Princess Sparklefists

Today in things that are making me want to stab something:

1. Last November I went to the Doctor and had a physical. Today, I received yet another bill in the mail telling me that my former insurance provider (I've had to switch twice since then) still refuses to pay for all of it. Yes, the American health care system, it is fantastic.


2. Also last fall, I got into a fight with the University over immunizations and them not letting me register for classes. Eventually I got a blood test that proved that, yeah, I had an MMR already. All good... until today when the registrar sends me an e-mail saying that unless I turn in my immunization record I won't be able to register for spring classes. Do they think that three semesters has killed my immunity to measles?


3. We are paying the cable company a million dollars a month for fast internet, which has been broken most of the week. I hate calling them because I always end up on hold forever and they don't actually fix anything. Last time I called it actually got worse. Go figure.


4. One of the classes I really wanted to take is finally being offered again... at the distance ed campus that's over an hours commute away. And the library field study isn't being offered at all. Fail!

Word of advice: don't try to rob the dude who was riding my bus last night. Because he will stab you in the mother-frakking face. He seemed a little deranged, and I don't think he meant with a spork. Times like that I am thankful for my iPod. My mom tells me I should write a book about the bus. The bus basically runs my life now. Sad but true.

So my university almost lost half a billion dollars in state funding for letting students watch porn. For real. I find this both amusing and ridiculous. I also can't believe that the porn version of Pirates of the Caribbean actually has a sequel.

I watched episode 6 and 7 of Dollhouse this week, so I'm finally caught up. ( Spoilery Things )

Did anyone watch the Cupid premier? I didn't--I was pretending to work on a project--but I'm interested to see how it was, cause I was one of the two people who watched the original Jeremy Piven one in the 90s, and I loved Veronica Mars.

fiery_twilight tagged me for a meme the other day, so here goes... it's a little disjointed cause I answered questions at different times of day.( Twenty Questions )

I was so tired that I went to bed at 9:30 last night. That just doesn't happen. Ever.

But so now it's 4:30, and I'm awake again. *facepalm* Perhaps Battlestar Galactica is up on Hulu now...

ETA: There are potentially BSG spoilers in the comments now. Consider yourself warned.

Walk on the left, stand on the right. It's really not that hard, and some of us have a train to catch! I'm not looking forward to January when the city will be swarming with tourists.

On the other hand, all the hotels are booked up and tons of people are advertising Inauguration rentals on craigslist for some pretty exorbitant prices. (Some people are obviously trying to mislead the tourists, like the person advertising a house in Manassas as 20 minutes from the Vienna Metro station, which I guess is probably true... but being that far from the end of the line isn't much to brag about.) We're thinking of listing some rooms for rent, cause we've got room and actually do live near the Metro, and why not make some extra money?

I think people here are conditioned to be wimpy about cold weather. I heard several people at work/school today make comments along the lines of "OH NOES DON'T SEND ME OUT IT THE COOOLD!" (Maybe some dramatic emphasis there.) I'm pretty sure it was over 40 degrees today, which is chilly, but really not that bad. The building where I had class tonight, however, was approximately the temperature of a sauna. Even after I took off a layer, I was way too hot. (As in, I felt almost feverish. Not good.) The English building at OSU was like that in winter, so I always sat near I window so I could crack it open if I got too hot, but, alas, this class is in an interior, windowless room.

The American History Museum reopens this weekend, and I kinda want to go, but I'm betting it will be busy, and I really have other more important things I should do. It's not like the Smithsonian's going anywhere--though I read this morning they may start charging. (Blasphemy!) I also read that Gogol Bordello is playing in the District in January... but I'm pretty sure I don't know anyone else who'd be interested in going to see them.

Last night around 2 am I engaged in epic battle with a bug. The problem was it kept buzzing really loud. Then it landed right near me and turned out to be pretty big. And I could just see it there. Watching me. Being creepy. Waiting for the opportune moment to strike.

Intellectually, I'm okay with the idea that there are insects all around. Out of sight, out of mind and all that. But then large beetle thing appears and I'm really freaked out by it. I think it's partly the fault of those Scary Stories books that we read in elementary school, particularly one where the spider lays eggs in someone's face. I don't want bugs near me right before I go to sleep, cause what if that actually happened? I'm sure it also didn't help that it was late and I was tired or that I was the only one at home.

Which is how I end up chasing a beetle around the room at 2 am. Just when I thought it was going to leave me alone it had the nerve to come and land on me. Shortly after that, it met defeat. I was not eaten by insects in my sleep.

My internet connection at home is very sketchy this week, which causes me much frustration. I am a whiny baby without internet access, especially on days when my short attention span gets the better of me. (There's only so many times I can stand to reread a paragraph about Coronado before I start going crazy!) Hopefully it will come back, or I will have muchas problemas watching Doctor Who on Saturday. And now, five completely unconnected thoughts:

( I'm rambling today. )

Anyone else notice that the Google logo looks like a Velázquez painting today. I learned about him and this painting "Las Meninas" in my high school Spanish class, so I just thought it was interesting.

Yeah, I'm a dork.

Ugh... five hours of sleep followed by eleven hours in the car do not agree with me. I felt pretty crappy this morning, but luckily that wore off. It would be a drag to spend my entire mini vacation feeling ill.

The drive yesterday was fairly uneventful. I only drove for about two minutes, in a parking lot somewhere outside St. Louis. Mom thought she was too tired to drive, but when I stalled at a stop sign, she decided me driving would scare her too much. I really must have some one teach me to drive stick properly. (I can make the car go, but I always stall when I try to stop. And I have issues with third gear.) So I was the navigator, which I'm actually good at. Not that it's hard, when the entire trip is on I-70.

Sadly, we could not stop at the Blue Springs Cafe for "mile high pie" again, because we drove through Pierron an hour before opening. Boo. We tried again in Vandalia after seeing signs about a historic statehouse and Abraham Lincoln, but the only restaurant we can find in town was completely burned out. (Bummer, that.) I did get some pictures of Lincoln's face painted on a wall and a "Madonna of the trail," but I haven't uploaded them yet.

My dad's cable no longer has BBC America. It makes me saaaad. :( Not that I'm actually here to watch the cable, but it's a fun novelty.

This afternoon I went for a short bike ride. I did a meandering loop around the old neighborhood, which I guestimated was about five miles. Last summer I went on fifteen mile rides about three times a week, but I'm too out of shape for that yet. Biking is one of the very few exercise activities I actually enjoy, so it's too bad I don't have my bike in Kansas.

The Doctor Who TV movie is hands down the worst Who story I have ever seen. I could go on for a really long time about how many things were terrible about it, but I'm sure many others have done so before, so I won't. I really do want to know why the Master had glowy green eyes and kept sliming people, though. WTF! Too make up for that, I'm watching "The Sea Devils" which has Three and Jo and the Master (sans glowy green eyes, avec rubbish beard) and is infinitely more fun.

And a note for the DW fans on my f-list: Apparently there are spoilers/rumors going around about the Moffat two-parter, but I'd rather not know, kay? I'm happy with my trailer-squee, and I'd like to stay that way and be surprised by what's to come. So please don't tell me anything. :)

This afternoon I finally decided to upgrade my LJ account. I've been considering it for months, but told myself I had to wait until after I got a job. (I'm so responsible or whatever.) So now I can have more icons (yay!). Also, in celebration I've changed my layout (cause I was bored with it), and you should all be glad I spared you the scary one with a smiling piece of toast. (I saw it and started laughing uncontrollably. Insane smiling toast? WTF!)

Yesterday I bought a new cell phone, since I've been eligible to upgrade since January, but again didn't want to spend money when I wasn't making any. I got one of the snazzy ones that flips open with a full keyboard on the inside. For the first time ever I bought myself a ringtone (Duffy's "Mercy") instead of finding the most ridiculous of the pre-loaded ones as I usually do. It's like I'm having my own little Christmas in April this week!

And finally, huge achievement for me: I've started running regularly AND it's not making me break out in hives! (OMG! It's like I'm a normal person or something!) d4ni got a free guest pass for 90 days from her gym, so I've been going with her three times a week. I started out just walking, but now I'm trying to run a little bit each time, and twice I've made it through a whole mile. :D Maybe if I keep it up the freaky allergy-fest of yore will just go away? I hope so.

1) On Saturday we went on a big trip to Missouri to go to the antique mall. I made one very important silly but amusing purchase: a 1953 Girl Scout Handbook. It includes many useful bits of information, including an organizational diagram, tips on the proper positioning of a reading lamp, and the procedures for ice rescue ("If the victim is helpless, go to him... When close to the hole, lie down and crawl.")

2) There was an oboist playing in church this week! I was invited to go to the 20s and 30s brunch afterwards, and I decided to be social for once and go. There was plenty of good food and conversation, so I was glad I went. Who knew I could actually have a fun time with three strangers and a priest? :D But the people at St. Michael's all seem really nice (people keep noticing I'm new and introducing themselves), so I guess it shouldn't be a huge surprise.

3) Yesterday my boss presented me with a stack of overdue notices and a stack of envelopes and asked me "Can you...?" and then did some jazz hands in their general direction. Um, what? In better work news, I got my first paycheck!

4) I finally filed my income taxes. I filled out all the forms way back at the beginning of February in a last minute rush before I moved, but then never bothered to mail them. But hey, two weeks before the deadline isn't bad! Maybe this year the IRS will finally figure out that my name isn't Alexander. (A girl can dream.)

5) d4ni are re-watching some of our favorite Battlestar Galactica episodes from seasons 1-3. Re-watching season 1 is interesting, and not just because all the characters look like babies! Everything was a lot more mysterious back then. Sure, "anyone" could be the final cylon, but it's easy to reasonably rule some people out. In season 1, we didn't even know how many cylons there were, so they really could be anyone. Also, Billy wasn't dead yet (Billy > Tory), Lee actually smiles every so often, and Roslin (and everyone else) didn't hate Baltar's guts yet.

6) Seasons 4!!! Battlestar Galactica on Friday and Doctor Who on Saturday! Best TV week ever? Quite possibly. (And is "Seasons 4" not the most awkward plural ever?)