This Just In

Why am I so good at making douchebag friends? 

World Traveller

As it turns out, my dad is going to Indonesia next week, for a week. Of course, he hired a housesitter, so I can't have any parties there, but hey, what can you do, eh? He's going with his Medical Group, because apparently, the Indonesian government is tired of their nationals coming to America for surgery and such, as it loses them money. So, the Indonesian government is having the partners fly to Jakarta for a week to meet with prospective and past patients, maybe do a little treatment while they're there, and help them start to set up a new hospital. The Yudhoyono government, apparently, wants to build a state-of-the-art hospital in Jakarta, to keep their people from leaving the country to seek medical care, and the upside of this is that they want each of the partners of the group to come to Indonesia a few times a year for a week or two and treat patients. While normally, one might think it odd to travel 22 hours to treat patients when there are plenty here in the States, you must remember that these Indonesians are richer than God, and pay in cash. CASH. This being the operative term in the equation. 

Of course, my father being the LOVER of world culture that he is, has been on me for the last week about information on Indonesia. This is his first excursion to a Muslim country, and my father is no fan of the Muslims, so it should be an interesting experience for him. Granted, the elite with whom he will be interacting are hardly extremists, there will be a certain culture shock, to be sure. He needs to keep his wife in check, that's for sure. Sadly, he won't be able to see Borobudur or Prambanan, or any of the other archaeological wonders of Java, but he will get to see Jakarta, which should be eye-opening, to say the least. Keep in mind that this is only a preliminary expedition, however, which will hopefully open the door to much bigger and better things. He may even get to take his children with him on one of the trips.

Regardless of travel opportunities, the greatest benefit of this deal coming through is the money. If this thing happens, Dad will be going to Indonesia two to four times a year, for a week or so, and be making 500k in CASH for each visit. All expenses paid. FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS. That, in addition to the work he does here, will hopefully get him off my ass about getting a job, and maybe raise my allowance. That would be wonderful. Just peachy.

Ugh. Tired. 

More later,

X.

My Kryptonite

I just realized why I so rarely get along with my Dad and my sister! A revelation worthy of St. John, I would say. After a night out for my Dad's birthday weekend, it hit me: My Dad is the grownup version of every Fratty Douchebag I know in college. He's a perpetual teenager, with all of the demanding, petulant behavior that entails. Even though he's a parent of three (so far) he's never really grown up (which might explain his wife), but somehow still manages to be a fogey. Not a fogey in the way I'm a fogey, which I think is kind of endearing and refreshing, but in that , evil, selfish, crotchety way. He's only 47, mind you. He's that enduring popular guy. He was a fratty douche in college, and that must have been where it all started. He's got this complex, that no matter what is going on, his way is the way it should be, and if you disagree or dissent, he'll either drown you out or gang up with someone else to shut you up. That's where my sister comes in. She's great. I love her to death, but GOD is she a Royal Bitch. When she and Dad get going, it's a trainwreck from Hell. As usual, the thing that tipped it off on Saturday was music. Dad got shitfaced, along with his [expletive deleted] wife, and I was made to drive home, being the only non-lush in the family. I changed up the radio, because I didn't like what was on, and it ended up on some XM station, which happened to be playing a Techno/Trance remix of an Ensemble Hüseyin Türkmenler song. I happen to like said song, remix or no. I was enjoying myself. Dad and my Sister then proceed to attack the music. 

"What is this shit?"

"It's my BIRTHDAY! We listen to what I want!"

"Seriously! This sucks. Change it!"

When I kindly responded that I was driving, and the song was almost over, and it wouldn't kill them to finish it, they both got irate, and my sister attacked the dials.* I kindly tell them all where they can shove their closedmindedness, but leave it at that. I didn't want to start a fight.

They also get like that with food. I want to make rabbit, and I need Dad's kitchen to do it, but they, as a family, won't let me, because it's "gross" and they don't want it in their house. Bunch of fucking Douches.

So yeah. That was my weekend. Woohoo.

When MY birthday weekend rolls along, I'm making it a rule that NO ONE gets to drink. Stepmother can't hold her liquor, and anytime she's in her cups, she picks a fight with my dad, who, of course, in his childish idiocy, eggs her on. That's love, for ya.

Lights Out,

X.

* This behavior has, in the past, gotten her socked in her fucking face.

So. I didn't go to class today. I don't really know why, I just didn't feel like it. Normally, that would upset me, but I've been good about attendance so far, and I didn't have any assignments due or quizzes today, so it's not the end of the world. I got to catch up on some revision, which was good. This weekend was actually super fun, much to my surprise. Friday night, my friend Max had a party at his place downtown, and I got to meet some new people, have some fun, drink some water. Then Savannah came (!!!) and after that, a bunch of us went to The Pantry, which is an amazing restaurant, and I missed it terribly. Those ham steaks are off the chain. The on Saturday, MMT and Maureen had their housewarming, and even though I didn't know most of the people there, I enjoyed myself immensely. I almost fought a bitch, but I kept my composure. On an upside, I wasn't pressured into drinking vast quantities, which is nice. A good change. 

More Later,

X.

This and That

Blargh. Midterm on Friday. I think it went well. Only time will tell. I'll be getting back that ten page paper I wrote last week on Tuesday. I don't know why I wrote so much. 

On a lighter note, I started watching It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, which, as it turns out, is really funny. Comedy Gold.

More Later,

X.

LiveJournal Can Suck It.

God. Is it just me, or does it seem like everyone on LiveJournal is an angry, Vegan, neo-Pagan Lesbian who's still in high school? Jesus Pete. I've had just about enough of that mess. The only real upside to LJ is that I know people on it, so things I say and do are noticed by them. I have approximately one friend on Blogger, and she doesn't know it. Blargh. CSUN is proving to be both easier and more annoying than I anticipated. Easier, inasmuch as I spent three semesters at USC, and what class I did attend was at the very least intellectually stimulating. CSUN classes just...aren't the same. I dunno. My PAS teacher is, in my estimation, the single dumbest Ph.D I have ever had the intense displeasure of meeting. His speech is garbled, mispronounced and downright silly, and it's nearly impossible to read anything he writes. How this man got through graduate school is beyond my ken, but it looks like I shouldn't have a problem. It's a shame, too, because he is such a nice man, and his mama's people are from Colfax, but he is just as dumb as a rock. If you're going to be an African-American Studies teacher, you might want to take some time to learn how to properly pronounce the names of people, countries and tribes about which you are teaching. He's passionate about the subject, but in an Afro-centric way that puts me on edge. Prime Example: On a quiz last week, we had a question regarding words of African origin. The choices were Yam, Goober, Canoe and All of the Above. The answer he wanted was the last one, but I happen to know for an indisputable fact that Canoe is NOT an African word, and comes from the Taíno language, via the Spanish canoa. When I tried to explain this to him, he blustered and told me that I was wrong, and to look at some ethnographic study from the 1920s. 

Ugh. More Later.

X.

Like Living in A Furnace.

It's Hell. It really is. I can't even really put into words how awful it is to live in Southern California right now. My class is at 10:35, and by the time I leave my apartment at 10, it's usually already 90° or so. By noon it's been hovering around 106°, and stays that way until 6 or so in the evening. I have a window unit, a ceiling fan, four standing fans and a wall-thing constantly blowing cold-ish air on me, on top of being naked at all times in my apartment, and it's still too hot to move. I don't understand it. 

Other than the unbearable heat, my class is going well. I'm not in it to make any friends, so I haven't really spoken with any of my classmates, and I only hate one of them, so all in all, it could be worse. The professor is a total hoot, and he spent an hour last Thursday telling us a story about his experiences with Mexican shamanic hallucinogens in graduate school. That was an interesting experience.

More to come.

X

Things Go Up, Things Go Down

So. I've just finished watching There Will Be Blood and, to be quite frank, I'm not all that sure I liked it. More than anything else, this movie had the unnerving effect of making me extremely uneasy throughout the viewing.

And don't get me wrong, Daniel Day-Lewis is, in my estimation, one of the best screen actors of our generation, but there was just something about the film, something that put me so entirely on edge that I was almost unable to finish watching it. Normally, I am all about period films, and the movie itself was quite beautiful, in its own gritty, oil-stained way. Somehow, I dunno. It weirded me out, in so many words.

The whole subplot with the deaf son-who-isn't-a-son, while it was apparent from the beginning, was still pretty interesting, in the grander scheme of the film. The Paul/Eli thing also threw me for a loop. Was Paul the same person as Eli? Was that one man a complete psychopath? Or were they a pair of identical twins? Wikipedia and IMDB are rather inconclusive on this. They make it seem as though they are two separate characters, but where did Paul go? Why did Eli completely subsume the part? Even at the end, when Plainview attacks Eli in the bowling alley, he talks about Paul being a successful driller, but is he, in fact, just making up stories to drive him mad, or is there indeed another brother offscreen?

And all I have to say about the closing music is WHAT?

It's too late to think anymore. Hasta luego,

X.

New Beginnings.

So. New blog. 

I've grown somewhat disenchanted with LiveJournal, so I'm making the switch to Blogger. We'll see how it goes.

This will hopefully present itself as a better forum for me to explore and decipher much of what perplexes me in this terribly, terribly topsy-turvy world we live in. I'm as of yet unsure what I'll write. Probably a little bit of everything. The focus will not doubt jump from Culinary, to Sartorial, to Political, to Historical, to God-only-knows what else. But I like that. That's how my mind works, so my blog might as well follow the pattern. 

I suppose, in the off chance that someone I don't know starts to read this blog, and introduction is in order:

I am 21. I am (sort of) a sophomore at the University of Southern California, majoring in Anthropology. I read...a lot. Basically, aside from working three days a week, it's about all I do. I'm sure when I go back to school this summer, that will change, but I hope not too drastically. I wouldn't call myself a "popular" kid. I've never been one really. We academic types tend to get the short end of that stick, especially here in LA. I do, however, see myself as "in the know." I suppose being analytical, and slightly marginalized, makes that a priority of mine. Rather than being in the crowd, I take advantage of my position to study it. Its strange customs, its trends and its foibles. At least, that's what I'd like to think. 

I very much enjoy cooking, and this blog will no doubt serve as a forum for me to showcase recipes, successes and failures on that front. (If I can figure out how to upload pictures...for a Nerd, I'm not all that tech-savvy.)  I also enjoy style, so I hope to follow the trends, albeit on a much, much smaller scale than say, The Sartorialist, whom I hold in very high regard. 

Music as well, will no doubt take up a sizable portion of my thought process, so I've no doubt that will also make the occasional appearance here.

Well, I suppose that's all for now.

X.