Over the Moon

For the three people that read this blog you may have noticed that it completely died over the past three months. I didn't have a minute to spare to update it. My semester consisted of stage managing Sweeney Todd ( which was phenomenal ), becoming the UMTG secretary near the end of the semester, switching majors, and studying for all of my ridiculous classes. It was really all of the studying that killed me. I'm hoping that next semester won't be as difficult. At the moment I'm only taking 15 credits. I signed up for Differential Equations, Linear Algebra, Probability and Statistics for Engineers, Strength of Materials, and Marketing. Can't be that hard... wishful thinking.

Next semester should be fun though besides the whole learning thing. I'm looking forward to being involved with the guild again. The guild provides me with a break from homework and the world of engineering. This spring the guild is producing RENT and Rock 'n' Roll. I really want to apply to stage manage RENT but I don't have any time. I thought I didn't have time last semester for Sweeney, but I really don't have any time this spring semester. On the bright side as secretary I'll get to be involved on some level with both productions.

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All in all I think that this is going to be a much more successful semester.

Riddle me this

I was on stumble today and stumbled upon this riddle. It took me a little while to figure it out but I eventually got it. I'll post the solution in the comments section if anyone wants to see if they got it right.

8809 = 6
7111 = 0
2172 = 0
6666 = 4
1111 = 0
3213 = 0
7662 = 2
9312 = 1
0000 = 4
2222 = 0
3333 = 0
5555 = 0
8193 = 3
8096 = 5
7777 = 0
9999 = 4
7756 = 1
6855 = 3
9881 = 5
5531 = 0

2581 = ?

Stranger Danger

Today I was sitting in the dining commons alone doing work on my laptop. The lunch rush had just ended and there weren't too many people around. Since I'm sick I was drinking a mug of green tea with honey to soothe my throat. When I finished my tea I really wanted to go refill my mug, but I didn't want to leave all my stuff at the table or carry all of it with me. I was afraid that once I left someone would grab my laptop.I could have just not gotten another mug of tea, but that just wasn't an option at the moment.

Then I noticed that there were two people sitting at the table next to me. I turned to them and asked them to watch my stuff while I got another cup of tea. When I came back my stuff was fine and I had my cup of delicious hot tea. All was good with world.

It wasn't until later that I realized the irony in what had I done. I had asked two strangers to watch my belongings because I was afraid that the other strangers would take them. How odd.

No Place Like London

This semester my life will be complete. Last year I never really felt 100% home and it wasn't until the end of the semester when I got 'roped' into helping with the theatre guild's musical that I realized why. I hadn't done any theatre the entire year. Theatre has been a part of my life for about eight years now and trying to go several months without it just doesn't work.

I learned my lesson last year and this fall I'm going to be the assistant stage manager for Sweeney Todd. I really wish I could be the stage manager, but I know that I would end up going without sleep for the entire semester. I'm really looking forward to starting rehearsal and getting this show on the road. The cast list just went up last night and it looks like this show is going to be beyond amazing.

Laughter Year Round

My second blog has been coming along really nicely this past month. I am amazed at how many people are checking out the site. When I started 1,000 Smiles I was doing it for myself. I didn't think that many people would find it interesting. Well, I thought wrong. Last week I started a fan page just out of curiosity to see if people would join. At the moment the page has over 100 fans. I'm glad to see that other people are enjoying my blog.

The concept behind the whole thing is really quite simple. I just post things in my life that make me smile. My goal is for this blog to chronicle 1,000 Smiles. At the pace I'm going at it should take me about a year and half to reach a thousand.

Rabbit Rabbit

It is finally September 1st. The countdown now reads zero. I have been waiting a while for this day to come. I can't believe how fast the summer went by. Now fall is right around the corner, along with my classes. Though I do have a week to adjust and move in before I have to start worrying learning. I sometimes seem to forget that a big component of college is the whole going to class thing. I keep signing up for clubs and applying for jobs forgetting that I'll need to have time to do homework. I plan on getting everything straightened out during my first week.

The reason for my moving in so early is because I'm taking part in the Honors College Welcome Weekend Orientation. I'm really excited to meet the incoming freshman and help them adjust. I know that when I moved in last year I was completely overwhelmed and thankful for any advice that upperclassmen could provide. Granted I still don't have a clue about a lot of things on campus, especially anything outside of the College of Engineering. Good thing all the freshman in my group will be engineers.

Inked

Before today I had never stepped foot in a tattoo parlor. They always seemed frightening and unhygienic. Today I learned that they are not that scary ( as long as you're not the one getting the tattoo ) and actually very clean. The place wasn't filled with a bunch of guys named Big Mike covered in a million tattoos. Instead I met a lot of nice staffers, who were not at all scary or intimidating. They all did have tattoos, but nothing too extreme.

The most interesting thing that I noticed about the parlor was the atmosphere. People would just walk in and ask if an artist was free. Their manner was so casual, as if they were just stopping in for a walk-in haircut. Its almost as if they were just walking down the street and decided that they needed a tattoo right at that very moment.

While waiting to be seen I could overhear one of the walk in going over his tattoo idea with one the artists. From what I could hear it was to be a woman's face on his chest with the hair flowing up onto his shoulders. To me it just sounded very intricate and painful.

I guess I should mention that I wasn't there to get a tattoo, my friend Paul was. I tried to provide moral support, but I don't think I did a good job. Seeing as how I was just as freaked out at the idea of him getting a tattoo as he was. It also didn't help the situation that while waiting one of the tattooing room doors was open and we could see and hear someone getting a tattoo. My grimacing and cringing probably did not make him feel any better either.

After waiting for a couple of minutes, Paul's turn came and he was told to go the third door. The next hour was filled with cringing, moans of agony, and an almost fainting episode. In the end it was an interesting learning experience. I was very interested in all the tools the artist used and enjoyed observing him. With that said, I don't think I would like to return to the parlor anytime soon. Paul probably won't be needing my moral support for another ten years or so.

Today was definitely enlightening. I had never seriously considered getting a tattoo. It was always just a silly idea floating in the back of my head. Well after today, that silly idea has been killed and it will never return. I really think that if you're considering getting a tattoo, you should watch someone else get one. It is quite the experience and one I never thought I would witness.

Showtunes

I have been working on building my collection of musical cast recordings for a little over a year now. At the moment I have 101 cast recordings and I am still collecting. Out of these 101 recording I would say that there are still five that I haven't had a chance to listen to. The issue is that one or two cast recordings end up being my favorite for a couple of weeks and I only listen to them on loop.

The following is my current collection. Let me know if you have any recommendations for my collection.

1. 1776
2. 42nd Street
3. A Chorus Line: OBC
4. A Chorus Line:NBC
5. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
6. Annie: OBC
7. Annie Get Your Gun
8. Anything Goes
9. Assassins
10. Avenue Q
11. Bare
12. Beauty and the Beast
13. Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
14. Billy Elliot
15. Bye Bye Birdie
16. Cabaret: OBC
17. Caroline or Change
18. Chicago
19. Children of Eden
20. Company: OBC
21. Curtains
22. Damn Yankees: OBC
23. Evita
24. Fame
25. Fiddler on the Roof
26. Follies: OBC
27. Follies: London Recording
28. Follies: OBC Live
29. Fosse
30. Godspell
31. Grease
32. Grey Gardens
33. Guys and Dolls: 1976 All Black Cast Recording
34. Guys and Dolls: 1992 U.S. Revival
35. Gypsy: 2003 Revival
36. Haare
37. Hair
38. Hairspray
39. Hello, Dolly!
40. How to Succeed in Business without really trying
41. In the Heights
42. Into the Woods
43. Jersey Boys
44. Jesus Christ Superstar
45. Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
46. King and I
47. Kiss Me Kate
48. Legally Blonde
49. Legs Diamond
50. Les Miserables ( English
51. Les Miserables ( French )
52. L'il Abner
53. Little Shop of Horrors
54. Mamma Mia
55. Man of La Mancha
56. Mary Poppins
57. Music Man
58. Nine
59. Oklahoma
60. Oliver!
61. Once on this Island
62. Once Upon a Mattress
63. Pal Joey: 1955
64. Pippin: OBC
65. Ragtime
66. Rent
67. Rocky Horror Show
68. Seussical the Musical
69. Shrek
70. Singing in the Rain
71. Snoopy
72. South Pacific
73. Spamalot
74. Spring Awakening
75. Sunday in the Park with George
76. Sweeney Todd: 2005 Revival
77. Sweeney Todd: In Concert
78. Swing
79. The 25th Annual Putnam Spelling Bee
80. The Boy From Oz
81. The Color Purple
82. The Drowsy Chaperone
83. The Light in the Piazza
84. The Lion King
85. The Little Mermaid
86. The Pajama Game
87. The Producers
88. The Rink: Broadway
89. The Rink: London
90. The Wedding Singer
91. Thoroughly Modern Millie
92. tick,tick...BOOM!
93. Urinetown
94. West Side Story
95. Wicked
96. Wild Party
97. Xanadu
98. You're a Good Man Charlie Brown
99. You Never Know
100. Young Frankenstein
101. Zanna, Don't!

Merlin

I went on Hulu today and one of the recommended episodes was Merlin from NBC. I had heard of the show a couple of weeks ago, but had not been interested enough to make time to watch it. This time around I ended up watching five episodes and really enjoying it.

The show is loosely based off of Arthurian legend. As with any historical interpretation there are many inaccuracies and anyone who is well versed in Arthurian legend would probably not enjoy the BBC's take on it. For example, Merlin is traditionally older than Arthur and serves as his mentor, but on the show Merlin and Arthur are the same age and are both fairly young.

The show has been doing well with American audiences this summer and hopefully NBC will air the second season either this fall or winter. Though if they don't American fans will most likely be able to find season two online after it airs in the U.K. this fall.

The Shack

Apparently the people at Radio Shack have decided that their name is either too long for us to handle or that its not hip enough. Their solution was to rename the store 'The Shack'. According to their new commercial that's what their friends call them. Really?

Now can someone please explain to me how the name The Shack conveys what they sell at all. When I hear The Shack I imagine some small restaurant by the beach that sells greasy food. Not an electronics store. Do they really believe that by making the name "cooler" more people will go there. I highly doubt that "Radio" is the reason people are not going to the store.

Raspberry Lime Cheesecake Tartlets

I have now reached the point in my cooking adventures where I no longer like to use recipes. I find its much more fun to experiment.

Today I was bored and decided to go in the kitchen to see what I could cook. I found mini phyllo shells, yogurt, cheesecake mix, a lime, and raspberries. My final creation was raspberry lime cheesecake tartlets. They were really easy to make and took no time at all. I wish I had an actual recipe for you, but I don't believe in measuring cups and I eye everything instead of measuring it out.

Raspberry Lime Cheesecake Tartlets

15 mini phyllo shells

1/4 cup Jell-o No Bake cheesecake mix

3/4 cup plain yogurt

1/4 cup unsweetened apple juice

2 Tbs sugar

2 tsp lime juice

15 raspberries

Preheat the oven to 350 F and crisp the phyllo shells for 3-5 minutes.

Put the apple juice, sugar, and lime juice in a small saucepan and heat until the sugar dissolves. Mix the soy yogurt and cheesecake mix thoroughly until the mixture thickens. Add in a couple of teaspoons of the apple juice mixture to the yogurt/cheesecake mixture. Pour the remaining apple juice mixture over the raspberries and let sit in the fridge. Divide the yogurt/cheesecake mixture equally into the shells. Refrigerate for an hour. Place raspberries on top of the mini shells and serve.

A Vow of Silence

The idea just popped into my head the other day. I wonder if I could actually go for an extended period time without talking. I want to try doing it right away, but now is not a good time. I'm working at a children's theater camp and I need my voice. Though once I start thinking about it, there is no good time to take a vow of silence. I remember when I lost my voice two winters ago, I had the toughest time not being able to talk. I feel as though this would be an interesting experiment to see how long I could last, but I also feel as though I'm would be making my life more difficult than necessary.

Grilled Romaine Lettuce

I was inspired to try this after seeing this recipe on Fat Free Vegan.

Here is my version.

Grilled Romaine Lettuce

1/2 a head of romaine lettuce

basil

rosemary

salt

3 Tbs olive oil

1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

1/4 cup sliced red onion

I'm not a big fan of measuring everything out, so just use your judgement when adding the spices. It all depends on your taste preference.

Separate the lettuce into individual leaves. Combine the basil,rosemary,salt, and olive oil in a small bowl. Spoon the olive oil onto each piece of lettuce and try to cover the entire leaf with the olive oil. I found it helpful to apply the olive oil on a leaf and then use another leaf to rub it all over. After applying the olive oil to all the leaves, toss the halved tomatoes into the bowl to soak in any off the remaining olive oil.

Place the onions on the grill.I used my George Foreman gr ll for this. Once the onions are close to being done, Place the lettuce and tomatoes for about three minutes or until the lettuce starts to wilt. Place on a plate and serve while still warm.

Can't Wait

The countdown now reads that only 29 days are left until September 1st. I am extremely excited to return to school. I have had to resist the urge to start packing up all my things and making a pile in the living room. Though I will probably give in soon enough.

This vacation has gone by a lot faster than I thought it would. I was really worried that it would drag on and never seem to end. I think it helped that I had a lot of stuff to do with my time this summer. For example, this blog proved to be something fun for me to occupy my free time with. Hopefully I will still be able to update once I get back to school. My goal is to update at least once a week, though my real goal is three times a week. I have a heavy course load, a job, a musical, and possibly research. Though with me doing all this, I should have more interesting things to write about. Well, we'll see what happens in these upcoming months.

Homemade Veggie Burgers

I have been wanting to try to make my own veggie burgers for some time now. I finally got around to it the other day and they came out really well. Though next time, I would want to incorporate more vegetables and substitute brown rice for the bread crumbs.

Quick and Easy Veggie Burgers

1 can cannellini beans

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

1/4 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup parsley

1 clove garlic

2 tablespoons olive oil

salt

basil

Combine all ingredients in a food processor. I added the ingredients in stages in order to make sure that everything was well blended. Form the mixture into patties. I was able to make 4 medium sized patties.

Heat up a skillet and then add some olive oil. Allow the olive oil to heat up. Cook the burgers until they brown on each side.

1,000 Smiles

Hello everyone. Yesterday I started a second blog. The new blog is called 1,000 Smiles. On it I will be compiling a list of 1,000 things that make me smile. I had the idea the other day and thought it would be fun to do. You can check it out at http://laughteryearround.blogspot.com/. With each post of something that makes me smile, there is a button that says 'me too'. You don't have to be a follower or signed in to agree with a post, so definitely click away if something also makes you smile.

Well, isn't that funny?

I keep forgetting that Sarah Palin is a real person.

What I mean by that is whenever I see a video of her speaking I think of her the way I do of Stephen Colbert's 'character' on his show. She is just too funny and ridiculous. It really amazes me that her adoring fans don't notice how ridiculous she is. Just listen to any one of her speeches and you'll understand.

Here's a snippet of her farewell speech from earlier this week.

"In the winter time it’s the frozen road that is competing with the view of ice fogged frigid beauty, the cold though, doesn’t it split the Cheechakos from the Sourdoughs? And then in the summertime such extreme summertime about a hundred and fifty degrees hotter than just some months ago, than just some months from now, with fireweed blooming along the frost heaves and merciless rivers that are rushing and carving and reminding us that here, Mother Nature wins."

Here is the clip of her performing her free-verse poetry.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBRT46cW-h4

Another fun clip from her farewell speech

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWr7-PlpRc4

Though it all stops being funny when I remember that people actually voted for her to be Governor in the first place and that she was almost the Vice President of the United States.

When Words Fail

I started this blog thinking that I would post something new every day. That died around day eight. The thing is I do write something every day, I just don't post it. The reason either being that I don't finish expressing everything I want to say or I don't like what I've written. At the moment I think I have five or six drafts just waiting to be posted some day.

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I also have a bad habit of coming up with a new topic for a post while in the middle of writing another. For example, I took a break from this post to go write about Sarah Palin. That post should be up soon.

Call Me

I just got Google Voice the other day. Feel free to call me and leave a voicemail with your comments or suggestions for the blog. I like getting feedback on what I'm doing. My Google Voice number is 617-615-9653.

Also I have added a feature that lets you quickly rate my blog posts as either funny,interesting,or cool.

Edit: 08/01 I realized I had the wrong number listed. All set now.

Let's Hug it Out

I am not one to watch that much television. I usually pick two or three shows to follow along with. For the past two years one of those shows has been HBO's Entourage. I had never heard of the show until a friend couldn't stop raving about it. I decided to go online and watch the pilot episode. Needless to say I fell in love with the show and ended up watching four seasons in about a week.

The main reason I fell in love with the show was because of the character Ari Gold played by Jeremy Piven. He plays the role of Vince's agent and is great at his job. In my opinion he really makes the show and takes over any scene that he is in. Ari is always either pissed off or in a great mood.His lines are always witty and ridiculous. Though it's his insults that always really make me laugh. Another great thing about Ari is that the writers have developed him and given him some depth and a story.

Most of the characters on the show have struggles and experience growth. Just last week the character Turtle realized that he was essentially a thirty old chauffeur and needed to grow up. Though I have noticed that the only character that does not really experience any change is Vince, the character who the show revolves around. This doesn't bother me that much because I enjoy that Vince is the reason all the other characters are doing what they do. He is the central bond that gives the show its purpose. It would be nice though if he got a story line that showed some growth in his character. The end of the second episode of this season leads me to believe that the writers might focus more on Vince.

He is starting to lose his entourage. Eric, his manager, has moved out and is now living on his own. Turtle is in a serious relationship and spends a great deal of time with his girlfriend. Drama, Vince's older brother, is doing god knows what. I never really concern myself with Drama. He offers comic relief, but I don't find myself caring about his character. I could see the writers focusing one of the following episodes on Vince being lonely and realizing that his entourage is growing up.

In the end the show offers something of quality to its audience and will continue to do so for at least three more seasons. The executive producer, Mark Wahlberg, has said that he would like to do at least ten seasons and two movies. I look forward to seeing Entourage in theaters sometime soon.

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If you are reading this and have never seen the show, I recommend going on surfthechannel and watching season one.

Life is a Highway

Today a friend of mine,Paul, and I were both bored. Usually when I'm bored I go for a walk or waste hours on youtube in order to pass the time. Not Paul. He's more interesting and spontaneous than I am. We ended up finding a used bookstore out in the Pioneer Valley and decided to go for a two hour drive in order to check it out. Normally I hate car rides that last longer than an hour, but this was a fun drive. Paul and I hadn't seen each other in a month, after having spent just about every day together the previous month, so it was nice to reunite with an adventure out west.

After visting the book store, I took Paul to Umass Amherst for a quick tour.The campus looked gorgeous and the pond was actually clean. I loved being back there and I cannot wait to go back in four weeks. Though this impromptu trip should be able to hold me over until then.

On the way to Umass we made a quick detour to check out Nash's dinosaur tracks. Sadly they were closed, but we found this waterfall near Nash's.

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It was fun getting to be spontaneous for a change. I am always planning things in advance and making sure that everything is perfect. It was a nice pace of change to just hop in a car and drive off.

Lesson of the Day : Be more adventerous and spontaneous.

Stranger Danger

Today I talked to a stranger and it was quite nice.

We're all taught to keep to ourselves and never talk to strangers. Granted there are psychos and lunatics, but they're not everywhere. Today a woman noticed that I was carrying a copy of Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris. We had a nice chat about the book and the author. I told her about how I went to a lecture of his this past spring and she told me how she has always wanted to meet him. Our conversation didn't last long because we were going to different place, but in spite of that it was a nice talk.

Let's Go to the Movies

The Hangover

I chose to watch this because it has been declared as being one of the most successful rated R comedies. Also because a movie with Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, and Justin Bartha is bound to be funny.

First off I want to say that I was upset that Justin Bartha wasn't in the film that much because he was playing the role of the lost fiance. I have enjoyed Justin Bartha ever since I saw him in National Treasure as Nicolas Cage's sidekick Riley.

My disappointment about Justin Bartha's limited on screen time was made up by the hilarity of Cooper, Helms, and Galifianakis. Though I found it to be very amusing, the movie is not something amazing and it doesn't try to pretend that it is. It is a simple comedy that is able to get big laughs out of people. For movie that doesn't have any big name actors, it has done very well for its self.

Though because of the success of the film, there are now talks of making a sequel. I don't see that turning out well.

More Cooking

Layered Vegetable Casserole

This came out a lot better than I was expecting. I didn't know if it would work out because I incroporated it from a recipe I found on Fatfree Vegan

Cooking Adventures - Vegan Style

A month ago I discovered a vegan food blog and found a bunch of recipes that I wanted to try. I don't have any intentions of ever becoming vegan, I just thought it would be fun to try a couple of vegan recipes.

My first attempt at vegan cooking was with a Strawberry Snack Cake. It turned out fine, though I would like to make some adjustments to the recipe next time.

My next dish was Potato Pizzas. It was a very simple and delicious recipe. Though since I added mozzerella/parmesean cheese it wasn't vegan.

So far my favorite recipe that I've tried is Blueberry Banana Bread. This was absolutley delish and was really easy to make.

Last but not least, Vegan Yellow Cake decorated with strawberries and blueberries. I didn't make this from scratch like the previous recipes. I bought a vegan cake mix from the health food aisle at Stop&Shop. I made this for my little brother's birthday. I offered to make him a non-vegan cake loaded with frosting and sugar, but he really wanted the healthier alternative. I don't want anyone thinking I was trying to ruin my brother's birthday with a vegan cake. It turned out really well and tasted like a normal yellow cake.

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The first three recipes were from Fatfree Vegan.

What Not to Do

Don't pour hot water in your water bottle in an attempt to rinse it out and clean it.

This is what will happen.

Quick Updates

My job has my dominating my life and I have had no time to blog about anything. The job has been fun so far, but really stressful in terms of trying to make quota. I think I'm going to quit in a week or so and go back to doing nothing and enjoying my summer.

Today I just noticed that there are only 46 days left until I get to move back to school. I am beyond excited. I need to go back to school shopping, which I absolutely love. I need new school supplies, books, and clothes. School supplies are my favorite thing to buy though. I'm not sure why, but I just love having new supplies.

Well that is all for now and hopefully my next update will be very soon.

Clean Energy

To my non-existent readers, you may have noticed that I am no longer blogging as frequently. The reason for that is because now I have a job. I am working with Environment Massachusetts as a canvasser. Everyday I go to a new neighborhood with a crew of people and canvass. In my two days on the job I have been to both Cohasset and Belmont. I have met a lot of interesting people and look forward to spending the rest of my summer getting to know them. They are so helpful and have been helping me learn my "rap" and the ins and outs of canvassing. One of the directors at my office is the top canvasser in the country. She can go out for five hours and raise around 2,000 dollars on her own. Most people average around 200 on a good night and that is what I'm aiming for. I hope that I can average around 175 next week. I really want to keep this job now that I have made friends.

Side Note : Today I bought Windows 7

Finally

Tomorrow I get to go to work. I'm going to be canvassing in Boston for Environment Massachusetts. The group does a lot of good work and I believe in the causes that they are advocating for. Tomorrow I will be shadowing one of the other canvassers and getting the hang of the position.

The only thing that worries me about the position is that there is a quota for each day and I'm afraid I won't be able to make it. I really don't want to lose this job seeing as how no one else is hiring these days. If I am able to make quota each day, I will be working Monday-Friday from 2-10. The days are long but in the end it will be worth it when I cash my paychecks.

Ubuntu Update

I have successfully installed Ubuntu on my desktop. I ended up deciding to install Ubuntu over Windows XP instead of trying to dual boot. I didn't have enough unallocated space to create a partion for Ubuntu anyways. The next step is to get a wireless usb adapter so that I can get Internet on the desktop. I look forward to learning to use Ubuntu and playing around with it. I might even bring my desktop with me to school, but I have feeling I would use it twice and then forget about it.

The laptop on the other hand is being fussy. Today I decided to just install Windows XP on it until I feel like attempting Ubuntu again (most likely next week seeing as how I am still unemployed and bored out of mind).

While on topic of computers and operating systems. I have yet to make up mind as to whether or not I want to install Windows 7 on Lola, my HP Pavilion laptop. I keep flip flopping on the issue. I almost bought it yesterday, but Amazon wouldn't accept that my address was real and so I couldn't move on and enter in my payment information. I have until July 11th to make up mind and I'll be sure to let you know what I decide to do.

Who's Counting?

If any of have you scrolled down far enough on my blog you may have noticed the countdown I have in the corner. It's counting down the days until I get to go back to school. I am ready to go back this instant. I miss the independence and having all of my friends nearby. I am also looking forward to my classes and joining new clubs.

I finally got my schedule all squared away. Though I am looking for a class to take during an open time slot on TuTh. I want to take a fun and random class pass/fail. Originally I was taking a french class pass/fail, but I ended up dropping it so that I could take accounting. I am considering taking Linear Algebra but I don't know if that would be too much for me to handle. Here is my current schedule for this fall.

Key:

MIE 201 - Intro to Material Sciences

MIE 210 - Statics

MIE 230 - Thermodynamics

Math 233 - Multi variable Calculus

Chinese 155 - Chinese Myths&Legends

ACCTG 221 - Intro to Accounting

391D - Effective Display of Quantitative Info

Since my school day ends around two every day I think I will have more time for clubs. I want to become more involved with Habitat for Humanity, the Knit and Crochet Club, the Theatre Guild, and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Last year I was only a part of the Society of Women Engineers and I want to branch out this fall. In the end I will probably only be able to handle three clubs because there are only 24 hours in a day and I will also be working.

I really can't wait until I go back. I love being busy and having stuff to do. The slow and easy pace of summer does not sit well with me.

Blurbs

Apparently Guy Ritchie, Madonna's ex husband, is planning on directing a film remake of Guys and Dolls. One of the actors that he is pursuing for the film is Justin Timberlake. If Justin does end up starring in the film, I would probably go see it. I am always entertained by him and I am willing to see a film based on a musical that I don't actually enjoy.

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Sarah Palin has resigned as governor of Alaska. It was about time she realized that she shouldn't have anything to do with government. Oh... wait. The reason behind her stepping down is speculated to be because she wants to be the Rep. presidential nominee in 2012. Lord help us all if she is the Rep. nominee. I think she needs to stop trying to be involved for government and try focusing on her (dysfunctional) family.

Edit: It is rumored that Palin resigned because of an embezzlement scandal.

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The sun has returned! Hopefully it will at stay for a a couple of days before disappearing again. The weather channel's ten day forecast says that we shouldn't be expecting rain again until next Saturday. I really hope that they're right. I have been home for over a month now and it has yet to feel like summer. For me it's not summer until I get to play tennis and go to the beach.

Ubuntu

I currently have 3 computers in my possession and only one works properly. One is my old Dell Inspiron laptop from middle school and the other is my desktop that died right around the time I bought my current laptop. I've been saying that I would fix up the old laptop for a while now and I think that time has finally come.

At the moment my plan is to replace Windows Millennium with Ubuntu. I have been interesetd in working with Ubuntu for quite some time now. Yesterday I downloaded the ISO file and have tried to install it on my ancient laptop. I've already run into some problems, but that is to be expected. I have an idea as to why I keep getting the same error halfway through the installation process and should have it solved relatively soon. While trying to solve the errors with my old laptop, I'm also going to be working on dual booting my desktop. Hopefully this process doesn't take me too long.

An Inconvenient Truth

While looking for a job I have avoided applying to any that require being out in the streets harassing people. If you've ever spent the day in Downtown Crossing or Harvard Square on a nice day, you might have noticed college aged students walking around with clipboards trying to convince people to donate to a variety of causes. I always swore that no matter how desperate I got I would never apply for anything that involved bothering people. I don't like the idea of harassing people about global warming or Darfur when they just want to be spending a nice day in Boston.

On the other hand I am very good salesman who still needs a summer job. Today I finally applied for one of those jobs. If I get the job it would require me to walk around Downtown Boston and try to convince people to donate money to raising awareness about global warming. Considering that I am still unemployed and bored out of mind, this job would be a wonderful opportunity for me. Hopefully my statement about why I love the environment is convincing enough to get me an interview in the weeks ahead.

Edit

I had a phone interview this morning and scheduled a face to face interview for later this week.

Summer Reading

Seeing as how I am still unemployed, I have decided to put all of my free time to good use. I've started going to the library and picking up books that I've been saying I would read for years now. I've compiled a list of books that I want to read and it continues to grow each day. At the moment, I have finished reading Animal Farm by George Orwell and Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut. Tomorrow I'm hoping to start The Comedy of Errors by Shakespeare.

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My Reading List

When You Are Engulfed in Flames - David Sedaris

The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini

Brothers Karamazov - Dostoyevsky

Divine Comedy - Dante

A Seperate Peace - Knowles

Paradise Lost - Milton

The Idiot - Dostoyevsky

Count of Monte Cristo - Dumas * I'm considering reading it in the orignal French

David Copperfield - Dickens

Anna Karenina - Tolstoy

Me Talk Pretty One Day - Sedaris *This has been on my to read list since I was 12

Bye Bye Birdie

The death of Twitter. It couldn't come soon enough. I heard about Twitter right when it started in 2007 and I thought it would never catch on because it was stupid and pointless. Well I clearly gave the American people too much credit. It has caught on and now everyone and their mother is tweeting about the mundane aspects of their daily lives.

Before Twitter and other social networking sites, people shared the details of their lives with their close friends, not every single one of their acquaintances.

Now I will admit that Twitter does have some utility: receiving news updates,weather updates, and things of that nature. What I don't want to hear about is how Sarah just bought a pair of shoes from DSW.

Hopefully Twitter dies a quick death sometime in the near future.

Thank You For the Music

This year the Broadway Across America tour is bringing several amazing shows to Boston. Sadly I'll only be home to see some of them. It saddens me that while all these shows are playing in Boston, I will be stuck in the middle of west bum nowhere receiving an education. Though I am excited that I will be home to see The Lion King. I loved the movie when I was a child and I still love it to this day. I want to get a chance to see how it translated to the stage before it closes.

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The 2009-2010 season is as follows.

Fiddler on the Roof - Nov. 3-15 2009

I have horrible memories associated with this show and I'm not disappointed that I won't be able to see it.

Avenue Q - Nov. 17-22 2009

I have been wanting to see this show for a couple of years now, but I don't think I'll be seeing it this season.

Mamma Mia -Dec. 15-27 2009

I could live without ever seeing Mamma Mia on stage.

In The Heights - Jan 12-24 2010

There is a good possibility that I may see this show. I've heard a lot of mixed reviews from various friends. I need to listen to the cast recording before making my decision.

DREAMGIRLS - Feb 2-14 2010

I have no strong desire to see this show, but that's because I know nothing about it. I should see if I can get a hold of the cast recording.

The Lion King - Feb 16- March 21 2010

This will be in Boston during my spring break. If I don't end up doing Habitat for Humanity, I will be attending.

CATS - April 13-18 2010

You couldn't pay me to see CATS.

Young Frankenstein - Apr.20 - May 2 2010

I've heard good things about this show, but I won't get a chance to see it.

August Osage County May 4-16 2010

This is supposed to be an amazing play. It won the Tony in 2008 for Best Play. Unfortunately I most likely will not be able to return to Boston to see it.

Grease June 1-13 2010

It would be fun to see this on the stage, but I have no strong desire to do so.

Overall a wonderful season with a lot of opportunities to go to the theatre.

Sunday in the Park

It is official. Shakespeare on the Common will be returning to the Boston Common this summer with a production of The Comedy of Errors. It was being speculated that it would not return this summer because of monetary reasons. I am glad to see that it will be continuing for at least one more summer. The show will be playing from July 31st until August 16th. The performance are Tuesday - Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 7pm. If you have never experienced Shakespeare on the Common I would definitely check it out this summer. It is completely free and a wonderful experience to share with friends.

Link to the Press Release

http://www.ashmontrecords.com/releases/CSC_coe_2009.pdf

Suspended in Time

At 4:05 am and six seconds on July 8th this year.

The time and the date will be:

04:05:06 07/08/09

In Europe this would happen at the same time, but on August 7th since they write the day before the month.

Stumble !

I was first told about Stumble Upon a couple of months ago, but I resisted creating an account. I knew that if I made an account I would waste copious amounts of my time. For those of you who don't know, StumbleUpon is a site that essentially allows you to surf the internet. It presents you with webpages that it belives you will find interesting based on what other users have said and your own interests. You can even filter what topic you would like the recommendation engine to search for in a website.

Yesterday I gave in to my boredom and created an account. At the moment I have stumbled through 302 different websites and favorited 55 of them. One of the most interesting to date was a website with a video explaining Benford's Law. I had never heard of it before but it really is fasicinating. Benford's Law states that in list of numerical data the first digits are not distributed evenly. In fact one is always the most frequently occuring leading digit with two-nine occur less frequently. The Benford's Law curve is a curve with a decreasing slope. When looking at any natural data, such as birthrates in a town, the data very closely fits Benford's curve. The law is useful in figuring out whether or not data has been tampered with.

Video Explaining Benford's Law that I stumbled upon.

http://videos.kirix.com/data-and-the-web/2008-07-22-benfords-law/2008-07-22-benfords-law.htm

If you want to see what other website I enjoyed, you can check out my profile on the StumbleUpon website. My username is rt24601. Here is a direct link to my profile http://rt24601.stumbleupon.com/favorites/.

Bonus Points to whoever can tell me the signifigance of the numbers in my username.

Legen - wait for it - dairy

Neil Patrick Harris is amazing (I felt the need to make this known after watching him host the Tony's).He is the main reason that I watch the CBS show How I Met Your Mother. If wasn't for his portrayal of Barney, I probably would not have made an effort to catch up to the fourth season this year.

Last summer NPH starred in a short musical film called Dr.Horrible's Sing Along Blog. It was a viral hit and is still gaining fans. It is only 45 minutes long and available to watch for free on the film's website http://drhorrible.com/. If you have some time to spare, I would definitely watch this. NPH has a great voice and awesome facial expressions.

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These two links also feature the awesomness that is Neil Patrick Harris. The second one is by far my favorite because of how his performance is out of the blue.

Sweeney Todd in Concert, NPH appears four minutes into the video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlBnwsz0hSY

NPH and Jason Segel from HIMYM singing Confrontation from Les Miserables

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhXsJjVdj1E

I'm Alive

Xanadu is a fantastic musical that premiered on Broadway in 2007. Some people still refuse to listen to the cast recording because they heard awful things about the Xanadu movie. Well the musical is a hundred times better than the movie. I listened to the recording a couple of times today after not having listened to it in a while and I thought that I should share the magic of Xanadu with all of my non existent readers.

This is the cast's performance at the 2008 Tony Awards.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w02xPH5uUtI

Xanadu Commercial

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBk2ZuJdL0s

I Know Things Now, Many Valuable Things

The job hunt is still failing. The only offers that I've gotten have been fake. They all involve me receiving checks for large amounts of money and wiring them to some company. One guy had a different twist on his story. He claimed that he needed a tutor for his daughter, but she lives in Switzerland. The plan was that he would send me a 5,000 check and I could take my cut of 500, then give the rest of the money to the girl's nanny when she was dropped off for her English lessons. I give him credit for coming up with a unique story, all the other guys used the same email format and the story about being a foreign business. I was very tempted to email him back saying that it was a good effort with the background story, but I still wasn't falling for his scam.

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When I'm not getting fake job offers, I'm getting emails about how I should learn to be self reliant and start my own business. What part of "college student seeking summer work" are they not getting? I think I may just give up on finding a real job and just work for the high school musical theatre program that my friend is directing. They're doing Into the Woods, which I stage managed and did props for two summers ago. If I remember correctly, the props were fairly simple and I actually kept one of them,a chicken that lays golden eggs. I always knew that it would come in handy again.

An Apple a Day

I have been a vegetarian for about two years now and people still tell me that I'm crazy for not eating meat. Well I say at least meat is the only thing I'm not eating.

There is a group of people known as fruitarians. Their diet consists of only raw fruit and seeds. Like birds. No, I think birds have broader diets.

Here are some of the quotes they have on their site in an effort to recruit people.

"Fruit is a LIVE food !!!! Fruit, has "the power and magic of life"… Fruit nutrition is a very simple concept…from fruit alone, the human body has evolved to produce everything else it needs to stay energetically alive for more than 100 years…"

"Eating fruit alone, the fruitarian becomes more attractive and beautiful, with better hair,skin, nails, smell and taste in the body…and more pure physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually, a special loving creature…he/she is itself a "fruit" of the "magic" power of the earth and the sun…the final result of millions of years of struggle for life to produce a unique specimen…full of intelligence, feelings and emotions for love…and conscience…a beautiful life form…a TRUE human being!"

"Be FREE…become a fruitarian…live in harmony…and experiment every day, strength andprotection from the creative force that brought to this "blue planet": water, air, trees, flowers, animals and human beings… the power and "magic" of life …"

I don't know if these people actually exist and if they do, I'm certain they have a short life span. Humans are not birds. As magical as fruit is, you need more than that and the power of the earth to live.

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Edit: All quotes obtained from www.fruitarian.com

April Showers Bring May Flowers

These are some pictures that I've taken.

All Around the World

Today I figured out that I somewhat know my world geography. I took the 'Can you name the countries of the world ?' quiz on Sporcle.com and I got 114 out of 195 countries. Maybe one day I'll get all 195, but I highly doubt that. I can never remember the tiny countries that no one has ever heard of before.

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If you ever find yourself with time to waste, I would highly recommend visiting sporcle.com. They have hundreds of random quizzes that you can take covering a variety of topics. I would make sure that you don't have anything important to finish when visiting the site, because you will most likely spend over an hour on the site.