La Vie En Rose for 2005 March

If you stare at the word "Photocopied" long enough, it starts to look wrong. Try it.

My hands are cramped from cutting and pasting. I try to rest them so I don't get carpeltunnel (SP?) but it doesn't seem to be helping.

Shiny pretty new database containing all our books. All 219 of them. And it only took me 7 hours.

I feel like the whole LA basin is about to be swept away into the ocean, me and my shiny new database with it.

I brought the infamous Access by way of an MS Office 2003 Professional Academic edition home so as to database through my days in Bakersfield, too, but I'm having some issues installing it on Mom's computer. The Brilliant Stacy insists that we are allowed to install it on up to five computers, but everytime I put in the CD or try to do any installation-like process, the only thing that pops up is the Business Contact Manager, which I don't want! So either there is some secret device on the CD preventing Office from being installed on more than one computer, or more than twice at all (it's already been installed on our new one more than once, because we reformatted), or Business Contact Manager has to be installed before anything else from some unknown Microsoftian reason, or I am an idiot and I have no idea what I'm doing.

I'm rather hoping it's the later, so someone can tell me what to do, and all will be well again in my newly-rose-colored Access world.

In other news, I got a small letter from Queen Mary, which as everyone knows when it comes to college applications is the exact opposite of a big acceptance package; but it was a letter saying they received my application, not "not thanks." It's rather unfortunate that they insist on doing correspondance via air mail which takes about two weeks longer than email. Oh well.

Since my birthday is now a week away, I thought I would mention, in case anyone is still looking: I also would like my suede jacket drycleaned, and an armband for my precioussss iPod, since the protective case I have makes it too big for the belt clip, and it's annoying to have to take the case off eveytime I go to the gym (which is incidently also the place I am most likely to drop it). :)

"Do you want to listen to music?" I asked Stacy. "Sure," she replied. As I opened the drive to put in "MTV Hit List 2002," what should pop out but microsoft office professional? Oh, hahahaha. Honestly, how was I suppose to know I had the wrong disk? It was in the case, which, as far as I could tell, only held one disk. Oh well.

Hate the bank. Must go and scream at them tomorrow. Am tempted to revert to system of barter.

Boo for large packages from the bank which disguise themselves as admittance packages.

Yay for trips to vegas with the MLI team, new suits, and song additions (if I was a rich girl...)

I got another email today; the subject was "Application MA CHP." Thinking to myself, "I didn't apply to the California Highway Patrol," I opened it and then realized it was regarding "Contemporary History and Politics", haha how silly I am! The sentence beginning with "Because of the distances involved" didn't sound very promising at first, but then I read on and discovered that they aren't going to require an interview, instead making an unconditional offer for a place on the MA program! Wahooo!

But on the other hand, I haven't seen Tonks in a day, and I don't know where he is, and he doesn't come when I call. :(

Hopefully, anyway--in terms of my bank account. I have learned a very valuable lesson this last week, and that is to really really really make sure everything is cleared before you close a checking account, and then wait a month just to be extra-sure, and not believe the people at the bank because they could be lying. Fortunatley a nice lady at a different Wells Fargo branch from the one that lied to me helped me do damage control, and it could have been a lot worse. I did have to go to the dentist and give them new money since they deposited my check a few days after I had closed my account, opps, but in my defense it has been almost an entire month. I just have to call again to make sure everything went through and the account is really closed. Whew.

I bet I'll have the database entries memorized.

Had a very fun night out with Christina yesterday to celebrate our communal birthdays. We had dinner at CPK and went to see Finding Neverland, which was really good and all literary, but sad! which I was not expecting. Being the forgetful loser that I am, her present is still sitting on my shelf at home, but she gave me a really awesome gift: the two volume set of The Letters of Gertrude Bell, and Memories of a Doctor in War and Peace. So exciting!

Happy St Patrick's day everyone!

(I like to pretend I have a bit o' Irish in me)

I was really productive today. I did a lot of things I've been meaning to do for a long time, like file my taxes and register my iPod protection plan. My filing basket it all organized. Me & Leonard also went to Russo's to get a paycheck I had forgotten I had (which I promtly put into my nest-egg savings account with my birthday money) and I also bought Paris 1919, even though I really need to stop buying books until I read all the ones I have!

Yesterday I read Angels and Demons, which I thought was ok-ish. The only part of Dan Brown books I really like is the art symbology imposes upon city geography, and that could have been summarized in about 20 pages, which would have taken me a lot less time to read, but I guess it wouldn't have been very exciting. Anyway, for pleasure reading now I've started The Sixth Lamentation which I read on the elliptical machine at le gym, and once I finish Lies and the Lying Liars who tell them I'll start reading The Middle East by Bernard Lewis, in between spurt of The Stricken Land: Serbia as we say it (getting paid to read is a beautiful thing). I also finished listening to POA; next up is the Sorceror's Stone.

why won't gmail let me get to it on the web??! I tried using IE and it says it's not a fully supported browser, yet Safari supposedly is, and I can't even access the stupid site! Grrrrr.

I'm unexpectedly in LA today on urgent historical research business. Its going quite well, despite my lack of sleep; I just hope to torrential downpour lets up by the time I have to drive home. The good news is my car is leaking: water is seeping in through the faulty rubber stuff over the doors. Haha, just kidding, that's not the good news. I guess the good news it's mostly on the passenger side.

I just finished a book summary that is two-thirds the length of my future MA thesis, and one-fifth the length of a NanoWriMo novel. I am not known for my brevity.

Last night I was sent into a panic when I realised I never actually recieved confirmation from UCL and Sussex that they received my application. I sent out desperate emails but managed to convince myself that my applications were lost somewhere over the atlantic, and console myself by saying it didn't matter, as I am 99% sure I won't be attending either of those anyway. Actually, it was a bit of a relief, since I don't think I'll get in to UCL anyway, and I'd like to keep my record good (right now I'm three for three).

So today I get a nice little letter from UCL, dated March 11, saying they received my application on February 16th.

And waited a month to let me know. O-kay.... (Though to be fair, its possible they are so overwhlemed with applications maybe ti takes a month to get to the point in line where they actually open it... or something).

It's odd, but something about listening to Harry Potter makes me long to be in school again.

We had a lovely tete-a-tete at Aunt Pat's today, with all the uncles & some cousins. Last night, in honour of Natalie's birthday, chris and I kinapped her & took her on a series of adventures involving CPK & parks.

I'm trying a new system where I do one "when I get around to it" task everyday. Whenever I think of something that has needed doing forever, I write it down on the next day in my calendar. So far I am up to April 16, but this way it is actually accomplishable, instead of writing down everythign I can think of onto a single day.

The obvious problem with my system as it is is that things are done in the order of which I think of them, and not in the order of importance. Perhaps I should have a master itemized list that I can add to, and everyday just do whatever has the top priority. But then, the idea of actually having a task assigned to a day is that it has a greater chance of actually getting done. Oh well, we shall see.

I am getting an icky-throat. We'll see how well Susie's Umcka coldcare, which I got in my stocking, works. I also have a very large pot of chamomille tea. And on the bright side, all the left-over cold medcine from last December won't go to waste!

Must work on summary. Must send in tax form. Must make sure loan consolidation is all arranged. Must work on summary. So tired. Must not get sick. *gulps tea*

I think probably the most profound effect all this WWI reading has had on my diet is eggs. Eggs! I never really used to like them, but now I do, and I think it's because... I can have an egg anytime I want. I can have dozens of eggs! Eggs are cheap. And I feel like I should appreciate that.

I got a bunch of died hard-boiled eggs from Aunt Pat. It was my own little hunt. I looked at the center-piece (a cute little pott of grass) and said, "Can I have an egg?"

Feel like crap. Terrible time at improv practice. miserable attempts at working amount to little. Am thinking of nyquil and bed, as must be off to LA tomorrow for work. Blaaaaah.

My throat is raw and painful. Whine whine whine.

I bought a half-gallon on OJ and I'm going to drink the whole thing!