highrise living for a joke like me

So, we have to read the Gospel of Matthew, Acts of the Apostles chapters 1-9, and I Corinthians for Medieval History, and, good Jew that I am, I'm confused. Da explained some of it to me¹, but I still feel the need to natter on. If my utterly impolite commentary will insult you, shove off. :)

( Blasphemy under the cut. )

Shower time now, I think, and then back to read Acts and Corinthians.
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^{1 Da went to Fordham for grad school, so he's my source for all things Christian.}

First of all, a big smooshy thanks to celleri_kun for starting the process of illustrating Danse Macabre - Ghost Story for me for imaginarybeasts. I'm so excited!

Second, I've reached a new level of name stupidity. Last night, the delivery guy who brought my Insomnia cookies thought I was "Mexican" because "Iliana [sic] is a Mexican name, right?" Um, no. Just...no.

Also, I've finished all the tv shows on my hard drive. Other than Babylon 5 (yes, allandaros, I know, and I'm working on it), what do people suggest?

And, despite the fact that I didn't go to services this year, I'll do my annual Jew thing: I'm going to have a moment of religious thought: to all who read this, please forgive me for any cruel/thoughtless/rude I have done to you during the past year. According to Jewish law, the ten days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are to be spent in reflection over the past year, including tying up any loose ends and making amends for mistakes made. We're supposed to ask people for forgiveness for anything we might have done to them and if they refuse three times, we are forgiven by God because we've made an effort. I don't really believe that God is sitting up there keeping track, but I'd like to know that I've been forgiven for stupid things I've done, rather than letting them fester. I'd like to know if you have forgiven me, but it's not a huge deal, as long as you have.

And now to update my planner so I can see just how much homework I have. *facepalm*

( But I'll do a meme first... )
Yes, sure, why not.

Yeah, so have had enough class to have a sense of what they're about and how they're going to go.

ASTR100, Intro to Astronomy (non-lab): Professor is pretty neat, and makes the material interesting with lots of moving diagrams and stuff on the computer; also has knowledge of how to use PowerPoint correctly, that the gods of presentations. TA is endearingly geeky, though I think I scared him with the shirt I was wearing today (see below). First lecture included the prof blowing up a hydrogen-filled balloon by poking it with a match, and discussion section today involved testing whether astrology works (by using math and the scientific method), so that was fun. Daily readings, weekly homeworks, activities in lecture and discussion, three midterms plus final, but it's Astronomy for Poets so it should be fun. Class meets MWF 9a-10a, discussion W 10a-11a.

HIST111, Medieval History: Professor is...eccentric, to say the least. Snorefest lecture, clueless TA, but hopefully with the skills learned from Mr. Hines and IB will be enough to get me through with flying colors. Interestingly, the class is starting with Rome (early Christianity = Rome, doncha know, but I still don't like it), and it's going to be over a week before we talk about the downsides of the Roman Empire; if I hear the phrase pax Romana one more time, I may scream. TA also has no respect for the prof, but isn't so good at leading discussion, so I have no idea. Lots of reading, weekly homeworks of stupid, two papers, midterm and final, though allandaros says most of the reading isn't necessary. Class meets MW 1p-2p, discussion W 2p-3p.

THET115, Fundamentals of Play Analysis: Professor is a complete ditz (I suspect I'll be complaining about her a lot), but the subject (analysing plays for production) is something I think is neat, so I'll suffer through it. Daily plays to read plus commentary and such, weekly responses, multiple projects, midterm and practical final; thank God 113 (history) prepared me for this. Did I mention she's a complete flake? Class meets TuTh 9:30a-10:45a, no discussion.

THET116, Fundamentals of Design: This one I'm really looking forward to. Taught by two professors, so that's a little odd, and we're going to be taking intensive notes all this week, but after that it's all practical. I have an X-acto knife of my very own now! Minimal reading, multiple projects, vocab quiz next week, no midterm but final exam. Class meets TuTh 3:30p-5:30p, no discussion.

Was originally going to be taking Intro to LGBT Studies, but it was going to be too much reading, on top of everything else. Will still be taking at some point, and I'm considering looking into getting a certificate (= minor) in LGBT Studies, since superboner and I had been muttering about starting a queer theatre someday. Thoughts?

Speaking of queer, the ASTR TA story: I was supposed to mention to him today that I'll be missing lecture in November (for the convention), but I didn't remember when I got dressed this morning. My shirt? "Just because I'm a lesbian doesn't mean I want to convert you; I have high standards." *facepalm* I think I scared him. Oh well.

Now to get laundry out of dryer and then sit down to write.

So, apparently, the reason Pluto is no longer a planet is because it keeps its room messy.

What I actually mean is that the definition the IAU used to define a planet is that it must a) orbit a star but not be another star or a moon; b) be round due to its gravity; and c) has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit. Since Pluto (and Eris and Ceres) fulfill the first two only, they're dwarf planets.

What have we learned? Clean your room, or else you might have your person status revoked.

(We have also learned that astronomy texts should not be read at 3a, but that's another thing.)

My ASTR prof blew up a balloon!

My glee is too much for my scrawny body to hold.

Real day recap later.

That is all.

Dear University, it is not cool to have jackhammers going at 7a. So not on. Especially on a day like today, which might as well be a weekend. I wanted that sleep, thank you very much!

Walked a few of my classes today, since I've never been in any of the science buildings before. But my map was crap, so I walked all over the southern end of campus, where the science and math buildings tend to be, to find them. And since it's humid as fuck (pun intended), I'm a bit melted at the moment.

The other amusement of the day was David Kriebs, aka my mentor, aka God, before the majors' meeting, telling me that if I get to the middle of the semester and start going into show withdrawal, he'd let me tech an Off-Center (the non-departmental student-run productions), "but nothing more!" I love this man, he's absolutely my enabler.

Advising appointments went well. I need to e-mail the Chair of the department to convince him to let me take one class a third time, but beyond that I'm set. I'll be taking two theatre classes, astronomy, and medieval history in the fall, as well as possibly the Intro to LGBT studies class, depending on waitlists and course load and stuff.

First of the advising appointments is in 15 minutes. Here we go...

Didn't need the ER trip, thankfully, but the surgeon poked at my mouth until he managed the shake loose what turned out to be a small splinter of my upper jaw. Phoo. Back of mouth feels like raw meat, but at least it hurts less than it did this morning, and it should be back to my current level of non-use by the morning. :D

That aside, I really would recommend this oral surgeon to people. I think most of you folks have had yours done already, but if anyone needs the name of a good oral surgeon in the DC area, let me know.

The meetings to convince the theatre department to let me retake THET112 begin tomorrow, wherein I grovel to anyone who'll listen. If I can't retake it, I won't be able to major in theatre, which would be...bad. Wish me luck. *whimpers*

Feel like today's going to be a spammy day, since I have a couple other things I've been meaning to post (This Was My Day, various and sundry Frankenmixes, my thoughts on HP7 and the HP5 movie, etc.), but for now I will end with a pair of fannish links:

copperbadge, who I adore, wrote The Day the Music Died (and I Got Farked), a piece of metafandom fiction based on the ending of the canon of a fictional fandom based on HP, among other things. It's really amusing, especially if you're active in just about any online fandom, and resonates even if you've never gone through the ending of a canon (my tally is four and counting). Not based on HP7 itself, no spoilers for the book, really worth the read if you're a Fan, even if you're not an HP fan.

Alternate endings for HP7. Hi-larious. Original post has no spoilers, but the comments very well might.

On another note, despiojarse12 is on my butt again to lead a clubbing expedition. Any of you local folks interested and free this weekend?

I got an A- in ARTH and a B+ (don't get that, need to ask about it) in EDCP. So that means I'm going back to school and I don't owe the 'rents the other $650 for summer tuition. *mad happy spastic dance* This also means it's very likely I'm going to the con this fall, but that's another thing.

Need to rant about the HP movie, but not now. Now I need to eat, clean things, and read (three down, three to go, and I'm behind). Why did I pick up that shift for tomorrow night?