Welcome to Farmville!!!

Unless you live under a rock, you have heard of Facebook. If you have Facebook, you have heard of Farmville. You may even have a farm yourself! I just got a farm a few days ago, and this game is SO addictive. I am hoping that I don't become less productive next semester now that I have a farm....if you have one, become my neighbor!

Guess what?

Chicken butt! =) (I know, I know. old joke)

Guess what? (for real this time)

ALL of my grad school applications are officially in (granted I just had 4 applications/ 3 programs...but still. That's 7 essays and 4 online applications)!!!!! Woohoo!!!

Guess what?

I'm going some where super cool (maybe not as cool as Australia, but that's hopefully next) tomorrow...where? Find out soon! (unless you already know, of course)

Test-taking is not my strong point

This week, I took the GRE and the GMAT. Here is what I have learned:

*Despite all of Middlebury's attempts to improve my written skills, I do about the same on the verbal section now as I did before Middlebury. (Not badly, but not great. In the 80th percentile-ish for these two tests, and I think it was about the same for the SAT & the ACT)

*Middlebury has, however, made me more comfortable with writing essays suddenly in a set amount of time (thanks to essay-tests)

*I have completely lost all of my math skills. Completely gone. No (or very little) trace of them left. I did some review beforehand, which is why I didn't totally fail (on the GRE, anyways). I would run across a question and think to myself: "I remember learning that!" And by remember, I mean remember learning to do that at on time, not that I remember how to do it. This happened with several questions. While I have never liked math (hence why I have avoided math for the past 3.5 years), I used to be pretty good at it. I did, after all, get a 5 on the AP Calculus (AB) exam. Math was my best section on both the SAT & ACT. Yeah....skills = gone. I did ok on math on the GRE (700). On the GMAT, the math was so much harder. Total fail (practically), so...let's not mention those scores, shall we?

*Spending all that time studying vocab did me little good. I was not asked many analogy or antonym questions, and the ones I had I could likely have answered without having ever studied any vocab at all. That might, however, be a result of the whole computer adaptive testing. If you answer a question wrong, the computer gives you an easier question. It's completely possible that if I had gotten more earlier questions correct, I would have gotten harder questions later on.

*My reading comprehension skills have always been bad, and they continue to be so. I over-think things. Middlebury has likely exacerbated this. Franchement. In class, your grade depends on your personal interpretation of the literary work, rather than what's official. On the tests, your grade depends on knowing one interpretation. CONTRADICTIONS! You see, science and math majors must do really well on these tests. We who major in more literary subjects (English, Foreign Languages, etc) likely have more issues.

The moral of this story: Test-taking is not my strong point.

An Introduction to Finger Foods

The Rules of Finger Foods:

1) you eat them with your fingers.

2) put that fork down! didn't you hear rule #1?

You'd think that most people are familiar with finger foods. Yesterday, however, I saw people who looked completely confused. They god some sort of calamari things. Each little ring (or whatever) was no bigger than a quarter, and they all came in those more cone-shaped baskets that some restaurants use because they look more chic than a basket. Anyways, so the waiter delivered this cone to this couple. And they sat there. Looking at it. Looking at each other. Completely confused. They say something to the waiter and he comes back with plates and silverware. Again, they sit there for a while still looking confused. On their faces, you could read the question: "How do you eat these?" Several minutes later, they both use their forks to get out the little fried things from the cone.

I have never seen anything like it. The table behind me did what I find normal. The cone came. They reached in and ate the calamari like the finger foods, which is what they are. But that other couple. I really wish I knew what they were thinking. I was quite amused. But really, a plate I can understand (more if there's a dipping sauce, which there wasn't in this situation). I suppose the forks make sense, but more if you put the calamari on your plate first. But that combined with their several minutes of looking lost & confused makes it so very clear that either 1) they have never ordered that before or 2) they do not understand the concept of the finger food...or 3) their fingers weren't clean, in which case I totally understand not using your fingers. Although if you feel your hands are dirty, you should probably wash them anyways. Spreading germs = not cool.

A song for you:

"Finger foods! Finger foods! Oh we could survive without forks and knives.. Finger foods! Finger foods! We're all in the mood for some finger foods!" (from PB & J Otter, which was a good show. =)

On Creepy Things

"Rudolph, why are you looking at me that way? Why is that snowman moving?"

I have never thought of Christmas as creepy, but there's a song called just that ("Christmas is creepy"). When you think about it, though, a lot of things we think of as normal or cute or whatever could be creepy if you think of them.

Listen to the song / See the music video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZO-nHU4wWi8

(Some of) the lyrics:

If a snowman came to life
That would be creepy(creepy)
If Santa Clause snuck in my house
That would be creepy(creepy)

Santa creepin around and down my chimney at night
I can't explain it but it doesn't feel right
He knows if you been good
He knows if you been bad
It's kinda feaky
Does he have hidden cameras in my house like that?

Come think of it elves are really scary (so small)
Little pointy ears and sweaty hands that might be hairy
Reindeer (sharp teeth)
Rudolph (might eat me)
Christmas is kinda strange
When you think about it that way

If a snowman came to life
That would be creepy (creepy)
If Santa Clause snuck in my house
That would be creepy(creepy)

And it's really weird
It's like a fake beard
Somethin doesn't seem right to me (no)
If the snowmen came to life
That would be cre-cre-creepy

Don't leave me coal
That's kinda strange
Sneekin round my house is really breaking and entering
Santa kissing mom
That's just wrong
Someone better tell me what's going on
It's kinda strange givin me sleigh bells in every Christmas song

(http://www.lyricsreg.com/lyrics/fred+figglehorn/Christmas+Is+Creepy/)

Down in the bayou...

Today I went to see the Princess and the Frog, and it's SO good! Really, it has so much character and it's really cute and it's a great movie. Go see it today! (or if you want to avoid lots of kids (which I did by going to the 10:30 am show when most kids are in school), then maybe not today, but Monday? but soon!). I really liked the music, I need to go get on my laptop and buy the songs from iTunes...for buying tickets via fandango I got one of the songs for free (plus getting 25 bonus points on Disney Movie Rewards). On that note, I very much appreciate that now when you buy your tickets on fandango, you can print them out (like for a flight) instead of having to go to a kiosk or through the line. Anyways, great job Disney!

One of my favorite quotes from the movie goes something like this:

Charlotte (to the guy who came to her asking her to dance as earlier in the evening she said that she'd dance with him "later"): "When a girl says later, she really means not ever" =D

TV is educational. No, really

Here's a word I heard on a TV show (Phineas & Ferb), and then learned about on wikipedia:

monotreme: mammal that lays eggs. Essentially either an echidnas or a platypus (like Perry!)

Sure, I likely learned this word forever ago, but I never liked bio and it never stuck in my head. Plus, I've been away from bio for years...oh yeah. Like *you* remembered that word.

Airplane Woes

Fortunately, on my flight yesterday, I was fully conscious the whole time. However, there were some interesting things:

*After getting little snow, I woke up to lots of snow, so I began to worry that my flight(s) would be delayed or cancelled. Some flights had been. And if my second flight was delayed, I'd be in trouble because my home airport has a curfew of sorts.

*The first plane was a puddle-jumper plane, so there was virtually no overhead space or anything. So pretty much the entire plane ended up having to gate check something. Then we get to Chicago, and there is a gap between the plane and the jetway (whereas normally the gap is very slim), so we're all waiting in the passageway for our bags. And it's freezing. We are all cold. There are snow flurries flying in. So, the first conveyor-belt thing doesn't work, so they get another one. Then the next one doesn't work. So they start brining up bags themselves a few at a time. Then a third belt-thing comes, which finally worked. But this whole process amounted to a good 20 minutes of my very cold in just a sweatshirt.

*In one of the Chicago airport Starbucks, there were Vancouver cups being sold. Unless there's a Vancouver in IL (first I've heard of it, but I'm a West Coaster so who knows. There's a Paris, TX...), Vancouver, Canada mugs are being sold in Chicago. Trick people into thinking you've been to Canada! Ooh, yeah. =D

*There was only one person in the exit rows on my second flight. That's right. 1 guy was to man 4 doors in case of emergency... fortunately we had a safe flight (why didn't anyone move there, you ask? Well, those seats are for the Economy Plus people, so us regular economy people couldn't move. And I had an aisle seat anyways with an empty middle seat, so even if I could have I was quite settled).

But I'm back home. Enjoying the CA sunshine and warmth after just barely escaping Vermont which is getting colder and colder. Well, Vermont & I won't be seeing each other until January 3rd, so...yea! =)

Grad School Applications Status Update

*I just submitted two applications (for the same program, but still). Woohoo!!!

*I have written 2.5 supplemental essays (out of a necessary 6, so...still a ways to go)

*Takinf the GRE & the GMAT next week (now that school's done, time to really study!)

Don't be hatin'

Today, I finished up this semester. I turned in my final paper and I took my (only) final. Yea! Anyways, as I walked through the library (in order to print my essay), I walked by several thesis carrels. Pretty much every thesis carrel was occupied and each had a ridiculous amount of books on it. The above picture is actually the books for one of my suite mates' thesis. Yes, just one person's thesis. I am so happy I chose not to write a thesis. Even for people who are really interested in and excited about their theses are so overly stress and have to do a ridiculous amount of reading for it...in addition to their regular work. So thesis writers, hats off to you. Good job. But don't be hatin' when I am completely un-stressed and done early. =)

Livin' it up thesis-free,

me

Midd Kid song

We at Middlebury are not only known as the inventors of Quidditch. We are also musical. Or at least the Allen (freshman dorm in Atwater commons where I lived freshman year) Freshman are:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vRdjPn44GE

If my mascot and your mascot were in a fight...

I've always found mascots interesting. In high school, our mascot was a Tartan. Yes, a Tartan. I know what you're thinking. "What on earth is that? Someone who like tart candy? Is it like a Spartan?" Well, no. It's a Scottish warrior (think Braveheart). But really, he wears tall socks with a tassel and a kilt and a beret-type hat set a a jaunty angle on his head. Braveheart or not, I might place my bets against him depending on who he was fighting. Why? #1, when I wear tall socks they have a tendency to fall down and drive me crazy so I end up having to fix them a lot. #2, a skirt allows freedom of movement, but personally, If I were to fight someone, I'd opt for pants or something. In lower school, our mascot was a Scottish terrier. That's the kind of mascot I can get behind! He can sneak up on someone and bite them in the ankle. Anyways, I got on this subject when I noticed that there's a hockey team called the Toronto Maple Leafs. Maple Leafs. Maple leafs! I could win against a maple leaf (by which I mean a maple leaf, not one of the players. I would surely loose against a player, but against a leaf? I should surely hope so). I don't know, but if I were to choose a team name, I'd choose something that evokes an idea of speed or strength or "we're going to win!" and...maple leaf? Let's put that maple leaf up against my college's mascot, the panther. Panther wins. So now I'm thinking about team names. Where do they come from. Certain ones make sense. New England Patriots, good. Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Mavericks, Oakland Raiders, Dallas Cowboys, San Francisco 49ers, fine. But what is a Laker, exactly? Knicks? MAPLE LEAFS!

(no offense whatsoever to maple leafs fans. This is not about the team (I've never seen them play, so good or bad I don't really know). It's the name. It doesn't sound at all intimidating. It's a leaf. A pretty leaf, but a leaf nonetheless.

"Quelle Nightmare"

Bonus points if you can name the movie that quote comes from. It's not a major line, which is why you'd get bonus points. Maybe I'll tell you at the end of this blog post.

Anyways, the reason that that's the title is that today I had a ridiculously long & hard to survive French class. We needed to finish all the presentations, so we had a double class (class is generally an hour & 15 minutes. In actuality, it took about 3 hours all together). Oh, dear. I'll admit that in general I have a hard time actually paying attention to oral presentations by students because they generally aren't as clear or as precise or as organized as a teacher's presentation and generally are less necessary to pay attention to. That is the case of our presentations in French class. Some were pretty rambling, others were simply said without enthusiasm (scratch that. *most* (including mine, likely) were said w/o enthusiasm), etc. On top of all that, too, is the fact that we don't have a final in the class so, for all intents and purposes, the information from the presentations is not something I really need to know or care about (by which I mean, if everyone did a 5 minute presentation, that'd be great because I'd get the main interesting points and fini!). The presentations were supposed to be 15 minutes w/ 5 minutes of questions. But seriously, I really think a lot of people went over. So this was very trying for me. Especially as I had a headache. And it was dark outside. Oh, and the last presentation. I thought I was going to cry! No offense to the presenter or anything. At that point, we all just wanted to go. But it would like fall under the "rambling" category. I know he had a structure and all, but at that point it just didn't seem to. And there was no powerpoint (which helps me to pay at least a certain degree of attention and to see the structure, which helps). Even the teacher was sighing at the end (because several times it seemed like he was about to conclude, but would then start off again on another example or something. Near the end, our teacher was trying to prompt him into finishing. If only she were one of those teachers who says, "It's been 15 minutes. That's it." That final presentation literally took about half an hour. And I'm not sure why. You see, our presentations are from our final paper/project. So our teacher's going to read all of that, so it really isn't necessary to give every detail in class because while the other students aren't going to read the paper, in all honesty (and no offense intended, of course), we don't care. We really don't. It's almost 6 o'clock. we've been there since 3. We want dinner. We have papers to write and quizzes to study for. We're ready to go, capisci? [side note: in English, we'd say "capisc" (cap-e-sh), which drops the ending, but Italians don't. So be aware. "Capisci" = you (informal) understand. "capisce" = you (formal) understand. Learn it. Live it. Love it]

On the up side, our teacher brought us madeleines and candy.

These are the wrappers of the "papillons" (lit: butterflies) that people apparently give to the children in France. Inside (of ours, at least) are either chocolates or fruity gummy candy (I had one of each). I like the ends, which you can kind of see; they're cute. Inside the wrappers and around the candy are...

...these. They're funny story-ettes, essentially. Here are the ones I had:

Story 1 (the one on the second piece of paper, on the top where the illustration is mostly cut off)

-Garçon, dit un monsieur en consultant la carte, que me recommandez-vous, en toute confiance?

-Un autre restaurant, dit le garçon.

English

-Waiter, says a gentleman while looking at the menu, what do you recommend, in all honesty?

-Another restaurant, days the waiter

Story # 2 (on the same paper)

Les Calluche ont invité quelques amis à dîner. Un peu avant leur arrivée, Monsieur rafle tous les parapluies qui se trouvent dans un placard. Étonnée, sa femme lui demande :

-Tu crois que nos invités pourraient les voler ?

-Non, mais ils pourraient les reconnaître !

English

The Calluche invites some friends to dinner. A little before their arrival, Monsieur takes out (& puts somewhere else) all the umbrellas in the closet. Surprised, his wife asks him:

-Do you think that our guests would take them?

-No, but they might recognize them!

Now, I don't know if you've been thinking about the title of this blog post and where it came from or not, but in case you were, and still have no clue, go watch You've Got Mail.