Blog blog blog

Eat sleep drink eat play with kids talk to sister drink watch movies play in the sun have barbeques go to the beach sleep drink Monteith's Summer Ale apply suncream shop swim text friends ignore imminent semester sleep play with the kids neglect blog and internets talk to sister about life the universe and everything shop eat sleep drink attempt to cram an entire summer into three weeks its exhausting sleep

So Xmas came and went, and so did NYE and now I'm finally blogging. This must be the first New Years Day in about a gajillion years that I'm not hungover, perhaps the solitary glass of wine I consumed has something to do with that. I've been sick for a few days so taking it easy. Mostly better now, just really tired. I am about to be left at home with two little girls so I might call my mum to come and help me.
Cricket tomorrow so I need to get into town and get a proper beige brigade top so I can impress all the poncies in the corporate box.

Update: My way-more-socially-active-then-me mother has plans. Shit. Bring out the dvd collection!!

Home again....

I have been travelling for over 28 hours with 2 hours sleep the night before and two 2 hour naps while travelling so I'm a little fried.
But I'm home now, and it is Good, and I think I shall have a little snooze.

I'm staying at my sister's house if you want to call me, and know the number....

Note to self:

In the future, before you sit down to grade a whole bunch of exams, talk to your sister, play on the computer and have a 2 hour nap, take the vegetables out of the oven.
I have mad cooking skillz.

Well its a dirty job but someone's gotta do it

I just finished my last paper for the semester.
Now I don't know what to do. I am off house/dogsitting from tonight, so perhaps I will pack a bag and cook some food to take......
Then of course there is this stack of 40 final papers that need grading before I get on a plane on Monday to go home. Hmmmm.

Talked to the boy last night, he's still in Italy, going to India tomorrow if the standby gods be smiling upon him. I've decided that writing the Boy From Texas is a bit too much effort for blogging.... seeing as how I am in this whole half-arsed blogging phase. I must come up with a shorter nickname for him.... or I could just provide the initials of the nickname he already has!!!

Ok, really not going anywhere with this post am I?

Live updates from the front

This morning, Chilean time, murderer, dictator and general bad egg Augusto Pinochet was recalled to the fiery pits of hell from whence he came.

In response to this news, Chileans flooded the streets of Santiago in mass celebrations and to protest the fact he was never made accountable for his actions. Additionally, there are still several Chileans who believe he saved their country from the scourge of Marxism, and despite the fact he was responsible for the deaths of over 3,000 people, have taken to the streets in mourning.
My point? The streets of Santiago are flooded with protests, marches and vigils.

So, guess where my sister is?

Yep. Landed in Santiago this morning. Is currently in the middle of an anti-Pinochet protest downtown. I just received an IM from her boyfriend, telling me that apparently shes getting some really good photos. I'm waiting for the IM saying shes been arrested/hit with tear gas/deported etc.
Ah, isn't life interesting?

My friend Liberty reaches down and kisses me

1 down, 38 to go.
After he left I put his t-shirt on, the one I nicked a few days ago, and wore it the whole day. Now its a bit stinky, so its in the wash and I'm back to wearing my own clothes. Good news for those around me.
I had a pity party last night, where I sat in my jammies and his t-shirt and drank red wine and watched 3 episodes of Battlestar Galactica (am up to "Unfinished Business" now) and felt all sorry for myself, until I realised that I was being a pathetic loser. So I went to bed and slept for 10 hours....LUXURY!!
So now I've got 2 10 page papers to write before Monday, and 18 more pages of another paper to finish by Thursday, then 40 odd final exams to grade and a bunch of Xmas presents to buy and a bag to pack and in a week on Monday I'm leaving.....on a jet plane..... and coming back in January.

This post brought to you by Procrastination Inc.

I need your grace to remind me to find my own

Best boyfriend ever update: He's madly busy, what with leaving for India on Friday and finishing up a semester's worth of work and all, but still managed to find time to come over briefly tonight so say hello and give me my Christmas present.

Sigh...... I am the luckiest girl in all of New York.

We will return to our regularly scheduled bitter rants at a later date.

Kinda kinda like I'm in love!!!!

So.... the doorbell rang about 6pm yesterday, it was my friend the UPS guy, with my new computer. I was so excited I actually jumped up and clapped and squealed a little, he had a wee laugh at my silliness and said "Its always nice to make someone's day". Dude's lucky I didn't kiss him.
Anyway, I am officially in love with my new toy, I spent the evening playing with it, installing stuff, making out with it etc. When I was setting it up my friends were over and we were watching Wallace and Gromit... so the installation popped up with "you need to name this computer". Imaginatively enough, my last one was called Claire..... so this one is called Gromit.

Meet Gromit, sitting on top of the old computer, to indicate its complete smallness and cuteness, and total superiority. Toshiba getting pwned.

Further indication of said smallness and cuteness. CD and pen added to indicate scale.

Wallace and the other Gromit.

In other news, please go and say Happy Burpday to Miss Grace.

I have photos of the awesomeness of NYC and the ugliness of NJ, but right now I have to do my washing so you will have to wait. Bask in my computer's awesomeness while you do so.

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?