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Thursday, August 31, 2006

Tomorrow Is A Harsh Mistress

It's 12:22am and I have to get up in less than six hours and Agassi just will NOT put this match away. I can't stand it! Baghdatis is cramping and in obvious pain and the crowd is booing him (so not cool) and still, AGASSI PLEASE WIN!!!!!!


DOUBLE FAULT!? I'm too tired for this.


*****UPDATE WITH POSSIBLE SPOILERS*****


Yay, I can go to sleep now, FINALLY! (I can't help but feel badly for the other guy in these awesome 5 set matches.)

Big Things

Whenever I take those personality type tests where they ask "Are you detail-orientated or do you like the know the big picture?" I NEVER know how to answer. I have always had a problem with only being able to pick one because I don't understand not being interested in both.


I realized why I love conducting so much. Tonight I was working on my plans for tomorrow's classes and was looking over the exercise's score to see what new notes would be involved. It hit me how exciting it is to have every single part to the piece in my hands. Even in the orchestra I play in, I will buy the scores to the pieces we prepare. I go home and listen to it while following along in my own score, making marks for some future time when I'm called upon to conduct the piece;) But isn't that liking the details AND the big picture? How can both not be of equal importance.

Or, for example, when I used to be on the swim team. I was OBSESSED with the meet sheets that gave everyone's time and place. Hello, details, but I also had to know where I fit in overall...um, Big Picture, right? HOW DO THE TWO NOT GO HAND IN HAND????!!!!!


When I started this blog I initially was going to talk about my love of conducting. But as I waited for the page to load it hit me, "Wait a second, Scarlet, maybe this means you're detail orientated" and then I thought, "No, wait, wouldn't that be the big picture?" and by then I was thoroughly confused and off-subject so I went with it.

Wednesday, August 30, 2006

In The Arms Of Sleep

I think I need a hug.

In the 'I'm really tired both physically and emotionally and just need to collapse in someone's arms' type of way. I've had three extremely long and stressful days this week with one more to go until it's Friday. And oh how glorious the weekend will be with Monday off as well. I'm quite excited.

Work is okay. It's extremely challenging and I spend much of my day trying to stay on top of things and remembering names. I won't say much more for fear some google-happy student decides to look me up.

UMW school is okay, too. So far I have had Foundations of American Education (?) and Middle/Secondary Curriculum (??), neither of which got out incredibly early which has come to be expected on the first day. Maybe one day I will teach at a university and I give my word that the first class will be, "Here's your syllabus, bye!" Noone wants to be there on the first day. Hell, I don't want to be there any day. I have another class tomorrow night and then the weekend to try to decide if I'm keeping all three or dropping one.

But back to needing a hug. I guess maybe I don't want to scare people by greeting them hello and collapsing in their arms, haha. What an image.

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Hot For Teacher

I haven't ventured out of my classroom too much so far as I like to spend my planning period trying to memorize names and my lunch break eating and getting ready for the last 3 classes of the day. But the other teachers I have seen so far seem to have mastered the art of looking like a teacher. Comfortable, flats with a lot of elastic, long, flowy skirts that do nothing for one's figure and seem to find a "waist" up near the boobs. Earrings made to look like apples and rulers. And while it is too warm now for such fine additions to fashion, I am certain I will encounter a few applique sweaters at work, too.

I so far have completely avoided looking like a teacher, but I fear that it is mostly due to my inability to look much older than 25. My current theory is that with applique comes authority and that this is the secret to teaching. All classroom management issues can be solved by an applique sweater and once a teacher finally gives in and wears one, her class is attentive and ready to learn.

Men don't count. They don't wear applique and they don't need to because their voices are deep and they're tall. Deep voices and height also seem to do magical things where children and behavior are involved. Men have these booming voices that travel across entire cafeterias and get students to behave.

Or maybe I need to have a baby. There also seems to be something about mothers that just exudes "Don't mess with me." Oooh, and then I'd get to take maternity leave!


XO,
SVR

Monday, August 28, 2006

Superman

This match is going to make me cry. Whether Agassi comes out the winner and moves on in the tournament, or the loser and says goodbye to professional tennis, I am so going to get misty countless times tonight. Oh and nevermind that I have to get up at 545am and have another long day ahead of me*, I am with this match until the end.

Tennis is on my list of things I get way too into along with Gilmore Girls, Friends, Scotland, Smashing Pumpkins, and Connecticut so just excuse me while I totally geek out for the next two weeks while the US Open is on.

Allright, the match is about to start. Over and out!


GO ANDRE AGASSI!


***UPDATE***OK, Almost the end of the 2nd set, but I might have to go to sleep. I'm not only tired, but my neck hurts and I want that to stop and sleep will do it.




*More on my first day later, ok?

Sunday, August 27, 2006

Understanding In A Car Crash

It was just a fender bender...I feel the need to clarify since I used that song for my title. What qualifies it to "rear-ended", though?

If it wasn't obvious already, I got rear-ended tonight when the woman behind me thought I had pulled out, but I most definitely had not. I can't imagine being in a worse accident because this was scary enough. In that split second it was incredibly loud and I was so confused as to what happened. Everything in my car flew. Backwards AND forwards somehow. CDs were everywhere. The change in my "emergency coffee" drawer flew out. My headband came off of my head.

Then we had to exchange information. Quite difficult to have good penmanship while shaking.

If I understood anything about cars I would tell you how my car is. The bumper is not happy, but the rest of it is fine. I'm VERY proud of my Elantra for staying strong. I've heard those horror stories about cars that just crumple when another car even looks at them so I was glad to see my car hold up to the impact.

My worry-happy self though is pushing away the "Am I dizzy?" and "Does my head hurt?" thoughts. Tomorrow's a big day and I've got bigger things to think about...like setting my three alarms for 545am!

Friday, August 25, 2006

MIA

Today is my last day in an office job for what I hope is the rest of my life. Monday I start my new job at the school teaching middle school band. The gig goes until November and then I'll either continue subbing or will magically find another long-term placement or, better yet, real position.

While I am very excited for the start of the school year...ok, wait, that's such a lie. I will never ever ever be excited for a school year to start. Monday not only brings my new job, but it is also the start of another semester of grad school at UMW. To say I'll be busy is the understatement of the year. So what does all of this mean for you guys? It means I'll probably be MIA on the internet from 7am until 3pm everyday AT LEAST. I know, I know, how will your statcounters survive without my hits!? How will you make it through the day without my comments and blogs? I won't lie that it's not going to be tough.

There's no way I'm going to blog less. If there's one thing I'm sure of it is that when faced with either doing schoolwork or getting online and blogging...I'm going to choose blogging 9 times out of 10 with the 10th time only being bc I'm not near a computer.

Another idea I had was for you all just to imagine I've moved to another time zone which would explain the lateness of my reading, commenting, and writing.

I'm going to miss you all, Day Bloggers. I really am;) But I'll be back! Teachers get summers off, suckers!


XO,
SVR

Thursday, August 24, 2006

Speed Read

I admit it. I haven't finished my reading assignment! Bookclub is tomorrow night and after sleeping and working tonight and tomorrow, I have roughly 9 hours to finish Straight Up & Dirty. Clearly nine hours is enough time to finish the 120 pages I have left, but is it likely for my to hit 'publish' on this blog and then hit the books? Not very likely. How often in high school did I finish a book? Hmmm, maybe once or twice.* Once I have to finish a book or assignment, I find anything else to do.

But I'll get it done or, as way too many people around here say, "get 'r' done!"**

For the rest of you, though! Do no worry if you haven't read the book or even heard of the book. Come join us at the Fairfax Barnes and Noble tomorrow night. Email me for more information and seriously, if you haven't read it, don't worry about it. The subject matter is such that we'll probably stray from the book anyway and we might be speaking with the other via technology so you won't want to miss this.

See you all tomorrow night!!!




*School books, people. If you tell me to read a boring book then I'm not likely to do it. I love to read, but on my time and by my choice. I'm just clarifying that I do read. There's not enough time in school to finish books;) Why would I waste my time reading Flannery O'Connor who makes me want to be illiterate and To Kill A Mockingburd the three times it was forced upon me? No thanks. I'll stick to what I like: science, math and music.
**I just threw up in my mouth a little.

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

The Sound Of Settling

"He/She's set in her ways" is one of my favorite things to hear. It's the nice way of calling someone obstinate and/or crazy. I also find it fascinating to realize how other people do things and how they are different than my own ways. Sometimes when I watch someone do something in some strange way, all I can think is how insane they are and that their parents obviously messed up when raising them. Usually, though, I remind myself that we are shaped by many different things and there are various ways to do anything and our preferences are just that-not the absolute, it's just what we prefer over something else.

For instance, the other day I said to Serena how it's a pet peeve of mine when Starbucks hands out their long straws for a short drink. In my opinion, those long straws are worthless and if it's give to me, I try to find scissors to cut it. Serena commented how she actually prefers the longer straws. For a split second I was convinced she was raised on the moon, but quickly realized that liking the mile-long straw over the appropriately sized one isn't conclusive evidence.

I'm a big fan of Wawa type stores including Sheetz and Eastcoast* and almost always** stop there to fill my car up with gasoline. So when I'm with someone else and they go to some random, rinky-dink place? I don't get it. I'm left sitting there wondering we aren't at the mecca of all convenience stores: Wawa. It can make sense not to go there, though, since they are often crowded. To each their own, eh?

What else? Oh! Haha, this one was funny. Last year I invited some friends to go to The OC with me and at one point it was me, Ali, Vanessa, Serena, and Allie. (Saying we're all different would be the underestimate of the year.) Anyway, at one point, Allie said how she really wanted Dairy Queen ice cream and how she loves it there. Now, I'm a big DQ fan myself, especially since my town FINALLY got one, but Ali and I just looked at each other, flabbergasted. Since we can remember we ALWAYS get our beach ice cream from Dumser's Dairyland. Going somewhere else would be sacrilegious. It would be like getting boardwalk fries from somewhere other than Thrashers! It would be like going South on 495 on the way there-you just DON'T do it! It's what I've done every year of my life. The behavior is ingrained in me.

A guy I work with*** was telling me about how when he and his wife were first married they fought over the stupidest things: rolling vs. squeezing the toothpaste, folding vs. scrunching socks for the drawer. Surprisingly, the toothpaste tube roller is NOT the sock folder. I know, I know...weird! Anyway, it definitely got me thinking to someday having to mesh my 'ways' with someone else's. To be honest, I hope they don't think I'm crazy and can love me more for my quirky ways and idiosyncrasies.


*Hey, it's where you mom would stop!
**When my gas light comes on, I'll stop anywhere!
***Two more days people, two more days!

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Century After Century

Yesterday, after doing a little* googling of Scottish surnames, I started trying to find the evidence of my lineage on my dad's side. I know it's there because my grandfather spent a lot of time tracing back in order to get him and my dad into the Sons of the American Revolution. In 9th grade, we had to do our big "I Search" project where we researched something and gave a big report on it. I, being ever so resoursceful, chose to "research" my genealogy with a focus on my dad's side. Yes, that's right, the research was already done for me and all I had to do was keep a log of my "progress." I'm so proud of little 9th grade me, getting away with doing as little work possible and getting a kick ass grade for the "obvious" dedication I had to trace my family back to their coming here from Scotland in the mid-1700s. And really, if you think about it? How would a 15 year old with no internet (this was 1995, folks, I didn't even have a word processor then!) access have such success to trace her roots that far back? Anyway...

I was excited yesterday to be reminded, though, of all of the things I had learned about my dad's side of the family. I even found my dad's name on his chapter's SAR registry. That really made me giggle since my dad, bless his heart, is the least computer savvy person ever and there he is, with his name on the internet. I also found my granpap's cemetery online which is a little morbid, but since it's been almost 15 years since he died, it's not that weird. That's his second wife on the tombstone. I never met her and also never met my dad's mom because she died when he was about 12, I think. I don't like to think about that too much, though, because my way too senstive side will make me sad. I really want to be unorthodox and pass on my family name to at least one of my kids. I don't like the thought of the Roses ending at me and my sister just because we're chicks.

OK, but enough with the depressing stuff. So William Pringle is the dude that came over here from Scotland and got busy making babies that 6 generations later led to the gorgeous being that is SVR. I'm not sure when the Rose name popped in there, but I've seen some evidence that that part is Scottish, as well. I know my mom's side is from Wales and I've always liked to assume there is a bit Russian and Greek in there, too, just for fun and to explain my random love for all things Russian and my dark hair and (sometimes) olive-y skin**.



*A LOT
**Not as much now that I am holed up in an office all day.

Monday, August 21, 2006

Sexyback

Ever since the top four danced to Justin Timberlake's "Sexyback" on So You Think You Can Dance? and had the fashion theme going on, I equate the two. Sexyback=Fashion

August is prime fashion time for me as the September issues of the magazines really kick into their reporting on what is "in" for the Fall and I get super excited about wearing layers and jeans and scarves. I love the change from late summer to fall when the mornings and nights have that chill in the air and I can break out my jean jacket that will never go out of style. Jeans, long-sleeved shirts, and flip flops-what could be better than that?*

The following are the distinct trends that have emerged from the magazines and fashion world for the fall. While my income/budget does not allow me to yet overall my wardrobe in anticipation, I do still get excited for the new seasons.

1. Red. Red is not the new black as black will never be replaced in my opinion, but I am ecstatic that one of my favorite colors has emerged yet again for the fall.

2. Tartan/Plaid. If I really wanted to embrace my psychotic self and Scottish ancestry, I would find the appropriate tartan...but I'm going to resist being psychotic. Besides, I have too many Scottish readers who may call me out on my delusions. I think I am going to try to find a plaid-type scarf, I think that would be cute.

3. Chains. No more big beads, although that's a trend I never took part of because it's hard for me to spend a lot of money on accessories.

4. Layers. Isn't this always in style when the weather gets colder? I love layering and do it year-round.

5. Mini skirts. A tough one to do if you have a job requiring more modest clothes and/or don't want to do the leggings/thick tights thing.


OK, that's about all. Anything else is really something I don't really see myself participating in. I can't do the platform heels (tooooo talllll! and I have to stand all day), leopard prints are a maybe, but only in accessories, I think, no skinny jeans and probably no huge, wide-legged pants. And, of course, there are other trends emerging for the fall, but I just wanted to cover the basics. The easy basics.


Happy Shopping!





*OK, ok. Jeans, boots, cashmere sweaters, coats and scarves would be better, but we're still a few months away from that so I'm trying to be positive here.

Sunday, August 20, 2006

What's Left Of Me

Props to Nick Lachey for pointing out the elephant in the room at the Teen Choice Awards when he won for love song of the year with "What's Left Of Me." How weird to have the awards show hosted by your ex-wife and her new (hott) beau and then win for love song of the year with your post-divorce song.



I'm watching to see KFed, okay?


UPDATE:

I can't resist commenting on a few other things:

1. HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL SUCKS SO MUCH HOW CAN ANYONE LIKE IT!!!???? And beating out Gilmore Girls? I'm disappointed in the youth of today. I even tried to watch HSM and found it so dreadful I turned it off after just a few moments.

2. Would a Veronica Mars fan explain to me why you like this show so much? I think i can't get pas the fact that Kristin Bell is like 25 and playing a high schooler. (Don't bring up Dawson's Creek or Andrea Zuckerman, please.)

3. Why wasn't Johnny Depp in the audience? Do you think he showed up just to accept those last two awards and then left right away? I can't blame him. It was kind of odd, though. And did you notice how even the hot tub girls, who for previous awards had continued hot tubbing, even looked around at him.

4. Ashley Olsen and Snoop Dogg. Awesome!!

5. I love Britney Spears. Anyone who brought me "I'm A Slave 4 U" and "Oops, I Did It Again" can do no wrong in my eyes.

6. KFed- OK, I think it had a really good start with the piano bit and the other dudes doing their thing. I couldn't help but think, "Vanilla Ice?" and felt like there needed to be more sound behind his voice as it got kind of bare at times. I can't be a KFed Hater, though. There are enough of them out there.

7. Dane Cook=hott!

Friday, August 18, 2006

Try Telling That To My Baby

Apparently I'm 12.

So two women in the past month have gone on maternity leave here at my office and one was scheduled to have a C-section today. To make the story shorter, she will be having the baby naturally because it "dropped on it's own." You know, the "head was 'here' and now it's 'here'."* I have no idea what this baby terminology means, but have to keep playing along because apparently, as a female, I am supposed to know these things. Nevermind that I have never had a baby nor have any of my close friends or family members in the past few years. My baby knowledge comes from 40+ undergraduate biology credits where I was never taught about things like baby dropping and dilating**, but can tell you about meiosis and mitosis and a whole heck of a lot of the biology of cancer if you're interested. Oh, and bugs. I know a lot about entomology.

OK, I am seriously digressing. The point is, I don't know all of the day-to-day type things about pregnancy, childbirth, and babies, but you know what? That's ok since I've NEVER HAD A BABY. People act like I'm stupid when I don't know. I assure you, I am not stupid. Immature sometimes? Maybe, but stupid? Oh no...Moving on:

So baby talk is in the air here and with that comes babymaking talk. But not in the, "You will not believe what I did in the backseat of a '89 Buick Le Sabre last night!" variety and more of the "My husband and I..." spice where the word "s-e-x" is never used. Stuff like, "We're not trying not to have one" and "When we used to take measures to not get pregnant" which is just a nice way to say "We bone." It makes me giggle***, though, because really what these people are telling me is about their sex lives just in a really nice and not graphic way. It amuses me how, as soon as it's "babymaking" and not "s-e-x," it's appropriate for the workplace. "Dilating," though is still a word we need to replace with something MUCH nicer, and so far I haven't heard the word "episiotomy" used and if I do, I'm quitting. Oh wait, I ALREADY DID!!!!!!



*If I were telling you this in person I would first point to the side of my stomach and then point to a more vertical position, but wait, you know what? Let's use a diagram for this. I don't want to be the model.
**Yes, duh, I know about dilating, but what I honestly didn't know was that women walk around like that! Like, for days. I thought that stuff all happened in the hospital. Yikes!
***Inwardly. I'm not that bad.

Thursday, August 17, 2006

Last Dance

So I'm a little late with my So You Think You Can Dance? update from the finale, but I worked from 8am until midnight last night and couldn't imagine staying up even later last night. Anyway, woe is me...here we go, "live"-blogging style because I'm too tired to form paragraphs:

+ Recap-borrrrrrrrring! Donyelle always sounds like she's on something. Like, downers or something. Sorry, Donyelle, but I think you should have given up more personality before. Unless I'm mistaken, I've never been a big Donyelle fan...sorry Cindy and Serena.

+ Ooooh, Top 20! A dance by a group this big ends up looking like those Cheerleading competitions they show on ESPN2 on Saturdays. And I get super annoyed when they aren't synchronized. Ha, It also kind of reminds me of West Side Story, and as much as I love WWS, I can't take it anything seriously that reminds me of the Sharks and Jets.

+ OK, Show advertising...don't care. Norwegian SYTYCD? Moving on...(The beauty of Tivo)

+ Benji's favorite- The mambo with Heidi. Duh! They've danced together 4 eva, of course it's going to be good. This dance is hot, no question. They do get a teeny bit off beat, but it's so fast, who can blame them and it's not like it's to be judged anyway.

+ Heidi and Travis dance their contemporary Mia Michaels routine which I LOVE! And hmmmmm, CELINE DION's song "Calling You", go figure;) Ugh, giving me goosebumps again. GORGEOUS!

+ Mary gives a little gossip about sparks "off the floor"-REOW! With Natalie and Dmitri! OK, They're dancing, yet I can't stop watching his hips... Wow, great dance! That was fun and made me ok that Natalie made it as far as she did. And he's Russian (aka hott).

+ I hate Ciara because I always say her name incorrectly. And she's obviously lip syncing. Although, it sounds crappy so maybe not. OK, get your hair out of your face. Maybe it's there to conceal the fact that she's also the main Pussycat Doll. FAST FORWARDING!

+ Donyelle's favorite and she* chooses her Broadway routine with Benji. The horrible yellow dress is back. This routine is perfect for Benji, but I do not love it for Donyelle. Oh, her hair fell out of the ponytail, bust.

+ Mia introduces Ivan and Alison who will be dancing their totally smokin' contemporary dance to "Why" by Annie Lennox. Wow, Mia wants to bone Ivan now. OK, I kind of want to bone him now after rewatching it. This is the most (excuse the cheesy word) magical dance, I love it so much.

+ Top 20 Cheerleaders Dancers. "Romalama Bang Bang" zombie routine. I think this one is sooooooo great. Everyone gets into character so well that it loses the cheesy feel and is just HOTT.

+ Heidi- I love her. I know a lot of people don't, but I think she's just great. JOAN JETT! Great song choice and hott dress. Bouncy splits are scary. Yabbo!** So weird and anticlimatic when they say she didn't win.

+ Travis dances the Pasa Doble with Heidi as his favorite. The camera angles suck so far and make it look boring. Ummm, it was good and exciting with awesome music, but seemed off. I guess it doesn't matter since it's just exhibition.

+ "I'm Free" by Amber is what Donyelle dances solo to and it's boring me like most of the solos do. And seriously, could one of them please end their solo by NOT doing that weird body wave thing? And also, Cat Deely's "Sorry it's not you" is so weird when compared to how she usually delivers the bad news. As a side note, I wonder why Donyelle had given up dancing.

+ Brian picks Travis and Martha to dance to "Steam Heat" by the Pointer Sisters. Travis is so good! I can't believe he doesn't win. Martha is good in this routine, too, but her bra-top scares me. VETO!

+ Why does Benji cry so much? Who knows! Benji dances something different for his solo which is refreshing. His trademark is obviously that slide thing, but props to him for having a normal ending!

+ Travis solo, biatch! He's one of the few who seems to THINK about his solo music and tries to phrase and hit beats. YUCK WHY DOES HE DO THE WEIRD ENDING!?

+ Fergie. I hate her, but won't deny this song is catchy, even though she is trying to sound exactly like Missy Elliot! And her tartan pants are awesome as well as the UK additions at the end:) I don't get this song, will someone explain it to me? I'm being dead serious.

+ Top 10 doing Broadway. Oh yeah, I watched this last night. I love this song and musical and think they did a good job. When I saw Chicago in NYC, I was exhausted and sort of out of it and didn't really "get" a lot of the musical until I saw the movie version. I was just so tired I couldn't use my imagination for a lot of parts.

+ Dan's highlight is Travis and Benji's Geek Routine which was a good one except for the weird lifts. And the song is called "Gyrate"...I HATE the pelvic thrusts, make it stop.

+ OK, The winner is Benji, we all know that by now. Even though I wanted Travis to win, it's one of those situations where just being in the finals is great because of the exposure. I read today that Benji might pass the Celine Dion gig on to someone else. (I would, too.)


SO sorry that was insanely long!!!!!!!!!



*With producer input? Hehe
**This is sooooooo long already, SURRRRI!

A Long Line Of Cars

Dear Northern VA (and DC for good measure) Drivers:

PLEASE LEARN HOW TO MERGE!

The next time I am stuck in merging traffic at 12:30am when I need to BE at work in less than 8 hours and am still 45 minutes from home, I am not going to be as nice as I was last night. I was the definition of a perfect driver* while in traffic in hopes of being the catalyst to get things moving smoothly. The way I see it, most merging problems can be deduced to one thing: improper following distance.

1. Leaving more than enough room between you and the car in front of you will reduce the likelihood of fender benders (which, of course, cause even more backups!) I keep, on average, 2-3 car lengths between myself and the vehicle in front of me and never have to slam on my brakes to avoid hitting someone. Yes, there are times I am closer to the next car, but that is usually when going a whopping 0mph.

2. By leaving a larger space in between you and the next car, lanes can merge more easily. Nothing angers me more than a line of cars at the end of a lane with their blinkers on and noone letting them in. Yes, they should have merged earlier, but let's give them the benefit of the doubt that they lack brain cells and just let them in the moving lanes of traffic.

3. Just.Let.The.Trucks.Merge. I know they're big and long and you can't see what's going on when they are in front of you, but they need to merge, too. And oftentimes, because their pickup speed is so slow, they are good for creating those gaps for you to slip over into when merging.

4. When you know it's three lanes merging into one and you've been sitting there for over 30 minutes in the middle of the night, please, for the love of Pete, take advantage of gaps in the traffic. For the life of me I can not understand why people will not take advantage of an obvious spaces I have left for them in the moving lanes.

5. Do not drive on the side of the road to escape the traffic unless you are a) giving birth, b) bleeding profusely, or c) going to run out of gas (I only add that one in because it's something I would be likely to do...but I still wouldn't BREAK THE LAW and drive on the shoulder.) Notice that I did not include "riding a motorcycle." Harley riders, stay in line. People who drive on the shoulders to escape traffic will either be caught by cops or Satan. Plus, every law-abiding driver hates you.

5. And most importantly, do not be in denial about having to merge. If the sign says, "Lanes Closed, Merge Right," they aren't joking and you need to, you know, MERGE TO THE RIGHT! Last night I was convinced some cars were being driven by cattle as the only thing that got them to alter their direction were bright orange cones literally forcing them into the next lane. Personally, I am smarter than a cow and do not need to be "herded" into the next lane. I did so myself soon after seeing the dreaded "Merge" sign.




*Except for checking my email on my phone, but hey, when you're going 0mph, I think it's ok.

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Public Service Announcement

I just got back from the orientation for my new job. I didn't expect it to be exciting and fun, but since it meant I didn't have to come to work this morning, I at least had some high hopes for it. And if anything, I figured it would give me time to do some of my reading I've got lined up before school starts on the 28th.

Oh, but I was wrong. Apparently, I was in the "What if..." section of hell for orientation.

"What if my email address changes...do I call you or change it in the system myself?"

"What if the teacher doesn't leave me the attendance roster?"

"What if there are snakes in the classroom and i can't say "There are snakes in the motherfucking classroom!?"

"What if I go out of town one night, will the automated system still call me?"

"What if I am too stupid to lead a classroom because I can't problem-solve or think quickly when needed? Oh and I also can't multi-task."

"What if my cousin is in the school? I know you said not to hug students, but can I hug my cousin?"

Seriously, I thought my head was going to explode. Who are these people who get into a large group setting and think it's appropriate to ask their inane questions that either concern noone but themselves, or are the type of questions that merely require a few brain cells to figure out on their own. I actually had some valid questions yet I chose to keep my yap shut once the orientation went THIRTY minutes over the scheduled time. I hate those "What if"ers. They ruin it for the rest of us.

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Blister In The Sun

Ways I Felt Old While On Vacation At The Beach:

+ I felt sick after riding two rides at the boardwalk.

+ I kept craving salad and wanted to add it to meals like pizza and cheesesteaks so I would get my daily vegetable requirement.

+ I found myself checking out the rides for safety and thinking things like, "They're testing it? That can't be good. Maybe we should wait!"

+ I yelled, "I'M TOO OLD FOR THIS!" while hanging almost upside down on said ride.

+ I couldn't stay awake in the hotel room when it was dark and took a few naps.

+ I got unsweetened iced tea at lunch on Sunday.

+ I backed in to all parking spots for easier exiting.

+ I got burned even though I wore 30spf sunblock on the beach.

+ I said "AW!" about 14593035 times at cute kids on the beach.

+ I resisted using the AmEx while in the GAP outlet.




Ways I Kept My "Youth" While On Vacation At The Beach:

+ Liquid Black Eyeliner

+ Ali and I dug holes in the sand to sit in sparking the second greatest line of the weekend:

"Who are the smartest people on the beach!?"
"People who brought chairs?"
"OK, Who are the second smartest people on the beach!?"
"US FOR DIGGING HOLES TO SIT IN LIKE RECLINERS!"



+ cut off jean skirt

+ Resisting salad craving at Grotto and the Greene Turtle.

+ I ate Thrashers fries after feeling naseous from the ride.

+ Riding the "Freak Out" which went insanely high in the air WHILE spinning. Yabbo!

+ Mirror Maze.

+ I watched the Laguna Beach marathon whenever in the room (and not asleep.)

+ I was unable to get up at 6am to see the sunrise. That's 26 years in a row I have been unable to do this.

+ I said "AUF WEIDERSEHEN!" 543954354543543543.7 times along with my variations of "AUF LEMON ZING!" and "AUF FARFENGEHEN!"

Monday, August 14, 2006

Burning In The Sun

The beach was fun! And for the moment, I will sum it up in the following words:



Auf wiedersehen!!!!

Thursday, August 10, 2006

Ocean City Girl

People sometimes wrinkle their nose when I say I’m going to The O.C. and they realize I mean Maryland and not Orange County*. To them it’s a trashy destination where the street number is inversely proportional to the number of STDs that are likely, but to me it’s 26 years of memories and traditions, summers, Thanksgivings, and New Years. High school beach week, day trips with Vanessa, and even going there vicariously with Ali to see Ashley Parker Angel earlier this summer.

I love it there because I know it. No ketchup at Thrashers and don’t be intimidated by a long line-they ARE worth it. Breakfast at Dumser’s where some adorable exchange student waiter will call us “ladies” and not think twice when we order milkshakes at breakfast. Avoiding eye contact with the key chain photographers on the beach who are always freakishly tan, but often incredibly hott. The shark at the end (beginning?) of the boardwalk and, of course, the rides that are still fun, even when we’re both adults.


Some things have changed, though. The little boardwalk trolley no longer runs the same and last year, I finally rode the damn thing when overcrowding during the 4th of July left us parked at the Convention Center. Last year, when some teenager asked me to buy beer, I realized that somehow I am now old. This was quite a shock, but one I am getting used to quickly since I can now enjoy the “after hours” parts of the city. (Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been able to enjoy the 21+ places for 5 years now.)

Ali and I are heading out at 4am tomorrow for a whirlwind long weekend of The OC-ness. We’re both super excited and have it planned so we get every tradition in and even a few new ones. I hope to come back with stories, boos!

XO,
SVR

I'd Rather Dance With You

I was up incredibly late last night watching So You Think You Can Dance? after closing at Barnes and Noble. Let's just say that I've got a line up of coffee, sugar free Red Bull and water set up to get me through the day. I'm glad I watched SYTYCD, though, it was a good show with, again, awesome choreography. Now, a recap:

Heidi and Travis
Shake your Groove Thing
Peaches and Herb


Decent. Disco is not my favorite style, but it's at least better than the quickstep and slow waltz. I think the outfits are the best part of this dance style.



Donyelle and Benji
I'll Be
Edwin McCain


Vienniese Waltz-snore! I don't think it's fair to give one couple upbeat disco and the other the Vietnamese Waltz. Everytime a couple does a waltz-like dance, I can only picture cotillion ballroom dance lessons and a room filled with preteen boys and girls who stay on opposite sides of the room.



Heidi - solo
Rie y Llora
Celia Cruz


Arriba! I want to know what is on the bottom of their shoes that makes them not slip. Heidi's hips and legs move incredibly fast and when she's not moving them at light speed, she's making some crazy facial expression to distract us from it. And I think she really wants us to know she's flexible.



Benji and Travis

Gyrate
Da Muzicianz feat. Mr. Colliark


Is "Tranji" a little too close to "Transvestite" for anyone else? And I get that guys can dance together and it not be weird, but to hold one up with his crotch in the other's face? That just seemed a bit weird to me. The hip-hop routine was hot, though, and I think it was smart to have them 'play' nerdy characters. Whenever these guys do hip-hop and try to act all tough it just comes off as comical. This time, at least the comedy was on purpose.



Donyelle - solo
Human
Dione Farris

I don't really like Donyelle. I think she should have been kicked out before Allison. That said, I think she finally did a decent solo routine and then FINALLY spoke to the audience with her "it's amazing" line. It's like she knows she's going to lose. I think she should have given more personality in these last few weeks of the show.



Travis - solo
Konstantine
Something Corporate


Obviously the most technical dancer there. That spin where he bent his leg and kept it centered was amazing in my opinion. I wish he was taller, but that's just a preference. And I think he finally lived up to his spikey hair.



Donyelle and Heidi
Big Spendor
Sweet Charity (Original Broadway Cast)


I agreed with the judges, when they finished I was like, "That's it?" I liked the choreography, I just think there needed to be MORE of them. Stage presence or something. And I found it distracting that Heidi had low-rise pants and Donyelle had on a form of 1990 mom pants. What was up with that? Those pants made her ass look enormous.



Benji - solo

The House is Rockin'
The Brian Setzer Orchestra


If solos were the test for the winner, I think Benji would win. He's a showmen and the audience eats it up! And I'm glad Brian Setzer is getting some royalties from his song being used. I didn't think anyone liked him. Oooops!



Donyelle and Travis
Georgia on my Mind
Ray Charles

I liked this routine A LOT, but was worried the whole time that Travis was going to choke and die on that damn straw in his mouth. And the ending with Donyelle taking it out of his mouth did nothing for me and made the prop unnecessary in my opinion. And Donyelle's pants again! WHY!?



Heidi and Benji

La Comay
Sonora Carrusetes


1. The split spin was amazing and 2. That hold Heidi did at the end equaled abs o' steel! Am I correct that Benji and Heidi won the West Coast Swing Contest together? That seems unfair to me. Oh well, I like them both enough that it's ok.



Top 4
Sexy Back
Justin Timberlake

Dancing? What dancing? I was too excited for the Mr. JT song! I kid, I'm a kidder. The dancing was AMAZING yet I disagree that Travis was the standout, I thought Heidi stood out the most, but maybe it was those fur boots. Wade Robson is still my boo and I have NO idea who is going to win. I can say I do NOT think it will be Donyelle. Sorry, girl.



Thoughts!?

Wednesday, August 09, 2006

Cool For School

I feel like the elephant crushing me has been lifted and the butterflies plotting against my stomach have taken flight somewhere else.

I GOT THE JOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



As of August 28th, you will have to call me Ms. Rose because I am going to be a long-term sub for a middle school band, BOOOOOYAAAAA!!!!!!



Now, for anyone thinking, "OMG, middle school band?!", be excited because this is just what I need!


XO,
SVR

Brace Yourself

I am usually pretty good at not thinking about things. I can totally put something out of my mind and not let it make me sad, or nervous, or anxious, or afraid. I remember on Alias once when Sydney said how she compartmentalized of feelings and thoughts and I remember thinking, "Oh my Gosh! I should be a spy!" (haha)

But when there is something on my mind, and it escapes into the free-thinking area, I get this horrible, immediate feeling of dread and nerves. It's like if all of the butterflies were put into a balloon and then it was popped. I would say there are four big things looming in my thoughts right now, compartmentalized, but trying to escape. One is repeatedly reentering my thoughts and giving me the hated, intensely nervous feeling. I am hoping for it to be alleviated soon and then I'll either have something new to worry about, or a different, but okay, kind of nervousness going on.


I'll keep you posted.

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Some Song

Ali and I are headed to The O.C. wicked early Friday morning and have commenced our list making:
-Food to bring and restaurants to visit (most are for tradition reasons)
-Places to go
And most importantly, and what I will share today:
-CDs to make

So far we've got:

All-Time Favorite Songs*, Current Favorite Songs, Songs To Dance To, and Songs We Want The Other Person To Hear. I need help, though. I'm super distracted with things** going on, but want to show up at 4am*** Friday morning with kick-ass CDs! So, here are some ideas I have, and please give me song suggestions, thanks!

All-Time Favorite Songs:

I don't have my Top 100 Songs Of All-Time List with me, but here are some I will be including: Disarm-Smashing Pumpkins, Everlong-Foo Fighters, Say It Ain't So- Weezer, Another Morning Stoner- Trail of Dead, Don't Cry- Guns and Roses, Quit- Hey Mercedes, We Looked Like Giants-Death Cab For Cutie, Paint It Black- The Rolling Stones, Across The Universe- The Beatles, The Shy Retirer- Arab Strap, etc.



Current Favorite Songs:

This is more difficult than I thought it would be, but so far I have: Buttons- Pussycat Dolls, She Says- Howie Day, Sheez Mine- Add N to (X),On The Bus Mall-The Decemberists, Friend Of The Night-Mogwai, something by Snow Patrol, something by Muse, etc.



Songs To Dance To:

Rock Your Body-Justin Timberlake, I'm A Slave 4 U-Britney Spears, I Turn My Camera On (remix)-Spoon, see, my mind's so distracted I can't think of dance songs! HELP!



Songs I Want Ali To Hear:

Definitely some Mogwai and Arab Strap she hasn't heard yet, Stone Sour:), some of those fun metal songs that are slow, Of Montreal, Camera Obscura, etc.




*She's agreed to not hold this against me at a later time. Otherwise I would never finish it for fear of leaving something off.
**Involving lack of paychecks, interviews, and my own one-tracked mind
***Yes, 4am. Ok, ok....4:30am.

Monday, August 07, 2006

SpeciaLIST

I decided yesterday, while at work, to buy a CD on my way home. I haven't purchased one in a long time, but after talking myself out of buying a tax-free, triple-pointed, desperately wanted iPod, I figured I deserved a little treat. The problem that quickly arose was deciding which CD to buy out of the gazillions that I need want. So, I did what I always do in these moments, I made a list.

It was amusing when later on in the day, my coworker got there and said, "What is that?" and I explained what I was doing and he just looked at me like I was crazy and said, "Hmmm, I remember finding another list you had made. You must be really organized or something." Not counting my car or floor of my room, I am organized. Like another term I coined (lazy overachiever), I'm a messy organizer. Making a database of every CD I own is high on my list of things to do, but it won't happen because I've got my CDs all over the place (car, room, work, etc.) I've got other examples, but before you have me committed for the list making, I present to you my "What CD Should I Buy Pro/Con List":

CAMERA OBSCURA:
+Scottish
+Different
-Girl Singer

MOGWAI:
+Scottish
+Awesome
-Can't Sing Along (most are instrumental)
-Not New

STONE SOUR:

+Corey Taylor
-Harder (as in, "RWAH RWAH!")
+Nostalgic
-Nostalgic (Seriously, if one thing can take me back in time and put me in a funk, it's music.)

THOM YORKE:

+Radiohead (<3)
+Experimental
-Experimental



My list, obviously, did not get too deep, but mostly because I knew the odds of someone seeing it were high. Once I made it to Best Buy, though, the decision was made for me. They didn't have Camera Obscura and only had the Mogwais albums I already have. So I got Thom Yorke and Stone Sour because when have I ever purchased just one CD at a time?!


XO,
SVR

Sunday, August 06, 2006

A Sunday

This weekend has been exhausting. Ok, I'm being a bit melodramatic, but I haven't gone out both nights AND worked both days in quite awhile and in my old age, that really takes it out of a girl.

Friday night i went to Auld Shabeen (sp?) to meet up with some college boos. I'm glad I went, but I do wish it had been quieter and not 4392 degrees*. Either the crowd that frequents that place has changed or the "cool" look has changed, because the look in the place was much more "indie" and a lot less "frat-boy preppy" like it used to be. I go back and forth on liking and hating that place.

Saturday I worked from 9-530 and then Serena and I went to Rio Grande to use some gift certificates she snatched from BN. That is where I had drinks 1, 2, and 3 of the night. I also ate a lot of food because it was free. Eventually it was time to meet up with the rest of the group at Coastel Flatts...aka Mojitoville. Um, I had 3. But one was purchased for me (thanks, boo.)

I was annoyed with myself because I have absolutely NO INTEREST in any guy who was there yet I kept being stupid and flirting or making "eyes". UGH! Yes, I do think a few of them are attractive, but HELLO, that's just an appreciation for good looking things. Would I make out with them? Probably**. At first I was embarassed because I was being stupid and loud and calling people hott. But then later I realized I had no reason to be embarassed because if that bothers the recipient, then they are the ones with the problem. I hadn't been in the "flirt" role in awhile so I was out of practice and also around some people who had never seen that. Anyway, I don't know why I'm talking about this here. Just some thoughts I had.

Today I worked 9-530 again and was exhausted. Now I'm at home willing the time to stop so I don't have to go to hell work tomorrow. BUT, I *might* have some awesome news soon:)



*I sound like an old woman.
**I would also probably regret it in the "I work with these people" way

Friday, August 04, 2006

Pictures At An Exhibition

OK, there's a photo contest I want to enter, but I need your help in choosing the shot! The theme is: MUSIC

Please choose A, B, C or D by commenting with your choice.

A) Ligature



B) Trail Of Dead



C) Hail, Geoff!



D) Techno



Alternative Votes That Will Be Accepted:

E) Scarlet, all are amazing.

F) Scarlet, I know nothing about photography, but you're really hott.

Alternative Votes Not Accepted:

G) All of those suck.

The Best

By Friday,I think people are either frantically finishing their work from the week or just ready to get through 'til quittin' time to begin their weekend. Usually I am of the latter and especially now with my crappy new job dynamic. So, to help with everyone's procrastination and slacking, I present to you:


Scarlet's Winners Of The Internet For Time Passing And Enjoyment!*




My Fotki- What? So what if I'm pimping my own photography site out and asking for comments. You may as well go visit my Flickr, too!



Radicalflower- Serena always has a funny word on what it's like to work in the city, have two jobs and not enough free time, and she always relates her Bridget Jones moments with a laugh.



Borrowing (and causing) T-R-O-U-B-L-E- This is where I go for my pop culture fix, but unlike Pink Is The New Blog or Best Week Ever, it isn't overwhelming with updates. And there's more to it than just pop culture, of course, you get Lala's awesome commentary on things like The Hills and 90210.



Dealing In Subterfuges- Always a guaranteed laugh or humorous insight into something. And I can always count on something new being there (although, no pressure). Even the comments crack me up here.



Greek Tragedy- Not only should you read her blog, but you should also read her book and then come to Barnes and Noble in Fairfax on August 25th at 8pm to discuss it.



That's all for now and, of course, these aren't all of my favorite blogs or the only good ones out there. I also love: Velvet, Tinapopo & Baby Jewels, Love & Haterade, and about a gazillion others, but if I don't stop now, I'm going to end up just listing my sidebar again.

Any sites you'd like to recommend??



*This is in no way an inclusive list, nor should I be held to this later when I change my mind.

Thursday, August 03, 2006

Duality

I have this weird music crush on Corey Taylor. And it's not a "He's hott!" thing because I've never seen him in person and most photos of him are with his Slipknot mask on.

(Yes, he's the singer of Slipknot. Yes, I have a music crush on the singer of Slipknot. Shut up.)

I actually kind of like Slipknot and own all of their albums. Again, shut up. My first CT song I heard was actually "Bother" by Stone Sour, recommended by a friend. I think, at the time, I really related to the "diaries left with cryptic entries" part as I was in my Blue Period of having no job and a lot of other stuff going on while in Richmond. I famously would make cryptic posts that said a lot, but you really coldn't tell. Fast forward a few years later and that same friend asked me to go to the Slipknot concert with him. I admit I was a little terrified. I've been to plenty of hardcore punk shows where people stepped on my head or jumped off of my shoulders, but those shows have a sort of group solidarity feel where you know that 99% of the people there are looking out for each other. It's 1% jackass who don't care if they kick someone in the face. I feared that a Slipknot show would be 99% jackass with the type of moshing that really is about hurting people. And yes, I also admit that the Skipknot masks scare me, too. Kind of in the same way that I can't finish Donnie Darko because the bunny scares the crap out of me. Same with It. No thanks!

I didn't end up going. That's actually another story that we will NOT get into, but I was disappointed I wouldn't get to hear Vermillion Pt. 2 live. LUCKILY, Vanessa and I already had plans to go to DC101's Kegs and Eggs where none other than COREY TAYLOR was scheduled to appear. If you've ever been to Kegs and Eggs you know that at the same time it's the most miserable time and the best time while you are there. Ass-early morning, long bathroom lines, expensive beer, and drunken fools, but I was going to get to see Corey Taylor UP CLOSE. So after Sum 41 played (Derrick Whibly is tiny!), we pushed our way up front and waited. And waited. And waited. And then we heard one of the other Slipknot band members on their being interviewed and saying that Corey Taylor was sick and would not be playing Kegs and Eggs.

I was beyond disappointed which then made me angry at my "friend" for being a total douchebag about the concert. So I still haven't seen him live and still want to. I have such a music crush on that voice!

XO,
SVR

P.S. And as Wikepdia reports, his wife's name is SCARLET(T)!

Wednesday, August 02, 2006

Some Incriminating Photographs

I love that I just tested out my new printer here at work by printing out pictures of Brad Pitt.




That body is SICK!

P.S. Printer working just fine!

I Decide

A public Pro/Con List:

Reasons To Take Three Classes This Fall:
+ to be finished asap
+ because I do not do things halfway (ok, I do, but I'm used to taking the maximum amount of classes possible)
+ because what if* I only take two and then am even more busy in the spring or something. Or if the spring class schedules don't work out at all?

Reasons Not To Take Three Classes This Fall:
+ Money (Both for tuition and that is less time I could potentially work at BN)
+ I already work 45 hours at my "real" job plus what will be as much as possible at Barnes and Noble (at least 8 hours a week, but up to 20 or so)
+ What if all three classes have tons of work and I end up burnt out and crying in a corner somewhere?


I am waiting to find out if a class I found at UVA-NOVA can be substituted for the one I have on Tuesday. Once I find that out, I can really move forward with my decisions. Too bad these decisions need to be made in like, a day.







*tsktsk

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

Viva Las Vegas

I had one of my awesome moments today where I said something before I really thought about it. I do that sometimes, usually when I'm tired or bored.

So a guy in the office (who may or may not be younger and not-ugly) says how he's going on vacation soon. (And this happened during the staff meeting, so everyone was there.) He joked he was going to get married which made us all laugh because he gives off that "player" persona. Anyway, I thought I heard him say Vegas so I exclaim:


"OH If you get married I will be SO jealous!"


Can you imagine how that could be mistaken?


Very quickly I said, "I mean, if you did the Vegas marriage thing. That came out wrong! I just meant that I've always said that if I go to Vegas I'm coming back married."



Luckily I realized that my best bet for avoiding any embarassment was to just stop talking. So I did.