Looooong Break, No?

No more problems with neighbors, 'cause I moved! I'm temporarily living at home (which I say so I don't sound like quite as much of a loser) and it is very quiet.

Except for the 42 cats that live there. Okay, there's only 7 cats (and 2 dogs), but that is a lot.

You should totally watch Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog. It is totally awesome, and I can't wait for the soundtrack to come out.

I've also been watching Battlestar Galatica. Yes, dorky Sci/Fi, and a little too serious for me but I am getting into it.

Things I am terrified about happening in the next 12 months (in chronological order):

• GRE General Test
• GRE Literature Test
• Apply to doctorate programs
  
• Trip to Europe with not enough money or planning
• Applying to more doctorate programs
• Getting in to/not getting in to doctorate programs
• Quitting my job and moving to a different state

I have a problem, and am running out of possible solutions.

Problem: Snotty neighbor (shares my living room wall) persists in playing music at unreasonable volumes. The majority of my problem is the bass, which vibrates the walls and travels much farther than the rest of the sound.

Solutions Tried: Banging on the wall, speaking to neighbor (x 10, including lengthy explains of how bass sound travels and suggestions to move the radio to A DIFFERENT WALL), ear plugs, rearranging my living room, avoiding the living room, avoiding the apartment, playing my own music, speaking to the apartment complex.

The Only Other Things I Can Think Of: Calling the police, moving out, buying a shot gun.

Problems With the Only Other Things I Can Think Of: Possible repercussions (not sure how snotty neighbor will get, I live alone, etc.) from calling police, bad credit and loss of money from moving out early and breaking my lease, being put in jail for shooting someone else's radio.

I'm getting REALLY stressed out and upset about all of this, even though I tell myself that I shouldn't. I HATE repetitive noises (ask anyone I know how I feel about ticking clocks and loud keyboards) and I can not shut that stupid booming bass noise out. I am paying A LOT to live in this apartment and I don't really want to move out early - but I also do not want to go on like I have been. I am a conflict-avoider and any kind of confrontation makes me sick to my stomach.

I just don't understand why it is so important to listen to crappy music with big bass. I respect and am considerate to my neighbors, and believe that everyone else should be as well.

So, great world wide web, if anyone is reading this and has any (legal) suggestions for me that I haven't already thought of, please let me know.

Welcome Back.

I could make some kind of snotty remark about not remembering what a blog is, but I think I'll skip that this time. I do remember what a blog is, and I occasionally remember that I have one. I've been reading lots of blogs, but as for writing...

Kids, school this semester has killed me. Okay, as I'm clearly not dead let's say that school kicked me in the throat with a high heeled boot then took out my kneecaps with a candlestick. There was lots of reading, lots of writing papers, lots of paper presentations, and a big-ass scary test. I have still have two take home-finals and a paper to revise, but it feels like I am running downhill now. Or I can see the finish line. Or the end is in sight. Or whatever cliche you would like to use.

As you can probably tell by my lack of posting on here, I've spent the semester withdrawing further and further from the world. I don't go out, I don't really call people, I don't email for fun...I apparently think that completely isolating myself will help me to concentrate. It is probably for the best, because I've also been incredible cranky. Papers and deadlines make me very grumpy, and I've had a lot of those this semester. So, dear blog, you should feel lucky that I haven't been grumping on you for the last several months.

Here's to a new stage in my life - a break from school and reintroduction into my life. I really need to work on my writing skills, and this is a great place for me to do that.

This is what happens to me EVERY MORNING.

Well, except the baseball bat part. But I think if I had a baseball bat, Ghost would use it.

I dreamed a dreamed, a dream of times gone by

In my dream I was sleeping and a man (I won't be specific because I don't think it is relevant) was sitting next to me, holding my hand while I slept. It was such a loving, kind gesture...I hope I have the dream again tonight.

Books & Rooms

This page has an incredible list of authors and the spaces they work in.

This is my favorite, mostly because it has a pictures of one of my favorite places in the world:


If I lived in NYC, you would never be able to drag me out of this room.

Jesus, I'm glad I got such a big desk...little did I know that I would actually be only able to use the middle part of it because each cat has to have a place on the desk while I am working. Seriously, if they don't EACH have a bed on the desk they wandering around crying and crying and crying.

So now all of my papers and books are squished all around the laptop while Ghost is on my right and Ollie is on the left. The things I do for these guys.