To Do: (Ugh)

1. German exam (I didn't do so hot on the real exam, so now I have to do the in-class one)
2. Write 15-20 page paper for my Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, and Freud class
3. Write 20 page paper for Heraclitus and Parmenides
4. Grade papers
5. Pack and mail Christmas presents
6. Give Goose a bath

Hmmm...

Charlotte Bronte

I can't figure out how to do the 'e' so that her name is spelled correctly. In any case, I adore Charlotte Bronte. I think I could be happy reading and re-reading her books all my life. If I had to go live on a desert island and could only bring one book, I would bring either Jane Eyre or Villette. I adore Jane Austen as well, but there is a strange quality about Charlotte Bronte's writing that makes it more passionate and internal, more .... exciting somehow. You feel like you really are in the head of the person, especially in Villete. I was recently moved to re-read Jane Eyre (I think it was my third or fourth time) and I found myself just.... joyous to read it. Have you ever loved any book so much that you felt compelled to read it often, and when you did you reacted to everything occurring? If not, you have truly missed out on a singular, perplexing, and intriguing experience. If I have a soul, it positively SINGS when I read Jane Eyre and Villete. I realize this probably sounds incredibly nerdy and dorky and maybe even disturbing, but some of you will know what I mean. If you do know what I mean, and feel like commenting, what books have done that for you? It would be interesting to see what sorts of books have such an effect on other people.

Ack!!

So I'm very worried about my favorite show, Veronica Mars. It has never been the strongest show, ratings-wise. It is on the new network, The CW. The show is actually very good, and everyone that has watched it after I gave my recommendation has said, "This is actually much better than I thought it would be," and they continue to watch it! It comes on Tuesdays at 9:00 P.M. Eastern. I'm becoming increasingly worried because although Fox was showing House, M.D. (another show I watch) at 8:00 P.M. at the beginning of the season, after the World Series ended, they switched it to 9:00 P.M.. Which SUCKS. My poor fledgling show may not have a chance!! Do you know what the highest-rated show for that time-slot is right now?? DANCING WITH THE STARS!! What a STUPID STUPID situation. Veronica Mars is SO much better, and hardly anyone even knows it exists. I have a really bad feeling that it will be cancelled, and that will be so awful. It's my FAVORITE show. The characters are engaging and complex, and the writing is good!!! If you don't believe me, just check out an episode or two and you'll see!

Everything is dying.

First my fish. Now my car. My car is dying. The people at Midas said those words that every car-owner fears: transmission. And not just "transmission fluid." Rather, "the problem seems to be something in the transmission, and we will need to take it out to figure out exactly what it is." All I know from my very limited experience is that whenever you hear the word transmission, it means this: $$$$ + Completely dead car one year later. I did not authorize the operation for my car. Michael and I are fast coming to the conclusion that it would cost more to fix it than the car is actually worth....so now we are keeping our eyes open for deals on used cars and we have decided to limit the use of my car. I think I'm just going to start walking. Yeah. Walking five miles to school everyday. Unlike a car, which wears down with much exercise, my body will actually get better with exercise. So, yeah. That's what I should do. Bleh. No, I'm not serious. I'm just going to hitch a ride with Michael for a while.

Eh.

Well, I didn't update this when it happened, but the day after my last post, my fish died. I decided to make another post, because I am always troubled when my most recent posts are depressing. In any case, Phineas is dead and I do not have any plans as of yet to replace him.

I've been bad about wasting time lately (look at what I'm doing now, when I should be translating German, ick). I recently purchased the Sims 2 Pets expansion pack, and have been playing and playing. It is ridiculous. I have also been re-reading Jane Eyre. It is SUCH a good book. Every time I read it I cannot believe how good it is. It has been on my mind a lot lately, because the BBC did a four part miniseries of it recently, starring Toby Stephens as Mr. Rochester, and an unknown (I think her names is Ruth Wilson) as Jane Eyre. It was VERY good. I rewatched it with Tina this weekend, and we ate copious amounts of sweets and drank way too much tea. It was awesome.

Speaking of entertainment, do not waste your time seeing Marie Antoinette. I went to see it this last Friday with some of the women from the philosophy department, and we all deemed it a disappointment.

I am getting better. I finally went to the doctor about my lingering cough, and it is definitely clearing up with the medications I am taking. Hopefully I didn't damage my recovery this morning by going out with my hair wet (it was a bit cold), but I really hate it when I can't get a parking space in my little gravel lot that I have discovered. Well, I've rambled on enough for now, I really must get back to work.

My Dying Fish....

So...my fish is dying. For some weeks now, I have noticed that he is bloated, and he has been getting progressively worse over time. I have expected him to die any day, and today he is definitely showing signs of dying. He is not dead yet....his gills are still moving a little, and if you move the bowl, he will move around a little, but he is swimming erratically. I feel....bad for him. I thought he was pretty old for a betta, but there are differing numbers regarding their average lifespan. Either way, I think I've had him for about one and a half to two years....maybe a little less. It seems longer than that, but it really can't be. I feel bad....I probably didn't take the best care of him. I try to convince myself that he was already half a year to one year old when I got him (and thus lived about three years, one of the average lifespan numbers), but I still worry that I could have taken better care of him. In any case, it is too late now.

To Bike or Not to Bike....

I am out of my apathetic mood. Yay! I am seriously considering purchasing a bike. Michael thinks I won't ride it very much, and since I'm inclined to agree that such a thing is possible, I don't plan to spend all that much on one. I think I would ride a bike more than I would play an electric guitar, so that is something. Plus, one of my neighbors would like to purchase a bike and ride as well, and one of my friends already does own a bike and wants someone to ride with. So....this could work out!

I think riding a bike would be a good source of exercise, even if I didn't ride explicitly for exercise. It also seems like it would be more fun than walking. I need something like that, because I think I've gained five pounds and it depresses me. I don't want to buy new clothes unless they are smaller. I get very depressed going shopping for bigger clothes. As a result of this recent suspicion of weight gain, I feel the need to engage in fun sources of exercise (things where I am not constantly reminded of the fact that I am exercising). My neighbors don't have as much time to play tennis anymore (they both work at jobs that have cut out our time for tennis), and I'm not good enough to play with anyone else. But I can bike all by myself if need be. I don't know.

In another effort to lose those pesky five pounds, and possibly more, I keep reminding myself that I should eat to live, rather than live to eat. I find this is easier to do if I remind myself that there are lots of people who are starving...this makes me feel guilty, and I only eat enough to get full, which is much less than I normally eat (though I don't send money to those countries or anything, so I'm still being rather selfish). As an added impetus to eat not only less, but healthier, I remind myself that three of my grandparents contracted adult-onset diabetes from their poor eating habits.

Ah.

So. I have a sinus/allergy thing going on now. Yeah. Maybe I'm dying. Maybe I'm weak, and I'm being selected against. I don't know. All I know is that I'm really, really bored with the whole coughing and altered voice thing. I still don't want to go to a doctor, because....I just don't. I'm stubborn, and only use doctors for special occasions. Month-long colds don't count....yet.

Michael and I recently purchased some Halloween candy (we buy it twice in the month of October, once at the beginning of the month, and then again toward the middle), and we are enjoying it very much. I'm excited about carving a pumpkin, but I need to think of what I shall carve.....I want to do something complex and cool. It is one of the few artistic things that I still do (but only once a year). I never can bring myself to sketch anymore, or even to make my silly comic strips. I haven't sketched in....years. Slightly depressing, that fact.

I also still want to play guitar. I wonder if I would be any good at it? Maybe I'm not cool enough to play electric guitar. Maybe playing electric guitar would make me cool enough to play electric guitar? Maybe I'll join my neighbor's air guitar band in the meantime.

I guess I just feel....well, apathetic. About everything. I think I need vitamins. Or sleep. Or healthier food. Or exercise. I need something.

Who's She-Ra?

So my neighbor friend Lisa and I went to the new Halloween store by the Office Depot yesterday, because we love Halloween, and because Lisa was still working on her costume. She is going to be She-Ra. When we were at the cash register with a sword and blonde wig, this was the dialogue:

Lisa: If I worked here, I would ask everybody "What are you going to be?"
Cashier guy: So who are you going to be?
Lisa: I'm going to be She-Ra.
Cashier guy: Who's She-Ra?
{a stunned silence ensues for approximately ten seconds}
Lisa: {turns to Rachel} This guy just almost got himself punched!
Rachel: {laughing} He probably isn't old enough. {To cashier} How old are you, boy?
Cashier guy: {obviously surprised age is an issue, presumably because Lisa and Rachel are both young-looking and hot} Why? How old are you?
Lisa: Twenty-six!
Rachel: {still laughing} Twenty-four!
Cashier guy: Oh, I'm nineteen.
Lisa: {scornfully} Nineteen! Geez.
Cashier guy: So, She-Ra...?
Lisa: You know He-Man?
Rachel: She was his sister.
Lisa: {sounding indignant} She led a rebellion.

After this it gets pretty boring, but the guy claimed he would look it up on Wikipedia. Anyway, it was a humorous exchange, even though it makes one feel a bit old. Any of you people not know She-Ra? I suggest you visit the link, before you get punched.

Guitar Goddess....

Lately I have been feeling the need to play a musical instrument, and in fact, to learn a new musical instrument. That instrument is an electric guitar. I guess I need to rock out? I don't know. All I know is that I keep thinking about purchasing an electric guitar, but I won't let myself right now. For one thing, Michael and I are saving for a Wii (the new Nintendo console, coming out in November). Between that and Christmas, I think to purchase something like a guitar (even the fairly cheap starter-kit one I would want) right now would be ill-advised. Plus, as Michael correctly pointed out, between the Sims 2 Pets expansion pack coming out in October, the Wii, and of course, ever-looming schoolwork, I probably won't have time to learn to play guitar. He thinks I wouldn't play it as much as I think I would, and this time I'll have to concede that he's probably right. But I still want to PLAY!!! Do you people think I could rock out? Do you think I could learn to play, given my personality and responsibilities? If I still want one come spring, I'll probably buy one. Any advice on what to look for in an electric guitar? Anything?

Flippin' out

Since I rarely ever put on makeup and fix my hair, I thought I should take some pictures to commemorate such a rare event. Today I was successful in getting my hair to flip up at the ends!! I was so surprised that it actually worked, and that it actually STAYED that way all day! Anyway, here they are. Hopefully these show off the new highlights better too.

Offspring

Not the band, but rather, children. I was talking about children with one of my colleagues the other day, and though I have no plans to have children right now, I often think about what my children might look like or be like. Michael and I plan to have at least one child, barring any problems with our reproductive systems by the time we get around to making 'em. I usually picture us with a little boy....I don't know why. Anyway, in the course of our tv watching, Michael and I joke a lot about how such-and-such kid actor is probably what our kids will look like, etc., and I thought I'd show two of the top contenders for what our children will probably look like (males). One is a young actor from the movie Nanny McPhee. He is small and short, with glasses, and red hair. He looks remarkably like Michael did when he was a little boy, and is as cute as a button. The other picture is of an actor named Martin Starr, and when he took this picture, he played the character of Bill Haverchuck from Freaks and Geeks, a short-lived but EXCELLENT show. He's tall and lanky and with glasses (our child is almost guaranteed to have eye problems) but his hair is brown. Change the eye color, and you have a combination of Michael and myself, as goofy as he may look. He was my favorite character from that show anyway. Anywho, if nothing else, this might make people laugh, or think about what their future children may look like (though if you already have children, then I guess this post might be boring, sorry). Which child do you think looks more like a cross between Michael and myself?

Griping

Warning: I'm about to gripe about something. If you hate reading about people's gripes, etc., stop reading now.

Today, I was sitting in a windowed hallway in the building where my office is located, looking outside. A professor passed by me on his way to the office, and then passed by me again on his way back, a few minutes later. When he passed by me the second time, he said, "You really should be reading, or something. You have work to do." He was utterly serious, and was criticizing me right there. Without knowing ANYTHING ELSE OF MY ACTIVITIES.

He was working under this general principle: graduate students always have work to do.

Here are some things he didn't know:
1) I am normally in my office by 7:35 A.M. every day. Today was an exception, because my husband and I slept through our alarm.
2) My husband and I slept through our alarm because we have both been struggling with a terrible form of head cold, and crazy long days, to which we are adjusting in this, the first week of the fall semester.
3) I worked steadily from the time I reached school today (8:20 A.M.) until the time the professor spotted me in the hallway (about 3:00, or 3:10 P.M.).
4) That was my first real break of the day, and I was reflecting upon the fact that I had been so busy that I forgot to eat, and unfortunately, because I had another class beginning at 3:35, I didn't really have time to eat. I was also pleased because despite being sick enough to warrant sympathy from coworkers, I had managed to have a productive day.

The world is not a fair place. I just need to keep repeating that to myself. Maybe I am a lazy student, but I REALLY didn't need to hear that from ANYONE today. In fact, I NEVER need to hear that from anyone. Bastard. Ugh.

Sick....again.

So, I have a cold. I caught it from Michael. Once he got sick, I pretty much resigned myself to the same fate. SIGH. It sucks buckets. I don't know what that means, but it sounds funny. Okay, I'm signing off because my head hurts.

No longer a Non-Blonde...

I wanted to look a bit different, so I frosted my hair, as you can see from the pictures. Michael and the neighbors really like it, and I'm getting more and more used to the new color. I decided life was too short to think that changing my hair color is an important life decision, to be undertaken seriously and carefully. Anywho, let me know what you think!

Snakes on a Plane

Michael and I, along with two of his comrades from the psychology department went to see Snakes on a Plane today. It was vastly entertaining, and hilarious. One of the comrades visited the site for the movie, and found a nifty feature, in which you can send a friend a personalized cell phone or e-mail message from Samuel L. Jackson, telling them to go to the movie with you. Michael received one of those messages and thought it was pretty funny. Anyway, it's a campy, quirkly little flick, and fun to watch.

Rachel Baker, B.S., M.A.

Well folks, it looks like I don't have to resort to one of my fallback careers after all! I was granted my degree this morning, after an oral defense of my exam. I've been calling parents and telling neighbors and former professors, and doing strange little dances ever since. I'm SO happy (the "so" is pronounced in this case like "sew"). Two degrees down, ONE MORE TO GO. YEAUUHHH!

Rachel's Guide to Avoiding Sex in Middle School and High School

I have a profile on myspace (yeah yeah, get your laughs out now, this is SERIOUS), and a lot of friends and family have contacted me on there. I was looking through some of the profiles this morning, reading blogs if they had any posted, and I was shocked by some of the things I read on the sites of some of the younger members. Some of these poor kids were pouring out some really awful stories about teenage pregnancy, and cheating boyfriends. I couldn't believe how young some of them were: fifteen and dealing with shit like that! It's RIDICULOUS. Now, I know I have almost always been pretty mature for my age, but I was NEVER, NEVER EVER ready emotionally for sex, pregnancy, or any of that crap when I was in FREAKING MIDDLE SCHOOL. I will also give away too much information and say that either I wasn't ready or I was too damn smart to do anything sexual in high school either (although, who knows....I really wasn't given much opportunity...I had all of two dates, all very innocent). But...I really feel the need to say something about this, even though it probably won't be seen by anyone who REALLY needs to see it. Here are some things to keep in mind whenever you feel the drive to have sex in middle school or high school:

1) Though it seems like everything during these years is SO FREAKING important and like that guy/girl is THE ONE, in the grand scheme of things, it is NOT very important, and that guy/girl is probably one in a long line of people you will ever have a crush on or fall in love with.

2) If you have any goals, you should consider what a baby or even a sexual relationship will mean for those goals. Also, YOU SHOULD HAVE GOALS (especially goals besides getting married and having babies)!!! You are young, vibrant, and your life is really just beginning. You don't want to be saddled down with a child, or with a serious and demanding boyfriend/girlfriend. Furthermore, your views and goals will change: so while you may think you want to be Susie or Sammy Homemaker, that will probably change.

3) If you think you are mature enough and smart enough to handle sex, then please please PLEASE wear a condom AND get on birth control. Try your BESTEST not to do one without the other, until you are ready and willing to deal with the consequences. Condoms break, and birth control (depending on the type) fails sometimes, due to things you may not even think about (especially certain medicines).

It all boils down to this folks: in middle school and high school, your hormones are going NUTS. So, for you to decide at this point in life that you are ready for sex is to say that people under the infuence of some sort of drug or someone in an asylum should be making important life decisions. Now, I know some of you feel ready, and would argue that you ARE ready and all I can say is that if that really is the case, then you will go through with guideline #3 without a qualm, and you are ON birth control or your girlfriend is on birth control, and you carry condoms with you and never EVER do anything without them. Okay, I've preached enough.

Test is over!

Okay, so my exam is over with. My fate is sealed, the die is cast, all that jazz. It was nice being a graduate student in philosophy for a while, but I may not be meant to be one for as long as I had planned. Anyway, on to fun stuff!

I found that I talk about myself a lot on here, which makes me uncomfortable. I know I am somewhat self-centered, and it makes me feel bad. So, I am going to feature information about some of my friends on here every now and then, to make things more interesting and to let them know how much I value their presence in my life. The first featured friend is Crystal (pictured above). Crystal and I have been good friends since...I want to say junior high or maybe more like high school.

Crystal is sooooo funny. She was voted "funniest person" or something to that effect in high school. She is married to another friend, Jeff (he'll be featured later). Crystal is also a movie buff. She had one of the largest VHS collections I had ever seen, and has been converting it to DVD slowly but surely. In high school, Crystal was a free-thinker, new-agey type of person (I received my first tarot card reading from her), but she's become a lot more conservative since she got out on her own. She has been pursuing a degree in education, and plans to teach the offspring of other people when they are "still young enough to love their teachers." Yes folks: kindergarten.

Crystal also tends to be on the forefront of slang, probably due to her dogged resolve to keep in touch with pop-culture. She has also coined a few phrases of her own, one of my favorites being, "thirsty like the devil". She also was able to take into her own language the frequent and funny misuses of language from her two younger sisters. Thus, whenever we mean to say someone is "psychic" that gets changed to "psycho."

Speaking of her sisters, Crystal was one of the most responsible kids I've ever met, because from the time she was small herself, she was responsible for taking care of most of her sister's needs (waking them up, getting them fed, making sure they got dressed, etc.), and when she was able to drive, for making sure they got to school. She also was in charge of cooking dinners for her household.

From all of this, I hope you can see why Crystal is an awesome person and a great friend. If anyone who reads this knows Crystal personally, what might be nice is if they would contribute a comment or two about her as well, from their own experiences of her. Anyway, that, gentle readers, is Crystal.

Calming down...

So I have two of my three questions answered for my masters exam. After I finished typing the second answer last night, I stopped feeling so hopeless about the endeavor. I might even say that I felt mildly euphoric! Perhaps the problem all along has been the worry that I would not finish on time? I don't know. I am still concerned with the quality of the answers I have given. But hey, the worst that can happen is that they will kick me out of graduate school, and after the last two hellish semesters I'm beginning to wonder if that really is all that bad. It will be embarrassing, to be sure, but....so what?! Yeah. So what?!

On a lighter note, has anyone else seen Lady in the Water? Michael and I disagree heartily about whether or not it is good. Michael thinks it sucked, while the neighbors and I think it was good. Now, I by no means believe it to be M. Night's BEST movie thus far (I liked Signs the best), but it was far from bad. Michael claimed the storyline was really stupid, and that the actions taken by the people were not very believable (namely, their lack of skepticism). I pointed out that it was difficult to see how anyone who loves Starship Troopers could criticize ANY movie, much less this one. Which is....fallacious reasoning, I'll admit. I was just being mean. Anyway, I'm just curious to see what some of my peers thought about the movie, to compare.