it's over. move to somnia.

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Heh Heh. Huh?

Y'all remeber how incredulous I was that the war was being discussed seriously on MTV a couple of weeks back?

It now appears that coverage is absolutely everywhere.

(OK, well, almost.)
peachy as always, Mike at 6:36 PM

 
Forbidden Fruit with Pickles and Mustard*

I was standing outside a greasy spoon early this afternoon, awaiting the arrival of my order--a quarter-pound burger and a vanilla milkshake--when it struck me that it's Lent, it's Friday, and I was planning on abstaining from meat today. I'll admit I don't go to Mass much these days, and I'm not quick to defend the Church's actions and statements, but I do observe certain traditions. I can't help it. (For the curious: I don't put stock in the concept of "Catholic guilt." My definition of sin is probably not too orthodox, and I don't subscribe to any sort of self-flagellation. I like a challenge: I wonder what it's like to want something, and I guess I experiment with discipline and willpower a little this way.)

I picked up my order and thought back to a time in rural South Carolina where a vegetarian friend was served a salad covered in bacon bits. He looked at it for a second, then began eating. "The pig is already dead," he explained. "There's no reason for me to waste this." His reason wasn't religion, I recalled: it was conservation. I walked away, burger in bag, sipping on the milkshake. I suppose it's odd in a way that I decided to make this sacrifice based on a belief I'm not sure I actually hold, but I think in some small way it makes me stronger. People of sound mind have willingly endured a lot more for more mysterious reasons.

Anyhow, all I'm sure of right now is that the midnight my clock strikes midnight, I'm grabbing that damn thing out of the fridge and chowing down.


*I was going to try to meditate on the fact that no one really knows what the fruit of knowledge of good and evil was (we've mythologized it into an apple, but it could just as well have been a pomegranate), and on the feminist response to the blame pinned on Eve for introducing sin, but I can only work with one unsurety at a time right now.
peachy as always, Mike at 9:46 PM

 
Balance

Phone message: I was not offered the temporary research position that I thought I had in the bag.
Email message: I've been accepted to Georgetown.

On a whim (of course), I booked tickets to hit Washington for both the G-town and SAIS Open Houses, conveniently scheduled for consecutive days. It also means I get back the day before the FSWE. Hooray!
peachy as always, Mike at 5:05 PM

 
...And Some Things Are Really, Really Funny

The LiveJournal of Kim Jong Il: Korean! Dictator! Humor!
peachy as always, Mike at 6:14 PM

 
Randomosity

I contributed this to this site because I, like other un- and underemployed people these days, am seeing a lot of ludicrous job postings out there. (I also crossed out a phrase in a contract for tutoring services I just filled out. Look at me! Fighting the power!) Ah, well...This afternoon I have an interview for a temporary research position with a nonprofit advocacy agency, so wish me luck!

Last week I went to see one of my favorite authors for the first time, and the first thing I found myself thinking was Damn, he's old. I was conscious of the fact that he'd used the same photo on his books' dust jackets for ten years, but he looked wizened, beaky, and menacing...at least in profile. Then he came up to the podium and began speaking and I understood all over again what it was that captivated me about him: at the same time worldly-wise and self-deprecating, he makes people at home with his insights and astonishments. I almost asked a question, but time was short. I didn't want to stand in line to talk to him while he signed my book (it's awkward towering over someone you admire), but I was stuck--he was seated in front of the Italian dictionaries, which I had been hoping to look at. So I waited for him to get up and go. Yeah, I know.

I went to see View from the Top the other day, and while I thought it was cute (and I give props to anything that features Mark Ruffalo and Candice Bergen), I have something to say to Miramax: Chocolat was bad enough (all those unnecessary award noms aside), but once you've stooped to featuring Christina Applegate in a major role, you might want to rethink the direction of your brand image.
peachy as always, Mike at 12:27 PM

 
The Academy Awards: That Shit Is Fucked Up

Come on, people! The crowd booed Michael Moore but cheered for Roman Polanski! The hell?
peachy as always, Mike at 11:51 PM

 
Bad News, Good News

(I mean honestly: do you want to hear about the world at large or about me? ...Oh...well, bye then.)

On the negative side, I've been rejected (via very efficiently-worded letters) by Princeton* and Tufts in quick succession.
On the positive side, I had a great interview with a tutoring service yeserday morning and was called in for an interview next week for a temporary research job with a nonprofit that advocates for afterschool programs. Whee!
Also, Johns Hopkins sent me an Evite for their open house next month. An Evite! Hilarious! (And yet, functional.)


*Luckily, a friend was rejected by the same program, so we were able to bitch about the phrase "the department has recommended that you not be admitted for the forthcoming year." Ouch!
peachy as always, Mike at 12:03 PM

 
How to Spend My Time

I've gone and registered for the Foreign Service Written Examination, to be taken in a little over three weeks. Theoretically, it would be good if I were to study for it, even though (for my purposes) it's mainly a practice run. Then again, since I'm not so sure I'll get the Pickering fellowship (grad school paid for, plus assistance entering the Foreign Service), maybe I should get the ball rolling now. (Supposedly, it takes about two years from taking the FSWE to entering the Service.)

Of course, I have to take time also to study for my econ class, to apply for my backup scholarships, to get all fit-like, to (continue to) send out resumes, and to figure out what I'm doing with myself this summer if the getting-a-job thing doesn't pan out. Maybe I should study Italian...

On a positive note, I interviewed this morning to become a high-school/SAT tutor. $25 an hour seems like a lot, but only if you manage to string any work-hours together. Hmmm.
peachy as always, Mike at 7:13 PM

 
So I Was Thinking...

Seeing as I have a lot of time of my hands, a lot of friends and relatives with money to spare, a great affinity for biking, and a bizarre drive to do things For the Good of Society...maybe I'll register for the AIDS/LifeCycle.
peachy as always, Mike at 1:31 AM

 
Spotlight on: Laurel Wellman

I've been a fan of her writing for many years, and I hope some day to be so pithy. Consider this bit from her column last Wednesday:

[A]s the New York Times summarized the situation: "If war comes, it could end in anything from quick victory followed by democratic change to chaos and terror worldwide."

Well, that's OK, then. I get all claustrophobic when the future seems too predictable.
peachy as always, Mike at 12:45 PM

 
Further Proof That Time Speeds Up Just When You're Getting Your Bearings (a.k.a. Welcome to Adulthood!)

Well, it appears that today is the first anniversary of the inception of this journal.* I am so, so sorry.


*(Sure, it took me many months to figure out the distinction between a blog and a journal, but I did it!)
peachy as always, Mike at 6:55 PM

 
"Hit the Bottle?" "I'll Pass."

I feel like I should have expanded more on my entry yesterday, but here's something a little less boring:

I was flipping around on TV the other day and I landed on some "news" show on MSNBC where some commentator was frothing about "wasteful spending." The only "example" he mentioned was that the federal government (through whatever program) gave UC Davis $250K for viticulture/enology studies--meaning students drink WINE on the taxpayer dollar!

My eyes practically rolled right out of my head.


(Speaking of cable news upstarts, I'd like to give my eternal gratitude to whomever it was at The Onion who dreamed up the headline "Fox News Reporter Asks The Questions Others Are Too Smart To Ask.")
peachy as always, Mike at 6:29 PM

 
America the Interested?

A lot has happened in the past month. I received my first acceptance to grad school.* I went hiking and happened to meet a middle-aged man, naked from the ankles up, coming the other way. I went to Southern California to visit friends and found myself accused of a hit-and-run for scratching someone's parked car (hey, I looked and I didn't see the mark) and parking 100 feet away. I sent resumes out for administrative positions at realty and investment corporations just to give myself the satisfaction of sending resumes out. (I have yet to hear anything from anyone.)** I have discovered the joy of (and capability for) burning friends' CDs and have copied a couple of dozen over the past two weeks. I am in what appears to be a bona fide relationship, and I'm not clawing at the walls.*** I went wine-touring in Sonoma and managed to escape after buying only chocolates.

What I think about most, though, is that everywhere I turn, there is serious talk about The War. On The Daily Show this week, Jon Stewart earnestly interviewed the head of the Council on Foreign Relations. I flipped over to MTV today--MTV!--for some mindless entertainment and they were showing a question-and-answer session with Tony Blair.**** I'm thinking that maybe America is actually interested in what's going on around the world. Huh?


*Yesterday! Via email! To study in Italy! The only drawback is that no financial aid was offered. (Here's to the hope that my scholarships come through.)

**At least I have more time to read Man's Search for Meaning during the day and lie in bed at night thinking about what it means.

***Hell, we went orienteering together last weekend and--somehow--won our course.

****Don't worry, though: the kids were expectedly discourteous.
peachy as always, Mike at 10:09 PM