Thursday, March 31, 2005
Last night Crystal sponsored a Mary Kay party for a friend of hers who sells the junk. I know all the under-handed sales techniques and was consequently disaffected from the exclamations of awe and wonderment by the other group members as we sampled things. I am resistant to the maleficent persuasive arts. So I bought the following:
vanilla-coloured eye shadow goopThe girl (name of Karen) unabashedly raped me for the first three items; I did feel comfortable paying seven dollars for the face cream, though. The zit scars from junior high and high school please me none too much, and the stuff will probably work.
rose eyelid powder
ivory liquid foundation
acne blemish cream
Tomorrow I must help the honors society sell credit cards as part of a fundraiser. I more than suspect this project will be a massive failure, only in part because out of the approximate three hundred club members, only twenty-two volunteered to participate (thirty are the base required by the card company).
Considering students' (we must sell only on campus) understandable reluctance to fill out a credit card application, I believe I shall attempt a more brazen sales approach than I would naturally or normally use otherwise. If I must do this, I might as well entertain myself. With the application I am giving away free t-shirts (which are probably horrendous, but I have not yet seen them); I suppose I could tie the extras to my body, run around screaming, "Free t-shirts!", then shove an application in people's faces... it could work. I also intend somehow to integrate guilt and fear tactics; those have historically proven successful in other applications.
The little girl who came up with the idea mentioned the minimum number of successful applications (id est, cards activated and having at least one purchase) each person needs is fifteen. Hah! She ought to count herself lucky if we make fifteen total.
I am not pessimistic in the slightest.
[Lauree Frances Keith concluded this diatribe at 11:51 AM]
In And Around The Lake
Tuesday, March 29, 2005
I received an invitation to apply as a summer tutor for students with disabilities. After training it would only take about seven hours per week at most from my time, with relatively decent pay for an on-campus job. Plus, the experience should be helpful later when I teach in group settings. Ausgezeichnet.
On a completely unrelated note, this is Amy (at left) and me (the one with two chins and a chubby face) a few days before leaving the dorms for winter break. Amy wore a scarf because the weather in our room was bleary.
After completing German homework, I shall journey forthward on a fat walk. Then I ought to read As I Lay Dying before bedtime. Sometimes all the fun I have is just too much to handle.
[Lauree Frances Keith concluded this diatribe at 6:50 PM]
Detour To The Computer Lab
Monday, March 28, 2005
I could not sleep (the clowns would have eaten me), and left the dorm cum headphones for a walk, but the air being currently several degrees colder and windier than it was earlier, I sidestepped instead into the other dorm to sit in its computer lab. I brought my treasured Yes.
Rachel and I went on a frozen custard run as we waited for my photographs to develop. She teased me because I told her I thought James (the guy in the photograph below) was good-looking. The little boy's name is Zeke; he is cuter than James. Nevertheless, I was grateful someone came along to take Zeke away. If I played with James (he's a community advisor on one of the floors in my building), there wouldn't be anyone for me to return him to. I pointed this out to Rachel, but instead of agreeing with my logic, she laughed at me. Lots of people do that.
On the same roll I had a picture of James taken during a WAL*MART run last summer. Rachel looked at it and said, 'Oh, he's kind of cute.' Then 'twas my turn to laugh at her (after choking on my vomit).
"Cute" is not anywhere among the first thousand adjectives I think of when viewing this.
[Lauree Frances Keith concluded this diatribe at 3:37 AM]
Hoppin' Along The Bunny Trail
Saturday, March 26, 2005
My residence hall sponsored a little egg hunt program for some kids from community houses. Fewer kids appeared than volunteers, so I did little else besides play cards with one of the older ones. Some other people took the eggs (hundreds) to the field behind the building and spread them out over the entire length of it. Then the munchkins simply ran out and raced through the field, with the guy in the bunny suit running with them and pointing out individual eggs, as though surprised to find that particular one among the others in plain sight.
All the eggscitement left me too eggshausted to read or do homework. If I do not find Rachel to drive me somewhere to have my photographs developed, I shall nap.
[Lauree Frances Keith concluded this diatribe at 1:37 PM]
Modernity Creeped Out People Everywhere
Friday, March 25, 2005
Fur mich ist heute kein Feiertag, obwohl Karfreitag ist. I awoke at six-fifteen as usual to attend terminology at eight. In ancient technology we viewed a documentary about the reconstruction at the Athenian port (Pithenae, I believe) of a trireme; the inexperienced volunteer oarsmen, amusingly, kept smacking each other's oars, and consequently mobilized the ship very little until after they had practiced a few days. Everyone wore short shorts, placing the film as having been produced in the early nineties, which made me grateful once again to have lived through that period as a small child rather than a teenager or an adult.
The undergraduate advisor sat in during our German class, presumably to observe Eike and Brian; she also at the conclusion of class announced she and Eike would be teaching the next levels of German during the summer. Das ist sehr gut; ich liebe Eike. I ought to schedule an appointment with the advisor via e-mail sometime next week in order to discuss my plans for either a minor or major (depending on what the history advisor tells me about those major or minor requirements). I would be concentrating in the advanced courses translating literature, particularly since I must do so later as part of my master's exams.
Latin and English were relatively nondescript; in Latin the instructor reviewed the homework few people completed, and in English the professor lectured on As I Lay Dying, a novel about which I feel ambivalent at the moment. I both like and am irritated with the stream-of-conscious writing style, disliking partly because it sometimes obstructs my comprehension of the action. Most of the imagery is either biblical or alludes to T. S. Eliot's The Wastelands, which, of course, I have not read. If the library remains open this weekend, I shall look it up there or try to find an accurate text online. I must also seek out the prologue to Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales as part of an extra-credit derivatives assignment for the terminology class.
Otherwise, this weekend I shall probably do nothing exciting, or many things unexciting.
[Lauree Frances Keith concluded this diatribe at 1:45 PM]
But Then I Looked At Him And Wished...
Thursday, March 24, 2005
Last night Rachel took me around the circuit room, where I looked ridiculous trying to determine how the machines worked. I did not appreciate the mirrors. We then journeyed to another room, where Rachel sat on a bike and I did some elliptical machine-thingy for about twenty minutes. Then she jogged and I hoofed it back to the dorm for some sleep. Amy and Robert were watching TV, but I told them I felt sick, so they left. I didn't exactly mean to drive them out, but I certainly didn't try to halt them as they vanished, either.
[Lauree Frances Keith concluded this diatribe at 7:42 AM]
Too Much Chinese
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
I sampled many items at the Chinese buffet last night; none were "weird", precisely, but the quantity and combination apparently did not bode well with my usually solid stomach. I've confided to Donna before that I should like to have hers, but she stubbornly refuses to relinquish it.
I made a new friend, who expressed concern that I have been bowling only once and who will probably shanghai me into going with her and her friends tomorrow. If possible, I might sleep instead.
[Lauree Frances Keith concluded this diatribe at 11:39 AM]
A Little Nonsense
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
The state of Missouri issued me a sixty-six dollar tax refund. That ought to negate the amount I accidentally spent on Amazon books last month. The two I actually ordered with the gift card arrived yesterday, when the office aid finally got around to sliding the package slip into my mail slot, but a final book from an independent seller has yet to come in, so I suppose I must look into contacting him before the end of the month.
Last night I remained awake until midnight constructing German flashcards from the beginning of the semester. I might finish half of the remainder tonight after attending a chapter meeting at some Chinese buffet. Rachel and I were going to jog and workout, but my legs are still stiff, so I might bail.
I awoke early this morning to study Latin participial endings, but I officially postponed it again until after German. The adrenaline ought to be good for cognition.
[Lauree Frances Keith concluded this diatribe at 6:55 AM]
Remember What Happened In 1929?
Monday, March 21, 2005
This morning my breath still tasted of Applebee's Sante Fe chicken salad (specifically, the onions), then it tasted of a Slim Fast cappuccino-flavoured drink. I could not decide which was worse.
Today the bookstore opened again, which meant I could finally purchase flashcards for my German vocabulary. If I prepare now for German and Latin, I ought to have time the week before final exams to cram knowledge from my other classes. My bracketed system cannot fail.
In German we spent thirty-five minutes discussing the Deutsche Mark. For the first ten minutes, though, we asked each other questions (auf Deutsch) about our spring break activities. I told my group I remained in town and made hundreds of Latin flashcards over a period of three days. Das macht Spass.
I expect the last three of my books to have arrived over the break, but the people at the office are waiting until the last minute possible to disburse the mail. I cannot stand this sort of torment. I am depressed, after all; the slightest disturbance could send me over the edge, and if I don't get my books, I might have to set fire to the building. Well, perhaps that sort of behavior is more "psychopathic", in which case, I will have been erroneously diagnosed.
[Lauree Frances Keith concluded this diatribe at 10:55 AM]
Do Not Poke With Sharp Objects
Sunday, March 20, 2005
Last night with Rachel (a girl who lives on my floor) I partook of recreational jogging for the very first time in my existence, for the distance of a little over a half mile. I wasn't tired, but my side cramped and I had to walk it out. Tonight we went again, and I almost attained a mile, so tomorrow evening I ought to make the whole mile without quitting. Rachel promised she will work out with me at the recreation center for at least an hour before we run, which I am certain will be thrilling.
With Rachel at the mall this afternoon I bought a girl outfit, consisting of a denim skirt, open-toed strappy shoes, a t-shirt reading, "I Love Carbs", and a necklace. I didn't damage my bank account too much with this particular splurge. Rachel purchased a fantastic amount of miscellaneous items in addition to the junk she returned with yesterday. But it is her money, and she saves plenty on the side as well.
But the next time I accompany Rachel on one of these trips, I believe I shall leave the debit card in my dorm room.
[Lauree Frances Keith concluded this diatribe at 8:56 PM]
Master Debator
Saturday, March 19, 2005
Suit people came for the debate tournament, which perhaps indicates the food court will be open. I would like a sandwich.
Two weeks later, The Father sent an e-mail requesting my password so he could access the incomplete FAFSA I saved... and here, I thought the worst of him, when he was merely inconsiderate.
Ahh... I do love the darkness.
[Lauree Frances Keith concluded this diatribe at 12:06 PM]
Hide Your Head In The Sand
Friday, March 18, 2005
The template by Xiaoxiu irritated my eyes; I prefer darkness. But I did learn how to apply the marquee setting and I gained the Javascript code for displaying date and time. The navigation links on the picture are quite old and require alteration, but everything else ought to be semi-up-to-date again.
Beginning April eleventh I may register for summer and fall classes. I already have the fall schedule:
Beginning Course in Greek I MWF 10:00-10:50 a.m.Sometimes I wonder what my life might be like, had I one.
Latin Reading: The Aeneid MWF 11:00-11:50 a.m.
Ancient Civilization I MWF 12:00-12:50 p.m.
Second Course in German II MWF 1:00-1:50 p.m.
Weight Training TR 8:00-8:50 a.m.
Ancient Greek Philosophy TR 11:00-12:20 p.m.
Latin Composition TR 3:30-4:50 p.m.
[Lauree Frances Keith concluded this diatribe at 3:42 PM]
Onamae wa nan desu ka
Thursday, March 17, 2005
Semper ubi sub ubi is my least-favorite Latin phrase. One I do like is vae te- "woe to you". I reflected on this as I copied flashcards yesterday. I have not yet finished, either, and I also want to complete the workbook exercises beginning with the twelfth chapter. This I shall continue after I seek out lunch victuals.
I am sorry to miss Louis' seppuku.
[Lauree Frances Keith concluded this diatribe at 9:56 AM]
I Hate Women
Wednesday, March 16, 2005
Yesterday it flurried from before sunrise until after sunset. I therefore spent the entire day in my room copying Latin vocabulary into a notebook; then, beginning around ten-thirty that evening, I transferred the information to flashcards. I have not yet concluded the project, but the blank-flashcard stockpile has diminished substantially enough that I had to abandon the cave in order to requisition more. Tomorrow I need to start the German flashcards, which could foreseeably take another two days.
The Father never responded to the last e-mail I sent requesting FAFSA information; he apparently has decided to ignore me for the rest of my life, because I don't want his wife to do my laundry. If I do not file a FAFSA, I am ineligible for any Stafford money, obviously, but I could also be disqualified from the need-based scholarship to which I applied this semester. When the financial aid office opens again next week, I need to speak to someone about this particular situation- surely there is some appeals process enabling me to be considered independent, even without having held the same job for two years or paying rent.
I cannot fathom why The Father is being so selfish. I still don't understand what I have done that is so horrible and unforgivable that he would intentionally make my life more difficult. The whole affair is ridiculous.
Flashcards. I am going now to make flashcards.
[Lauree Frances Keith concluded this diatribe at 9:03 AM]
Warm Milk And Laxatives
Monday, March 14, 2005
I saw a beacon before the early-morning light- it drew me, though I should not have answered its summons. IHOP stood alone as a destination for my insomniatic wanderings. The nice waitress lady upsold me on everything; I brought a box full of Colorado omelette back to the dorm. Then I visited the little girls' room for about ten minutes.
Last night I made significant headway through The Weimar Republic, which I suspect I shall conclude tonight after beginning to copy the Latin vocabulary. Tomorrow I need to create flashcards for Unit II and the beginning of Unit Three for German class.
But first, I must nap.
[Lauree Frances Keith concluded this diatribe at 6:32 AM]
All For Naught
Saturday, March 12, 2005
I need cash to wash my laundry, so I walked to the bank, which is supposedly open until noon. I arrived at 11:30 to find it closed.
I do not like the bank.
After that strenuous exertion, I believe I shall hobble dormward for a nap. Then I shall read The Weimar Republic and start sewing a picture I ripped off one t-shirt onto a new, different-colored t-shirt.
Ich habe Hunger.
[Lauree Frances Keith concluded this diatribe at 10:04 AM]
The Wastelands
Friday, March 11, 2005
Searching BlogSkins for a few hours, I found a complete antithesis to the template previously utilized. It is too feminine, and I doubt I shall keep it long, but it is for now hilarious.
Most people vanished already for spring breakage; the campus is a ghost town, which I rather like. I weary of seeing the same exact people every single day, especially when each of them is exactly like another. Most people here are very nice- I have few complaints- but painfully bland. The few friends I have made and I are lost in a sea of happy vacuity.
This evening I went to the ice cream joint (the only one in town, to my knowledge), having felt my perpetual misery with more than usual acuteness, and afterward took my selection (apple pie, es schmeckt mir gut) across the street to apply for a server position at a bar/grill place. The bar was busy, so I slowly worked on the ice cream as I waited, with The Weimar Republic I had also brought along sitting on the counter. A couple of [older] men approached as they left, asking,
"Hey- what's the Weimar Republic? It sounded familiar, and we've been trying to figure it out."I explained how I happened to have the book on me and its contents, after which one of them laughed, pointed at me and my BYOICECREAM, and shouted,
"We have a winner!"I then considered either dashing across the street for more ice cream or putting in a beer request with the bar tender, who probably thought the same of me as the two friendly gentlemen I had just met.
But I like my little book, and I like ice cream. They do not laugh at me.
[Lauree Frances Keith concluded this diatribe at 8:31 PM]
Everything I Like To Do
Over spring break I believe I shall change this template to another copied from elsewhere. I prefer links listed to the side rather than above the regular content.
Yesterday between German and Latin I interviewed for a summer job as a community advisor, a conference assistant, or a student (office) assistant. The two ladies asking the questions seemed satisfied with my responses. One of them, before officially beginning, reviewed my application and told me, 'I just have to say- this is beautiful handwriting!' I replied with something to the extent of, 'Aww... shucks...' but thought Good- this means you'll hire me then, right? I need the free room and board.
I am reading The Weimar Republic, translated from a German historian's original. It mentioned in the preface something about "Spartacists", and rather than look them up, I asked Eike today during German who the Spartacists were. After explaining, he added he's read this particular author (Detlev J. K. Peukert) and the book ought to be sehr gut. Considering my scant prior knowledge of German history, I agree with this opinion based on what I've read thus far- the author presents material straightforwardly and stipulates those contexts which he chooses to present cursorily (id est, the stuff I need to research elsewhere).
[Lauree Frances Keith concluded this diatribe at 12:40 PM]
He Who Saves The Life Of One...
Wednesday, March 09, 2005
I donated blood at the library this afternoon. The shirt I received reads, "Today I donated blood. I saved a life!" Below that I am going to write, "Bitch". Since I saved "the world entire", I decided I never have to do anything good ever again, so I skipped all my classes. I felt liberated.
I e-mailed The Father Friday, because I needed certain information out of him for filing the FAFSA. He didn't respond over the weekend, so Monday I e-mailed him at his work address to see if he had gotten the one I sent to their home:
Father:This morning he sent this:
Did you receive the e-mail I sent Friday to -----@pdq.net? I would
appreciate that information before midweek. Also, you may need to find your
FAFSA PIN to electronically sign the application.
-your child
Lauree,I replied to this angrily, but I did refrain from correcting his grammar mistakes:
You will get a much faster response from us if you would just find it
possible to do two things:
1. Email us at home. I was not at work these last two days. Despite what you are insinuating, I receive every email you send to OUR home email address. I also, just in case it still hasn't sunk in, send every email from this address home so we can have it saved on our home computer.
2. If you want something from US, ask nicely. I know some words like "...could you please forward to me...", "...I would be grateful if...", and "...thankyou for the info..." are not normally in your vocabulary; but using them would go a long way for you to get things that you want in a timely manner.
-your father
btw...since, by your signature, you feel it is necessary to remind me that
you are my child; by my signature, I feel it is necessary to remind you
that I am your father.
Father:
The first e-mail I sent was admittedly more brusque and impolite than usual, though I did add "Danke schon" at the end. You know full well what "danke schon" means! I figured that would do- I typed it hurriedly because I had to go to work soon and I worried I would forget later. Friday I sent it to your home address, as you have requested I do. I know you and Terri check that e-mail regularly, and when I had received no response by Monday I worried you hadn't received it somehow, thusly I e-mailed you at work. I didn't "insinuate" anything- we have enough communication difficulties as it is, so please try to read my few correspondences calmly. I certainly don't TRY to write anything upsetting. I'm not "demanding" that you e-mail me immediately- I know you have other things to do and that it requires time, especially when I request information (such as tax stuff) you might not have even gathered yet- but if you think something might take more than a day or two, just e-mail me back to let me know. I'm patient, and I can wait, it's simply the not-knowing that makes me a little anxious.
Second, when you feel I have injured or insulted you in some way, insulting me back does not serve you well. If you do desire I take a respectful tone of voice when I address you, then make yourself worthy again of my respect, of which I granted you a tremendous amount my entire life because you then did deserve it. You rarely displayed this sort of meanness when I was a child, and it still shocks me more than a little that you are even capable of doing so, though I suppose everyone is. Behaving basely when I am rude merely emphasizes that you don't want to move forward.
Also, when I write letters to you, I am writing them to YOU, not YOU ALL. I understand quite well that Terri [Hi!] reviews and apparently critiques everything I write, but I do not write them for her. That I do not do so is not supposed to indicate anything against her; I'm not being exclusive, but I do still consider my e-mails, phone calls, etc. to be private ones to you, which you choose to share with her regardless of my wishes.
Something you both seem to have been ignorant of from the day you married is that Terri is not my mother, nor is she my legal guardian- you married the month before I turned nineteen! You've been married barely a year. You took me into your new home and expected me to regard Terri as an authority figure, but the simple fact of the matter is that she isn't. That means nothing negative, and it does not mean I could not have come to view her with more affection. I liked Terri immediately, but you both expected me to behave as though I had known her my entire life. I like Terri genuinely, but she does have her limits with me, and I, in turn, have limits with regard to her. Not once in her/your/but not my house did I ever raise my voice or talk back to her, no matter how upset or wronged I felt. I cannot yell and stomp my feet at anyone to whom I am not intimately related.
You told me to go to her, for instance, when I needed to make payments and deposits for school- I felt extremely uncomfortable asking a woman I had barely met to write checks for my schooling; asking YOU for money is discomfiting enough. I didn't appreciate being put in that position, but when I told you that at the time, you shrugged me off, saying Terri was in charge of financial stuff. That you share one account is perfectly reasonable, but how am I supposed to ask someone I don't know well to send money somewhere on my behalf, making her responsible? If Terri was the only person who had time to make online payments and such, why couldn't you have left her a note or something, instead of forcing me to do something you knew I felt awkward about? You accuse me of constantly making demands- even saying "please", I was still "telling" Terri I needed money, which is more of a commanding action.
Terri isn't my mom. I can't just walk up and say- "Hey, I need this..." She isn't obligated to me for anything, whether or not she is willing to be. Accepting anything from her- the rides every day to work, her doing my dishes every night, her doing my laundry, etc.- made me extremely nervous only partly because I knew I could never express my appreciation adequately enough. You both keep a mental account of what I owe for every resource I use- the too-long showers, the accelerated rate at which the bar soap disappears, long-distance phone calls lasting more than five or ten minutes, additional laundry loads, the extra food (tuna) you bought last summer, the money I have to someday in the future repay for the PLUS loan you took out- but no amount of "would-you-pleases" has seemed to dispel your resentment.
If you couldn't afford to pay for my college, you shouldn't have told me you would. If you minded paying higher utility bills, then you shouldn't have invited/forced me to live with you. If you feel I took these things for granted, perhaps you ought to consider I did so partly because you enabled me to.
In near conclusion (and I swear absolutely I AM NOT BEING SARCASTIC), could you please, with cherries on top, (all right- that might be sarcastic, but how could I resist?) send me the information I requested? If not, I would indeed appreciate your letting me know, so that I may figure out how many and how much in private loans I need to take out.
Also, bond money- negligible in the grand scheme of things, but perhaps I can get a computer or contribute to a down payment on a car- could you please provide specifics with how and when I might acquire that? And at the end of the semester I presume your company no longer covers my insurance- what, exactly, am I losing, and what do I then need to seek out? Will I need to provide past records when I apply for insurance? In addition, if I need "x" medical record for "y" reason, would you have that, or should I contact Dr. Gillick's office?
I thought I might include a Lauree Update, for good things have happened to me lately, but I am reluctant because I suspect you might not care. If you do, I would appreciate your indicating thus more than all of the above.
And thank-you for the reminder, but I do not require a reiteration of who my father is. On my wall is a Marx Brothers movie poster reproduced in tin. I listen to albums by Willie Nelson, the Rolling Stones, the Who, Eric Clapton Lynyrd Skynyrd, Janis Joplin, and Jethro Tull. I ask for "soda" or "soda pop", never "coke" (the graduate linguistics advisor I met with last semester thought I was from the midwest). I still have the college Latin textbook I stole from your closet in eighth grade. I am a declared double-major in Classics (history minor) and German (philosophy minor). Your third-grade picture is framed on a shelf and next to the photograph of me with my mother. The only sports I ever watch and am somewhat versed in are golf, baseball, basketball, and Nascar racing. I know what is written on Thomas Jefferson's gravestone. Morgan Freeman is probably my favorite contemporary actor. You wouldn't like some sixty percent of my college friends, because they are architect majors. I don't drink because I didn't grow up with alcohol in any context besides its association with barbecuing and occasional football-viewing. I enjoy reading quick novels about detective characters who must determine who keeps raping and mutilating attractive women for unfathomable (but usually occult) reasons, because you had a whole stack of such literature in your closet. Anyone in a wheelchair irritates me for reasons ineffable. These things and innumerable others I can never eradicate from my dorm room or from my being. I am proud of these things that have made me who I am.
You have a copy of my birth certificate, two or three boxes containing my high school letter jacket and European history notes, photographs in albums that are stored in boxes you never intend to reopen except to file the albums away elsewhere, a set of yellow towels, and an air mattress. You do not love me and you have never felt a moment of pride that I am yours- it is all quite evident by the fact that the moment I left your domicile you did not then frame the air mattress and nail it to your bedroom wall.
-The Daughter
[Lauree Frances Keith concluded this diatribe at 9:59 PM]
You Never Did Right By Me
Tuesday, March 08, 2005
Rebekah stood me up last night. I feel filthy and unloved. But all is well, for I did finish reading Siddhartha, like a good little egg. I giggled reading the parts where the main character looked into the river and described it as "definitely laughing" at him. I can relate- I do not doubt any river would mock me if I peered into it.
During the hour break between Deutsch and Latein I must study intensely for Latin, from which I played hooky yesterday and Friday. For Friday the instructor stipulated we would be quizzed over the exact same material we were quizzed over Thursday. Attending class that day would have wasted my time. Over the weekend I was supposed to have translated a passage for review Monday, but as I never translated the passage, I did not bother making an appearance yesterday, either. Today I suspect he will quiz over something from the next chapter and finish translating the passage, so I need to read the chapter and attempt the latter half of the passage.
Only three more days of this school nonsense before spring break, which I shall think of as a period of uninterrupted slumber.
[Lauree Frances Keith concluded this diatribe at 7:32 AM]
Expensive Real Estate
Monday, March 07, 2005
'Twould appear my recent online book purchases require the augmentation of more books ordered through Amazon to use up the Borders gift card. Three of the four books I bought came from "outside sellers", which means those were charged to my Visa; the one charged to the gift card only cost about twenty-two dollars, granting me a remainder of twenty-eight. This balance I applied to acquisition of the following (both by Paul Cartledge): Kosmos : Essays in Order, Conflict and Community in Classical Athens and The Cambridge Illustrated History of Ancient Greece. As a "you are a sucker for spending this much at once" bonus, I qualified for FREE Super Saver Shipping! I shall add "Super Saver" to my list of titles.
I signed up as a volunteer for some community Easter egg hunt held March 26th, but only because I want candy and hard-boiled eggs, of which I expect there to be an abundant supply. I shall also pad the volunteer portion of my resume with a couple of events through the honours society.
This Thursday the Classical Society finally has another meeting, at which I suspect we will discuss revolt against current club leadership, who apparently know nothing about event organization. Our faculty sponsor is sufficiently dissatisfied and requested that Rebecca (a girl in my ancient technology class) and I formulate plans and ideas for hosting a film series beginning next year. If enough people stick around during the summer, I might mention at this meeting we test run a few movies over the summer sessions; then I and the other participants may show everyone else how to proceed most efficiently (not that showing a movie on campus is rocket science, but it can and has been botched, to my experience) when fall commences. We also need to promote the sponsored lectures better, because the few the club has had went unknown to me every time until the day before. No one even bothered typing minimalist fliers to post around the language building, at which I, as former Treasurer to the St. Louis Community College at Meramec Advertising Club, was appalled.
Sometime this evening, after I conclude some online research and read Siddhartha for English class, Rebekah and I shall attend another campus-hosted music concert. The one last night featured a flutist and a pianist performing six compositions with an "Across the World" theme- one was French, another English, another Irish, the last Chinese, one American, and one German. I liked the Aaron Copland and the Chinese pieces best- the others had good moments, but with "zone out" periods. The German wrote something the flute performer described as similar to the Tom and Jerry theme, and it did not disappoint in that regard. I know nothing of tonight's musician(s); Rebekah is to call me with details.
[Lauree Frances Keith concluded this diatribe at 12:44 PM]
How Many Licks...
Sunday, March 06, 2005
Friday I wandered around the mall purchasing various items I should not have:
hair straightenerOther than this recent, insane binge, I should not spend money on anything except the fall enrollment deposit, my textbooks for the summer sessions, and my textbooks for the fall. For the last two I might acquire a private loan and also use that for a computer.
workout pants (slightly baggy)
workout bra (need my boobs be saggy?)
burgundy/tan running shoes
a purplish shirt
a peachish brasierre
Rebekah and I made plans to attend a music concert (flute and piano) tomorrow afternoon, after I teach her to play Oh, Heck! (a card game). I played card games in Missouri constantly, and this opportunity I anticipate greatly. After everyone returns from spring break I intend to gather more people some weekend to teach them to play Shang Hai, which no one outside my mother's family, apparently, has heard of. Shang Hai usually lasts longer than an hour, but it is spectacular fun, especially when I am winning.
[Lauree Frances Keith concluded this diatribe at 12:46 AM]
Hoplomachia
Friday, March 04, 2005
This picture, three years old, is the only online photograph I have with myself in it.
I must journey to the mall in a moment for workout pants.
[Lauree Frances Keith concluded this diatribe at 11:05 AM]
M. Underwood
Thursday, March 03, 2005
My school posted summer and fall schedules; I already wrote down the classes I ought to take. I need two courses in German, one in Latin, one in Greek, and hopefully the ancient Greek civilization and ancient Greek philosophy courses. I will also take some breed of gym, hopefully either softball or swimming.
I thus far have successfully avoided studying for tomorrow's German exam, but I must tear myself away soon. Over the weekend my Latin conjugations require review- I confuse some of the perfect tenses when translating. Cutting the Thursday work shift has proven most beneficial; the intense stress has subsided.
[Lauree Frances Keith concluded this diatribe at 2:27 PM]
A Giant Leap For Fat-Kind
Wednesday, March 02, 2005
Last night after work I studied for the Latin vocabulary quiz I was to take today. Then I went to the student recreation center, for the very first time; upon discovering the weight room packed with gym rats, I found a free cross ramp and pedaled for twenty minutes. I could have continued, but I worried I might overextend my muscles, especially as I do not know how to cool down properly. But this morning I felt fine- I must already work those parts of my leg walking around campus. After I read for German and Latin, I shall journey to Work-Out Land again.
In the mail yesterday I did receive the first of the four books I ordered; it chronicles the false historical origin in the discovery of a statue of the snake goddess. Today Amy got the mail and placed a sticky-note to my copy of Archaeology:
Lauree, you are a supreme nerd.It is adorable how she believes she hurts my feelings.
Love, Amy
Skipping Terminology, Ancient Technology, and German, I instead continued reading the article in the library book I checked out the other day. It discusses Greek warfare during the fifth and sixth centuries BC, focusing especially on hoplites. The author includes helpful footnotes of books for reference, some of which I now intend to utilize. I am ecstatic to take the Greek history course next semester.
My English professor granted a grade of one hundred percent to the essay I wrote comparing Monkey to Frankenstein. I had considered it fairly well-written and comprehensive of the question posed, but I applied less effort than I could and should have; I am pleasantly pleased with the result, however. Unfortunately the only further English courses I might take involve linguistics, and those only if I find time. The history classes ought to be writing-intensive, though- that ought to suffice.
[Lauree Frances Keith concluded this diatribe at 5:29 PM]
Wok 'N' Roll
Tuesday, March 01, 2005
In a moment I shall check to determine if my books have arrived. If they have, I shall play with them. If they have not, I shall study Latin, in which I have fallen slightly behind.
Last night I began reading a brand-new library book- I am the very first person ever to check it out. Unfortunately, there is no space inside the cover for me to sign my name for posterity; the little girl behind the desk simply stamped "March 2005". But I shall always know.
[Lauree Frances Keith concluded this diatribe at 6:15 PM]