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que veux-tu

today's title comes from the yelle song of the same name:

warning: i have absolutely no idea what's going on in this video, but i love the song anyway.

other things which i'm listening to:

it's taken me forever, but i finally have studio-quality mp3s of this and every other song they haven't released, which, as you may imagine, makes me pretty happy. 

i got a new phone yesterday! it's just an update of my old phone, and also the same phone that both of my parents have (so telling them apart? basically impossible), but it's still somewhat exciting. 

other than that, nothing too exciting has happened lately. i'm catching up on all the homework/reading i put off this week, so i spent all day reading maigret stories in french, medieval italian poetry (it's growing on me), and a ton of news articles on the wisconsin budget situation/unions. who knew spring break could be so boring? 

oh, and this? this is awesome. go watch it. the end. 

there is a ukelele

she's sixteen and british and makes me feel unaccomplished. listen anyway - the song isn't too long and it's oddly upbeat.

i'm gonna lose my head here

today's title comes from resurrection by the temper trap.

i'm not even going to bother apologising for being a bad blogger lately because, honestly, this has just been an incredibly busy semester. banana, i don't even know how you've managed with your nine thousand languages and activities. so, instead, this is just going to be a random post about things i've been liking since my last post.

beginning with:

salad! i'm a lot little bit in love with them. actually, i'm eating one right now (one of the sinfully unhealthy ones from wendy's) but i've been craving them in all shapes and sizes. like i had a buffalo wing caesar salad at salad creations last week and it was wonderful, and i made a little one two nights ago with dried cranberries and raisins and feta cheese as a midnight snack. who knew i could like green things? the momster is certainly mystified. 

dante! this is the second semester that i've had to read the divine comedy in an english class, and this time around it's actually in two separate classes. my brit lit and italian poetry/modernism class (the full course name is "T. S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, and the Italian Trecento" and was apparently going to be longer but academic services made my professor shorten it) are overlapping all over the place. we're reading a lot of the same works (okay, in reality, it's more like "we're reading a lot." full stop, the end, sorry but no sleep for Rachel until may) in each of them, but at different times, so occasionally walking into each class feels a bit like going through a time loop. nevertheless, dante and all the other medieval poets we're reading in my italian/modernism class are actually really interesting. although i am getting a bit sick of petrarchan sonnets. poor laura. also i think i have the first canto of inferno memorised.

doctor who. pretty much self-explanatory, actually. although i would like the record to show that i plan to do this to some door in my house one day, or maybe just my bedroom door this summer.

tying in with my last obsession, british television in general. downton abbey, merlin, skins, torchwood, north & south...they're all so wonderful. and, best of all, the shorter seasons makes the writers seem to step up the quality of the episodes a lot - there are way fewer filler episodes.

in keeping with my hall's obsession with merlin/pretty people in period clothing with accents, i introduce to you Arthur Bear. the hall-es and i built him at build a bear together and we're planning to mail him around to each other over the summer. he even has a little passport so you can all sign it! i'm pretty excited.

and this is Merlin Bear, which i got for myself since it lost in the hall-e vote over which bear to build (it was a tough decision to make! also, we got a lot of weird looks from the build a bear staff). michelle the hall-e made a bunny, but i don't have a picture of it.

the history channel, which on three separate viewings has told me that the biblical story of moses is evidence of an ancient alien encounter, of various rumors and theories that abraham lincoln was a vampire, and that humanity is suffering from "amnesia" which prevents us from being able to remember/understand that our ancient ancestors clearly had contact with aliens (because how else were they able to build the pyramids?). i'm beginning to worry about the channel.

cki! i got reelected for next year. we went to our district convention and won things, too, but most of you are adept facebook stalkers so you probably already know that. and i finished the club scrapbook. well, after i put every minion i could find to work, first.

and, of course, this:

if only i'd been alive in the eighties. also, how is it that everyone in that video is, like, a multimillionaire now? and a lot of them are pundits, even. oh, and the current liverpool coach is in it, too, see if you can spot him.

i'll just leave you with this:

won't let no mistake take the roof from off our heads

today's title comes from the city by patrick wolf which is amazing and you should all listen to and, yes, that means you, too, s-la:

well, it finally happened. i am really, truly, disgustingly mucus-y sick on campus. it sucks. the hall-es have been plying me with fruit and vitamin c and cold medicine and things, so it's not too bad but i sound gross. like, beyond gross, actually. every time i blow my nose it sounds like i'm trying to do a killer whale mating call or something, which means classes this week are just going to be a barrel of laughs. at least not being at home means i can experiment with cough medicines, so the rest of me is okay, if a little tired and kind of incoherent my roommate told me i sound high but we've settled on a nice little cocktail of robutussin, dayquil, and sudafed along with the world's most wonderful cough drops ever (halls, but no one ever bothered to tell me they came in strawberry and not just that horrible medicinal cherry crap) so i think i'll be fine. or, at least, the momster will think i'm fine because she has no idea i'm sick and if she did she would come here and that would be bad. 

...i just read that paragraph back. my roommate is right, even when i type i sound high. sorry guys. 

the hall-es and i went on an adventure friday night, but it's a story that i want to be, like, grammatically correct so i'll wait until i'm no longer sick to write it up. 

for similar reasons, i won't be recapping the oh-so-wonderful liverpool-chelsea game. well, not in words, anyway:

in conclusion, serhio ramo thanks you for your time:

if i had a boat

today's title comes from the song of the same name by james vincent mcmorrow. it's one of those mellow, lush, bon iver-soundalikes and i'm in love with it, so listen to it right away:

other things i've been listening to lately include: 

and this, which is one of the rare instances of me liking the remix of a song better than the (admittedly awesome original):

and, of course, a cover:

oh, and i finally changed my desktop background:

i'm volunteering at the blood drive later and i feel kind of incredibly sick right now (i know, i know, you're so surprised) so i'm just going to nap and put off the real post which is all about poetry and modernism and brit lit (my professor is insane. no, really. she makes the momster look normal) til tomorrow. 

i ain't even bovvered. really.

good riddance.

i had been planning to resume blogging with a real post, but recent developments have led me to end the post with this:

so many nights

...since i last updated this blog. alternatively, today's title comes from fixin' to die as covered by g. love and the avett brothers, seen here:

nevertheless, it has been a long time since i posted. since the last time we've (virtually) seen each other, beatrice the ipod has been dropped seven times (and acquired one tiny dent which was in no way my fault). electronics live a hard life in my house. also, s-la and i saw tangled! it's adorable. and then the momster and husband number three took me to atlantic city, where i gambled (because i am eighteen! and can legally do so! i can't wait to get my first lottery ticket) and lost spectacularly the first night (grand total: -$185.00) but made it all back up after brunch, which looked like this:

that's right - i successfully gambled! i even made a profit ($4.05). it was thrilling. probably too thrilling, actually, as i have been informed that when one has lost all their money at a casino, the sensible thing to do does not in any way include glaring at a slot machine and playing until you've won your money back. i think that is crap advice delivered by people who never win, anyway, and certainly did not come out with a profit of four whole dollars and five cents, thank you very much.

and now i'm going to go do my homework. for real, this time.

tonight we're going to set this record right

today's title comes from george stanford's big drop. it's one of the many things i've been listening to this month. you may (or may not) have noticed, but i've been on a self-imposed exile from the internet since finals ended. i could try to explain why, but...well, it'd take too long and i'm beyond tired right now. the important thing is, a rachel without the internet is a very productive rachel indeed. i've been reading everything i ever wanted to. my To Read list is actually shrinking! that hasn't happened in...actually, it's never happened. normally it just grows (and grows and grows). i've been writing a little, too. it's...strange. strange even for me. if you're interested, shoot me a comment or a facebook message or an email or something. and then be prepared for strangeness. i really can't emphasize this enough. i've been watching a little too much british tv lately (it's like the one thing anyone in my house can agree to watch - thank you, doctor who) and reading too much postmodern poetry, because everything i write lately is either foreign or dystopian or both.

it's been a relaxing month, though. we went to see ice! at the national harbor (it's dr. suess themed and wonderful), saw just about every different light show in the greater d.c. area, visited the christmas village at busch gardens, went to the wizarding world of harry potter (crowded, so very crowded - and wonderful. i totally want to retire there) and, best of all, found my One True Ornament of the year. this is it, along with all the others (the momster and husband number three):

i'm the gold piano. isn't it pretty? oh, and that peacock you see? it's supposed to replace my dearly departed One True Ornament from last year, but the momster got the wrong one. it's still pretty, though, so i guess it counts.

ophelia the ipod has finally been replaced. her successor is now named beatrice, a departure from the six (!!!!) ophelias which preceded her. i've finally given into the fact that naming my ipod after a suicidal fictional character is probably not the best omen with which to begin her electronic life. i'd include a picture, but i'm tired and therefore lazy.

that's basically all that's happened to me in the last...however many days it's been since i last turned on my computer. there's nothing like the internet to put your life in perspective, right?

idk

i just thought this was funny/seasonally appropriate:

we roll our jeans up (a post about mixtures)

today's title comes from chugjug by family of the year. check them out. no, really, do it. their digital downloads? 100% free, although you can donate if you want to. i actually think i'll ask the parentals to buy the cd for christmas just to support them, since they're pretty good.

anyway, today's post features a lot of mixtures. to begin with, i'm drinking my own improvised version of a peppermint mocha. it involves adding 15 white chocolate candy cane hershey kisses to half a large cup of bold blend coffee and adding a splash of plain creamer or heavy cream. it's wonderful. my nails are a mixture, too - one coat of here today, aragon tomorrow; one coat of cuckoo for this color; and one coat of bring on the bling. the result is a perfect forest green (for some reason i can't find this color on its own - it's always a green with a shimmer or a hint of blue or yellow. why do nail polish manufacturers hate forest green? right now it's my ideal nail polish color) overlaid with gold sparkles. i think it's kind of perfect for the start of the holiday season. my music is a mixture of my own purchases and s-la's, too. right now i'm listening to daylight by matt & kim, gleaned from her during our long overdue music day last week.

all in all, i think mixtures are pretty good things, don't you?

i'm in a very christmassy sort of mood right now. we decorated the house today. well, the tree and stockings and in-house decorations are all up, anyway. we're putting the lights up tomorrow. i had some bad news yesterday, though - my annual christmas ornament purchase broke last year. apparently lulu knocked if off the tree and the momster thought she could replace it before i found out but forgot. everywhere i turn - secrets and lies. i was quite annoyed. i mean, look how pretty it was:

we went to the christmas light show in gaithersburg today. i love that place. it's so pretty. they added prism glasses this year. basically, they give you little paper glasses when you drive in and everything is extra shiny and bright and multiplied by like a thousand and if i were ever to try drugs, i think that's what the world would look like.

in other news, i jumped on the netflix bandwagon today. i was going through our dvd collection and realized that i spend way too much of my pocket money on movies. so far, netflix is amazing. why didn't anyone tell me that they have, like, every movie and tv show ever? it's wonderful. and they have an ipad app! it's like having a tiny, tiny tv with me wherever i go!

i'm now off to marathon torchwood and rewatch doctor who and drool over pictures of boots i'm too poor to ever own on the internet. woe is me, &c. &c.

tis the season

oh, thanksgiving. a time when, traditionally, one is supposed to give thanks (or plot future land theft from the indians, whichever works out better). so, in no particular order, here are some of the things i'm thankful for this year: stuffing, my family, music, sweater coats, my annual reread of poisonwood, my friends, cookie and lulu, this picture:

and xabi alonso, disney movies, and the internet:

and now i'm going to sleep. hope you all had great thanksgivings!

i miss you

today's title comes from blink-182 and my state of mind. more the latter than the former, but i wanted an excuse to post the song:

so i'm sitting in my basement, relishing the return of fox soccer channel to my life and waiting for today's yesterday's real madrid champion's league match replay to come on since the game was hilarious and i want to rewatch it. it doesn't come on for another hour and is scheduled to end at five, so it's going to be a long night. it's a good thing that college has pretty much cemented my nocturnal state.

you all probably know this, thanks to the wonders of facebook (or, you know, you were there with me), but i went to see harry potter again with jenibean and s-la. it was great. this might change with the final movie, but right now deathly hallows part one is my favorite of all the films - it stayed mostly true to the books, and the few changes are actually for the better. the score was kind of an iffy thing with me. i've loved the music in all of the films, and i stayed with that opinion for most of this one, too. there were a few places where i thought it went a little wrong (the trio's reunion scene and dobby's funeral both come to mind), but when it went right - wow. the ending could not have been better (musically, anyway - it still made me want part two, like, now).

surprisingly, harry potter is not the focus of this post. the title is.

it's funny (or horrible, depending on who you are and how you look at it), but i don't miss most of you/my high school friends very often. when i do miss people, it's usually someone i wasn't that close to. if anything, i miss inanimate objects more than i miss people. my bed and i? yeah, we've never been closer because i'm sleeping my life away and am insanely grateful to come home to a pillow-topped queen size bed which i can flop face down on and sleep for hours, maybe days. maybe it's because i'm so used to being separated from the munchkins - i haven't gone to school with bean in three years, and i've had a grand total of two classes with s-la ever - but when i do think of them, i usually just text or call or facebook or oovoo and move on with my day. so it came as kind of a surprise to realize today that i've actually really missed them. for one thing, it's good to be around someone who hates pants even more than i do. also, it was nice to realize that s-la and i are still fairly good at either saying the same thing or the same time or finishing each other's sentences (and, really, it was just good to be with someone who shares my appreciation of silly grocery store romance novels). i guess it's just good to know that some things don't change.

and now i'm going to go reread harry potter and the deathly hallows. why isn't part two out now?

a song i've never heard

today's title comes from academia by sia and is (for once) actually relevant to this post - being home means i've been bingeing on new music. it's wonderful. i'll put up reviews if anyone's curious.

this song really can't be called good, but the music video is so hilarious i had to post it.

i didn't do much today. worked out, walked the dogs, helped the momster with work, wandered around manassas and arlington today. the usual, basically. i found a panda hat at anthropologie, though! it's adorable, but way too expensive. thankfully, christmas is just around the corner so it is totally going on my wish list.

i've been making friends with my keyboard today. i can't explain it here, so don't ask me to, but i've been...afraid, i guess, of writing. not academic writing, or blogging (since this is so nonsensical and insubstantial it barely counts as writing anyway). just...the more i read (good books, this time around, and not twilight or the other crap booksellers market to kids nowadays), the more intimidated i get. there are so, so many wonderful writers out there, how could i ever compete?

of course, there are plenty of horrible writers out there, too. one only has to wander over to the shelf of romance novels in the grocery store to realize that. so i've decided that (as i have no current hope of publication), i'm going to write anyway. besides, all of you are being so creative right now that i feel guilty.

the miss your mistake

today's title comes from heart in your heartbreak by the pains of being pure at heart:

i have this love/hate relationship with anthropologie wherein i love their clothes and hate the prices. well, no more. now i'm just in love with the store and in denial of the prices. this is because i found the love of my life in perfectly fitted, lacy form. behold. it's just heaps and heaps of peach lace and i already tried it on with green tights and it is perfect. this is the dress i wanted before i even knew i wanted it.

while waiting for most of you to come home, i spent the day in arlington and at the reston town center helping the momster with real estate (look! i can actually do work! isn't it exciting?). we went to this amazing thai place at the town center, then ice skating. we picked up cupcakes at that cupcakery (i really, really love that word) after. all in all, a successful day.

the morning was horrible, though. my parents are going through this hippie/health nut phase where all they drink is orange juice, so right now the only liquids in my house are water, four different kinds of orange juice, and the contents of our bar. now, normally i'm sort of apathetic toward orange juice, but after three days of it...i hate it. i really, really hate orange juice. like, i was seriously considering showing up at breakfast this morning, pouring two shots of vodka into a glass, mixing in some orange juice and proceeding to drink until the momster cracked. thankfully, she saw reason without making me resort to emergency measures - we just got back from the grocery store. i am now the proud owner of two cases of coca cola. i didn't realize how much i loved grocery shopping until today, either. all the christmas foods are out! there are all sorts of special holiday candies that i never even knew about. like candy cane hershey kisses - how long have those been around? i stocked up while the momster wasn't looking - i'm making her a surprise batch of gingerbread men tonight. hope i don't burn the house down.

300! (and one)

apparently my last post was my three hundredth. huh. well, it isn't like posts 100 and 200 were very memorable, either. looking at the two hundredth post makes me laugh, though, because there are still no spartans the video i'm about to post is a lot like the m.i.a. video in it. also, i just blogged about the xx's vcr. it's good to know that my tastes remain fairly constant. anyway, this is arcade fire's video for the suburbs. it's not as good as the one for we used to wait (which is, admittedly, pretty hard to top). i might be a little biased in thinking that, though - i like we used to wait as a song much better.

  

i didn't do much today. we went out for a bit and i played guitar hero, but that's about it. oh, and i finished reading little bee - it was really good. you should all read it, too (if only so i can have someone to talk to about it).

liverpool won today! 3-0 against west ham. it was a relief after that horrible game against stoke city.

the drunk spaniards agree. 

i'm tired, so i'm going to go grab a snack (from my kitchen! where all the food is mine! because i'm home!) and read s-la's story.

also, i still want a kitty. someone get on this.

we're older now, the light is dim

today's title comes from o children by nick cave and the bad seeds as used to wonderful effect in harry potter and the deathly hallows part one.

other than posting that wonderful song, i'm refraining from posting anything about the movie until everyone has seen it. seeing as the urge to babble about it is almost uncontrollable, this is going to be a very short post. instead, watch this video that joanna the hall-e sent me. it is so much better than the original song:

i left campus last night. this morning husband number three and i accompanied the momster to the hospital to get an iron transfusion. it took six hours. six! all went well, though. the momster beat my tap tap score (annoying) and requested cookies, which lead husband number three to pick up gingerbread men. they're yummy. i still have one left. and then we went to see harry potter! again! (the first of many, many times over thanksgiving break, i hope)

leaving campus early had an unforeseen benefit, too. apparently i've missed a total of six fire drills since i left. this is wonderful. 

you are all going to hate me in the morning

when you get around to checking blogger and see approximately three thousand posts from me? yeah, i'm guessing you'll be unamused.

i'm conscious of time passing like i have never been before. right now (not now, as in the present, as in this moment where i'm sitting at my desk and my hair is dripping all over my keyboard and my roommate is talking in her sleep behind me, but this year, i guess. maybe this time in my life. maybe this time in all of our lives) i feel a little bit like it's now or never. like i only have so many chances to make it in the world and then that's it. sometimes i feel like all of those chances are either slipping away from me or never existed in the first place. sometimes i wonder what "making it" even is.

i know, i know. i should stop posting in the middle of the night. when we're all old and gray and boring, at least we'll be able to scroll through these blogs from the prehistoric internet and laugh. i'm beginning to wonder if i will ever become sensible. i thought it would have happened by now. yes, i know it was a bit silly to think that turning 18 would magically turn me into someone calm and rational and self-assured who can actually cook and knows things like how to use an oven or iron or wash a dog or budget, god help me i am doomed unless everyone i know tries to keep me in line when i grow up, but that didn't stop me from hoping.

and i don't care how many "points" you think you have, i wish people would stop comparing me to emma. i am not a jane austen character, okay? 

is amazing, deserves its own post, etc.

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