuff that isn't real or that happened years ago because if you do what you've always done you will get what you've always got which is why I am being so cautious and angsty about this despite the fact he is so easy to be around it is almost like I am alone when hes here which sounds a bit like an insult but is in fact one of the highest compliments I can think of to describe being around someone anyway we had a lovely conversation and then he went home to do a thing and now its late and I have to grade more papers.

Longest. Sentence. Ever.

Kitty cat lovin'

Yeah, he's cute, but he keeps trying to make out with me. Kind of gross, Finnegan.
Also its difficult to study when theres a cat sitting on your desk licking his bum. Again, kind of gross, Finnegan.






Last night's jukebox styles c/o yours truly:

1) Steve Earle; "Copperhead Road"
2) Melissa Etheridge; "I'm the only one"
3) Eminem; "Lose Yourself"
4) Sepultura; "Ratamahatta"
5) Poison; "Every Rose has its Thorns"

The pub was rocking.

Look out Turkeys!!!

Its Thanksgiving here in Amurica, so I'm cooking a pavlova, in keeping with my tradition of adding the Kiwi touch to everything.
Going to hang with some of the people who invented Thanksgiving, then off to a holiday orphans dinner to eat ourselves senseless.
Oh shit, I just employed the plural in reference to myself. Either I'm the Queen of England, or one of those annoying people who identifies themselves by reference to their relationship. Hmmmm.

Also, ordered a new computer. This one is back from the shop, in the same way that terminal cancer patients are sent home to spend their last remaining days with their loved ones.

Ok bye.

Snafubar

Ok so we knew this day was coming..... my little blue friend is one very sick wee laptop.
I am writing this on my neighbour's computer, because mine is in the shop, awaiting the possibility of a terminal verdict.
First, it was the hard drive that was dodgy, then the battery was a bit shite, but eventually it was the plug at the back that conked out. I took it to a nice man at the repair shop, who will hopefully stick a bandaid on it so it will last until the end of the semester (one month baby!!!) but if not, I will be taking that night job at the strip club to afford another computer.

So, please excuse me if I do not blog or IM or email very much in the next week or so....
I am at the mercy of other people's computers. If you miss me too much, you will have to go old skool and call me on the phone. Or, get over it.

ttfn.

There's a light at each end of the tunnel you shout, cause you're just as far in as you'll ever be out

Dear Blog,

Its 1.30am and I've been working on my paper that's due on Thursday for about an hour and a half, maybe a little more. I am starting to get a little stressed that I am not working efficiently, but I really can't think of another way to do it than the way I am. I have the most ridiculous amount of information, and I must condense it, along with some substantial analysis and application of theory, into about 25 pages of awesome. Oh fuck.... thats quite a lot really. Shite.

But anyway, I haven't been working on it nearly as much as I could have been, because I am Bad. I can feel an all-nighter in my near future.... and possibly a wee dip in my GPA.
Hell, its lucky that there is more to life than school!!
No, really there is. I read it in a book once.

And then I had loads of stuff in my head I was going to get out and into blog format but now its all gone because I went into the bathroom and looked in the mirror and I don't look like me so now I'm going to bed so that hopefully when I wake up in the morning I will look like me again and if not me then someone equally as cool haha good luck with that.

So goodnight blog, we will talk soon.
Love Claire

PS I am falling falling falling in the best way imaginable

Save a horse, ride a cowboy

I’m writing this in word (oh the humanity!) because Blogger is having some Issues. Something about authority. Anyhoo.

I’ve been a slack little Blogger recently, I know. Also, I’m about to get a lot slacker, what with the gajillion papers I must write in the next five (count ‘em onetwothreefourfive) weeks.

Thursday: democratization paper due, student’s essays submitted, two weeks to grade them.
Continuing: negotiation exercise, and associated papers to write/news to keep up with etc.
December 3^rd: final negotiation meeting.
December 4^th: negotiation test.
December 7^th: journal of notes on 7 books due. Note to self: read the seven books before then.
December 8^th: Boy from Texas goes to India for a month.
December 12^th: student’s final exam, grading begins (6 days to complete)
December 18^th: final negotiation paper due. Fly home. Sleep.

There’s a change in the air. Maybe it’s the weather, maybe it’s the Boy from Texas, who knows. I can’t put my finger on it, but its on the way. Ah, maybe its just the work.....

Election Day 2006

To my American friends, colleagues, professors, students, lovers, cohorts, drinking buddies, nemeses, shopkeepers, landlords, acquaintances and passers-by on the street.

Please vote the bastards out.

Thanks.
Love Claire

PS I live here, I have to abide by the rules, I pay taxes, I think I should get to vote. So there.

Rosemary, heaven restores you in life

News:
- I bought Snow Patrol's most recent album, and it is good.
- Borat = very funny.
- I have a new external hard drive, and perhaps just in time because with each passing day my computer gets sicker and sicker.
- I don't think he knows that I know about his myspace page but I need to find a way to broach the subject cos his status on it still says 'single' and we have fairly well established the fact that we are doing this relationship thing and ohmigod all of a sudden I am fourteen but seriously how does one casually drop that into conversation?
- I have done precisely Fuck All work this weekend, which is generally not a good thing because I have approximately a Gigantic Shit Load to be done in the next six weeks.
- Today I baked muffins and made soup because I am a domestic goddess suck on that Nigella Lawson.

Ok going to angst for a bit now.

I noticed tonight that the world has been turning

What if I was to write a blog about the thoughts that are going through my mind now?
About the last few days, about how we have been getting closer and closer, about the things he whispers in my ear as he holds me at night, about the feel of his rough brown hands on my soft white skin, about his long black hair that I run my hands through, about the weight of him sleeping next to me?

But that might be a little too much for this forum, so I shan't.

Instead I shall ask for recommendations about my imminent new laptop purchase, for when my Little Blue Friend (tm) finally kicks it.
I am considering a Dell XPS M1210. Any ideas, people?