Monthly Archives

August 2006

Thank you, Penn State…

ARoB, News by

While I was browsing The Collegian Magazine today, I noticed an article about how the rising cost of tuition is going to negatively affect students this year. It seems the increased cost of going to school here is going to hurt party supply purchases. Woe is the student body at large. Nevermind the minority of students that actually have to pay for school on their own and for all of their living expenses. I guess I had a pretty non-typical college experience, so can someone please explain to me when going to college shifted away from ‘now I’m an adult’ to ‘childhood’s last hoorah’ and why?

Maybe I’m just jaded, but this diversion from growing up that has become being a student is really not helping anyone.

Book quote no. 2…

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“In general I remember thinking how modern and snappy Europe appeared in photos: lively tinkling geometric buildings sprouting like crystals from the tedious stone drabness below. Europe seemed like a place where the future was advancing more rapidly than in Lancaster, and I love the future, so that was that. Funward ho.”

Shampoo Planet, pp. 96

In short, I’m going to Iceland next year…

ARoB, Music by

We live on a mountain
Right at the top
There’s a beautiful view
From the top of the mountain
Every morning I walk towards the edge
And throw little things off
Like:
Car-parts, bottles and cutlery
Or whatever I find lying around

It’s become a habit
A way
To start the day

I go through all this
Before you wake up
So I can feel happier
To be safe up here with you

It’s real early morning
No-one is awake
I’m back at my cliff
Still throwing things off
I listen to the sounds they make
On their way down
I follow them with my eyes til they crash
Imagine what my body would sound like
Slamming against those rocks

When it lands
Will my eyes
Be closed or open?

I go through all this
Before you wake up
So I can feel happier
To be safe up here with you

“Hyper-ballad” by Björk

Constructivism…

Art, Cars by

So, over my weekend that’s just now drawing to a close, I built Tigg this cat tower/scratching post/dangly thing. I used a jigsaw, sandpaper, a file, staple gun and drill! *très butch* It was actually a lot of fun putting this monstrosity together. Dragging it up to the third floor actually wasn’t. See the base that looks like a chunk of moon rock? 30 lbs of concrete…

Also this weekend:

Visited with Hoover on Thursday night and helped talk him down from an unemployment-induced ledge. Quite a nice time and kept me occupied since my entire family didn’t arrive home until midnight or so. On Friday I spent my morning delousing the VeeDub and then went to Clarion with mi hermana to get handy type things at Trader Ho. Then, my aunt and grandmamas arrived for a trip into the woods. We had dinner at Trail’s End (made it, even though no one in my car could navigate) and then watched Hannah dance in Fame.

Today, I worked on the biggest cat toy ever and generally relaxed with my mom while watching my dad do varied insane-seeming ‘chores.’ We watched from the pool, I might add, while Ebby paddled about on her raft.

Now I’m exhausted. Just once I’d like to return to my place with less stuff than follows me home. JUST. ONCE.

Book quote no. 1…

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I’m reading the most remarkable book right now. Its title: Shampoo Planet. Its author: Douglas Coupland. I’m only 35 scant pages in and already I’ve come across more fantastic words in excellent sequence than I would ever have expected. A fine example from the thirty-fifth page:

“Imagine you are sitting down in a chair and on a screen before you you are shown a bloody, ripping film of yourself undergoing surgery. The surgery saved your life. It was pivotal in making you you. But you don’t remember it. Or do you? Do we understand the events that make us who we are? Do we ever understand the factors that made us do the things we do?”

And I continue on, deeper into the novel. I’ll report back when I find more profundity.

In the tradition of Amélie…

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Since I just watched Amélie for like the thousandth time over the weekend, I’ve decided to make a list of little, odd things that I really enjoy (much like cracking crème brûlée with a spoon):

  • the sound a cup makes on a saucer when walking to/from the kitchen
  • cracking my ankles after a long day of trudging around campus
  • emptying the vacuum collection chamber
  • the smell of a green house on a very hot day

And yours are?

Tigger Photo: 003

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She’s only been here for twelve hours and already she’s disaffected.

Tigger Photo: 002

General Entertainment by

A casual turn from the camera is really a chance to show off her jewelry.

7491: Code for New Image?

Art, Cars by

7491

And there you have it: a brand new image created by me. I’ve mixed a ton of different elements from my own photo collections, dabblings in Illustrator and bits borrowed from Deviant Art, specifically user Scully_7491. If you like it, you can download it from My Portfolio or directly by clicking here. [edit: pulled second link]